Original subtitles

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HORSE NEIGHING

Master Clemence?

Leoric.

Take his horse, boy.

Welcome to Ashby Manor.

The pleasure is all yours, cousin.

'Cousin Clemence, may I present my family.'

My ward, Isobel.

My younger son, Meriet.

And Tristan, my elder son.

And the burning bush amid these worthy tree trunks?

Our neighbour's daughter, Rosanna.

We are to be wed next month.

Clearly a life of mud and haystacks has compensations.

My lady -

Will you take wine, cousin?

You must learn to smile, Meriet.

Or you will turn the wine to vinegar.

So! Hugh Beringar is off to Westminster.

Michaelmas is upon us, Cadfael.

Time to render accounts to the King.

But with you and the sheriff away, who'll maintain the King's peace?

Him.

Sergeant Warden?

You think I am not competent, Brother?

It was mustard oil you wanted, wasn't it, Hugh?

I told the sergeant, if any difficulty arises...

..he's to do as I do - consult Brother Cadfael.

Of course.

Well, there we are then, that should keep the cold out.

Use as much as you like.

Yes... yes, well, I must attend to Father Abbot.

Can you believe I was once a monk?

Still am, in fact.

Though not in habit, sir.

Not in any habit, my lady.

My apologies. I've yet to make your acquaintance.

The lady's brother, Janyn Bec.

You are fortunate.

Though not so much as Master Tristan.

Perhaps you will honour us by attending the wedding.

A country wedding could be amusing.

But who knows where I'll be in two weeks' time?

A diplomat's life is full of intrigue.

And fine dinners.

Leave your dunghills, lads, and take the tonsure.

A few years in a monastery then up and away.

A cleric can fly high.

The Bishop of Winchester is the highest in the land, save the King.

Master Clemence is on the King's business.

The King's business? Here?

He wishes to know the number of your chickens! (CLUCKS)

No, no, no, no, no, no!

I'm here to rest the night and abuse my distant cousin's hospitality.

Then on to Chester. You do know where Chester is?

It's a large town some 30 miles north.

The Earl is undecided whom to support in the civil war.

You do know there's a civil war?

Between the King and his cousin Maud? For the crown?

Friends have died in it, sir.

If Chester doesn't support the King?

Then you have turmoil, each baron out for himself. In a word, anarchy!

I wonder you ride alone, with the King's future in your hands.

Oh! To the world I am a mere chaplain.

Trotting about on the Church's business.

Nobody is much interested in that.

Ah, but what of the future!

Tonight we have wine... and beauty.

To Rosanna! The perfect flower of English womanhood.

I have brought you a light, sir, for your chamber.

Shall I lead the way?

Lady, you may lead me where you will.

DOOR CREAKING

Farewell, cousin. May your beans be plentiful and your oats free of tares.

God's speed, sir.

Forget him, brother. He is gone now.

God forgive me for being glad to be rid of a guest.

Perhaps he is right, father. We should all take the cowl.

Though I wish he would choke on his next fine dinner.

WINGS FLAPPING

THUNDER

Sir, will you come in and take some supper?

I sent word to Father Abbot.

My son is resolved to become a monk.

What is your prayer, my son?

To enter the cloistered life and serve God.

The life you seek is hard.

Are you ready to obey and to bear ignominy for the love of Christ?

Yes, by the grace of God.

Stand.

Are you free-born, in good health, and free from disease?

Yes, by the grace of God.

Are you free of debt and irregularity?

Yes, by the grace of God.

Are you bound by promise of marriage?

No... By the grace of God.

Then your prayer is granted.

For those coming to the Order in mature years...

..a full year's probation is usual.

Father, is that needful?

Cannot the time be less?

I long for my full commitment and to be at peace.

Do not strain after perfection.

It will be plain if you are ready earlier.

I do not exaggerate that the life you seek is a hard one.

Your nights will be spent more in prayer than sleep.

Your meals will be eaten in silence, your eyes spoilt in study.

You will toil like a serf, then sing yourself hoarse to the glory of God.

That is the fullness of your commitment.

I shall not be found wanting, Father. I promise.

NO!

NO!

(What's happening?)

Not me!

No! Dear mother of Christ, no!

No!

Forgive me! Please! Help me!

No-o-o-oh!

Forgive me!

Help me!

Please!

Easy! Easy! Easy!

(SOBS)

Get back to sleep! This is not some fairground booth!

Back to bed! All of you!

Is it... is it demons, Brother Cadfael?

If it is, they shall be exorcised.

Father Abbot, if we accept that this was no wilful act of self-display,..

..then it issues from a troubled spirit, which we must purify.

Do you suggest mortification of the flesh?

Who has not taken ease in hard labour?

Or a diet of bread and water?

Or the lash?

And which of us has never had one ill night broken by nightmares?

Once is but once.

No harm has come through his disturbance.

It seems you have a friend in Brother Cadfael.

Deserve it.

Forgive me, Father Abbot. A visitor.

My name is Eluard. I am canon to the Bishop of Winchester.

I have a mystery to solve, Brother Meriet.

Do you know Peter Clemence, the Bishop's chaplain?

I tended his horse at my father's house.

Your father says as much.

I have questioned all at Ashby Manor.

You are my last hope.

Sir?

The morning of his departure you saw Master Clemence ride off?

Yes, sir.

And you saw him no more?

No one rode with him. He said he knew the track.

Did he say where he was bound? And for what purpose?

To Chester. On the King's business.

A mission of diplomacy.

A mission of the highest import. But a mission that was not completed.

For Master Clemence has vanished.

Sergeant Warden!

You tended Clemence's horse. What was it like?

A fine beast. Not above three years old and mettlesome.

Sergeant, I wonder you have not found it yet.

We shall, my lord. I promise.

It troubles me, Brother Meriet, that Peter Clemence vanishes,...

..and you are seized by a sudden holy vocation for the cloister.

What brings you here?

For some young men, sir, the world falls short.

They seek a higher and less selfish life within these walls.

Quite so.

Be sure to stay within these walls, then, so I may speak to you again.

That is all for the present.

You seem shocked, Father, but I trust you do not harbour a murderer.

Sergeant, I leave this with you.

I go on to Chester to secure what can be secured.

Pray for my safety, Father. And you...

Be aware that Clemence is one of our best young men.

A favourite of the Bishop and the King.

It is noted that he is lost in your county.

My lord.

We must get to bed.

We shall be back here soon enough.

Yes, Brother.

And I have learned of Canon Eluard's purpose here.

If you need help, at any time -

I thank you, Brother, but I need no man's help.

Go!

Go!

Trust me!

Is it the Devil in you?

(WHISPERING) Is it the Devil?

Barbary!

Barbary!

(WHISTLES)

He called Barbary!

I did hear him (!)

Whistling summons the Devil. Is he the Devil's novice?

Oswin!

Don't dismiss Brother Oswin's fears so lightly.

Measures must be taken.

Perhaps he could be segregated.

With no one to watch him, who knows what will happen?

The Devil could consume us with a tongue of fire!

Oswin, when you came here you renounced the world, not your senses.

Brother, he has a talisman from his demon.

He hides it in his cell.

I swear! And at night he takes the charm to his bed.

You have seen this? In his bed?

Some alien thing? Hidden away?

Not clearly, Brother. But it is there.

That is not according to the rule.

Brother Meriet! Are you well?

Perfectly well, I think.

What has happened here?

Just another dream, that's all.

You should rest.

Let my things alone!

Wait!

Give that to me. It is mine.

You have foresworn 'mine'. Or do you already forget?

Give it to me!

Any personal thing here flouts the rule.

But to cherish this, in your bed, is close to fornication!

Do you know the meaning of the vows you wish to take?

Obedience?

Stability?

Chastity?

Is there no grace in you at all?

Grace enough to refrain from stealing.

Give me what is mine!

Stand aside, Brother!

If you do not, you will never take those vows.

I will have you cast out!

NO!

For shame, boy!

(GROANS)

You're a fool, boy.

You could have spared yourself all this.

I have had worse.

My father could teach them something.

He failed to teach you much sense, whatever else.

Do you want me to salve it for you?

This is nothing!

You could have been excommunicated.

Assault your priest and confessor?

Though I've wanted to strangle Brother Jerome at times myself.

He had no right to steal from me -

He confiscated what is forbidden.

Nor had the right to destroy it before my eyes.

Or speak of fornication.

Where's the evil in a lock of hair?

A keepsake?

Did the red-haired girl spurn you?

She is spoken for.

Then find another.

You are young and there are many. Be off!

Or bend that stiff neck!

I tell you, boy.

I have never known a novice pursue his vocation with so much passion...

..and so little joy!

What is tearing at your soul?

Why are any of us?

Why are you?

I was a soldier.

In the great crusade of Jerusalem.

I killed many in God's name.

Now I grow herbs and brew remedies.

To heal men after years of injuring them.

What could be more fitting?

Atonement, then?

I am very much older than you.

But of all the vows I took on entering here,...

..obedience is still the hardest.

Unrequited love?

He is passionate.

The lady chose his brother.

So he shuts himself away?

He will admit no other reason.

Well, better that than murder.

You mean Canon Eluard's suspicions?

Given credence by his attack on Jerome.

No! Meriet would have stopped!

Would he? I think you see yourself in him.

That doesn't mean you can read his heart.

No.

But I think someone should visit Leoric Ashby.

For what reason?

Because he can still haul the boy back from vows he is ill-suited to.

A sensible thought.

This is no hideaway for lovesick youth, Brother Prior.

No, Father.

Nor violent youth.

I suggest, Father, that while Meriet's future is undecided...

..he serve his penance at St Giles'.

The lazar house?

His removal will calm the other novices.

And Brother Oswin, who is due to go there, will welcome his help.

Perhaps. Helping those worse blest than himself may be the best cure.

Arrange it.

Father.

How is Brother Jerome?

A week or two will pass before his voice returns.

Then even in the worst deed, there is some good.

Yes, Father.

Brother Cadfael!

Where are you bound?

I? To Ashby Manor.

Brother Meriet to St Giles'.

For what purpose?

Father Abbot's purpose.

Do you seek my help, then, sergeant?

Barbary!

That is Barbary!

A horse!

I thought best to bring it here, sir.

Well?

Does it belong to Peter Clemence?

Yes, this is his.

I never knew its like.

Such a horse is Barbary.

Where did you find him?

20 miles to the north.

20 miles? In the peat bogs by Whitbatch.

He is robbed and murdered then.

Scarcely robbed. Look at all the silver on his harness.

What robber would lose such a beast?

The rider couldn't be worth more!

These are desperate times.

Desperate men don't think.

And there's other predators.

Was there a noseband to match the saddle?

Yes, green velvet.

Man and horse were all green velvet.

There's none here now.

The horse is as we found him, Brother.

Get that horse cleaned up!

And you, boy, don't stray from the lepers.

Welcome to St Giles.

I'll tell them you're joining us.

How many lepers are there?

Usually about five and twenty.

Some move from lazar house to lazar house.

Some are too ill to go further.

Death thins the numbers, then the gaps are filled.

Aren't you afraid of infection?

No.

A happy chance, Brother Meriet. It's a holiday.

On four days of the year we're allowed a foray...

..to gather firewood in the long forest.

So, you may push a cart.

# Veni sanctis spiritu #

Good day, Brother.

Good day.

Am I still on the right track for Ashby Manor?

You are.

You'll be from Shrewsbury. How fares Brother Meriet?

Badly enough for me to seek his father.

I'm Janyn Bec, Meriet's shocked friend.

You were shocked by his decision?

That is an understatement.

And his father, did he take it hard?

He took no pleasure in it.

But Leoric takes no joy in anything Meriet does.

Why so?

You haven't met the golden first son, Tristan?

Tristan is his father's favourite?

Which makes Meriet the more perverse.

Against his father only. Not Tristan.

Meriet loves him dearly.

If it were me I'd hate them both.

But I am not the stuff of monks.

What news of our other mystery?

I'm sorry?

The disappeared cleric.

Oh, Peter Clemence?

Oh, well, his horse is found.

But not the man?

You seem unsurprised. Is it such a mystery?

When men change allegiances like their shirts?

Do you mean Master Clemence is not dead?

Merely reneged?

Joined the Empress Maud or the Earl of Chester? Lincoln?

For every man for sale there's a buyer.

Well, Godspeed, Brother.

Though if you want to be at Ashby by Christmas, I'd get off that thing.

Take no notice, Daisy.

If I can remember the way, I know where we can find charcoal.

Where is the need to consult me?

Meriet has another father in the Lord Abbot.

But he gave no reason for such a step?

Perhaps he saw advancement in it?

Like my kinsman, Clemence?

Or Canon Eluard?

Men of the Church!

No righteousness in any of them.

Honour, duty - they serve their own dissolute ends.

I have but one son now.

Meriet has put his hand to the plough.

He must finish his furrow.

To be steadfast is a virtue!

But as you say, Meriet has taken another father.

One who cannot so easily wash his hands of him.

Meriet's vocation is in grave doubt.

He disrupts the abbey.

He cannot stay, if this strife within him continues.

I will not have him back!

Canon Eluard... What of him?

The canon asks aloud if there is some dark reason...

..for Meriet to shut himself away.

The reason being Peter Clemence.

Is Clemence found?

No.

So what right has Eluard to cast so foul a shadow on my son?

At least he speaks his mind!

He doesn't snap and snarl and hide the truth!

You overstep your mark, Brother.

Return to your refuge, and let the real world live as it can.

Brother!

You have news of Meriet.

Has something happened?

You will be Tristan?

Forgive me. And the lady Rosanna.

He has not changed his mind?

No. His zeal remains excessive.

As in all things.

Why should he renounce the world?

It is simple. He was in the shadow of his older brother.

As are all men with Tristan.

You see how I am blessed?

Indeed.

Brother, I wish Meriet were still here with us.

But if this new life is what he desires, you'll help him?

And say he has my prayers and my love always?

Assure him of my love also, Brother.

I may speak of love, may I not, for I shall soon be his sister.

And we are to be wed at the abbey.

I hope you will sing sweetly for us.

Gladly.

If your marriage is made in heaven.

Come on, Daisy, come on.

CRACK!

Sorry, Brother, I took you for a wild pig.

Not strictly true, I sought you out.

You're not the first today.

Shall we talk or must you not sit with women?

I will sit with pleasure.

I'm Isobel. Leoric Ashby's ward.

Leoric? Meriet's father?

How is Meriet? Safe from her.

But his folly must not go too far.

He is mine, whether he knows it or not.

Unrequited love drove Meriet from Ashby?

Have you met the witch? Rosanna?

Yes, I have.

Could you resist, without your vows?

A thought has occurred to me.

Meriet is a second son, and Ashby not large,...

..there is no future here for Meriet, who takes the cowl?

No, Ashby will be his when Leoric dies.

Which I doubt will ever happen.

How so? The manor?

The family has another, by Newark. A gift for Tristan and the witch.

Tristan and Janyn are making it ready. She is so particular.

Soon they'll be gone. Praise be.

So if you love Meriet, keep him from the tonsure.

A celibate is no use to me at all.

And Peter Clemence? You have no thoughts of him?

Burst with his own vanity? Who knows or cares?

Harsh words, of a kinsman.

I did not like him.

Nor did your uncle.

Nor any of us. Save Rosanna, who likes all men.

She... befriended him?

How quaintly put, Brother. She did. Another blow for Meriet.

Be firm with him. He needs us both.

This is the spot?

Yes.

As you see we can do well here.

Shall we take the logs?

Yes, of course.

There's plenty here.

Yes. I'll get a start. This should keep us busy.

I'm not versed in this art.

Strange the smell of burning has stayed so long.

Meriet, quick! Look!

Well, Brother? Does he tell you any tales?

A tall man, by the length of his bones.

And straight, without deformity.

Young, then?

So!

Shot before being roasted.

And he rode a horse.

Well, no sane man would use those for walking.

Brother Cadfael.

And this.

That's a dagger-strap. Too dainty for a sword.

A dagger to find then.

A loose fit now, Brother.

Another cross.

Tall. Young. A horseman.

And by this cross and ring, a priest.

Do you know of such a one missing hereabouts?

Why would he lead Oswin to the funeral pyre?

He was as shocked as anyone!

Ho, there! Over there!

After him!

This way!

Come on!

Here he is! Quick! Faster!

Easy, now!

A fine dagger for a piece of dung to carry!

And a sheath to match.

How did you come by it?

I did not steal it, my lord.

I'm an honest man, I swear.

How?

I found it, my lord.

Where?

In the forest, my lord.

The place they burn charcoal, where you found me.

There's blood on it.

I killed a chicken, my lord.

BOOT BEING PUT IN

Sergeant. Father Abbot gave me leave to tend him.

Well, I did not.

If you want sense out of him, feed and salve him.

He's no use to you dead.

He's no use alive, either.

You truly believe he has murdered?

Or do you just wish to tell Canon Eluard you have his mystery solved?

Leave me with him. I won't spirit him away.

What is your name?

Um?

What do men call you?

H-h-harald.

A king's name.

How long have you been living wild?

I never did violence, Brother.

Or stole anything but for food.

I found the dagger. I needed it for my hunting.

It seems to have done little good.

I never saw body and soul so loosely strung together.

Do you also lack skill with a longbow?

This is called hound's-tongue.

It's apt, I think, for this... what? Dog bite?

How did you come to such a life?

Are you a runaway?

From a master who sought my blood.

For what reason?

Do they need a reason?

Now, this man who is dead -

Not by my hand. You must believe it.

I do.

But did you see a man in the forest?

On a dark horse? In clothes to match his dagger?

Green velvet trimmed with gold? Did you see such a man?

I do not seek to trick you.

I know you did not kill.

I saw him, Brother. I saw him.

Nor must you seek to please me.

The truth, that's all I ask.

I saw him.

Riding north. On his dark horse, as you say.

With the rich, warm clothes on him!

Such a cloak!

Held by a great brooch.

Here.

A brooch?

Large, almost as a shield-boss.

And red as blood!

We found no brooch.

I have not stole it, Brother.

My bishop will be sorely grieved.

It is Clemence, my lord?

The smile is the same.

Cover him.

The riding shoe unique.

The jewellery also.

This ring was a gift from the Bishop of Winchester himself.

You hold a fellow for the crime, not so?

I do, sir.

I think Sergeant Warden has grave doubts as to the man's guilt.

And rightly so.

He's a poor wretch without a rag or a crust to his name.

Are we to believe he kills a man then leaves his jewels and clothes?

Builds a charcoal stack and burns him? I think not.

Nor does Sergeant Warden.

Indeed?

Sergeant, civil war breeds felons like a rotting cat breeds maggots.

Justice must be swift and sharp to reassure.

A churchman has been murdered.

I want it punished and a line drawn under it before I move from here.

Hang him.

Do you turn lead into gold here?

Mm? No, only rosehips into syrup. Can I help you?

A family visit. To see Meriet. But I'm told he's not at the abbey.

No. But he's well.

Isobel, I'm glad you're here.

Tell me.

Is Ashby true to the King?

Leoric, Tristan, Janyn, Meriet - all of you?

Leoric, certainly, for king is king.

His duty is to the name, simply.

And the rest? Why do you ask?

If Clemence wasn't killed for gain or hate,...

..the answer lies in his mission.

But a man is caught!

Oh yes, but not condemned.

Not yet.

There's no politics in Meriet.

Tristan and Janyn love to hunt, not skulk in corners plotting.

When the King calls, their swords will be his.

As would mine were I allowed.

There is one other thing.

A brooch, large as a shield-boss and red as blood. It was Clemence's.

Yes, I saw it. On his cloak?

When he rode from Ashby?

Yes.

I cannot find it anywhere.

Then surely it is stolen?

Not by the wild man, of that I am certain.

Then by whom?

Who knows?

But if by someone at Ashby,...

..you would be the one to find out.

At Ashby?

Brother Meriet? News as well as bread.

The wild man they caught in the forest.

They say he killed Peter Clemence, and is to hang for it.

What?

King Harald, they call him.

Meriet?

I must go to Brother Cadfael.

Ah, ah! Oswin!

Brother Meriet!

I killed Peter Clemence.

I shot him down in the forest not three miles from Ashby.

Tell Warden to let that poor wretch free.

I never thought when he was taken -

Easy, easy!

Why did you commit such a mortal sin?

Why?

Because he made free with my brother's bride, whom I too loved.

And your father? Does he know of this?

How else should I be here?

He gave me choice that was no choice.

To undergo this penance of the cloister,...

..or admit my guilt and go to shameful death.

Thus destroying our family name and ancient honour, and so him.

If this is true, you have great need to ease the burden of your guilt.

Receive a priest.

Meriet! Receive a priest, and confess! For your soul's comfort.

It is not enough to confess to me. You know that!

Seek absolution before this thing presses you down into hell.

Brother Jerome is your confessor. I shall fetch him.

I killed Clemence! I killed him!

He will not say the words! He will not confess!

Of course not.

He can lie to me, Oswin, the world, for a cause that seems good enough.

But he cannot lie to his confessor.

And so God.

He did not kill Peter Clemence.

Brother Meriet.

To accept banishment to the cloister may be deemed a sacrifice.

And virtuous, when it is to save family honour.

But you still have your life.

And if you killed, that life is forfeit.

And I accept that penalty.

No starving runaway must take my place.

After Clemence was killed, you hid the body.

In the trees above the track, deep in the shadows.

And frightened off the horse?

Then you burnt him on the charcoal stack?

I know how. The old charcoal-burner taught me as a child.

Brother. Can he be moved?

Not yet.

A snapped ankle is of little import when his neck will follow.

Isobel!

Aren't you dressing for the journey?

I have!

Oh!

You might make an effort for my wedding.

I'll see what is suitable.

# SOUNDS AND SWEET AIRS

You are welcome, sir.

Your gracious father.

Salvere iubeo. Dominus vobiscum, laudate Iesus.

A wedding is a joyful occasion.

You have my kinsman's bones.

# CHANTING

Forgive me for intruding.

You have had word from Sergeant Warden?

Meriet has confessed to the murder.

But I do not believe him guilty.

You do not believe?

Were you there?

I know what I heard and saw, Brother.

I never can forget it.

You came upon them, then?

Can we leave this place?

I went out with my hounds. A day's hunting.

And what do I run down? A brave stag? No.

My recently departed guest. My own kinsman, with an arrow in his chest.

And Meriet, bow and quiver on his shoulder, dragging him away,...

..calling out to the nearby horse as he went about his bloody business.

What time of day was this?

How do I know? It was the end of time for me.

Was it morning? Noon? Evening?

Evening, we were bound for home and supper.

Did Meriet say anything?

Not one word. What could he say?

Well, he says much now. Every deed is his.

He cannot bear the guilt. No more can I.

I don't understand. What guilt is yours?

If you did not kill Clemence?

You think that?!

I know Meriet did not. So I ask again, what guilt is yours?

Did you...

..burn...

..the corpse?

I shall miss you, Isobel.

And I you. Who shall advise me on what to wear?

But when I think of my fortune...

Tristan will make a handsome husband.

And there will be land, wealth, adventure -

Adventure? A chilly northern manor?

My brother Janyn says there will be excitement.

Newark is no ordinary place.

When I leave tomorrow I shall pity you.

And I shall pity the packhorse.

Will we have to attend Compline after supping with the abbot?

I suppose we shall.

I could never be a monk.

The day is so disrupted by this need to pray.

What do monks need to pray about? That is a mystery.

What hopes can they give voice to? What sins need they confess?

I had the horse led to the north, the way Clemence should have ridden.

Devil's own job to catch.

And the body I took secretly to the charcoal hearth.

I built a stack and fired it.

It was not well done, and against my conscience, but I did it.

And I did it not for Meriet, not for my own flesh and blood,...

..that's the real shame,...

..but to preserve that worthless thing called...

..honour!

Honour is not worthless.

You were protecting a family name, which alone has no worth at all.

I know, I know.

Then you must think clearly now.

Did Clemence leave your house that morning?

That is, not afternoon?

He broke his fast and left.

Yet you and Meriet say he was killed at evening.

Some six hours later.

Six hours? To ride three miles?

You do not find that strange?

I do not see its import.

You did not see Meriet kill.

You saw him move a man who might have died six hours before.

You assumed his guilt.

Why should he accept all if he had an answer?

Perhaps because the answer he had was too hard for you to bear.

Surely, for love!

I doubt he has had his proper fill of love all his life.

But those who hunger for it sometimes best deliver it.

I have loved him. But he's always been so troublesome, so contrary.

It's one way to get your notice!

When obedience and virtue go unregarded.

Let that be!

He resented Clemence, as he resents everything.

His simmering bile is a curse.

But he did not kill.

Then who did?

Who does he love most in the world?

Most admire and respect?

Who has shown him most kindness?

There are two sons at Ashby!

Not one, as you are apt to think.

Do you suggest that...

..Tristan murdered Clemence?!

You are gone mad!

Oh, I see!

Impossible for your darling, yet instantly believable of his brother?

In this world all men are fallible.

Anything is possible.

Meriet does nothing by halves.

His self-sacrifice is total, it consumes him like a fire.

And it preserves you all.

The brother he loves, from hanging.

Rosanna, the woman he loved, from widowhood.

And you, the father who loved him not, from heartbreak.

Oh...!

I must go to Sergeant Warden.

You must go to Father Abbot's supper, and say nothing.

And tomorrow, you must let Tristan wed in peace.

Because as you were mistaken, so too might Meriet have been.

Even now we do not know the truth.

Brother Cadfael!

Oh! Uncle, I'm sorry.

I've found it!

Isobel?

How goes it with you, Brother?

Why are you here?

I will ask the questions.

Why did you confess to murdering Clemence?

Because he insulted and provoked - Liar!

You could not murder! Least of all a cousin.

Open your eyes, Meriet.

See the truth of what you are saving.

And what you are throwing away.

Tell me, why is Newark no ordinary place?

Newark? Why?

Rosanna calls it so.

She has strange hopes of life there, raised by Janyn. Why Janyn?

Perhaps because our manor there is to be Tristan and Rosanna's home.

What else?

Brother?

It has a fine stout castle, often called the Key of the North.

Part of a chain from east to west,..

..with Lincoln, Nottingham... and Chester.

It is plain! A to and fro of weighty men and clerics.

It will suit Rosanna very well.

But why Tristan? And why Janyn?

A king who holds that chain...

..can rule secure.

# PLAINSONG

TINTINNABULATION OF BELLS

Your cloak, Rosanna. The cloisters are chilly.

One moment.

A rare and beautiful thing you have there.

Where did you get it?

A gift, sir, from a kinsman.

Strange.

For it is the same as the one my bishop gave his favourite clerk, Peter Clemence,...

..who is now dead.

Sir, it cannot be.

No, you are mistaken.

There is no other like it.

So they are made, to be unique, as your beauty is unique.

Will you step through?

Close the doors!

Who gave you this?

Meriet.

Meriet Ashby.

What?!

He kept following me round with his dog eyes.

I took his gift to be kind to him.

How could I know where he got it?

When did he give you this?

The day after Clemence left Ashby.

The day after he was killed.

He came to me and pressed me to take it.

Be careful, girl. This cannot be true.

Meriet was a prisoner in my house that day.

I had him under lock and key.

Who gave you this?

Was it Tristan?

No.

It was...

..it was my brother, Janyn.

Janyn, why such haste to leave? It is a breach of etiquette.

You'll have your guts breached, Brother.

One cleric is much like another.

Stop!

Aargh!

Enough!

Do not monks foreswear violence?

Well done, Oswin. Now get help.

You killed Peter Clemence.

But why?

I think his friends, the northern barons, were gathered at Chester.

Eh? Plotting against King Stephen?

Carving England up?

How could he let Clemence blunder in on that?

And you are all in this?

You? Tristan?

Rosanna?

The Earl of Chester promised much to those prepared to risk.

Better hang than stay lords of dunghills.

But murder?

Clemence was family!

Your family, Meriet.

Not mine.

I'll take him, Brother.

He said he went to delay him,...

..then came home and told us what he had done.

And he was all for leaving him...

..lying in the track like a dead fox.

But I lacked Janyn's steel.

Besides, Clemence was a kinsman.

He deserved a burial.

So out I went, and found him.

And then the nightmare.

Meriet upon me.

Blood was on my hands - he clearly thought from my deed.

Then Father's dogs crashing through behind us.

'Go!' cries Meriet.

'Go, get clear away from here. I will do what must be done.'

It is not just steel I lack, Brother.

But courage.

Honour.

Strength of heart.

I fled.

I fled.

But God sees all, is that not true?

As clearly as we may see inside ourselves.

Master Canon, what is to become of my husband and me?

Whose only true sin is to be led astray?

Well.

I am not moved by a lady's soft smile, Mistress Ashby.

You have known a murder, and kept silent.

You have plotted treason.

Those are your true sins.

But if there's treason in the north, at least now the king may act on it.

And he is sometimes a more forgiving man than I.

For that, and for your lives, I suggest you pray.

# CHANT

I said to Brother Cadfael that this murder was the end of time for me.

Now I hope it can be a new beginning.

I have misprized you, Meriet.

From the very day that you were born.

Forgive me.

The fault is not all yours, father.

No man could have a more irksome son.

Come home!

(BOTH SOB)

Sergeant.

I trust you have thanked the Brothers for their part in this.

My lord.

And will ensure King Harald is released.

My lord.

I thank you for that.

We will have our hanging after all.

And Janyn's neck will stretch far better.

I came to thank you, Brother.

For all you have done.

You've been more father to me than brother.

Thank you for the compliment.

If you had a son, he would be truly blest.

So should I.

You have spoken to your true father?

I have.

There is hope for both of us.

Off you go, then! Your vocation is elsewhere.

And yours is truly here?

Oh yes, it is. And not merely from atonement and weariness.

In middle life you too may stop and look inside yourself...

..and wonder 'What now?'

I was ripe for change. And I find it refreshing.

I'll be married then, with twelve children.

We'll see about the twelve.

God keep you, Brother Cadfael.

I hope he will!

I hope he will.

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