just claim the land? Instead of the prior?’
‘No, the land is held by the prior in the name of the priory. It has happened before that the escheator – that’s the king’s agent – has tried to claim the lands. He can do that if there is too much of a delay in the election of a new prior.’
‘But that’s so unfair,’ said Tom. ‘Who is the escheator, anyway?’
‘That’s one good thing – there isn’t one at the moment. Some people say that Roland’s father will be the next one. And, at the moment, he’s in England. But he is due back at any time. And whoever it is, and unfair or not, that’s what the escheator will do. It’s his job to try to get as much land as possible for the king. So the election for the new prior will be tomorrow morning.’
Brother Albert sighed. ‘And I can only hope that Brother Malcolm doesn’t win and become our prior!’
The meeting to elect the new prior was held in the chapter house, after lauds on Sunday. Kai went to the infirmary to be with Tom while the monks met to vote. The two of them sat in silence. They sometimes found it hard to talk to one another since the death of Jack. It was as if there was nothing left to say. Kai wondered if she could have nursed Jack better, and felt guilty because she had not been with him on hislast night. Tom wondered if his friend had caught the plague from him.
Brother Albert had tried to reassure them both, saying that there was nothing anyone could have done to save Jack and that the type of plague he had caught was not the same as the one Tom had suffered from. ‘And Kai,’ he had continued, ‘nobody could have worked harder or taken better care of Jack and Tom. And you know, you both gave him a very great gift. When he died, he knew that he was greatly loved.’
That’s all very well, thought Tom. But it didn’t stop them missing Jack. Looking at Kai’s tear-stained face, he decided he couldn’t stand sitting like this any longer.
‘Let’s sneak out and see if we can hear what’s happening,’ he said. ‘I can’t bear to stay here looking at Jack’s empty bed.’
‘But you are still sick and I’m supposed to look after you. And make sure you do stay resting,’ protested Kai.
Tom snorted. ‘I’m fine. I’ll feel sicker if I have to wait and hear that Brother Malcolm is the new prior. Imagine how much more obnoxious that would make his pet Roland! He’s bad enough as it is!’
They crept out of the infirmary and went to the chapter house. There, they lurked around outside. When they heard the cheer on the other side of the door, Tom put his ear up against it in an attempt to hear what was going on. As a result, he fell over when Brother Albert opened it abruptly. But Brother Albert just smiled.
‘Aha, I was just coming to tell you the news. Stephen of Derby is our new prior,’ he said. ‘And Kai, you are invited to share in the celebration breakfast he is giving in the refectory. Tom, you are going to go straight back to bed. Kai will bring you some sweet things from the table. Well, we can breathe again. It’s such a relief. The vote went for Stephen, eleven to two. And that included Malcolm voting for himself.’
‘Who else voted for Brother Malcolm?’ asked Kai. Brother Albert snorted. ‘Oh, Brother Nicholas, of course. But that was just because he has had arguments with Brother Stephen about how to decorate the cathedral. Brother Nicholas has terrible taste. Now, the ceremony to make Brother Stephen prior will be held next Sunday, and Kai, we will have to work hard. We must practise some new pieces for the choir for it.’
‘I’ll do it happily,’ said Kai, thinking of how awful it would have been if they had had to sing for the inauguration of Brother Malcolm. But then she remembered that Jack would not be singing with them. Suddenly the world went dark again.
Before there could be the celebrations for the new prior, there had to be a funeral for the old one. Jack and the prior
‘No, the land is held by the prior in the name of the priory. It has happened before that the escheator – that’s the king’s agent – has tried to claim the lands. He can do that if there is too much of a delay in the election of a new prior.’
‘But that’s so unfair,’ said Tom. ‘Who is the escheator, anyway?’
‘That’s one good thing – there isn’t one at the moment. Some people say that Roland’s father will be the next one. And, at the moment, he’s in England. But he is due back at any time. And whoever it is, and unfair or not, that’s what the escheator will do. It’s his job to try to get as much land as possible for the king. So the election for the new prior will be tomorrow morning.’
Brother Albert sighed. ‘And I can only hope that Brother Malcolm doesn’t win and become our prior!’
The meeting to elect the new prior was held in the chapter house, after lauds on Sunday. Kai went to the infirmary to be with Tom while the monks met to vote. The two of them sat in silence. They sometimes found it hard to talk to one another since the death of Jack. It was as if there was nothing left to say. Kai wondered if she could have nursed Jack better, and felt guilty because she had not been with him on hislast night. Tom wondered if his friend had caught the plague from him.
Brother Albert had tried to reassure them both, saying that there was nothing anyone could have done to save Jack and that the type of plague he had caught was not the same as the one Tom had suffered from. ‘And Kai,’ he had continued, ‘nobody could have worked harder or taken better care of Jack and Tom. And you know, you both gave him a very great gift. When he died, he knew that he was greatly loved.’
That’s all very well, thought Tom. But it didn’t stop them missing Jack. Looking at Kai’s tear-stained face, he decided he couldn’t stand sitting like this any longer.
‘Let’s sneak out and see if we can hear what’s happening,’ he said. ‘I can’t bear to stay here looking at Jack’s empty bed.’
‘But you are still sick and I’m supposed to look after you. And make sure you do stay resting,’ protested Kai.
Tom snorted. ‘I’m fine. I’ll feel sicker if I have to wait and hear that Brother Malcolm is the new prior. Imagine how much more obnoxious that would make his pet Roland! He’s bad enough as it is!’
They crept out of the infirmary and went to the chapter house. There, they lurked around outside. When they heard the cheer on the other side of the door, Tom put his ear up against it in an attempt to hear what was going on. As a result, he fell over when Brother Albert opened it abruptly. But Brother Albert just smiled.
‘Aha, I was just coming to tell you the news. Stephen of Derby is our new prior,’ he said. ‘And Kai, you are invited to share in the celebration breakfast he is giving in the refectory. Tom, you are going to go straight back to bed. Kai will bring you some sweet things from the table. Well, we can breathe again. It’s such a relief. The vote went for Stephen, eleven to two. And that included Malcolm voting for himself.’
‘Who else voted for Brother Malcolm?’ asked Kai. Brother Albert snorted. ‘Oh, Brother Nicholas, of course. But that was just because he has had arguments with Brother Stephen about how to decorate the cathedral. Brother Nicholas has terrible taste. Now, the ceremony to make Brother Stephen prior will be held next Sunday, and Kai, we will have to work hard. We must practise some new pieces for the choir for it.’
‘I’ll do it happily,’ said Kai, thinking of how awful it would have been if they had had to sing for the inauguration of Brother Malcolm. But then she remembered that Jack would not be singing with them. Suddenly the world went dark again.
Before there could be the celebrations for the new prior, there had to be a funeral for the old one. Jack and the prior
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