Aleric Donnal’s notebook
Aleric Donnal’s notebook
My dilemma is whether to share my discovery with Mr Fontescue.
As it turns out, he is the descendant of a murderer, and worse still, his ancestor allowed an innocent man, Simon Garnet, to go to the gallows in his place.
It was, I suppose, a crime of passion. He had an obsessive love for Garnet’s wife and lost all control when she rejected his advances, for he had long felt a passion for her and wished to make her his mistress.
As for Simon Garnet, our killer had good reason to want him out of the way, and blaming him for his wife’s death solved two problems – or killed two birds with one stone, as the popular saying goes.
I was delighted when I found the evidence I was looking for in the Fontescue archives.
Thomas’s full confession was in the muniment room, where I had found Anselm’s account, but it was hidden away in an ancient carved box pushed to the back of a dusty shelf.
I drew out the parchment with great care and my excitement reached fever pitch as I read.
I have Mr Fontescue’s permission to return tomorrow and copy the contents of the confession.
Copying such an important document is something that cannot be rushed.
And I wish to savour my discovery. I have solved an intriguing medieval murder mystery and experienced the satisfaction every detective must feel when a culprit is brought to justice.
I am concerned for one of my students, a bright lad with potential but a troubled soul, I think.
He sought me out after a tutorial to tell me that he shares my interest in animal imagery.
The trouble is, he seems most drawn to creatures said to have an evil nature.
There is something quite unhealthy about his fascination.
Obsessive rather than scholarly. And his intense nature reminds me of Thomas Fontescue.
But perhaps I am being uncharitable. Perhaps it is the impending end-of-term exams. I should advise him to seek help, but that sort of thing is out of my comfort zone, as I’ve heard people say.