Richard Vowell squeezed wine into the ladies' cups then turned his attention to the pewter mugs preferred by the men. A scented candle burnt in the middle of the table. By rights it should have been on the altar in All Hallows but such niceties did not fuss Richard. This was a time for celebration. He discharged the last of the wineskin into his own mug and raised it in a toast.

'To Jonnie Baret!'

The company drank John's health then toasted Richard Rochell and the other trustees of the almshouse.

'They sort of got it right,' John Tucker said.

'They did bloody marvellously.' Thomas Draper put down his mug. 'They made Bradford look a right monkey. He called for the inquiry and landed himself in the shit.'

They were in Thomas' house. Since being named as dissidents, they were no longer welcome in the Julian and other hostelries. For the moment, they preferred to meet in private. Richard had a copy of the ordinance that the vicar had received from the sacrist. He pointed to where Bishop Neville listed his demands.

'The bish has told Billy Bradford to put up a screen to separate us from him and his boys. That will enable us to regain possession of the nave, which is what we've been trying to do for years.'

He ran his finger to another clause.

'Billy is similarly instructed to widen the doorway that was so despicably narrowed and return the font to where time-honoured tradition decreed it should be. He must also allow us to conduct the baptisms like we always have. That means we can march up and down and make as much noise as we like.'

'What about the new font?' one of the women asked.

'He's told us to get rid of it but we'll not do a sodding thing until Billy has done what's required of him.'

'But what about excommunication? We could get ourselves excommunicated if we don't do as we is told.'

'Love.' Richard patted her hand. 'It's not going to happen. We'll tell Robert Neville that we won't get rid of the new font until Billy puts the old one back. Neville's got himself over a barrel. He can't excommunicate the monks over something like this … and that means he can't excommunicate us.'

Richard got up from the company. Things were working out better than expected. He reached in his pouch and removed a letter from Sir William Gascoigne. The old man wanted him to keep a close eye on his older son, Harald, who was bringing a case against the Knowles family in the Dorchester assizes.




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