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apprentice – especially
     now.’
    ‘Why especially now?’ asked Ailred, puzzled.
    Michael made no secret of his exasperation. ‘Because it is only three days before Christmas, when students traditionallyelect a Lord of Misrule to lead the festivities for the Twelve Days. Some of these might just as well be called “Lords of
     Incitement to Riot”, since they urge their fellow students to engage in all sorts of michief against the town. I do not want
     to give them an excuse to justify violent behaviour.’
    Ailred was disdainful. ‘I had forgotten that unseemly custom. We do not indulge in pagan traditions at Ovyng;
we
are friars!’
    Michael grimaced, knowing perfectly well that clerics were just as likely to misbehave as secular students, but he declined
     to argue. ‘Regardless, keep your accusations to yourself until we understand what really happened. For all we know, one of
     his classmates may be the killer.’
    ‘No!’ exclaimed Ailred, appalled.
    ‘My suggestion has as much evidence to support it as the solution you proposed,’ said Michael crisply. ‘So, I suggest we all
     refrain from jumping to conclusions before we have the facts. What can you tell me about Norbert?’
    Ailred cleared his throat and glanced at Tulyet, clearly unhappy with the whole situation.
    ‘It is all right, Father,’ said Tulyet wearily. ‘Norbert’s failings were no secret, and we all know what kind of man he was.
     However, giving him virtues he never possessed will help no one, so you may be honest.’
    ‘If you insist,’ said Ailred reluctantly. He turned to Michael and spread his large hands, as though in apology. ‘Norbert
     mocked our Order. He did not enjoy lessons, and he disrupted any he attended. He was lazy, disrespectful and selfish, and
     I do not think any of my students will claim him as a friend.’
    ‘Then why was he tolerated here?’ asked Bartholomew, who imagined that most masters would dismiss a student who was so badly
     behaved.
    Ailred hesitated again.
    ‘Money,’ supplied Tulyet dryly. ‘My father paid handsomely to have Norbert tutored here, and Ovyng is not a wealthy institution.’
     He turned to Michael. ‘I want Norbert’skiller caught, Brother. Since he was a student, his death is a University matter, and must be investigated by proctors rather
     than the Sheriff.’ Bartholomew was certain he heard Tulyet add ‘thank God’ in an undertone. Tulyet was obviously as unimpressed
     by his replacement as was the rest of the town.
    ‘I shall do my best,’ said Michael. ‘But this will not be an easy case to solve. Norbert was not popular, and I shall have
     to sift through all kinds of petty rivalries and dislikes in order to identify who took a fatal dislike to him.’
    ‘I know,’ said Tulyet tiredly. ‘But I will help you in any way I can, and so will Ailred and the Ovyng students. I take it
     I am right to promise this, Father?’
    ‘Of course,’ said Ailred with a sickly, anxious smile. ‘You can question them now, if you like, Brother. They are inside,
     waiting for lessons to begin.’
    Bartholomew glimpsed a shadow flicker inside the door when the students were mentioned, and saw they were still eavesdropping
     on the discussion. He wondered whether Norbert’s killer was among them.
    ‘Who first saw the dogs uncovering the body?’ asked Michael, who fully intended to interview Ailred’s students, but in his
     own time.
    ‘My assistant, Godric,’ replied Ailred. ‘We were returning from celebrating a mass when he spotted the dogs digging. When
     he went to drive them away, he saw they had unearthed a hand. He fetched a spade and we all watched while he completed what
     the mongrels had begun.’
    ‘Did you observe any particular reactions among your charges?’ asked Michael, without much hope. ‘Any guilty glances or unease?’
    ‘We were excavating a corpse, Brother,’ replied Ailred acidly. ‘Of course there was a degree of unease. We did not know whom