Original subtitles

BELL TOLLING

# Veni Sancte Spiritus

# Mentes tuorum visita

# Amen #

Despatched without trial or chance of absolution.

But Father Abbot, he was obviously a traitor to King Stephen.

While the civil war lasts, Father Ailnoth,

all men are traitors to one cause or another.

Cynrick!

Cynrick, the church has never looked so well!

These Michaelmas daisies look beautiful!

They're Father Adam's favourites from his garden.

I hope Father Ailnoth likes them when he arrives.

I want the church to look its best for the new priest.

Yes, of course.

You know his appointment here has to be formally approved?

But not by us.

I came as I've still got some of that wine Father Adam used to enjoy.

I thought you might like to share a cup and we'll drink to him.

Well, I...

It's been distilled with herbs.

It's good for the blood.

Thank you, Brother. I should like that.

Eleanor?

I'm sure Father Adam wouldn't want you to cry for him.

I know, Brother...

but I needed to speak to him.

What's happened now?

He was the only one I could talk to.

Now there's no-one left.

You can always talk to me, if you want.

Oh, no!

Don't tell her I'm here.

Eleanor?

Who's there?

Why, it's me, Catherine.

Brother Cadfael, have you seen my sister? Cynrick said she was here.

(SIGHS) Well, yes, she is here, Catherine.

Why can't you leave me alone?!

Do you have to follow me everywhere?

What's the matter?

Eleanor! What on earth is the matter today?

Nothing, Brother. We're fine. You don't seem fine to me.

Cynrick says the Abbot is bringing us back a new priest today.

It is not Father Abbot who is bringing him, Catherine.

It is God.

BARKING

Down there!

What is that? Who can be hunting on Abbey lands?

This forest and all the game within its bounds

belong to the Abbey of Shrewsbury.

How dare you hunt here without my permission?

Aaaargh! No! Aaaargh!

Aaargh! Aaaaargh!

And who might you be?

You will answer for this murder on Church lands!

He is a traitor to King Stephen.

The Church would do well to remember where its loyalty lies.

I am Radulfus, Abbot of Shrewsbury. You would do well to remember

that King Stephen was not king last month and may not be king tomorrow!

Lord Cassale, I can assure you of the Church's loyalty.

I meant no offence, Father Ailnoth.

Offence!

You know this... Father Abbot!

Lord Cassale is a loyal subject of the rightful king.

He has his duty, as we have.

This traitor had an accomplice. Have you seen anyone?

No, Lord Cassale, no-one. You will be damned for this!

A good day to you, too, Father Abbot (!)

My Lord, I saw a man, a few minutes ago, or less.

And who's this? My manservant.

He ran across the path behind us, heading that way.

Since you're so eager to help, boy,

you can take the poor wretch back for Christian burial.

'Last night, I returned from Westminster with a new priest.

'At the Legatine Council, it was determined that in the civil war,

the Church should change allegiance to King Stephen once more.'

'Followers of Empress Maud are proclaimed outlaws.'

At the Council I spoke with Bishop Henry of Winchester himself,

who...erm...

did us the honour of recommending a priest of his own following,

Father Ailnoth.

I am...

I am satisfied that he is suitable and deserving.

But he is ready to give account of himself to you.

I have several questions.

Father Ailnoth knows the scriptures better than Brother Jerome.

The trowel! You left the trowel in the fire!

Brother Cadfael, Brother Oswin,

this is William, Father Ailnoth's manservant.

Father Ailnoth has asked the Abbot if there is any extra work for him,

after his duties in the house and the church.

Well, er...

Do you think you could manage to leave a trowel in a fire?

Oswin, that leaves you free. You can restock the medicines in St Giles -

I know you've been... Brother!

Come quick, Brother! It's Alfred!

The tree just slipped back on his leg.

Well, he's very lucky.

It could have been much worse!

Now lie still.

Father Ailnoth, it's good of you to come.

These wounds aren't that serious.

I'm glad to hear it, Brother,

but I did not know anyone was hurt.

I came out to survey my fields.

Your fields?

This land belongs to my church, does it not? I think it does.

Yes, but Father Adam's let us work it for years. Indeed.

It was nothing but woods and weeds when we came here.

And we've just finished ploughing! The Lord will reward your diligence.

Father Adam said we could work this land for as long as we wanted.

I cannot be held to any verbal agreement

you may have had with Father Adam. What do you mean, "may have had"?

I mean, I think...

what I say.

We need the wheat from these fields, Father, or we'll starve!

What about our children?

You shouldn't have had so many if you can't feed them.

Am I to pay for your intemperate carnal feasting?

Surely some small compromise could be reached...

It is my right to work these fields, is it not? I think it is.

But in the circumstances... What circumstances?

I don't recall asking your opinion!

Please, Father, please - I beg you!

Don't beg of a Norman, Alfred.

You Saxon filth.

Traitors all to King Stephen! Ralf!

Enough.

Father Ailnoth was within his rights.

It's church land to use as he will.

It's not about rights.

What about Christian charity?

Father Adam was far too... far too lax on offenders.

Alfred had not offended.

Who spares the sinner condones the sin.

What if they starve this winter?

Better to learn their mistakes now

than risk their souls in the hereafter.

I note your concern.

But the fact that Father Ailnoth is known at King Stephen's court

makes this somewhat delicate, politically.

You must speak to him, Father.

Father Adam was with us forty years.

We must give Father Ailnoth a chance to settle in.

We've seen how he's settling in (!)

Enough! When you are Abbot you may make the decisions,

but until then, you will do as I say.

Brother.

You said I could talk to you.

Eleanor, it is very late.

I know.

I'm sorry.

But... Can't it wait until tomorrow?

Please, Brother.

I can't bear it.

Is it Catherine?

I want you to hear my confession, Brother.

Eleanor, I'm not allowed to hear confessions.

What? I'm a monk, not a priest!

Only priests can hear confessions. Church law is strict on that.

But we can talk if you want.

I don't want to talk! I can talk to any fool in the Foregate.

I want to confess so I can be absolved.

Well, then, I'm sorry! Brother! This is serious.

Yes, it always is!

(SIGHS)

All I'm saying is if you want absolution,

you must go and find a priest.

Father Adam's dead.

Father Ailnoth is your priest now. But I don't like him! He scares me.

You can't just pick and choose your holy confessor like a loaf of bread!

And I wouldn't be your best advocate.

Why not just give me confession? What difference does it make?

You cannot just confess to anyone that suits you

and then expect everything to be as it was!

You must repent your sin with all your heart to the proper authority.

Otherwise, it's meaningless.

You might as well demand absolution from a tree!

I expect it's another silly fuss about nothing anyway.

I'm sorry.

Eleanor.

Eleanor!

(PRAYS IN LATIN)

Hey, you boys! What are you doing still there?

'For a virtuous woman is as a crown to her husband...

..but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.'

Her feet go down to death...

..and her steps take hold on hell...

where the screams of the undead

shall pierce the sinner like a sword!

Where the lamentations of the damned are without end...

for their black hearts are ripped asunder and cast into the pit...

of everlasting fire!

God...

is not...

mocked.

TOLLING BELL

A cheerful sermon, Brother (!)

Father Ailnoth, forgive me, I sent a young girl to you last night.

What of it?

I ask because she's usually here in church with her sister,

but today - Brother Cadfael!

I won't tolerate this endless meddling in my parish affairs!

If you persist, I shall have to take it up with Father Abbot.

Who is...she, Brother?

Oh, her name is Mary.

And that's her father?

No, both her parents are dead.

Her father in Stephen's dungeons, her mother from grief soon after.

That is Lord Giffard, her guardian.

Didn't he also fight for Maud?

Yes, but then he swore an oath of allegiance to King Stephen.

To save his lands from confiscation.

You seem to have more education than I suspected, William.

Oh, no, Brother.

Have you been long with Father Ailnoth?

No, I took up with him just a few days ago,

but...it seems longer!

I'm sure. But before that?

I worked for a noble lord but he was killed in the war.

On which side?

I don't know much about politics.

You don't know hard work either, from your hands.

What sort of work did you do for this noble lord?

I worked in the stables.

Oh! Did you now?

Boy! I must go now.

Before you go, last night, in the church,

did you see the girl, Eleanor?

This message is for you. Empress Maud's sent a spy to rally support.

He is known here as William, the priest's servant.

The priest is King Stephen's man.

He has nerve, clearly.

He needs help and asks you to meet him tonight at the old mill.

Burn it.

Burn it!

It's treason!

It is not treason to wish to fight for the true queen of England.

Mary. Haven't I suffered enough? I could lose everything.

Some of us already have. I know, Mary, I know.

I promised your father. But it's our duty to help him.

I'd do anything to get this foul pretender off the throne.

But we must pick our time. It may be a trap!

What would my father have done? Something brave - and clever.

Sometimes I can hardly remember him any more.

ALL: Ailnoth! Ailnoth! To the Abbey!

Ailnoth! Ailnoth!

There he is! Stay where you are!

Go back! Stand back!

Go back to your homes!

What is happening? What is this?

Unhand him!

He is a priest!

Back! Get back!

Who will give me an explanation?

We found her in the millpond.

She was a whore. She was with child out of wedlock.

With child?

She killed herself for shame

because he turned her out the church when she went to confess.

She was a whore. She was no whore!

A drab!

A trull!

She dared not name her impregnator.

To have given absolution to such a jade would have been a sin.

I sent her to you to confess!

You filled her head with wild distempers and false promises!

I did no such thing! She repented!

The letter of divine law admits no compromise!

(SOBS)

Whether the doxy killed herself or not...

..I would do again what I did,

and God will be my judge, not you!

Nor this dung-stained rabble!

ANGRY MURMURING

Look what you've done to us. You brought him here!

I promise we will look into this matter.

Now go home, at once. Go home!

Catherine, is it true?

Was she pregnant?

Whose are these finger marks?!

We must get this harlot off Abbey grounds.

This needs calm judgment, Brother Prior.

Father Abbot!

Suicide's a mortal sin. She may not enter the Abbey or be buried here.

Let her be taken to the mortuary. That is out of the question!

But there are signs of violence on her!

We can't be sure she killed herself.

Have her brought inside.

Catherine, I'm so sorry.

I didn't know.

(SIGHS) I didn't know.

She's been dead about two days.

She died the night she saw you?

Certainly not later. And there is water in her lungs.

So...she drowned. No, she did not just drown!

Look at these marks. Someone held her arms tightly so she couldn't escape.

And thrown her into the water?

Or held her down, under it.

There are many possible causes of such marks.

But they were not there when she came to me.

Nevertheless - She then went to see Father Ailnoth.

After that, no-one saw her alive.

You're surely not suggesting... I'm suggesting these are the facts.

We must hear what Father Ailnoth has to say.

What plague have we brought upon the town?

If she took her own life, she is damned,

and must be buried in unconsecrated ground.

But if she was murdered,

she may have Christian burial and have peace.

Brother Cadfael,

her immortal soul is at stake.

You must find the truth.

You knew her well?

All her life.

She was no whore. She was a child,

vain, trusting and generous.

And when she needed me...

..I sent her away.

Is that why you don't want to believe she killed herself?

My Lord.

Who found him? The miller found him this morning.

Where's the miller?

Somebody fetch a ladder!

Stop it! Stop the wheel!

Stand back!

Father Ailnoth.

I beg your pardon, my lady, but Brother Cadfael is out.

I know he is.

You needn't play the oaf for me, William.

I saw your note to my guardian.

I take it you know Father Ailnoth is clogging up the millwheel?

Are you asking me if I killed him? I don't care if you did.

I suppose that sounds callous. No.

Cadfael told me what happened to your father.

Did my guardian come to meet you last night?

Then you'll need this.

My name's Mary.

Thank you, Mary.

Yes, he also drowned.

Thank heaven it was nothing more sinister.

No, I didn't say that, Father Abbot.

His chin is cut and he suffered a severe blow to his head

before going into the water.

Not enough to kill him perhaps, but enough to leave him helpless.

Murder.

I am most anxious that this affair is settled

before the Bishop or King Stephen learn

how warm a welcome their protege received in our town.

Until then, Brother, you will put aside all other considerations.

I passed by the church to see if Ailnoth's manservant had returned.

Yes. I want to speak to him as well.

This is where Eleanor was found,

and Father Ailnoth over there.

He could have been killed anywhere upstream

and floated down on the current.

Yes. We'll have to search the river bank upstream.

His staff and his cap are still missing. They may tell us something.

But I think Eleanor was killed right here.

Why? I found this.

I think it's hers.

Proves nothing, Cadfael.

I don't think she was killed.

For heaven's sake, everybody liked her, she had no enemies.

People aren't always killed by their enemies.

If we find what happened to Eleanor, we'll find what happened to Ailnoth.

If you want to waste your time on an obvious suicide.

Yes, it is hers. I have one just like it.

Perhaps it was torn off as she struggled with someone.

Then wouldn't the string be broken?

But then why would she just cast it off herself?

Perhaps at the end,

she treated the Church as it had treated her.

Those marks on her arms were made by a man.

Who could that have been?

Did she say nothing when she came to you?

I am afraid I didn't give her much of a chance.

She took her own life, even if we wish to believe otherwise.

She must have told you who fathered her child.

Ailnoth drove her to her death. Everyone knows that.

What does the father matter?

Because if this man loved her, he had reason to kill Ailnoth.

But if he did not love her, he may have had cause to kill her.

How would I know? She was a whore. We all heard the priest.

But we know she wasn't. A drab and a trull. We all heard.

Catherine!

She was ashamed. She would not say who it was.

Why didn't you just tell me that straightaway?

That day, in the cemetery, what was the matter between you?

It was nothing. We always fought.

Catherine, your sister's soul is at risk!

If she was murdered, she's innocent and may have Christian burial.

You know that's important. I can't understand why you won't help me!

Well, you'd know about that, Brother.

It wasn't me she ran to, it was you. You sent her to the devil!

And now she's dead and can't even be buried!

Where've you been?

I said, where have you been?!

They say the King's priest was murdered last night.

Do they?

Do they say who did it?

Well...

I shall have to tell them.

You went out last night, late.

Who says I did?

There's only one way to make sure we come safely out of this.

My name is Hugh Beringar. Ah! The Under Sheriff.

No-one carries arms without my permission.

I have a warrant to hunt down the King's enemies.

And bring them back for trial.

We're still looking for their leader, a nobleman

Edmund de Balliol.

He may be in this area.

My sergeant will take the details.

I applaud your diligence, Under Sheriff.

Tell me, Under Sheriff,

where can I find Father Ailnoth?

In the mortuary chapel. He died last night.

How, precisely, did he die last night?

We're still trying to find out.

Perhaps you'll try harder if we're here.

We will deal with this ourselves.

My Lord, Lord Giffard's in the castle. He says it's urgent.

Edmund.

What happened to your arm?

I slipped on some stairs.

Or you tripped over one of your lies.

No! You're safe enough for now.

Whatever the Church may find it politic to say, I prefer neutrality.

Well, you certainly fooled Ailnoth.

Did you kill him as well?

I think I should go.

No, I don't think that you did, but I'd like to hear you say it.

Quick!

Giffard and Beringar are coming for you.

If you're looking for Edmund, he's gone.

Well, how long ago? Not long.

Organise a search. He must be in the forest.

Why didn't you tell us before?

Because I thought it was a trap,

to test my loyalty to King Stephen,

to see if I'd help a spy of Maud's.

But when I heard that the priest had been killed, obviously it was him.

Why else would he run away?

Why should he kill Father Ailnoth?

He was his protector. He didn't know he was sheltering a spy.

But he did. I told him myself.

Look, the spy sent me a letter telling me who he was...

..and asking me to meet him at the old mill.

I was appalled at how cruelly deceived Father Ailnoth was,

he being the King's man.

So I went to the church

and I told Father Ailnoth what had happened.

He charged down to the old mill to confront him,

the spy.

We all know what came of that.

What did you do then? I went home.

I'd done my duty.

Sergeant, take Lord Giffard back.

And get every spare man after Edmund.

Do you believe Giffard?

Cadfael?

Eleanor was found at the old mill.

'The stories are beginning to converge.'

Cynrick, is that you?

Brother!

I often come out here, just to find a little peace.

Oh, do you find it here ?

I came to see you today.

The church seems very sad without Father Adam's flowers.

Father Ailnoth didn't like them.

Were you there when Eleanor came to confess to Ailnoth?

He didn't like me to stay after my work. Sorry, I can't help you.

Nor can anyone else, it seems. I've spoken to all the Foregate.

No-one seems to know who got Eleanor pregnant.

No-one can think who might have wanted to kill her.

And no-one saw her after she left Ailnoth. No-one saw anything.

They all saw one thing.

The Abbot's new priest dishonouring the memory of Father Adam.

You cannot blame Father Abbot. He did nothing!

All that evil needs to flourish is for good men to do nothing.

That's what the Church says, isn't it? Good night, Brother.

You'll be safer here than on the run. The forest's full of soldiers.

Whose is it? It's my guardian's.

At least if I get caught here, he'll get the blame.

Don't be too hard on him.

He knew they'd suspect him.

He had to blame you. You can always run away.

He didn't know you were going to warn me.

He's been very good to me. He was my father's best friend.

Well, your father was a great man.

You knew him?

My father did, and liked him.

Of course. They must have fought together.

Yes. They fought and died for Empress Maud.

Do you have any family left?

None.

I'm sorry. No.

I have to get back.

I forgot to thank you for saving my life.

You'll only go and lose it somewhere else, I suppose.

Just where have you been all this time?

I got lost in the forest.

Mary, I think you're lying.

You lied to me.

How could you betray Edmund like that? He never hurt you.

He was fighting for the cause you're supposed to believe in!

You warned him...

didn't you?

Why shouldn't I?

You went behind my back.

Look at you, with your clothes all filthy!

There you are! Rolling in the hay!

Get off me! You whore!

Brother.

I'm sorry for what I said to you this morning. It was wrong.

No, I'm afraid it was not wrong.

Then it was cruel. I regret it.

How did you know it was me here?

You always smell of herbs.

She looks very peaceful.

And beautiful?

Everyone always said she was beautiful.

I used to envy her,

but it was a cruel gift.

She lived in her dreams.

Is that reason enough to drown yourself?

I can't believe that.

I can't just...abandon her soul.

It's not for her soul you're doing this, it's for yours.

Yes, perhaps you're right, but I can't give up now.

Not till I find the man who fathered her child.

He did not kill her. He'd have given his life for her.

You know who he is, don't you?

You must tell me!

I will take you to him.

Here! I can smell it. What?

We are in the clearing?

Yes. What are we doing here?

A stench. Can't you see?

See what? I can't see anything. It's so dark!

It's here. You must see it.

I see it.

He is the father of Eleanor's child.

Catherine tells me her sister's lover has been dead a month!

So he could not have killed Father Ailnoth, or Eleanor.

Can we be sure she's telling the truth?

Well, she's never lied to me,

but I confess this affair is complex.

It's not complex for those not personally involved.

Ailnoth's manservant murdered him. The girl took her own life.

No-one witnessed her death.

No-one knows what was in her mind or who was with her!

Come, come, Brother!

There's no explanation for the marks on her arms.

This is wishful thinking from a guilty conscience.

Brother Prior, we can no longer delay a decision.

Let her be buried quietly after Father Ailnoth's funeral tomorrow.

Yes, but where, Father Abbot?

In unconsecrated ground, Brother, with the other lost souls.

In the meantime, return to the task I set you.

Solve the priest's murder,

before Lord Cassale does.

Can you reach the cap?

Yes?

Thank you.

It seems this is where Ailnoth went in.

His cap was caught on a nail,

and his scarf poking up through the water.

My dog could have found those.

What in God's name have you been doing?

We couldn't see them! The river was too high.

In the last day the level has dropped, leaving them in plain view.

The water has washed them clean.

Now we have an idea of where he died,

we can search the area more thoroughly,

on both sides of the river.

Cadfael!

Footprints!

Oh, yes! Those of a man!

Heavy, perhaps, who stood here long enough to sink into the mud.

Ah, but when?

If it was that night, it could be the murderer waiting for Ailnoth.

Then it must be Edmund.

Who is conveniently missing.

There is nothing convenient in this.

And he was not the only traitor in Shrewsbury.

You can't hang everyone, assuming one might be guilty.

I was simply saying we should question certain suspects

with a little more vigour.

Ralf and Alfred are no longer suspects.

Good fields, Alfred.

Fertile. My Lord?

And where's your cousin?

Ralf? He's gone to Uffington for the day.

Uffington? By God, these peasants know how to live!

Well, never mind. You'll do.

Mary, I must speak with Edmund.

As Ailnoth's manservant, he may be the only witness as to what happened in the church the night Eleanor died.

I must find out what happened!

If you know where he is, please help me. I won't give him away.

How should I know where he is?

Well, he ran off with you!

He just ran away into the forest.

Yes, that's what everyone would expect him to do.

It would have been far safer to hide here.

I'm sorry, I can't help you.

(SIGHS)

(GROANS)

Aaargh, come on!

(GROANS MORE LOUDLY)

(LAUGHS) Come on!

I like a nice fire.

Tell me about Father Ailnoth.

I've done nothing, my Lord.

I beg you, believe me.

Aaargh! No.

You killed Father Ailnoth to get back on church fields.

I didn't, my Lord.

I swear.

Perhaps you didn't. Perhaps it was Ralf.

No, my Lord. He was with me.

Yes.

What are friends for (?)

Put the pokers in.

Edmund! It's me, Mary.

You can't stay here any more.

Cassale's men are all over the forest. I'm scared they'll find you.

Yes, I have to rejoin Maud's army,

but there's only one thing I've really been waiting for,

and that's you. Me?

I want you to come with me.

Marry me as soon as we're safe over the border in Wales.

Well, there it is.

And I'm not even asking you for a dowry!

(GIGGLES)

I want you to come with me because you want to.

Do you love me?

Yes, I do. How do I know that?

If you don't come with me, you'll never know.

You'll spend your life wondering

what would have happened if you had taken this chance.

I don't know.

You're asking me to leave my home, everything I've known,

to follow someone to war. I can't.

I can't.

There's something I have to tell you.

I didn't make the connection before, but now I have.

It's about your guardian.

No, my Lord!

I beg you!

Tell me how Father Ailnoth died.

Please!

Please, my Lord. I didn't kill him.

It was Ralf!

He went out after the priest.

It was Ralf.

Cadfael.

Are you alone? Yes.

You followed Mary, I suppose. Yes.

You're a very unusual monk.

And you're a very unusual manservant.

What do you want from me?

What do you care about Ailnoth? Oh, I care about the truth.

I hope you can tell me what happened between Eleanor and Ailnoth.

Were you at the church? Yes.

Well then, tell me what happened.

Please, Edmund!

Well, why not?

She wanted Ailnoth to hear her confession,

but he was angry about Cynrick's flowers.

'He said they had no place in his church and told me to destroy them.

'When the girl arrived, she interrupted his devotions.

She forced him to speak to her. He could not avoid it.

She was pleading with him, begging for absolution.'

It's my fault! 'She was hysterical.'

Retro Satanis, spawn of Nicodemus! He said you would absolve me.

'Did they fight? Did he grab her arm?'

'No, he never touched her.'

'Did you see anyone else that night?'

'Only old Cynrick, sulking about his flowers.'

What happened when Ailnoth arrived at the old mill?

I suppose Giffard's told everyone I killed him.

Whereas you are quite innocent?

Oh, no, it was me.

Why should I deny it? Tomorrow I'll be in Wales.

But how can you be so calm, Edmund?

It's a terrible sin!

You may escape Beringar and Cassale but...

you killed a priest.

No.

I killed a political zealot who attacked me without warning.

He would have handed me over for torture and death

without troubling his conscience.

No, it was an act of self-defence. I shall answer for it before God.

'When I went to meet Giffard, Ailnoth was there, waiting.

He had found out my allegiance was with Maud.'

Who's there? Judas!

'He went for me with his staff like a demon.'

Saxon filth!

'The struggle was so fierce I was sure the old bridge would collapse.

And then it happened.

I struck him. The plank snapped.

He was skewered on the timbers.

God knows I didn't mean to kill him.

He was like a man possessed.

You seem disappointed.

I had hoped the mystery of Ailnoth's death

would lead me to Eleanor's.

But now it appears there is no link.

Anyway, your feet are too small.

For what? Oh, for some footprints I found.

Why did you throw him into the water?

Who? Ailnoth!

I didn't throw Ailnoth anywhere.

I left him stone dead on the bridge!

How did you know he was dead?

Well, he must have been.

Edmund, Ailnoth drowned.

Not when I was there.

In a moment, Ralf, my two horsemen are going to tear you in two.

In the name of Father Ailnoth of Holy Cross...

..by the powers vested in me, I sentence you to death.

Stop!

It's as well for you he's still alive.

He murdered the priest.

His cousin admitted everything.

Take him to the dungeon.

We can hang him as well tomorrow.

I'm warning you, Ralf...

we want the truth.

After we took Eleanor's body to the Abbey,

I kept thinking what he'd done to us,

the priest.

God help me, I said to myself, "This is enough" and went after him.

When I got to the church, I heard these voices.

It's the Lord Giffard telling the priest his manservant's a spy.

I just felt you ought to know.

'The priest said he'd go to the mill to confront the boy himself.'

I shall meet him there. By God, I shall!

Then it came to me. I knew I could get rid of Ailnoth,

out there in the dark, in the middle of nowhere.

The spy would get the blame.

So, I ran to the old mill, hid in the trees and waited for Ailnoth.

'Then I saw him.' 'Who? Ailnoth?'

'No, someone else was already out there.'

'On the far bank?'

Just standing! Our footprints.

And what did he look like, this man?

It was too dark to see.

So, I'm in the trees when Ailnoth comes storming past. I let him pass.

'I couldn't do nothing with someone watching like that.'

Then his servant comes.

'I thought I'd have him to myself but by now it's like market day.'

So, I go back to Alfred's and tell him to shut up.

I didn't want to get mixed up in their quarrel.

God knows I would have killed the priest.

I meant to...but I didn't.

Why did Alfred say it was you?

He knew what I went out to do. Next thing - the priest's dead.

What would you think, my Lord?

On my life, Brother,

I'm telling you the truth.

I was wrong to grab him like that.

I admit that now. It was precipitate - thoughtless.

Thoughtless? Yes.

The King would not forgive me for pulling him apart like that.

He'd have him brought to London for a trial and a fancy hanging -

not bad for a peasant from Shrewsbury.

You'll not take him anywhere. It was Edmund.

Who's of course not here to be punished.

Is that Ralf's fault? That doesn't matter.

This is a crime against King Stephen.

It must be seen to be avenged.

That's the point, isn't it, Lord Cassale?

At least we begin to understand what happened here, if not why.

Edmund left Ailnoth for dead but he did not kill him.

How do we understand that?

Well, if by some chance,

I'd spoken to a traitor like Edmund last night...

You wouldn't wish to know about that? No.

So Edmund and Ailnoth fight on the bridge while Ralf slips off home.

Edmund knocks Ailnoth senseless,

then he too runs away, leaving Ailnoth here, alone and helpless,

with a man standing there -

the man who drowned him.

And why would he drown Ailnoth?

We must assume he hated him enough to commit murder.

We know who hated him enough for that.

Ralf, Alfred, Giffard and Edmund.

And you've exonerated all of them. Who does that leave?

It leaves the man who loved Eleanor.

The man who lost her.

The man who lost her has been dead a month.

His skull is in the forest.

You're refusing to see the truth.

Eleanor drowned herself

because Ailnoth refused to give her absolution.

Forget her.

Yes.

What you're saying is true.

The poor girl did take her own life.

I've been blinded by my need to believe that she didn't.

I've been deceiving myself.

But I've also allowed myself to be deceived.

When Eleanor died in this place,

she left behind a man who lost

not only his lover, but his unborn child.

Grief brought him here.

And fate brought Ailnoth to him.

So this is where he took his revenge

Cadfael, the man's dead.

Oh, yes. As Lord Cassale would say, "How convenient."

There's yet another who suffers by Eleanor's loss.

Someone who has misled me.

You've been lying to me, Catherine, and now Ralf will hang.

I cannot help Ralf. You can, but you won't.

You know more about Eleanor's death than you're telling.

Her death is the key to Father Ailnoth's.

She killed herself, I tell you. Yes, perhaps she did.

Perhaps I've looked for a murder where there was none.

But questions remain unanswered. Let me out.

Who made those finger marks on her arms? I don't know.

Who fathered her child? He is dead, I showed you.

No, you showed me an old skull.

I trusted you and didn't ask obvious questions!

When Eleanor got pregnant why were you so angry?

I wasn't. That's a lie.

You were in love with the father. You still are.

No. Why else protect him?

I'm not protecting him.

Another lie. It was him out by the old mill.

He drowned Ailnoth like a puppy! Stop it!

Whose life is worth more than Ralf's? Leave me alone.

She took him away from you. No.

Your beautiful sister stole him and left you with nothing.

He abandoned you. Is he worth Ralf's life?

He never wanted me.

She was so beautiful.

Everyone loved her.

Who would look at me?

She used to laugh and tell me he was ugly.

But I loved the sound of his voice and his kindness.

And he killed Father Ailnoth.

I know it now.

You would never lie for a man who murdered your sister.

But you would lie for a man who killed Father Ailnoth.

If hell is as bad as Ailnoth said, then I hope he is in it.

What are you doing? Where are you going?

My father's cape. It's the only thing of his I have.

Still, he didn't die for nothing.

At least he saved you money.

What? You begged for your life from King Stephen

and sold my father in return for your title and lands.

And I never even wondered why they let you out of prison.

No. All I had to do was swear an oath of allegiance.

I told you.

I told you! Who told you other?

Don't lie to her.

My father knew you...

..admired you, even.

He told me all about you, and about your betrayal!

I just didn't recognise you at first.

You seem so much older.

We'll be in Wales tomorrow.

Father Ailnoth knew better than anyone...

the letter of divine law.

But behind the letter of the law lies something just as great,

the spirit of the law.

When these two move in conflict...

only one thing can resolve it...

human compassion.

I just found one of your flowers.

You couldn't have declared your love for Eleanor more clearly

if you had shouted it from the castle.

Brother?

There are clear footprints by the old mill.

No doubt they'll fit you exactly.

Tell me, Cynrick.

It will help.

I didn't kill her, Brother.

I would have drowned myself a thousand times in her place!

Fool that I was.

But...the finger marks?

When Ailnoth threw her out, she was hysterical.

I tried to calm her. I held on to her so hard.

She wouldn't listen.

She ran off...

..and found her own way.

She didn't love me, Brother.

She took pity, once.

That was all.

And then...

when she came with child, I thought she'd marry me.

I was so happy. It was like a gift from God!

But no.

She couldn't marry me.

She would never have made a verger's wife.

Don't be too hard on yourself, Brother.

Save your blame for the priest who sent her to her death.

But you will have to answer for his death, Cynrick.

You drowned him.

No, Brother, it wasn't me.

The hand that drowned Father Ailnoth is far beyond our laws.

It was a judgment.

But they'll hang me for it all the same.

But it was you, down by the old mill?

Yes.

'Father Ailnoth arrived alone,

and in his wisdom and mercy,

lay in wait for his manservant.

And as I watched,

Ailnoth attacked him with such violence.

He was unrelenting in his attack.

But the Lord did not favour the priest.'

But what happened then?

Go on, Cynrick.

In the struggle, the priest had fallen through the rotten planks.

The manservant fled.

The priest was left wedged between the rotten timbers on the bridge.'

(CHOKING) Cynrick!

Help me!

He made no sound. I knew he must be dead.

A blow from his own staff had silenced him.

Cynrick! Help me!

For the love of God. Cynrick!

I went to the bridge,

but before I reached him he slipped into the stream.

Cynrick!

Aaargh!

Help me...

(WEAKLY) Help me. Help...

There was nothing I could do.

He was swept away on the river and lost.

Then it is Edmund who must answer for murder.

Why have we not heard this before?

This fool should have come forward.

Be grateful that he has.

Cynrick has been a loyal, God-fearing servant of the Church.

Had you been less savage in pursuit, he'd have spoken sooner.

I must take a share in the blame.

I too was convinced there was another hand in Ailnoth's death.

We should detain you no longer, Lord Cassale.

Be assured of our continuing loyalty to King Stephen.

Sergeant, Cynrick is free to go.

Two tragic deaths but no murder.

Yes, Father, but that's of little comfort

to those who must bury Eleanor without Christian blessing.

I see your pain, Brother Cadfael.

But could you have prevented the child's conception,

or the tragedy that followed?

Could you have made Ailnoth less of an implacable spirit? No.

Nor could you have given the girl the absolution she craved.

Better to ask, can anything be done to heal the wounds?

I'm glad you came.

To Father Adam.

I wanted to thank you, Brother, for keeping quiet.

What you did... Truth and justice don't always mix.

Shrewsbury's seen enough death. I pray that God understands.

God understands everything.

And I think he'd agree, you've been punished enough.

But there is something you can do in return.

You have been a fool.

Pining for a ghost when Catherine needs you and loves you

more than you deserve.

Catherine? She would never have me.

Why not? Because I don't deserve her...

..or anyone.

You are a fool, Cynrick.

I asked her to come. I knew you would want to thank her too.

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