The Confession of Brother Haluin (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, 15), Ellis Peters. Open Road Integrated Media (ASIN: B00LUZNWTU), 2014 (First published in 1988).

Summary: From deathbed confession to arduous journey, Brother Haluin’s miraculous recovery results in a journey of penance accompanied by Cadfael.

In mid-December of 1142, heavy snows wrought heavy damage to the tile roof of the guest hall. Rather than risk worse damage by waiting until warmer weather, crews of monks climbed the treacherous roof to remove snow and make repairs. One of these, Brother Haluin, got caught in an avalanche of snow and tiles. Severely injured by a forty foot fall, with his feet and ankles a shredded mess from the tiles, No one expects him to live.

Brother Cadfael does his best. But the brother, sensing death near, calls for the abbot. And he confesses the terrible sin that drove him to monastic vows. Not only that, he betrayed Cadfael’s trust. His love for a girl resulted in pregnancy. Then he used Cadfael’s pharmacy to give the mother a compound to abort the girl. Sadly, he learns the girl and her child died in the process.

Contrary to all expectations, Brother Haluin recovers. But the fall irreparably crippled him. On his deathbed, he vowed to take a journey of penance. He would confess his sin to the mother and then pray a night vigil at the tomb of the girl, Bertrade. All attempts to dissuade him cannot stand against his vow. Abbot Radulfus assigns Brother Cadfael to accompany him.

To begin with, the journey to Lady de Clary’s takes several days. After the initial shock of encountering her daughter’s former lover, she absolves him of his sins. But she shares difficult news. Bertrade is not buried there but in Elford, in the family tomb, a much further journey. And so Cadfael and the crippled man, refusing mounts, must make their way. They observe Lady de Clary and two of her men ride ahead. They arrive in Elford, where Lady de Clary’s son lives. While afforded hospitality, it is clear they want the brothers to fulfill their errand. And so, Brother Haluin fulfills his vow and prays at the tomb through the night.

A young man, Roscelin, slips in and helps Haluin, stiff from his nights labors. Roscelin is serving Audemar, the lady’s son, sent away inexplicably, by his father Cenred. A snowstorm forces the brothers to stay at Vivers, Cenred’s manor. Haluin, who is an ordained priest, is asked to officiate a wedding. Cenred’s sister’s daughter Helisende is to marry a young landowner. But this does not sit well with Edgytha, a governess to both Roscelin and Helisende. She witnessed their growing love, forbidden by their close relationship. This is why Roscelin was sent away and is not present.

Then Edgytha disappears on an errand in the snow and does not return. Cadfael, among the searchers, finds her body on the road back to Elford. An assailant stabbed her and the snow beneath her suggests she was on her way back from Elford. Then Helisende disappears. With the wedding off, the brothers continue home, only to make a series of discoveries that explains the murder of Edgytha and changes the lives of Haluin, Roscelin, and Helisende.

This was a very different Cadfael. The murder occurs late in the story, which takes pace far from Shrewbury. In some ways, the murder was incidental to the story. Unlike most of the stories, there is little interaction between Hugh and Cadfael. Instead, Cadfael is the wise friend helping Haluin find peace. While incidental to the plot, the exercise of hospitality runs through the story. Through it all, Peters explores the question of finding forgiveness for grievous sin, far more crippling to Haluin than his physical injuries.