The Secret Healer(114)
“Probably because the devil’s soul was mixed in with the herbs,” Johannes cried.
Andreas just looked at him. “Are you done now, or would you like to entertain us with another unsubstantiated anecdote?” Johannes lowered his head.
“Let us continue. You just told the court that he had convulsions and a high fever?” Andreas turned to Johannes again, as if he wanted to be sure that he wasn’t going to make another outburst. But the lawyer sat silently.
“Yes, my lord.”
“And what happened then?”
“At some point, Madlen came in. Sander had another convulsion and couldn’t breathe. Madlen told me to get some frankincense and prepare some fresh herbal brew, so that’s what I did.”
“And did you leave the room?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“And when you came back in, did you see what you described to my colleague earlier—Madlen swaying the candle back and forth?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“What did you think?”
“I . . . I don’t know. I was amazed.”
“And were you also scared?”
“Yes, a little. I didn’t know what Madlen was doing.”
“Did it seem threatening to you at all?”
“No, my lord.”
“But . . . ?”
“Well, it was just foreign to me. But I saw that it helped Sander calm down. And”—she held up her finger—“Madlen was reciting psalms and passages from the Bible. I’ve often heard the priest say them during Mass.”
“During Mass? Did you get the impression that she was reciting these psalms in some sort of blasphemous way?”
“No, my lord. Exactly the opposite. She sounded like our priest. It calmed my Sander. And it calmed me, too.”
“When you think back on that moment, how would you describe the feeling that my client gave you?”
Roswitha pondered a moment; she seemed to want to remember it exactly. “Peaceful. A feeling of peace came over me.”
“And Sander?”
“She can’t know how he felt,” Johannes objected.
“Good. I’ll reword the question: After my client used the candlelight, similar to that which surrounds us here in this beautiful church, and recited the same psalms and prayers that are recited here in the house of the Lord, did Sander seem to get better?”
“Yes, my lord. He did get better.”
“Thank you, Roswitha. I have no further questions for you at the moment.” He turned to Johannes. “Psalms and prayers from the Holy Bible are now works of the devil? I do believe that you might be a bit confused, my lord.”
With that, he went back to his seat, sat down, and winked at Madlen.
“Do you have any further questions for the witness?” the sheriff asked.
“She should keep herself available,” Johannes replied. “I might very well have questions for her later.”
Andreas shrugged impassively. “If my colleague questions the witness again, I reserve the right to question her, too. Although I do not believe that anything will come up that will support the prosecution’s untenable charges.”
“Though you may believe that we could just as well end the trial now, I consider myself just at the beginning,” Johannes shot back.
“And you seem to be doing well indeed,” Andreas said sarcastically. The audience laughed.
The sheriff ignored the banter and turned to Roswitha. “You can go now.”
“Yes, my lord.” Roswitha stood and walked out of the church.
The sheriff looked at the parchment that lay before him. “Now the court would like to call up the next witness,” he announced and sighed. This was going to be a very, very long trial.
Chapter Thirty-Five
By noon, fourteen Wormsers had testified about being treated by Madlen for the deadly cough. Among them was Reni, Otilia’s daughter, who could confirm that it was Madlen, the defendant, who had cured her. All the others could only report that they’d been treated by a woman with a cloth over her face. But the treatment had been exactly as described by Roswitha each time.
“We can speed things up,” Andreas said. “I’m sure we can all acknowledge and agree that it was my client that cured these people.”
“Have you any objections to dispensing with the questioning of further witnesses, Prosecutor?” The sheriff seemed exhausted.
“If the rapid conviction of the accused is so important to opposing counsel, I have no objection,” Johannes said.
“Conviction for what?” Andreas shot back. “For giving people back their health with no remuneration whatsoever?”
“She’s not a doctor!” Johannes spit.