by C. J. Sansom
Master Secretary bowed and then, beckoning me, walked backwards to the door; it was forbidden to turn one’s back on the King. I followed, dreading to hear the King summon me again. Paget knocked on the door, it was opened from outside by a guard, and we backed through safely. Will Somers, the monkey still perched on his shoulder, stood outside with the guards. Paget inclined his head sharply to the door. Somers and the guard who had been with the King slipped back in. The sound of the door closing brought me an overwhelming rush of relief.
Paget led me back up the corridor. Then I felt the floor sway and slide under me again and had to lean against the wall, breathing hard. Paget looked at me, his face expressionless. ‘A narrow escape, I think,’ he said, his voice hard. ‘You were lucky, Master Shardlake.’
I felt steadier now. ‘Will he – could he – call me back?’
‘No. He has made up his mind now. You spoke very well, all things considered,’ he added reluctantly. He inclined his head. ‘Was it truly you that persuaded the Queen to let you search for the book?’
I did not answer. Paget gave a little smile. ‘Well,’ he said. ‘It does not matter now.’
I looked at him gratefully, despite myself. Given all that had happened, it was a strange paradox that it was Paget who had saved me at the end, for without his intervention I knew I would already be on my way to the Tower, Nicholas as well: he would not be the first innocent caught in the King’s net. I took a deep breath. ‘Did the King come all the way from Hampton Court for this?’
Paget gave a quiet, mocking laugh. ‘You flatter yourself, lawyer. No, he and Admiral d’Annebault are going hunting in St James’s Park tomorrow. He came here unofficially to spend the evening in peace. He is tired, he had to do much standing today, he wanted a little time away from them all.’ Paget looked out of the window, down at King Street, deserted at this hour. ‘His study is always kept ready for him. Here he can rest, work, watch the doings of his realm from the window.’ He added quietly, ‘It is not easy, being a King.’
I dared not answer, and Paget continued in a strangely dispassionate tone. ‘I think, you know, your search for the Lamentation these last few weeks may have saved the Queen.’
I stared at him. ‘Do you?’
He stroked his long forked beard. ‘Yes. When I first brought him that book, Bertano had not yet arrived. The King indeed found no evidence of heresy in the Lamentation – it sails close to the wind in places, but as he said, it does not deny the Mass. But the Queen had hidden its existence from him and that rankled seriously.’
‘Disloyalty,’ I murmured.
‘Quite so. The Queen could have been in trouble there and then. For several days he considered arresting her. But then your hunt for the book, and Rich’s for Anne Askew’s writings, caught his attention and he ordered me to let the matter play itself out, although of course those Anabaptists had to die.’
‘Curdy was your spy.’
‘Yes. And when the allegations from that Slanning woman came before me, I decided you should be brought before the Privy Council, so I could see for myself whether there might indeed be a chance you were a heretic.’
‘So we were all moved like puppets,’ I said bitterly.
‘Be grateful that you were. That allowed time for Bertano’s mission to fail, and the King’s mind to turn finally and decisively against the conservatives.’
I looked at his slab of a face and thought, you enjoy all this; you would side with radicals or conservatives alike to keep your position. Another of those great men in the middle, bending with the wind.
Paget spoke again, his voice stern now. ‘Of course, you will forget everything that was said in there, not least what the King let slip about authorizing strong measures against Anne Askew.’
I took a deep breath. ‘Of course, Master Secretary.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘And you heard what the King said. Make sure he has no more trouble from you. Do not cross me again, either. And now, fetch your boy; then get out of here. And, as the King said, never, ever, return.’
Chapter Fifty-three
PAGET BECKONED A GUARD, then without further word led the way back through the King’s Gallery, then to the Presence Chamber. He crossed the room to speak briefly with one of the guards standing there. I looked again at the Holbein mural, the King in his prime; the swagger, the square hard face, the ferocious little eyes and mouth. The candlelight caught Jane Seymour’s face, too: demure, placid. Paget returned with the guard. ‘Take him to the boy, then get them both out of the palace. Quickly.’ And then Master Secretary turned and walked away, without so much as a nod or a backward glance, his long black robe swishing round his legs. He was done with me. The mind of the King’s Master of Practices had probably already returned to its coils of conspiracy.
Nicholas was crouched in the corner of a small, bare receiving room, his long arms folded round his bent knees. When he stood I saw spots of blood on his doublet. Barak’s blood. ‘Come, Nicholas,’ I said quietly. ‘We are free, but we must go quickly.’
The guard led us along the dark corridors to the Guard Chamber, then down the stairs again, across the cobbled court, and through the gates. As soon as we were out in the street Nicholas said, ‘I thought we were undone.’
‘I, too. But I think we are safe, so long as we never come here again.’ I looked upwards at the Holbein Gate and its windows, wondering if the King were watching. I turned away hastily; it was dangerous now even to glance in that direction.
‘Stice and his men, are they – ?’
‘Free as air,’ I answered bitterly, looking at him. His face looked haunted. ‘But do not ask me to tell you more, ever.’
He ran a hand through his red hair, then gave a little choking laugh. ‘I was told before I came to London how magnificent the royal palaces were. And I have seen for myself, it is true. And yet – fear and death stalk there, even more than in the rest of the world.’
I smiled with desperate sadness. ‘I see you are beginning to learn.’
‘In there – I felt it.’ He gulped. ‘What now? What of – Jack?’
‘We must go back to get him at once,’ I said, though I was terrified of what we would find there.
WE REACHED THE LANE near an hour later, the clocks striking one shortly before we arrived. It was easy to find the place. I half-ran to the rubbish heap, full of dread at what I might see, then drew up abruptly. Barak’s body was gone.
‘Where is he?’ Nicholas asked in astonishment. ‘He couldn’t have – got up?’
‘That would have been impossible. Someone has taken him.’ I looked frantically round the darkness of the lane, but there was nothing to be seen.
‘But where?’
I thought hard. ‘If someone found him, they might have taken him to St Bartholomew’s. It is hard by. Come, we will go there first.’
We arrived at the hospital ten minutes later: Nicholas had had not only to accommodate his long stride to my own, but almost to run. The doors were closed, but a porter answered our knock, holding up a lamp. I spoke urgently. ‘We wish to ask whether a man was brought here tonight. He had a sword wound to the body and – he had lost his hand.’
The man’s eyes narrowed. ‘Was it you that left him there? A man so wounded, left on a dungheap?’
‘No, it was not us, we are his friends.’
‘Old Francis Sybrant found him, and brought him in.’
The porter still looked at us dubiously. ‘Please,’ Nicholas asked. ‘Does he live?’
‘Just, but he’s as near death as a man can be. He has been unconscious since he came.’
‘Has the doctor been sent for? Dr Malton?’
The man shook his head. ‘A doctor only comes once a day.’
‘Well, send for Dr Malton now,’ Nicholas said. ‘He is a friend of my master here, and also of the man brought in by Francis Sybrant.’
I looked at Nicholas’s face in the lamplight. I would swear new lines had appeared on it since this afternoon. I reach
ed for my purse and thrust two shillings at the porter. ‘Here. Get someone to fetch Dr Malton, then take us to Barak.’
The porter stared at the coins in his palm, then back at me. ‘Who’s Barak?’
‘The man who was brought in. Please, hurry.’
He scurried away, leaving us in the vestibule. Nicholas smiled wryly. ‘With all the money you’re giving away, sir, you’ll have none left.’
I thought, insolence, the boy becomes more confident. Then I thought of Timothy, and wondered whether he was lost to me as well. Between the fight at the house, and my ordeal at Whitehall, I had forgotten him.
The porter returned, his manner obsequious now. ‘I will take you to your friend. Sybrant is with him. He is in a chamber we keep for those who may need the last rites.’
BARAK LAY IN THE SAME ROOM where the Anabaptist McKendrick had died, in the same bed, a cheap candle on a chair beside it. His clothing had been removed and the blankets covered only his lower body; his strong scarred torso was as pale as though he were dead already. He lay on his side, a bloodstained bandage covering the place on his back where he had received the sword-thrust. His right arm, the stump of the wrist thickly bandaged, lay on a pillow. I put a hand to my mouth.
The door of the little room opened and a man with a lamp entered. I recognized Guy’s assistant, Francis Sybrant. His brow furrowed when he saw me.
‘You, sir? You were here before – to see that other man who was attacked–’
‘The porter said you brought Barak in. How – ?’
‘I was coming on duty earlier this evening. I come by the back ways, always. Often one finds sick beggars, sometimes people who have been injured and abandoned, though never like this.’ He looked at us accusingly. ‘You left him there?’
‘No! We were prisoners, we could do nothing. Dear God, you must have come on him just in time.’ I thought, perhaps my prayers had been answered after all. ‘Please, this man is a good friend, can you tell us – ’ my voice faltered – ‘will he live?’
Sybrant looked at us dubiously. ‘That wound in his back – it was made by a sword?’
‘Yes.’
‘It has damaged no vital organs that I can see, but between that and what was done to his hand – he has lost much blood. Too much for him to survive, I fear.’
‘He is a strong man.’
Sybrant shook his head. ‘He would need to be exceptionally so to survive this. Has he family?’
I exchanged an anguished look with Nicholas. I had put thoughts of Tamasin from my mind. ‘Yes,’ I answered haltingly. ‘And a child. His wife is expecting another.’
Nicholas said, ‘Perhaps it may be better if she is not told till the doctor comes.’
Sybrant said, ‘Dr Malton has been sent for.’
‘You are right, Nicholas,’ I said. ‘I will wait for Guy.’
Nicholas turned to Sybrant. ‘Is there anything we can do?’
The old man looked at the ashen figure on the bed. ‘Only pray, sirs, pray.’
GUY ARRIVED SOON AFTER, a heavy bag over his shoulder. He appeared shocked, haggard, for he had known Barak and Tamasin almost as long as I. He looked at us, then at Barak lying on the bed. He drew in his breath sharply. ‘What happened to him?’
‘There was a sword fight; he was stabbed in the back and his hand sliced off.’
‘Dear Jesus!’ Guy looked angry. ‘Was this sword fight part of this mission of yours?’
I lowered my eyes. ‘Yes.’
‘Were you there?’
‘Yes. But we were taken prisoner. We have only just been released.’
Guy moved across to the bed. ‘Does Tamasin know?’
‘I thought it better to wait for you.’
He did not reply, but knelt over Barak, gently removing the bandages from the wound on his back and examining it closely, then uncovering that dreadful stump, still oozing blood, white bones visible against the torn flesh. I closed my eyes. Gently, Guy replaced the bandages. He looked at me again, his face as sombre as I had ever seen it. ‘The wounds show no sign of infection – yet. They must be cleaned, properly. But he has lost enough blood to kill most men.’ He stood up briskly. ‘I must get fluid into him.’
‘Will he live?’
‘He is far more like to die,’ Guy answered starkly. I realized how hard it must be for him, having to treat a critically injured patient who was also a friend. ‘I knew something like this would happen, I knew it! Are there going to be any more men brought to me dead and crippled through whatever it is you are doing?’ His voice was full of rage.
‘No,’ I answered quietly. ‘It is over. It ended tonight.’
He looked at me, his face hard as stone. ‘Was it worth it, Matthew?’ There was an angry tremor in his voice. ‘Was it?’
‘I think one person was saved – a woman.’
‘Who? No, I think I can guess.’ He raised a hand. ‘Tell me nothing more.’
‘My master did not wish it to end like this,’ Nicholas said.
‘I do not doubt that,’ Guy answered in gentler tones. ‘Now, Master Nicholas, would you ride to Mistress Barak’s house, and fetch her here?’
I protested, ‘But in her condition – ’
‘Jack will probably die tonight,’ Guy said quietly. ‘What do you think Tamasin would say if she were denied the chance to be with him at the end?’
‘Then let me be the one to tell her.’
‘The boy will be quicker. I would rather have you here. And I may need your help if Francis is called away to other patients.’ He turned to Nicholas. ‘Tell Mistress Barak only that there has been an accident. Say I am in attendance.’
He nodded sombrely. ‘I will.’
‘Hurry now. Use my horse, it is outside. And tell Francis to come in and assist me.’
Nicholas looked at me. I nodded, and he hurried from the room. When he was gone Guy said quietly, ‘Can you face her?’
‘I must.’
He bent and opened his bag. Barak lay unmoving.
IT WAS NEAR AN HOUR before Nicholas returned with Tamasin. Guy had been working to clean Barak’s wounds the whole time, moving deftly and quietly. I sat in the chair next to the bed, so exhausted that, despite the appalling circumstances, I had dozed off, waking with a start when I almost tumbled from the chair. By the light of a lamp which Sybrant held up I saw Guy re-bandaging Barak’s wrist, a concentrated expression on his dark face, suppressing God knew what emotions. He paused to glance across at me. ‘You slept near half an hour.’
I looked at Barak. His breathing was ragged, irregular. Guy said, ‘I tried to make him drink something, poured some apple juice into his mouth. It made him gag, and waken for just a second.’
‘Is that a hopeful sign?’
‘He did not swallow. I have to get some nourishment into him, so his body can make more blood to replace all he has lost.’
Then I heard footsteps outside. Nicholas’s fast, heavy tread, lighter steps behind. The door opened; Nicholas held it as Tamasin came in, her eyes wide, breathing hard and fast. When she saw the state of her husband I thought she might scream or faint but she only looked at Guy. ‘Is he dead?’ she asked in a trembling voice.
‘No, Tamasin, but he is very badly hurt.’
I stood up and indicated the chair. ‘Tamasin, please sit down.’
She did so, but without looking at me, brushing aside some strands of blonde hair which had escaped from her coif. She held her stomach with her free hand, as though to protect the baby within from the sight on the bed. She spoke to Guy again. ‘Nicholas said Jack was badly injured. He would not say why, but I pressed him and he said there was a sword fight. He said Jack had lost a hand. Dear God, I see now that it is true.’ Her voice still trembled but she made a fist of her hand, willing herself not to break down.
Nicholas said, ‘She insisted I tell her, Dr Malton – ’
Guy nodded. ‘Yes, there was a fight.’
Tamasin turned her face to me, full of fury. ‘Why? Why was
there? Why did you get Jack to lie to me about where he was tonight?’
I said, ‘I needed help. He gave it, as he always did.’
She shook her head angrily. ‘I thought he was past all that now, I’ve suspected there was something going on for weeks but I told myself he would never endanger himself again, nor you lead him into trouble.’ She cried, ‘Well, it is for the last time. He cannot do your dirty work any more now, can he? Even if he lives? And if he does, he will not work for you again, not ever. I shall see to that!’
‘Tamasin, I am sorry, more than I can say. You are right. It was my fault. But if – when he recovers – he can come back to work for me, in the office – ’
Tamasin answered savagely, ‘How? What can he do? When he will no longer even be able to write?’
‘I will arrange something – I will make sure you do not lose – where money is concerned – I will take care of you – ’
She stood up, fists bunched at her side. ‘I see how you have taken care of my husband! You will leave us alone, never come near us again!’ Nicholas reached out a hand to steady her, but she slapped it aside. ‘Get off me, you!’ She turned back to me. ‘Now, get out! Get out!’ She put her face in her hands and sat down, sobbing.
Guy said, ‘You should go, Matthew. And you, boy. Please, go.’
I hesitated, then walked to the door. Nicholas joined me. Just as we reached it we heard a sound like a groan from the bed. Whether from all the commotion or from hearing his wife’s voice, Barak appeared to be waking. I glanced back at Tamasin; she reached out to her husband. I took a step back into the room but she cast me such a look that without further ado I let Nicholas lead me out.
HE TOOK ME HOME, carrying a lamp the porter gave him. He could see I was nearly spent. He had the sense not to speak, only to take my arm when I stumbled a couple of times. I asked him once, ‘Do you think, now he is awake, Jack may live?’