The Heretics

by Rory Clements

  ‘Think’st thou I am your executioner? I will blow you to dust, Shakespeare.’

  ‘Roag—’

  The muzzle was pushed harder against his head. ‘You know my name?’

  ‘I know all about you, your grudge and your designs. I had expected to meet you.’

  Roag’s hand wavered. Another hand, from somewhere else in the flickering gloom, pressed against Shakespeare’s throat with the razor-honed edge of a long blade. Roag pulled it away. ‘Wait.’

  The knife disappeared.

  ‘You saw me in Cornwall. Mr Sloth said you described me to him. But how do you know my name?’

  Shakespeare said nothing.

  ‘It was Warner. Your spy Warner. Was that it? He sent messages, yes? What else did he tell you?’

  ‘Warner? The name means nothing to me.’

  ‘Disarm him.’

  He felt hands pulling his weapons from him: his two pistols, his sword, his poniard. There seemed to be three of them, one very short, all with pistols and swords, and one with a butcher’s knife. Shakespeare cursed himself for letting down his guard on this of all nights: if he was to die here, then he would never deliver the reprieve for Frank Mills.

  The blow came like a smith’s hammer, into his temple, and knocked him senseless. The last thing he knew was the crumpling of his knees as he pitched forward to the flagstones and darkness.

  Boltfoot watched until late morning. It was a gruelling wait, but finally the youth named Ariel emerged from the tenement building and wandered off into the streets of Southwark. Boltfoot followed him. Ariel went into an ordinary where he ate a breakfast of manchet bread, ale and beef pottage, then came out once more into the sunlight and ambled back towards the Bilge. His way of life may have been profitable, but it was a dangerous one: the penalty for sodomy was death.

  Grinding his teeth in frustration, Boltfoot returned to the tenement where the young man had slept. He walked in without knocking at the door and mounted the steps to the first floor. The lodging room consisted of a mattress, a coffer with clothes and some books. Nothing more – and, again, no indication that Ovid Sloth had been here.

  It had been a wasted night. The young man clearly had no idea where Sloth was hiding, nor any interest in finding him. Boltfoot realised that watching him had been a long shot, but sometimes such ventures paid off.

  He walked back through the streets to a tavern named the Hope, where seafarers gathered. The landlord was as surly as ever, but managed to tilt his chin at him in recognition.

  ‘Not seen you in a year or two, Mr Cooper.’

  ‘Bit far south for me, landlord.’

  ‘Well, if you see any of your poxy old mariner friends, send them along and they’ll have a free pint of ale from me. None of them come round here any more and, to tell you the truth, I could do with their custom, mangy company of rats though they be.’

  Boltfoot was dejected. Nothing was going his way. It was the old seafarers he wanted, the sort of men who knew about sail-lofts, and they weren’t here. He ordered a pint of small ale and some bacon and eggs and sat by the window that looked out on to the river. The landlord came over with his food.

  ‘So what brings you across the bridge this day, Mr Cooper? Want a fair view of Her Majesty’s barge on its way to Nonsuch, do you? Stay here and you’ll have no finer view.’

  ‘I’m looking for sail-lofts. One in particular.’

  ‘There’s one or two, but they are a little way downriver from here, towards Deptford and Blackwall. You after work, then?’

  ‘No, I’m looking for someone. A man named Regis Roag. I’m told he came from these parts; his mother was a seamstress, and she and her old man, the stepfather, ran a sail-loft here in Southwark some years ago. Want to know if they’re still here.’

  ‘Regis Roag, king of Southwark? He used to be well known in these parts. We’d watch him strut down to Paris Garden with his nose in the air like he was a nobleman. That afforded us all a few laughs. Now he’s gone on to better things. I saw him playing the crookback Richard of Gloucester at the Theatre.’

  ‘What of his mother?’

  ‘Yes, she had a sail-loft, a little way east of Horsey Down, behind the Shad Thames Wharf. Not heard a word of her in recent years, but why would I?’

  Boltfoot drank up and ate his food, then paid and left the Hope. As he wandered along the bank downriver, he heard the sound of ceremonial gunfire and the shooting of fireworks. The great spectacle of Her Majesty’s journey from Placentia Palace at Greenwich to Nonsuch in Surrey had begun. Soon the river would be a mass of royal vessels, the most magnificent of all being the Queen’s own barge, in which she would sit in state on cushions of gold, pulled by another barge with the finest rowers in all England. Behind her would come the vessels filled with courtiers, clerics, ladies and hundreds of other members of her retinue. Boltfoot paid it no heed; he was mighty tired and he had seen the great event more times than he cared to think on. It made him feel old.

  There were a couple of sail-lofts behind Shad Thames Wharf.

  ‘Aye,’ the chief seamster at the first one said. ‘This used to be Amy Roag’s place. The plague took her to her maker two years ago. Her husband went some years before that.’

  Boltfoot looked around the loft. It was a light, airy place with an expanse of floorboards laid across the top of the wooden frames of three houses. A large canvas sail was laid out flat, having the finishing touches applied to the hems.

  ‘Does her son ever come here?’

  ‘No. Why would he?’

  ‘To buy needles. Sailmakers.’

  The seamster gave Boltfoot an odd look. ‘Now that is a strange suggestion, friend. Last I heard, Regis Roag was a player. What would he be wanting with sailmakers?’

  ‘To kill people with.’ Even as he spoke the words, Boltfoot realised he had made an error.

  The seamster had a pair of shears in his hand. His grip on them tightened as he eyed up Boltfoot’s weapons, estimating his chances against him. Other men in the sail-loft began to gather round.

  The seamster turned to a boy. ‘Go fetch the constable, Humphrey. I think we might have a felon here.’

  Boltfoot backed off, unslinging his caliver. It wasn’t loaded, but would these men know that?

  He pointed the muzzle at the chief man. ‘You got me wrong. I’m not after killing anyone.’

  ‘We’ll let the justice decide on that.’

  ‘I mean you no harm, nor am I a felon. This is Queen’s business.’

  ‘If you’re on Queen’s business, then I’m a baked hedgehog. Now put down your fancy weapon.’

  Boltfoot realised he had nothing to gain by staying here.

  ‘Stand back easy and no one will be harmed . . .’

  He turned and almost fell into the hatchway. He grabbed at the rope handrail and stumbled down the steps in a clatter of weapons. Then he ran, as fast as his club-foot would allow.

  He limped and tripped into the woodland of Horsey Down, and found cover behind a clump of trees. With as much calm as he could muster, he loaded his caliver with powder and shot, and waited. The moments stretched into minutes. No one was following. He leant against the main tree trunk of an ash grove and allowed his knees to collapse as he slumped into its folds. He was exhausted.

  This was the way it had been on watches without number across the great oceans of the world. If a man slept on one of Drake’s watches, he would have a dozen lashes. That was for the first offence. Caught a second time, he would face death. Boltfoot had never slept on a watch; he would not sleep now.

  Painfully, he dragged himself to his feet. He left the caliver loaded and slung it across his back, its muzzle pointing at the sky, then limped slowly back into the streets of Southwark into a flood of people. They were all going in one direction – to the river bank to cheer their Queen as she was rowed past with glittering pomp.

  Boltfoot was not far from the Great Stone Gate at the southern end of the bridge when he saw Ovid Sloth. He knew him i
nstantly from his great bulk and his waddling gait as he shuffled westwards in the direction of St Mary Overy, the parish church of Southwark.

  Sloth was with another man, who pushed a handcart. They were walking very slowly, away from the crowds, and were easy to follow. Boltfoot stayed fifty yards behind. Sloth did not turn, nor look about him. The cart-man, slender and lean, glanced around constantly. Was that one of the attackers from Falmouth? Boltfoot could not be sure. After the parish church, they turned south into the pleasure gardens around the Rose playhouse.

  There were few people about. Almost all had gone to the river bank. It was less easy for Boltfoot to conceal himself here. His instinct was to walk up to the men, hold the muzzle of his caliver to Sloth’s chest and order him to do as he was told. He could either take him across the river to Newgate, as Mr Shakespeare had instructed, or to the nearby Clink; they knew Boltfoot there and would incarcerate Sloth for him until he could be transferred under armed guard. But Boltfoot knew his master too well; he would wish to know where Sloth was heading, whom he was meeting. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. Also, there was the small matter of the man with the handcart; he might be armed.

  The two men went into the Rose through the players’ entrance, a double-width doorway that allowed carts to be taken straight in for deliveries. Boltfoot moved forward again, his caliver in his arms, his finger on the trigger. All tiredness was forgotten.

  The Rose was a compact, timber-framed building, three storeys high, with a multitude of sides so that it was almost egg shaped. Boltfoot waited two minutes, then lifted the latch of the door by which Sloth had entered.

  He walked in slowly, taking care to make no sound as he stepped on the boards, all strewn with fresh sawdust. He heard voices somewhere ahead and there, on the stage, stood Ovid Sloth, gasping for breath and leaning against a pillar. He was with three other men, one of whom Boltfoot recognised as Philip Henslowe, patron of this playhouse and attired in his court finery of gold and green. The cart-man and another man, in a wool jerkin, were holding up neatly hung costumes for Sloth’s approbation. If he nodded, the article of clothing was put into the cart; if he shook his head, it was put aside.

  ‘And you have not forgot the gilded vizards . . .’

  Henslowe’s assistant produced a wooden box and lifted the lid. Sloth looked in, pulled out a golden face mask, then nodded and replaced it.

  ‘They will do well.’

  The box was added to the costumes in the cart.

  Boltfoot watched in astonishment. What in God’s name was going on here?

  He looked at the cart-man again. It was no man, but a boyish young woman. Boltfoot tensed. A thought occurred to him: could that be the woman Master Shakespeare sought?

  He watched and waited. When half a dozen costumes – men’s rich doublets, hats, hose, robes and some armour – had been placed in the cart, Sloth pulled out a large drawstring purse from beneath his capacious doublet. He poured some gold coins into his hand, then held them out and let Henslowe count them. Henslowe seemed satisfied and took the money.

  Boltfoot marched forward, dragging his left foot through the sawdust, the stock of his caliver held square into his chest. ‘Hold fast. One move, Mr Sloth, and you will die.’

  The four people on stage looked at him in shock. Then, like participants in an intricate dance, they began moving apart. The woman trundled the cart sideways. Henslowe and his assistant went wide, then moved forward as though they would encircle Boltfoot. Sloth backed away, towards the shadows beneath the canopy. He was pulling open one of the stage doors used for the players’ dramatic exits and entrances.

  Boltfoot recalled his master’s words: If you find Sloth, apprehend him. Haul him to Newgate, preferably alive. Preferably alive. The implication of that was Bring him in dead if all else fails.

  Boltfoot pulled the trigger.

  Chapter 37

  THE TOUCHPOWDER FIZZED and smoked, then burnt away. No explosion, no shot. Boltfoot looked at his weapon in dismay and uttered a low oath. This had never happened to him before. It was the poxy tiredness that had caused the error in loading and priming the caliver. He did not have time to reload before they were on him. He slung the gun over his shoulder and drew his cutlass.

  Henslowe, unafraid and proud, strode up to him, chest thrust out. ‘I know you. You’re John Shakespeare’s man. What do you think you are doing?’

  Boltfoot tried pushing Henslowe aside. He had to catch Sloth. He lurched forward but Henslowe’s hand shot out and grabbed his shoulder.

  ‘You were trying to shoot the cardinal! Your gun misfired!’

  ‘I must get him, Mr Henslowe. I beseech you, help me. And that woman—’

  ‘No, God’s death, I will not help you! You will not pass. Lend me assistance, Fontley! Bring him down.’

  Fontley, who had the litheness and lean muscular body of a tumbler, thrust out a long, well-formed leg behind Boltfoot’s knees. With the side of his arm, he pushed backwards against Boltfoot’s chest. Boltfoot’s lost his balance and his legs buckled. He crumpled backwards to the floor of the stage, his weapons clattering beneath him on the oak boards. Fontley leapt on him and pinioned his arms. Although Boltfoot was a strong, experienced fighter, he was encumbered by his caliver and cutlass. Fontley drew a dagger from his belt and held the tip to Boltfoot’s throat. Henslowe stepped forward and eased Boltfoot’s caliver from his shoulder.

  ‘I think you have a great deal of explaining to do.’

  ‘Let me up. I must catch Sloth—’

  ‘You are going nowhere. Talk.’

  ‘First hold Sloth, then I will explain all.’

  ‘The cardinal has gone. What is this about?’

  Boltfoot groaned in desperation. ‘I am Boltfoot Cooper, here on behalf of Mr Shakespeare. This is Queen’s business, Mr Henslowe. Ovid Sloth is a wanted man. I have been hunting him and followed him here. I beg of you, hold him.’

  ‘The cardinal wanted? Wanted for what, may I ask?’

  ‘He escaped. I was escorting him to be examined by Sir Robert Cecil and the Council. He escaped at Falmouth.’

  ‘But what has he done? Why were you holding him?’

  ‘He was freed by the Spaniards.’ Boltfoot was struggling to think how to explain this. He realised he was making little sense.

  ‘Well, Mr Cooper, you will have to be a great deal more convincing than that. Cardinal Quick is an old acquaintance of mine and has invested a great deal of money in the Rose and various other playhouse ventures. You cannot just go shooting at unarmed men, especially not respectable merchants like Mr Sloth. I fear you will have to answer for your actions in a court of law.’

  Boltfoot fought to raise his head. There was no sign of Ovid Sloth, nor of his female companion with the cart. In the distance, he could hear the sound of trumpets blaring and guns being fired as the royal river procession passed through the dangerous narrows of London Bridge. A great cheer rose up.

  Boltfoot was shut away in a dark props cupboard, which gave him little room to move and no hope of escape. He found what he took to be a pennant, which he rolled into a pillow. Like a cat, he curled up on the floor, placed his head on the flag and fell asleep. He was woken in the late afternoon by the opening of the door.

  Henslowe was there, with the constable. Boltfoot began to repeat his plea that he was on the side of the law and that he was no threat. More than that, he had been grievously injured by those who had assisted in Sloth’s escape.

  Henslowe listened with interest and some amusement.

  ‘If you cheat the rope, I might ask Mr Alleyn to find you a part in our next play, Mr Cooper, for you have something of the clown about you. The world would love a new Tarleton. He was a short-arsed wreck of a man like you, but he could make princes and paupers weep for mirth. I do believe you would be his equal, for you make me laugh.’

  ‘Mr Henslowe, there is no amusement here. Only murder and treason. I must find Ovid Sloth! Mr Shakespeare ordered me to fetch him to Newgate.
Why did he take those costumes? If you have doubts, come with me—’

  ‘No, I will not go anywhere with you. As for the costumes, you will have to ask Mr Sloth. He asked for them some few weeks ago, named me a fair price, and so a deal was struck. Such things happen all the time. Great ladies and gentlemen stage entertainments for their great friends. And so I am happy to oblige. No one can afford to keep costumes unused if there is money to be made from them. As for detaining Mr Sloth and taking him to Newgate, I would say that trying to shoot a man is a strange way to arrest him.’

  ‘I feared he was fleeing again, as he has done before.’

  Henslowe laughed out loud. ‘Cardinal Quick is the slowest creature on earth. He could not escape an earthworm, Mr Cooper. How could he possibly flee from anyone, even one as lame as you?’ Henslowe shook his head and turned to the constable. ‘He is yours to question, Mr Godfrey. Do with him as you think fit. I will happily testify against him, as will Mr Fontley.’

  The constable had a squint eye and a mouth that turned down. His watery eyes looked at Boltfoot in turn, first the left, then the right. ‘Are you a good man and true?’ he demanded at last.

  ‘Yes, Constable. I am in service to Mr John Shakespeare, an assistant secretary to Sir Robert Cecil. I work for him on behalf of Her Royal Majesty.’

  ‘Then if you are a good man and true, why are you held here under guard?’

  ‘It is an error.’

  ‘In my experience, thieves, vagabonds and murderers are apprehended because they are guilty of crimes. Therefore a man apprehended must be a thief, vagabond or murderer. Which, then, are you – for you have been apprehended?’