by April Taylor
“Aye, but I’ve also brought you this.” And with a flourish and a curtsey, she took the parchment cylinder from her sleeve.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“It is a series of numbers,” Luke said, unfurling the parchment after hearing Pippa’s story. “Probably just some child’s game. Nothing to excite us,” he continued, rolling it back up and putting it in his sleeve.
“If it was nothing but a child’s game, you would not hide it from me,” Pippa said, clenching her hands. “Have I not retaken my vows and renounced the man I love? Is that not enough for you, Master Ballard? Am I to remain untrusted and treated as if I am of no account?”
Luke could see her color rising. “Of course not, stupid girl. Do you not understand that the more you know, the more vulnerable you become? It is dangerous enough that you are aware of the parchment’s existence. If you were questioned by a sunderer, he or she would have the information out of you inside an hour, and during that hour, you would suffer torments you cannot begin to imagine.”
She held her head high and he could see her lip beginning to curl. “You do not know me if you think I would betray you. Perhaps I had better return to Master Dufay.”
“Not until the perception spell has worn off. I ask pardon, Pippa. I did not mean to imply that you would blab of your doings, but dark spells have a power you cannot dream of and would be helpless to resist. Go and change into your usual garb. Let us share a goblet of wine before you return.”
Luke waited until she had flounced into the kitchen. Then he seized two jars of powders, one to aid her resolution and the other to make her forget the parchment and her encounter with Achard. When Pippa came back into the shop with her basket on her arm, he offered her a goblet.
“Let there be peace between us, Pippa. I do not like bad blood. Here, drink this.”
He watched her sip and saw the pleasure come into her face. “It is a recipe of my own. I sometimes use it for small children to hide the taste of their medicines.”
She peered into the goblet. “And what have you put into this one?”
“Nothing that need worry you. You will feel stronger and that will feed its way to Ajax, but I will feel easier in my mind when I know that Master Dufay has examined him,” he said, hoping that mention of her greyspring would deflect her attention from the parchment.
“I will ask,” she replied, licking her lips in obvious pleasure. “This is so smooth and sweet, I feel quite heady already.”
Luke smiled in satisfaction. “Look at me, Pippa.”
“Hmmm?” she replied staring at him with unfocused eyes.
“You found Mistress Paige.”
“I found Mistress Paige,” she said, nodding.
“You gave her my message.”
“I did.”
“You came straight back here and met nobody on the way.”
“Not a solitary soul,” she agreed.
“When you went to the palace, what happened?”
“I had a message for Mistress Paige. I found her in the Great Hall. I gave her the message.”
“What was the message?”
“That Master Ballard had made up another mix for her pomander if she cared to come and collect it.”
“What happened then?”
“I came back to the shop.”
“Did you meet anyone?”
“No.”
Luke stared at her dreamy expression and smiled. Any memory of Edwin Achard and the parchment had been wiped from her mind. He clicked his fingers and Pippa shook her head. “Marry, no wonder you give it to children to take away the taste. It’s very sweet, isn’t it?”
“Aye. So, are we at peace with each other?”
“Of course. Is there a reason we should not be?”
“None. Are you ready to go?”
That night in his bedchamber, Luke examined the parchment again. Now he looked at it with more attention, he could see that there were gaps in the numbers at intervals. Picking up a clean sheet of paper, he took an inkhorn and copied them, inserting strokes where the gaps were.
33 24 22 15 25/ 42 23 54 33/ 11 33 14/ 12 15 33/ 31 11 33 33 34 15/ 52 24 31 31/ 32 15 15 44/ 44 23 15 24 42/ 14 15 43 44 24 33 54/ 54 34 45/ 32 11 54/ 35 45 44/ 54 34 45 42/ 44 42 45 43 44/ 24 33/ 23 11 42 34 31 14/ 21 34 42 25 52 34 33/ 11 33 14/ 22 35/ 11 33 14/ 44 23 15/ 23 34 31 31 54
Having checked that he had transcribed them in the correct order, he hid the cylinder under the floorboards alongside the glove. Then he settled down to see if he could work out what the numbers meant. They obviously represented letters. He could see that some words had the same letter repeated. There were only a few that could be doubled, but gaze as he might, he could see nothing.
After an hour of fruitless calculation, he decided he had no option but to show the cipher to Roland Dufay. The Elemagus was, after all, a numerologist and mathematician. Numbers were his passion as well as his work. Luke also thought he ought to get a message to Queen Anne to tell her of the latest development, but if he went to her now, he might well compromise himself and her. There was nobody he could send with a message, either. Furthermore, what could he report? That a cipher had been found in a basket of flowers on their way to the Lady Mary. It was not proof positive that the message was for her, and in these days when anyone could be condemned out of hand, Luke did not want an innocent death on his conscience. The cylinder gave no clue as to who had put the message in the basket, so in reality he had nothing to tell the Queen, save that Achard had carried the basket and had easy access to the palace.
* * *
Pippa stood at the kitchen table yawning in the rays of the early morning sunshine. Ajax, too, seemed more than reluctant to move from his place at the side of the fire, near her pallet. They had both undergone treatment from Master Dufay. She remembered drinking the potion he gave her and nothing more until she woke up.
Dufay also seemed tired, but she knew it was his habit to work into the small hours. He seemed eager that they should continue her studies without further delay.
“I want to test your telepathic power,” he said.
Pippa nodded, biting back the questions that sprang to her lips. “Shall I go and prepare your workroom?”
“No. This test needs nothing other than a quiet atmosphere. Here is as good as anywhere. Sit down.”
Dufay waited until Pippa had taken the chair by the fire. Ajax sat leaning against her leg, his head stretched up to her lap, her hand resting on his flank.
“Do the breathing exercises I taught you. How long does it take now?”
“When we first started, quite a few minutes, but now, it is almost as if I can go to the inner level within seconds.”
“Good. I will fetch my cards, whilst you prepare. Do you have the blue ribbon from your pouch? Fasten it inside your bodice next to your skin. It will aid your mental clarity.”
Pippa waited until she had finished her exercises, then stood up, eyes closed, head bent, feeling her inner being slip into the core of her body. The softness of Ajax’s fur against her hand together with the scent from the apple logs on the nearby fire calmed and soothed her. The sound of the birds receded as she slipped into that serene chamber in her mind where the essence of what made her Pippa Gardiner resided. She knew that she would be able to answer Master Dufay, but she would be unable to physically move until he gave her leave.
His voice came as if from a distance. “I am holding up a card with something on it. What is it?”
Something stirred, floated across her inner vision. A familiar shape, bathed in a blue light that she could only assume was the effect of the ribbon. “It is a boat,” she said.
“And this?”
Once more she looked at a silhouette hovering on the other side of the chamber. What was it? The light dimmed, hiding the shape from
view. “I cannot see it,” she said.
“That is because you are allowing your thoughts to intrude. Try again. Just relax and let it come to you.”
“A house.”
“And this?” But before she could look into the light chamber, the sound of the back door opening thrust her back to the kitchen. The jolt as she came to full awareness made Pippa feel as if she had been winded. She gasped, dropping into a chair, one hand at her throat, struggling for breath.
* * *
Luke saw the card in Dufay’s hand and the confused apprehension in Pippa’s eyes.
“Master Dufay, I crave pardon, but I have something urgent I must show you.”
Dufay glanced at his face and turned back to Pippa, smiling at her in sympathy.
“That was a little sudden, was it not? Never fear. Take some wine. We will continue this another time.”
“As you wish, sir. I will prepare breakfast. Shall you join us, Master Ballard?”
“Thank you, I will. Master Dufay?”
“Come this way, Luke.”
Luke showed Dufay the numbers. “I cannot make any sense of it. I know that it is a cipher, but that is all.”
“Where did you come across it?” Dufay looked up and Luke knew that the Elemagus could see the indecision in his mind. “Do you remember when I applied the veritas spell to Pippa and told you that I had performed it only once?”
“Aye, you said that you were charged with finding out the truth of the Dowager Princess Katherine’s first marriage to his late majesty’s brother.”
“Who do you think gave me that charge?”
“I cannot tell.”
“It was not the King. Who else could it have been? The King could not be seen to dabble in such things, but the lady had no such constraints. I realize that you have been told to trust no one, but there comes a time when you have to have faith in someone. I am not against you, Luke. What concerns me more at the moment is Pippa.”
“Not more trouble? What has she done now?”
“Someone put a misremembrance on her yesterday and I fear it might have been Master Peveril, but although I tried last night, I could see nothing in her.”
“It was me. Pippa found the cipher. I was trying to protect her.”
“Where did she find it?”
“Within the confines of the palace.”
“Ah, that explains much. You performed a perception spell on her and it had barely worn off when you worked the misremembrance. It is hardly surprising she could not string a sentence together last night and is still befuddled with sleep this morning. Think about consequences more, Luke. The girl could have been put out of her wits completely. Fortunate for all that she is young and resilient.”
“You are right. I did not think, sir, only to wonder how to protect her. Did she tell you about Ajax?”
Dufay’s mouth pursed. “Aye. I am not easy about him, but we are doing what we can. I have dosed him with a stronger replenishing spell than you used and Pippa is trying to concentrate on things pertaining to God and light. She understands now how much this will help him.” He looked down again at the numbers. “A pretty little math problem,” he said.
“I can see it is a series of numbers,” Luke said, “but it has to be a message, so I do not understand where mathematics comes in.”
“Mathematics is evident in every aspect of our lives, Luke,” replied the Elemagus. “If you travel to London, you need to calculate the speed of your horse against the distance to be traveled to know what time you will arrive. How do you think the great palace here was built, unless the builder used mathematics? It would have fallen down otherwise. Even Pippa when she goes to market uses mathematics to make sure she buys everything she needs in the quantities she can afford and that will not decay before she uses it.”
“Talking of decay, sir, I noticed a strange smell of rotting on Goodwife Corbett when I treated her for stomach gripes. Mayhap I am oversensitive, but I cannot help but think she is in some danger.”
“Why?” There was a pause. “Is she part of your quest?”
“Not directly, but she gave succor to Goodwife Pitt and that poor soul is dead.”
Dufay considered for a moment. “What have you given her?”
“Willow and poppy, but if her malady emanates from diablerie...”
Dufay walked into his workshop, emerging a few seconds later. “I have an expulsion spell that should help. Make her up more of your remedy and put some of this in it. Do it today. The longer you tarry, the more difficult the spell, if there is one, will be to eradicate.” He held out the cipher. “Meanwhile, I think it would be of enormous value to your studies if you solved this. I am sure that what one man can formulate, you can solve, using what I have already taught you. A pretty exercise in pattern recognition and better than I would have devised as a first exercise for you. The message must consist of letters and there are few permutations of patterns in words. Start from there.”
Luke bowed. He knew he must cloak his impatience. Why could the Elemagus not understand that this message might be vital to his investigation and that he would waste precious time performing what Dufay saw as simply an exercise? The answer, he realized a moment later, was that in Dufay’s life, only those things requiring ratiocination were of any interest. He told the bald truth when he said he wanted nothing other than his studies. “When should I return for my next lesson, sir?”
“Come and see me tomorrow. Today, my brain will benefit from working on something a little less strenuous than my current task. I shall minister to Ajax and tutor Pippa.”
They returned to the kitchen. Pippa seemed to be in a sunnier mood, if a little sleepy. Ajax was also sleeping by the pallet next to the fire. Luke cursed himself for interrupting the girl’s telepathic exercises. Within the last few hours, she had been subject to a perception spell, a misremembrance spell, and had then been jolted from a telepathic trance. No wonder she looked so bewildered. Still, his mission was urgent and some risks must be taken.
After breakfast, Luke headed back to his shop. He knew there would be a queue waiting for treatment when he opened the shutters, and he was not mistaken. For an hour, he was kept at full stretch. By the time his last client, a child with quinsy, had been dosed, Luke’s shoulder muscles felt like rocks. His counter was cluttered with jars and pots. Stretching up and windmilling his arms to ease the tension, Luke prepared to make everything tidy. He had just put the last pot back on the shelves, and was about to make a list of ingredients that needed replenishing, when he felt a disturbance in the air near the door.
When Luke looked up, he saw the grim red face of Byram Creswell, the Captain of the Guard, staring back at him in no friendly manner.
Chapter Thirty
“How can I help you, Captain Creswell?”
For answer Creswell held out his hand. The gash that Luke had last seen the morning after the attack on Robin had festered, beginning a swollen and angry red path up the man’s arm. Luke looked closely at it, his nose wrinkling with the smell of rotting flesh. He winced, knowing the pain the Captain must be in.
“Sit there,” he said, pointing to the settle. “Are you feeling dizzy or light-headed yet?”
“Since early this morning,”
“Why did you not come to me earlier?”
“I did not think it serious.”
Luke was busy pulling down jars and pots from his shelves. “I need hot water,” he said, almost running into the kitchen.
He returned in short order with a large steaming jug and began pouring water into different bowls on the counter. “This will not be pleasant or painless. I think we might save your arm, but it will be a close thing.”
From Creswell’s expression, Luke knew that, had his face been its normal hue, it would have paled. “You think it that severe an injury
?” he asked.
“Look at it, man. When did you last see yourself in the glass? You’re red in the face and I’d wager that you’re hot to the touch.” To confirm his opinion, he laid a hand on the man’s brow. “God’s wounds, we must pray you are not come too late. This will hurt.”
“Do your worst, apothecary. Pain is something I am accustomed to.”
For all his bravado, Creswell looked apprehensive when Luke began bathing the wound with distillations of aloe, yarrow and echinacea. Once he was sure the gash was as clean as he could make it, he dipped a knife blade in lemon balm and scraped away the necrotic flesh, making the man wince and clench his teeth.
“I must get all this dead skin off and present a clean wound. I am not causing pain for the love of it,” Luke said as sweat began to pour from the Captain’s brow.
“Get on with it.”
Once the wound was looking merely red and raw, Luke made a hot compress of lemon balm and applied it. Creswell clenched his free fist, but kept the wounded hand steady.
“How did you come by this? I seem to recall it was fresh the morning you were searching for that thieving stable boy.” Luke watched the man’s face, trying to fathom if Robin was still being sought. It would be no bad thing if Creswell’s attention were diverted from the scraping of the knife.
“Nothing to do with young Flete,” the captain said, stifling a wince. “The apothecary in Hampton heard someone trying to break into his shop and raised the alarm. We were told the miscreant was seen running towards the palace. From the shouts of the sentries, we could tell he had gone to ground near the water gate. He must have been looking back towards it where the rest of my men had gone, for he leapt out from the shelter of a bush and collided with me. The knave had a dagger. I believe the stroke that caused this was intended for my heart.”
Luke grunted. He was busy making up a fresh potion, putting powders of lettuce, purslane and sorrel into a goblet of wine. “Drink this. It will cool your blood. How does the compress feel now?”
“Not as hot as when you put it on.”