Prince js-3

by Rory Clements

  ‘Just do what you’re paid for and keep your questions to yourself.’

  ‘Aye, well… I don’t like it.’

  ‘Take the money, constable, for I pledge you this: if I go to the gallows, you’ll be there with me.’

  The constable grumbled. His hand folded over the three coins that now adorned it. He glared at the thin figure of Warboys, then snorted and ambled off.

  It had been like this for a week now. Warboys’s workers travelled by night when the tide was with them. There were five of them, and they had a small barge at their disposal. This night, as with every night for many days, they transported barrels from the great warehouse in Crutched Friars and loaded the barge at the east side of the Tower. Night after night, they travelled with their deadly cargo, joined the others to do their construction work, and then returned with the tide in the morning, for the next load.

  The barrels weighed between fifty and a hundred pounds each. In all they had three hundred and thirty barrels to move downriver, unseen. As in every other ward of London, the watch and the constables were notorious for their idleness and incompetence. All the same, they could never be taken for granted and needed to be fed garnish. That was Warboys’s task. He paid them every evening. In return the constable looked the other way when the carts rolled past with the barrels. Whether or not he believed the casks held brandy or wine from France, it did not matter. So long as he believed this was some kind of smuggling operation, to avoid duty. The garnish had to be generous, for any questioning would quickly reveal the truth of what was going on. Had the constable thought for a moment they held gunpowder, his attitude would have altered sharply.

  Warboys returned to the great dusty warehouse. The workers wore dark, sombre gowns. They were Scots and they kept their voices low, for their strong accents would seem out of place in this town. They looked at him apprehensively. He nodded to them and the carts began to trundle. Warboys watched them through his wide, fishlike eyes, and betrayed no emotion. Yet he had worries. This was taking longer than planned. He lifted the flagon he carried at his waist. It had been full of aqua coelestis when he set out. Now there was little more than a mouthful left. He downed it in one.

  ‘I can go no faster with the workers I have,’ he had told Laveroke. ‘If I am to make more haste, you must let me have the use of two or three of the more trustworthy English lads.’

  ‘No. None of them can be trusted. Even you…’

  ‘You know me better than that, sir.’

  ‘Do I?’

  So the Scots would have to redouble their work rate, for the law’s forbearance could never be taken for granted. They had to work with speed as well as stealth. They were willing enough, for they had a hunger for vengeance in their bellies and their hearts. Get the work done. Carry the bricks, carry the powder, carry the iron. Get the Sieve ready. ‘Work hard for me and you will be repaid in the only way you desire,’ Warboys told them. ‘You will have your retribution. You will have justice for those you loved.’

  Francis Mills was unhappy. In his dreams, he honed a butcher’s filleting knife and slit the throats of his wife and the grocer who lifted her skirts and took her every day in the back storeroom of his shop. He woke gasping for breath, certain that their blood was drowning him. And then, by morning, he was as irritable and fatigued as if he had not gone to bed at all. How could he do the work required of him by Sir Robert Cecil when all his nights were haunted by death and all his days tormented by visions of their sweat-glistened skins and the dirty sounds of their fevered moans and piglike grunts?

  If he could get away with it, he would kill them both. He could smell the grocer on her body whenever he was in the same room as her, smell the man’s seed wafting like the salt stink of the sea up from her cunny. At times he wondered what he believed in. He was no longer sure what was right and what was wrong. The Commandments told him not to kill, yet they also told his wife to commit no adultery. Should the adulterer not face God’s wrath?

  In front of him on the table he had the ledgers from the Three Mills gunpowder site. His eyes ached from studying them by candlelight. There was no doubt that powder had gone missing. Sarjent insisted that Knagg was the guilty man, but there was nothing here to prove that. All that was certain was that an amount of powder had been produced and a lesser amount had arrived at the Tower. Knagg’s disappearance did not look good for him, however.

  Shakespeare entered the room that served as Mills’s office in Cecil’s mansion on the Strand. Mills looked up at him, something close to pity in his gaunt eyes. ‘John,’ he said, ‘I am sorry for the manner in which I spoke to you earlier.’

  ‘It is of no consequence.’ Shakespeare gazed at Mills strangely, as if surprised that the man could communicate a normal human emotion. He noted that he was yet more skeletal than usual, his plain, almost Puritan doublet hanging loose about his frame.

  ‘Your wife, John… I wish I had words.’

  ‘There are none. Do not say anything.’ Shakespeare walked to the window and looked at the teeming street below. Somewhere out there was the man who had killed Catherine. The thought tightened his sinews. He turned back. ‘Sir Robert wants me to bring Perez to him, or the Cabral woman — or both. She said she would return with the information we need, but of course she has not. Now they are in Essex House and I cannot get to them.’

  ‘No man’s land. Neither of us is welcome at Essex House. We would be dealt with poorly by the sharp end of a pikestaff.’

  ‘If we send a servant, he will be ignored. The message will not even reach Perez. As far as Essex is concerned, Don Antonio is his property. He will wring every last drop of advantage from this Spaniard. He will bring him to court and he will take credit for all the tittle-tattle he can get from him about the royal courts of Spain and France.’

  ‘Which is why I have had another notion. I have spoken with Rick Baines…’

  Shakespeare put up a hand. ‘Baines! He is a villainous rakehell. He is Essex’s man. He will do nothing to help us.’

  ‘You are wrong. Baines is no one’s man. He will do anything if the price is right. I offered him five marks, he demanded ten. We settled on eight.’

  ‘He will bring Perez to us?’

  ‘No, but he has told me a way to him.’

  Shakespeare was doubtful. ‘Indeed?’

  ‘Perez will be at the royal races at Greenwich tomorrow. There is to be the celebrated race between Great Henry and this unknown filly Conquistadora. All London talks of it. Essex bruits it about that the Barb will beat the Queen’s hobby, and she threatens to box his ears for speaking thus. There is no doubt she will be in a tempestuous rage if her horse loses. To be beaten by any horse would be bad enough, but to be beaten by a filly named Conquistadora would be beyond bearing.’

  ‘How can Baines be certain Perez will be there?’

  ‘Because he has been with him at Essex House.’

  Shakespeare was still doubtful. ‘They will be expecting us, though. Baines will have mentioned our interest.’

  ‘No matter, you will find a way to Perez. And then there is the clockmaker…’

  Shakespeare leant forward, suddenly painfully alert. ‘Have you found him?’

  ‘It is not as easy as it sounds. The clockmakers are mostly members of the Blacksmiths’ Company, yet the names they supply to me are of little use. These men build nothing but the clocks on church towers, working in iron and steel. They tell me we should be looking to the refugees from Holland, France and Germany to build a clock such as the one used in the powder blast, for it had the nature of a household table clock, in which different metals are used. They would be the men experienced in such work, using copper alloys. I am told there are a few in Blackfriars and I shall seek them out. But, in truth, they work quietly and alone.’

  There had been a brass wheel among the parts found embedded in Catherine’s body. Mills knew this. Shakespeare looked at him a moment, then strode to the door. It was getting late and he was close to exhaustion.
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br />   Mills stared desolately at the opening door. ‘John, I do not know how to say this, but I wish it had been my wife at the Dutch market.’

  Shakespeare wavered, his hand on the latch. He knew all about the infidelities of Mills’s wife. It was an open secret in this building. Of a sudden he was struck by the absurd irony of their situations, also by the pathos of Francis Mills, a man who would watch without emotion as a man was racked to the very edge of damnation, yet went home to grovel abjectly before the mocking laughter of his sluttish wife. For all his power and razor wits, he was impotent before her. Shakespeare almost felt sorry for him. He could not find a kind word to say; his spirit was presently too arid to bring comfort to others. Yet he looked across the room and met Mills’s gaze. ‘You do not have time for these domestic grievances. Bring this clockmaker in. Bring every clockmaker in the realm to Bridewell and search their souls. And find me a man named Laveroke.’

  ‘Laveroke?’

  ‘Luke Laveroke. Glebe said he was the source of his information. Do you know of him?’

  ‘The name means nothing.’

  ‘Well ask about. But mostly, bring me the clockmaker…’

  ‘I pledge it.’

  Shakespeare shook his head. ‘Why do you not find yourself some young maid, Frank? Why do you bother with her?’

  Mills emitted a short, hollow laugh. ‘Because I love her, John. Because I love the bitch-whore the way a drunkard loves strong ale.’

  Chapter 23

  The Vidame De Chartres cut an elegant and rather unlikely figure as he reined in his horse in the neat courtyard outside the Vespers bawdy-house in the old convent of St Mary at Clerkenwell. A lantern burned outside the door. He could have brought an escort from the French embassy, where his father held sway; instead he came alone.

  He dismounted, tethered his horse and pushed through the unlocked door into the spacious, well-draped and brightly lit interior.

  For a moment he stood in the entrance hall taking in his surroundings. He wore no hat and his head was tilted back as he looked about him, his long dark hair swinging as though it had a life of its own. He stood with his shoulders back, a proud man, pleased with himself, afraid of no one. His doublet of sunflower yellow was exceedingly tight, accentuating his slender, muscled body. He enjoyed beauty, a pleasure that extended to his own appearance.

  A woman appeared and smiled at him. ‘How may we help you, kind sir?’

  ‘I am looking for — ’ he was about to say Monique, but quickly corrected himself — ‘Lucy.’

  ‘Shall I say who wants her?’

  ‘Pregent. Pregent de la Fin.’

  ‘Wait here, master.’

  ‘No. Take me to her.’

  ‘I think she is with someone, sir.’

  ‘I care not.’ He took the young woman’s upper arm in a firm grip. ‘Come, mam’selle, take me to her.’

  ‘Please, sir, I cannot. She will not allow it. You are hurting me, master.’

  The vidame released her. ‘Well, I shall find her myself.’ He strode forward into the great hall and looked about him. Without hesitation, he climbed the stairs.

  The unfortunate whore trailed in his wake. ‘Sir, it cannot be seemly to barge in on a lady. She may be-’

  ‘This door?’ The vidame pushed open a door and peered in. A man knelt over the end of the bed so that his naked arse was exposed. A woman, also naked, was just behind him clutching something that looked very like a parsnip or carrot. The naked man turned at the creak of the door. His eyes met the vidame’s in horror and astonishment and he began scrabbling away to cover himself. The vidame laughed and moved on to the next room.

  He was about to go in when the whore who followed him put her hands together in supplication. ‘Sir, please not that chamber,’ she begged.

  ‘Where then?

  ‘Along the way. The great chamber.’

  ‘Very well. You may go, mam’selle. I will not need your assistance.’

  He strode to the door indicated and walked straight in. Lucy was stretched out naked, eyes closed. Beside her was a short, fat man with a hairy back. The vidame approached the bed and hauled him up. The man protested volubly, but the vidame ignored him. With little ado, he threw him from the room, tossing a selection of garments after him, and kicked the door shut. He then turned back and stared at Lucy.

  Her eyes were open now, shining. She sat up in bed, reclining against a bank of pillows beneath the four-posted canopy, glaring at him.

  ‘Well, Monique,’ he said. ‘Do you not greet your master?’

  ‘I have no master. But I will say good day to you, Pregent. Good day and goodbye.’

  ‘I have come a long way to fetch you home…’

  ‘And I have come a long way to be rid of you. So I say good riddance, Pregent. I do not know how to make myself clearer.’

  He stepped forward. She did not shy away. She had no fear of him. She knew he would not hurt her, nor mark her skin.

  ‘Did you not yearn for me, Monique?’

  ‘I expected you, that is for certain.’

  ‘I will have you back, you know. One way or another. You belong to me, body and soul. By the laws of God and man, you are mine, paid for in gold and in passion.’

  ‘You paid for a slave. But this land has no slavery, so I am no slave, nor ever will be again, neither to you nor any other man. I would kill you before that.’

  ‘So you wish your freedom?’

  ‘I have it.’

  The vidame gazed upon her dark skin. He knew and adored every inch of it. He knew its value, too, for he had paid a handsome price for her. Eight thousand Venetian ducats, in gold.

  ‘I need you, Monique.’

  ‘Then pay for me, like all the rest. And my name is Lucy, not Monique. Two sovereigns will buy you a night.’

  ‘Can one put a price on love? Do you know how much I paid for you?’

  ‘If it was more than two sovereigns, you are more a fool than ever I thought, Pregent, for that is the price.’

  ‘If I were to free you I would need eight thousand golden ducats.’ He looked around the chamber. ‘You have a fair property here, but a long way from such a sum. How much is in your coffers?’

  ‘None for you. I take money from men, not give it.’

  ‘But you are a whore now, so you are used to striking a bargain. You will pay me or come with me, for this Virgin Queen will hand you to me. She wishes to keep the French and their embassy happy.’

  As he spoke, the door opened. Beth Evans entered with two men. They were large and powerfully built and wore the livery of serving men. ‘I thought you might need a little assistance, Lucy,’ Beth said.

  ‘This man is just leaving. Perhaps you would show him to the door.’

  The vidame unsheathed his sword and turned away from the men, unconcerned. He held up the bright, untarnished blade so that it caught the flickering candlelight, and he ran its finely honed edge between his perfectly manicured fingers. ‘Do you remember my swordsman’s skills, Monique? Would you pit your poor brutes against my blade?’

  Lucy looked towards Beth and the two men and shook her head. ‘Leave him. He would slice you as fine as bacon before you had even touched him.’

  The vidame smiled. ‘Fear not. I am leaving now. But think on what I have said, Monique. I would like to say that the choice is yours, but we both know that is really not the case.’ Sliding the blade back into its scabbard, he leant across the bed and kissed Lucy on her exquisite black thigh.

  Chapter 24

  At the end of the training the band dispersed into smaller groups and marched back through the dark streets to the house where Boltfoot had carved the new arquebus stock. From the workshop, they herded through towards the back of the building where there was a refectory with two long tables.

  One of the men, some sort of lieutenant to Warboys, who had left the group earlier, grasped Boltfoot by the arm. ‘You see these men, Cooper. They’re a fine-looking bunch, wouldn’t you say?’

 
Boltoot had seen better, but he had seen much worse. He grunted an affirmative.

  ‘They were in poor ways when we found them. Him over there — ’ he nodded towards a healthy though otherwise unremarkable man of about thirty — ‘he was curled up like a stillborn in the mud by the river, just waiting for the tide to take him. Food and training we gave him and now he’ll happily die for England. Now get some food for yourself. You’ve earned it well today.’

  Boltfoot counted near forty men in all. At the end of the large room was a table with two steaming pots. The men collected trenchers from a pile and filed past as two solid-looking drabs ladled out generous helpings of a thick mutton broth and a mash of swede or turnip. Each man was also given a tankard of ale, and then took his place at the table benches and began to eat.

  So far, Boltfoot had not managed to have much of a conversation with any of these men. He thought them a dour lot, much less cheery than he might have expected to find aboard a ship.

  ‘Good fare,’ he said to the fellow on his left.

  The man was no taller than Boltfoot and heavy-set with dull eyes. He looked at Boltfoot, said nothing, then returned to his food. Boltfoot shrugged his shoulders and turned to the man at his right. He was of a different cast. His eyes seemed more intelligent than most of those here and he had shared a jest or two out at the Artillery Yard.

  ‘Well,’ Boltfoot said, ‘leastwise we won’t die of hunger.’

  ‘Plenty of other ways to die though, ain’t there.’

  ‘I’m Cooper. By name and calling.’

  ‘And my name’s my own business, but I’m pleased to meet you, Mr Cooper. You can stand by me in the line of fire any day, for you powder your fine caliver like a proper fighting man and have a good aim.’

  ‘I should say you have a good aim yourself, Mr No-Name.’

  The fellow laughed, then put down his wooden spoon and proffered his hand for Boltfoot to shake, which he did.