Shakespeare moved forward. He grasped the prince’s arm. ‘You are coming with me.’ He turned to the guards, who were within a few feet of him, swords raised, standing side on, as if at fencing, points poised to strike at Shakespeare’s throat and puncture him like a joint of meat, from four sides, if they so decided. He growled at them in French. ‘As for you men. Do not even consider harming me or trying to stop me, or you will die on the scaffold at Tyburn and your king will seek retribution against your families in France. C’est compris?’
Their blades wavered with indecision, but were not withdrawn.
Shakespeare ignored the swords and pulled the prince from his chair. He did not resist. There seemed to be no power in him. His body was loose like a baby’s. He stood unsteadily and allowed himself to be cajoled along, as if it was something that happened every day of his life. His gait was slow and awkward and his left leg trembled. Shakespeare stopped and turned to Ana.
‘What is the matter with him?’
‘Leave my brother be, Mr Shakespeare. He will become distressed.’
‘Your brother?’
Ana shook her head. ‘I always thought of him thus. I love him as my own. He was brought up as part of my family, in my father’s casa de campo outside Seville. We are of an age. I cared for him as if he were my brother or my child. Have you ever seen a more lovely face?’
‘But there is something wrong with him…’
‘A palsy at birth. He is wholly innocent of life.’
The old nun cracked her stick down on the table. ‘Do not talk of him like this! He is a prince of the royal blood. He is the holy martyr’s son. He will be King of Scots!’
‘Not on my watch he won’t.’ All turned at the words. It was Rabbie Bruce’s voice. He had appeared like a spectre at the little doorway to the garden, standing there, swathed in his kilt. In his hands he had a pair of wheel-lock pistols.
Before anyone had a chance to comprehend what was happening, let alone react, he took three steps forward, pointed the muzzle of one of the guns at the young prince’s heart, and pulled the trigger.
Chapter 44
Francis Philip Bothwell Stuart, Prince of Scots, crumpled and fell. His head cracked against the trestle table as he tumbled, but he was already dead from the shot to the heart.
Smoke billowed all around his assailant. The guards, who were used to the sound of musket-fire and the sight of death from the long civil wars of France, immediately closed on Bruce. But he had his second wheel-lock primed and trained on them. ‘Stay back!’ he ordered. ‘All of you, stay back.’
Ana Cabral and Sister Madeleine ignored him and fell to their knees at the side of their prince. His face was still unblemished. His pink lips — fuller than his mother’s thin and disdainful mouth — were slightly parted. His eyes were open but unseeing. The old nun began to wail. Ana Cabral clutched at his poor, lifeless hand and caressed it as if by so doing she could spark the flame of life back into his body.
For a second or two, Shakespeare was shocked speechless. Then he was seized by an ungovernable fury. He lunged forward, but Bruce stepped back. ‘Don’t think I won’t kill you if needs be, Shakespeare. One death, two deaths, a hundred, I shall still sleep the same at night.’
Shakespeare breathed deeply. He looked at the Scotsman with diamond-hard contempt. ‘That was murder, Mr Bruce. Simple, calculated murder of an innocent boy. Is that what your king pays you for?’
‘What would you have done, Shakespeare? Lock him up in Tutbury, Chartley and Fotheringhay for twenty years like his mother? Then chop off his head when the plots surrounding him began to press? This is not just what my king wanted, this is what your Cecils wanted, too.’
Shakespeare was about to rage and argue, but the words he wished to say stuck in his gullet, for he knew that Rabbie Bruce spoke the unpalatable truth. Oh yes, the Cecils wanted this princeling dead. That had been their objective and desire all along. They would be happy at the events of this day.
He looked down once more at the corpse. Perhaps the young man was better off dead. He would never have understood the politics and warfare that would have swirled around him all his life. The hellburner on the Thames was none of his doing, yet it was done in his name. How many hundreds, thousands, would have died in the struggle to put him on the thrones of Scotland and England? For the Spanish and their Catholic supporters in England and Scotland, he would have been the perfect puppet king; utterly pliable, a man to wave to the crowds when commanded to do so, and leave the decision making to others.
Ana Cabral looked up at the man with the smoking gun. ‘I shall see you pay for this, Mr Bruce.’
He shook his head. ‘You will do nothing, senorita, except return to Spain. This is over. All done for.’
Sir Robert Cecil sat at his desk at his home in the Strand, just outside the city walls of London. The minutes passed in silence, except for the scratching of his quill as he deftly dipped the cut nib in ink and wrote at speed in his elegant, sloping hand. At his side stood John Shakespeare. Facing them were Jean de la Fin, Seigneur de Beauvoir-la-Nocle, King Henri IV’s ambassador to the court of Queen Elizabeth, and his son, Pregent de la Fin, Vidame de Chartres. The father stood stiffly, shoulders back, lips tight, bracing himself for this unpleasant encounter. The son was nonchalant, as if he would rather be anywhere else.
At last Cecil looked up from his writing. He addressed himself to the senior of the two Frenchmen. ‘I must now pass on to you the outcome of the deliberations of Her Majesty’s Privy Council. The councillors are, in a word, appalled. You have assisted a power hostile to England at a time when relations between your country and mine are, to say the least, exceeding delicate. Does your king know of what has passed on embassy property?’
‘No, Sir Robert, he does not. This was all our — my son’s — doing. I can do nothing but offer my sincere and humble apologies.’ As he spoke, in excellent English, he never once looked at the vidame, his son.
‘Do you think King Henri would be pleased to hear that his embassy has been implicated in a Spanish plot?’
‘He would have my head, Sir Robert.’
Cecil leaned back in his chair. The flicker of a smile passed his eyes and mouth, then vanished. ‘I have always liked you, Jean. I have thought that we saw eye to eye on many things.’
‘That is true, Sir Robert. I feel shame that my name — ’ and now he did look sideways at his son — ‘should be connected to such a conspiracy.’
‘Good. Then we can proceed. I have here written the terms which you must accept, without demur.’ He turned the sheet of paper so that the Frenchmen could read it.
‘Firstly, the vidame will return to France. You, Jean, will stay as ambassador. Secondly, you will make it your business to discredit all stories of this Scots prince. As far as you are concerned, as far as we are concerned, the man never existed. It was all a tale put about by the Escorial to sow the seeds of unrest in England. To that end, there will be no trial of the Cabral woman. She will be deported forthwith. Her plot very nearly succeeded. I do not know whether your son had any knowledge of the plan to destroy the bridge, but it is certain that he has dealt dangerously and treacherously. And so there is a third condition: the vidame will return the woman known as Black Lucy to her home in Clerkenwell, unharmed.’
‘ Non! ’ At last the vidame erupted. ‘No. I will not have it. The woman is mine. My property!’
Cecil’s voice stayed icily calm. ‘No, she is not yours. If you listen further, you will understand what is to happen. Mr Shakespeare, you know a little about horses and women, please explain to the vidame what we are offering.’
Shakespeare smiled. He had been looking forward to this. ‘You have a horse, a black Barbary filly named Conquistadora. You and your family also have extraordinary debts because Henri pays you nothing but promises, and you must fund your lavish embassy from your own depleted coffers. We will pay you a thousand sovereigns for the horse on condition that the woman is returned to us.’
/> ‘The horse is worth twice that! And the Queen herself has pledged that I may have Monique back. As I kissed her hand and received the Golden Spur from her, she gave me her word that I could ask anything.’
‘Would you like me to tell Her Majesty what the French embassy has been involved in?’
The vidame turned his head aside contemptuously. ‘Then why do you not just make me an offer for the whore and leave me the horse?’
‘Because, monsieur, we do not buy and sell human flesh. A thousand sovereigns will buy you a stable full of fine horses in France. And a whore every night for ten years should you wish it. Take it. You have no option.’
The vidame’s face was suffused with rage. He glared at his father. ‘Are you party to this, Papa?’
‘There is no other solution, Pregent. This is not a matter for negotiation. If we do not accept, the English will inform Henri of your foolish collusion with these Spaniards and we will lose our heads. It is as simple as that.’
Cecil offered the quill to the two Frenchmen. ‘So, messieurs, if you will just make your mark on the paper, I believe we will have a contract.’
After the Frenchmen had gone, Shakespeare stayed. ‘I confess, Sir Robert, that I am much troubled. The role of the Scotsman, Mr Bruce. He was nothing more than a hired assassin.’
‘And yet you understand why King James thought it necessary to employ him?’
‘Was he, then, employed by James?’
‘The English paid him nothing. He was out of our control.’
‘But you allowed him leeway to operate on our land as he saw fit.’
‘We winked at it, nothing more.’
‘And what of Baines — or Laveroke?’
‘He has disappeared. It was believed he was heading for Scotland with a plan to murder James. Nothing has been heard of him since. Perchance, he was set upon by bandits.’
Shakespeare looked askance at his master.
‘This is a war, John. Men die in wars.’
‘I understand the heat of battle, Sir Robert. But there are times-’
Cecil put up a hand. ‘Leave it, John. Mourn your wife, do not grieve for some unknown palsied prince, now buried in an unmarked grave. Do not grieve for a murderer like Baines who, if God be just, now lies feeding the crows in some woodland ditch.’
‘And what of Marlowe? I know what happened to him.’
‘Do you? Then you know more than I do, and more than I wish to know. Whatever you believe you know, I do not wish to hear it from your lips and you do not wish to tell me, for I believe that to do so would heap much trouble on you and yours and many others. Suffice it to say that whatever the reason Marlowe was in that room, he was not taken there to be killed. It was unpleasant, tragic even, but it was not a premeditated murder. We both know that. The inquest decided it. Let it rest.’
‘And Topcliffe?’
‘Do you have some evidence against him that would be listened to in court?’
Shakespeare shook his head slowly. Not an ounce of evidence. Nothing to prove his guilt in attempting to extract information from Marlowe by illicit torture. Nothing but a play called The White Dog, and who knew where that was? All he had was the partial confession of Nicholas Jones. ‘I have words spoken by his apprentice, admitting he was there in the room at the time when the Searcher of the Dead says the killing took place.’
‘And will this apprentice testify as much in court?’
‘No.’
‘Then all you have is hearsay.’ Cecil closed his mouth and looked Shakespeare square in the eye. There was nothing more to be said on the matter and both men knew it.
‘One day-’ Shakespeare began.
Cecil reached out his small, neat hand and stayed Shakespeare with a light touch on the forearm. ‘Let us talk of this horse, this Conquistadora. I had thought to give it to Her Majesty. I think such a gesture would lift her spirits and help us ease Don Antonio Perez’s progress to her presence-chamber. Do you not agree?’
Cecil had changed the subject. Shakespeare sighed. No more delving into murky waters, for to do so could only harm Will, Kyd and all the others from the Dolphin Inn. ‘Yes, Sir Robert, I agree. Her Royal Majesty would be most pleased with such a present.’ At last he managed a faint smile. ‘And I confess I am delighted to be depriving the vidame of his most prized possessions. Perhaps he will collect silver treasures and fine paintings, not slaves, to satisfy his quest for beauty.’
‘Indeed so. Her Majesty shall have the horse. I am not certain, however, that she would appreciate the animal’s name.’
‘It is a little bit… Spanish. ’
‘Then let us change the filly’s name… to Gloriana. That will please her very well, I do believe.’
Chapter 45
The rain came down like mare’s piss, soaking Shakespeare through to the skin as he strode from Dowgate to Wood Street.
At the Counter gaol, the ancient, grey-bearded keeper did not look pleased to see him. Mr Shakespeare had brought nothing but trouble on his previous visits. ‘Good day, kind sir, good day,’ he said, but the tone of his voiced betrayed his true feelings.
Shakespeare stared at him with icy dispassion. ‘Who takes command of the gaol when you are not here, master keeper?’
The old man scratched his beard and crumbs and lice sprinkled out down his jerkin. He hesitated before answering, unsure what was for the best.
‘It is a simple enough question. I cannot believe you spend twenty-four hours of every day and seven days of every week here.’
‘Indeed not, Mr Shakespeare, sir. Why, the chief turnkey is my deputy.’
‘The one I demanded be shackled?’
‘Yes, sir. Or one of the other turnkeys when he is not available.’
‘Bring me to him.’
The keeper shifted uneasily. ‘I cannot, sir.’
‘He is in irons, is he not? I ordered it.’
‘No, sir, I had to unlock him. He was ill with the ague. I had the fetters removed so that he might receive care of his goodwife.’
‘So you disobeyed me? You do realise what this means for your position here?’
‘Indeed, sir, I do, and I am most fearful. It was with a heavy heart that I made the decision to free the turnkey. But what choice did I have? Had I not done so, I know it would have cost his life. He would have wasted and perished, though he had not been convicted of any crime. I would have consulted you, master, but I knew of no way to get word to you.’
‘Where is he now?’
‘Gone, sir.’
‘Home?’
‘No, gone altogether, sir, to his maker. Hanged. By the Dutch church. He was among those arrested following the recent disturbances in the city, Mr Shakespeare, after the ship blew up on the river, sir.’
Shakespeare breathed in deeply. So the turnkey had been one of the rebel band of Baines and Curl. He must, surely, have been responsible for Morley’s death. Well, he had had the self-same fate meted out to him: hanged by the neck until dead.
‘Thank you, master keeper. That is all. Take better care when you employ a replacement for the man.’ Shakespeare turned and left, stepping through the great studded door out into the bustle of Wood Street and the pelting rain. He had not even bothered to ask the name of the hanged turnkey. What did it matter? A gnat of a man, he had thought him. Well, he had now proved himself of no significance. No one would remember him save, perhaps, his wife and children, and they would do well to forget all about him as soon as they could.
Lucy was delivered to Shakespeare’s door by two horsemen in tangerine tabards. She had been a guest at Essex House, waiting to be carried aboard a French packet-boat to Calais. She was unharmed.
‘They told me I was there with the Queen’s express permission,’ she said as they sipped wine in his refectory. ‘I confess my time in the earl’s house was well spent, though. I do believe I have acquired new clients of great wealth. Yet, I must thank you, Mr Shakespeare, for I have some inkling of all you have done to rescue me.’
Shakespeare thought she looked magnificent, yet vulnerable and, perhaps, a little afraid. Her hair was soaked from the rain and her black skin glistened. The vidame had thought her a jewel to be added to his collection, but she was a human being, a frail woman leading a life of debauchery that all too often ended in disease, violence, the ravages of liquor and early death. Perhaps this woman could rise above it all, but she would not be the first to have tried and failed.
‘I think it is Beth Evans who most deserves your gratitude,’ he said.
‘I know that very well. She is a fine woman. My right arm. You must come and see her all you wish. No fees will be levied…’
Shakespeare laughed out loud and shook his head. ‘No, Lucy, I think not. Her charms belong to a time long gone. Long, long ago. No, I will not be coming to your trugginghouse.’
The rain stopped and the sun came out again and burned the city dry. The exodus of the wealthy and powerful gathered pace. All feared that a hot summer would bring more disease.
‘I confess that I, too, am going to leave, Mr Shakespeare,’ Jan Sluyterman said. ‘It is too dangerous to keep young children here. They are always the first to die when King Pest arrives.’
Shakespeare had no argument with the Dutchman’s decision. He, too, was planning a departure. He would take Andrew, Grace and Mary to Stratford for the summer. Boltfoot, Jane and their baby, too. Cecil had suggested it. ‘You must have time with them. And you must find yourself a woman to help you. No man can raise three children alone.’
‘I have my servant Jane to help,’ Shakespeare had said shortly. He wanted no woman to replace Catherine. But, yes, he did wish time with the children. They were growing fast and they did not know Stratford, where he had been born and brought up. It would be good to take them there, while his parents yet lived.
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