‘Only for those who misbehave,’ said Nicholas.
Elias laughed again. ‘Such as her husband.’
‘That’s between the two of them,’ rebuked Nicholas. ‘It’s no business of ours. Davy will be well looked after in Shoreditch. It will be a true home for him.’
The apprentice said nothing but Nicholas sensed his approval. They were in open country now and maintaining a comfortable speed. Hedges and trees were still rimed with frost. Early morning sun made the fields glisten. The breeze was stiff but it was largely at their backs. Apart from the occasional cart going into market, they saw nobody. A bleak and empty horizon stretched out in front of them. It was like riding into a wilderness.
‘Have you ever met Sir Michael Greenleaf?’ asked Nicholas, turning to Davy.
‘A number of times.’
‘What sort of man is he?’
‘A good one,’ said the boy. ‘I like Sir Michael though many think him peculiar.’
‘Peculiar?’
‘Yes, Master Bracewell.’
‘In what way?’
The boy searched in vain for the right words and despaired of finding them.
‘You’ll have to judge for yourself,’ he said.
Though hampered by the rutted track with its random pools of ice, they made steady progress. After hours in the saddle, they stopped at a wayside inn to rest the horses and to take refreshment. Davy Stratton had grown more talkative, seeing the chance to reap the benefit of their experience in the theatre and plying them both with questions. The apprentice had one query that obviously worried him.
‘Will I only be asked to take the role of a woman?’ he said with distaste.
‘Yes,’ replied Elias, supping his ale. ‘Maids, maidservants, whores, nuns, queens and empresses. All aspects of the fairer sex, Davy, even down to scolds and seductresses. But there’s ample recompense for you.’
‘Is there, Master Elias?’
‘You may come to play my wife and enjoy my sweetest kiss on stage.’ He chuckled as the boy’s face registered disgust. ‘It could be worse, lad. You might have to suffer an embrace from Barnaby Gill. You’d soon come back to your husband after that.’
‘Don’t mislead him, Owen,’ chided Nicholas. ‘You’ll not take any roles of significance for a long while, Davy. They fall to Dick Honeydew and the others, trained, as they all are, in presenting themselves in female guise. During our stay at Silvermere, you may not even get on stage at all or, if you do, the likelihood is that you’ll be no more than a page or a humble servant.’
‘Man or woman?’
‘Neither. You’d play what you are — a young boy.’
Davy looked relieved. Nicholas decided that he felt embarrassed at the idea of donning female attire at Silvermere in front of his father. The book holder also believed that the reason he was peppering them with questions was to ensure that he did not have to yield up any answers on his own account. It was a curious paradox. The nearer they got to Davy Stratton’s home, the less willing he was to talk about it.
On the next stage of the journey, the boy showed his value, guiding them along a track that twisted its way aimlessly through oak woodland. When they came out into open country again, the road did not improve. Churned up by the passage of many hooves then frozen hard, it meandered through fields that shimmered in the sun as the last of the frost melted away. Barley, wheat and corn were extensively cultivated throughout the area but they were hidden beneath the thick blanket of winter. Sheep were the only animals they passed, foraging in groups and scattering in mild panic whenever the travellers got close to them. Nicholas was enjoying the ride, glad to be free of the fetid air of London and taking an interest in the unfolding landscape. Davy, too, was in good spirits, handling his pony with the ease of a practiced horseman. Elias was less comfortable, troubled by the cold, bored by the surroundings and starting to suffer twinges in his buttock and thigh.
They rounded a bend at a steady trot then rode up a hill. It was surmounted by a stand of elms whose branches moved creakily in the wind. Nicholas was the first to spot movement among the trees and he drew Elias’s attention to it with a nudge. Both men eased their cloaks back to free their swords.
‘When I tell you,’ said Nicholas, turning to Davy, ‘kick your horse into a canter.’
‘Why?’ asked the boy.
‘Just do as I say, Davy.’
‘Are we in danger?’
‘I’m not sure.’
Keeping up the same pace, they moved slowly up the hill. Nicholas and Elias betrayed no outward signs of caution but their eyes were scanning the summit with care. A head poked briefly out from behind a thick trunk then withdrew. The ambush was set. There were too few trees to offer cover for more than a handful of men and, since the elms stood only on one side of the road, the attack would have to come from that side. It simplified matters considerably. Nicholas waited until they were only twenty yards from the summit before reaching across to slap the pony hard on the rump.
‘Now, Davy!’ he ordered. ‘Ride on!’
The pony scurried off at once and was safely over the crest of the hill before the outlaws emerged from their hiding places. There were four of them, all on foot, all armed with swords or spears. As Nicholas and Elias approached, a pair of sturdy robbers ran at each of them. One man tried to grab the reins of a horse while the other struck at its rider with his weapon. It was a forlorn exercise. Anticipating the ambush, both riders had their swords out in a flash, parrying the attack and inflicting sufficient wounds to leave their adversaries howling in anguish. The two men who attempted to seize the reins fared no better. Instead of dealing with the gentle gait of two horses, they were buffeted by animals that had been spurred into a fierce plunge of speed. One man was knocked to the ground by the impact. The other, who sustained a glancing blow from the horse, also received a hard kick under the jaw from Elias’s foot that sent him cartwheeling along the grass verge. As the riders vanished down the other side of the hill, four dazed men were left to lick their wounds and meditate on the folly of their action.
The travellers cantered for a couple of miles until they were certain that they were not followed. When they slowed to a trot, Davy wanted to know what had happened.
‘Were they robbers?’ he asked, wide-eyed.
‘They thought they were,’ said Elias, grinning broadly. ‘But they met their match in us, didn’t they, Nick?’ He slapped his thigh. ‘Diu! That was wonderful. I needed a bit of excitement like that.’
‘How many of them were there?’ said Davy.
‘A dozen at least.’
‘Four,’ corrected Nicholas. ‘We caught a glimpse of one of them in advance.’
Elias chortled. ‘It was probably the one I kicked under the chin,’ he decided. ‘I must have loosened every tooth in his head.’
‘Weren’t you frightened?’
‘Of four foolish outlaws? Never, Davy.’
‘Desperate men do desperate things,’ said Nicholas. ‘And they must have been desperate to be skulking on top of that hill in this weather. They’ll have poor pickings today.’ He turned to his friend. ‘Thanks for your help, Owen. I’m very grateful that you came with me.’
‘So am I,’ said the Welshman. ‘I thrive on action.’
‘When I rode to London with my father,’ volunteered Davy, ‘we travelled in a large group. There were well over twenty of us.’
‘That’s the safest way,’ said Nicholas.
‘But you miss out on all the fun,’ complained Elias.
Another hour brought them within reach of their destination. Davy Stratton grew increasingly nervous, glancing around with apprehension. When they came to a fork in the road, he called them to a halt and pointed ahead.
‘That’s the long way round to Silvermere,’ he explained. ‘It would take us past Holly Lodge in a great loop. If we strike off through the forest, we can reach Silvermere in half the time.’
‘But we’d miss seeing your home,’ said Nicholas.