‘It’s of no account to me.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes,’ said the boy. ‘This is the way I want to go.’
‘Then lead on.’
The track through the forest was so narrow that they were forced to ride in single file as they wended their way through the looming oaks and elms. Davy kept up a brisk trot, picking his way along with the confidence of someone who was very familiar with the surroundings. When they entered a clearing, it was Elias’s turn to bring them to a halt.
‘Hold there!’ he called. ‘I need to look upon the hedge.’
‘You drank too much ale at that inn,’ observed Nicholas.
‘I could never do that, Nick.’
Elias dismounted and went behind a tree to relieve himself. Nicholas took the opportunity to get down from his own horse in order to stretch his legs. A snuffling noise made him turn around and walk towards a clump of bushes, one hand on the hilt of his sword. When he got within a few yards, there was a sudden squeal and a pig scuttled out from behind the bushes. Nicholas relaxed and watched the animal until it disappeared among the trees in search of food. He swung round to stroll back to his horse but was met with a shock. Davy Stratton had vanished. There was no sign of the boy or the pony. Tying his points, Elias came ambling out from behind the tree.
‘Where’s the lad?’ he enquired.
‘I’ve no idea,’ admitted Nicholas, looking anxiously around.
‘Perhaps he’s gone off to spray the side of tree, as I did.’
‘I hope so.’
‘Didn’t you see him go?’
‘My back was turned.’
‘Davy!’ yelled Elias. ‘Davy, where are you?’
His voice echoed through the forest, its sheer volume evicting two birds from a high branch. There was no answer. A grim silence descended.
‘Davy!’ shouted Nicholas, cupping his hands to his mouth. ‘Davy!’
There was still no response. Elias scratched his head and gave a shrug.
‘He must have wandered off when you weren’t looking, Nick,’ he said.
‘I’m afraid not.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Davy didn’t wander off,’ said Nicholas. ‘He deliberately ran away.’
It took them some time to find their way back to the fork in the road. Deciding that a search would be futile, Nicholas instead suggested that they make for Holly Lodge, the boy’s home and therefore his most likely destination. The wider track allowed them to ride side by side at a canter.
‘I think he may have had second thoughts,’ said Elias.
‘About what?’ asked Nicholas.
‘Life in the theatre. Underneath that puny exterior, Davy Stratton is a red-blooded young man. He’s insulted by the idea of dressing up as a woman. I would be.’
‘That’s no reason to abandon us like that, Owen.’
‘Maybe he was just playing a game with us.’
‘He is,’ said Nicholas, ‘but it’s a deeper one than I thought. Now I realise why he was so eager to act as our guide. It offered him a chance of escape.’
‘From what?’
‘From us, from the company, from London itself.’
‘Why was he so keen to join us in the first place?’
‘I’m not convinced that he was. His father made that decision.’
‘On what grounds?’
‘That remains a mystery.’
They were both relieved when the house eventually came into sight. Holly Lodge was a large, sprawling, timber-framed house with a thatched roof. Smoke curled up from its chimneys. A brick wall and a clutch of outbuildings gave it protection from the wind on one side. They rode up a drive that bisected the formal garden and dismounted. A servant admitted them into a draughty hall before going to fetch his master. It was not long before the portly figure of Jerome Stratton came strutting across the oak boards. Nicholas exchanged greetings with him then introduced Owen Elias.
‘I did not expect visitors,’ said Stratton brusquely, ‘so I’m not at liberty to entertain you, I fear. You are on your way to Silvermere, I take it?’
‘Yes, sir,’ replied Nicholas.
‘It is not too far distant. My servant will teach you the way.’
‘We already have a guide, Master Stratton. At least, we did until we lost him in the forest. We wondered if he had come back here.’
‘Of course not. Why on earth should he come to Holly Lodge?’
‘Because our pathfinder was your son.’
Stratton was astonished. ‘Davy?’
‘He insisted on coming with us,’ said Elias. ‘We thought he was homesick.’
‘I doubt that,’ growled Stratton. ‘You lost him in the forest, you say?’
‘Yes,’ confessed Nicholas. ‘The truth is that he gave us the slip.’
He explained the circumstances of the boy’s disappearance and saw Jerome Stratton’s irritation turn to anger. When he was in Shoreditch, the merchant was relentlessly good-natured. The affable manner was now hidden beneath a smouldering rage. He tightened both fists and glared at his guests.
‘You let him get away from you?’ he demanded.
‘We had no reason to suppose he wanted to go,’ said Nicholas.
‘It could be that he simply went astray,’ suggested Elias.
Stratton was bitter. ‘No question of that, sir! I own that forest and use it to supply timber. Davy often went there. He played with friends among the trees and loved to watch the woodcutters at work. He didn’t go astray,’ he emphasised. ‘Davy knows that forest better than anyone. He ran off.’
‘Why?’ said Elias.
‘That’s what I intend to find out.’
‘Where could he have gone?’
‘Not to Holly Lodge, that’s for sure.’
‘But this is his home, Master Stratton.’
‘He’s an apprentice with Westfield’s Men now,’ retorted the other. ‘When you have the sense to keep hold of him. Why did you let him go, you idiots?’
The Welshmen tensed and Nicholas stepped in before Elias lost his temper.
‘We’re as sorry as you are, Master Stratton,’ he said evenly, ‘and we’ll do all we can to retrieve the boy. When someone expresses a desire to join the company, it never occurs to us that he will take flight at the earliest opportunity. And if you really take us to be idiots, you should not have entrusted your son to us.’
‘No,’ added Elias testily. ‘We were ambushed on the road and saved Davy’s life. If that be idiocy, then have the pair of us locked up in Bedlam.’
‘I spoke too hastily,’ said Stratton, eyes darting as his mind grappled with the problem. ‘Forgive me, gentlemen. This is sorry news but it’s wrong to blame it on you.’
‘Perhaps Davy is not suited to the theatre,’ said Nicholas, probing gently.
‘He is, he is. The lad spoke of nothing else.’
‘Who first put the notion into his head?’
‘I did, of course.’
‘Even though it meant that he would leave home?’
‘Davy’s a restless boy. He wanted to spread his wings.’
‘Was your wife equally ready to lose a son?’
Stratton coloured slightly and he gritted his teeth. ‘My dear wife passed away last autumn,’ he said. ‘Were she here, she would have wanted for Davy exactly what I want.’
‘Then it was your decision to have him indentured?’
‘It was a decision my son and I reached together.’
Elias was blunt. ‘Why has the little devil gone back on it?’
It took Stratton a few moments to rein in his anger. Summoning up his last reserves of bonhomie, he gave a flabby smile and crossed to open the front door.
‘Thank you for coming, gentlemen,’ he said cheerily. ‘I am indebted to you both. But this is a domestic matter and I’ll resolve it as quickly as possible.’
‘But we’re concerned for Davy,’ said Nicholas.
‘Yes,’ said Elias. ‘We’d hate any harm to come to the lad. Although he deserves a box on the ear for the way he left us stranded in the middle of the forest. We need the imp back, if only to guide us home to London.’
‘You shall have him back,’ Stratton assured him.
‘Then you know where he is?’
‘Forget about Davy. Ride on to Silvermere to meet Sir Michael. I daresay you have come to see the Great Hall before you play in it. Discharge the duty that brought you to Essex in the first place, gentlemen. Sir Michael will be expecting you,’ he continued, opening the door even wider. ‘I bid you farewell. Continue on the road and you cannot miss the house.’