Panic deprived her of common sense. Instead of trying to work out how far from the inn they went, and in what direction, she was dizzy with apprehension. Instead of listening for clues as to her whereabouts, she heard only the pounding of her own heart. Had she crossed a bridge? Climbed or descended a hill? Walked over earth or cobbles? Anne could not remember. It was only when she was bound in her chair that she began to ask such vital questions.
Fear for her own safety was compounded by her concern for Nicholas Bracewell. She knew how shocked he would be by her disappearance and how frantic his efforts would be to trace her. But he was up against clever adversaries, who held all the advantages. The thought that Nicholas was marked out as a murder victim made her break out in perspiration. To avoid the trap they might set for him, she almost wished that he would not come looking for her. Anne was horrified at the idea that she might be used as the bait for Nicholas.
Her recriminations came to a sudden end as she heard the door of her prison open. The two men came in, turned the key in the lock and stayed at the far end of the room to continue their conversation. Their voices were subdued and she was only able to hear certain words clearly, but they were enough to cause her even more alarm. Not realising that she was proficient in the language, they talked in German as they finalised some sort of plan.
She heard the last exchange all too distinctly.
‘What of Nicholas Bracewell?’ asked one.
‘I am saving him until afterwards,’ replied the other. ‘I have promised myself the treat of killing him very slowly.’ He strode across to Anne and she felt his hot breath once again. ‘Still here, Mistress Hendrik?’ he teased in English. ‘I thought you might have been rescued by your knight in shining armour. Where is he?’ He removed her gag. ‘Doesn’t he care enough about you?’
‘What are you going to do with me?’ she asked.
‘I know what I would like to do,’ he said, running his hands freely over her body and making her recoil. ‘But other work preoccupies me tonight. However, I will be back. You will not be alone. My friend will look after you. Guard you. Feed you. Fetch a chamber-pot when it is needed.’ Anne convulsed with shame at the very notion. ‘I am sure that you will both have a happy night together. I am sorry that I shall not be here to share in it.’ He sniggered into her face. ‘Yes, I can see why Nicholas Bracewell is so eager to have you back. He is a man of taste.’
‘Why do you hate him so?’
‘He got in my way.’
‘Nicholas was only a courier.’
‘He should take more care which messages he carries.’
‘He did not even know what this message was.’
‘That is his misfortune.’
‘Spare him!’ she pleaded.
‘I could never do that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I have a score to settle with him,’ said the man. ‘Nobody obstructs me so and then walks free. Your beloved Nicholas made me change my plans. I will chastise him roundly for it before I make him pay full price.’
***
Barnaby Gill had plenty of time to meditate on his findings. When the two of them returned to the Black Eagle, he was waiting for them with twitching impatience. Westfield’s Men reacted with surprise at the sight of the blood-stained bandage around Nicholas’s head, but in his excitement, Gill did not even notice it. He leaped up from his seat to accost Firethorn and the book-holder.
‘I must speak with you both,’ he insisted.
‘Another time, Barnaby,’ said Firethorn dismissively. ‘We have other things on our mind.’
‘This will brook no delay.’
‘I have already told you. We are not going to indulge you again. I refuse to play Cupid’s Folly just to satisfy your vanity. Enough is enough.’
‘It is nothing to do with that, Lawrence.’
‘Then why do you ambush me like this?’
‘To tell you about my visit to the Týn Church.’
‘Why should we have the slight interest in that?’
‘Because of what I learned about Hugo Usselincx.’
Firethorn was about to wave him away but Nicholas sensed that Gill had something of consequence to say. It was so unlike the latter to consort with his fellows in the same inn that there had to be a sound reason why he was even still at the Black Eagle. Nicholas motioned both men to an empty table and they settled down on the benches.
‘Well?’ he prompted.
‘Earlier this evening,’ said Gill in a conspiratorial whisper, ‘finding the atmosphere in here too stuffy, and the companionship too dull, I decided to view some of the sights on the other side of the river.’
‘Spare us the excuses, Barnaby,’ said Firethorn cynically. ‘We know why you went and what you hoped to find.’
‘I was in the Town Square when I met Hugo Usselincx. He was still full of admiration for my performance as Rigormortis in Cupid’s Folly.’
‘That accursed play again! I knew it.’
‘Meeting him was no surprise,’ commented Nicholas. ‘Hugo Usselincx is the organist at the Týn Church, which is nearby.’
‘But that is the point, Nicholas,’ said Gill. ‘He is not.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Because I went to the church and ventured in. There is scaffolding up and a deal of rebuilding is taking place. One of the things they are putting in is a new organ.’
‘But Master Usselincx told us in Frankfurt that he had to hasten here in order to take up his duties. Perchance he was expecting to play this new organ.’
‘It will not be ready for a week or more. I took the trouble to ask. Besides, the church already has a resident organist. He has been in the office for a number of years.’
‘What of Hugo Usselincx?’ wondered Firethorn.
‘They had never heard of him.’
There was a pause as the two men absorbed the impact of the news. Nicholas was first to see how valuable a piece of intelligence it was.
‘You have done well, Master Gill,’ he said, as his mind raced ahead. ‘This explains much. He was always too ready to befriend us and to find out the innermost workings of the company. I begin to suspect why.’
‘One moment,’ said Firethorn. ‘If Hugo had nothing to do with the Týn Church, why was he in its vicinity?’
‘My guess is that he may have a lodging nearby. That might explain why he was there earlier.’ He indicated the bandage. ‘When he or his accomplice was responsible for this.’
Gill blanched. ‘What happened, Nicholas?’ he said, seeing the wound for the first time. ‘Were you assaulted?’
‘Close by the Týn Church.’
‘Why?’
‘I am only now beginning to understand that.’
‘That two-faced Dutchman!’ exclaimed Firethorn.
‘We have no proof that he is Dutch. That is merely what he wanted us to believe. Supposing,’ said Nicholas, remembering the voyage on the Peppercorn, ‘that he is a German who can speak Dutch. We could tell no difference between the accents. Hugo Usselincx-I doubt that is his real name-gulled us all. There is only one reason he could wish to do that.’
‘The rogue! Let’s go hunt the villain down.’
‘Where?’
‘We begin at the Týn Church.’
‘No, Lawrence,’ said Gill, ‘that is the one place he will not be. Besides, night has fallen. We cannot search for anyone in the dark. It will have to wait until morning.’
‘I will not leave Anne in peril a moment longer than I have to,’ vowed Nicholas. ‘We may not be able to find Hugo Usselincx-whoever he is-but his accomplice could be a different proposition.’
‘You have found the man?’
‘Not yet, Barnaby,’ said Firethorn. ‘But we will.’
Nicholas rose to leave. ‘Pray excuse me.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘Back to the castle.’
‘But we have only just come from there, Nick.’
‘No matter,’ said Nicholas. ‘We twice met Hugo in the courtyard of the castle. The stone which struck me down was from the castle fortifications. The man who has shed most light on this business is in the castle dungeon. That is where the answer lies,’ he concluded. ‘And that is where Anne may be held.’