Cromwell laughed. ‘Aye, and whisk the country back to the baronial wars of the last century, when he and his kind wrestled for the crown. Well, we must make sure that doesn’t happen, mustn’t we?’
‘He also said the king was ill and becoming difficult to serve.’
The minister avoided the subject. ‘You will have no more difficulty with the Seagraves. I can promise you that,’ he said.
‘’Tis strange,’ I mused, ‘that the Seagraves and John Incent both employed the same killer.’
‘Not really,’ Cromwell replied. ‘You know, don’t you, that they are related?’
‘No.’
‘They are of old Suffolk families. Sir Harry’s brother is married to the eldest Incent girl. Together they all make up as nice a brood of papists as you could ever wish not to find.’
‘And unscrupulous. Defending their doctrine excuses any evil, any crime. Is there a good reason, My Lord, why we should not proceed against John Incent for Robert’s murder?’
‘Absence of proof,’ Cromwell declared quickly. ‘Without Il Ombra there is no one who knows who paid for the murder.’
‘There is one man who does know. I’m sure of it. His name is John Doggett.’
Cromwell laughed aloud. ‘You’ve come across that scoundrel! You must know he’d be little help to us. If you could get him into a court of law — which is extremely unlikely — no sane jury would believe a word he said.’
‘But could you not put pressure on him?’ I asked.
‘Oh, yes,’ he replied, ‘if I did not have a thousand and one other things to do.’ He stood up. ‘Thomas, be content. You have found Robert’s killer and he has paid for his crime. You are beyond the reach of your own enemies. For tonight, lodging has been arranged in the palace. The guard who brought you here will escort you. In the morning, go back to your trade. Make a success of it. Be a credit to your father and to the Honourable Goldsmiths’ Company. And may God prosper you.’
With those words I was dismissed. They were sensible words. There was no one who cared for me or had my interest at heart who would not have heartily endorsed Cromwell’s sage advice.
So why was I unwilling to take it?
Chapter 37
‘By all the saints, Thomas, what have you been doing now?’ Ned Longbourne was genuinely shocked when he called on me the next day. Everyone was — and with good reason. My face was badly bruised and one eye half closed. I walked with a limp and a pain in my chest made me wince whenever I took a deep breath or coughed. I was still resting on my bed when Ned arrived. I got up, hobbled to the table and poured out two tankards of ale. Then I reported briefly on the events at Greenwich while Ned listened in wide-eyed wonder.
‘God in heaven and all the saints be praised that Il Ombra is dead, and at the king’s order,’ he said. ‘I trust we shall see his carcase in chains at Tyburn with a placard of his sins hung round his neck.’
‘I fear not. His activities and his very existence are to be kept secret.’
‘But why?’
‘Cromwell’s strict instructions. The armed assassin was captured in the palace grounds. If that news leaks out, it could cause general panic and also encourage the king’s enemies. I shouldn’t be telling you but I know you will let it go no further.’
Ned nodded and stroked his beard. This was now of collar length and streaked with grey. ‘Was he interrogated? Did Master Secretary’s torture specialists extract details of his crimes?’
‘I don’t know. If they did, the information is not for general circulation.’
Ned took a long draught of ale and set down the pot with a sigh. ‘So you are no nearer discovering the identity of his paymaster.’
‘Oh, I know who he was working for.’ I took Ned through the process of deduction that had led me to the inescapable conclusion that John Incent was one of the prime movers of a campaign to stamp out supporters of Tyndale. ‘Robert had unearthed important information about this plot,’ I explained. ‘That was why he had to be silenced. Then, when I began to investigate Robert’s death, it became necessary to dispose of me too. Incent knew that his firebrand nephew Hugh Seagrave was also after my blood so it was easy for him to get that halfwit to lay in wait for me with his arquebus out on the heath.’
Ned listened carefully. ‘You may be right,’ he said. ‘Probably you are. But it’s all speculation, isn’t it? You have no proof; nothing that would persuade a magistrate to open proceedings against Incent and his co-conspirators.’
‘Very true. His Lordship made the same point. There are only two men who, I think, might be able to provide useful information. One is Doggett. The other is Gabriel Donne, abbot of a monastery in Devon. Lord Cromwell doesn’t want me to approach them. In fact, he has ordered me to abandon my enquiries.’
Ned shrugged. ‘Then that is what you must do, and I, for one, am not sorry for it.’
‘Poor Ned,’ I said. ‘I’ve caused you much anguish over the last few weeks. You gave me your support even when you thought I was quite mad. I’m truly grateful. You are right, of course. Now is the time to call off the chase and return horses and hounds to the stable. But…’
‘But?’
‘I just hate to see these fanatics go unchecked. To murder someone like Robert, simply for wanting to read a book…’
‘A book that might challenge the instigator’s authority and the authority of all priests.’
‘But how can the Bible and the priests be at enmity?’ I demanded. ‘And, if they are, which should we trust?’
‘Now you’re speaking like a Lutheran,’ Ned said solemnly.
‘I know very little about Luther but sometimes I wonder — ’
Ned interrupted firmly. ‘Then, I bid you keep your dangerous wonderings to yourself, Thomas.’
On 1 January I had a visit from Ben and Sarah. They looked radiantly happy and, though I could guess the reason, I allowed them to tell me how they had been reconciled to Sarah’s parents and had moved back to the family home in Candlewick Street. They brought Bart with them but he said little and after a few minutes asked if he might seek out Lizzie.
As the door closed behind him, Sarah giggled. ‘He’s talked about no one else since we were last here. He wanted to know where she comes from, whether she’s been married, all sorts of things. Now he’s come bearing a New Year gift.’
‘Does he know about her former life?’ I asked. ‘I wouldn’t want him to find out by accident.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Ben replied. ‘I made sure.’
Sarah added, ‘He must like her for what she is, not what she was.’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘if anything comes of it, Lizzie might be very good for him. He needs someone with a firm hand and I can vouch for the fact that she certainly has that.’
At the Sign of the Swan we celebrated Twelfth Night in style. I owed it to the whole household to signal that we had put behind us the anxieties and troubles of recent weeks. We filled the house with families and friends. All the lamps were lit and the walls hung with branches of holly and bay. The scene was set for a night of riotous festivity. The tables were piled high with food, a hogshead was kept replenished with hot wassail and the kitchen produced the biggest king cake I have ever seen. The workshop benches were cleared to the sides of the room to make space for musicians, dancing and performances by mummers hired for the occasion.
It was customary that a gold half-crown should be concealed within the cake and that whoever found it would be leader of the revels. On this occasion I cheated and ensured that Lizzie discovered the coin. She was by now very popular in the household and her nomination as revel queen was enthusiastically received. Many were the suggestive shouts, whoops and whistles when she nominated Bart as her consort. Together they presided over the night’s events with bawdy good humour and the party ran on well into the early morning.
Three days later I called on Margaret Packington. A servant bade me wait below while his mistress was concluding a meeting with other members of her household. When I was shown up to her chamber, I saw a number of chairs circled round a table.