by Graham Brack
It was my turn to take a drink now. My mouth was drying up as I ran out of things to say.
‘But how could this be, since we had been at pains to ensure that only the Stadhouder knew that we were coming? This was where we benefited from having discovered some papers left by Van Looy. On three sheets he described the structure of the treasonous band, their link to Haarlem and the fact that their leader was Pieters. This explained how Molenaar had been poisoned; Pieters knew because he handles the Stadhouder’s correspondence.’
I bowed to the Stadhouder to indicate that I had finished.
William said nothing, but was clearly thinking very hard. ‘Bouwman, summon the captain and have these two locked away, separate from each other and from Pieters. I’ll deal with them later. We must deliberate on their fate.’
I have to say that I did not like the sound of that “we”. I would have preferred “I”; or, at a pinch “everyone except Mercurius”.
The Van der Horsts were led away, and the Stadhouder topped up his wine before passing the flagon to the rest of us. De Ring made as if to leave but was ordered to keep his place.
‘What am I to do?’ asked William. ‘If I do nothing and just ignore the attempted treachery, it only encourages others to do the same.’
‘If I may comment,’ I began tentatively, ‘it seems to me that they are only encouraged if these matters are made public.’
‘We can hardly hide the fact that Van Looy and Van Leusden are dead,’ the Stadhouder pointed out.
‘No, and their killers must pay some sort of penalty,’ I agreed, ‘but as for the Van der Horsts, they have been ineffectual. They may have thought many things, but they have done nothing practical about them.’
‘And Molenaar has already been hanged,’ Beniamino contributed, ‘albeit he was already dead. But it’s the thought that counts.’
‘You have Pieters in custody,’ I added, ‘who seems to me to be the real villain.’
I may not have made sufficiently clear that I am deeply uneasy about capital punishment. I know many people believe it to be sanctioned by God, but life is precious and I would prefer that it was not taken. Hanging Molenaar had not brought Van Leusden back, and I did not believe that it would give Janneke much comfort when she heard about it. Anyway, I was not going to recommend execution, even for Pieters. I acknowledge, though, the inconsistency in feeling that Pieters, who did nothing violent personally, was more of a criminal than Terhoeven, who had killed in a panic. Still, this was something for the Stadhouder to decide, and I was heartily glad that it was not my decision.
‘What would you do with them, Mercurius?’ William demanded.
Those who say honesty is always the best policy haven’t met some of the people I’ve met. However, I decided just to speak my mind and let him take or ignore my advice as he thought fit.
‘If the Van der Horsts do not want to live under a Stadhouder, let them be banished, forbidden to return under pain of death. Pieters has betrayed your trust in the most flagrant way, accepting your gold and your hospitality whilst plotting against you, and so deserves severe punishment. As for Terhoeven, I am inclined to mercy because of his youth and stupidity, but we cannot overlook that he is a murderer.’
William nodded as if slowly processing my suggestions. ‘And you?’ he asked Beniamino.
‘I would hang the lot of them,’ he said. ‘I would just drag it out for Pieters. Maybe a bit of drawing and quartering after the English fashion. Or we could break him on the wheel.’
‘Master Treasurer?’
De Ring started as if he had not expected to be asked his opinion. ‘I cannot judge these men while my own godson is among them, Stadhouder. It grieves me to say so, but I fear that someone must pay for my godson’s crime. I would do so myself if it were possible. Blood should have blood.’
I could not help but admire the old man.
‘Perhaps we could avoid the humiliation of a public execution for him,’ William muttered.
‘But if we put him to death privately, justice is not seen to be done,’ Beniamino pointed out. ‘I suppose we could hang him quietly and then announce it, but that spares no humiliation.’
With the interval that has elapsed I have developed the idea that my next comment was fuelled by too much of the Stadhouder’s excellent burgundy wine. I cannot otherwise account for my plain rudeness.
‘Stadhouder, there is another way of looking at this,’ I said boldly. ‘You sent a man to look into a half-baked plot. Because you didn’t tell De Ring that you were acting on his intelligence he, out of a care for your safety, recruited his own godson who was willing to pretend to be disloyal, an act which must have been deeply abhorrent to him and which carried great danger if he were discovered. You worried about plots in Utrecht so you had Van Leusden prepared to deputize for Professor Voet, which, indirectly, cost him his life.’
‘Are you seriously saying this is all my fault?’ William asked me. He was a small man, but very threatening when he wanted to be.
‘No. Well, yes, in a way.’ I was floundering when a happy thought came to me. ‘A man who fears plots breeds plots. He encourages conspiracies. He looks about him, and he finds evidence of treason because he sees treason in every heart. But I think of the English preacher, George Fox, who says that if we look we will see a little of God in every man. Circumspice, Stadhouder. Look about you, but look for the good. Stop seeing plots, for men are so well-disposed towards you that they will denounce any conspiracy they find; and the Low Countries will be a happier place for it.’
William announced that he needed to be alone to pray and think, and bade us rest in the castle and wait upon him in the morning when he would announce his decision. As we bowed and left, I could hear him muttering to himself circumspice, circumspice.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
When morning came I was surprised to find that Beniamino had left. He did not choose to wait for the announcement. The rest of us filed into the hall, where William was sitting in his most imposing chair. The Van der Horsts were led in and made to kneel before him. De Ring made to do the same as proxy for his godson, but William ordered him to remain standing.
‘If you do not wish to live under a Stadhouder, then live somewhere else,’ he pronounced. ‘Our colonies in the East Indies need ministers of religion and competent young men. If you will undertake not to return for the rest of your lives, you may live in peace there.’
The two men agreed and were taken away to await transportation.
‘Pieters will hang presently,’ said William, ‘but I have no relish for barbarities. He has spent a night with my inquisitor and has suffered enough.’
I wondered what exactly Beniamino had done to him, but decided it was probably better if I never discovered that. I did not propose to stay to watch him hang.
‘That leaves us with Terhoeven,’ William continued. ‘De Ring, Van Looy had no wife or children, but if he supported any aged relatives you and your godson will provide the same support so long as they live. It is my pleasure that your godson should serve in my army, where he will have the opportunity to demonstrate his zeal for our House of Orange and redeem his honour. I will review his position in five years.’
De Ring fell to his knees. ‘Your Excellency is merciful indeed,’ he said. I could see tears on his old cheeks.
‘Now leave us. Not you, Mercurius.’
We were left alone. The Stadhouder rose from his chair and walked behind a curtain, returning with a bowl.
‘Apple?’ he said.
I took one and muttered my thanks.
‘You have done well. I won’t forget this.’
If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather you did, I thought. I never want another job like this again.
‘I have written a letter to the Rector expressing my satisfaction. It also tells him he may retire at the end of the year, as he has been wishing to do for some time. Have you ever thought of becoming Rector, Mercurius?’
‘No more than I hav
e thought of becoming a nun,’ I said. ‘And I am equally suited to both roles.’
He handed me two envelopes.
‘What is the other, Stadhouder?’ I asked.
‘It tells anyone who reads it that you are my trusted servant and that if you are in need of any assistance, it must be rendered or the person concerned will answer to me.’
I had not expected that. Unworthily, my first thought was to march into Jan Steen’s inn with it and declare that I was thirsty and needed a free beer, but I supposed that the Stadhouder intended me to use it for more suitable reasons.
‘Goodbye, Mercurius.’ He offered me his hand, which I took.
‘Goodbye, Stadhouder.’
‘Bouwman has a pouch for you, and my carriage will return you to Leiden. And now, farewell.’
I enjoyed the journey. The carriage was very grand and comfortable. If I became a bishop I would travel like this all the time, I thought, but then dismissed the thought and returned to counting the contents of the pouch. Gold is heavy if you have enough of it, I discovered.
Heads turned as we rode into Leiden and pulled up outside the Academy building. This must be what it is like to be a great man, I told myself; but there is a price to be paid for power.
Circumspice, Mercurius.
Look about you, and be content with what you see.
***
Want more adventures in 17th century Europe? Read DISHONOUR AND OBEY — Book Three in the Master Mercurius Mystery series.
GET IT NOW!
Join our mailing list for the latest releases, eBook deals, author news, and much, much more!
SIGN UP HERE
A NOTE TO THE READER
Dear Reader,
It is a curious but very welcome discovery that sometimes a story is given a welcome prod by a new fact that presents itself.
I had begun this story and decided that part of the action would take place in Utrecht in 1674. To gather some useful background my wife and I went there. (Strictly speaking, we went to see the Miffy museum, but I wanted to walk the city too.) It was then that I found out that on the first day of August 1674 the Dom fell down in the middle of some strange meteorological event. That just had to be worked in somehow.
Ben Salfield is a much better lute-player than Beniamino, though probably not much of a torturer. I encourage you to seek out his music. His brother Jon plays the guitar but, more importantly, taught me to fence, at which I am about as useful as Mercurius.
If you have enjoyed this novel I’d be really grateful if you would leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. I love to hear from readers, so please keep in touch through Facebook or Twitter, or leave a message on my website.
Dank je wel!
Graham Brack
ALSO BY GRAHAM BRACK
Master Mercurius Mysteries
DEATH IN DELFT
DISHONOUR AND OBEY
Josef Slonský Investigations
LYING & DYING
SLAUGHTER & FORGETTING
DEATH ON DUTY
FIELD OF DEATH
A SECOND DEATH
LAID IN EARTH
Published by Sapere Books.
20 Windermere Drive, Leeds, England, LS17 7UZ,
United Kingdom
saperebooks.com
Copyright © Graham Brack, 2020
Graham Brack has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events, other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales are purely coincidental.
eBook ISBN: 9781913518929
