Bartholomew Fair

by Ann Swinfen

  ‘Much better now,’ he said with a smile. ‘Quite well again. She had some severe stomach pains and was frightened that she was losing the babe, as she has done twice before, but it was a false alarm. All is well again.’

  ‘I am relieved to hear it,’ I said. ‘It was unfortunate we had to stay away so late that night at the Fair.’

  ‘Oh, it did not begin until after that, in the early hours of the morning. But she is quite well now, and has her appetite back.’

  It was decided that I should go out with Nick this time, even at the risk of being recognised by the puppeteers or the soldiers or Borecroft. The more time that passed without our discovering their whereabouts, the more worried Phelippes was growing. Sir Francis was keeping to his bed today, after the strain of yesterday’s ride, but Phelippes was reporting to him every hour, and Sir Francis himself thought I should help in the hunt.

  ‘It is a mystery to me,’ Berden said, as we set off from the stable yard, ‘where they can all be lying hid. One man – like Poley or Borecroft who both know London – can easily lose himself amongst the streets and alleys, but surely some of these soldiers are country lads. They cannot know the City. And the others, the puppeteers, are foreign. It must be even more difficult for them, because as soon as they open their mouths they will be known for Italians, yet for all my lads who have been searching the City from end to end, there is no word of them.’

  ‘Phelippes may be right,’ I said. ‘They may have gone to ground amongst the Italian community living here.’

  ‘If so, they have been very thorough about it. We’ve kept a watch on all the known Italian merchants and have seen nothing.’

  We made our way down to Thames Street. We would walk the length of it to Blackfriars, where the Fleet runs into the Thames just beyond the City wall, then work our way back through some of the narrow alleyways leading off Thames Street. At various points there were inns where Berden’s men would leave information for him, if they should have found anything.

  The cold wind of the day before had died away and summer heat had returned. I began to feel hot and sticky as we trudged along, past fishermen’s huts and tottering houses leaning together like old men. Many had been extended upward and outward in defiance of City regulations and looked ready to fall on our heads. I expect in the last century this might have been a fashionable part of the City, where the wealthy could have homes close to the heart of London yet overlooking the Thames, with their own steps down to the river and a boathouse for a private wherry or, if they were rich enough, a barge.

  Now the area was thoroughly run down and the wealthy had moved outside the City to the west, where a string of mansions reached from the Inns of Court to Westminster. The river was not so foul there and the air was fresher. The old houses here had been divided up into many smaller lodgings. In some, whole families would live in a single room. We were restricting our search to the City, for the moment at least. Later, it might be necessary to extend it to the west.

  ‘How many soldiers will there be, in this renegade group?’ Berden asked.

  I shook my head. ‘I do not know. The man who told me about the gunpowder did not say. Perhaps he did not know.’ I hesitated. ‘I have no real reason for thinking this, but I felt it was not many.’

  It occurred to me that I could visit Adam again and discover whether he knew, but I could not do so while I was with Nick Berden. He would feel obliged to tell Phelippes, who might have Adam fetched in for questioning.

  ‘If it is a large group,’ Berden said, ‘it is even more baffling that they can remain hidden.’

  ‘It is.’ I could think of nothing more to say. Like Berden and Phelippes, I could not understand how the soldiers and the Italians had managed to disappear.

  After I while I said ruefully, ‘I hope I have not started a false hare. What if the soldiers have decided to go home after all? And the Italians left the country? And Poley pursuing Borecroft simply because of some debt to this man Ingram Frizer? I shall look a fool then, shall I not? Especially since Sir Francis has left Barn Elms all because of this.’

  ‘You had to report it,’ Berden said firmly. ‘And Arthur was also sure there was something afoot. And so did this soldier who knew about the gunpowder.’

  ‘I hope you are right,’ I said, and sighed.

  It was a fruitless morning. By noon we were both hot and tired and we had found no trace of those we sought. Word left by Berden’s men at three taverns was just as negative. By now we had worked our way up to Cheapside, and went into the Three Bells for a pint and a pasty. I was feeling even more discouraged. And poor Nick had been doing this all the previous day as well. He did not seem unduly worried by our lack of success, but I suppose he was accustomed to these long, tedious searches. I was too impatient for this kind of work.

  The afternoon was nearly as tiresome, but towards the end we had two pieces of good fortune. One of Nick’s lads met us in Eastcheap and said he had caught a glimpse of Poley amongst the crowds in Three Needle Street, though he had lost him again, because of the press of people. So that meant at least that Poley was still in London.

  The other bit of luck occurred when we were on our way back to Seething Lane, footsore and rather discouraged. At the corner of Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street, Nick pointed out to me a large merchant’s house next to a grand shop selling fine cloth.

  ‘That is one of the Italian merchants we have been keeping an eye on,’ he said, ‘Giancarlo di Firenze. He is a man of standing, an honorary member of our own Drapers’ Company, for he has lived here more than twenty years. Phelippes has told me to be wary of him, for he has powerful friends. The house is as strong as a fortress, and so is the shop.’

  ‘He will have been at the Cloth Fair, then,’ I said.

  ‘Almost certainly.’

  And at that moment we had our first real piece of good fortune. A woman came out of the shop carrying a bundle, probably a bolt of cloth, and went up the steps of the house, where she was immediately admitted. She was dressed in the modest grey gown and white apron of a servant, but even so I knew her at once.

  ‘That is the woman!’ I whispered to Nick, though there was no need to whisper, there in the middle of a busy street. ‘The woman who was with the puppeteers. She spoke the voice for La Ruffiana,’ I said, suddenly thinking of the implications. ‘The outrage against Her Majesty.’

  ‘Are you sure? She did not look much as you described her.’

  ‘She is clad very differently, but I got a good look at her face. I am sure it is the same woman.’

  ‘Well!’ He looked pleased. ‘Something definite at last. That house is large enough to hide all that troupe of Italians. Or they may be scattered about, but at least one is here. Though the woman may be the least important.’

  ‘Do not be too sure.’ I remembered the imperious way the woman had looked over the men gathering for the meeting at the tent, as Arthur and I watched from the platform. ‘I think she may be one of the leaders. Though from all I have heard, Italian women are readier to use poison than gunpowder!’

  ‘More difficult to administer in a strange city,’ he said, with a grim laugh.

  All this time we had been walking on toward Seething Lane, quickening our steps now we had something at last to report.

  When Phelippes heard that we had seen the Italian woman, he sprang up excitedly.

  ‘The Italians will surely all be in that house!’ he said.

  ‘Do you want to arrest them now?’ Berden asked.

  Phelippes began to pace about the room, running his hand through his hair.

  ‘I will speak to Sir Francis, but I think not. Our purpose will be to arrest them all, not just the Italians. We want those soldiers with their gunpowder as well, otherwise they might go ahead on their own.’

  ‘Though how these Italians can be involved in a plot to blow up a building,’ I said, ‘I cannot imagine. It makes no sense. Subversive puppets and plays, yes, but surely not gunpowder?’

 
‘I am as puzzled as you about how the puppeteers fit in, Kit,’ he said, ‘but no doubt it will all become clear in the end. Nay, unless Sir Francis orders it, we will not make any arrests yet, but Nick, you must draw away your men watching the other Italian houses and double the guard on this one. Take care you are not seen, for Master di Firenze is a powerful and influential man. Indeed, I am surprised that he should be involved in this. He has a very secure place in our merchant community. Why would he risk that? He has much to lose.’

  ‘People will risk much for religion,’ I said. ‘If it is his religion that moves him. When we were sent to the auto-da-fé, there were those who went to the fire rather than repudiate their religion.’

  Both men looked at me, suddenly shocked. I believe they had long forgotten that I had faced the Inquisition as a child. There was an awkward silence. Then Arthur spoke from the door of his room. I had not realised he had been listening.

  ‘Kit is right,’ he said. ‘If the plan is to blow up a building in the centre of London, fanatical papists will think it justified that innocent people should die, in the cause of striking out against what they see as a godless, heretical country. Do not forget that in the eyes of such men, we are damned anyway, for we have rejected the traditional church, denied the authority of the Pope. They hardly see us as fellow Christians at all.’

  ‘And are we any better?’ I said, emboldened by hearing Arthur speak out like this. ‘We believe all Catholics are in league with the Devil. There are many in positions of power, in the court, on the Privy Council, who would burn them all.’

  ‘There is indeed intolerance on both sides,’ Phelippes said in a soothing voice, for Arthur and I had both spoken passionately. ‘What we need to concentrate on now is catching these conspirators.’

  ‘I will stay with my men tonight,’ Berden said, ‘and keep a watch on that house. We can see whether any of the soldiers call there. That will settle the matter for once and all, whether the two groups are working together.’

  ‘I think I should come with you,’ I said, trying to keep my voice steady and determined, though inwardly I was shaking. I did not want to spend the night in the streets, keeping watch on a house full of dangerous conspirators, who might have the gunpowder in their possession. However, I had worked with Berden before and felt I would be as safe with him as with anyone in the circumstances. And after all, I had my sword. I thought – with an inward laugh – how little use I would be if it came to using it.

  ‘That is an excellent idea,’ Berden said. ‘If anyone can identify the soldiers, it is Kit. He has seen them already, and he spotted that woman, which I would never have done.’

  ‘I could also identify them,’ Arthur said, coming forward into the room. ‘Kit is an excellent code-breaker, and I know he has carried out several missions for Sir Francis, but he is still very young. I can come in his stead.’

  Arthur, I realised, was trying to protect me from a possible dangerous encounter.

  ‘Nay,’ I said firmly. ‘You must go home to your wife, Arthur. There is no one to worry about me.’ I had not meant it to come out bitter, but I am afraid it did. ‘Besides, I have been trained in sword craft by Master Scannard at the Tower, one of England’s finest swordsmen. You cannot use a sword, I think.’

  ‘Kit is right,’ Berden said. ‘You must go home to your wife, though I hope that there will be no need for skill with the sword! We will be watchful and discreet.’

  ‘It is decided, then,’ Phelippes said. ‘The two of you will keep watch with Nick’s men, mainly to see who comes and goes, particularly if there is any sign of the soldiers. Or Poley or Borecroft, come to that,’ he added thoughtfully. ‘If one of the soldiers does appear, Nick, see that he is followed, but do not draw attention to yourselves. We want to know where they are hiding out.’

  Berden nodded. ‘I have a good man for such work. I’ll have him primed and ready to follow any soldier Kit identifies.’

  ‘Let us hope, having discovered where the Italians are, we can also locate the soldiers,’ Phelippes said. ‘Then we can arrest both groups at the same time, so they have no chance to warn each other.’

  ‘If the plan is to break into Drake’s home or his warehouse,’ I said hesitantly.

  ‘Aye, Kit?’

  ‘Why have they not done so already? They have had the gunpowder for some time. The meeting with the puppeteers was several days ago. The Italians are now in the city. So are Poley and Borecroft, if they are indeed involved. For all we know, the soldiers are here too. Why have they not acted? What are they waiting for?’

  ‘This has been worrying me too, Kit,’ Phelippes said. ‘As far as the warehouse is concerned, it is unlikely that any new goods will be stored there in the next few months. Drake’s credit is somewhat low after the failure of the latest expedition. He will find it difficult to obtain backers for another voyage against the Spanish treasure ships until men forget this latest disaster. They will forget, of course.’ He gave a thin-lipped smile. ‘Where there is possible profit, men can have remarkably short memories. That is why so many fall prey to fraudsters.’

  ‘So they might as well have attacked the warehouse already?’ I said.

  He nodded. ‘However, I have come by one piece of information which may have some significance. A large party of Drake’s family is due to arrive in London from Devon any time soon. You may not know this, but Drake has a great many brothers and sisters, and although he has no children of his own, there are also a great many nephews and nieces. The source of my information did not know the reason for the visit, but it is not hard to conjecture. No doubt some of these family members are hoping that he will use his influence to find them places at court or in the London guilds.’

  ‘They have not chosen the best time,’ Berden said with a grin. ‘As you say, he is somewhat out of favour at the moment.’

  ‘Perhaps they do not realise that, dazzled by the fact that a kinsman of lowly status like themselves has risen to such eminence – a knighthood and a fortune to cause envy in even the greatest of aristocrats.’

  We agreed, then, that the arrival of this party from Devon might have something to do with the seeming delay on the part of the conspirators, but everything appeared so tenuous, based on a few sightings, a few scraps of information. However, it was true that much of the work of the service began with nothing more than this. The sight of the woman going into the Italian merchant’s house had given me some hope that our ideas were not all woven from mist.

  By the time it was full dark, Berden and I were stationed in the deep porch of a house across the road from the Italian merchant’s home. He had placed men at strategic point around the house, including two outside the garden wall at the back of the property. Also with the two of us was a skinny nondescript man who was introduced to me as Tom Lewen. This was the fellow Berden believed could follow anyone without being observed. If I should see one of the soldiers I recognised coming out of the house, Lewen would follow him and discover where he was lodged. It was not our task to accost him or arrest him, merely to discover where the soldiers could be found.

  There was no reason why we should be lucky twice in one day. We might stand here all night and see nothing, for there might not be any need for the two groups to communicate. Before we had left Seething Lane, however, Phelippes had received word from his informer that the party from Devon would reach London the day after next. If the conspirators were waiting for them to arrive, they might also have heard the same news and need to confer together. It was a good enough reason for us to keep watch. Perhaps the plan was not simply to break in and steal valuables. Perhaps they wanted to kill as many of Drake’s family as possible. I had no love for Drake myself, but such wanton killing horrified me.

  We heard the bells from the church of St Edmund the Martyr strike midnight and I was becoming very tired of this uneventful waiting. At first I had stood beside the other two, but an hour or so earlier I had sat down cross legged on the wooden boards of the porch. In fact m
y head was nodding forward on to my chest when Berden poked me sharply in the ribs. I looked where he was pointing. The house, which had been in darkness, now showed the flickering of candles from two downstairs windows, and like all the wealthy houses in this part of London, a large lantern was hung beside the door. By the light of the lantern, I saw a man mount the steps. Before he could raise his hand to knock, the door was opened. The newcomer had his back to me, so I could not see his face, but the man who opened the door was clear enough in the light from the lantern. It was the swarthy fellow I had seen at the puppet show. He drew the other man quickly inside and closed the door.

  ‘I could not see the new man,’ I whispered to Berden, ‘but the other is one of the Italians from the Fair.’

  He nodded. ‘We’ll watch till he comes out. You ready, Tom?’

  ‘Aye.’

  It was the only word I had heard him speak.

  I do not know how long we waited, for the time seemed to crawl by, slow as a slug, but at last the door opened again, and I could see the face of the man leaving. I was standing now and gripped Berden’s arm.

  ‘Aye,’ I breathed. ‘It is one of the soldiers that Arthur and I saw.’

  He nodded to Lewen, who slipped out of the porch and slid away into the shadows.

  The soldier looked about him carefully, then flung the hood of his cloak over his head. He ran swiftly down the steps and strode along Gracechurch Street. A portion of the shadow followed after him. I do not know whether Berden was holding his breath, but I know that I was. At last we would know where the soldiers and the gunpowder were hidden away.

  Then there was a burst of shouting from the direction in which both men had disappeared, from the sound of it surely more than two men. A scream rang out, echoing from the walls of the surrounding houses. Berden and I burst from the porch and ran in the direction of the noise. Berden had drawn his sword already. I struggled to free mine from the scabbard as I ran.

  The street ahead was empty.