Lucy's Blade

by John Lambshead

  "Do you think I can win?" asked Simon.

  "Of course you can," said Gwilym.

  "Thank you for lying," said Simon and walked towards his opponent.

  The master nodded and strode to the side of the chosen spot. Gwilym stood opposite him. "Take your places, gentleman."

  The duellists advanced with drawn swords and touched sword points.

  "Gentlemen, fight," said the master, drawing the word out.

  Simon backed off immediately, giving himself space. William advanced, making a series of exploratory cuts. The swords rang as Simon parried. He backed away after each of William's thrusts. Slightly puzzled William followed up. He launched a high cut to Simon's left. Simon parried and this time stepped forward inside William's guard. He moved out of the parry into a high cut. William jumped and twisted to avoid the sword, his battle-trained reflexes cutting in before he could think. Simon's sword swished across William's body, the point slicing through his shirt and leaving a thin line of blood across his chest. The lions in the cages roared, excited by the clash of steel and the smell of blood

  "Hold!" said Gwilym and the master simultaneously.

  "Blood has been drawn. Is your honour satisfied?" the master said to Simon.

  "Yes," said Simon.

  "Do you accept the result?" the master asked William.

  "Damn your eyes, no," said William. " 'Tis but a scratch. I fight on unless I get an apology."

  The duellists assumed their places and the master started the fight again. William was angry now and he attacked Simon with strength and vigour. The secretary was soon in trouble, being beaten back with every blow of William's weapon. Simon stumbled and William launched a vicious overhead blow. It beat down Simon's sword and bit into his shoulder. Red blood flowed.

  The seconds stopped the fight again to check that Simon could fight on. The wound was superficial. Each of the duellists was offered the chance to withdraw but both vowed to continue.

  "Best of three?" asked Simon to William, with a jauntiness that he didn't feel.

  William came in swinging. He was angry and fighting to kill. Both men were tiring so there was little dodging or clever tricks. This was a straight slashing match and William's greater size and endurance told. Simon was forced back, foot by foot. A blow smashed Simon to his knees. William swung his weapon in a high overhead arc to build momentum. Simon raised his sword desperately but this stroke could not be parried.

  A slim form slipped between them and the hilt of William's sword smashed into a small hand with an audible thump. Blood spurted down the girl's arm. "What are you doing?" Lucy cried. "How could you?"

  "Sweet Jesu sake—" began Simon.

  "You stupid, stupid girl. I could have killed you," said William. "Why are you interfering in men's affairs?" He said, "Oh my God, your hand."

  She pulled the sword out of his unresisting hand and it dropped, covered in her blood.

  'Control trauma, shut down peripheral blood vessels, and build up shielding in the right hand,' thought Lilith to herself. 'Increase cell division in damaged area, oh, and I must remember to activate the immune system to Clostridium incursion.'

  "It's a matter of honour, Lucy," said Simon.

  "Men's honour. Boy's games," Lucy said. "Don't you selfish bastards think of anyone else but yourselves and your stupid honour?"

  The men were shocked into silence to hear her swear.

  "Go on then. Kill each other. The scandal will point straight at me. Leave me friendless and dishonoured but why will you care? You will be dead when it all comes out. It's me they'll punish. What of your promise to me, Master Tunstall? How will you fulfil it when you're dead?"

  She burst into tears and turned away from them. Lilith reviewed her subroutines. She had blocked all pain reception from Lucy's hand because pain caused the girl distress. She now saw that a degree of pain was necessary for Lucy to monitor the condition of her body. Lilith thought it a cruel method but, nevertheless, she considered that she had to let some pain through.

  The men saw Lucy gasp and clutch her hand. Blood dripped from it onto the lawn. Simon and William rushed to her but she shrugged them off, turning to Gwilym instead. He bandaged it tight to stop the bleeding and helped her to her chamber, calling for her maid.

  "Now look what you've done," said Simon.

  "Me?" asked William. "You brought on this stupid duel." He stopped. "Do you think she will lose the hand?"

  "No," Simon said. "Lilith will cure it. I have seen this before."

  "I don't understand why the sword didn't take her hand right off," said William.

  Simon was about to hit the man when he realised that William was deeply upset. "Honestly," said Simon. "She will recover. You saw her fight."

  William had put those events of that night into a compartment of his brain that he preferred to keep closed. Now he had to open it. Packenham had thrown her across the square into a wall. William himself had been sore for a week when Packenham had but elbowed him but Lucy was dancing only hours later after receiving a much worse blow. He really did not want to think about that.

  Simon took his sword and thrust it into the earth, point first. What he was about to do next burned his soul but Lucy's needs came first. He held out his hand to William. "Captain Hawkins, I know you to be no coward but a gallant gentleman. Please accept my apology for false words spoken in anger."

  William took his hand. "I accept gladly, sir. We have shed each other's blood and the matter of honour between us is closed. We shall not speak of it again.

  "What did Lady Dennys mean by your promise to her?" Curious, William asked.

  "I promised," said Simon, quietly and carefully, "to kill her with my own hand rather than see her burn. She is frightened of the fire."

  "To kill her? Are you mad? Why should anyone burn her just because she does a little magic? She is Walsingham's niece."

  "Lucy isn't a witch," said Simon. "She's possessed, you fool. Didn't you notice? What do you think Lilith is?"

  "When you said Lilith, I thought you meant her herb-woman," said William.

  "Lilith is a demon. You watched Lucy and Packenham fight in the mundane sphere. In the Other World, whatever demon was in him fought Lilith and Lilith proved the stronger."

  "Possessed, is she? Poor little girl," said William. "But the cross didn't hurt her." He mulled this over.

  William decided this was an opportune to clear up another issue. "What are your intentions to Lady Dennys?" William said to Simon.

  "Intentions?" asked Simon, genuinely baffled.

  "You and she are close. Do you seek her hand?" asked William.

  "My father was a clerk, as was his father before him. What you suggest is impossible. I have known Lucy since she was but a small child. I love her like a sister." Simon was not being entirely honest about his feelings but he spoke truly about his intentions.

  "Then you and I must be friends, Master Tunstall." William slipped his arm inside Simon's. "For I intend to win her as my wife. I could not determine how such an enterprise might be done but now I see clearly. I shall free her of the demon and Walsingham will give her to me in gratitude. Come, Master Tunstall, tell me all you know."

  Behind them, two of the lions snarled and spat at each other.

  "Mad, quite mad," said Simon, but he followed anyway.

  Act 14

  The Safe House

  Walsingham chaired the meeting as usual. Simon attended to take notes and William to represent the enforcement end of the operation. Pooley was the star, though, Pooley and his watcher teams. The spy handed Walsingham every address visited by Ridolphi.

  "Let me see," said Walsingham. "He spends a great deal of time at the Spanish Embassy. Hmmm. I see we have the usual list of suspects. He has been passing money around Catholic sympathisers. Make a note of the names, Tunstall. We will mount a series of raids after the next batch of Jesuits arrive. I suspect that we may pick up a few hiding at these addresses. Of course, the Spanish secret service would no
t use any of these people. Too obvious."

  "What are we looking for?" asked William, fascinated. Secret service methodology was a new experience.

  "A safe house for the plotters. De Mendoza will use an innocuous address that has no obvious links with known English Catholic families or the Spanish themselves," said Walsingham. "I see Ridolphi visits Madame Bouvier's hostel for young ladies at regular intervals. I wonder what His Holiness would say about that."

  Simon and Pooley laughed; William looked baffled.

  "It's a French brothel," Simon whispered in William's ear.

  "Now this is more promising, a previously unknown address, the White Hart boarding house. Where would that be, Pooley?"

  "It's a run-down area up in the south-central region below Watling Street

  ," said Pooley.

  "No access to the city wall or the river then?" Walsingham said.

  "No, sir," confirmed Pooley.

  "Useless for de Mendoza's purpose then. He needs a location suitable for getting his agents in and out of the city at night. Ridolphi visited a deserted house on four occasions. Stink Lane

  , where is that?"

  "Below Thames Street

  , sir," said Pooley.

  "On the river?"

  "Yes sir, adjoining Billingsgate Dock," said Pooley.

  "Easy access to the river and from there to anywhere in the world," said Walsingham. "Well done, Pooley, I think you have found a safe house. So how are you going to raid it, Captain?"

  "What are my exact objectives?" asked William. He felt on firm ground now they had a military enterprise to discuss.

  Walsingham ticked them off on his fingers. "I want the place secured. I want any documents and other objects in perfect condition. They will have a weighted bag handy to dump sensitive material in the Thames. I want everybody in there taken, preferably alive. I want it done quietly so I can set up a trap in the house to pick up morsels, before the Spanish realise that their safe house is blown."

  "That won't be easy," said William.

  "If it was easy then I wouldn't have had to call on one of John Hawkin's best men to arrange the enterprise, would I, Captain? Hmmm? Drake isn't available so I have you instead." Walsingham put his hands together as if in prayer.

  William flushed with pleasure. He knew Walsingham was building up his morale, he had done the same himself too often not to recognise the trick, but he was extraordinarily pleased nonetheless. To be mentioned in the same sentence as Drake was most satisfying.

  There will be no holding the arrogant, provincial whoreson now, thought Simon. Long experience allowed him to keep a straight face but he was disturbed. Walsingham would sing a different tune if he knew the captain's intentions towards his niece.

  "Can you draw me the layout of the area, Pooley?" asked William.

  The spy chalked an outline on a slate.

  "Do you have a plan, Captain?" asked Walsingham.

  "The house is right on the river?" He looked to Pooley for confirmation. The spy nodded. "Then we will need to enter from the land and river at the exact selfsame moment. Is there a place where a lookout man can see both points?"

  "Here, captain, right at the head of the dock." Pooley marked a spot on the slate.

  "Then we can do it, Sir Francis."

  "Tomorrow then, Captain. Early while they are still asleep. Tunstall, go you with them to search for documents and evidence. You know what I need."

  Lucy was back at her seat outside the window with a book lent to her by the keeper. She often visited him on his lonely watch and he had taken a shine to her. Gwilym sat by her with his feet outstretched.

  "I am quite safe now the monster is dead, Gwilym," said Lucy.

  "I suspect from what I 'ave heard that you were quite safe before, 'ighness," said Gwilym. "But 'is nibs 'as given me clear instructions and I don't care to contradict him."

  The pair sat for a while in the sun.

  "It's odd, 'ighness. I find you 'ere whenever 'is nibs 'as a meeting in 'is rooms."

  "Has he a meeting, Gwilym?" Lucy said innocently. "One could not hear anything from here anyway."

  "I certainly couldn't, 'ighness. But what can you 'ear, I wonder?"

  Whoops, humans were so intuitive, thought Lilith. Their sharp, little minds could jump over chasms of ignorance to truth. She was still not sure how they did it. She had monitored Lucy's brain when the girl was using intuitive thinking many times. But she still did not understand the process. The People thought with small steps along determined routes but they did it very fast. Lucy thought slowly but in jumps. Lilith suspected that many of the intermediate linkages were being made but on some subconscious level.

  "They have found a safe house," the girl used the unfamiliar term self-consciously. "Captain Hawkins intends to raid it tomorrow morning."

  "And you want to go as well?" asked Gwilym.

  "What if they find another demon? They would be massacred." Lucy sucked on a nail pensively.

  Gwilym snorted. "That bunch ain't so easily massacred, 'ighness. They will feel that they 'ave to look after you, if you go as well. Then there is 'is nibs to consider."

  "Gwilym, I can make the difference. I know I can. Oh, I wish I had been born a boy." She stamped her foot.

  "Well miss, I am sure God 'ad 'is purpose in making you a maid." Gwilym smiled at her.

  Liliith noticed that Lucy blushed and added the data to her model.

  "I must go with them, Gwilym. How can I persuade them?"

  "You will need to convince that captain. He will be loath to take you for two reasons. Firstly, he will be reluctant to annoy 'is nibs and secondly—he's set his cap at you and will be terrified of getting you hurt."

  Lucy flushed again. It seemed to be a day for it. "Stuff and nonsense, Gwilym. Sir Francis would never give me to a sea rover. The idea!"

  Gwilym ignored her. "If you must go then you 'ave to find reasons to overcome those objections. As to your protection, why 'ighness you may remind 'em that I am charged with that."

  "You don't have to come, Gwilym. There is no reason for you to be put in danger as well."

  He just looked at her.

  "I am sorry, Gwilym. That was a foolish remark of a silly girl. Forgive me," she said. "My uncle has charged you with my safety so of course you would follow me down to hell, if necessary."

  "Not to worry, 'ighness. You weren't thinking of trespassing on Beelzebub's estates were you?"

  "Not at present," said Lucy. "There is enough wickedness in London for me. But I will make sure you are the first to know if I intend a descent to the Pit."

  A door opened and Simon and William walked out in deep conversation. "They do seem to be such pals now," said Lucy.

  'Are you not pleased that their quarrel is reconciled?' thought Lilith.

  'Yeees,' thought Lucy. 'But I don't see why they have to be so thick with each other. It unnerves me.'

  Lilith's human behaviour model ran round its loop. Well, well, she thought. Lucy is worried that they will talk about her. But why should that bother the girl?

  "Captain, Master Tunstall," said Lucy. "How intimate is your conversation? Do I interrupt?"

  "You never interrupt, Lady Dennis," said William. "How can such beauty ever be an interruption?"

  Simon's lips curled. Watching the captain flirt was like watching a cow ice-skating.

  'My, isn't he gallant?' thought Lilith, admiringly.

  Lucy lowered her head modestly and then looked up at William through her lashes. "Why, Captain, how gallant you are."

  Simon wondered what she was up to. He knew Lucy far better than William. She was never more devious than when she adopted her "little lost girl among men" pose.

  Lucy took his arm. "There was a small matter you can help me with," she said.

  She was actually simpering, Simon noted with alarm. Oh well, the gallant sea dog would learn the hard way. The mariners might sing that "all the nice girls like a sailor" but, in Simon's experience, all the nice girl
s liked a titled gentleman with five thousand pounds a year income from his estates. Lucy was after something.

  It was like watching a boat getting it wrong shooting London Bridge. Everyone could see that it would come to no good but there was nothing anyone could do. The water carried events inexorably on to disaster.

  "Anything in my power is yours, milady," William said.

  "Thank you, Captain," Lucy positively purred. "Then I will come with you on the raid tomorrow."

  "What!" William looked horrified.

  And there is the disaster, thought Simon with grim amusement. Let's see you get out of this one, my bold salt.

  "Under no circumstances," said William. "How do you know about the raid?"

  "You promised," said Lucy, ignoring his question. "You gave your word."

  "I did not!" said William.

  "Anything in your power, you said." She pouted and stamped her foot.

  "Yes, but—" said William, trying to get a word in.

  "Just because I am a weak and feeble girl, you think you can cozen and ignore me."

  Simon choked back a laugh. Queen Elizabeth was fond of the weak-and-feeble woman line, usually just before cutting some poor bastard off at the knees. Lucy had obviously been studying her technique.

  "I don't—" said William.

  "It's not fair," said Lucy, stamping her foot again.

  Here come the tears, thought Simon. That's the next weapon in her formidable armoury.

  "And all I am trying to do is protect you," Lucy sobbed.

  "Protect me!" said William, in astonishment. The concept of him needing protection was a little difficult to come to terms with.

  "Very well, if you won't let me come with you then I shall have to do the job alone," said Lucy.

  "Out of the question. You may be strong and fast but you are not bulletproof. One unlucky shot, that's all it takes, my lady, to make you worm food. I have made my decision and it's final. You are not going near that house."

  "And how will you stop me?" she asked.

  That of course is the rub, thought William. He could order her and be disobeyed. He could not physically restrain her. It was socially unacceptable and probably practically impossible due to that damn demon she carried around with her. That demon had got to go. He couldn't even put Lucy across his knee and administer the smacking she so richly deserved. The spoilt little rich girl just did not seem to understand the danger.