by D. K. Wilson
‘Where is Black Harry?’ I lifted the sword and held it, with both hands, about twelve inches above the man’s body. ‘No? In that case ...’ I brought the sword down. It pierced the flesh of his upper leg, pinning it to the floor.
‘Stop!’he screeched, writhing in agony.
‘I didn’t quite catch your answer.’ I tugged the blade free and moved its point to a spot just above the villain’s heart.
‘I daren’t,’ he squealed. ‘No one betrays Black Harry.’
‘You’d rather die for him, then? Very well.’
‘Don’t!’ he cried, ‘You can’t! You wouldn’t! Captain, call the madman off!’
‘You’re quite right,’ I replied. ‘Normally I wouldn’t kill you. But today I’m not feeling normal. I’ve been driven out of my wits by a coven of bestial hellhounds who beat to death a young man in Aldgate, and took small children hostage, and left them to starve to death, and murdered their father, and burned down a priest’s house, killing everyone in it, ravished a defenceless woman and drove her to take her own life, and committed I know not what other inhuman acts. So, today, yes I would do something that, at any other time, I would regard as beneath contempt. I would kill a defenceless, squirming creature who doesn’t deserve the dignity of being called a man.’ It was no less than the truth. In those moments I was not myself. I had descended to the level of the men I despised.
‘Stop!’ he cried. ‘In the name of God, I beg you. We only did what the other man paid us to do. It’s him you want.’
‘Oh, I’ll get round to him in good time. For the moment I’m only interested in the whereabouts of the villain who has brought you to within seconds of death.’
My victim rolled on to his side, trying to squirm away from my weapon. I simply moved its point to his throat.
‘Harry’s taking the prisoners to the man that pays us,’ he blurted out.
‘And where does he live?’
‘Over the river. Essex.’
‘Fletcham?’
‘Yes!’ he cried eagerly.
I stepped back. ‘At last!’ I returned the sword to its owner. ‘At last we have the breakthrough we need.’ I realised I was sweating and trembling.
‘You know this Fletcham place?’ the captain asked.
‘Yes. Now if we act quickly, we can haul in all our fish in one net.’
‘First we must get these securely locked up.’
We pulled three of the men to their feet.
‘What about this fellow?’ The captain indicated the wounded man.
‘The cut looks worse than it is,’ I said. ‘We’ll tend it when we get back to Hadbourne.’
We collected the horses from Bart, who was very disgruntled at having been excluded from the action.
‘You missed little,’ I said. ‘Black Harry has already gone. But we are on his trail now.’
‘Promise me that I’ll be there when you find him.’
‘I promise you. That is a meeting I would not miss for all the world.’
We tied our captives across their horses and jogged back to Hadbourne, where our prisoners were locked up with the others detained by the commission and awaiting their onward journey to Canterbury.
Morice was eager to know what had happened at Swansford but my only thoughts were now for Adie. My report was brief. ‘I’ll come back tomorrow,’ I promised. ‘We have to organise our trip to Fletcham to arrest Black Harry.’
As I made my way homeward with my companions none of us spoke much. I was exhausted and I knew we were all dreading what we might find at Hemmings. And beyond that lay what I earnestly prayed would be the end of this affair.
Chapter 24
I went straight to Adie’s room. The inert form on the bed seemed unchanged and a servant was patiently applying damp cloths to her brow.
‘How is she?’I asked.
‘She still has the great heat, Master, but she sometimes tries to speak – nothing that makes any sense; more like murmuring than talking. Master Longbourne has got her to swallow something and it seems to have eased her.’
‘Is that what I can smell?’ I had noticed a sickly odour as soon as I entered the chamber.
‘Yes, Master, some got spilled on the covers.’
I sat on the bed and took Adie’s limp hand in mine. ‘Adie, ’tis me, Thomas, Thomas Treviot. How do you fare, my dear?’
Eyelids flickered. Lips slightly parted. But if she wanted to speak she lacked the energy and her face reposed into a calm, devoid of all expression.
I tried to find words for the situation, words that might be more efficacious-than Ned’s nostrums. The only ones I could voice were, ‘Dear Adie, don’t leave us. Everyone here loves you.’
‘Where is Master Longbourne?’ I asked, as I stood up.
‘In his chamber, Master. He looks fair worn out. He’s been here hours and hours. Mistress Lizzie had to drag him away and make him rest.’
I entered Ned’s room and saw him stretched on the bed, fully clothed. A candle almost burned down stood on the chest beside him and one hand still held an open book. I turned to leave quietly but, as I did so, Ned stirred.
‘Is that you, Thomas?’ He struggled into a sitting position. ‘Did you find the villains?’
‘We found their lair but the archvillain was gone.’
‘Slippery as an eel – or perhaps “serpent” would be a better analogy. I’ve been praying for him.’
‘Praying?’ I scoffed. ‘He merits flaying, not praying.’
‘The meanest wretch is not beyond God’s mercy – else where would any of us be? Now, I must go and look to Adie.’
I put my hand on his shoulder. ‘Sit awhile. We don’t want you falling ill as well. What can you tell me of the patient?’
‘The next few hours will be crucial. If the fever breaks she will recover. If not ...’ He shook his head. ‘I was able to get powdered Norwegian angelica from the Tonbridge apothecary. He is certainly well skilled; few people know its properties. I’m afraid I made a nuisance of myself in the kitchen. I had to make up some sort of distilling apparatus to make pure water from vapour. That dispels any injurious elements that may have penetrated it. With that I made up angelica water and got Adie to drink some.’
‘Was that the sweet odour I noticed in her room?’
‘Yes, ’tis the best herb I know for her condition. It grows only on riverbanks and draws out moist humours.’ He glanced up with one of his knowing smiles. ‘You are more than usually concerned for this young lady.’
‘Her plight feeds my anger. I will punish Black Harry for the anguish he inflicts on all his victims, even if I have to hunt him for the rest of my life. But if he should swing and Adie still die I would feel as though he had won.’
Ned stood and stretched his back. ‘Well, she is young and strong and that is enormously in her favour. Any simples or other treatments we physicians apply don’t really do anything.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Merely that they are only aids. The body heals itself – if it wants to.’
‘You still think Adie might will herself to die?’
‘I think that once the fever has broken she will need another kind of medicine, one that lies well beyond my poor skills. We must all – and you especially – make her want to live. And now, you must excuse me. I have a patient to tend.’
The following morning I returned to Hadbourne. I needed to find Morice before he moved on to Maidstone with Legh’s cavalcade. The house was a scene of considerable activity as the clergy of the region came and went to kneel before the fat lawyer and make their formal submission.
‘Is everything going well?’ I asked, as we sat outside on a bench, enjoying the warmth of an autumn sun.
‘Oh, yes. We’ve packed off a wagonload of troublemakers to Canterbury jail and yesterday in all the churches the clergy either preached on the royal supremacy or read statements affirming it.’
‘Legh has proved his worth, then.’
‘Certainly.
Before he came we were only firing arrows against our enemies. Legh is a cannon by comparison, and has thoroughly breached their fortifications. Several little conspiracies have come to light that we were ignorant of before. Life is going to become very difficult for his grace’s enemies in Canterbury when we have compiled all the evidence into a report to set before the king. The guard captain tells me you had quite a productive day at Swansford.’
‘Yes, we didn’t lay our hands on the leader but as I’ve thought about it I’ve come to the conclusion that it is to our advantage that he’s still at liberty.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Black Harry has gone to Fletcham and he’s taken the priests, Horton and Garrow, with him. That can only be for the purpose of extracting confessions of heresy from them. Presumably Brooke, the arch-conspirator, will take charge of the interrogation. With any luck, we can catch them together. We might even be able to gather proof of their own little Inquisition. Connecting Brooke with a gang of convicted felons will strike right at the heart of the conspiracy against his grace.’
‘How would you like to proceed?’
‘Much as we did at Swansford; an assault by the archbishop’s armed guard.’
Morice shook his head. ‘That could be difficult – perhaps impossible.’
‘Why?’
‘His grace has no direct authority there. He would have to confer with the Bishop of London.’
‘There’s no time for such episcopal niceties!’ I exclaimed. ‘Within a few days, news will reach Fletcham that we’ve rounded up some of Brooke’s criminal henchmen. Then he is sure to run. And I wouldn’t take any wagers on the survival of his prisoners. Our only chance of complete success is surprise. We must go to Fletcham tomorrow.’
‘Yes, I understand that; I really do.’ Morice’s brow creased in a deep frown of frustration. ‘But I don’t have the authority to sanction it, and I know very well what the archbishop’s reaction will be. He’ll demand time to think about it. Then, because he’s a stickler for correct procedure, he’ll ask for cooperation from Bishop Bonner, and we know what Bonner’s reaction will be.’
‘Yes, I was in St Paul’s Yard last year when his men raided the bookstalls and went on to smash the presses of printers the bishop suspected of publishing heresy.’
‘At the best he’d create delay. At the worst he’d get news to Norfolk or Chapuys that their game was up.’
‘So you’re saying we can do nothing without his grace’s permission and if we wait for his grace’s permission we might as well do nothing. That will mean letting Brooke compile his evidence unhindered. It seems to me that someone needs to protect his grace against his grace.’
‘It wouldn’t be the first time,’ Morice muttered.
‘Could we not “borrow” some of the archiepiscopal guard for a couple of days?’
‘If we did that and the operation failed we’d be in terrible trouble.’
‘If we do nothing we’re in trouble anyway – and so is the archbishop,’ I almost shouted. ‘You politicians can always find reasons for doing nothing! Mary and all the saints. Does it take a simple merchant to show you what must be done?’
‘Let me think! Let me think!’ Morice walked a few steps along the terrace and stood staring out towards the orchard. It was several minutes before he came back to where I sat. ‘It’s all a question of timing,’ he said. ‘The evidence the commission is collecting is damning. When my report goes to his majesty, he’ll understand just how serious the campaign against the archbishop is.’
‘And how long will it take you to compile your report?’
‘The commission doesn’t complete its work for a couple of weeks.’
‘Too long,’ I said.
‘I could do an interim report and show it to his grace. That might persuade him to set his scruples aside and back a raid on Fletcham.’
‘When could you do that?’
‘By the end of the week ... perhaps.’
‘By which time Norfolk will be laying before the king evidence of the archbishop’s support of alleged heretics.’
‘That really is the best I can suggest, Thomas.’
‘But, Ralph, just think what this business has already cost,’ I pleaded. ‘A good man has, by now, been brutally murdered in gathering information about Chapuys, Norfolk and Brooke. I won’t even mention what I and others I care about have been through in order to bring to justice a fanatical killer and his gang. Is all that sacrifice to be wasted? Well, not if I can help it.’
‘Then I’m sorry,’ Morice said, ‘but you may find yourself alone.’
I stood up. ‘Then that’s the way it will have to be. If it means going against the law – well, that will only prove that law and justice are not the same thing.’ I turned to enter the house.
‘Just a minute,’ Morice called. ‘Let me have a word with the captain. It might be possible to do something – unofficially. Wait here.’
It was about half an hour before he returned with the captain.
‘I’ve explained the situation to Captain Trent,’ he said.
‘I understand you want some professional help with an expedition like yesterday’s, Master Treviot.’
‘It won’t be as easy as yesterday’s,’ I said. ‘The men we’re after will probably put up more of a fight.’
‘My lads would relish that,’ Trent said. ‘They were quite disappointed with the Swansford brawl.’
Morice said, ‘I’m not very happy about this but I could spare three guards from the commission escort – just for two days.’ ‘I can detail off three good men,’ Trent said.
‘Before you agree too readily,’ Morice warned, ‘I must make it clear that this is unofficial. No one is to wear his grace’s livery. They will be acting in a private capacity for Master Treviot. This escapade has nothing to do with the archbishop or me. If anything goes wrong, I know nothing about what you are planning. If anyone is captured or ... worse, I can’t help you. Is that quite understood?’
Trent nodded.
I said, ‘Thank you, Ralph. I realise this has put you in a difficult position. We won’t let you down.’
Morice departed swiftly, only too anxious to leave any conspiring to us. We arranged that the troopers would come to my house early the following morning, ready for the journey to Gravesend and, thence, across to the Essex shore.
Back at Hemmings I told Walt to assemble all the most able-bodied outdoor estate workers. When they were gathered in the long barn, I addressed them.
‘You all know something of the troubles in the county – indeed in the whole country.’
‘Aye,’ someone called out, ‘dear bread and cheap death!’
‘Yes, Adam,’ I agreed, ‘’tis a hard year and we can only pray for a better one to follow, but I think you are all fairly provided for. No man who works for me goes hungry, unless he wastes his wages. I think I can say that I treat you as Well as any master and better than some.’
There was a general murmur of assent.
I continued, ‘For my part, I could not want a more able and willing body of men. When I speak of troubles, I don’t just mean the terrible weather, the shortages and high prices. England is tearing itself apart with religious strife. I’m sure you would prefer not to be involved in such things, I know I would. But although we don’t look for trouble sometimes trouble comes looking for us. It has certainly found me and my friends these last few weeks.’
‘How is Mistress Adie?’someone asked.
‘Sore sick,’ I replied, ‘and all because of her handling by evil men.’
‘And the bearns?’ another voice shouted.
‘They’ve had some frightening experiences but I think they will rise above them. What I have to tell you is that we have the opportunity now to bring to justice the evil rake-hells responsible for these and other outrages. Tomorrow I set out for Essex, where, God-willing, we will arrest the leader of this gang, who goes by the name of Black Harry. I would like six volunteers to come
with me. It will be dangerous and, for that reason, I would prefer to take unmarried men. I will not press any man and I will not think any the worse of anyone who does not wish to volunteer. Any questions?’
‘Will we be armed?’
‘Bring knives, clubs and any weapons you feel comfortable with.’
‘How many of them will we be up against?’
‘I’m not sure but I don’t think we will be outnumbered and I plan to take them by surprise.’
‘Will there be extra pay?’
‘There will be rewards for those who come but I don’t want to say anything about that because I only want men who are with me for the right reasons.’
‘It’ll be like catching rats,’ someone said.
‘Exactly. That’s how I’d like you to think of it. So who wants to come on an expedition to rid the land of vermin?’
Almost every man raised a hand. It took several minutes to make my selection and to pacify the ones who were not chosen but thought they should have been. I assembled my little army and gave instructions for our assembly on the morrow. As I looked round at the familiar faces of men, most of whom I had known for years, I reflected on what I was asking of them and what they were willingly undertaking. Were my feelings, I wondered, those experienced by every commander on the eve of battle – those of mingled pride and fear?
Chapter 25
We set off at first light on Tuesday and reached our destination by midday. Now that I could see Brooke’s manor clearly, I realised how small it was. The two-storey house stood on a slight rise at some distance from the tiny hamlet of Fletcham and had, I assumed, begun life as a hunting lodge. It was not the sort of residence where its owner would live for long periods of time but its isolated position suited it ideally for the performance of nefarious activities. I thought again of Adie and the boys shut up here far away from all human contact, hearing only the wind howling across the marsh and the occasional screeching of an owl, as they waited to die.
