by Jo Macauley
First published in 2013 by Curious Fox,
an imprint of Capstone Global Library Limited,
7 Pilgrim Street, London, EC4V 6LB
Registered company number: 6695582
www.curious-fox.com
Text © Hothouse Fiction Ltd 2013
Series created by Hothouse Fiction
www.hothousefiction.com
The author’s moral rights are hereby asserted.
Cover design by samcombes.co.uk
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
ISBN 978 1 78202 044 8
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner.
ebook created by Hothouse Fiction Ltd
With special thanks to Martyn Beardsley
With special thanks to Jane
Prologue - London, 4 November 1664
In the eerie half-light before dawn, the ship drifted through the autumn mist like a restless ghost. John and Will caught their first glimpse of it as they rowed their little boat through the vapoury grey swirls. The brooding turrets of the Tower of London rose out of the haze on their left. John shivered as he thought of the last time he’d been there two years ago to watch the execution of Sir Henry Vale, one of the men who had signed the death warrant of Charles I. He shook his head to rid himself of the gruesome image and turned his attention back to the vessel that lay straight ahead of them. Its black hull and naked masts were silhouetted against an arc of brightening, star-speckled sky.
“What do we know about it?” John asked in a hushed tone, as if afraid he might wake the slumbering monster.
“Naught,” Will replied. “Some of the watermen thought it was one of our warships come loose from her moorings, but all our vessels are accounted for. Mister Jones asked me to take someone to investigate before it causes a collision.” He glanced at John’s hands. “Are you trembling?”
John frowned. “’Tis just the cold – and the early hour. I should still be in bed.”
“Let us get this over with quickly then,” Will said. “I’ll get on board and throw you a line, then we’ll tow her to the bank and find a mooring post somewhere.”
With frozen hands, they pulled harder on their oars until they had drawn alongside. The black wooden hull of the mystery vessel towered over them. There were no signs of life on board, just the mournful creak of timbers and the occasional slap of wet rigging against the mast. A spiral of mist curled its way into an open porthole like a probing finger.
“Will...?”
“What?”
“Do you ... do you believe in ghost ships?”
“Oh, don’t start...”
“But something doesn’t feel right.”
Will shook his head. “She’s just a leaky old tub whose mooring rope has parted. Look.”
Will reached over and banged his fist against the side. A raven they hadn’t noticed, perched in the darkness at the end of the foresail yard, took sudden, noisy flight. Will jumped, almost overturning their boat.
“Naught to be scared of, eh?” smirked John.
Will ignored him and glanced up at the side of the ship. “Let’s find her name.”
They rowed along the side of the huge, dark shape. The ship’s name was at the bow, picked out in blood-red letters against the black timbers:
DOODGAAN
“What does it mean?” John whispered. “It looks Dutch.” He shuddered. A war with the Dutch was looming – everyone in the Navy knew it. Could an enemy ship have made its way to the very heart of London?
There was a sudden swell on the river. Their boat bobbed from side to side and the great black ship rolled so that its foremast swayed above their heads. Somewhere on deck something fell with an echoing bump and rolled across the planking.
“Let’s just get her to the river bank,” said Will, no longer sounding quite so chirpy. When their boat had stopped rocking, he stood up and reached into the stern for a coiled rope with a grappling hook at one end. Taking careful aim, he tossed the hook up and over the ship’s side-rail. It landed on the deck with a clatter, which echoed across the river. They both paused for a moment, as if they expected the crew to come scurrying to the side to see who was boarding their ship. But the sound was quickly swallowed by the curtains of mist. Will pulled on the rope and, satisfied that the hook was fast, put one foot against the Doodgaan’s side.
“Careful,” John urged, holding onto the end of the rope as tightly as he could.
Will shinned his way up, wrapped his arm round the rail at the top, and then hauled himself over onto the upper deck. John could just make out his grey outline as he peered back down.
“Nicely done, Will,” he called. “Now find a line and let us shift ourselves from here.”
“I’m going to take a quick look around...”
“What? No!” John cried. “Just find a mooring rope and let us leave!”
But Will had already vanished, leaving him shivering in the boat. He gazed at the slowly lightening sky and the stars flickering out on the eastern horizon like spent candles. He heard Will’s faint footsteps on the deck as they gradually faded to nothing. Had he gone below? Why would he do a foolish thing like that? John waited and waited. How long could it take to explore? What had happened down there? What if Will had tripped and fallen down the hatchway into the hold?
An unearthly shriek from deep within the black hull rang out across the river. John’s muscles froze.
“Will?”
There was no response.
He stood up and tugged on the rope so that the grappling hook would make a noise Will might hear. There was no response. John felt he had no choice – he had to go up there himself. A voice inside his head shouted that it was a foolish thing to do, but he ignored it and got to his feet. As soon as he prepared to climb, the rope went strangely slack in his hands. The grappling hook shot down towards him, striking him hard on the side of the head. John collapsed onto the floor of the rowing boat. Then everything went dark...
Chapter One - The Enemy Within
“Oh, really – this is too much!”
Benjamin Lovett tore off his wig and threw it down like a spoiled child, then stomped to the edge of the stage.
Centre-stage, Beth ran her fingers through her long, chestnut-brown hair, and gave a frustrated sigh. What was his problem this time? It was hard enough practising for a brand-new role without one of her fellow actors throwing tantrums all the time.
“Benjamin, my dear,” pleaded William Huntingdon, the theatre manager. “I really had hoped to get on to Act Three before this morning was out. With the theatre closed for the bonfire celebrations on the morrow, we’re running out of rehearsal time!”
“She just doesn’t live the part,” Lovett whinged. “When I used to play the role of Henrietta—”
“Huh!” Beth uttered involuntarily, interrupting him. Her face flushed with anger and her emerald eyes bore into him. She pictured herself sticking Lovett on top of the King’s bonfire at the Tower tomorrow instead of the effigy of Guy Fawkes...
“Benjamin, Benjamin—” began Huntingdon soothingly.
“Sir, just because the law hath been changed to allow females on the stage, it does not follow that you must use them. In the old days, people were more than happy with my art – my Desdemona was a triumph, you will recall. Do you really think you would get a performance like that from her? And as for my
Juliet, the Earl of Buckingham himself said that it was one of the most moving he had seen!”
“Made me weep right enough,” muttered old Matthew the prompter, grinning slyly at Beth from his little box sticking up at the front edge of the stage.
But Beth was too angry to smile back. She hated the way Lovett always tried to make her look bad. Although she was receiving better and better reviews for each successive performance, she was afraid that one day Lovett would get his way and Huntingdon would hand him a female role just to keep him quiet. It had taken her two years to fulfil her dream of becoming an actress and she wasn’t going to go back to selling oranges without a fight.
“Benjamin, you were one of the finest players of female roles the stage has ever seen,” said Huntingdon. “But people want to see actresses now, and there is none more popular in all of London than our Beth. The Duke of York’s theatre pulls in more people because of their actresses, and so must we. ’Tis bad enough that they seem to know what plays we plan to produce almost before I do...”
Beth felt the back of her neck begin to prickle with excitement. Not for very much longer they wouldn’t. Not if she had anything to do with it. For some months now, the Duke’s Theatre had been getting sell-out audiences and glowing reviews for plays the King’s Theatre had been planning to stage. No matter how quickly they rehearsed, their rivals always seemed to be one step ahead of them. Clearly one of their own at the King’s Theatre was informing the other theatre of their plans. The question was, who? Since Beth had begun investigating, she had managed to narrow it down to two suspects. Unfortunately, Lovett was not one of them.
“She can’t even walk like a woman!” he hissed, gesturing at her dismissively with his gloved hand.
Beth was taller than Lovett and athletically built. She looked at his podgy legs, balding head and potbelly and once again anger shot through her body like a flare.
“But I am a woman!” she exploded. “How can I not know how to walk like one when I am one?”
“She is a mere girl of fourteen, Huntingdon,” Lovett continued, once again completely ignoring Beth.
“Well, she’s prettier than you, that’s to be certain!” Matthew chipped in. There was laughter from the other actors, and Beth allowed herself a smile. At least they were supportive of her. They understood how annoying old Lovett could be. If he knew she not only wanted to play female roles, but planned to run the theatre one day...
“Madam,” said Lovett, finally turning to face her. “There is walking – and there is stage walking...”
“And there is stage waddling,” Beth retorted, looking pointedly at Lovett’s huge backside.
Lovett’s bottom lip began to tremble, and Beth shook her head in exasperation. She knew only too well what was to come. He might not be the leading lady any more, but as far as Beth was concerned he was certainly the drama queen of the King’s Players.
“I cannot work in these conditions!” Lovett wailed. “Such insolence! Such disrespect!”
“My goodness, is that the time?” Huntingdon cried, bounding onto the stage. “Let us take a short break for some refreshments. Back on stage in ten minutes for the final scene.”
With an exaggerated sigh Lovett flounced off, dabbing at his eyes with a violet silk handkerchief.
Beth hurried backstage to her dressing room. Lovett’s temper might have ruined yet another rehearsal, but at least it gave her the opportunity to finally discover who had been passing secrets to the Duke of York’s Theatre.
Once in her dressing room, she began rummaging through her trunk of costumes. If her plan worked, she would surely be given a more important mission next time.
Beth knew that the reason she’d been asked to become a spy was because she worked in the King’s own theatre. Her experience as an actress meant that she was an expert in disguise and role-playing, and she was proud to serve her King, both as an actress and a secret agent. But she was growing a little tired of being given jobs that revolved solely around the theatre. Hopefully, if she got this job right, she would be asked to do something a little more adventurous next time...
Smiling determinedly, she pulled out a couple of old scripts, removing the pieces of string threaded through the top left-hand corners that kept the pages together. She quickly replaced one with a bright red ribbon from the trunk, and the other with a bright blue one. There wasn’t much time – Huntingdon would be calling them back soon. The question was, would her suspects take the bait? Stuffing the scripts into the pockets of her skirt, Beth scurried into the wings where she came upon Robert Wright, one of the minor actors. “Have you seen Mister Baldwin?” she asked breathlessly.
He blushed deeply and suddenly. “I’m not ... I don’t ... Who?”
Robert was almost the same age as Beth, but he reacted this way whenever she tried to talk to him. Normally she was sympathetic because, despite his shyness, he was polite and friendly – but now there was no time to lose.
“Please, Robert, where is Mister Baldwin, the costume-maker?”
Robert’s eyes lit up, glad to be able to help. “Oh ... I think he just took Samuel’s doublet to patch a small rip.”
Beth doubled back towards Baldwin’s room. The door was open, and she found him sitting on a stool, sewing. As usual he was wearing voluminous silk breeches and a felt hat adorned with gaudily-coloured feathers.
“Ah, Mister Baldwin,” Beth called from the doorway.
“Why, it’s sweet, darling Beth!” Baldwin declared, adopting the grandiose but insincere tone that always irritated her. He whipped a handkerchief from his pocket and wafted it around so that its lavender scent filled the air. Beth had never seen him actually blow his nose with it. “And what can Mister Baldwin do for his delightful young muse?”
Trying not to cringe at his ridiculous tone, Beth took one of the old scripts from her pocket. It was the one with the red ribbon. “Well, I’ve been learning my lines for our new production of Love’s Desire Spurn’d, but I have to go back on stage in a moment, and I don’t like to leave the script lying about ... Could you look after it for me?” she asked, bowing her head slightly and smiling demurely.
“Love’s Desire Spurn’d, eh?” Baldwin echoed, returning her smile and extending a heavily jewelled hand. He took the script from her quickly. “Certainly, Beth. It will be safe with me.”
She felt sure there was a slyness behind his smile, but she had no time to waste dwelling on it. There was one more suspect to see...
After thanking Baldwin, Beth raced round to the front of the stage where Matthew, the prompter, was waiting in his box for the rehearsal to resume. She knew she had to act fast.
“Matthew, would you mind this script for me?” she asked. “It’s for our next production, Love’s Desire Spurn’d. Mister Huntingdon has been kind enough to give me a copy in advance, and I’m terrified I’ll lose it.”
As with Baldwin, Matthew seemed only too happy to oblige. “Anything for you, Mistress Beth,” he said with a wink, taking the script that Beth had tied with the blue ribbon and stuffing it into the inner pocket of his jacket.
Beth hurried to her dressing room to fetch her sword for the final scene. The trap was set, and now she just had to wait and see what it would uncover. Red or blue ribbon? Matthew or Baldwin? As long as she kept her eye on both of them, she should be able to find out who had been selling secrets to their rivals. She heard Huntingdon summoning the company back to the stage and gave a sigh. There certainly wasn’t a moment’s rest in this double life of hers. By the time she had scrambled back on stage, Huntingdon was already addressing the cast.
“This is the scene where Alexander and Henry are duelling over the beautiful Isabella. Alexander cuts off Henry’s cloak revealing that ‘he’ is really the shapely Henrietta, who declares that she will never allow a villain like Alexander to marry her sister. Henrietta fights bravely but is defeated – dying speech, audience in tears, et cetera, et cetera. POSITIONS, PLEASE!”
Beth, who was playing Henry
/Henrietta, prided herself on her ability with a sword. So when the fencing commenced, it was galling to see the smirk on Lovett’s face as she had to follow the script and let him get the better of her.
“’Tis a love none can thwart, thou treacherous creature!” he cried with a ridiculously melodramatic sweep of his hand and tossing-back of his head.
The fight commenced, and after a few tentative lunges and parries Lovett made a strong attack and Beth pretended to stumble and fall, as the storyline of the play demanded. How she wished she could fight back, then she’d show Lovett what she was capable of. She watched as he attempted a pirouette whilst waving his sword in a figure of eight. Halfway through the manoeuvre, he teetered and in one horrible moment she realized he was going to fall right on top of her. Quick as a flash, she rolled to one side and leaped to her feet. Lovett crashed down into a heap on the floor, and Beth noticed Huntingdon grimacing from the stalls.
But then something else caught her eye.
In the shadows at the very back of the theatre, two figures were hunched over in conversation. Something was being passed between them – something that looked very much like a script. But which one was it? Beth glanced down into Matthew’s prompting box and frowned. There was no sign of him. But if she raised her suspicions now, whoever was responsible might hear her and vanish without being identified. She was determined to catch the scheming fiend guilty of the crime, refusing to let them slip through her grasp. Suddenly an idea came to her, and Beth’s eyes narrowed. Now she knew exactly how to close the trap...
“You shall marry her over my dead body!” she called out to Lovett, resuming the scene.
“Ha! Then let it be so!” Lovett shrieked, heaving himself back onto his feet with a laboured grunt. He lunged towards Beth – but instead of letting him win she deflected his attack with her blade and quickly turned the tables on him, swishing and thrusting, causing him to stagger backwards. Lovett shot the theatre manager a panicked look, but ignoring his growing confusion, Beth continued her onslaught, her glinting blade flashing before his widening eyes. If only this could have been in the script – it was so much more enjoyable! Back and back she forced him, until they had fought their way down the stairs from the stage, and out among the seats where Huntingdon was sitting.
