Kissing Shakespeare

by Pamela Mingle

  “What was that about?” Stephen asked as we found our seats.

  “She thinks I look feverish.”

  He smiled. “Your cheeks are glowing, ’tis true. Your hair is passing lovely that way, Olivia.” His eyes moved from my face to my hair. “The braid looks like a coronet.”

  “Thank you. Bess arranged it.” I quickly changed the subject. “Where is everyone?” I asked, noticing all the vacant places at the table.

  “They’re making final preparations for the pageant, I expect.”

  Sure enough, when I glanced toward the opposite end of the room, I spotted Fulke lugging pieces of an ark that had been roughly constructed for our set. In addition to the ark, we had a painted cloth of azure to represent the floodwaters, a rainbow sewn from scraps of brightly hued fabric, and a cut-out dove that would, at the end, hang from the ark by a string. Apparently, this was similar to what had been done in the days when the pageants were performed by the guilds.

  I sipped my ale and took a few bites of the various dishes placed before me. Stephen spent most of the meal talking to his uncle about enclosures, lambing, and the horses he’d just purchased. I tuned them out, unable to think of anything but Will Shakespeare and Thomas. When the meal was finished and the tooth picking about to begin, I slipped away and dashed upstairs for the prompt book. After glancing at myself in the glass and smoothing my skirts, I turned to leave.

  Without warning, Jennet and her father burst through the servants’ door and into my chamber, scaring the life out of me. What were they doing here, and why hadn’t they entered the house in the usual way? Master Hall shot me a menacing look, and I knew I was in trouble.

  “JENNET, MASTER HALL,” I said, curtsying and trying to pretend nothing unusual was occurring. A much younger man whom I’d never seen before accompanied them. He was tall and built like the Hulk.

  They came to an abrupt halt. Ignoring me, Jennet and her father gave each other a knowing look, and a tiny prickle of fear stirred inside. I started to back away, then whirled and made a dash toward the staircase. But the young stranger, despite his size, was quick on his feet. He grabbed my arm and jerked me to a stop.

  “Sir, let go of me!” Before I got the words out, he had started to drag me back down the passage toward Jennet’s room. She quickly closed the two sets of doors after us.

  “What should we do, Father?” Jennet said, not even looking at me.

  “I demand that you tell me what’s going on!”

  “Be silent, woman,” Master Hall commanded. With one broad hand, he shoved me down on the bed. I fell backward and hit my head against the wall.

  “Father!” Jennet protested. “Do not hurt her.”

  “They’ll be ready to begin the pageant,” I said desperately, rubbing my head. “Someone will come looking for me.”

  “Silence!” Master Hall said, glowering.

  I clamped my mouth shut. I could learn more by listening. Sneaking out when they weren’t so preoccupied with watching me was a better idea.

  “We shall have to use her,” he said. “She will become part of our plan.”

  I wanted to ask what plan but resisted the urge.

  Jennet had moved to the windows and was peering out. “Have they arrived?” her father asked.

  Oh, my God! This must be the raid. She’s watching for the sheriff.

  Jennet shook her head and whirled around to speak. “I do not see what use she will be to us, Father. We should find somewhere to lock her up.” I was surprised to hear Jennet challenge her father. Good for her, even if she did want to lock me up.

  “I think not. Mistress Langford will accompany us when we make our grand entrance into the hall. Mayhap we shall give her a line to say. Even more valuable … it can be she who points out which one is Campion.”

  Jennet gave him a sour look.

  “I know you were to make the identification, Daughter, but her doing so will be a great humiliation for the family.”

  By now, I knew the performance must have gone ahead without me. I wondered why Stephen or someone else hadn’t bothered to look for me. Jennet resumed her watch at the windows, and after a minute she said tersely, “They are come.”

  “I must meet them.” Master Hall turned toward the young man, who had positioned himself near the doors. “Luke, do not allow Mistress Langford to leave. I’ll return as soon as I’ve conferred with the sheriff.” He clomped off down the passage.

  There would be no chance of escaping to warn anyone, not with the Hulk guarding the doors.

  Jennet and I glared at each other. “When did you figure out about Campion?” I asked.

  “I found some documents, and other … items … in his chamber and described them to my father and Lowry. They figured it out.”

  “I saw you one day in the woods talking to Lowry. Stephen didn’t believe you knew anything. He trusted you.”

  “And you did not?”

  “Not really. I wanted to tell my uncle about your meeting, but Stephen said we couldn’t be sure the man was Lowry. He did not wish to cast suspicion on an innocent person.”

  “Your good brother—if he is your brother—is too trusting.”

  “I followed you to the alehouse too.”

  “You did? How did you know—?”

  “I searched your room. You are not the only one capable of deceit.”

  Her mouth hardened. “You shock me, Olivia. Indeed, I did not think you had it in you.”

  “It was you who sent me the notes. Why?”

  “I watched you and Stephen, and the way you behaved in each other’s presence somehow did not seem right. Not like a brother and sister. More like a couple.” She stopped and looked aside for a minute. “And I hated your wooing of Will Shakespeare.”

  I didn’t dare admit anything about Stephen’s and my relationship. What if she blabbed as a parting shot? “Who wrote the first note? I figured you’d be able to write the—”

  “You are so very trusting and gullible, Olivia. ’Tis no wonder I never figured you for a sneak.” She laughed and tossed her hair. “I tricked everyone. I’ve been reading since the age of six, you see. Most Puritans learn to read at a young age, not that we read anything other than the Bible and the Book of Martyrs.”

  “You had me completely fooled,” I admitted. “I even felt sorry for you.”

  She lifted her chin defiantly.

  “Why did you do it, Jennet? Betray the people who have cared for you and looked after you these past months? And why throw Will Shakespeare to the wolves? I thought you were in love with him.”

  She grunted. “He’s nothing to me now. You do not understand, do you? I thought you might, since I had confided in you. Think, Olivia. Can you not put it together?”

  A lightbulb flashed on. “Your marriage! Your father threatened to marry you to that disgusting man if you did not do his dirty work for him. That’s what he threatened you with in the note—what would happen if you did not do your duty.”

  “Aye. Now you have it. I have had much practice, you see, at being my father’s spy.” She walked toward the bed and stopped in front of me. “Ever since I was a child, I’ve reported to him, telling him of misdeeds on our small holding. He especially wishes to be informed of fornication, the worst of all sins.”

  “How could you possibly know about the misdeeds of others? Especially … fornication?”

  “You would be surprised how easy it is to spy once you have grown skilled. Since I looked after the sick and injured, it was simple to discover when someone was faking illness. And ’tis nothing to spy on the servants. They are prone to gossip and laziness anyway.”

  “But the … other. How could you have found out about that?”

  “It is a simple matter to follow a couple. I would wait a few days to see where their little romances would lead them. Behind the dovecote is one of the favored locations for it. I could easily peek around the corner to see what they were up to without their knowing it.”

  “But that’s desp
icable!”

  She shrugged. “At first it seemed like a game, but there came a time when I no longer liked doing it. All who lived and worked with us came to despise me.” She lowered her head, and when she raised it, her eyes shone with tears. “One day I realized that no matter what I did, I would never please my father. He believes women are of no worth—except for procreation.”

  “Why did you keep on, then?”

  “Some of us have little choice, Olivia. I am caught in my father’s net. Until I marry and have my own home, I must do as he says.”

  “What about this?” I gestured, meaning Hoghton Tower. “How did you end up here?”

  “My father’s connection to the Privy Council, Robert Lowry, asked him to place me here. I am related to the Hoghtons on my mother’s side. And before you judge me, mark this: I refused to do it. I told my father it was over. I would no longer be his spy.”

  “And then he threatened you with marriage to—”

  “The simpering Master Dugdale. A more repulsive man would be hard to find. So I agreed. After I met Will Shakespeare, I hoped we might … he might love me, or at least bed me and mayhap we would have to marry. But alas, you came along and ruined all hope of that.”

  As ironies went, this ranked high. I wasn’t the only one at Hoghton Tower who’d planned to seduce Shakespeare. And even more ironic, my seducing Will had pushed Jennet toward betraying him.

  “One other thing I’ve been wondering about,” I said. “What hold does the Privy Council have over your father?”

  “They promised to ignore certain deviations from the true Protestant Church. Father does not use the Book of Common Prayer in his services, for one thing, which is against the law. How clever of you to realize that Father must do their bidding, as I must do his.”

  It was a tangled web of alliances, secrets, and blackmail, I thought. “What will you do now? Will your father still force you to wed Master Dugdale?”

  Before she could answer, Jennet’s father stepped into the room. “All is ready. We must proceed to the hall.”

  I rose. He grabbed my arm, and this time I managed to jerk it away. There was really no escape route for me. He must have understood that, because he let me go.

  Master Hall prodded me in the back, directing me down the stairs and out into the courtyard, where several of the sheriff’s men were waiting. The sheriff himself hovered inside a little-used entrance. He glared at me and shoved me forward, forcing me to enter the hall proper. The play had begun. Noah and his wife and sons were all on stage.

  Friends, neighbors, and villagers had been invited to Hoghton Tower for the performance, and most of them were spread out on the floor, some sitting, others standing. At first, no one noticed us. We moved stealthily up one side of the great room until Fulke, in midsentence, suddenly stopped reciting his lines. I blinked and stared. Someone else was playing the part of Noah’s wife; if I was not mistaken, it was one of Will’s older students.

  The audience grew restive and began whispering, asking each other what was happening. After a few agonizing moments, as my heart thudded against my rib cage, heads turned toward us. My uncle started to speak, but the sheriff cut him off.

  “The house and property are surrounded. It would be foolish for anyone to attempt to escape.” A hush fell over the room. “Mistress Langford,” he said. “Which one is Edmund Campion?”

  There was a collective gasp, but no one spoke.

  Frantically, I looked around for Stephen, but I couldn’t find him. He wasn’t in the minstrels’ gallery, nor was he at the other end of the room with his aunt and uncle. The sheriff’s strong hand yanked me against his side. “Mistress? I am waiting.”

  A player dressed in a white robe and wearing a wig and false beard stepped out from behind the rood screen. I recognized the costume immediately as the one for the God character. But something wasn’t right. Whoever was wearing the costume, it wasn’t Thomas.

  Jennet cried out. “There he is! That’s Campion!” And then chaos erupted. The sheriff abruptly let go of me and rushed the stage, followed by several of his men. Thomas, or whoever it was, didn’t move. Audience members tried to flee, but the deputies pushed them roughly back to their places.

  Only the actors seemed calm, too calm for what was happening. Simon, the thug who’d beat up Stephen, grabbed the arms of the person in the costume and jerked them behind his back while the sheriff ripped off the wig and then the beard.

  It was Stephen.

  “This is not the Jesuit, ’tis Langford!” the sheriff shouted. He fired a look toward my uncle. “Sir, you are harboring a criminal. A man who has committed treason. It would behoove you to tell me where he is.”

  “The man you seek is not here, Sheriff. You have been misled.”

  “Liar!” The sheriff turned to some of his men and gestured toward the audience. “Get these people out of here. If anyone acts suspicious, bring him to me.” The crowd began filing out, unnaturally quiet.

  “Family, players, musicians, everyone, come!” the sheriff commanded. All of us gathered around him, waiting. Jennet and her father hovered near the wall, apart from the rest. Stephen had removed the robe he’d been wearing, and when he was close enough, I mouthed the words, “Where’s Will?”

  “Safe,” he whispered. He reached out and touched my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  “Jennet’s father shoved me around a little, but he didn’t hurt me.”

  The sheriff signaled to them to join the rest of us. Master Hall strode over, looking smug and insufferable. Jennet, however, hung her head, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.

  “Tell them how you learned of Campion’s presence here,” the sheriff said. Jennet said nothing, apparently believing the question was meant for her father. “Mistress Hall!” the sheriff roared, and she finally reacted.

  “It was obvious Thomas Cook was a priest, but I didn’t suspect him to be Campion. Not at first. Then one Sunday I searched his chamber.”

  She paused, as though recalling the order of events.

  “Tell them the rest, Daughter.”

  For the first time, defiance flashed in her eyes. “I knew he was saying Mass. Indeed, it was hardly a secret. I found papers in his room with Edmund Campion’s name on them, and some other things. A signet ring, for sealing letters, was one of them. I got word to my father, and he told the sheriff and Master Lowry.”

  Done in by the ring and his own carelessness. I felt sure that this time he’d be caught. Alexander would have to tell them where Thomas was hiding to save himself. To save all of us.

  “We know he is here. You need only reveal his hiding place,” the sheriff said to my uncle. Just then, one of the deputies rushed in and asked to speak to the sheriff. They huddled off to one side and spoke in low voices.

  “Cousin Jennet,” Alexander said, reaching out his hand to the girl. “I forgive you. I know your father forced you into this. I do not know what he threatened you with, but he used you ill for his own gain. I am sorry for you.”

  She flinched.

  “May you all burn in hell,” Master Hall said, pushing his daughter aside and advancing toward my uncle. Jennet flushed. “Father, stop!”

  The sheriff interrupted. “That’s enough, Hall. We’ve learned from one of the grooms that a man fitting the Jesuit’s description fled some time ago on horseback. He has eluded us, but we shall find him quickly.” He looked pointedly at Alexander. “What is his destination?”

  “I do not know who left here on horseback, Sheriff, and I certainly was not privy to his destination. This is a busy estate. We have men coming and going at all hours of the day, even on Sunday. It could have been anyone. A peddler, cooper, smith, rat catcher—”

  “There is a rat involved with this, but ’tis not the catcher. We are wasting precious time.” He barked orders to his men, appointing leaders and issuing instructions. They would divide up and head in different directions to hunt their prey more efficiently. “We will meet in Preston, one day hence,” he
said, “at the church. If you should find the man, send word. And do not let him escape!”

  The sheriff turned to Jennet and said, “Which one is Master Shakespeare?”

  “I—I do not see him. He was supposed to play Noah’s wife in the pageant, but he is not here.”

  The sheriff let out a growl. “Did he go with Campion?”

  Of course, nobody answered. I had the feeling I knew where Will was. Hiding in the room Stephen had prepared for him.

  I stole a glance at Alexander. His lips were pressed into a straight line, his face colorless. Someone had brought a chair for Elizabeth, who looked like she was in shock. Stephen was hovering nearby, keeping a close eye on them. In a minute, the deputies began to file out, ready to give chase.

  The sheriff turned to go. “I shall deal with you after we catch our prey, sir,” he said to Alexander. “Do not be so foolish as to believe there will be no retribution for this.” His expression terrified me, and his voice seemed full of barely checked rage. Only the urgency of catching Edmund Campion saved Alexander.

  AFTER THE SHERIFF LEFT, Stephen rushed downstairs to release Will. Alexander refused to answer any questions, and didn’t even acknowledge Thomas’s true identity. “Let us pray for Thomas’s safety,” he said, and that was it. We were dismissed, and everybody sought refuge in their chambers.

  Within a few hours, I thought I might go crazy, so I took Copernicus outside for a walk. I was hoping Stephen might be in his room by the time I came in, but he wasn’t. He hadn’t been there all day. I thought he was probably with his aunt and uncle, offering whatever solace he could summon.

  In the late afternoon, Bess brought me a snack. I was just finishing when Stephen appeared. Not until I actually saw him did I understand that deep down, I was terrified he’d disappeared again. I shot to my feet and hurled myself at him.

  He held me tightly. “Here, here, what’s this?” he asked in probably the gentlest voice I’d ever heard from him.

  “Nothing, I’m fine.… I was worried because I hadn’t seen you all day.”