‘So, Master Peter, yet again you ’ave been disappearing. And that after you were so rude to me and ’Amon. We didn’t appreciate that, did we, ’Am?’
‘No, Arch, we didn’t. He made us feel foolish, didn’t he?’
‘’E did, ’Am, ’e did. And that’s not polite, is it?’ Arch said. He was sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair that looked as though it had been made by a blind apprentice who had never passed to become a craftsman. ‘Which is why we decided to take a more direct approach to you, Peter. Since you wouldn’t come to us willingly, we thought we’d persuade you to come with a more firm proposal.’
‘Where is Raphe?’
‘Oh, you want ’im right away, do you? I’m sorry, master, but you’ll ’ave ’im back when I ’ave my money. ’Ow much was it, again?’
‘Six guineas,’ Hamon said.
‘Oh, but there’s interest to add to that now,’ Arch said. ‘Interest over another day makes it, let’s see …’ He made a show of counting on his fingers, but then again it might have been proof of his mental acuity. ‘Ah, yes, a guinea and ten shillings more to last night, so now it’s another two guineas to add to the six you already owe. There’s another tuppence ha’penny, too. Only we’ll let you off the ha’penny.’
‘How could it have grown to eight guineas?’ I demanded. ‘It was only a ten-bob debt!’
Hamon stood. I could almost hear the joints squeaking as his limbs moved, but it could have been the mechanics of his brain. ‘Are you saying Arch is dishonest?’
I didn’t want to get into a fight. ‘Where’s my servant?’
‘Somewhere safe. Where’s my eight guineas?’
‘At my house. I can fetch them for you.’
‘Oh, yes. Last time we trusted you to bring us the money you owed, you disappeared for days. Remember? And the time before that. In fact, I forgot our journey all the way to St Botolph’s. That was expensive, wasn’t it, ’Am?’
‘Yes, Arch. Very expensive.’
‘So I’ll need two more shillings for that. Which means eight guineas, two shillings and tuppence.’
I could have accused him of extortion, of bullying, of theft, but any and all would have led to Hamon pulling his snippers out, and I had no desire to become disconnected. I was attached to my various appendages, as I think I mentioned while Henry was threatening to beat me to a pulpy mess and cut off my tarse and ballocks. ‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Let’s go back to your ’ouse now. You can fetch us our money, and then you can ’ave your servant.’
‘Not right now. I have a job to do at St Botolph’s.’
‘That’s fine. You can go right away, if you want. Of course, your servant will look a bit useless after a while. One joint every ’alf ’our means if you ride all that way and back, ’e won’t have any fingers or toes left. It’ll make ’im a bit less useful as a servant.’
I glared at him. Arch sat back with a self-satisfied look on his face. Hamon was twirling his snippers with a certain amount of glee.
I had no choice.
‘Very well,’ I said.
The house seemed oddly silent when I arrived. Without Raphe or Sir Richard, it was as quiet as a church before Matins. I had never appreciated just how still and empty a place could sound when there was nobody inside. And it felt colder, too. I suppose that was because no one had lit the fires.
My first thought was that I hoped Cat would make herself scarce. My second was that she had already done so. For the place to be so calm, she must have collected her belongings and gone. I clenched my jaw at the thought. I could have done with her now.
‘Where’s the money?’ Arch demanded.
‘I’ll fetch it,’ I said.
‘Very good. And we’ll come too, just in case you ’ad any ideas about running away again.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
Hamon chuckled nastily.
‘Come on, where is it?’ Arch said. ‘Lead the way, Peter.’
This was growing intolerable. I dared not let the pair of them see my special hideaway. Were they to discover my money chest, I had no doubts that they would in short time knock me on the head, take all my money and fly off into the distance with a merry laugh at my expense.
On the other hand, I had no means of escape. All I had on my person was my pistol, but that was only sufficient for one of them, and I might not hit a vital organ, which would mean that the men would both set upon me, and I had little doubt that the result would be painful and short-lived – as would I be, too.
‘Come on!’ Hamon urged.
I had no choice. There was no second route by which I could escape. My options were strictly limited. With a grunt of resignation, I made my way through to my upper chamber. There I unlocked the padlock from the door and entered. Arch and Hamon were close behind me. Arch fixed his eyes on my chest and beckoned to me. ‘Key.’
‘I’ll do it.’
‘And I’ll say it again: key.’
I heard the slither of steel being drawn, and there was a sharp prick of a knife point over my liver. Hamon was behind me, and his dagger was a strong incentive to do as I was bid.
With very bad grace, I unbuttoned the flap of the pocket at my belt, reached inside and withdrew my keys. I weighed them in my hand, seriously contemplating, just for a moment, hurling them through the open window. This being my money room, I had caused iron bars to be fixed over the windows, and I could surely throw them out into the road. But if I did, someone else would find them. Besides, if I were to throw, what were the odds of missing my target and the keys striking the bars themselves, falling conveniently back into the room as I expired with Hamon’s knife in my back? I considered the chances of my death to be very high. And I am not, generally, a gambling man.
I flung them to Arch, and he smiled as he caught them in his left hand. ‘Thank you,’ he said, and inserted the key into the lock, turning it.
The well-greased mechanism barely made a sound as the key turned, and Arch lifted the lid with a smile on his face.
I knew the sight that would meet his eyes. There were a number of little leather purses inside. Each contained several coins – gold and silver. One bag had only gold coins. It was a small fortune in money, all the proceeds of other men’s deaths that I kept. It was my share. The rest had gone to my accomplice, the man to whom I had subcontracted the actual killings.
I saw Arch’s fixed smile as he took in the contents of my box. He reached out with a hand while a look of wonder filled his face. And then he looked at Hamon and me.
This was the moment I had been dreading. Once he knew how much money was in my box, he was certain to give Hamon the order to kill me. I was now only an impediment to Arch and Hamon’s enjoyment of my money. I meant nothing else to them.
This was the moment, I knew: it was the moment at which I should leap forward, dart past Hamon and flee through my house, leap the steps and bolt out into the street. If I stood here, Hamon would remove me with one thrust of his knife.
The only problem was that my legs had turned to aspic. It was a miracle that they could hold me upright, let alone assist me in an attempt at flight.
‘Ah—’ I said.
‘So, ’ow much is there in ’ere?’ Arch said.
‘About a hundred and thirty guineas,’ I admitted.
‘I think you ’ave real problems,’ Arch said, and slammed the lid, shoving the box towards me.
I stared at him. It was a surprise that he could kick the box across the floor, since it was made of solid oak and was heavy enough when empty. I lifted the lid and stared at the box.
It was empty.
I goggled. My mouth fell wide.
‘That,’ Arch said, ‘was priceless. Your face! You couldn’t ’ave acted that! You were so shocked there was nothing in there! Someone’s robbed you, boy!’
‘Raphe!’ I breathed. ‘The little …’
‘You think so?’ Arch said. ‘I doubt that shit-for-brains has the capacity to thi
nk of stealing all your money and concealing it safely. Besides, ’ow would ’e do that while working for you? Any case, the real question that matters here is ’ow you plan to pay me now.’
That was an aspect that had escaped my attention while I was staring down into my empty chest. My entire concentration was fixed on that empty space before me. Now, of course, Arch had reminded me of the other rather pressing issue, which was how I could keep my head on my shoulders, or my liver unpunctured, now that all my worldly wealth was gone.
‘I will have to borrow money to pay you.’
‘Very good. Who from?’
‘My master, I suppose.’
‘’E’ll have the full nine guineas, will ’e?’
‘I’m sure he … wait – nine?’
‘It’s not ’ere, so I’ll ’ave to wait a little longer, won’t I? I’ve worn out enough shoe leather to ’elp you already. Now I need some added interest to make all my efforts worthwhile.’
‘I will get you your money,’ I said through gritted teeth.
‘Oh, I know you will. You don’t ’ave any choice.’
I felt Hamon’s hand on my arm again, and the point of his dagger pressing at my back once more.
Hamon led me out of the room, back to the stairs, and then Arch walked to the bottom, while Hamon held me at the top. He pushed, and I hurriedly descended, with Hamon a scant step behind me. We walked to the front door, where Hamon held me, and Arch stepped outside, beckoning Hamon to bring me.
‘Where is your master?’
‘I’ll take you to him,’ I said.
It was one of those moments that occur sometimes when a man has to choose whether to throw all on a die or to pocket his losses and accept defeat. Of course, the problem with accepting defeat in this case was my probable ruination. Master Blount would be unimpressed to learn that I had fallen foul of a pair like Arch and Hamon. He would be more concerned still to consider that I had not done my best to kill them both.
I threw the die. It rolled and came up with a six. That, at least, is what it seemed like. I stepped sideways as we passed a nag being mercilessly whipped as she slowly pulled a cart in the street, and pulled out my pistol. Hamon had not bothered to take my dagger or see if I had another weapon on me. Now he would live to regret his arrogance. He was watching the nag, but something warned him of my attack, and he turned to face me just in time to see my fist gripping the handgun. His mouth formed a perfect ‘O’ as I brought the butt down on his head. He said nothing as the solid steel butt hit his pate, but seeing his eyes roll upwards was a joy I have seldom experienced. I smiled as his body tumbled to the ground at my feet. Then I pointed the barrel at Arch.
‘Arch, I fear I cannot go to my master today. Just now I am more concerned with who has robbed me.’
‘You knocked ’Am down! You could have killed ’im!’
‘That thought had occurred to me. Sadly, I think not,’ I said suavely.
Arch appeared to notice the pistol. ‘You drawed a gun? On me? Are you mad? Do you know ’ow dangerous those things are? Point it somewhere else!’
‘Yes, Arch, these things are very dangerous. They go off at a moment’s notice, for the least reason. And, Arch, if you try to step even a half foot closer, I will kill you. I know how to use this thing,’ I added with a certain pride.
It was true. In the last weeks I had spent time learning the mechanism and how to load it. At Moorfields there were a number of trees that testified to my ability to reload and fire the thing. Admittedly, not necessarily the same trees at which I had aimed, but at this distance even I could not miss. The look in Arch’s eyes told me he knew it, too.
‘Well, that’s wonderful. What are you going to do now? You do realize, you’ve made an enemy of ’Amon and me, don’t you, Peter?’ Arch said. ‘Run away now, boy, and you’ll need to watch your back for the rest of your life. And it may not be very long.’ He smiled nastily.
‘I am going to go back to my home to work out how someone could have robbed me, and where the whore’s child could have hidden my money. And then I might pay you the ten bob I owe you,’ I said with deliberate firmness, trying to stop my voice quivering.
Arch smiled then. ‘Ten bob, you say? Ten bob? I don’t think that covers the debt.’
‘I’ll pay that much,’ I said loftily, ‘because I am a man of my word. But if you try to force me to give you more, beware! It will not end well for you.’
‘I see. Well, there’s not much more to talk about, is there? You pay us ten bob for the debt, and then I’ll want nine guineas more for the servant’s release.’
‘You don’t hold any cards,’ I said. ‘You have my servant. I have no interest in him. However, he is related to my master, John Blount. You may not know of him, but he knows of you both, and he is a powerful man in the government. Cross him, and you will make an enemy who will destroy you.’
Arch nodded, but he still smiled. ‘Oh, really? You think your boasts of powerful friends will impress me?’
‘No. But Master Blount employs his own assassin. No one knows who he is, but he kills silently and his bodies disappear forever. Cross Master Blount by hurting his boy, and you will live briefly but very painfully.’
‘You’ll regret this, Master Peter. No one crosses me neither. You ’ave made an enemy of me this day.’
I walked to him, the wheel-lock in his face, the barrel touching the tip of his nose. ‘No, Arch. You’ve made yourself an enemy of me. And I will not be kind if you try to pursue me again. Where is Raphe?’
He sneered a bit, but evidently the barrel of the pistol was persuasive. ‘You go find ’im yourself!’ He added a suggestion that was frankly impossible as well as rude.
‘Right.’ I had a good idea already where Raphe was.
I suppose I should have rescued Raphe before anything else, but I was not of a mood to liberate him until I had searched for my money. Running through the streets, it took me little time to get home. I pushed at the door and it opened easily.
‘You didn’t leave the door locked.’
Humfrie was standing in the hallway, looking at me disapprovingly.
‘I didn’t think it was that important while Arch and Hamon had a knife in my back,’ I said bitterly. ‘Luckily, I had my own life-preserver, in the absence of my bodyguard!’
‘What, they came back?’ He looked shocked.
‘Apparently so.’
‘You look like you’ve been playing at baiting bears,’ he said with a professional glance at my eye and chin.
‘That was Henry.’
‘Who?’
I ignored him and continued inside. There, I went through to my money room and stood staring at the empty money box.
‘What is missing?’ Humfrie said.
‘My money!’ I pointed at my empty chest, and although it will sound foolish, I was close to weeping. ‘They must have broken into my house while I slept. Or this morning, when I was on my way to meet Sir Richard,’ I said brokenly.
‘You think?’
‘They picked the door’s lock, made their way up here, unlocked this door, took my money and walked out through the door like innocents.’
Humfrie looked dubious.
‘What?’ I said.
‘How did they know the place was empty? How did they know they could walk straight in? How did they know you’d have your money box up here? How did they know to come just at the time when Raphe was not here?’
‘I don’t know!’
‘Perhaps they were watching you?’
I felt that like a cold drench.
The padlock on the door was a strong one, and that on the chest was robust and supposedly enough to prevent even professional thieves. They had yet managed to carry my money away. It was all gone.
I had a strong suspicion that I would never see my money again. I wanted to weep.
And then I remembered Raphe. He might have seen someone watching the house; he might have noticed someone suspicious, if there were men watching the
place. And then I had another thought: he was still held by Arch. Arch may take his vindictive nature out on Raphe himself. And that would mean I would never hear about anyone watching the house. I might never get my money back!
Humfrie was watching me with a look in his eye that suggested he was beginning to wonder about my sanity.
‘Come with me!’ I shouted.
‘Where?’
‘We have to go to Arch’s house.’
‘I thought you wanted me to defend you against him? You should stay here.’
‘No, you fool! Arch has Raphe, and Raphe might know something about my money!’ I snapped.
Everything depended on my finding Raphe and finding my money again. In a hurry, I grabbed my bag holding the powder and the pouch of lead balls, and ran from the house, counting on Humfrie to follow.
If I wanted to talk to Raphe about those who had stolen all my money, I needed to get to him before Arch and Hamon took out their snippers. I could not leave him to their tender cares. Not when it involved my money!
I ran all the way to the house where Hamon had brought me to see Arch. Raphe had to be close. Arch had said as much, after all.
‘Oh, please don’t let them hurt Raphe,’ I prayed. I wanted to get to him first, and if I could, by all the Saints, I would make the wretch regret his theft. ‘Come on, Humfrie!’
There were people in the alley, but all denied any knowledge of Raphe. No one had seen any sign of him, nor of Arch and Hamon carrying a rug or sack that squirmed. Walking back to Arch’s house, I tested the door. It was unlocked. He must have thought no one would dare to rob him. A dog began barking again, and I cursed it.
Standing in the main chamber near his chair, I gazed about me. Humfrie had followed me inside and now stood watching me like a man eyeing a dog suspected of rabies. I walked up and down the place, and while standing at the wall, I stared about me with growing dismay. Raphe had to be nearby, I was sure of it, and yet there was no sign of him. There was nothing to be seen. Only this room and another above. There was no one upstairs. In a fit of temper, I stamped my foot. The floorboard moved, and the noise rang dull and hollow. I stared down. Perhaps there was an undercroft, some kind of basement room beneath this. I should have realized. There was no entrance that I could see, no trapdoor or loose planks, so I hurried outside. At the side of the building, heavens bless us, the barking dog was Hector. He stood bellowing his fury at a trapdoor. Humfrie pulled it wide, and I peered down. ‘Hello? Raphe?’ The dog slipped past me and sprang down inside.
The Dead Don't Wai Page 18
