D. Wilson - The First Horseman

Seagrave gave the slightest of smiles. ‘I doubt whether I would in your position. That means that I must try all the harder to convince you. My reasons for wanting to talk with you are not entirely altruistic.’ He sat back in his padded chair and closed his eyes. ’Tis seven months and eleven days since they dragged Nathaniel’s body from the river. Fathers should never have to bury their sons — ’tis against nature. I pray you never have that doleful duty, Master Treviot.’

‘I am sincerely sorry for your loss,’ I said, ‘but Nathaniel’s death was none of my doing.’

He waved a hand, as though brushing away a fly. ‘What’s done is done. Yet my grief, my family’s grief, would be easier if we knew why it was done. Nathaniel set out one fine spring evening for an assignation with some woman or other — as young men do. Then, he simply disappeared. We had no news of him’ — Seagrave dabbed his eyes with a kerchief — ‘’til some boatmen… found him five hundred yards below the bridge. Why, Master Treviot, why? Was he so great a sinner that he deserved to appear before God unshriven?’ He stared at me appealingly with red-rimmed eyes. ‘He sometimes fell in with bad company. That we know. Possibly I had indulged him too much. Perhaps if I had kept him on a tighter rein… Master Treviot, can you help us to understand? We don’t want to know who killed our son. We don’t seek revenge. We just want to understand.’

At this point servants bearing silver dishes of food from the palace kitchen appeared and set them out on Seagrave’s table. As an attendant on the king, Sir Harry enjoyed bouge of court, the provision of all his meals. Hugh Seagrave rejoined us as we sat to table.

‘Master Treviot was about to tell us what he knows of Nathaniel’s death,’ Sir Harry explained to his son.

‘In truth it is very little,’ I said. ‘I met your son only once… at a party.’

‘In a Southwark bordel,’ Hugh sneered.

‘Yes. He had drunk more than was wise. Probably I had, too. If our wits had not been befuddled, we wouldn’t have fallen into an argument. It was foolish but it was no more than a brief flare-up. Friends separated us.’ I shrugged. ‘That’s all there was to it. I never saw Nathaniel again.’

‘We have been told that you were defending a foul-mouthed, treason-spouting harlot,’ Hugh said, glaring across the table.

‘If you are so well informed you have no need of my testimony.’ I tried to remain calm.

Sir Harry was quick to intervene. ‘We have, of course, made enquiries elsewhere. There are different accounts of what passed that evening. We are merely trying to tease out the truth.’

‘And I have no desire to conceal or distort it,’ I said. ‘Certainly there was a woman involved and certainly, in the heat of the moment, she made statements that were… ill-advised. We all know that women’s tongues are apt to get the better of them. A wise man makes allowance for such foolishness. Sadly, on that evening, wisdom had temporarily deserted your son. He reacted violently. His discourtesy annoyed me.’

‘And you threatened to kill him!’ Hugh shouted.

His father’s response was equally abrupt. ‘Guard your tongue, sir! Master Treviot is our guest.’

‘I take no offence, Sir Harry,’ I responded. ‘Master Hugh has every right to be angry. In truth, I cannot recall what I said in the heat of the moment but I solemnly swear that I had no part in what happened afterwards. I only learned about it days later.’

‘Is it true,’ my host asked, ‘that you subsequently took the woman in question under your own roof?’

I nodded. ‘She had been seriously wounded. She needed care. I felt in some part responsible for her misfortune.’

‘And the “care” you offered — did it include revenging her injury?’

‘On my oath, Sir Harry, such a thought never occurred to me,’ I said.

Hugh muttered something I did not hear but his father said, ‘You are an honourable man, Master Treviot. I accept your assurances.’

With a feeling of considerable relief, I thanked him and added, ‘I would not have you think that I know nothing of what you feel. A very dear friend of mine was brutally murdered recently. My first reaction was to obtain justice for him but now I am coming to realise that retribution is like a briar. If it is not stopped, it spreads rapidly and takes root over and again.’

Sir Harry sighed deeply. ‘You are right. Sometimes I feel that nursing grief is driving me to an early grave. Hugh, the time has come to call a halt. We have learned everything we can. Prayer is now all we can offer for Nathaniel. Let that be sufficient.’

The conversation moved on to pleasanter topics. It seemed that a weight had, indeed, been lifted from the older man’s shoulders and he had a fund of interesting stories to tell about life at court.

‘Is life very different here with the new queen?’ I asked.

Father and son exchanged glances before Sir Harry replied cautiously, ‘Queen Jane’s greatest advantage is that she is not Queen Anne. She is quiet and submissive. No one could ever have described her predecessor as possessing those qualities. Anne had a mind of her own and did not hesitate to express it — even to the king. Life around the court was never dull in her day. She was lively and sometimes indiscreet.’

Hugh sniggered. ‘You should have heard what she said about her husband’s performance in — ’

‘Hugh! Enough!’ Sir Harry struck the table with his palm.

‘Did you like Queen Anne, Hugh?’ I asked.

‘Well enough but her family were insufferable, especially her brother, George Boleyn.’

‘What was wrong with him?’

‘Always surrounded by preachers and trying to ram his New Learning down other people’s throats.’

‘Wasn’t the queen of the same persuasion?’

‘Oh, aye, she was always getting her companions to read holy books. But all that was, of course, in her own private chambers. On the king’s side we saw little of it.’

‘Yet, despite her piety, she was committing adultery with other men, including her own brother,’ I suggested.

Hugh laughed. ‘If you believe that — ’

Once again his father intervened. ‘Master Treviot doesn’t want to hear all our court gossip. I have an idea: why don’t you take our guest for a ride in the park? His Majesty is hunting this afternoon. You will be able to watch.’

‘That’s very kind, Sir Harry,’ I said, ‘but I have to wait upon Lord Cromwell’s pleasure.’

‘That won’t be a problem. I’ll have a man in Cromwell’s chambers. He will find you as soon as My Lord summons you.’

‘Cromwell won’t be back in his office for some time,’ Hugh said. ‘His Majesty sent for him to the hunting field. I saw him leave. I think the king wants him to be present for informal talks with his “special guest”.’ His lips curled in a sneer.

‘You mean Aske?’

‘Who else? We all have to dance attendance on the traitor this Christmas. By the mass, it grates with me!’

I needed little persuading. It was important that I should buttress my reconciliation with the Seagraves. Added to that was the fact that the fire and a large dinner were making me drowsy, so the prospect of fresh air out in the deer park was appealing. Then there was also the intriguing possibility of a closer look at the man who had raised half the kingdom in revolt. I thanked Sir Harry for his hospitality and accompanied Hugh to the stables, where I had Golding saddled. Then, with my companion, I rode away from the bustle and noise of the palace.

For half a mile or so we jogged along beside the river. It was a bright, crisp, clear afternoon, the air so sharp that it made my throat tingle. Golding was also enjoying the outing. His ears twitched and he looked around him in apparent curiosity. Since Hugh was obviously less inhibited than his father about sharing court gossip, this seemed a good opportunity to discover more about the workings and personnel of the royal household.