C. Sansom - Lamentation

‘I will.’

‘The guard with a fair beard you see over at that door has been told you are coming to investigate a jewel theft; he will guide you, and wait while you examine the chest. Give the key to him afterwards to return to me; he can be trusted. Then he will take you to Barwic and then Gullym. If you find anything important, send word to Whitehall. Otherwise, attend me there at ten tomorrow morning.’ Lord Parr turned and called to Barak. ‘Over here, sirrah, your master has instructions.’ Then he hobbled away to the inner courtyard to join the members of his family.

The interior of the building into which the guard led us was nothing like Whitehall, for all the fine tapestries adorning the walls. This part of Baynard’s Castle was a clothing enterprise; embroiderers and dressmakers working at tables in the well-lit hall. The shimmer of silk was everywhere, the air rich with delightful perfumes from the garments. I thought of what the Queen had said, how the richest of these clothes had passed from Queen to Queen.

Barak shook his head at it all. ‘All these people are working on the clothes of the Queen’s household?’

‘It has a staff of hundreds. Clothes, bedlinen, decorations, all have to be of the finest quality and kept in good repair.’ I nodded to the guard, and with a bow he led us over to one of the many side doors. We were taken down a corridor to a large room where several clothes presses stood, bodices and skirts kept flat beneath them. The Queen’s chest stood on a table; I recognized the distinctive red-and-gold fabric covering its top. It was oak, with strong iron brackets at each corner. Barak walked round it, felt the wood, looked at the lock, then lifted the lid and peered inside. It was a bare wooden box, empty except for the tills in the side where small valuables were kept.

‘Good strong piece. You’d need an axe to break in. The chest is old, but the lock’s new.’ He leaned in and thumped the sides and bottom. ‘No hidden compartments.’

‘It is an old family heirloom.’

He looked at me sharply. ‘Of the Queen’s?’

‘Yes. She had a new lock fitted in the spring, the other one was — old.’

He bent and peered closely at the lock, inside and out. Then he said, ‘I’d better see the key. I saw Lord Parr give it to you.’

‘Don’t miss much, do you?’

‘Wouldn’t still be here if I did.’

I handed him the key. I wished he had not asked about the Queen. But if I limited his involvement to the chest, surely he would be safe. He studied the key’s complicated teeth closely, then inserted it in the lock, opening and shutting the chest twice, very carefully. Finally he took a thin metal instrument from his purse and inserted it in the lock, twisting it to and fro, bending close to listen to the sounds it made. Finally he stood up.

‘I’m not the greatest expert in England,’ Barak said, ‘but I would swear this lock has only ever been opened with a key. If someone had tried to break in using an instrument like mine, I doubt they’d have succeeded — the lock’s stronger than it looks — and I’d expect marks, scratches.’

‘The Queen says she kept this key always round her neck. So no one would have had the chance to make an impression in wax to construct another. I think there must be another key.’

‘And the only person who could have made that is the locksmith, isn’t it?’ Barak said, raising his eyebrows.

‘So it seems.’

He rubbed his hands, his old enthusiasm for the chase clearly visible. ‘Well, let’s go and see him.’ He smiled at the guard, who looked back at us impassively.

The carpenter’s workshop was at the rear of the hall, a large, well-equipped room smelling of resin and sawdust. A short, powerfully built man with regular features only half-visible through a luxurious growth of reddish hair and beard was sawing a plank, while his young apprentice — like his master, wearing a white apron emblazoned with the Queen’s badge — was planing another piece of wood at an adjacent table. They stopped working and bowed as we entered. At the back of the workshop I noticed a set of locksmith’s tools on a bench.

‘Master Barwic?’ I asked.

‘I am.’ He looked a little apprehensive, I thought, at the sight of my lawyer’s robe with its own Queen’s badge. But then he would know of the theft, and that he might be under suspicion.

‘I am Matthew Shardlake, Serjeant at Law. I am enquiring for Lord Parr into the loss of a jewel belonging to the Queen, which she values greatly.’ I turned to the apprentice, who was small and thin, a complete contrast to poor Elias. ‘Does this boy help you with lock-making?’

‘No, sir.’ He gave the boy an unfavourable look. ‘I have enough trouble training him up on the carpentry side.’

I looked at the lad. ‘You may leave us.’ Barwic stood, hands on the table, frowning a little as the boy scurried from the room. ‘I heard of the jewel’s loss, sir. I think someone must have stolen the key.’

I shook my head. ‘Impossible. The Queen wore the key round her neck at all times.’ I saw his eyes widen; he had not known that. ‘Come,’ I said. ‘I would like you to see the chest.’

‘It is here?’

‘In one of the rooms nearby.’

We led Barwic to the chamber, where he examined the chest carefully. ‘Yes, I made this lock, and fitted it to the chest, back in the spring.’ I gave him the key and he studied it. ‘Yes, this is it.’

‘And you made no copies?’ Barak asked.

Barwic frowned, obviously annoyed at being questioned by someone junior. ‘On the Queen’s instructions,’ he answered. ‘It was unusual, but those were her majesty’s orders. The chest was brought to my workshop. The lock was as old as the chest, though serviceable enough. I made the new lock and key, tested them, then took the key and chest back to Whitehall by myself, as instructed. I gave the key directly into the hands of Lord Parr.’

‘Normally, though, you would make a spare key, in case the original was lost?’

‘Yes, and send both keys to the Chamberlain.’ His calmness deserted him and his voice rose. ‘I did as I was ordered, sir, simply that.’

‘I have to question everyone connected with this chest,’ I answered mildly.

‘I am a senior craftsman.’ Barwic rallied a little. ‘I was Chairman of the Carpenters’ Guild last year, responsible for its part in all the ceremonies and processions, and raising troops for the war.’

I nodded slowly. ‘An honourable duty. Did you know what was kept in the chest?’

‘They told me jewels and personal possessions. Sir, if you are accusing me-’

‘I accuse you of nothing, good Master Barwic.’

‘Ay, well, I am not used to being questioned like this.’ He spread his hands. ‘Perhaps someone was able to make an impression of the Queen’s key. If so, they could open the lock, if the duplicate were made carefully enough. Someone in that great warren, the Queen’s household. Surely she did not wear it all the time. I am a man of honest reputation, sir,’ he added. ‘Ask all who know me. A simple carpenter in his workshop.’

‘Like Our Lord himself,’ Barak said, straight-faced.

Barak accompanied me back out into the courtyard, the guard assigned us walking a little behind. ‘Jesu,’ Barak said. ‘All that just to clothe a few women.’

‘More than a few, I think. The ladies are granted the cloth, but pay for the work themselves.’

He stood rocking on his heels. ‘That cofferer, he looked worried.’

‘Yes. And he was Chairman of his guild last year. That’s an expensive business, as he said.’

‘He’ll be well paid in this job.’

‘It would be an expense, even so. And with the value of money falling, and all the taxes to pay for the war that are due this year, everyone has to be careful. He may have need of money.’ I slowed. ‘Could he have made a second copy for someone else? He did not know the Queen wore the only key constantly round her neck.’ I considered. ‘I think we’ll let him sweat a little.’