Kate Sedley: The Goldsmith's daughter

He whipped round, a martial light in his eyes, but this faded as soon as he saw who it was that had addressed him.

‘Roger, you great lump!’ He threw his arms around me. ‘What are you doing in London? But whatever the cause, I’m delighted to see you. And Jeanne will be as pleased as I am.’ He turned to his customer. ‘All right, mother, you can have ’em for nothing. Go on, put ’em away before I change my mind.’

He looked the same as ever, small and wiry with the thinning grey hair that made him appear older than his forty-four years. His voice still retained that rasping quality, which reminded me of iron filings being rubbed one against the other, and his weather-beaten skin was as heavily pock-marked as I remembered it. And when he moved, he still walked with the military gait he had acquired as a young man while soldiering in the Low Countries.

As soon as I had made him free of the reason for my being in the capital, and as soon as he understood that I had married again, nothing could stem the tide of his enthusiasm. He immediately shut up his stall, ignoring the line of waiting customers, and piled his unsold clothes into a basket to take back to his shop.

‘Where is this wife of yours, then?’ he demanded. ‘Come along! Lead me to her and then you’re both going home with me.’ As I started to jib about his loss of trade, he slapped me on the back. ‘Don’t talk such blethering nonsense, man! Jeanne would never forgive me if I didn’t bring you to see her right away.’

Jeanne Lamprey was indeed as pleased to see us as Philip had promised, and even more excited than her husband, if that were possible, at the news of my marriage. In the one room daub-and-wattle cottage behind their shop in the western approaches to Cornhill, she embraced us both fervently and plied us with meat, bread and ale, despite our assurances that we had eaten a good dinner at ten o’clock.

I could see that Adela, in spite of being forewarned by me what to expect, was at first somewhat taken aback by our hostess’s youth and vitality. This little, bustling body, with the bright brown eyes and mop of unruly black curls, was, at that time, not yet twenty-one years of age and a most unlikely wife for someone like Philip. But she loved him deeply, ruled him with a rod of iron, had curbed his excessive drinking habits and pulled him up from penury and the gutter to be a respectable trader with a shop and a stall of his own.

Her unreserved pleasure at meeting me again I found touching, considering that the last time we had met, a year ago, I had placed Philip in danger of his life. But Jeanne Lamprey was not one to bear a grudge, and one of her many qualities was her loyalty to friends. She was also extremely observant, and within quarter of an hour of being introduced to Adela, had wormed her secret out of her.

‘Well, I think you’re very brave to journey all this way in your condition in winter,’ she said, kissing my wife’s cheek. ‘But,’ she added accusingly, turning on me, ‘I can’t understand Roger allowing you to do it.’

‘You mustn’t blame him. He was given no choice,’ Adela answered quietly. ‘I was determined to come. I’d never been to London and I badly wanted to see it. And I also wanted to see the little Duke of York’s wedding.’

Philip expressed surprise that this news had reached us in Bristol as long ago as Christmas. ‘But in that case,’ he continued, ‘you must also have heard that Clarence is about to be brought to trial. With one event following immediately after the other, it’s difficult not to speak of both in the same breath.’

I acknowledged that we had heard, and for the next ten minutes or so he and I were engrossed in the inevitable speculation as to why King Edward had at last decided to take action against his troublesome brother — when he had forgiven him on so many former occasions.

‘It’s all very well people saying that he’s just lost patience with the Duke,’ Philip remarked, thoughtfully rubbing his chin, ‘but it’s my opinion that there’s something more to it than that, although I doubt we’ll ever get to the bottom of what that something is. However, I did hear one titbit of gossip that might have some bearing on the mystery. Yesterday, when I was over by the Moor Gate. . Which reminds me, Jeanne! Don’t, as you value your purse, go anywhere in that direction. They’re rebuilding and repairing stretches of the wall on either side of the gate, and the locals are out rattling their money boxes, waylaying anyone and everyone for contributions. But as the Common Council’s already decided that each household has to pay fivepence a week towards the cost, I told ’em straight that I’d be damned if they got anything extra out of me, or out of any of my friends.’

He seemed inclined to brood darkly on this enormity until his attention was gently recalled by his wife.

‘You were telling us what you heard yesterday, Philip, about the Duke of Clarence.’

‘Oh. . Yes! Although it wasn’t exactly to do with him.’ Philip cleared his throat impressively. ‘I was told that the Bishop of Bath and Wells had been arrested and imprisoned round about the same time as the Duke, but was released after paying a heavy fine. This man — the man I was talking to — seems to think that the two events might have some connection, although I honestly can’t see why they should. But I was wondering if you’d heard anything in your part of the world, Roger?’

I shook my head. ‘Not a whisper. It must have been a very brief imprisonment. But then, I reckon Robert Stillington’s a man who’d buy his way out of trouble as quickly as possible. All the same,’ I added slowly, ‘your informant could have grounds for thinking there was a link between the two arrests.’ And I told Philip of the meeting I had witnessed some eighteen months earlier between the Bishop and George of Clarence at Farleigh Castle.

We were all sitting around the Lampreys’ table, and out of the corner of my right eye I saw Jeanne shift uneasily on her stool. Philip must have noticed it, too, because he laughed and said, ‘You’ve always known too much for your own good, Roger, ever since we first met, which is almost seven years ago now. You’re a dangerous person to be around, as I’ve found out to my cost. So, if you’re up to anything on this visit to London, we’d rather not be told.’

‘He isn’t, I promise you both,’ Adela quickly reassured them. ‘Our sole purpose is for me to see London, especially the Duke of York’s wedding procession. And Roger would like to attend the Duke of Clarence’s trial.’

‘We’ll all go to see the wedding,’ Jeanne announced, clapping her hands together like a child suddenly proffered a treat. ‘We’ll shut up shop tomorrow and make it a holiday. But in the meantime, we must find somewhere for you to stay.’ She glanced around at the cramped conditions of the tiny cottage before turning an apologetic face towards Adela and me. ‘I only wish we could offer you a lodging here, but you can see how very little room we have.’

‘We wouldn’t dream of imposing on you,’ my wife answered firmly. ‘But we should be very grateful if you could suggest a decent inn that won’t cost too much.’

‘The Voyager!’ Philip exclaimed suddenly, snapping his fingers. ‘Its proper name is Saint Brendan the Voyager, and you’ll find it not far from here, in a street called Bucklersbury. The landlord’s name is Reynold Makepeace, and he has the reputation for fair dealing and for not overcharging his guests. Go to the Great Conduit, where The Poultry runs into West Cheap, and Bucklersbury is on your left, running down to the Walbrook. The Voyager’s about halfway along, crammed in between all the grocers’ and apothecaries’ shops. Its sign is the saint in his coracle, perched on top of a huge sea snake.’