Paul Lawrence - Hearts of Darkness

‘How long do you think that took us?’ I wondered. It felt like half the night.

Dowling cocked his head then grabbed my sleeve and pulled me deeper into the undergrowth. The sound of horses’ hooves beat a drum from the direction of Shyam.

Five horses cantered from our left, four brown, and a great white steed with Withypoll upon it, narrow-eyed, scanning either side of

the road. He looked fit and healthy, no sign of the fever he suffered before. I ducked my head into the ground and held my breath. Once they passed, I brushed twigs and old leaf from my shirt. ‘Now what do we do? They’ll post soldiers at the gate into Colchester.’

‘We get closer,’ Dowling replied.

We walked through the scrub another hundred yards before we heard the horses again. We dived into the bushes. Three horses this time, Withypoll at the lead, trotting slow.

‘They know we’re on the road,’ I whispered.

‘Josselin too,’ said Dowling. ‘Else Withypoll wouldn’t be out here. He’d be peeling off Josselin’s fingernails.’

I shivered. This time I stayed behind my tree. Withypoll was cunning. He would pull off the path and wait. I prayed they didn’t fetch out dogs.

An hour later they returned, spread further apart, riding fast. Withypoll leant forward between the ears of his horse, staring unblinking into the forest, with more energy than last time we saw him. The soldiers behind yelled loud obscenities, and waved their hands in the air. The last horse dragged a body behind it, bouncing on the earth like a sack of coal. I watched, paralysed, praying it was not Josselin. It was a lean man without much hair. Though his face was covered with blood, still I recognised Galileo.

‘They are all as evil as Withypoll,’ I whispered, hating them for their revelry.

I wondered if this display was for our benefit; for Josselin as well, to terrorise us into submission. Instead we burrowed deeper into the undergrowth, far enough from the road we couldn’t be seen, close enough we could see the horses whene’er they passed. I strained

my ears for every sound, terrified Withypoll might come crashing through the trees at any moment, or that we’d hear the baying of hounds. We made our way so slow even the sun travelled faster than us, climbing to the top of the sky and sinking down again before we reached Colchester. Galileo’s face stuck in my mind’s eye, the lump on his head where I hit him with a log. I had liked him.

At last the grey, stone wall came into view through the trees, fifty yards away. Between us and the wall was marshland, the treeline finishing short. The great gate stood open. Two soldiers talked together, stood apart from four sentries. They watched the soldiers warily.

We heard horses again, loud galloping from the direction of Shyam. Withypoll and two of his associates rode into view, then drew their horses up sharp in front of the gate. Withypoll leapt from his charge and drew his sword, sticking the tip of it against the throat of one of the sentries, leaning forwards, shoulder tensed, jaw clenched. Then he remounted, reined his horse around and kicked it forwards into Colchester, followed by all the soldiers except one, who lingered a few minutes longer, waving his arms at the sentries and making various loud noises.

Dowling peered into the gathering gloom. ‘Josselin is inside the town walls.’

‘How do you know?’

‘They’ve been out all day,’ Dowling whispered. ‘So why the hurry? Something has happened.’

‘Josselin is caught?’

‘I don’t think so,’ Dowling growled. ‘Else Withypoll wouldn’t have stopped. Question is, how did Josselin get in?’

The four sentries gathered in a circle, gesticulating, the man

attacked by Withypoll standing at the centre.

‘They let him in,’ I realised. ‘That’s what Withypoll suspects. Their allegiance lies with Josselin, not with Withypoll. If Josselin asked them for passage, they would ne’er refuse him. He must have approached while the soldiers were on the road.’

‘Then we must follow,’ Dowling said. ‘Before Withypoll thinks to send soldiers back to the gate. I don’t think he realises all the soldiers followed him.’

‘You must be joking,’ I replied.

‘What else would you do, Harry?’ Dowling shrilled. ‘That is the only way in, and soon it will be guarded by Withypoll’s men.’

He was right. Withypoll and his band just humiliated the local sentries. If there was ever a time to persuade them, now was it, whilst they still felt most contrary.

Dowling raised his stiff body and stepped out onto the road. At first no one noticed. We hurried across the bare terrain, my heart beating so loud I thought my ears would burst. Then one man noticed. He held his hand against another man’s chest and reached for a wooden club.

‘Hold!’ Dowling cried, managing a terse smile. ‘We are friends of Josselin.’

‘You cannot pass,’ the leader replied, holding forth his stick. Dark hair grew long down each cheek and he wore a shapeless green felt hat. ‘You are the murderers out of Shyam the soldiers are looking for.’

Dowling held up his hands. ‘Withypoll told you that, but it isn’t true. We work for the King and we are friends of Josselin. Those soldiers are under Withypoll’s command, and he is a treacherous dog.’

The man grunted and looked to his colleagues.

Dowling dug into his pocket for the royal seal. ‘Withypoll will do all he can to stop us, which is why he tells lies. You must admit us in the name of the King. It is our job to save Josselin from Withypoll.’

The leader stretched out a hand to receive the seal, over which he rubbed a dirty forefinger.

‘The King will reward you if you assist,’ Dowling assured them.

‘If not, he will stick your heads up on poles above Nonsuch House,’ I added.

‘Take off your shirts,’ the man ordered, nervous. ‘I must make sure you got no buboes nor tokens.’

I whipped off my shirt quick, then examined my skin as carefully as he.

‘Did ye come into contact with those that are infected?’ he asked, squinting from afar.

‘We went to Shyam to rescue James Josselin,’ I replied, ‘not to tend the sick.’ I felt guilty uttering the words. We couldn’t be certain we were not infected. The sooner we passed through the city walls and out the other side, the better for my conscience.

The man sighed. ‘Then pass, but in God’s name tell no one we allowed you through.’

God did watch over us. I could scarcely believe our good fortune. ‘Thank you,’ I said calm, suppressing an urge to run. We hurried through the gate and up East Hill. Dusk drove men from the streets. Those remaining went about their business with grim intent, coats flapping in the warm breeze.

‘We must find somewhere to hide until it is dark,’ said Dowling.

I gazed up at the castle. ‘We don’t know Josselin will go straight to London, or even if he will go to London at all. He said he would meet with Arlington, but what if he has business here first? We still haven’t

worked out what Shrewsbury was doing here talking to Dutchmen. We should at least establish Josselin is not gone to the Dutch Quarter.’

‘How?’ Dowling said, raising his voice. ‘Shall we knock upon every door and ask if anyone has seen him?’

‘No,’ I replied. ‘We must be more discreet.’

Dowling protested, eyeing the relative safety of the shadowy wasteland to the east of the castle. ‘To get to the Dutch Quarter we must walk through the middle of Colchester.’

‘We can’t set off to London without horses anyway, Davy,’ I replied, ‘and we won’t find horses at Grey Friars.’

‘We will find them outside the town walls,’ said Dowling. ‘No one cares who we are out there. It’s in here they watch for strangers.’