Edward Marston - The Counterfeit Crank

‘I had no part in that! I swear it!’

‘The girl told me that two men were involved. One of them held her down.’

‘That was Gregory Sumner, a keeper here. He assisted Ralph, not me.’

‘Yet you were the one who beat Dorothea,’ said Nicholas, holding the cudgel over him. ‘You pummelled the girl until her friend came to her rescue.’

‘I did not mean to hurt her,’ claimed Beechcroft, starting to tremble.

‘Then I’ll not mean to hurt you , when I beat the truth out of you.’

Beechcroft cringed against the door. ‘No!’ he begged. ‘Do not strike me!’

‘Then tell me what you did to Hywel Rees.’

Nicholas made the mistake of taking an eye off the wounded keeper. The tapestry in which he had been caught up had saved him from serious injury, muffling the impact of the dagger thrust. Blood had been drawn but it was only a minor flesh wound. Throwing off the tapestry, the man soon struggled to his feet. He dived at Nicholas from behind and got an arm around his neck, pulling him backward across the room. Beechcroft needed no second invitation to escape. He was through the door in a flash and locked it behind him. Nicholas, meanwhile, had to contend with a strong arm across his throat, squeezing the breath out of him. He pumped away with his elbows to wind his adversary then stamped hard on his toe to produce a howl of rage. The man released his hold. Spinning round, Nicholas cracked him on the head with the cudgel and sent him to his knees. A second blow knocked the man unconscious.

There was no sense in remaining in the room. Beechcroft would soon be back with armed men and Nicholas would be trapped. He collected the fallen dagger and stuck it in his belt. Apart from saving himself, Nicholas also wanted to take the two ledgers with him as additional proof of the mismanagement of Bridewell. Left in the room, they could always be hidden or even destroyed. Wrapping the books in the tapestry, therefore, he took them to the window and swung them up behind the gable. He then clambered after them and made his way along the roof, wedging his cargo behind one of the chimney pots, out of reach of any but the most intrepid climbers.

From down below, he heard the sound of the door being unlocked and of many feet rushing into the room. Beechcroft’s roar of anger was clearly audible.

‘Where the devil has he gone now ?’

The banquet in the hall had reached the stage where couples were starting to peel off and adjourn to nearby rooms. Music still played, wine still flowed but only half of the guests remained at the table. While his partner went off to count the evening’s takings, Ralph Olgrave decided to sample the charms of Nan Welbeck, a sprightly young woman with long fair hair, who still had something of a bloom on her. He beckoned her over, took a first kiss then eased her onto his lap. Caressing her with one hand, he held his cup of wine in the other and took a long sip before handing it to her. Nan Welbeck drained it, laughed merrily then gave Olgrave a long, luscious, searching kiss on the lips.

It was not a moment when he wanted to be interrupted. Seeing his partner come bursting into the room, Olgrave was very annoyed and tried to wave him away, but Beechcroft was determined. He had an air of desperation about him.

‘I need to speak to you in private, Ralph,’ he said.

‘Not now, please.’

‘I must insist.’

‘And I must insist that you leave Nan and me alone,’ said Olgrave, glaring at him. ‘There’s nothing so important that it cannot wait until later.’

‘Yes, there is.’

‘Find yourself a woman and leave us be.’

‘You must come now ,’ warned Beechcroft, grabbing him by the arm. ‘We have an unwelcome guest, Ralph. I’ve seen him with my own eyes.’

‘Oh, and who is that?’

‘Nicholas Bracewell.’

Olgrave sobered at once. ‘How ever did he get in here?’

‘By posing as a beggar by the name of Tom Rooke.’

‘Excuse me, Nan,’ said Olgrave, moving her off his lap and getting up. ‘This business will not wait. Do not go away, my sweet, for I’ll soon be back.’ He blew her a kiss then hurried for the door with Beechcroft. Once outside, he turned on his partner. ‘Now then, Joseph. What’s this all about?’

‘Our survival.’

‘Do not talk such nonsense. What can one man do against so many of us?’

‘He broke into the counting house. He has our ledgers.’

‘What?’ cried Olgrave. ‘ Both of them?’

‘Yes, Ralph. He stole them and hid them. I’ve hunted everywhere.’

‘Are you sure that it was that book holder from Westfield’s Men?’

‘As sure as I am that he holds our books now,’ said Beechcroft. ‘If the aldermen should ever see those accounts, we are both condemned.’

‘Calm down, Joseph. It will not come to that.’

‘I think that we should run for it while we can.’

‘No!’

‘Divide the money and get clean away.’

‘That’s lunacy.’

‘It’s the only way out. Stay here and we’ll both be arraigned. There’s more than enough for the two of us, Ralph. Come and take your share.’

‘I’ll not dream of it.’

‘But it’s what we’d always planned to do if we were found out.’

‘We’ve not been found out, you idiot,’ said Olgrave, taking him by the shoulders to shake him. ‘We have an interloper in Bridewell, that’s all.’

‘An interloper in possession of evidence that could send us both to prison.’

‘Only if he gets that evidence out of here. And how can he do that?’

‘I told you that this man would be a danger.’

‘Not when we’ve done the job that Gregory was sent to do,’ asserted Olgrave, taking out his dagger. ‘If this meddling fool is inside Bridewell, there’s no way that he can get out again. All the gates are locked.’

‘He managed to get in, Ralph.’

‘He’ll live to regret that, I warrant you. Now, where is the rogue?’

‘That’s the problem we face,’ wailed Beechcroft.

‘What is?’

‘Nicholas Bracewell has vanished.’

As long as he stayed where he was, Nicholas felt safe. Having climbed to the apex of the roof, he now lay on the outward slope so that he was invisible from the courtyard. The ledgers were stuffed up against a chimney and, even if it rained, they would be protected. Their disappearance was causing unrest. When he peeped over the ridge tiles, he could see a group of people in the yard, some with blazing torches, taking orders from Ralph Olgrave. The keepers dispersed to carry out a methodical search, leaving Olgrave alone in the courtyard with his partner. Their voices were raised in argument but Nicholas could not hear all that was said. Beechcroft pointed up at the counting house then ran towards the door that would give him access to it.

Bearing torches, other keepers came trotting up to help in the search for the fugitive. Olgrave sent all but two of them to explore the rooms on the ground floor. Looking upwards, he studied the gable window of the counting house and reached a decision. When Nicholas saw him point to the roof, he knew that his hiding place had been discovered. He had either to find an open window on the exterior of the building, or wait to be caught. Lowering himself to the edge of the roof on the side above the Fleet, he went carefully along the edge from gable to gable, trying each of the windows. He soon found one that was open but, before he could swing down into it, a keeper came into it and saw his legs dangling down.

The alarm was raised at once. Nicholas had no means of escape. All that he could do was to scramble back up to the apex of the roof. Sitting astride it, he looked down into the courtyard where Olgrave was still standing. The latter could see his outline against the night sky.