S. Parris - Treachery

‘Do you come from Plymouth, Hetty?’

‘Stonehouse, sir. The next village, across the headland.’

‘Have you heard of a place called the House of Vesta?’

She looks at me with a superior smile. ‘Everyone’s heard of it, sir. But you don’t want to go there, not if you value your purse.’ She rubs her thumb and forefinger together.

‘Is that so? And what do they offer there that is so costly?’

‘Girls.’ She says this as if it should be obvious.

‘But those can be found all over Plymouth at a cheaper price, surely?’

She shrugs. ‘The House of Vesta’s for them with money to spare. The girls are young there. Clean, if you know what I mean. They say it’s the one place in Plymouth you can be sure your parts won’t drop off within the week. Sorry.’ She claps a hand to her mouth and giggles. ‘That’s why only the better sort of gentlemen go there. Those that are willing to pay the price for peace of mind. The rest have to make do with it up against a wall by the dock and take their chances.’ She sniffs.

‘That is useful to know. And where is it?’ I focus on the letter as I ask, turning it over to consider the seal as if it is the most interesting thing I have laid eyes on in many months, but my pretence at nonchalance quite rightly draws a derisory laugh from her.

‘Well, now, sir. I don’t know exactly. I believe it’s kept secret.’ The tilt of her head suggests it is a secret that might be available to interested buyers.

‘Wait there.’ I push the door ajar and grab my purse from the bed. Lady Arden sends me a complicit smile from the corner where she is lurking, out of sight. I motion to her to stay there.

‘Here.’ I draw out a groat for the serving girl and she looks at it, somewhat disappointed. ‘It is all I have.’

‘I heard the entrance is somewhere off Looe Street. Look for the apothecary’s sign.’

‘Thank you,’ I say, closing the door. ‘Good night.’

‘You can’t just walk in there off the street,’ Hetty continues, tucking the coin somewhere in the folds of her skirts. ‘You have to have an invitation. Know someone. Besides, it’s a long way to walk this time of night.’ She pauses for a beat. ‘Mistress Judith understands that. She doesn’t like to think of gentlemen being lonely of an evening.’

I pause at the half-closed door. ‘Mistress Judith is a true Christian.’

‘So, if you do want company, that is something she could arrange, if you’d like me to speak to her.’

‘Ah. So it is not the morality she objects to, merely the revenue?’

‘What?’

‘Never mind. Thank you again.’

I close the door gently in her face and wait until I hear her footsteps padding down the corridor. Lady Arden watches me over the top of her glass, eyes alight with mischief.

‘Everyone is concerned about you being lonely tonight, Bruno.’

‘Yes, I am touched.’

‘Is she the company, do you think?’ She jerks her head at the door. ‘She looks like she’d do it for a glass of porter. I wouldn’t vouch for her cleanliness though.’

I respond with a brief, distracted smile; my attention is on the letter. Fra Giordano Bruno , it says on the front. I have not been addressed as Frater since I left holy orders; I glance at the door with a prickle of goosebumps on my arms. It is no secret that I was once a monk, but who here in Plymouth would know that, or address me as such? Only the men I have met aboard the Elizabeth . I turn the letter and break the plain red seal. There is just one line of text, written in block capitals in a neat, square hand.

I read it twice, pass a hand across my chin, blink hard and read it again to be sure I have understood the meaning, then snatch up my own black wool doublet from the rack in front of the fire, brush the salt from it, and open the door.

‘Wait — where are you going?’ Lady Arden cries as I rush out, almost slipping on the bare boards in my haste. ‘Is it bad news?’

‘Sorry,’ I call over my shoulder on my way to the back staircase. ‘Something urgent. No need to wait.’

One floor below, I crash into the room without knocking. As I guessed, Sidney is in full flow: back arched, chest forward, one hand flung out for dramatic effect. Lady Drake sits demurely on a stool by the fire, hands folded in her lap, gazing up at him with an expression somewhere between admiration and boredom as he declaims. He stops abruptly, mid-sonnet, and gives me a look that says he means to kill me later.

‘Bruno! What are you thinking, man — do you not have the courtesy to knock?’

‘I need to speak to you. Now — come with me. Forgive the intrusion, my lady.’

Elizabeth Drake regards my flustered appearance with equanimity. An amused smile hovers on her lips.

‘Sir Philip was just reciting some of his poetry,’ she says, though the explanation is hardly needed. ‘I fear he had not quite finished.’

‘My Lady Drake was kind enough to request it,’ Sidney says, defensive.

‘There are a hundred and eight sonnets in this sequence, my lady,’ I say, turning to her. ‘I can save you the trouble of hearing them: Stella rejects him and stays with her husband, Astrophel is sad, The End.’

She laughs. ‘Is that it? No one dies?’

‘They may yet,’ Sidney mutters through clenched teeth, glaring at me. But he does not resist as I drag him to the door, where we collide with Lady Arden. I nod in passing as I push by her; Sidney pauses for a brief bow. She says nothing, only sends me a wounded look as she closes the chamber door behind her.

‘You had better have good reason for this, Bruno,’ Sidney says, as he thunders down the next flight of stairs to the entrance hall. ‘She was-’

‘What?’ I pause in the curve of the stairwell and turn to him. ‘About to fall into your arms? Was that your intention? Good work if so, Philip — write poems declaring your unrequited love for one man’s wife and use them to seduce another’s.’

‘Keep your voice down! God, Bruno, your moralising grows tiresome — anyone would think you were still a monk.’

‘If I were still a monk, I would have no moral scruple at all,’ I say, but he is not listening.

‘Seduce is an ugly word,’ he continues, eyes bright with anger. ‘You know nothing of courtly manners — why would you? It is not seduction to pay chaste court to a beautiful woman, it is an honourable tradition handed down from the time of King Arthur-’

‘-yes, yes. But this is 1585 and you are not Sir Galahad. We have more important matters to occupy us. Look — this was just delivered to me by the serving girl.’

I hold out the paper. He reads both sides and looks at me. Below us, people mill about in the entrance hall on their way to the tap-room. I scan the shifting mass for a glimpse of a man in a black cap, but there is no sign.

‘I don’t understand,’ Sidney says, turning the paper over twice more, as if this will help.

‘It’s Latin.’

He rolls his eyes. ‘Yes, I can read the words, obviously. But not the meaning. Who would send you this? And why?’

‘Look at the seal.’

He fits the broken halves together and frowns. ‘The same image as that token we found in Dunne’s cabin. What is it?’

‘Do you recall what Savile said in the boat, when you asked him where to go in Plymouth? He made an allusion to the sacred flame — he meant the House of Vesta. I would wager anything this is its secret symbol. You said you’d heard Dunne was a regular.’

‘The sacred fire of the goddess.’ He nods, running his finger over the seal. ‘But that still doesn’t explain the message.’

I sigh, and continue on down the stairs. ‘Come on. I’ll explain on the way.’