S. Parris - Treachery

‘Oh, I’m sure you’re a fine lady all right, sweetheart.’ He points at me and laughs. ‘And who’s this — the fucking King of Cockaigne?’

Nell puts a hand on her hip. ‘This is the renowned Italian scholar Giordano Bruno.’

‘Oh, well that makes all the difference,’ says the bearded man, and his subordinates laugh openly. ‘Listen, you insolent strumpet. I lead Sir Peter’s household guard, and I have the power to arrest the both of you for trespass, poaching and murder. You don’t look like you’re in much of a state to put up a fight, but if you want one, we can oblige.’

She steps forward until she is no more than a foot away from him and pushes the shaft of his halberd to one side, eyes flashing defiance, her jaw set firm. He seems too surprised to stop her.

‘ You listen, arrogant churl. I am the cousin of Lady Drake, and Doctor Bruno travels with Sir Philip Sidney, Master of the Queen’s Ordnance. Do you see this?’ She tilts her head back and points to her throat. ‘Yesterday I was taken captive by two wanted criminals who tried to hang me by the neck — the same men, by the way, who killed your gamekeeper and are quite possibly still at large on your master’s estate. Doctor Bruno rescued me. We have escaped death at least three times tonight and we are damned exhausted by it. Even now, Sir Francis Drake has his men out searching for us, and if he should find that we have suffered further ill-treatment, then by God, I swear you will answer to your master for it. Take us to the house this instant and let me speak to Sir Peter’s steward, if you will not take my word.’

The bearded man glances uneasily at his colleagues; clearly he fears she may be telling the truth. She has the bearing and the imperious tone that belong to the high-born, honed over a lifetime of expecting the world to obey you. I watch her with growing admiration. She turns to me and squeezes my hand, flashing a triumphant smile, despite all her pain and weariness. Sidney was right; she is a woman who is used to commanding. Jenkes and Doughty, with their threats of rape and murder, stripped the protection of rank from her; they reduced her to the unwelcome truth of her physical weakness and made her vulnerable. By asserting her status again over this guard, she can begin to repair the damage to her pride. It is impressive to watch her assume this hauteur as easily as slipping on a cloak.

‘Bring them up to the house then,’ the bearded man snaps at the others, turning away. Nell leans into me and I feel her body go slack with relief.

‘Everything will be all right now, Bruno,’ she says. ‘You’ll see.’

TWENTY-FOUR

‘You were fortunate that the household guard gave you the benefit of the doubt,’ Drake murmurs. He faces away from me, still looking out of the chamber window with his hands clasped behind his back. ‘He could have accused you of murder and thrown you in a cell right there. We might not have found you for days.’

‘Lady Arden is quite formidable when she decides to assert herself.’ I take another sip of wine.

‘I know it,’ Drake says, with a grimace.

‘We were fortunate too that Sir Peter Edgecumbe’s steward was accommodating. He woke his master in the middle of the night for two strangers who looked like vagabonds or cutpurses. Thank God Sir Peter recognised Lady Arden, in spite of everything.’

I close my eyes briefly, recalling what had followed. The cool ale to soothe our throats, warm water to bathe, maidservants to dress our wounds, the soft feather beds, the bread and meat in the morning and clean clothes given by Sir Peter and his wife, all of which Nell had promised to repay when she returned home. Drake’s men had finally landed on the island a couple of hours after we escaped, and valiantly followed us through the tunnel and out to Sir Peter Edgecumbe’s estate on the promontory facing Plymouth on the west side of the Sound. Sir Peter sent his own men to accompany me back to the town after I had broken my fast; Nell’s injuries were not as bad as I had feared, but she was weakened by shock and exhaustion and the effects of breathing so much smoke, and needed to rest before she could consider riding back. I had sustained some minor burns along my left arm and my eyes and throat were still dry and painful from the smoke, but when I considered the events of the night, I could only marvel that we had escaped with so little damage.

Drake observes me with curiosity for a while, then resumes his brisk manner. ‘In any case, God granted you His protection. But above all my wife’s cousin owes her life to your courage, Bruno. I am in your debt, and I will not forget it.’ He passes a hand across his beard. ‘And now that she is safe, I must decide what is to be done about the rest of this affair. Then perhaps I can get back to my fleet.’

He does not even try to disguise the impatience in his voice. This whole business with Jenkes and Doughty has been an inconvenient distraction for him — one that would not have come about if the fleet had not been delayed by Dunne’s death, or if Sidney and I had not turned up in Plymouth. I understand his feelings, but I suppose I had hoped for a slightly fuller expression of gratitude after the night’s ordeal. But Drake has a fleet of ships and hundreds of men dependent on his decisions, and he is keen to press on.

We are gathered in his chamber at the Star, the room once occupied by Lady Drake, who is now a guest of the Mayor and guarded by six of Drake’s stoutest soldiers. Sidney and I are shortly to dine with Dom Antonio and his attendants, but first Drake wants to brief me on all that has happened since I left for St Nicholas Island the night before.

‘My men and Sir Peter’s searched the entire estate last night and into the morning but found no trace of Jenkes or Doughty,’ he says, standing with his back to the fireplace. ‘I have sent out boats to board and search ships leaving the Sound, though I do not strictly have the authority to do this. But my guess is that they will have set out from further along the coast, in Cornwall. Perhaps they joined a ship from a different harbour. In any case, they have had a significant start.’

‘Rowland Jenkes has a great many contacts in France,’ I say. ‘He will have taken the book to Paris, no doubt, where there will be Vatican agents willing to pay dearly for it.’

Drake makes a dismissive gesture. ‘I care little for the book now. It angers me that this Jenkes should profit from it, naturally, but not so much that I am willing to devote men and resources to pursuing it. It seems a small price to pay, given that you and Lady Arden have escaped with your lives.’

I say nothing. The book is of no consequence to Drake because he is not a scholar and cannot imagine its significance; he regards it merely for how much coin it would fetch. I can think only of the fat, self-serving cardinals in Rome locking it away in some dark vault in the Vatican, burying its extraordinary revelation for ever. At least I still have my translation.

‘My concern,’ Drake continues, ‘is what has become of John Doughty. This business has not served his purpose at all, except to show me how near he can come to my family. And your report troubles me greatly. I have long suspected he would set his sights on Elizabeth, to hurt me where I am most vulnerable.’ He pulls at the point of his beard. ‘I have decided that she should go to her family in Somerset while I am at sea. When Lady Arden is well enough to travel, I will send them both back to Buckland with an armed guard to make their preparations. I think it best that Dom Antonio goes with them. Your men can accompany him, Sir Philip, and travel on to London from there. I cannot prepare for this expedition if I am worrying constantly about his safety and that of the women.’