Edward Marston - The Laughing Hangman

‘I am more interested in recent events there.’

‘They can only be judged aright if set against the ancient traditions of Blackfriars,’ insisted Hay with a pedagogic zeal. ‘Parliament first met there in 1311. It was later used as a repository for records relating to matters of state. Later still-in the years 1343, 1370, 1376 and 1378, to be exact-it was the meeting place of the Court of Chancery. Parliaments and Privy Councils were often convened there. Visiting dignitaries from foreign lands stayed there as honoured guests. In our own century,’ he said, sniffing noisily in disapproval, ‘a court sat in Blackfriars to hear the divorce case against that worthy lady, Catherine of Aragon. In that same fateful year of 1529, Parliament met there to bring a Bill of Attainder against Cardinal Wolsey.’

‘All this is fascinating,’ said Nicholas patiently, ‘but not entirely relevant to my inquiry.’

‘But you need to understand the greatness of the House in order to appreciate how ruinously it has dwindled. Before the suppression of the Religious, it was a major presence in the city. But now…’

‘Largely demolished.’

‘And the Dominicans expelled.’ He gave an involuntary shudder. ‘To make way for members of your profession.’

‘The playhouse was not built until some years later.’

‘In 1576, to be precise. Consecrated ground, used as a scaffold for lewd performance. By children, no less! Sweet choristers, whose voices should have been uplifted in praise of their Maker.’ He became sharply self-critical. ‘But I go beyond the bounds of my purpose here. An antiquarian must report the progress of events without making undue comment upon them. What is done is done. Who cares one way or the other what Caleb Hay may think about the Children of the Chapel?’

‘I do,’ said Nicholas.

‘You are too indulgent, my friend,’ said the other with a smile. ‘When I fulminate against plays and players, you take the blows on your back with Stoic resignation and never offer me a buffeting in return.’

‘I admire plain speaking.’

‘My guilt is unassuaged. You do not deserve to have my trenchant opinions thrust upon you. I console myself with the thought that a man of the theatre must hear harsher tongues than mine in the course of his working day.’

‘That is certainly true,’ said Nicholas, thinking of Lawrence Firethorn’s blistering tirades. ‘But you forget that I sailed around the globe with Sir Francis Drake. Modest language has no place aboard a ship. Men speak in the roundest of terms. Your gibes are holy scripture beside the profanities of seafarers. Rail against the theatre as much as you wish, Master Hay. Simply give me the instruction that I seek.’

‘In what particular?’

‘Describe the first Blackfriars Theatre.’

‘A species of Hell!’

Nicholas laughed. ‘I wish to know something of its appearance and dimensions. Did it have secret passages leading to it or an underground vault beneath it? What changes were made when it was refurbished? Describe, if you will, all possible ways into the building.’

‘You have first to get into the precinct.’

‘Of course.’

‘Five acres of land is all that is left of the original monastic community. They form the liberty of Blackfriars. It preserves its ancient right of sanctuary. Do you know what other privilege is bestowed upon them?’

‘Only too well,’ said Nicholas enviously. ‘They are within the city walls yet free from city jurisdiction. We have no such freedom. While we at the Queen’s Head must perforce observe the Sabbath and forego performance, the Blackfriars Theatre is able to stage its plays on the Lord’s Day with impunity. That is a most important liberty.’

‘The theatre is only a small part of the whole. It shares the precinct with the fine houses of respectable families. The whole area is walled and its four gates are locked each night by the porter. Blackfriars is an address of note. You will know, I am sure, that many of its inhabitants fought hard to prevent a theatre from being re-opened on the site.’

‘I believe that a petition was drawn up.’

‘Drawn up and willingly signed. It kept the boards clear of actors for an interval. Then Cyril Fulbeck made his shameful arrangement with Raphael Parsons.’

‘Is that how the Master of the Chapel described it?’ said Nicholas. ‘As a shameful arrangement?’

‘I intrude my own prejudices once more,’ said Hay with a note of apology. ‘That is not good, not right, not scholarly. Henceforth, I’ll keep to particulars. What is it you seek? Dimensions and alterations? You will not lack for detail here, Master Bracewell. I will tell you all.’

Caleb Hay fulfilled his boast. He took his guest on a guided tour of Blackfriars, measuring out each wall, noting each doorway, indicating everything of even moderate significance and generally painting such a vivid picture in words that Nicholas saw the remains of the monastery rising before his eyes. It was uncanny. The older man tried to speak with deliberate calm but a more passionate note crept in from time to time. Here was someone who cared so deeply for the glorious past of London that he still lived in it.

Nicholas absorbed the salient details and thanked him.

‘I will speak further, if you wish,’ offered his host.

‘You have told me all I need to know, Master Hay.’

‘Pray God that it may help you! If I thought that my knowledge of this flower of cities could somehow lead you to the devils who committed this unspeakable act, I would give you a different lecture on the history of Blackfriars every day of the week.’

‘You have been most generous with your time.’

‘Call on me again,’ said Hay. ‘I am desirous to know how well your enquiries go. Cyril Fulbeck was as decent a man as any in Christendom. Pursue his killers.’

‘I will do so,’ promised Nicholas, ‘but I think that only one person is involved here. A perverse creature who takes delight in his villainy.’

He thought for a moment of the body swinging helplessly on the stage at the Blackfriars Theatre. The Master of the Chapel had been given no chance to resist as the breath of life was squeezed out of him inch by inch. It was a brutal death and it sent a chilling message. Nicholas would not easily forget the pallid horror on the face of the victim. Nor could he erase from his mind the glee of the murderer. That was what appalled him the most. The sound filled his ears so completely and so painfully that he had to shake his head to escape the callous mockery of the Laughing Hangman.

***

Too much drink and too little conversation had left Edmund Hoode in a state of maudlin confusion. Seated alone in a corner of the taproom at the Queen’s Head, he was oblivious to the raucous jollity all around him. He sipped, he meditated, he sank ever deeper into bewilderment. Hoode was not sure whether he should be devastated by the tidings from Lawrence Firethorn or inspired by the message from Rose Marwood, and so he shifted with speed between despair and hope until they blended in his mind. A look of inebriated perplexity settled on his moonlike face.

A friendly arm descended upon his shoulder.

‘Come, Edmund,’ said a lilting voice. ‘Time to leave.’

‘What’s that?’ he murmured.

‘You need help to get home. Lean on me.’

‘Why?’

‘Because those legs of yours would not take you more than seven yards towards Silver Street.’

To prove his point, Owen Elias hoisted him up, then let go of him. Hoode swayed violently, steadied himself on edge of the table, then felt a surge of confidence. He took three bold strides across the floor before losing his balance and pitching forward. The Welshman caught him just in time.