C. Sansom - Dark Fire

Toky's eyes narrowed. 'Then why are you here? Why not a troop of soldiers?'

'It was only a guess brought us. We didn't know where the stuff was. But others will follow soon, you'd do best to turn yourself over to the earl's mercy now.'

'Oh, shit,' the bearded man said, but Toky silenced him with a glare. Toky was frowning now, his ebullience gone. He ran a hand over his pockmarked face, eyes glittering between me and Barak.

'Do you know who our masters are?' he asked.

'Yes; they will be under arrest soon.' So there was more than one.

'Name them,' Toky snapped.

I hesitated. 'Richard Rich,' I said.

Toky smiled slowly. 'Rich, My arse. You don't know – this is bluff.'

'Kill them,' young Jackson said nervously. 'Get them out of the way while there's still time.'

'Not yet, don't be a fool,' Toky rasped. 'Our masters will need to hear how much they know. Fetch them here, they will have to decide what's to be done.'

'Both?' The young man's accent had some effort at cultivation; the accent of someone who served a rich master. Where had I seen him before?

'Ay. Tie them up first.' He nodded at some coils of rope in the corner. 'Use what we tied the founder with.'

Our hands were grasped roughly and pinned behind us. I felt a damp, greasy rope passed round them. We were manhandled into a corner and shoved down roughly onto the boards.

'Hurry, Jackson,' Toky urged.

With a last worried look at us, the young man left the room. I heard his footsteps descending the stairs. Toky sat on the bale of cloth, looking at us thoughtfully. The bearded fellow sat on the table, bit off a hunk of bread and washed it down with a swig of beer. He smiled at us, yellow teeth like a rat's dimly visible in the gloom.

'You're a scarecrow-looking pair to have caused so much trouble. Ain't they, Toky?'

Toky grunted; his ebullience had evaporated.

'Who are you, anyway?' Barak asked. 'I know who Toky is, but not you.'

'Jed Fletcher, out of Essex, at your service. Old friend of Master Toky's.' He gave a mocking bow and turned to Toky. 'Can we have the candle lit? It's getting black as night.' Outside I heard thunder again; the storm could not be far off.

Toky nodded at the vase of Greek Fire. 'No. You know it's not safe, not with that stuff here.'

'Who are they, then,' I asked, 'these masters of yours?'

Toky smiled evilly. 'You'll know them. You that's gone dining with the aristocracy.'

I felt suddenly cold. The only aristocrat I knew was Lady Honor. And now I remembered where I had seen the young man who was trying to improve his accent. He had been serving at Lady Honor's banquet. I stared at Toky. 'The House of Glass,' I whispered.

Toky looked at me through the deepening gloom. 'You'll see,' he said. 'Have patience.' He reached for the bread. There was silence for a minute. Then I heard a loud hissing sound from outside. I could not work out what it was at first, then drips began falling from the ceiling and I realized it was raining. Thunder sounded again, a mighty crack right overhead.

'It's come, then,' Fletcher said.

'Ay,' Toky agreed. 'God's bones, it is dark. We'll have that candle lit after all, but keep it on the far side of the table.' Fletcher set the candle on a plate, there was a struggle with a tinderbox and a yellow glow spread over the room. Our captors sat back, waiting.

'Listen,' Barak said. 'You know we work for Lord Cromwell. If we're killed there'll be a hunt up for you like you've never seen.'

Toky smiled sardonically. 'Piss the tavern keeper's son. He's finished.'

'If you let us go you'll be richly rewarded.'

'Too late for any of that, matey.' Toky sat looking at Barak, his eyes twin glinting points in the candlelight. 'I don't like the way you've led me such a dance,' he said.

'More of a dance than you think,' Barak said. 'Your mate Wright was killed this morning. Took a dive off the roof of St Paul's.'

'What?' Toky leaned forward.

'Join us, bully, before you join him.'

'You've killed Sam?' Toky's voice was a horrified croak. 'You've killed Sam!' Fletcher looked at him uneasily. Barak had made a bad mistake. Toky half-rose, then sat down again.

'By God,' he said, 'I'll see you two die slowly for this. You'll learn the tricks I know with my knife-' The look in his eyes chilled me.

Barak leaned back, brushing against me as he did so. He still stared at Toky, but I felt fingers brushing against my belt and realized he was trying to reach my dagger with his bound hands. They had not thought I might be carrying a weapon too. Taking care not to look at Barak, I edged slightly towards him. I felt the dagger withdrawn. Toky had put his head in his hands, Wright's death had affected him badly. Fletcher was still watching him anxiously.

Barak began sawing at my bonds, then lay still again as Fletcher rose and opened the door. Through the hatchway I could see rain sheeting down from the dark sky, a million tiny waterspouts dancing on the brown river. He closed the door again and returned to the table. Toky sat up. His face was paler than ever, a white oval, the candlelight making tiny pinpoint shadows in the pits of his face.

'Any sign of them?' His voice was composed, but I could sense the pain and fury behind it.

'No. It'll be a hard ride in this weather.'

Toky nodded, then sat looking down at his hands. He seemed not to want to look at us now. Barak recommenced sawing my bonds, slowly and carefully so that his movements should not attract attention. I bit back a cry as the sharp dagger sliced into my skin, then felt the rope fall away. It was hard not to follow the instinct to pull my chafed hands apart. I flexed my fingers carefully, then palmed the dagger from Barak and began sawing at his ropes in turn, all the while watching our captors. Toky was still absorbed in his thoughts, and Fletcher passed us only an occasional glance. He was restless, jumpy.

Then I heard feet on the stairs. Fletcher got up. I stopped sawing at Barak's bonds – surely I was almost through now? I risked a glance at him, but Barak kept his face impassive as Fletcher opened the door.

Serjeant Marchamount came in, shaking the water from a heavy coat. He looked down at us. There was a cold brutality I had never seen before in his face, the urbane mask quite fallen away.

'You did get out of your depth, didn't you?'

We stared at him open-mouthed. Barak was the first to recover his wits. 'You're supposed to be dead,' he said.

Marchamount smiled. 'You were getting too close, so I decided I'd better disappear. Just as well we'd kept that founder alive here. Toky and Wright took him to Lincoln's Inn orchard and hacked the life out of the fool. Then they put my ring on his finger and took the body away on a cart. That hatch is useful for throwing things into the Thames. You'll be leaving that way.'

'Wright's dead,' Toky said with a grim look at me. 'They threw him off the roof of St Paul's. I want my revenge with them.'

'So it's him they're all talking about all over the City,' Marchamount answered casually. He took off his coat, revealing a fine doublet embroidered with little diamonds. 'People were talking of some plot to kill Cranmer.' He looked at Toky. 'All right,' he said quietly. 'Do what you like with them later. I've sent Jackson on, by the way. We'll have to wait a little for a full house: this rain is turning the streets into rivers.' He sat on the edge of the table, folding his plump hands together. He looked thoughtful. 'So. Cromwell knows we haven't been able to make any more Dark Fire, does he? But not our names?'

'No,' I said. There was no point in denying that now.

'Was the alchemy too hard for you?' Barak asked scoffingly.

For answer Marchamount crossed and struck him savagely across the face. 'I'm a serjeant, churl, you'll take a respectful tone when you talk to me.'