Andrew Swanston - The King's Return

‘You will tell us what you know about the Alchemist.’

Stoner laughed. ‘I thought we would come to that. You will not be surprised to hear that I do not know the identity of this man.’

‘How did you communicate with him?’

‘Through Aurum. I know only that he lives in Amsterdam.’

‘Another Dutchman. How long have you been working for him?’

‘About a year.’

‘How did he contact you?’

‘Aurum.’

Joseph nodded. He could not have expected more. ‘Very well. You will write the letter to your banker. When the money arrives from Copenhagen, you will be permitted to travel there on terms I shall lay down. Our friends in Copenhagen will ensure that those terms are met.’ Joseph paused. ‘You are Argentum.’ Stoner nodded. ‘Who is Aurum?’

‘Lemuel Squire is Aurum.’ Stoner spoke so quietly that Thomas wondered if he had misheard.

‘Squire?’

‘Yes.’

Joseph was the first to recover. ‘Warder, lock this man up again and put a guard on the door.’ He swept out of the White Tower, across the courtyard, through the gate and into the waiting carriage. Thomas had to run to keep up with him.

The journey to Cloak Lane was fast and dangerous. The coach tilted alarmingly as it took corners, bouncing over the cobbles and scattering angry pedestrians. On the way, Thomas asked about Morland.

‘He will stay there until we are sure we have not been tricked. The woman will be released,’ replied Joseph.

Outside the Post Office, they leapt from the coach and charged in. ‘Where’s Squire?’ shouted Williamson. ‘Bring him here at once.’ Two guards disappeared into the building to find him. They returned empty-handed.

‘Mr Squire has sent a message to say that he is unwell,’ said one of them.

Thomas turned on his heel and ran back out of the building. He was just in time to stop the coach from driving off. ‘Hold, man. We need you again,’ he yelled. The driver pulled on his reins and waited until both men had got in.

‘Where does he live?’ asked Thomas.

‘Near the Charterhouse.’

‘Charterhouse, driver, as quick as you can.’ The driver cracked his whip and called for a clear road. Thomas shut his eyes and tried not to be sick.

Within ten minutes, they were in Charterhouse Street and outside a timber house of the type built some eighty years earlier. The upper storey overhung the lower, the windows were small and the roof was tiled. Joseph thumped on the door and demanded it be opened. When nothing happened, he tried the handle. It was locked. The door was oak and would not yield easily to force.

‘Break a window, Joseph,’ suggested Thomas, ‘and I’ll squeeze through it.’

By this time a group of onlookers had assembled. ‘Keep those people back, driver,’ ordered Joseph. ‘We are about the king’s business.’ He picked up a stone lying in the street and broke a window. ‘Can you get through that, Thomas?’

‘I can try. If you would help me up, I’ll take it head first.’ Standing on Joseph’s locked hands, he pushed his arms through, shut his eyes and forced himself inside. Bits of broken glass showered the floor as he did so. He picked himself up and wiped blood from his hands. A key was hanging by the door. He unlocked the door and let Joseph in.

It was obvious at once that this bird had also flown. The grate was cold, the remains of a meal had been left on a table and his desk was covered in papers. Unlike Stoner, Squire had left in too much of a hurry to burn the evidence.

For a reason he could not explain, Thomas took Squire’s seal from the desk and slipped it into his pocket. He picked up a letter. It was short and written in a numerical code. He held it out to Joseph. ‘Look at this. What odds that this is the same code as in the Aurum and Argentum letter?’

Joseph examined it. ‘Is it?’

‘The pattern is the same – groups of four one- and two-digit numbers. It might be.’

‘How long to be sure?’

‘No more than a few minutes, but I shall need my working papers.’

‘Where are they?’

‘At the Carringtons’ house.’

Another breakneck ride and they were in Piccadilly. Thomas ran up the stairs to his room and took a pile of papers from a drawer. When working on decryptions, he hated being rushed – it was all too easy to make a mistake – but this was different. He laid the letter on his table and found the sheet on which he had written the code. He knew at once that this was the same. The numbers for the letters A and R jumped off the page, swiftly followed by E, O, T and S. Without bothering to decipher the whole thing, he picked up both papers and ran back down the stairs. Joseph was waiting impatiently in the hall. ‘It’s the same code, no doubt at all.’

‘Proof enough that Stoner told us the truth. Squire is Aurum. I’ll send out a message at once. We may yet intercept him before he escapes the country.’

Charles had heard their voices and emerged from the sitting room. ‘Joseph, Thomas. What’s going on?’

‘Aurum,’ replied Thomas. ‘It’s Squire. We have proof.’

‘Not Morland?’

‘Not Morland.’

‘Pity. Miserable fellow. Still, Stoner will hang, I imagine.’

‘I shouldn’t be at all surprised,’ said Joseph, ‘but perhaps not quite yet. I have plans for Mr Stoner.’

‘I’m sure you know best, Joseph, but remember he stole our money. I’d put the rope round his neck myself if I could.’

‘As would others,’ said Thomas. ‘Now what, Joseph?’

‘We will go through all the papers in Squire’s house. With luck we might find something useful. If there is anything encrypted, I will bring it to the Tower. Please finish decrypting the one you have and meet me there in two hours.’

Thomas shook his head. ‘I’m in and out of that place so often they might as well give me a room there.’

When Thomas returned to the Tower he found Joseph and Josiah waiting for him. He handed the decrypted text to Joseph, who read it aloud.

‘Our efforts continue but hampered by recent events. Post Office no longer secure. Will advise new means of delivery. Believe this cipher intact.’

‘So he does not know that you decrypted the letter, although of course he does know it was intercepted. What does he mean by “recent events”?’

‘Madeleine’s rescue, possibly, and the Dutchman’s escape.’ Joseph held up the paper. ‘The important thing is that the letter was never sent. Squire took fright and fled before he could finish it. He panicked when he heard Madeleine was safe, just as Stoner did.’ He looked around the room. ‘There are spies everywhere. For all we know, there is one listening now.’

If there is, thought Thomas, we are as good as doomed. Foreign agents in the Tower of London. God forbid.

Joseph sent for Stoner. He came in looking smug. ‘I told you the truth, did I not?’

Joseph ignored the question. ‘Where is Squire?’

‘If he is not at home or in Cloak Lane, I suggest you try all the best inns in London. He could be in any of them.’

‘I am not in the mood for levity, Stoner. Where is he?’

‘France, possibly. He likes French wine.’

‘Have I not made myself clear? I want to know where he is. If you choose not to tell us, our agreement will not be honoured and you will suffer.’ Joseph was furious.

‘I cannot tell you where Squire is any more than I can tell you who the Alchemist is. Give me a letter to my bankers and I will sign it. That is all I can do.’

‘The letter can wait. Take him back, warder, and bring the woman.’ Stoner was marched, protesting, back to his room.

When the warder returned with Molly, she took one look at Josiah and spat out a stream of obscenities. ‘Not you again, you ’orrible little turd. I’ve told you what I know and I want to go ’ome.’