13 - The Midsummer Rose (34 page)

Across the little room, I met Timothy Plummer’s unwavering gaze.

‘And is that what you think happened, Roger?’ he asked.

‘Well … Yes, of c–course. It makes perfect sense,’ I stuttered.

‘And you can offer no other idea as to who might have moved Robin Avenel’s dead body? Or why?’

‘I don’t know why you suppose I should be able to,’ I answered blandly, recovering my poise. I turned back to Richard Manifold, who was regarding the pair of us with a slightly puzzled expression. ‘What does Mistress Alefounder have to say concerning her brother’s movements on Midsummer Eve?’

The sergeant shrugged. ‘She has no knowledge of them. He’d said nothing to her of his suspicions, and there was so much confusion during the feast. She’s returning to Frome as soon as possible. It’s been a terrible time for her. First her brother’s death, and now this revelation of her sister-in-law’s perfidy.’ He braced his shoulders, his natural self-importance reasserting itself. ‘Well, I must be off. There’s work to be done. I just thought you’d like to know what’s happened, Roger. Once again, you’ve done the Law a service.’

Heaven knows what the admission cost him. He had to grit his teeth and his features were set in a rictus smile. Besides, he must have guessed that I had been aware of Timothy Plummer’s presence in the city and given him no warning. But still, he managed it with sufficient grace to make me disclaim modestly that I wasn’t worthy of such high praise. The Spymaster General looked as though he agreed with me, and I wasn’t surprised when he declined Richard’s invitation to dine with him at the castle.

‘I need to speak to the chapman, Sergeant, if you don’t mind. Privately.’

All Richard’s suspicions were reawakened, I could tell, but there was nothing he could do but leave us alone.

‘I’ll make my adieus to Adela, if I may,’ he said stiffly, and I nodded.

‘You’ll find her in the kitchen.’

When the parlour door had closed behind him, Timothy let out a sigh of relief.

‘That man’s a fool,’ he remarked, stretching and seating himself, uninvited, in the window embrasure. ‘If he were capable of placing events in an orderly sequence, he’d see at once that that adulterous pair couldn’t have moved her husband’s body. So, Roger, who did?’

‘Why should you think that I know?’

He laughed mirthlessly. ‘Because you knew what was going on. Because you worked out where Albany was hidden and you found him. It was somewhere down in that cellar beneath the church. It has to be. And don’t insult my intelligence by trying to persuade me otherwise. So where’s our precious renegade now, eh? Mistress Alefounder obviously doesn’t know any more. She’s lost him or she wouldn’t be going home to Frome. That leaves you, Roger. You realize I could charge you with treason?’

‘I should deny all knowledge of any Scottish duke. I should also deny speaking to you on the river bank when you told me far more, I’m sure, than you ought to have done. For which you should be thankful, or it might be you who is charged with treason. All I’m guilty of is clearing the name of an innocent man who you were quite prepared to see die on the gallows. You thought that Albany had killed Robin Avenel, didn’t you? So you found a scapegoat and threw him to the wolves.’

Timothy sighed. ‘You are bitter, aren’t you? Is that why you did it? Why you helped Albany get away?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I answered coldly.

The Spymaster got to his feet.

‘Ah well! I shall just have to return to the King and report failure in this case. Don’t worry, I shan’t mention my suspicions concerning you. I’m riding north, anyway, as soon as I can, to rejoin my lord of Gloucester. I think I told you. Shall I say you commend yourself to him?’

I shook my head. ‘No. I love him, but I’d rather you said nothing about me. Out of sight is out of mind and I’d just as soon he forgot me.’

Timothy laughed, but I realized later – too late – that he’d made no promise not to mention me. Politely, I held open the parlour door, intimating that he should take his leave. He laughed again as he passed me. But then he turned and tapped my arm.

‘I shan’t go back to Westminster entirely empty-handed. I shall be taking the Tudor spy, Silas Witherspoon, with me as a peace offering and to prove that my time here has not been altogether wasted. It’s a pity, of course. It means Sergeant Manifold will have to be on the lookout for his replacement from Brittany, and it won’t be easy. He’ll probably suspect entirely the wrong man. But there you are. Needs must when the Devil drives. My salutations to Mistress Chapman. I won’t trouble her with them in person.’ He scratched one armpit. ‘A most unsatisfactory affair. Most unsatisfactory!’

He was gone and I drew several deep breaths, unconsciously straightening my shoulders. I hadn’t been arrested. I was free to return to my family and my life. But it wasn’t until I was in bed that night that I remembered two things.

The first was Albany’s valedictory salute. ‘You’ve been more than good to me, Roger Chapman, Sassenach though you are. I shan’t forget you. I shall know who to call upon if ever I need a friend among the English.’ At the time, it had seemed no more than the parting words of a grateful man. Now, lying in the dark, it suddenly had a sinister ring. It held the seeds of future trouble.

The second was the realization that I would never now possess the sheath that Apothecary Witherspoon had been making for me. Adela and I would have to go on relying on the old, untrustworthy methods of child prevention. And, as I snuggled up to her, I wondered if there was any cabbage in the house.