Fate and Fortune (22 page)

‘What is it you are saying?’ Hew asked her slowly.

‘That Davie is your printer, Marten Voet. Do you not think it possible, that they are the same?’

‘I think it more than possible, that Annie is confused,’ objected Hew. ‘Her daughter worked for a printer, after all. It is quite likely Davie has another trade entirely.’

‘No, you are wrong, for there is more. Alison was much
enamoured
, Annie said. And Annie is a sad, simple soul, whose trust can be bought for a cooking pot or blanket, and yet she let it slip, that Alison was not quite well at ease. This printer wanted her to help him in his trade, by bringing him some things from Christian’s shop.’

‘What things?’

‘Annie does not know, or did not understand it. She said that it was waste and of little consequence. But Christian confirms that papers have gone missing.’

‘Aye, that’s true,’ admitted Hew, ‘the proofs of Catherine’s poems.’

‘Whatever Davie had, he wanted more, so Annie said. And Alison was not convinced. She confided in her mother that she feared to lose her place, if she went on to help him. But Annie said she would not want the place when she had a man to marry her. She advised her not to risk the wrath of a good man, by refusing him her help, that could do no hurt to Christian.’

‘That is poor enough advice, from a mother,’ criticised Hew.

‘It is
advice
, from a
poor
mother,’ Meg corrected sadly, ‘who saw in this the faint chance of prosperity, for her daughter and herself. The rub is that she advised Alison to give him what he wanted. Do you not think it possible, that Alison was killed for what she gave him?’

‘Even if she was,’ conceded Hew, ‘it does not place the blame on Marten Voet. Marten has no money for the like of cooking pots.’

‘Yet he was on the muir, and he found the little boy. And he is a printer, and a stranger to the town. Surely, that cannot be mere
coincidence
,’ persisted Meg.

‘I do not believe it,’ Hew declared. ‘For William went with Marten and he had no fear of him.’

‘You cannot tell,’ Meg said earnestly, ‘what William knows or fears. What horrors he has locked up in his heart, he has forgotten them. We have no way of knowing what they are. I hazard that he does not know himself.’

‘You think it possible that he has shut them out?’

‘I think it more than likely, Hew. Such horrors can distort our memories, and make them false, like dreams. We may believe on waking, or we may forget.’

‘I know that you are wrong,’ Hew asserted desperately. ‘Marten Voet is not the killer. He is of a class of men, like gypsies on the muir, who are used as scapegoats, for they have no place or purpose in this world. All his life he wanders, and is everywhere suspected. It does not make him guilty of a crime.’

‘It does not make him innocent,’ Meg countered gently.

They had arrived at the inn, where Meg began to faint. Hew caught her as she fell, and was relieved when Giles appeared. ‘All this has been too much for her,’ he scolded, lifting her to bed. ‘She is not strong.’

‘I am quite well,’ Meg murmured, coming round. ‘In truth, I do not like the town. The people live so close, and packed in layers, like a pie.’

Giles tsked. ‘Far too much excitement,’ he said sternly.

Hew took solace in the taproom, reluctant to return to town, and to the closed-in world that Meg described. He had drunk almost a pint of watered wine by the time that Giles returned.

‘Still here, Hew? Meg has gone to sleep. I will join you for a drink or two.’

‘Is she quite well?’ Hew asked anxiously.

‘For certain, only tired,’ Giles confirmed, with unusual conviction. ‘The last days have been taxing for us all. Doctor Dow has concluded his report on Alison. It is a sad affair.’

‘Do you think that is possible that the same man killed Alison that killed Jess Reekie?’ Hew blurted out.

‘Now why do you ask that, I wonder?’ pondered Giles, as he poured a cup of wine.

‘Meg thinks that Marten Voet is the printer Davie. And it seems likely it was Davie who killed Alison. Marten Voet was in St Andrews when the fisher lass was killed. Richard says both girls were raped and smothered,’ Hew explained his chain of thought.

‘Ah, did he say that?’ Giles answered thoughtfully. ‘Then he has been talking to my good friend Doctor Dow. On which point, we have found a difference of opinion. Nonetheless, there is a grain of truth in it. Do you wish for the convolute answer, or the straight one?’

‘Giles, you have never given a straight answer in your life,’ Hew said wryly, ‘so I do not imagine you mean to start now. I am prepared to be circumspect.’

‘I think, in this case, you require the answer that best suits your theory,’ Giles replied perceptively. ‘No matter, I shall give you both. And as you well observe, the straight answer is Doctor Dow’s, and the more intricate one, mine. Since Doctor Dow is the visitor here, his report has precedence. It is no surprise, though a little
disappointing
, that his account has already reached the notice of the courts.

‘Doctor Dow has concluded, in his post mortem, that Alison was raped and smothered – there were clear signs of sexual congress, and of compression to her face and throat – and that her corpse was savaged by the wild dogs on the muir. In which case, there are clear similarities with the corpus of Jess Reekie, who was smothered and raped, and left in another open space – it is the difference in the habitat that accounts for the apparent difference in the bodies. In this case, since Marten Voet was there, or very close, on both occasions, he becomes a suspect.’

‘That is what I feared,’ Hew admitted gloomily.

‘On the second account, which is the one I favour, it becomes less plausible,’ continued Giles, ‘that the crimes are connected. I am
qualified
to say this, even more, perhaps, than Doctor Dow, for I have seen both corpses and am not convinced they are alike. To be more precise, I do not concur with the report on Alison. I think we need to be a little circumspect.’

‘For once, that is something I’m willing to hear,’ owned Hew.

‘It is unlike you to insist on gory detail,’ Giles remarked. ‘You are wont to be meticulous.’

‘Do not quibble, Giles,’ Hew countered sharply. ‘Tell me your account, of how she died.’

‘Well, as you know, I do not like to be pinned down, absolutely. And I allow it possible, that Doctor’s Dow’s account, that she was smothered and then torn apart by dogs, can be forced upon the facts. But forcing on the facts is not my favoured manner of approaching things.’

‘
Please
, Giles, to the point.’

Giles would not be hurried, and he looked a little pained. ‘Well, if I were pressed, I should say that Alison died from her wounds. In short, she bled to death. There was a little too much blood, and too little time, to support the notion that the dogs had made a meal of her. I think the slashes to her body and the tearing at her throat were inflicted with a knife; the cuts were not the jagged marks of teeth but the slashings of a man who showed no care or skill. The
compression
to her face, when he tried to smother her, was not enough to kill her.’

‘Then surely, he was mad?’ Hew exclaimed.

‘So it would appear,’ Giles nodded. ‘Such a frenzied attack implies complete loss of control. As to the rape, I would rather say that Alison showed signs of sexual congress. Clearly, she was not a maid. Yet there was a difference between her and Jess Reekie. There is no doubt that Jess was raped; the violence that the lass sustained, was concentrated, shall we say, upon the nether parts. As for Alison, she endured an attack of the most horrific violence, and had recently had intercourse, but I cannot find a link between the two. In conclusion, if you were to ask Doctor Dow whether the same man committed both crimes – allowing, of course, that he has not had access to Jess Reekie – he would tell you,
probably
. If you put the same question to me, I would answer you,
probably
not
. Does that help?’

‘A little,’ Hew conceded, miserably. ‘Though the truth is, since that is what I did want to hear, I dare not fully trust it.’

‘You are hard on yourself,’ Giles said gently. ‘Even if you were mistaken in letting Marten go, you brought the bairn back safely. Is that not enough? What is the matter, Hew?’

‘It is the fear, that I was wrong. And I have a deeper fear, that makes no kind of sense,’ Hew answered desperately. ‘For I am more afraid of being right.’

Richard did not return home until late that evening, and, when he came, was quiet and distracted. At breakfast the next morning he instructed Hew to go to their chamber and wait for him there.

‘I have business with the college of justice, and may be some time. If a client comes, you may perhaps advise him. You are, I think, far enough advanced to do so alone.’

‘Is the business to do with Sir David Preston?’ inquired Hew.

‘What’s that …? No, it is a private matter,’ Richard answered absently, ‘that you may hear of presently. If there are no clients, then you may consider on what certain grounds a wife may claim
oppression
, for our current case. I have left some notes.’

Hew went alone to the chamber, and was obediently leafing though the case notes when he heard a commotion at the door, and Meg appeared, trailing William by the hand.

‘They have arrested Christian!’ she cried. ‘And Phillip and Walter! They came this morning, and ransacked the shop. Not the bailies, Hew, but
soldiers
!’

At the panic in her voice, the child began to cry. Hew sprang to his feet.

‘Dear God, what now! What for?’

‘They would not say,’ Meg sniffed. She lifted William into her arms. ‘They dragged Christian out in front of her child. They were both distraught.’

‘I will find out,’ Hew assured her. ‘Take William back home and wait for me there.’

To the astonishment of Richard’s clerk, he ran out without closing the door. At the old tolbooth, he hammered and swore until the gudeman appeared. ‘Be quiet, sir! Where is the fire?’

‘Where is Christian Hall?’ Hew demanded. ‘Take me to her!’

‘That is no manner for a gentleman to ask,’ the gudeman answered crossly. ‘Since, as I recall, you are supposed to be a gentleman, and not, as some may take you for, a thief. Who is Christian Hall? I do not ken the name.’

‘Do not play games!’ snarled Hew. ‘Open up, and let me see the iron house.’

‘You will see it soon enough, and presently, if you persist in taking such a tone. Desist, sir, and speak plainly. What is the matter?’

‘What in God’s name are you doing, Hew?’ A cool voice spoke behind them. Richard Cunningham was fast approaching from the nether tolbooth. He walked between the justice general and the king’s advocate, Robert Crichton. Hew shot them a glance, and continued with his ranting undeterred.

Crichton said, amused, ‘This is your young pup, is it not, Richard? He is exceedingly loose.’

‘Surely, this cannot be your prentis,’ the justice general frowned, ‘that makes a row and clamour in the street. I’ll warrant he wants discipline.’

‘He is, and he does,’ Richard answered grimly. ‘With your leave, I will amend it.’

He grasped Hew by the arm and muttered, ‘Have you quite taken leave of your senses?’

‘They have taken Christian, Richard, and they will not let me see her!’ Hew cried wildly.

Richard sighed. ‘Aye, I have just heard. Do not berate the gudeman. She is not here.’

‘Where is she?’

‘
Not here
,’ Richard warned. He bowed stiffly to the justice. ‘My lord, please excuse me. For there is a matter that I must attend to.’

‘So it seems,’ sniggered Crichton. ‘You have your hands full there.’

The justice peered disapprovingly at Hew. ‘Young man, if you hope to be an advocate, then you must learn a little self-control. Brangling in the market like a fishwife will do not at all.’

‘We are right sorry,’ Richard answered firmly. He propelled Hew down the street, and did not let go of his arm until they reached the safety of their buith on Leche’s close, and he had firmly shut the door.

‘Now, sir, you have some explaining to do.’

‘Where have they taken her?’ Hew cried, unrepentant.

Richard sighed. ‘They are at the castle,’ he admitted. ‘I must warn you they are charged with a most serious crime. Christian and her men are accused of leasing-making; it is the slander of the king’s person, and akin to treason.’

‘But this is madness, Richard! Who is it that persecutes her so? As if the killing of her maid and kidnap of her child were not enough! What is she supposed to have done?’

‘A scandalous tract has fallen into the hands of the justiciar, defaming the king. It bears Christian’s signature and stamp.’

‘Aye, very like! And if she were to print a paper that defamed the king, then think you she would sign her name to it!’ exclaimed Hew. ‘This is but another attempt to discredit her. Surely you must see that.’

Richard said oddly, ‘We may not discuss this further. I shall
overlook
your wild behaviour in the street, though it might be apposite to write a letter of contrition to the justice general. You made a poor impression there.’

‘May not? Why not! Richard, you have ever been most free with your advice; do not desert me now, by failing to defend her. Surely, you must speak for her, for surely, you must see, how wrong this is,’ cried Hew.

‘I regret, I cannot.’

‘You cannot? You will not! How can this be possible?’

‘I regret I may not speak with you further on this. I am engaged to speak against her for the Crown.’

‘What! You are appointed pursuer? That was precipitous, Richard! Arrested but this morning, and you are already set against her! Your eagerness betrays you; if the charge is treason, as you say, then
properly
it belongs to the king’s advocate, or failing him, his depute. Did you have to beg for it?’ Hew accused him bitterly.

Richard said quietly, ‘You know well enough that I am powerless to refuse, if the Crown demands it. Crichton cannot take the case, because he is engaged with Morton’s. Therefore it devolves to me. Understand, it gives me no great pleasure to harangue a helpless woman to her death. Since I understand you are upset, I will forgive this gross discourtesy. Now, you and I will have no further discourse on this matter, the case is
sub judice
, and the subject closed between us.’

‘The subject is not closed. For I shall conduct her defence,’ Hew promised hotly.

‘Now that really would be a mistake,’ Richard frowned. ‘I counsel you most strongly against it. If you speak for Christian, you will lose. And you will lose not because I am the better advocate or have the more experience, but because of your own fatal weakness; your lack of detachment. If you stand against me, then I can promise you, Christian and her friends will hang.’

‘I assure you, I intend to speak for Christian,’ Hew asserted.

‘I urge you, do not set your wits against me, for I do not want this argument.’

‘There is no other course,’ Hew answered coldly. ‘Understand, I am determined.’

Richard nodded curtly. ‘Then we are opposed. I will leave you now, to reconsider. I have work to do.’

Hew sat alone for a while, allowing this new horror to sink in. At last he took his coat, and returned to the printing house. The door stood open. He was startled to see Richard there before him, looking through a pile of papers. Richard looked up. ‘I trust you are disposed to be a little more temperate, than when we last met,’ he ventured mildly.

‘What are
you
doing here?’ Hew demanded.

Richard sighed. ‘Alas, not more temperate. Your passion will undo you. Specifically, in this case. As to what I am doing here, I will make no secret of it. I have come to look for proof. Since Christian’s trial is to be precipitate, in about ten days, there is little time to lose.’

Hew blanched. ‘As soon as that?’

‘Aye, as soon as that. You should be grateful that she will not suffer long.’

Meg had appeared from upstairs. ‘William is asleep,’ she said to Hew, ‘worn out by his tears. I let Richard in. I hoped that he might help us.’

‘That he will not,’ Hew retorted tersely. ‘He is acting for the prosecution.’

Meg looked aghast. ‘Surely—’

‘It is a matter in which I have no choice,’ Richard answered quickly, ‘as your brother must well know, though he fails to understand it. Though I do not expect you to see it, I had hoped for some sympathy from him.’

‘Is it true?’ Meg whispered to Hew. ‘Can he really not help it?’

‘It is true,’ Hew admitted reluctantly, ‘that it is the law. If he is appointed, he cannot turn it down.’

‘I thank you,’ Richard nodded, ‘at least for that. I can assure you,’ he said softly to Meg, ‘this brings me no pleasure. I wonder, what is this?’ He changed the subject quickly, pulling out a paper from the pile.

‘It is the title page of my father’s book,’ replied Hew. ‘To be more accurate, it is a proof copy.’

‘That is very good,’ Richard answered thoughtfully. ‘Did you see this printed on the press?’

‘Aye,’ Hew admitted.

‘Excellent. But where is the rest of the book?’

‘That is all that was printed,’ Hew explained. ‘Christian was not happy with the proof. There was too much broken letter, and the printer’s block was worn. She has ordered more, and a new plate has been made, but with recent events, you must know, the press has been at a standstill.’

‘I understand. But where is the manuscript?’

‘Is it not here?’ Hew looked surprised. ‘Then I do not know.’

‘Suppression of evidence is misguided, to say the least,’ Richard commented.

‘I have not suppressed it. The last time I saw it, it was here. You were here before me,’ Hew pointed out. ‘You cannot think I took it.’

‘Aye, maybe not.’ Richard looked displeased. ‘Though this will be enough.

‘I tell you, as a friend, that you have lost your case. This is the paper that will hang Christian Hall.’

Hew stared at him. ‘What do you mean?’

‘It bears a strong resemblance to the offending document. The letter and devices are the same. They have come from the same press.’

‘That is not possible!’

‘I have expert witnesses will swear to it. I am so sorry, Hew. But you know I cannot throw away the prosecution case. However, since you have become more reasonable, I will explain the charge. Christian has been charged with leasing-making, that is the crime of spreading false report, or slanders of the king. A scandalous tract was found pinned upon the market cross, that bore the signature and device of Christian’s press. You will see the tract in court, where it will appear as evidence.’

‘May I not see it now?’

‘I’m afraid not. The matter is so sensitive it cannot be disclosed. In point of fact, the man who found it pinned there on the cross and reported it to the magistrate is now in gaol, for reading it.’

‘That is madness!’ Hew exclaimed.

‘Quite so,’ conceded Richard dryly. ‘However, the magistrates have examined the tract, taking due precautions to protect themselves, and conclude that the contents are both treacherous and scandalous. That is all you need to know. This paper is the proof it came from Christian’s press.’

‘No printer, in his right mind, would defame the king, and put his name to it,’ insisted Hew.

‘You would think that, wouldn’t you?’ Richard smiled sardonically. ‘But juries are much harder to convince. They prefer the simplest option, for it does not tax their wits. If a man’s name is inscribed upon a paper, then they will assume he wrote it there. It is the common position, from which you will find it hard to deflect them. You will not find it simple to convince them this was forgery. I have, besides, two expert witnesses to swear that it was not.’

‘May I know their names?’ inquired Hew coldly.

‘I see no harm in it. I believe you know them both. They are Master Allan Chapman, printer of this town, and Phillip Ramsey, Christian’s compositor.’

‘Phillip!’ Hew exclaimed. ‘I thought he had been charged with the same crime.’

‘He may well be complicit,’ Richard nodded. ‘He is a strange man, I think.’

‘Both he and Chapman are suspect in this,’ declared Hew.

Richard looked more sceptical. ‘Ah, if you say so,’ he agreed politely. ‘I will leave that up to you. But I have said too much. When we talk of this again, it will be in court.

‘How is the little boy?’ he inquired of Meg. ‘I understand, he does not speak?’

Meg shook her head. ‘This new distraction does not help. He is lost and scared. He will not talk to us. I will go and wake him now,’ she turned to Hew. ‘It is his dinner time.’

‘Poor bairn!’ Richard took his leave. ‘His mother and his nurse! Life can be cruel.’

Hew followed Meg upstairs, and watched her wake the little boy and sit him at the table, where she fed him broth from a spoon. He opened up his mouth, mechanical and urgent, like a baby bird. It seemed he had forgotten Christian, for he did not look for her.

‘Still no words?’ sighed Hew. ‘Does he run about and play?’

Meg shook her head. ‘He does nothing.’ She wiped the child’s face with a cloth. ‘You may get down, and go and find your ball.’ The little boy slid wordless from his stool.

‘He understands,’ Meg asserted. ‘He will not play with the ball, but he will go to fetch it if required. I will take him to the west port inn, to see the horses.’

‘Aye? He’s feared of horses,’ Hew mentioned absently.

‘Really? That is strange, for I had not remarked it. He has a wooden hobby by his cot. No matter, though. We’ll feed the ducks. Ducks, William?’ Meg asked brightly. The little boy looked blank.

‘There has been no change,’ Meg sighed, ‘since you first brought him home. Giles and I will move into the shop. I am convinced that locked inside there is the same bright little boy, if only we could find the key.’

‘If anyone can reach him,’ Hew declared, ‘it will be you and Giles. I could not think of a kinder pair of foster parents.’

His sister flushed. ‘Paul has gone to Doctor Dow’s, to ask for Giles. He is in the midst,’ she sighed, ‘of one of his interminable conferences. But I’m sure he will come when he hears. Hew … I have done something that is perhaps a little foolish. I have hidden father’s manuscript.’

Hew held up his hand. ‘Stop! Say no more! Do not tell me where. Whatever instinct led you to do that?’

‘I do not know. But Phillip had been working on it when the soldiers came. And when I saw it lying there, and thought what it had been through, something made me take it – it was ours, our father’s. Then I heard Richard asking for it, and he was not pleased to find it gone.’