Kissing Shakespeare (36 page)

“Why did you keep on, then?”

“Some of us have little choice, Olivia. I am caught in my father’s net. Until I marry and have my own home, I must do as he says.”

“What about this?” I gestured, meaning Hoghton Tower. “How did you end up here?”

“My father’s connection to the Privy Council, Robert Lowry, asked him to place me here. I am related to the Hoghtons on my mother’s side. And before you judge me, mark this: I refused to do it. I told my father it was over. I would no longer be his spy.”

“And then he threatened you with marriage to—”

“The simpering Master Dugdale. A more repulsive man would be hard to find. So I agreed. After I met Will Shakespeare, I hoped we might … he might love me, or at least bed me and mayhap we would have to marry. But alas, you came along and ruined all hope of that.”

As ironies went, this ranked high. I wasn’t the only one at Hoghton Tower who’d planned to seduce Shakespeare. And even more ironic, my seducing Will had pushed Jennet toward betraying him.

“One other thing I’ve been wondering about,” I said. “What hold does the Privy Council have over your father?”

“They promised to ignore certain deviations from the true Protestant Church. Father does not use the Book of Common Prayer in his services, for one thing, which is against the law. How clever of you to realize that Father must do their bidding, as I must do his.”

It was a tangled web of alliances, secrets, and blackmail, I thought. “What will you do now? Will your father still force you to wed Master Dugdale?”

Before she could answer, Jennet’s father stepped into the room. “All is ready. We must proceed to the hall.”

I rose. He grabbed my arm, and this time I managed to jerk it away. There was really no escape route for me. He must have understood that, because he let me go.

Master Hall prodded me in the back, directing me down the stairs and out into the courtyard, where several of the sheriff’s men were waiting. The sheriff himself hovered inside a little-used entrance. He glared at me and shoved me forward, forcing me to enter the hall proper. The play had begun. Noah and his wife and sons were all on stage.

Friends, neighbors, and villagers had been invited to Hoghton Tower for the performance, and most of them were spread out on the floor, some sitting, others standing. At first, no one noticed us. We moved stealthily up one side of the great room until Fulke, in midsentence, suddenly stopped reciting his lines. I blinked and stared. Someone else was playing the part of Noah’s wife; if I was not mistaken, it was one of Will’s older students.

The audience grew restive and began whispering, asking each other what was happening. After a few agonizing moments, as my heart thudded against my rib cage, heads turned toward us. My uncle started to speak, but the sheriff cut him off.

“The house and property are surrounded. It would be foolish for anyone to attempt to escape.” A hush fell over the room. “Mistress Langford,” he said. “Which one is Edmund Campion?”

There was a collective gasp, but no one spoke.

Frantically, I looked around for Stephen, but I couldn’t find him. He wasn’t in the minstrels’ gallery, nor was he at the other end of the room with his aunt and uncle. The sheriff’s strong hand yanked me against his side. “Mistress? I am waiting.”

A player dressed in a white robe and wearing a wig and false beard stepped out from behind the rood screen. I recognized the costume immediately as the one for the God character. But something wasn’t right. Whoever was wearing the costume, it wasn’t Thomas.

Jennet cried out. “There he is! That’s Campion!” And then chaos erupted. The sheriff abruptly let go of me and rushed the stage, followed by several of his men. Thomas, or whoever it was, didn’t move. Audience members tried to flee, but the deputies pushed them roughly back to their places.

Only the actors seemed calm, too calm for what was happening. Simon, the thug who’d beat up Stephen, grabbed the arms of the person in the costume and jerked them behind his back while the sheriff ripped off the wig and then the beard.

It was Stephen.

“This is not the Jesuit, ’tis Langford!” the sheriff shouted. He fired a look toward my uncle. “Sir, you are harboring a criminal. A man who has committed treason. It would behoove you to tell me where he is.”

“The man you seek is not here, Sheriff. You have been misled.”

“Liar!” The sheriff turned to some of his men and gestured toward the audience. “Get these people out of here. If anyone acts suspicious, bring him to me.” The crowd began filing out, unnaturally quiet.

“Family, players, musicians, everyone, come!” the sheriff commanded. All of us gathered around him, waiting. Jennet and her father hovered near the wall, apart from the rest. Stephen had removed the robe he’d been wearing, and when he was close enough, I mouthed the words, “Where’s Will?”

“Safe,” he whispered. He reached out and touched my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Jennet’s father shoved me around a little, but he didn’t hurt me.”

The sheriff signaled to them to join the rest of us. Master Hall strode over, looking smug and insufferable. Jennet, however, hung her head, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.

“Tell them how you learned of Campion’s presence here,” the sheriff said. Jennet said nothing, apparently believing the question was meant for her father. “Mistress Hall!” the sheriff roared, and she finally reacted.

“It was obvious Thomas Cook was a priest, but I didn’t suspect him to be Campion. Not at first. Then one Sunday I searched his chamber.”

She paused, as though recalling the order of events.

“Tell them the rest, Daughter.”

For the first time, defiance flashed in her eyes. “I knew he was saying Mass. Indeed, it was hardly a secret. I found papers in his room with Edmund Campion’s name on them, and some other things. A signet ring, for sealing letters, was one of them. I got word to my father, and he told the sheriff and Master Lowry.”

Done in by the ring and his own carelessness
. I felt sure that this time he’d be caught. Alexander would have to tell them where Thomas was hiding to save himself. To save all of us.

“We know he is here. You need only reveal his hiding place,” the sheriff said to my uncle. Just then, one of the deputies rushed in and asked to speak to the sheriff. They huddled off to one side and spoke in low voices.

“Cousin Jennet,” Alexander said, reaching out his hand to the girl. “I forgive you. I know your father forced you into this. I do not know what he threatened you with, but he used you ill for his own gain. I am sorry for you.”

She flinched.

“May you all burn in hell,” Master Hall said, pushing his daughter aside and advancing toward my uncle. Jennet flushed. “Father, stop!”

The sheriff interrupted. “That’s enough, Hall. We’ve learned from one of the grooms that a man fitting the Jesuit’s description fled some time ago on horseback. He has eluded us, but we shall find him quickly.” He looked pointedly at Alexander. “What is his destination?”

“I do not know who left here on horseback, Sheriff, and I certainly was not privy to his destination. This is a busy estate. We have men coming and going at all hours of the day, even on Sunday. It could have been anyone. A peddler, cooper, smith, rat catcher—”

“There is a rat involved with this, but ’tis not the catcher. We are wasting precious time.” He barked orders to his men, appointing leaders and issuing instructions. They would divide up and head in different directions to hunt their prey more efficiently. “We will meet in Preston, one day hence,” he said, “at the church. If you should find the man, send word. And do not let him escape!”

The sheriff turned to Jennet and said, “Which one is Master Shakespeare?”

“I—I do not see him. He was supposed to play Noah’s wife in the pageant, but he is not here.”

The sheriff let out a growl. “Did he go with Campion?”

Of course, nobody answered. I had the feeling I knew where Will was. Hiding in the room Stephen had prepared for him.

I stole a glance at Alexander. His lips were pressed into a straight line, his face colorless. Someone had brought a chair for Elizabeth, who looked like she was in shock. Stephen was hovering nearby, keeping a close eye on them. In a minute, the deputies began to file out, ready to give chase.

The sheriff turned to go. “I shall deal with you after we catch our prey, sir,” he said to Alexander. “Do not be so foolish as to believe there will be no retribution for this.” His expression terrified me, and his voice seemed full of barely checked rage. Only the urgency of catching Edmund Campion saved Alexander.

A
FTER THE SHERIFF LEFT
, Stephen rushed downstairs to release Will. Alexander refused to answer any questions, and didn’t even acknowledge Thomas’s true identity. “Let us pray for Thomas’s safety,” he said, and that was it. We were dismissed, and everybody sought refuge in their chambers.

Within a few hours, I thought I might go crazy, so I took Copernicus outside for a walk. I was hoping Stephen might be in his room by the time I came in, but he wasn’t. He hadn’t been there all day. I thought he was probably with his aunt and uncle, offering whatever solace he could summon.

In the late afternoon, Bess brought me a snack. I was just finishing when Stephen appeared. Not until I actually saw him did I understand that deep down, I was terrified he’d disappeared again. I shot to my feet and hurled myself at him.

He held me tightly. “Here, here, what’s this?” he asked in probably the gentlest voice I’d ever heard from him.

“Nothing, I’m fine.… I was worried because I hadn’t seen you all day.”

He rested his cheek on my forehead for a moment before releasing me. “My uncle needed me. Let’s find Shakespeare and talk.”

Stephen rounded up Will and suggested we move to the library, where we would have more privacy. On the way, he asked one of the servants to bring us spiced ale.

The three of us huddled before the fire. “So you have decided against becoming a Jesuit?” I asked Will.

He sipped at his drink before answering. “Over the last several days, I came to the realization the Jesuit life was not for me. I shall not follow Campion. He would not want me to endanger myself.”

“Do you know where he’s gone?” I asked.

“Aye. I was to have been his escort. But if I tried to find him, I’d only tangle with the sheriff and his men. Where would that get me but in a cell?”

“How did Thomas—Campion—know what was going to happen?” I asked.

“I believe my uncle has his own spies,” Stephen said wryly. “Just before we were to begin the pageant, he told me I would be playing the role of God.”

I laughed, the first time all day. “Did you know the lines?”

“Not exactly.” His eyes danced with amusement.

“Didn’t everyone wonder what had happened to Thomas? And what about me? Nobody came to look for me.”

Will answered. “Master Hoghton informed everyone there was to be a raid, so confusion prevailed. I am sorry to tell you, Olivia, we hardly noticed you were missing, for all else that was happening.”

I had to admit that, given the situation, I probably wouldn’t have noticed either. “And Stephen hustled you off to the cellars?”

“That he did.” Will smiled sardonically. “Your brother seemed to believe I wouldn’t go willingly. He grabbed my arm and pushed me along until I persuaded him I wouldn’t run after Campion.” Will looked at Stephen, rubbing his arm and wincing. “You gave me a good bruising, my friend.”

“We did not want you to do something foolish.”

“So I gathered.”

“Will, did you know … you must have known … that Thomas was really Edmund Campion,” I said.

“Not when I first arrived here. But he was such a learned man and so passionate about religion, I soon made him out to be above other priests. When he began talking to me about becoming a Jesuit, I suspected he was something other than what he said.”

“When did you know for certain?”

“Do you remember that day in the schoolroom, when I received a letter? He’d sealed it with the initials ‘EC.’ Can you imagine anything more foolish? Typical of him, though, to be careless of his own safety.”

Stephen and I locked eyes. “What?” Will said. “Did you know too?”

“We guessed. Like you, I thought his intelligence and religious zeal went beyond that of other priests I’d met,” Stephen said. He didn’t mention that we’d read the letter.

“I wonder what will happen to him. ’Tis a cat-and-mouse game, all subterfuge. Who can outwit whom,” Will said.

“I fear the worst. Maybe not tomorrow, or the next day, but Campion cannot escape Walsingham’s brand of justice indefinitely,” Stephen said.

“Jennet’s participation in the scheme shocked me,” Will said. “I thought her a harmless and sweet girl, tractable and eager to please. I wonder why her father involved her.”

“A few days ago, when we were talking, you said you’d felt suspicious of everyone since Lowry and his friend were here. I thought you meant Jennet,” I said.

“Nay, I had no one in particular in mind. If anyone, I guessed a servant, or a laborer. Someone who needed money, and thus might be easily bribed. Did you suspect her?”