The Devil's Apprentice (26 page)

‘Bless me!’ said Enderby with alarm. ‘Young Davy has gone astray?’

‘I wondered if he might have come here,’ said Nicholas.

‘Why should he do that?’

‘I understand that he used to play with your children, Master Enderby.’

‘He did, sir,’ admitted the other, face darkening. ‘But that was some time ago when his father and I were on speaking terms. Jerome Stratton was a friend of mine once even though we are rivals in business. Yet he suddenly announced that his son would never come here again and that my children were no longer welcome at Holly Lodge.’

‘Did he give no reason?’

‘None that made any sense.’

‘Might not Davy be defying his father on purpose in coming here?’

‘He might,’ said Enderby, ‘but that’s not the case. It would be a wasted journey on the lad’s part because my children are not even at Oakwood House. My wife has taken them to visit their aunt and uncle in Chelmsford.’

‘I see.’

‘They’ll not be back until tomorrow and I’ll hold them to that.’

‘Will you, Master Enderby?’

‘Of course,’ replied the other with a chortle. ‘We’ve been invited to Silvermere to watch
Henry the Fifth
. How often do we get a chance out here to see a famous theatre company from London? Sir Michael is keeping open house while you’re here.’

‘His hospitality has been overwhelming.’

‘I’m sorry that Davy Stratton has not found it to his taste. But, then, I’m rather surprised that the lad has been apprenticed to you in the first place. I’d assumed that he’d follow his father into trade.’

‘Not all sons of merchants wish to ape their fathers, Master Enderby.’

‘Mine do,’ said Enderby firmly. ‘I made sure of that.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘It will be interesting to see how Jerome Stratton greets us at Silvermere. He’s sure to be there.’

‘By that time, we hope to have Davy back in harness.’

‘Did you have any forewarning of his disappearance?’

‘A little,’ conceded Nicholas. ‘He hasn’t taken to the life. Davy’s been fretful and picked fights with the other apprentices.’

‘That doesn’t sound like him. Whenever he was here, Davy always behaved very well. It was my own sons who had to be schooled for rough play. Poor lad! He must be so unhappy to run away from you like that.’

‘It’s upset us all, Master Enderby.’

‘What does his father say?’

‘He knows nothing about it yet,’ said Nicholas, ‘and there’s no reason why he should if we can retrieve Davy. The one certain fact is that he’s not gone home to Holly Lodge. I don’t think Master Stratton would be too pleased to see him.’

‘No, Jerome could be very strict with the lad.’

‘So I gather. But I’ll trespass on your time no longer, sir. Davy is not here, alas, so I’ll have to continue my search elsewhere.’

‘How are you finding things at Silvermere?’

‘We’ve no complaints at all, Master Enderby. Sir Michael has seen us like old friends. He could not have done more for Westfield’s Men.’

‘Romball Taylard is the man to thank.’

‘Yes, we’ve seen rather a lot of the steward.’

‘He runs the household superbly,’ said Enderby. ‘Taylard is not the most appealing individual but he knows how to control his staff. Anyone who has worked at Silvermere is a cut above the ordinary servant. Well,’ he added, tossing a look over his shoulder. ‘Kate is a perfect example.’

‘Kate?’

‘Katherine Gowan. One of my own servants here. A splendid young woman. She was employed at Silvermere for a while then she moved to Lincoln. When she wanted to come back to the area, I offered her a post at once and have never regretted it. Silvermere leaves its mark upon people.’

Nicholas gave a pained smile. ‘I fancy it will do that to us, Master Enderby.’

‘Good luck with your search.’

‘Thank you.’

‘I hope to see young Davy back on stage tomorrow,’ said Enderby, opening the front door. ‘What can we expect from
Henry the Fifth
?’

‘Stirring words and hard-fought battles.’

Enderby grinned. ‘Those may occur if I bump into Jerome Stratton.’

‘Has he always been so truculent?’

‘It’s got worse since the death of his wife. That changed everything.’

Nicholas bade him farewell and went out to his horse. Though he had not found Davy, he had learnt facts about him that helped him to understand the boy a little better. He rehearsed them in his mind as he rode through an avenue of trees past the neat lawns with their rectangular flowerbeds and well placed statuary. Nicholas noticed for the first time that the ice in the fountain had melted in the midday sun but all that concerned him was where Davy Stratton had spent a cold night.

When he reached the forest, he had the sensation once more that he was being watched. He could hear no sound of pursuit and wondered if his imagination was playing tricks on him. There was one way to make sure. Instead of looking behind him, he waited until he came to a thick outcrop of bushes that would obscure him from anyone on his tail. Swinging his horse around, he waited for several minutes in his hiding place. It was all to no avail. The only sounds that disturbed the forest were those of the birds. Nicholas pressed on, kicking his horse into a canter along the winding path. Sunshine was slanting in through the branches above him. He was in the heart of the forest when the attack came and it caught him off guard. As he came round a bend and slowed his horse to cross a little stream, there was a sudden explosion only yards away. The horse reared in fright, lost its footing and staggered violently. Nicholas was unseated and thrown into the water. Pulling out his dagger on instinct, he stood up to defend himself but nobody came. Hoofbeats departed at speed among the trees but he could not be sure in which direction they went. What was clear was the fact that he had just had a fortunate
escape. Someone had trailed him in order to ambush him.

After reclaiming his own horse, he tethered the animal securely while he went to investigate. The loud report could only have come from a musket. If the ball had missed him, it must have spent its venom elsewhere. He began a long, lonely, painstaking search, first working out where his attacker had been when he fired the shot then trying to guess at its likely trajectory. He poked among bushes, studied the trunks of trees and felt along the ground. It was taxing work but his patience was eventually rewarded. The musket ball had passed perilously close to his head and embedded itself in the mossy interior of a hollow yew. Nicholas used the point of his dagger to dig it out. Aimed at his skull, it soon lay in the palm of his hand. It was a valuable clue.

Mother Pigbone emptied the food into the trough and watched with satisfaction as Beelzebub guzzled it down. She leant over to pat him on the back then played fondly with his ears. Without warning, the boar suddenly raised its head and exposed its teeth.

‘Is someone coming, Beelzebub?’ she asked, listening hard. ‘I’m getting old. Your hearing is so much better than mine.’ She soon picked up the drumming of hoofbeats. ‘Yes, another visitor. As always, you’re right.’

The animal remained alert until the rider brought his horse to a halt. Beelzebub then relaxed and addressed himself to his meal once more. Mother Pigbone grinned.

‘A friend this time, is it?’ she said. ‘Good. No need to let you out again.’

As she turned around, she saw a familiar figure waddling towards her on bow legs, his face pale and lined with anxiety. He touched his hat in a token greeting.

‘Good day, Mother Pigbone.’

‘And to you, sir. What can I do for you this time, Doctor Winche?’

When they resumed their work in the Great Hall, the company continued to work well. It was almost as if Egidius Pye’s arrival had lifted a cloud from them. It soon descended again. Nicholas Bracewell returned without their missing apprentice and there was general disappointment. Lawrence Firethorn was grateful that the book holder had come back unharmed. Calling a break in the rehearsal, he took Nicholas aside to hear the details of his search. Owen Elias joined them.

‘No luck at all?’ said Firethorn.

‘None so far,’ admitted Nicholas. ‘I’ll do a wider sweep this afternoon and I’d value your company on the ride, Owen.’

‘Gladly,’ said the Welshman.

‘But we can’t spare Owen,’ said Firethorn. ‘Why do you need him, Nick?’

‘Because I’d prefer to stay alive.’

Nicholas told them about the attempt on his life in the forest. Both men were outraged. Elias wanted to ride off immediately in search of the would-be assassin but Firethorn took a more cautious view.

‘I think that both of you should stay here,’ he said anxiously.

‘When someone has tried to kill Nick?’ asked Elias. ‘We need to catch the villain and string him up from the nearest tree.’

‘But we don’t know who the man is.’

‘I think we do, Lawrence. A name is easily put to him.’

‘Perhaps too easily,’ observed Nicholas.

Elias was adamant. ‘It simply has to be Reginald Orr.’

‘Does it, Owen?’

‘That would be my fear,’ said Lawrence, ‘and it’s the reason I’d prefer the pair of you to remain at Silvermere where it’s safe.’

‘There was no safety here for Robert Partridge,’ Nicholas reminded him. ‘If my guess is right, he was murdered under this roof. And we can’t just wash our hands of Davy. The search for him must continue.’

‘That lunatic Puritan is the man we should be searching for,’ said Elias, waving a fist. ‘Heavens, Nick, the man tried to shoot a hole through your head.’

‘Did he?’

‘Why else was he lurking in the forest?’

‘To give me a fright, Owen. Yes,’ he said, holding his hands up to stifle the protest he saw coming, ‘I know that you disagree but I’ve had time to reflect on it during the ride back. Reginald Orr is an enemy who’s vowed to chase us out of Essex. And, as it happens, he and I exchanged hot words when we met at the church earlier.’

‘That’s all the evidence you need, Nick!’ urged Elias. ‘You provoked him.’

‘Into a rage, perhaps, but that does not mean he became an assassin. I’ve met the man twice now and seen
him breathe fire at us. Master Orr may be an awkward Christian but he’s a Christian nevertheless and that might stay his hand.’

‘It didn’t stay his hand during that ambush,’ noted Firethorn.

‘We’ve yet to prove his involvement in that.’

‘What about the attempt to burn our stables? You caught Orr’s confederate in the act. Thanks to you, Isaac Upchard is rotting in a cell.’

‘Rightly so, Lawrence,’ said Elias. ‘Reginald Orr should join him there.’

Nicholas was patient. ‘Let me make my point. The ambush and the fire were both attempts to scare us off. No attempt was made to kill any of us. Look at me,’ he said, indicating the bandage on his head. ‘When I was cudgeled to the ground, I couldn’t defend myself. If they’d wanted to kill me, they had the chance there and then.’

‘They were too eager to get away, Nick.’

‘Yes,’ said Firethorn. ‘Since then, you’ve given Reginald Orr a stronger motive to want you dead. You not only arrested his friend, Isaac Upchard, you’ll be the principle witness against him. What are the chances of guilty verdict against him if there’s no Nicholas Bracewell to speak against him in court?’

‘Whoever fired that musket was trying to kill you,’ asserted Elias. ‘I think that we should lay violent hands upon him before he tries again.’

‘What of Davy?’ asked Nicholas.

Firethorn was blunt. ‘Better a missing apprentice than a dead book holder.’

‘We can’t just abandon the lad.’

‘Davy is the one who abandoned
us
, Nick.’

The argument continued for a long while until Nicholas finally persuaded them to accept his advice. He and Elias were to continue the search. Before doing that, however, Nicholas had someone else to see.

‘Saddle your horse, Owen,’ he instructed, ‘I’ll join you in a while.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘To see a man about a musket ball.’

Sir Michael Greenleaf was standing on the top of the tower, cleaning the lens of his telescope with a cloth. The breeze made the wisps of hair on his uncovered head dance in all directions. He was too absorbed in his work even to notice the arrival of two people. Romball Taylard cleared his throat to attract his master’s attention. Sir Michael looked up and gave Nicholas a warm greeting.

‘Have you come to take a peep through my telescope?’ he said, patting it gently.

‘No, Sir Michael. I need your advice.’

‘Then my advice is to come up here at night when the stars are out. I’ll show you how to read them. The portents for Westfield’s Men are excellent.’

Nicholas had doubts on that score but he suppressed them. Instead, he glanced at Taylard who was hovering meaningfully in the background. He did not wish to have a private discussion with Sir Michael while the steward was present.

‘I’d value a word alone with you, Sir Michael,’ he said pointedly.

‘Feel free to speak in front of Romball. I’ve no secrets from him.’

Nicholas was firm. ‘But I have, I’m afraid.’

‘Then I won’t intrude,’ said Taylard politely. ‘I’ve more than enough work to keep me occupied elsewhere. The visit of Westfield’s Men has placed extra burdens on us all.’ He gave a faint nod. ‘Please excuse me.’

Nicholas waited until the steward had shut the door behind him before he spoke.

‘What I have to say is strictly confidential, Sir Michael,’ he warned.

‘Of course, dear fellow, of course.’

‘There are two things I need to raise with you, neither particularly pleasant.’

‘Dear me!’ said Sir Michael. ‘I hope you have no complaints.’

‘None at all.’

‘I told Romball that Westfield’s Men were to have everything they wanted.’

‘And we have done,’ said Nicholas gratefully.

‘The one thing we could not legislate for was that unfortunate business during
The Insatiate Duke
. I know that it ruined the final moments of the play and I offer my apologies. We had no idea that Robert Partridge would be struck down by a heart attack.’

‘I’m not certain that he was, Sir Michael.’