The Traitor’s Mark (23 page)

Denny introduced his companion. ‘This is Dr William Butts, his majesty's senior physician. We would gladly hear more of the archbishop but cannot stay now. Perhaps you would care to join us later. His majesty will be spending the
evening with the queen in her apartments. Come and sup with us in my quarters. I will inform the guard captain. Until later, Master Treviot.' He nodded and he and Butts hurried on their way.

The chamber I entered that evening was narrow and high-ceilinged, like many in ancient buildings. Much of the bare stonework was covered by tapestries and other hangings. Torches set in sconces lit the space well and a good fire blazed on the hearth. Two servants were engaged in setting silver dishes close to the burning logs to keep warm. Other utensils and platters were set on a small buffet and reflected the flames. Denny and Butts were already seated at the table looking over the letters I had brought.

From my earlier commercial dealings with the courtier it did not surprise me that Denny insisted on getting straight down to business.

‘Ralph Morice has given a remarkable account of your recent activities, Master Treviot. He assures us you are a man to be trusted. As for us, you may speak freely here. My servants are well chosen for their discretion.' He spoke in rapid sentences, his forked beard fluttering as his chin rose and fell. ‘Now, first of all, this business of Richard Turner. The man is somewhat troublesome. I have already obtained a pardon for him once.'

‘His enemies seem extremely persistent. Perhaps, they hope by bringing repeated charges they may convince his majesty that the man really is a heretic,' I suggested.

A smile lit up the doctor's dark, intelligent eyes. ‘If they believe their steady drip, drip will wear down the stone, they do not know our Harry.'

‘How is Turner's preaching received in Kent?' Denny asked.

‘I gather he has a large following in Chartham and the surrounding area.'

‘How do you judge the mood of the shire as a whole?'

‘It seems there are pockets where reformed teaching prevails and others where the preference is for a stubborn traditionalism.'

‘Do you have a list of the more active papists among the gentry?' Butts asked mildly.

‘No. Doubtless his grace's commissioners will reveal who the most difficult landowners are.'

‘Then let us hope they make haste,' Denny said acerbically.

‘I'm sure Morice understands the urgency of the situation. He impressed upon me that if the opposition is not silenced within days or weeks his grace's enemies may prevail,' I said.

‘He is right, though not entirely for the reasons he thinks. The problem is wider and deeper.'

Several moments of silence followed. I was aware of unspoken communication between the other men. Then Denny dismissed the servants. ‘Master Treviot, we believe you have been brought here by Providence and we have decided to share with you things that no one outside our very tight circle knows.'

The words were ominous. I had grown very wary of being made party to dangerous confidences. ‘Master Denny, I doubt—'

‘We are at the political centre,' Denny continued, ignoring my protest. ‘We can see much of what is happening. But not all. You have the advantage of being able to move freely about the country.' He moved aside several of the dishes. ‘As you will see, there are aggravating gaps in our knowledge. We want those gaps filled by whatever you can discover. The first thing you should know is that our king intends to go to war – possibly in person.'

‘War?' I gasped. ‘But I thought he was a sick man. I had heard he was offering friendship to the Emperor – but war!'

Butts said, ‘Would you like to tell his majesty he is too old and too ill for charging around on battlefields? He has decided to send troops to France and to lead them in person. It might kill him. It will certainly bankrupt England. But he will do it.'

Denny took up the tale again. ‘Now the man who has talked him into this folly is the imperial ambassador, Eustace Chapuys.' Taking a silver table salt, he spooned a small mound of the contents on to the bare boards. ‘This policy has the support of some members of the Council, principally Bishop Gardiner.'

‘Because he sees it as one step in reuniting England with Catholic Europe?'

‘Precisely, Master Treviot. His ultimate objective is to
restore our bondage to the pope. So, here we have Gardiner, working closely with Chapuys.' He put another pile of salt on the table and with the spoon made a white line between the two. ‘Gardiner is hard at work to put a stop to the reformation of the English Church. His biggest obstacle is Cranmer. So, as you have seen, he is working hard to undermine the archbishop. As he rid the realm of Cromwell, so he plans to dispose of Cranmer and have himself appointed in his place. That explains the trouble he is stirring in Canterbury. Let's put another pile of salt for the prebendaries and a line linking them to the bishop.'

‘He uses his nephew to maintain close contact,' I said.

‘Yes, Germain; as double-dyed a papist as you would never want to see. Of course, from the cathedral at Canterbury, lines run throughout Kent and the South-east.' He laid some more thin traces of salt. ‘We have to find ways to block this activity. I'll come back to that in a moment. Now, at least Gardiner's opposition is in the open. We can trace his network and, by God's good grace, close it down. But there is another network – secret, insidious, unscrupulous and violent.'

‘Presumably, that is the organisation Black Harry is part of?' I suggested.

Denny held up a warning finger. ‘Don't jump ahead. It is vital to see things as clearly as we can.' He pointed to his first pile of salt. ‘Like everything else, this starts with the tireless schemer, Eustace Chapuys. He has connections with
the papistically inclined all over the country. However, his most powerful ally is the Duke of Norfolk. So let's put another salty marker for him. His lordship has ample resources for the Catholic campaign – money, estates where his authority rivals the king's, an army of servants ready to do his bidding. But even Norfolk has to tread warily.'

‘I'm amazed he has survived so long,' Butts added. ‘Twice he's inveigled the king into marriage with his nieces. Both have ended up under the headsman's axe. His majesty watches Norfolk closely now.'

‘And that leads us to the big question,' Denny said. He picked up the salt cellar and placed it between the mounds of salt representing Chapuys and Norfolk. ‘Who is this?'

We all stared at the pattern marked out on the table as Denny continued. ‘In Leicestershire a godly preacher is found drowned in his own fishpond. In Bristol a rich merchant is “persuaded” by a gang of ruffians to stop supporting a congregation where the Gospel is truly preached. In Hampshire a minister, his wife and four children perish in a mysterious fire. There is one mind behind these and other incidents; one monster as well endowed with cunning as he is devoid of morality and human feeling.'

Butts nodded. ‘A fanatic bent on opposing the Gospel by all and every means.'

‘You mean Sir Thomas Moyle,'I suggested.

The others looked at me in surprise.

‘Moyle?'Butts queried.‘The Kentish MP?'

Denny said, ‘Whatever makes you suggest his name?'

I told them about Black Harry's activities and how I had discovered that the gang was supported by Sir Thomas.

‘You must be mistaken,' Denny said. ‘Our mysterious limb of Satan operates from the centre. He is closely connected with the duke; someone familiar with the court. But he also has influence and interests over a wide area.'

I persisted. ‘If we assume that Holbein the painter, working for the archbishop, discovered the identity of your salt cellar, he had to be silenced before he could pass on the information. So Black Harry was sent to kill him. When Harry failed he took refuge in one of his patron's houses. We know that house belonged to Moyle.'

The courtiers were still not convinced.

Butts said, ‘You are certainly right about Holbein's connection with Norfolk. He has made several likenesses of the duke and other members of his family.'

Denny added, ‘We know he used his access to the duke's household to gather information and I'm inclined to agree with you that this placed him in grave danger, but Sir Thomas Moyle ... I cannot see him as the paymaster of assassins.'

‘If only we could make contact with Holbein we would soon know the truth,' Butts added.

‘Yes, this is of prime importance,' Denny agreed. ‘Do you think you can find him, Master Treviot?'

‘The problem is finding him before Black Harry does.'

‘Is there anything we can do to help? Do you need more men for the search?'

‘Thank you, Master Denny, but if we have too many people asking questions around London that will alarm our enemy. Better we should wait for Master Holbein to get a message to us.'

‘Pray God he does so quickly.'

‘I'm sure he will as soon as he safely can. He will want to be reunited with his sons. Meanwhile, what can we do to help the archbishop?'

‘Make sure his commission works properly is the short answer. Unfortunately, his grace is a stranger to ruthlessness but ruthlessness is what we need.'

Butts said, ‘It is his lack of guile that the king finds so attractive. I doubt he would ever be manoeuvred into sacrificing his grace.'

‘And there, as you know, William, we disagree. His majesty trusted Cromwell ...'

‘Ah, yes, Anthony, but he did not like him. There's the difference.'

‘I grant that Cranmer is the last man the king would throw to the wolves – if he was in his right mind.' Denny stopped abruptly.

‘Then is the rumour true that the king is sometimes not in his right mind?' I asked.

Denny was clearly discomfited. ‘You must not take me too literally.'

Butts came to his aid. ‘No one can appreciate .the pressures kings are under. Every day his majesty has to make a hundred decisions: a courtier seeks promotion; a bill must be drafted for parliament, a letter from the Emperor needs to be answered. Age and infirmity make it more difficult to shoulder his responsibilities. They may cloud judgement; affect decisions ...'

‘Such as whether to launch the country into war,' I suggested.

Butts nodded. ‘That among other things.'

‘We are getting off the point,' Denny said hurriedly. ‘We were discussing your commission in Kent. His majesty has agreed to send for Thomas Legh to join you. He is the most formidable lawyer in the country; as a member of the commission for dissolving the monasteries he was invaluable. I think you'll find him more than an equal of the Canterbury clergy and their friends.'

There was a knock at the door and a royal page entered. ‘An't please you, Master Denny, his majesty wishes to retire.'

‘Then I must go and prepare him for bed.' Denny stood quickly.

‘Perhaps I should attend also,' Butts said. ‘He might require a sleeping draught.'

I said my farewells and went to the stable yard, where a yawning Dick was waiting. As we rode away from Woodstock towards the inn where we were staying I pondered a question that had often occurred to me before: why
would any man in his right mind covet the position of a courtier? Money, power, status? If these things were gained they certainly came at a price – one beyond any I was ready to pay.

Chapter 17

Having crossed the Thames at Kingston and followed the south bank, we reached Southwark after two days' steady riding. I sent two men back to Goldsmith's Row and kept Walt and Dick with me. We sat around Ned's fire, drinking one of his heart-warming concoctions. He and Bart listened intently as I recounted my visits to Croydon and Woodstock but I noticed that Ned looked somewhat perplexed when I finished my account.

‘Unfortunate that you upset Sir Thomas,' he said. ‘I imagine he could make life very difficult for you in the county.'

‘Not as difficult as I plan to make his life when I expose his connection with Black Harry.'

‘You are sure about that?'

‘That's the one thing in this whole complicated business that I am sure about. There's proof, heraldic proof.'

‘Well, if you're convinced.' He shrugged.

‘Tell me why you're not.'

‘I'm just an old ex-monk who's spent most of his life cut off from the real world. I know nothing about intrigues and plots. But it does seem to me slightly odd that Sir Thomas Moyle is, on the one hand, a secret manipulator, hiding in the shadows, and, on the other, a partisan, vigorously and openly demonstrating his opposition to the archbishop's friends.'

‘Well, odd or not, that's the sort of man he is,' I said. ‘Now, tell me what's been happening here.'

Bart said, with an air of triumph, ‘I've found him.'

‘Master Holbein? Well done! That's wonderful!'

Ned sounded a note of caution. ‘Come now, Bart, be honest. What you really mean is that you have seen Master Holbein.'

Bart grimaced. ‘Don't be so dainty-minded, Ned. I know where he is. That's to say, I know where he might be. Two or three places, anyway.'

‘Perhaps it would be good if you started at the beginning,' I suggested.

At that moment there was a knock at the door. Ned opened it to admit Lizzie. Dick gave her his stool and squatted beside her on the floor. As I looked round the circle I could not help reflecting that we had become a group of
conspirators, perhaps no better than the men we were pitted against.

Lizzie's first question was ‘How is Adie?'

‘I've been away from Hemmings a week or more and I saw little of her when I was there.'

‘She will need much time to recover,' Lizzie replied. ‘Perhaps I should go to her.'

‘Better for you to stay where you can look after your own,' I suggested.

She gave me one of her intense – and quite indecipherable – stares.