The Accusation Read online

  "Then," said Katherine, "I shall take great pleasure in feeding you until you complain of being too fat, dressing you until you complain you have nowhere to hang so many gowns, and spending a good deal of time in your company, since I am bored out of my mind most days. But if you don't know London, I can show you around, and if you can read, there are plenty of good books in this house."

  Without much idea of how to respond to this sudden generosity, Fortune stuttered, "I understood I was to be your servant, my lady. Your maid."

  "And so you are." Katherine took her hand. "But I am also horribly in need of friends, and life is so miserable these days." She tugged Fortune down to sit beside her on the settle. "You see, my mother - died - very recently. She was evidently a good friend to Charles, although I never knew of it, and barely made acquaintance with him. But remaining orphaned and homeless, he brought me here to his old family house. He says he promised my mother, which made him sound most reluctant, and then said he never comes here, yet he is back again. I am simply a charity case, no doubt, and should not complain, but I confess I find him horribly arrogant."

  Still stuttering and now uncomfortable, Fortune said, "I, I do not know his lordship at all, my lady. He is a stranger to me. But he has been kind. I was starving on the streets and the earl promised me work and a bed here."

  "Perhaps he thinks," Katherine decided, "that regular acts of charity will help the Lord forgive him his arrogance."

  "I am so thankful to be here, my lady. And I love to read. I am also happy to clean, to make up the fire, and to do anything at all you ask of me."

  "Just cheer me up." Katherine stood, once more clutching Fortune's hand and bringing her alongside, and left the room, hurrying to the stairs. "First, we feed you. Then I call the dressmaker. And it's the pages who set the fires, and the cleaning women who scrub floors. You'll just help me dress and look after my clothes, and perhaps read to me. Does that sound too strenuous?"

  Fortune giggled. "Not enough, my lady."

  It was some hours later when the sheriff and two assistants knocked firmly on the door, and were shown to the solar where Katherine was half asleep, and Fortune was attempting to thread a needle in the dusky twilight.

  Katherine woke up with a start, the sheriff bowed, and he proceeded to startled her a good deal more. "His lordship, my lady," announced Sheriff Mason with a bow more curt than gracious, "has been required to remain at the Tower overnight, and will continue to answer questions throughout the evening and again in the morning. In the meantime, my lady, I would appreciate a short interview with yourself."

  Katherine, wild eyed and blushing, did not understand. "By orders of the queen? But I have no idea what you are talking about, sir. And let me assure you that I normally live alone on these premises, and the return of his lordship was quite unexpected."

  The sheriff hid his smile. He had no interest in whether this woman usually shared a bed with the gentleman now residing in the Tower, although the situation of unrelated men and women sharing the same house was generally thought improper. "Madam, that is not my concern," he told her. It is the plot to place the protestant Princess Elizabeth on the throne which concerns her majesty, and the terrible mock execution of Master James Willis within the stable block here."

  She knew absolutely nothing about it. Fortune Mereworth stared, open mouthed, not noticing that she had pricked her finger and it was now bleeding on the pair of stockings she had been darning for her new mistress.

  Katherine said faintly, "I know nothing of this, sir. Who is Master James Willis?"

  "A trusted assistant to the Lord Chancellor, madam." She had not invited him to sit, and he stood glaring down at her, his hands clasped behind his back. And he proceeded to explain.

  Wondering whether she should pretend to faint, Katherine asked, "And when did this take place, sir? That was the evening I arrived here for the first time, and had no idea where my bedchamber was, let alone the stable block. Have you spoken to other members of the household? And what has his lordship said?"

  "I arrived here only this morning, sir," Fortune ventured, "but -"

  "Then your opinions are of no interest to me, mistress," declared the sheriff. "But I wish to question each member of this household separately in an empty chamber. I ask you to arrange this, my lady."

  Once the three men had been shuffled into the annex, Fortune turned to Katherine, and said in a rush, "What on earth has been happening, my lady? His lordship is in the Tower? I feel strongly obliged to do whatever I can to help, since this is a gentleman who has virtually saved my life, even though I was a stranger."

  "I suppose," pondered Katherine, eyes once more alight, "I have the same obligation. I didn't like Charles when I met him a few times before, but I was a child. He's been exceedingly kind now, and given me a house and an allowance, and besides," she grinned, "it could be quite an adventure."

  "But dangerous, my lady, if we act against the interests of her majesty."

  "That's what makes it more exciting," said Katherine. "Perhaps I can stop being bored out of my head for a few days."

  "We need to discover who hates his lordship. This dreadful slaughter hasn't been a conspiracy against the queen. It's a conspiracy against his lordship."

  "Interesting," decided Katherine. "Call Samson. And the valet Charles brought with him, and the secretary too. They should know him better than I do."

  Samson bowed, poured the wine, and informed her ladyship that the earl's valet had been called to serve his master at the Tower, but summoned Clovis, the assistant secretary. Clovis nodded, which sent his curls bouncing, and both he and Samson submitted to her ladyship's questions.

  It was much later, in the bedchamber, that Katherine discussed the situation so far with her new personal maid.

  "What fun," said Katherine.

  This was not quite how Fortune saw it. "My lady, his lordship is obviously an innocent man, but could be executed as his mother was. Indeed, I understand almost all members of his family have been removed by one king or another."

  "Which doesn't look very good for him." Katherine clapped her hands. "But we shall change all that. First of all, how does anyone lay false evidence against someone they dislike, and get away with it? And who was it who accused Charles and his dear mother, because she really was delightful and kind, over a year ago. And got away with it. And I'll wager that whoever it was before, is the same person now. Because he didn't manage to get rid of Charles the first time, so he's trying again."

  Fortune flushed pink and stared at her toes. "Evidence of heresy was laid against myself and my poor husband by someone who hated him," she admitted. "I could go back to my mother-in-law and ask how it all happened."

  With enormous sympathy, Katherine bent to Fortune. "You husband was beheaded?"

  "He was burned alive at the stake, my lady."

  "Oh, how appalling." Katherine decided. She shivered, white faced. "Tomorrow morning we both visit Charles at the Tower. Then we go to visit your parents-in-law. I'll come with you, naturally. I can be most imperious when I want to be, so it's easier to get answers. Besides, I intend being a large part of this adventure. I need another interview with the sheriff, and maybe the Lord Chancellor." She sighed. "But not the queen. She's embittered and terrifying. Besides, I've heard she's extremely ill."

  The Tower Keep rose like a great white stone threat on the banks of the Thames, near the bustle and noise of the Bridge. The Bridge of London was the principal crossing to the southern banks, and being well occupied by shops, lodgings, the chapel, and the southern portcullis and gateway, it was in constant movement as the traffic pushed past in both directions.

  Downriver, the Tower grounds were quiet in comparison, but by no means silent. Armed guards paraded through every avenue and kept watch on the boundaries and entrances. A small church, the country's principal mint, chambers of storage, and security kitchens, pantries, laundries and butteries were crammed into the further area, while the Keep housed the Council
Chambers, and had once housed the royal suites. Those rooms continued to be used by many, although the royal household now had larger quarters within the other buildings there, overlooking the Thames. The royal menageries echoed with growl, roar and bellow, while the dungeons and torture chambers, mostly kept deep underground, sometimes also echoed with the misery of their inhabitants. With a rush of servants, guards and others, with arrivals and departures, with officials and deliveries, this was a place of great activity, crowded even during the night. The city's fortress was invariably crammed, but no one entered without permission.

  Dawn had peeped its first pastels when The Lady Katherine and her maid arrived, seeking entrance to visit his lordship, the Earl of Chilham. This was granted. Charles had not been arrested, there was no warrant, and he was not strictly a prisoner. The guard unlocked the door.

  The quarters were comfortable enough with plastered walls, tapestries, three small rooms, and the warmth of a brazier to keep out draughts. Charles sat in a cushioned chair, legs stretched out, and a book in his hands. His valet was busy making the well curtained bed in the adjacent chamber. Charles looked up, surprised. He had not expected female visitors.

  "I imagine," he said, laying down his book, "that you know the motive for her majesty's generous hospitality. I can deal with the situation myself. It need not trouble you."

  An arrow slit of a window, unglazed, let in both light and a whip of wind. Katherine shivered. "Since you're locked up, you can't do much investigating," she pointed out. "So I shall do it for you, sir."

  Charles lifted an eyebrow and regarded her with curiosity. "Presumably, madam, you were stupefied with boredom and yearn for adventure?"

  "How did you guess? No matter. Now, first of all, my lord, do you know who laid the accusation against your mother the countess a year ago?"

  He had no idea. "I did not pursue any vendetta. It seemed both unwise and would almost certainly have exacerbated the situation with our placid monarch. At any royal court, conspiracies and hatreds, jealousies and spite will always arise. You cannot always know your enemies, for there is rarely any logical reason for their dislike. I never investigated and instead, spent my time with my mother."

  "So who doesn't like you now?"

  He smiled, "You, my lady. Her majesty. Probably most of the court since I rarely attend and desire no position of authority. Apart from my wealth, no one benefits from either my presence or departure."

  Katherine leaned forwards eagerly. "So who gets your money if you die?" She answered his smile with her own. "And I don't dislike you anymore. I've forgiven you for being a pig when I was twelve."

  "In that case," Charles grinned, "from gratitude of course, I shall leave you the house and a portion of income for its upkeep and your own dowry, madam. Everything else goes to my fourth cousin, once removed, whose name, if I remember rightly, is Piers Baldwin, or something of the sort. I don't know him and have only met him once or twice."

  "Then that's where we start," said Katherine.

  Chapter Nine

  “He doesn't seem much bothered," sighed Katherine as they sat once more at home. The rain was pelting against the long solar windows, and the clatter of hail sounded like the rattle of wheels on the cobbles outside. Although not yet midday, it was growing dark.

  "The harvest has failed again," sighed Fortune. "My people further south will be starving as usual."

  "Then that's where we go next," said Katherine. "If this horrible weather ever improves. I don't want to ride through storm and sleet."

  "And we'll need guards and some sort of chaperone."

  Clovis agreed without argument, more than willing to involve himself in some unexpected adventure which could help to save and protect his master. A young somewhat plump man, dark curly haired and bright blue eyed, Clovis Cooper knew the basic facts concerning the earl, but knew no secrets. "Because," he said at once, "there ain't none, m'lady. Tisn't a lord wiv lots o' sneaky business and I reckon he ain't done no conspiracising neither. He ain't the type."

  "As an extremely wealthy man," said Katherine, "he must have enemies."

  But Clovis Cooper shook his curls. "Not as I knows of. But then, he ain't got no friends neither."

  Katherine frowned, saying, "I'm hardly surprised."

  "Cos he keeps hisself to hisself," objected Clovis. "This is a gent as kind as you get, wiv a mighty good brain and a mighty nice chuckle. But he ain't had a lucky life so far."

  "None of us have," Fortune murmured.

  The following day, with the rising of the sun and few dark clouds peeping over the horizon, a small party set out and headed for the Kent marshes. Two armed guards rode ahead, and two behind. In the centre rode the Lady Katherine, her personal maid Fortune, and her young servant and chaperone Clovis. Katherine had helped herself to one of the earl's horses, and was delighted to be out in the fresh clean sunshine, heading for countryside instead of the city mire.

  The fields were partially flooded and as they travelled into Kent, there were large swells of stagnant water and the marshlands had increased instead of the usual summer drainage. Clouds of minute whining and biting insects swarmed over the waterlogged land, attacking the dejected groups of sheep and cattle remaining. No crops grew. Cottages had maintained their vegetable patches, but only those on higher ground seemed a healthy green, instead of a wilted lemon.

  The lanes were muddy and winding, goats bleating as they rummaged in the hedgerows for food. Birds flocked overhead, ready to migrate earlier than was usual.

  Katherine chose to stop only once in Canterbury, but when asked to recommend a hostelry, Fortune carefully did not mention the Harlequin Inn where she had twice stayed with Charles.

  They arrived late in the day at the village where John Mereworth had once been pastor, and Fortune pointed out St. Justin's Church, and the little stone cottage next door. Katherine gazed with appalled surprise at the tiny building with its central hole in the roof instead of a chimney, the one unglazed window, and the tumble-down shed at the back. This was not as she had imagined, nor would have called a decent and respectable living, but she said nothing and they rode on to the house where the rest of the Mereworth family shared their lives.

  Hearing the rattle of bridles as the little cavalcade rode up outside, John's father rushed to the door. He feared an inquisition and further accusations of heresy. Instead he saw his departed daughter-in-law dressed in comfortable and expensive simplicity, and paused. The woman riding next to Fortune was a lady of status, for her clothes were rich including a cloak fully lined in fur, and she had a guard of four and a fine pair of horses. Hurriedly, he invited Katherine, Fortune and Clovis inside. Clovis declined.

  Katherine sat on a rickety wooden stool and tried to breathe. There was no heating but a smell of too many bodies, stale urine and boiled cabbages hung like the clouds of biting insects in the air. "I have questions, Master Mereworth," she said, looking around the bleak interior surrounding her. "And they may bring back unfortunate memories, but I do not mean to threaten or trouble any of you. I am simply hoping that you have information that will help me help someone else."

  Fortune, on the other hand, was disturbed at how much her in-laws knew, it was John's younger sister Joan who glowered, muttering, "I know who did the thing, nasty creature that he is. But there was nothing we could do. It was true, after all. Poor John was an avid preacher, and didn't hide his beliefs."

  The elderly mother, wiping her eyes with the corner of her apron, sat huddled by the wall. John's father stood, face hidden in the shadows of the beams, his head almost touching the low ceiling. "We loved our son, my lady. Once we found out who spoke against him, I chased the vile fellow from the village."

  "Who?" whispered Fortune. "And why?"

  It was her sister-in-law who stared, seemingly defiant. "Paul Latymer. That grubby hedge-born pickle-head from across the river, who worked on the Betterby farm." She lowered her eyes. "He wanted to marry me. I kept saying no. He was the one who cleaned out
the pigsties and I didn't like him. His hands were always dirty and I knew he could be spiteful. But he kept asking. Eventually I told him I couldn't, because my brother disapproved, and he was pastor of the whole parish. That's when it happened."

  Fortune's face was white, even in the twilight. She asked, "Who did he speak to, and how did you find out it was him?"

  After listening to every detail that seemed relevant, Katherine left a small purse on the stool where she had been sitting, and hustled Fortune out into the drizzle. An hour later, Katherine and Fortune moved into the small wayside inn just a few miles closer to Canterbury. Fortune had been crying. Katherine ordered a hot supper served in the bedchamber they would share. As asked, it was Clovis who carried up the platters, set the little table, and sat on a stool beside them.

  "So it's usually the bishop to go to," frowned Katherine. "But that was for heresy. We are talking of treason. Would a bishop be interested?"

  "The man what spoke agi't my lord," said Clovis, "were surely a gent wiv position. He done accused my lady, the countess, my lord's gracious mother. She were a lovely lady and I's sure as our queen is a lonely old sow, that she were innocent as when she were born. His lordship too. He ain't never been interested in them conspiracities."

  "But whoever hates him," decided Fortune, "also hated this James Willis, or the Lord Chancellor perhaps. The choice of the victim cannot have been random, any more than the choice of his lordship's stables."

  "And a mighty big gent too, I reckon," mumbled Clovis, "to do wot he did, and wivvout making more noise than a flock o' geese."

  "I intend questioning the bishop," said Katherine, "He will know something. And I can make him tell me."

  Since begging an appointment with the bishop took some time, Katherine took immediate advantage, and returned to see the sheriff. After having attempted to fob her off with his assistants, eventually Sheriff Mason invited Lady Katherine and her maid into his quarters where he attempted to appear officious, sitting behind a small table heaving with ink pots. She sat in the chair opposite him, smiled politely, and said, "Now, Master Sheriff, I have a good many questions and I trust you will answer them all. Then perhaps we shall be able to solve this matter. Let me begin by asking if you have yet any indication as to the culprit and motive concerning this crime."