Dark Queen Waiting by Paul Doherty

Author:Paul Doherty
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781448303540
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2019-09-12T16:00:00+00:00

PART FOUR

‘Nature’s Struck And Earth Is Quaking’

Christopher Urswicke made himself as comfortable as possible on the small stool in the narrow, cobwebbed, dirty chamber on the first gallery of the ancient royal manor of Thorpe, only a short distance from Walton cove. He was certain that even from where he sat he could hear the dull roar of the sea as it swept into the land. The sanctuary men and all their escort had reached Thorpe yesterday after five days of hard travelling: within two more they would board The Galicia. The Breton ship would sail in as close as it could to the Essex coast, lower its ship’s boat, collect the ten sanctuary men and take them to the nearest port which, in their case, would be La Rochelle, The Galicia’s one and only landfall. Christopher glanced out of the corner of his eye at the countess, bundled in furs, hands extended towards the meagre fire in the shattered hearth.

‘I wish it was better, mistress,’ he murmured. ‘We have this and two other chambers which are nothing more than narrow, filthy closets.’

‘Hush now, Christopher. We have to set our faces like flint. Think of those poor sanctuary men, each locked in a narrow cell below. This is an ancient royal manor, fortified and moated, built for war rather than pleasure.’

‘My father, Sir Thomas, our worthy Recorder, has made himself as comfortable as possible. The warmest rooms, the choicest rugs …’

‘We must bear the insults and wait for better times, Christopher. We must keep our temper, restrain our tongue and watch. But I agree, this truly is a winter season.’

Urswicke caught the deep bitterness in the countess’s voice. Fleetfoot had arrived earlier that day, carrying Bray’s letter written in cipher, hidden within secret symbols. Urswicke had read the dire contents: the attacks on Bray, Zeigler’s escape, the murderous assault on Pembroke’s kinswomen, Joachim’s confinement in that alehouse pit and what Bray had discovered at The Devil’s Cellar. There was little in the letter which could provide any comfort, and its contents only deepened the countess’s despair, not to mention his own. They had discussed their suspicions, speculated on the different possibilities but they had neither the time nor the power to do anything about them. They were as much Sir Thomas’s prisoners as the men chained below.

‘What can be done?’ Margaret whispered. ‘We are invited this evening to sup with your father. He is so keen to act the great lord. He sent retainers ahead of us to prepare this ghastly manor. And now we are supposed to sit and feast while Sir Thomas smiles falsely and prepares to act the Judas. Some of Tudor’s most faithful retainers lie chained below. We know they are marked down for death yet if they escape, if we arrange that, they will be hunted down like coneys in a hay field.’

‘We are trapped,’ Christopher whispered. ‘If we allow them to board that Breton cog, they will undoubtedly perish and, whatever happens, Zeigler will be free to prowl and hunt.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.