Now and Then Stab by Anna Castle

Author:Anna Castle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: elizabethan mysteries, tudor mysteries, amateur sleuth, female sleuth, set in london, set in england, sixteenth century, christopher marlowe
Publisher: Anna Castle
Published: 2021-01-21T16:00:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

THE MOURNERS LEFT THE churchyard and walked together in silence to the King’s Head, where Tom hired a horse for the next two days. Audrey Walsingham sent their escort back to Nonsuch with another message for Lady Stafford. The small party left Deptford without further fuss around half past three. England’s greatest poet had been laid to rest in less than an hour with the minimum of pomp.

The weather was ideal for a late afternoon ride. Their route, as Walsingham explained, ran slightly east of due south. He set an easy pace since they had hours of daylight left and no need to hurry. He and Tom rode together with the ladies a few yards behind. Walsingham pointed out features of interest as they rode. They passed along the west side of the park surrounding Placentia Palace and then later, Eltham Palace. Otherwise, no one spoke.

The silence gave Tom time to think. He still didn’t know what had happened, beyond Trumpet’s terse words. “Killed in a brawl in an ordinary,” she’d written. Such things happened. They happened every day. But till now, they’d only happened to men Tom didn’t care about. He’d lost his father a few years ago, and his world had changed. This wasn’t like that. His life would go on as before. But he’d loved Kit; more, he’d admired him. The thought that he’d never see that teasing smirk or those knowing eyes again weighed upon him like a sack of grain across his shoulders.

Shadows stretched across their path as they clopped along, though the sun stood high enough to warm their backs. Cool breezes slipped out from under the copses of oaks and hazels that dotted the hillsides. This country had the perfect balance of hills and shallow valleys, green swards and woods. No wonder the area boasted so many palaces.

Two grooms met them in the yard at Scadbury. Mrs. Walsingham led her guests to the first floor on a short wing running back from the central house. She pointed at a closed door. “That was Mr. Marlowe’s room. We’ll visit it in a minute, if you’d like.”

“I would,” Tom said. A chance to say good-bye. The wooden box they’d put in the ground had given him nothing.

She opened another door and led them into a pleasant chamber looking onto an orchard. The room was bare apart from a well-clad bed, a single chair, and a round table bearing a large bowl and pitcher. A stack of folded towels lay ready on the shelf below, and a small hearth had been laid ready for a fire.

“I thought this might suit you, Mr. Clarady,” Mrs. Walsingham said.

“Admirably.” Tom didn’t plan on sleeping in that bed, but it did look comfortable.

“We’ll give you a minute to wash your hands. You can borrow a nightshirt from my husband. We’ll be just down the corridor in Lady Dorchester’s room.” She gave him a smile a trifle too bright, making a trifle too much effort to avoid glancing at Trumpet.

She knows, or she’s guessed.

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