The Bawdy Basket by Edward Marston

Author:Edward Marston [Marston, Edward]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General, tpl, rt
ISBN: 9780312285012
Google: tONqxa2DWsUC
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2002-07-30T13:00:00+00:00

The visit to Bartholomew Fair had been enlightening. Nicholas Bracewell and Francis Quilter left Smithfield in a far more positive frame of mind than on the earlier occasion. The information obtained by Lightfoot gave them what was potentially their most important clue to date. Nicholas was circumspect. Instead of accepting the tumbler’s version of events without confirmation, he and Quilter called on the blacksmith in question and heard the evidence from his own lips. Luke Furness was open and honest with them. His memory was sound. As they walked away from his forge, they were even more convinced that the person seeking the whereabouts of Moll Comfrey had indeed been Justice Haygarth.

‘No wonder he was so obstructive when we met him,’ said Quilter.

‘I put that down to judicial caution,’ admitted Nicholas. ‘Moll had many virtues but, to a magistrate, she did not look like a reliable witness. Let us remember that, when she first came forward, you did not take the girl at her word.’

‘I confess it freely, Nick.’

‘She was the victim of her profession.’

‘At least, we now know who contrived her death.’

‘Do we?’

‘Yes,’ said Quilter. ‘It’s as plain as the beard on Ned Pellow’s face. The villain was that devious magistrate, Justice Haygarth.’

‘That’s by no means certain, Frank.’

‘Why else would he come in search of Moll?

‘So that he could take a fuller statement from her,’ suggested Nicholas. ‘Or in order to establish where she might be for the next few days in case he needed her. You may recall that he did ask her where she lodged. All that Moll would say was that she would be staying with friends.’

‘And stout friends they were to her,’ noted Quilter.

‘Just like your father.’

‘The magistrate must be involved, Nick. Apart from us, he was the only person aware of the damning evidence that Moll could give in court. He passed on the news to confederates.’ Quilter became animated, bunching his fists in anger. ‘Justice Haygarth has betrayed us. It is too great a coincidence that Moll should be killed on the very day that she comes forward as a witness.’

‘I agree, Frank. But we still rely on conjecture.’

‘We have linked Sir Eliard Slaney with the two false witnesses,’ said Quilter. ‘There’s no hint of conjecture there.’

‘Linking them together was not difficult,’ Nicholas pointed out, ‘especially as Cyril Paramore is employed by Sir Eliard. Proving that they were in league to send your father to the gallows will not be so straightforward. And the role of the slippery Justice Haygarth still remains unclear.’

‘Not to me, Nick. He’s another accomplice.’

‘We would need to be absolutely sure of that before we accuse a magistrate. His position as a justice of the peace is a strong defence in itself. Accuse him and he would bring an action for slander against us.’

‘Challenge him about his visit to Smithfield yesterday.’

‘He would deny it outright. What then, Frank?’

‘We have the word of the blacksmith.’

‘Will it stand up in court against that of a duly appointed magistrate? And even if

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