A Parliament of Spies by Cassandra Clark

Author:Cassandra Clark [Clark, Cassandra]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780312595746
Amazon: B005T54LVU
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2011-12-20T18:30:00+00:00

As they went inside to find the refectory he explained what the fighting was about. ‘It’s over Mayor Brembre’s desire to protect the city traders.’

At the mention of Brembre she pricked up her ears.

‘One group of guildsmen want to open trade to everybody – but you can imagine what happens with no regulation. They undercut the locals and put them out of business as well as indulging in all sorts of sharp practice. Standards slip. They give false measures. Then refuse to appear before the courts. They ignore fines. It arouses a lot of resentment. Brembre’s faction want to restrict trade to London guild members so it can be properly regulated.’

‘It sounds like a minor squall.’

‘On the contrary, it’s a brewing storm. If it breaks it’ll be with a terrible fury. You saw how enraged the apprentice boys are? Ordinary people are losing their livelihoods. Deaths have occurred. A man was executed not long ago. They see it as a battle between anarchy and order, or liberty and oppression according to your point of view. The city’s going to destroy itself unless they can find a compromise.’ He had evidently been listening to someone who knew all about it.

She brought him back to Brembre. ‘Who are the mayor’s opponents?’

‘The ones who want a free-for-all? I don’t know names yet. Their leader used to be the ex-mayor, John of Nottingham, but he’s been put away in Tintagel Castle for extortion, and so far nobody else has risked sticking their heads over the battlements. Brembre makes sure of that.’

‘How?’

‘Don’t ask. There’s talk of men being rounded up and sent to the gallows without trial.’

‘Can’t anybody stop it?’

‘The city has its own laws. Parliament and the King’s writ have no power within the walls.’ He looked bemused. ‘Would you believe what started it?’

‘What?’

‘The price of fish!’

They were standing in line outside the refectory by now and when they went inside they were welcomed in as warmly as Thomas had predicted. ‘I’ll tell you more later,’ he told her. ‘Let’s find somewhere to drink our wine in privacy.’ He guided her to one of the long trestles and she noticed that he rested his wounded leg on a stool as soon as they were seated.

He filled their beakers and pushed the empty flagon to one side.

‘Those who oppose regulation have the support of the Duke of Lancaster. He loathes Brembre. He’ll do anything to thwart him.’

‘Do you know why?’

‘It’s because Brembre gives the King financial support. It takes Richard outside the control of the council and gives him a power base within the city.’

She remembered the mayor and his secret visits to the Tower and was about to tell Thomas but he was still talking.

‘There are other, more local reasons for the riots,’ he explained. ‘These secret affinities reach into every corner of London life. You can’t buy a stoup of ale without a portion of the price going to pay a protection levy. Men are bought and sold for their affinity. I’m told a man can sometimes have two or even three masters, all rivals.

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.