The Clamorous Dead: Is witchcraft or prejudice infecting Tudor England...? (The Bailiff Mountsorrel Tudor Mysteries Book 4) by David Field

Author:David Field [Field, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2024-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

12

Edward’s first call upon his return to Whitefriars Lane was to Francis’s house, hopeful that he might have good news regarding his search for Rose Middleham. The door was opened by Francis’s houseboy Ralph, who frowned when he saw Edward.

‘Is your master at home?’ Edward asked.

Ralph shook his head. ‘I haven’t seen him since you was last here, and he rode off north somewhere. I was hoping that you were him, ’cos it’s not like him to be missing for so long and I’m starting to get worried that something’s happened to him.’

Somewhat alarmed, Edward thanked Ralph, told him not to worry, then walked his horse thoughtfully across to his own house. Meg emerged through the scullery door from her accommodation next to the garden kitchen when she heard the sound of Edward moving through the rooms lighting rush lamps.

‘Are the mistress and children not with you?’ she asked.

Edward explained that they’d remained in Ashby because he had important duties to attend to that would keep him from the house for long hours. ‘If I’m home in the mornings, just put out some breakfast for me, but don’t worry about dinner and supper,’ he told her. ‘I’ll arrange to eat out somewhere.’

‘Good news for the pie sellers,’ Meg muttered as she went back to her bed, leaving Edward to help himself from the hogshead of small beer in the scullery and take a seat before the empty fireplace while he gathered his thoughts.

The fact that Francis had been absent for so long suggested that he was experiencing difficulty in locating Rose; either that or he’d found her, and she was refusing to come back into town to face accusations of witchcraft. He could not blame her if that was the case. But it was now only two days before the date set for Rose’s ‘trial’. If it was discovered that she had fled, this in itself would suggest a guilty knowledge on her part, and would further deepen the general belief that witchcraft was prevalent in the county.

This would serve the interests of those seeking to deter King James of Scotland from accepting the English crown, even assuming that he was to be offered it. It would suit the supporters of the woman called Arbella Stuart equally well for Rose to remain hidden, so that she could be accused of witchcraft in her absence. And even if by some miracle she could be located and brought into Nottingham, there was an equal risk that John Kincaid would employ trickery, lies and false witnesses to justify having Rose condemned and hanged as a servant of Satan.

It was a hopeless outlook whichever way it went, and there was now a distinct possibility that Francis, by absenting himself around the county and searching openly for Rose, would reveal to anyone dogging his movements that the lady in question was missing. When — and if — Sheriff Byron learned that, Edward would no longer be employed as his bailiff, and would be unable to do anything more to ensure Rose’s safety.

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