The Gang of St Bride's by Emily Organ

Author:Emily Organ [Organ, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-28T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

Our cab stopped opposite Cannon Street Hotel, a stone edifice with two spires which fronted a train station. Francis and I climbed out of the cab and found the baroque-styled St Swithin’s church close by.

“It’s a beautiful place, isn’t it?” he said, pausing to admire the church. “It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren.” Its three tall arched windows were topped with stone embellishments, and a great clock was supported over our heads by a carved stone arm. Below the central arched window sat a small stone alcove, within which lay London Stone.

“Here it is,” I said. “The ancient milestone. According to Herbert Fry, it once stood on the opposite side of the road, where Cannon Street train station is now.”

“Herbert Fry?”

“The chap who wrote the guidebook I was telling you about. He also said the stone receives a mention in Shakespeare’s Henry VI. Jack Cade, the play’s rebel leader, strikes London Stone with his staff and then sits upon it, proclaiming himself Lord Mortimer and declaring that nothing but claret wine will run in the conduit for the first year of his reign.”

Francis gave an appreciative nod. “A great tale, and one that I believe is based on fact. It’s a shame he didn’t achieve his promise of running the Great Conduit with wine. He was killed a week later.”

“Where does this leave us in terms of solving the riddle?” I asked, glancing around. I took out my notebook and wrote down everything I could see around me. “Cannon Street Hotel is the most prominent building. And there is also the train station there. When Eliza and I crossed Blackfriars Bridge we found ourselves standing opposite another train station. I’m beginning to wonder if the stations might be a clue.”

“What else did you see at Blackfriars?”

“We visited a horrid public house, immediately wishing we hadn’t because it was rather intimidating. There’s a line in the riddle, if you remember, that says, ‘There’s a friendly hostelry on every corner’.”

“There just happens to be a hostelry opposite us now.”

“So there does.” I wrote down its name: The Three Feathers.

“And there’s another one behind us,” said Francis.

We both turned to look, and I wrote down the name of this smaller establishment: The King’s Arms.

“The problem we have is that London is home to countless public houses,” continued Francis. “You can walk along the street and find one at every twenty paces. That’s often a good thing, of course, but less so when you’re trying to solve a riddle like this one.”

“I wonder if any members of the Twelve Brides frequent the King’s Arms,” I said. “Shall we take a quick look inside?”

The interior of the public house was small and dingy. A few faces turned in our direction, but I saw no other women inside.

“Perhaps the men in there have something to do with the Twelve Brides,” I suggested to Francis once we were outside on the street again.

“Maybe, but I wasn’t tempted to ask them, were you?”

I laughed. “No! Shall

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