A Murderous Affair, page 37
‘The ‘ships’ were to set sail the next morning and so you made final plans, perhaps you drank a toast to your impending success. You probably speculated on the illicit nature of your adventure and discussed again how you hoped that Her Majesty would forgive you if you were able to furnish her with riches, perhaps some Spanish treasure, on the ships’ return. Sometime after darkness the four – Ingram, Don Alphonse, Drummond and Turney leave together from the river gate. The night is still young and they intend to have some fun at the Southwark Fair before they all, Drummond excepted, ‘depart’ in the morning. Hardwick, who was a guest in the house along with his wife, stays. How is that for speculation Robert?’
‘If I didn’t know better, I could almost swear that you were here that evening.’
‘Thank you. Except that, apart from Turney, who was only sailing around the coast, none of them were going anywhere. The thing that interests me is Hardwick’s presence. He was here ostensibly as your guest – he was not part of the adventure. True he had given some moral support but he had made sure his hands were clean. However, his son was to be presented at Court the next day and so it was convenient to be in London. One conclusion is that he came here to make sure nothing went wrong at the last minute. Another is that he was simply here to gloat.’
Stillness had descended in the room, whilst I had been speaking. Kyd and Matthew still stood close to the shadows of the doorway; Nesbitt was standing behind Drummond, who had suddenly become very preoccupied with his nails. Faunt stood quietly behind Walsingham, his eyes still on the ceiling but his ear tilted towards me. Robert was sitting upright and rigid in his chair, his eyes fixed on some indiscernible spot in his imagination. Anne, her arm still on Robert’s, was watching his face anxiously. Only Walsingham, slumped down in his chair, kept his eyes rigidly fixed on me. Might well he wonder what I was going to say next.
‘Now things become a little more complicated. The conspirator’s plan is for an anonymous source to post a bill at Court denouncing the voyage, with the expectation that an order will be given to search the ‘ships’. I say ‘ships’ in that manner because there is only one ship – The Lady Merrydance – no doubt moored in Deptford in case my brother should choose to inspect his investment. However, as the ‘ships’ will have sailed already, a search will be futile – but an air of suspicion will pervade over my brother. Witnesses will be called forward to confirm that the ‘ships’ were prepared for a long voyage and have departed, until they return again, Robert will be in disgrace for sanctioning the voyage. Of course they will never return – lost at sea, or some such explanation. Thus Robert loses not only his position at Court but his investment as well. All this can be gleaned from the letters. Everyone else concerned – Ingram, Don Alphonse and Turney – are, as far as anyone suspects, on the boats, so they can’t be questioned. No doubt they will keep a low profile for a time. Drummond will not mind the disgrace. He can hide in Robert’s shadow and, in any case, he already has his escape plan mapped out.’
‘However, something happens that the plotters don’t foresee – Don Alphonse is murdered and fished out of the river near Rotherhithe. I am immediately asked to investigate his death – my brother, realising the threat that the death poses in highlighting the venture, hopes that I will, with his prompting, come to the swift conclusion that Cassangoe is guilty.’ My brother gave me a hard stare at these words and I saw in his face a mixture of defiance, and sadness. There was nothing for it but to press on.
‘I’m afraid that I am too bloody-minded. Despite my brother’s protestations to the contrary, I immediately suspect the men from the previous evening of being involved. I rush to Deptford to interview Turney before the ‘ships’ sail. He, thinking that I am a government agent sent by Walsingham, whose badge I am carrying, believes that something has gone wrong with the plot – the voyage has been denounced too early – and expects me to search the ship. He immediately orders the departure of The Lady Merrydance, so that I have to be put ashore, although imagine both his relief and confusion when I tell him that I am simply interested in Don Alphonse’s death. Interestingly, he takes the opportunity to throw suspicion for the death of Don Alphonse on Robert, on the grounds, I beg your forgiveness Lady Anne, that he is a cuckold. To do this, he alludes to an argument that took place in the garden that night, which he hints was between Robert and Don Alphonse. Turney is trying to reflect suspicion away from the man he knows to be the real cuckold – Sir Christopher Hardwick himself, who has no doubt expressed his desire to see the demise of Don Alphonse during one of his darker moods.’ I paused for breath, suddenly feeling a debilitating weariness.
‘I digress. The denouncement is duly posted two days later and Robert is summoned to Court. I haven’t been party to developments in the last two weeks but I should imagine that Robert is very close to being disgraced at Court. Am I correct Sir Francis?’
Walsingham stirred himself. ‘The matter is out of my hands I am afraid, but I have heard rumours to that extent. Can you prove all of this Lovat?’
‘I have the letters from Ingram, Drummond and Don Alphonse. They are pretty conclusive.’ I thought it prudent not to mention the letters that my brother had sent Hardwick. I would have to find a quiet time to return those to him, though I doubted he would thank me for it.
‘Good. It would seem on the evidence that, despite being guilty of a certain rash foolishness not to mention greed, no ships have actually sailed forth in Sir Robert’s name and hence your brother has no case to answer. I will inform the interested parties at Court of this forthwith.’
I looked at my brother. His expression was a mixture of shame and relief. I had no doubt that he would bounce back strongly, but for the time being it looked as though a period of reflection was in store. ‘What about the murder of Don Alphonse,’ he said weakly?
‘If you mean that suspicion might fall on you because Don Alphonse was part of the plot to defraud you, then I think it is plain that you had no idea of his intentions. You considered him a friend right up to the moment that news of his death was brought here. Besides, I think it can be shown pretty clearly that you had neither cause, nor opportunity. His death was the last thing you wanted, as I’ve already established. I for one don’t believe that you had anything to do with it. Do you agree Sir Francis?’
‘Agreed. In the matter of Don Alphonse’s death I am satisfied for the time being that your brother has no case to answer. Perhaps you will shed further light on that in due course.’ Perhaps not, I thought, but held my tongue.
‘Drummond. It seems to me that you have been guilty of gross treachery towards your patron and master.’ Walsingham was suddenly taking charge of events. ‘However, as you appear to have only been a minor player, I think Robert might be persuaded to act leniently were you to give a full and frank account of your actions and the plot you were involved in. Is that right Lord Robert?’ My brother nodded stiffly. ‘Nesbitt, will you be kind enough to escort Drummond to another room, where Faunt can take a full statement from him. I warn you Drummond, leave nothing out – men have been hung for far less. For the time being you will remain in this house until such time as you will be called to give further evidence.’ Drummond had visibly shrunk in the last half an hour but the news that he was to be treated leniently appeared to perk him up again.
‘N-naturally, Sir Francis, I will humbly do everything I can to help and if you ever n-need my services again, please don’t h-hesitate to ask.’
Listening to this exchange I had slumped wearily in a chair. I suddenly felt a huge lethargy taking hold of me and my battered body had began throbbing anew. Despite this, I held up my hand to halt Drummond’s departure.
‘Forgive me, your Lordships, there is one further twist to this plot that I have yet to reveal and I would be grateful if Drummond would stay to hear it.’
‘Very well, speak.’
‘I think I have shown conclusively that Drummond only had a small part in the plot – a side act, if you will. He had no knowledge of what I was doing, nor of Don Alphonse’s death – Robert swore all of us to secrecy. How was it then, I asked myself, that information was reaching the likes of Ingram? He knew that Don Alphonse had been killed and that I was investigating the death. From that knowledge it was only a short stretch to connect my visit to the Lady Merrydance in Deptford, my presence at the warehouse, as well as my infiltration of Hardwick’s household – information that very nearly got me killed.’
‘There was also the episode of Don Alphonse’s goods being removed from his warehouse, by Ingram, and taken to one of Robert’s. This was an opportunist act designed to increase the pressure on Robert by tying him more closely to Don Alphonse’s murder. In the denouncement, the allusion to the murder was almost tacked on as an afterthought and it occurred to me that an astute intelligence had very quickly seen the way to turn Don Alphonse’s death to the plotter’s advantage. But who? It must have been someone with knowledge both of Don Alphonse’s death and the plot, and who also knew where Robert’s warehouses were situated. Matthew, who spoke to the porter, discovered that Ingram had never been there before but that he had Robert’s written permission to enter the dock. Had you given him that permission Robert.’
‘No.’
‘So who gave it to him? And, lastly, who was it that posted the denouncement at Court. Possibly Drummond, possibly Ingram, but more likely someone who goes to Court every day, in the shadow of his master, and understands the workings of that institution.’
Whilst speaking, I had been looking from one set of eyes to the next, but now I settled on just one person. He was standing in his usual diffident manner – fading into the background and almost invisible amongst the company.
‘I knew that there was only one person who fitted as an answer to all of these questions, and who I didn’t wholly trust, but I had no way of proving it. He was also someone who was present at the meeting in the house, although his presence then, like now, was barely discernible – I even neglected to mention his name. Moreover he had license to visit me, find out what I was doing and report back – to Ingram and Hardwick, rather than his true master.’
By now, my sole attention on one person had become apparent to the others who turned to look at the hunched, moribund figure in black, who stared back at me with an unfathomable expression in his eyes. The reason that I had asked Drummond to remain in the room was simply so his escort would have to remain too – my nemesis and the arch-traitor in my brother’s household – Nesbitt.
Chapter 35
‘If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.’
(Sir Francis Bacon)
As everybody turned towards him, Nesbitt stood stock still in a corner of the room. The usual obsequious expression on his face had been replaced by something that wasn’t immediately easy to interpret – equivocation perhaps, possibly defiance.
It appeared that he wasn’t about to say anything to either confirm of deny my accusation and it was only when Robert prompted him that he began to speak. His usual deliberate manner was in evidence, but there was something added to his words – the legal tone that had been his education before going into service. Apart from the odd Latin flourish, I had never heard him speaking in this way before and it added a, hitherto only briefly glimpsed, obduracy to his bent frame.
‘Master Drummond’s already rather weak performance has shown that there is little point in my arguing with any points made by Rokesby’s illegitimate sibling. He seems to have done a thorough job in this matter – and one that I certainly expected to be far beyond his capabilities. I congratulate him. However, what I should like to know is: what exactly am I being accused of? As Master Lovat has already made abundantly clear, there was a plan made in this house to launch an illegal adventure overseas. In going along with that plot, I was only doing the duty expected of me in this house, but was I content in that duty? Could I in all honesty say that my conscience was clear? And if not, and I felt it expedient to speak to others about my concerns, then can I be blamed?’
He paused for a moment and then gave me his best lawyer’s smile.
‘I see Master Lovat waving a letter that he believes will confirm my guilt but I say: ei incumbit probatio qui dicit - proof lies on him that asserts and not on he who denies. If it is the letter that I expect it to be, you will find nothing in there to reproach me with. I do not deny writing it – only that it proves my guilt, beyond anything other than being a concerned citizen.’
Nesbitt was right. The letter he had written to Hardwick, which I had discovered amongst the others and was brandishing, only proved that they had been in contact. That had been enough for me to string the rest of the facts together, but Nesbitt had been careful not to display any disloyalty to my brother. He had talked in terms of ‘being of service’ and ‘friendship’ but these were hardly enough to convict.
‘If Lord Robert wishes to press claims that I have been disloyal to this household, then it is natural that those who judge me should be abreast of all of the facts of what service in this household consists of.’
As threats go, it was mildly put – but the inference was clear.
‘However, I accept that my position in this household has now become untenable. I am sensitive to the knowledge that where doubt and mistrust exists, there can be no harmony between master and servant. Naturally I leave sub silentio.’ As he finished speaking, he began to shuffle his crooked frame towards the door, slowly at first, as if wary that someone might stop him and then with more confident strides. I looked at Robert’s face – it was a mixture of anger, despair, hatred, embarrassment even, but, nevertheless, he clearly felt unable to stop Nesbitt from leaving. Walsingham also looked as though he didn’t want to get involved. It was left for me to stop Nesbitt in the doorway and give him the only parting shot I was capable of.
‘You may not find the conditions in this household acceptable, but I should be very wary of accepting an offer of service from Hardwick. The goings on in his household may be too much for your conscience to bear.’ As I spoke, a bitterness that I had barely been aware of forced itself into my voice, to the point where I almost spat out the last part. For a moment, Nesbitt looked at me as though he might respond in kind, but he thought better of it.
‘Thank you for your good advice, Master Lovat,’ he simply said in the mildest of tones, ‘You can be sure I will heed it.’ And with that he was gone, leaving a room full of dismay and bafflement.
* * *
‘Master Lovat, you mentioned that part of Hardwick’s plan was to divert attention away from his own illicit practises. Do you have more light to shed on those?’
Walsingham and I were alone in the hall. Following Nesbitt’s exit, I had half expected Drummond to announce loudly that he wouldn’t hang around either and follow Nesbitt’s bent shape out of the door. However, he stayed meekly and allowed Faunt to escort him into an adjoining chamber. After a brief discussion with my brother, Walsingham requested a word in private with me, and the others withdrew, all-be-it reluctantly in Robert’s case – perhaps fearing further embarrassing revelations.
I got straight to the point with Walsingham: ‘I suggest you send a guard immediately to Chillenham Manor in Sussex. It is the home of Lord and Lady Asthor, both staunch Catholics and frequently fined for recusancy. Tell your men that their orders are to find two priests that have lately been delivered to the house. Once you have those priests, I suggest you question them as to how they came into this country.’
‘Explain?’
‘They arrived on the Lady Merrydance, the same ship that my brother thought was going to increase his fortune. The priests stayed one night at Stavening and then were taken via a rather backwards route to Chillenham Manor. I know this because I was able to follow them. At the Manor they were received by a small welcoming committee, which I believe included the Lord and Lady of the house. My enquiries in the vicinity told me who they were.’
‘So this ship, the Lady Merrydance?’
‘Owned by Hardwick. It runs frequent trips to and from France, always captained by Turney and I suspect always carrying divers illicit goods, including the human cargo. Docking the ship in Deptford was part of the plot to discredit Robert and proved quite an inconvenience for Hardwick. He was pleased to get the ship back running its usual errands. After leaving Deptford it went to France, picked up the priests and a consignment of tobacco, and returned to Rye, where it took on a cargo of, what I suspect are, adulterated woollen cloths and garments.’ I handed the coat, which I had been grateful for during my travails in the forest, to Walsingham. ‘I took this from the ship’s hold, just after it had been loaded. I suggest you get it tested.’
‘I see. Adulterated woollen exports – a serious matter but not as serious as the priests. Do you think he was involved in the Babington plot?’
‘It seems very likely that he would have offered the conspirators safe passage – for a fee of course. I only have circumstantial evidence but there is a young clerk in his household who is related to Chidiock Tichborne.’
‘One of the conspirators.’
‘He also is a distant kinsman of Hardwick’s. I should hasten to add that he knows nothing of Hardwick’s activities.’
‘And Hardwick himself? Is he a Catholic?’
‘I can’t give you any further evidence as to Hardwick’s own religious sympathies. His house was one of the most Godless places I ever visited. There’s a small church in the grounds, which is largely unused. All Hardwick is interested in is money and,’ I said, thinking of the chest full of coins I had opened in his study, ‘I can assure you that he is getting paid handsomely for his various activities. The operation is run from his estate near Rye by a Frenchman called Vaillons and a Scotsman called Dakers. Vaillons recently sailed for France but Hardwick and Dakers should still be at Stavening. Ingram was also there a few days ago with at least one of his henchmen – the second might also be there depending on whether or not he survived our last encounter. I’m afraid I didn’t stay around to find out.’
