event, what would they do?’
‘They’d have to sell it to make any profit from the crime.’
‘But who would possibly buy it? It’s worthless to anybody but you. I don’t believe it’s been destroyed at all. Why go to such trouble if there’s to be no pecuniary advantage?’
Marlborough frowned. ‘I’m not sure that I understand you, Adam.’
‘It’s quite simple, Your Grace,’ said Cardonnel. ‘Since the one person who really wants it is you , the thieves will probably offer to sell it to you.’
Marlborough was stunned. The notion implied a violent assault on his purse.
‘Sell me my own property?’ he yelled in outrage. ‘I’m not going to pay twice for the same thing. That would be insupportable. No thief is going to make money out of a battle in which so many of our brave soldiers gave their lives.’ Snapping his fingers, he pointed to the table. ‘Write to Captain Rawson at once. Tell him that it’s imperative he somehow retrieves the tapestry. He can act with my full authority. I want the Battle of Ramillies back in my possession and I want the rogues who dared to steal it dangling by the neck from a rope.’
Daniel was as shaken as anyone at the disappearance of the tapestry. His immediate response had been to search for clues and possible witnesses. The tapestry was large and heavy. It would have taken at least three men to carry it and a cart would have been needed to take it away. Daniel knocked on the doors of all the neighbouring houses and asked if anyone had heard or seen anything on the previous night. But his efforts were in vain. No help was forthcoming. Janssen was heartbroken. Nothing he’d ever created had given him more pride and pleasure. Endless months of work had gone into it. Yet it had vanished into thin air. He had large posters printed and put them up in strategic places. Janssen was ready to offer a substantial amount of his own money for information that led to the capture of the thieves and the return of his tapestry. He was mortified when nobody came forward. Amalia had never seen him look so despondent. The shock was making her father ill.
After days of fruitless effort, Daniel reached a conclusion.
‘The thieves had an accomplice,’ he told Amalia. ‘They were helped by someone under this roof.’
‘That’s impossible,’ she said, hotly. ‘Nobody would dare to betray Father.’
‘I’m not saying he was a willing accomplice. It’s just that he unwittingly helped the villains. How did they know that such an important and valuable tapestry was here in the first place?’
‘They couldn’t have known, Daniel.’
‘Exactly,’ he said. ‘Apart from your father, only Kees, Aelbert and Nick knew what they’d been working on and when it would be finished. The thieves bided their time until they knew it was complete.’
‘Kees is dumb so we can exclude him at once.’
‘Then it has to be either Aelbert or Nick. One of them has a loose tongue.’
‘In that case, it must be Nick. Aelbert is laconic at the best of times. He prefers a quiet life. It’s Nick who visits a tavern from time to time.’
‘Doesn’t your father warn him not to talk about his work?’
‘Yes,’ said Amalia, ‘he insists on privacy and all who work for him have sworn to maintain it. Somehow, one of them – Nick, most likely – let it slip out. He’ll be cursing himself for doing that.’
‘Not if he can remember when and where it happened,’ said Daniel. ‘If Nick can recall the name of the tavern and the day when he talked about his work, the landlord may be able to remember who else was there on that occasion. Winter’s been bad for business. If he had few customers when Nick Geel was there, the landlord should be able to give us their names.’
Amalia was rueful. ‘I should’ve paid more attention to Beatrix.’
‘Why?’
‘She said that someone was watching the house. I didn’t believe her.’
‘It proves that nobody here was in league with
‘They’d have to sell it to make any profit from the crime.’
‘But who would possibly buy it? It’s worthless to anybody but you. I don’t believe it’s been destroyed at all. Why go to such trouble if there’s to be no pecuniary advantage?’
Marlborough frowned. ‘I’m not sure that I understand you, Adam.’
‘It’s quite simple, Your Grace,’ said Cardonnel. ‘Since the one person who really wants it is you , the thieves will probably offer to sell it to you.’
Marlborough was stunned. The notion implied a violent assault on his purse.
‘Sell me my own property?’ he yelled in outrage. ‘I’m not going to pay twice for the same thing. That would be insupportable. No thief is going to make money out of a battle in which so many of our brave soldiers gave their lives.’ Snapping his fingers, he pointed to the table. ‘Write to Captain Rawson at once. Tell him that it’s imperative he somehow retrieves the tapestry. He can act with my full authority. I want the Battle of Ramillies back in my possession and I want the rogues who dared to steal it dangling by the neck from a rope.’
Daniel was as shaken as anyone at the disappearance of the tapestry. His immediate response had been to search for clues and possible witnesses. The tapestry was large and heavy. It would have taken at least three men to carry it and a cart would have been needed to take it away. Daniel knocked on the doors of all the neighbouring houses and asked if anyone had heard or seen anything on the previous night. But his efforts were in vain. No help was forthcoming. Janssen was heartbroken. Nothing he’d ever created had given him more pride and pleasure. Endless months of work had gone into it. Yet it had vanished into thin air. He had large posters printed and put them up in strategic places. Janssen was ready to offer a substantial amount of his own money for information that led to the capture of the thieves and the return of his tapestry. He was mortified when nobody came forward. Amalia had never seen him look so despondent. The shock was making her father ill.
After days of fruitless effort, Daniel reached a conclusion.
‘The thieves had an accomplice,’ he told Amalia. ‘They were helped by someone under this roof.’
‘That’s impossible,’ she said, hotly. ‘Nobody would dare to betray Father.’
‘I’m not saying he was a willing accomplice. It’s just that he unwittingly helped the villains. How did they know that such an important and valuable tapestry was here in the first place?’
‘They couldn’t have known, Daniel.’
‘Exactly,’ he said. ‘Apart from your father, only Kees, Aelbert and Nick knew what they’d been working on and when it would be finished. The thieves bided their time until they knew it was complete.’
‘Kees is dumb so we can exclude him at once.’
‘Then it has to be either Aelbert or Nick. One of them has a loose tongue.’
‘In that case, it must be Nick. Aelbert is laconic at the best of times. He prefers a quiet life. It’s Nick who visits a tavern from time to time.’
‘Doesn’t your father warn him not to talk about his work?’
‘Yes,’ said Amalia, ‘he insists on privacy and all who work for him have sworn to maintain it. Somehow, one of them – Nick, most likely – let it slip out. He’ll be cursing himself for doing that.’
‘Not if he can remember when and where it happened,’ said Daniel. ‘If Nick can recall the name of the tavern and the day when he talked about his work, the landlord may be able to remember who else was there on that occasion. Winter’s been bad for business. If he had few customers when Nick Geel was there, the landlord should be able to give us their names.’
Amalia was rueful. ‘I should’ve paid more attention to Beatrix.’
‘Why?’
‘She said that someone was watching the house. I didn’t believe her.’
‘It proves that nobody here was in league with
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