even the sensational break-in at Westminster could push the royal murder case off as the top story. Still thinking about Howler and the prince, he watched the arrival of the American lawyer whom the princess had hired and saw Smithers ambush her in the terminal. Smithers was the worse kind of creep, a tabloid reporter who would make up a story if he couldn’t find one. Dutton himself refused to completely make up a story. Someone had to tell him that he or she had actually seen Elvis or had been raped by an alien.
Of course, after the basics were established, it was up to him to give the rest of the story.
What Smithers pulled on the lawyer was a shabby trick, but Dutton had to admit that it was effective. The TV news carried the lawyer’s look of surprise at the ambush. Dutton would bet that the woman’s gaping mouth would highlight the front page of Burn tomorrow.
As Dutton watched Marlowe James on the tube, it occurred to him that he might have something in common with the American lawyer. It would be in the interest of her client if there was any dirt out there on the Prince of Wales that could help the princess. And Dutton needed information about Howler and his “invitation” to the royal ball. Not to mention a copy of the letter, if one existed.
He wondered if the princess’s defense team knew about the letter. Wouldn’t it be something she would tell them? They would have to have the letter; it only made sense. It would be part of her defense, probably her main defense. Though killing the crown prince because she thought he was going to have her killed might be a little premature.
“Is it legal if you kill someone because you thought they were going to kill you?” he asked the bird.
“Freakkkk!”
The PRINCESS IN THE TOWER
She had a child-like confidence … that one day a man whom she could love and who loved her would come into her life.
She had always imagined him coming to her like a crusading knight riding a fiery half-tamed horse over the green steppes and nothing would matter but their ecstatic love for each other.
—BARBARA CARTLAND,
THE PROUD PRINCESS
Life is 70 percent slog and 30 percent fantastic.
—DIANA,
PRINCESS OF WALES
12
Tower of London
“It was originally a fortress, dating back to Roman times,” Hall told Marlowe as the Rolls arrived at the infamous tower. “It’s housed the nation’s gold and the crown jewels, it’s survived attacks by terrorists, revolutionaries, and Nazi bombs, but the Tower of London is probably most famous as a prison and for its escapes.”
“Didn’t Mary, Queen of Scots, lose her head here?”
“Actually, she was held prisoner here, I believe, but her head was removed at Fotheringhay Castle near Peterborough. But many other famous heads and souls were severed here, Anne Boleyn, one of Henry the VIII’s doomed wives, Sir Walter Raleigh, the conspirator Guy Fawkes, Sir Thomas More, who refused to recognize old Henry as head of the Church of England and whom the Pope later canonized. I’m sure there’s a list posted somewhere for tourists. Also, there are the ghosts.”
“Of course, there is always one in a haunted castle.”
“This one has several dozen, I’m afraid. The most notorious is Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. Catherine was only about twenty when she married the king. After just over a year, he found out she had had premarital relations with other men. He had her and two of her former lovers beheaded.”
“He had her executed for having lovers before marriage?”
“He probably got tired of her and having her head chopped off was an easy way out. There is a tradition that she haunts both Hampton Court, a palace where she tried to escape her captors, and the Tower of London, where she was executed.” He pointed at one of the twelve towers of the castle. “That one is known as the Bloody Tower. It’s said that the boy-king Edward V and his brother, Richard, the Duke of York, were murdered
Of course, after the basics were established, it was up to him to give the rest of the story.
What Smithers pulled on the lawyer was a shabby trick, but Dutton had to admit that it was effective. The TV news carried the lawyer’s look of surprise at the ambush. Dutton would bet that the woman’s gaping mouth would highlight the front page of Burn tomorrow.
As Dutton watched Marlowe James on the tube, it occurred to him that he might have something in common with the American lawyer. It would be in the interest of her client if there was any dirt out there on the Prince of Wales that could help the princess. And Dutton needed information about Howler and his “invitation” to the royal ball. Not to mention a copy of the letter, if one existed.
He wondered if the princess’s defense team knew about the letter. Wouldn’t it be something she would tell them? They would have to have the letter; it only made sense. It would be part of her defense, probably her main defense. Though killing the crown prince because she thought he was going to have her killed might be a little premature.
“Is it legal if you kill someone because you thought they were going to kill you?” he asked the bird.
“Freakkkk!”
The PRINCESS IN THE TOWER
She had a child-like confidence … that one day a man whom she could love and who loved her would come into her life.
She had always imagined him coming to her like a crusading knight riding a fiery half-tamed horse over the green steppes and nothing would matter but their ecstatic love for each other.
—BARBARA CARTLAND,
THE PROUD PRINCESS
Life is 70 percent slog and 30 percent fantastic.
—DIANA,
PRINCESS OF WALES
12
Tower of London
“It was originally a fortress, dating back to Roman times,” Hall told Marlowe as the Rolls arrived at the infamous tower. “It’s housed the nation’s gold and the crown jewels, it’s survived attacks by terrorists, revolutionaries, and Nazi bombs, but the Tower of London is probably most famous as a prison and for its escapes.”
“Didn’t Mary, Queen of Scots, lose her head here?”
“Actually, she was held prisoner here, I believe, but her head was removed at Fotheringhay Castle near Peterborough. But many other famous heads and souls were severed here, Anne Boleyn, one of Henry the VIII’s doomed wives, Sir Walter Raleigh, the conspirator Guy Fawkes, Sir Thomas More, who refused to recognize old Henry as head of the Church of England and whom the Pope later canonized. I’m sure there’s a list posted somewhere for tourists. Also, there are the ghosts.”
“Of course, there is always one in a haunted castle.”
“This one has several dozen, I’m afraid. The most notorious is Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. Catherine was only about twenty when she married the king. After just over a year, he found out she had had premarital relations with other men. He had her and two of her former lovers beheaded.”
“He had her executed for having lovers before marriage?”
“He probably got tired of her and having her head chopped off was an easy way out. There is a tradition that she haunts both Hampton Court, a palace where she tried to escape her captors, and the Tower of London, where she was executed.” He pointed at one of the twelve towers of the castle. “That one is known as the Bloody Tower. It’s said that the boy-king Edward V and his brother, Richard, the Duke of York, were murdered
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