about your
fidelity
, that’s
all I’m saying. And knows she’ll get from you only the unwaxed truth as you see it… and that your vision’s far-reaching. And right now that’s worth a lot.’
So why doesn’t she pay me a lot? Or even anything.
Dudley looked at his empty cup, but I didn’t offer to refill it. Couldn’t anyway – we had no more wine.
‘Now tell
me
the truth,’ he said. ‘Why precisely did you ask to see me? What am I doing here?’
‘Because I would not have been able to live with myself if I returned to find you’d been—’
‘Returned from where?’ He looked up quickly. ‘Where are you going?’
I saw no reason to avoid the truth. I told him I must needs fulfil a promise to the Queen. In relation to her professed interest in scrying through a shewstone. Spoke aloud, it sounded almost
foolish, but he, if anyone, would know that it wasn’t. He was already nodding.
‘She talked of that. She was… enthused.’
‘When was this?’
‘Not long ago.’
Avoiding my eyes, which seemed to confirm a long-held suspicion of mine that there’d been a least one meeting between Dudley and the Queen since Amy’s death. A guarded meeting, no
doubt, away from court. Hooded figures in a palace garden, a covered barge on the river.
‘I told the Queen I’d acquired a crystal sphere. And would be working with it. And that I’d report back to her.’
I saw Dudley looking around the darkening workplace.
‘You won’t see one here,’ I said. ‘God knows, I’ve been trying to
find
one.’
Dudley began to laugh.
‘You mean one you can afford?’
‘The ones I can afford would probably be useless for my purposes. You’re right, I’m a clown. However…’
Told him, in some detail, about the crystal sphere last heard of in a former abbey in the Welsh borderlands. Finding I had his full attention.
‘So you don’t know if it’s still there and you’re fairly sure you wouldn’t be able to afford it, but you’re planning a long and arduous ride to find
out?’
‘Haven’t decided yet. But the fact remains that Cecil wants me out of town for a while.’
‘You mean out of the reach of Blanche Parry. Can’t help wondering if Cecil wasn’t told about the plan to consult you by Mistress Parry herself – his fellow Welshie. Who
may also disapprove of Bess’s taste in men. She’s polite to me, is old Blanche, but ever somewhat distant. Uncommon that, for a woman of whatever age.’
‘Robbie, she’s distant from
me
, and I’m her cousin.’
‘
Cousin.
Half of Wales is your cousin. Look at that bastard – isn’t
he
a cousin? The notorious villain, Thomas…’
‘Jones. Thomas Jones.’
‘Who robbed his betters on the road. Almost openly.
Is
he your cousin?’
‘Betrothed to my cousin, Joanne. And I don’t ask what he did or to whom. He was young then. Reformed now, anyway. A scholar, with a doctorate. And given a royal pardon.’
Dudley snorted.
‘Bess is quite ridiculously tolerant towards the Welsh.’
‘Perhaps because she
is
Welsh.’
‘She is
not
Welsh! Her grandfather was Welsh. Partly. So you think Cecil might try and have me slain, do you?’
The sky momentarily was shadowed by a flock of birds going to roost, the dimmed window glass turning Dudley’s fine doublet from its mourning indigo to black.
‘He likes you,’ I said. ‘But he might not shed tears over your corpse.’
His lips tightened, vanishing into his once-proud moustache, now straggled and uneven.
‘I… had a servant die, John. Couple of days ago. A kitchen maid. Spasms of the gut, and dead within an hour. I… ordered all the meat in the house taken out and
buried.’
‘You’re thinking poison?’
‘If
I
died from it, people would say it was no more than divine justice.’ He stared up at me, his face twisting into wretchedness in an instant, the way a child’s does.
‘They can all say what the hell they like, now I’m exiled from court, and nobody visits me for fear
fidelity
, that’s
all I’m saying. And knows she’ll get from you only the unwaxed truth as you see it… and that your vision’s far-reaching. And right now that’s worth a lot.’
So why doesn’t she pay me a lot? Or even anything.
Dudley looked at his empty cup, but I didn’t offer to refill it. Couldn’t anyway – we had no more wine.
‘Now tell
me
the truth,’ he said. ‘Why precisely did you ask to see me? What am I doing here?’
‘Because I would not have been able to live with myself if I returned to find you’d been—’
‘Returned from where?’ He looked up quickly. ‘Where are you going?’
I saw no reason to avoid the truth. I told him I must needs fulfil a promise to the Queen. In relation to her professed interest in scrying through a shewstone. Spoke aloud, it sounded almost
foolish, but he, if anyone, would know that it wasn’t. He was already nodding.
‘She talked of that. She was… enthused.’
‘When was this?’
‘Not long ago.’
Avoiding my eyes, which seemed to confirm a long-held suspicion of mine that there’d been a least one meeting between Dudley and the Queen since Amy’s death. A guarded meeting, no
doubt, away from court. Hooded figures in a palace garden, a covered barge on the river.
‘I told the Queen I’d acquired a crystal sphere. And would be working with it. And that I’d report back to her.’
I saw Dudley looking around the darkening workplace.
‘You won’t see one here,’ I said. ‘God knows, I’ve been trying to
find
one.’
Dudley began to laugh.
‘You mean one you can afford?’
‘The ones I can afford would probably be useless for my purposes. You’re right, I’m a clown. However…’
Told him, in some detail, about the crystal sphere last heard of in a former abbey in the Welsh borderlands. Finding I had his full attention.
‘So you don’t know if it’s still there and you’re fairly sure you wouldn’t be able to afford it, but you’re planning a long and arduous ride to find
out?’
‘Haven’t decided yet. But the fact remains that Cecil wants me out of town for a while.’
‘You mean out of the reach of Blanche Parry. Can’t help wondering if Cecil wasn’t told about the plan to consult you by Mistress Parry herself – his fellow Welshie. Who
may also disapprove of Bess’s taste in men. She’s polite to me, is old Blanche, but ever somewhat distant. Uncommon that, for a woman of whatever age.’
‘Robbie, she’s distant from
me
, and I’m her cousin.’
‘
Cousin.
Half of Wales is your cousin. Look at that bastard – isn’t
he
a cousin? The notorious villain, Thomas…’
‘Jones. Thomas Jones.’
‘Who robbed his betters on the road. Almost openly.
Is
he your cousin?’
‘Betrothed to my cousin, Joanne. And I don’t ask what he did or to whom. He was young then. Reformed now, anyway. A scholar, with a doctorate. And given a royal pardon.’
Dudley snorted.
‘Bess is quite ridiculously tolerant towards the Welsh.’
‘Perhaps because she
is
Welsh.’
‘She is
not
Welsh! Her grandfather was Welsh. Partly. So you think Cecil might try and have me slain, do you?’
The sky momentarily was shadowed by a flock of birds going to roost, the dimmed window glass turning Dudley’s fine doublet from its mourning indigo to black.
‘He likes you,’ I said. ‘But he might not shed tears over your corpse.’
His lips tightened, vanishing into his once-proud moustache, now straggled and uneven.
‘I… had a servant die, John. Couple of days ago. A kitchen maid. Spasms of the gut, and dead within an hour. I… ordered all the meat in the house taken out and
buried.’
‘You’re thinking poison?’
‘If
I
died from it, people would say it was no more than divine justice.’ He stared up at me, his face twisting into wretchedness in an instant, the way a child’s does.
‘They can all say what the hell they like, now I’m exiled from court, and nobody visits me for fear
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