king, as you would put it, why would I not admit my guilt for the very much lesser killing of a baron?’ There were angry cries behind me, and again I raised my arm to quell the revolt.
‘Then what is it that you do here?’ I could not bring myself to bestow the correct dignity of ‘My Lord’ upon this villain.
‘Two reasons. First, Sir Matthew, I tell you to your face that the noble lord, there, was killed not by me, but by another. There is a dark force abroad in this land, an enemy to us all -’
Lydford North scoffed at that. ‘You are the only dark force here, John Bale. And you will perish at my hand, that I swear.’
‘This,’ I demanded contemptuously, ‘would be the same dark force that sought to kill me upon the streets of this city so very recently? A dark force that you yourself have unleashed?’
Lord Bale ignored North; his eyes were fixed upon me alone. ‘Believe whomsoever you wish to believe, Sir Matthew Quinton. I have been here for six years, you for barely six days, and I now know this land nearly as well as did the noble lord, yonder. I say there is an evil at work in this benighted realm of Sweden – an evil that transcends the petty quarrel of Cavalier and Roundhead. Yes, those who tried to kill you served it, but they did not serve
me
.’ He nodded toward Conisbrough’s coffin. ‘And if you seek proof that I did not kill he who lies yonder, consider my second reason for wishing to come here tonight.’
‘That being?’
‘Correct me if, in my absence, the present King Charles’s Parliament has passed new laws to the contrary,’ said Bale heavily, ‘but as I recall, it has always been customary in England for a man’s closest relation to be the chief mourner at his funeral.’ I glanced at North, but his face was impassive. ‘Conisbrough was my good-father,’ Bale continued. ‘His daughter is my wife, although I have not seen her these six years. Why do you think I chose Gothenburg as my place of exile, when I could have lived out my days in warmer climes? I have been under his secret protection all this time, despite his detestation of my part in the High Court of Justice.’ Thus the malcontents termed that illegal monstrosity, the sham-court which condemned a King of England to death by beheading. ‘He hated me and the fact that his daughter loved me, but I loved and respected him, Sir Matthew . Believe it or not, for that is your prerogative, but for me to kill Peregrine Conisbrough would be akin to killing myself. Our quarrel at the Landtshere’s was brought about by our differences over the future of one dear to us both.’ Bale’s eyes narrowed. ‘And that, gentlemen, is the crux of my innocence. For think upon this. What man would kill his own son’s grandfather?’
With that, Bale nodded curtly to me and turned, making no acknowledgment at all of Lydford North. With Wood and his guards flanking him, he walked out into the bitter Swedish night. Through the openwest door, I saw that the snow was falling again.
* * *
I was in my great cabin aboard the
Cressy
, making final preparations for the embassy to the High Chancellor. Or rather, Musk was making the preparations, commanding such-and-such to be placed within my travelling chest and such-and-such to be removed, ordering my young servants Ives and Upton hither and thither, while addressing me with only a modicum of greater respect.
‘Will Sir Matthew really be requiring a
third
sword upon the journey? A good snowfall will do for Sir Matthew’s better hats. Lady Quinton will be displeased if Sir Matthew ruins yet another pair of French breeches –’
‘Enough, Musk, in God’s name!’ I was still not best pleased with him for concealing from me the knowledge of my brother having been in Sweden; I had tasked him with the matter during our journey back to the
Cressy
, but he pleaded innocence as only Phineas Musk could. ‘Forty-nine was a desperate year,’ he said, ‘and My Lord was employed much upon
‘Then what is it that you do here?’ I could not bring myself to bestow the correct dignity of ‘My Lord’ upon this villain.
‘Two reasons. First, Sir Matthew, I tell you to your face that the noble lord, there, was killed not by me, but by another. There is a dark force abroad in this land, an enemy to us all -’
Lydford North scoffed at that. ‘You are the only dark force here, John Bale. And you will perish at my hand, that I swear.’
‘This,’ I demanded contemptuously, ‘would be the same dark force that sought to kill me upon the streets of this city so very recently? A dark force that you yourself have unleashed?’
Lord Bale ignored North; his eyes were fixed upon me alone. ‘Believe whomsoever you wish to believe, Sir Matthew Quinton. I have been here for six years, you for barely six days, and I now know this land nearly as well as did the noble lord, yonder. I say there is an evil at work in this benighted realm of Sweden – an evil that transcends the petty quarrel of Cavalier and Roundhead. Yes, those who tried to kill you served it, but they did not serve
me
.’ He nodded toward Conisbrough’s coffin. ‘And if you seek proof that I did not kill he who lies yonder, consider my second reason for wishing to come here tonight.’
‘That being?’
‘Correct me if, in my absence, the present King Charles’s Parliament has passed new laws to the contrary,’ said Bale heavily, ‘but as I recall, it has always been customary in England for a man’s closest relation to be the chief mourner at his funeral.’ I glanced at North, but his face was impassive. ‘Conisbrough was my good-father,’ Bale continued. ‘His daughter is my wife, although I have not seen her these six years. Why do you think I chose Gothenburg as my place of exile, when I could have lived out my days in warmer climes? I have been under his secret protection all this time, despite his detestation of my part in the High Court of Justice.’ Thus the malcontents termed that illegal monstrosity, the sham-court which condemned a King of England to death by beheading. ‘He hated me and the fact that his daughter loved me, but I loved and respected him, Sir Matthew . Believe it or not, for that is your prerogative, but for me to kill Peregrine Conisbrough would be akin to killing myself. Our quarrel at the Landtshere’s was brought about by our differences over the future of one dear to us both.’ Bale’s eyes narrowed. ‘And that, gentlemen, is the crux of my innocence. For think upon this. What man would kill his own son’s grandfather?’
With that, Bale nodded curtly to me and turned, making no acknowledgment at all of Lydford North. With Wood and his guards flanking him, he walked out into the bitter Swedish night. Through the openwest door, I saw that the snow was falling again.
* * *
I was in my great cabin aboard the
Cressy
, making final preparations for the embassy to the High Chancellor. Or rather, Musk was making the preparations, commanding such-and-such to be placed within my travelling chest and such-and-such to be removed, ordering my young servants Ives and Upton hither and thither, while addressing me with only a modicum of greater respect.
‘Will Sir Matthew really be requiring a
third
sword upon the journey? A good snowfall will do for Sir Matthew’s better hats. Lady Quinton will be displeased if Sir Matthew ruins yet another pair of French breeches –’
‘Enough, Musk, in God’s name!’ I was still not best pleased with him for concealing from me the knowledge of my brother having been in Sweden; I had tasked him with the matter during our journey back to the
Cressy
, but he pleaded innocence as only Phineas Musk could. ‘Forty-nine was a desperate year,’ he said, ‘and My Lord was employed much upon
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