The Tudor Secret - C. W. Gortner [15]
“Take her arrival today, for example,” he continued. “She steals into the city without prior warning, and only once she’s reached her manor does she send word requesting leave as to when she may visit her brother, as her sister, the Lady Mary, did a few months past.” He let out a staccato laugh. “Now, there’s pure connivance, if ever I saw it. God forbid she should put herself at our mercy or that her papist sister should outdo her. And she knows we dare not refuse her, for just as she planned, rumors of her arrival run like wildfire through the city. She wants us to know no Dudley is more powerful than her.”
He spoke as if it were an elaborate game, when it was clear Elizabeth must have come to London because she’d heard rumors of her brother’s impending death. Once again I fought back the near-overwhelming sensation that I should be doing everything possible to escape this errand. Why put myself in harm’s way? Why risk becoming Lord Robert’s victim again? Inviting as it was, freedom from servitude seemed a rather remote possibility at this particular moment.
I drew in a steadying breath. “Why would she even heed me? We’ve never met.”
“She’ll heed you because I am her friend, whom she’s never had cause to doubt. She knows I am not my father. I will not play her false.” He fished under his gauntlet, tossed a ring at me. “Give her this. She will understand. But do it in private; I don’t want that busybody matron of hers, that Mistress Ashley, knowing my business. Tell her I’ve been delayed but I will send word soon, by the usual route, so we can meet alone. Tell her I will have what I was promised.”
He took a menacing step toward me. “And don’t let her out of your sight, not even if she dismisses you. I want a full accounting of her actions, from the time she enters the palace until she leaves.” He unhooked a pouch from his belt and dropped it by the taper, which was melting onto the floor. “There’ll be more if you succeed. Who knows? You could end up a rich man, Prescott. The water gate lies straight ahead. After you’ve done as I ask, feel free to enjoy yourself. Elizabeth always retires early. Find yourself a cunt. Drink. Eat till you puke. Only don’t breathe a word to anyone, and be in my chamber by the stroke of nine tomorrow.”
He unlatched the door. When I heard his footsteps fade away, I grabbed the pouch and fled from the room. As I stood gulping air in the corridor, I untied the pouch with quivering fingers. It contained more than I could imagine. A few more like this and I could buy my way to the New World, if need be.
All I had to do was deliver Lord Robert’s ring.
Chapter Five
I trekked down a series of corridors, passing from the palace into sudden night.
Torches mounted on the walls converted Whitehall’s mullioned bays into opaque eyes. A near-full moon rode in the sky, rimming the knot garden before me in a tarnished glow. There were copses of willows and fragrant herb patches, edged by a waist-high yew hedge that lined the path to moss-licked river steps and a private landing quay. Three guards swathed in wool stood near the quay; a lit iron brazier beside them cast fiery reflections onto the river.
There was no one else in sight.
The soughing of water reached me. I might have enjoyed the unexpected tranquility and the balm of the night, had I not the dilemma of what to do next. I didn’t know when the princess would arrive and I couldn’t simply approach and state my desire to speak with her. No guard worth his salt would be amenable to a stranger lacking proof of identity, save for the badge on my sleeve, which could be stolen, and a ring I couldn’t show.
The opportunity would have to present itself. I tarried under the palace shadow, listening to water shred against stone. When I discerned a distinct, more rhythmic splash, I readied myself.
A canopied barge glided into view.
The guards formed rank. From within the garden, a trim figure suddenly materialized. A jolt went through me when I recognized Master Cecil. Another man dressed entirely in black emerged to stand