Heartstone

'George,' I said, 'I wonder if I might ask yet another favour.'

He looked at me curiously. 'Yes?'

I nodded at the men. 'It is confidential.'

He sighed. 'Come round the side of the warehouse.'

We went round the corner, out of earshot of the company.

'Did it not go well today?' I asked.

'The whole company has been on the Great Harry. God's death, the size of that ship. It has enough cannon to conquer Hell itself. None of the lads had encountered anything like it. Even when we were climbing up the rope ladder, a gust of wind came and it started swinging to and fro, us clinging on like snails to a drainpipe. I could see the men were terrified of tumbling into the sea. Then on board they all slid and fell with every little movement of the sea. And they didn't like being under that netting.'

'I have heard of it. Fixed above the decks, so boarders would fall on top of it. With soldiers carrying small pikes standing underneath.'

'The mesh on the netting is thick, you feel hemmed in standing under it. And if anything happened to the ship, if it went over, you'd be trapped under it.' He laughed; something wild in the sound made me frown. 'Not that most of the men can swim. We should have been given more time to practise; we've been here a week. The men are getting bored and irritable doing nothing, hence the desertions. You can't easily replace skilled archers. The sailors laughed at them sliding about, which didn't help. The sailors go barefoot, clinging to the deck like cats.'

'Soldiers and sailors must fight the same battle. If it comes.'

'In two or three days, from what they say.' The haunted look was back in his eyes. 'We've been told we're going to the Great Harry. As the flagship she will be at the head of the line. The men are all cast down, and Snodin doesn't help, snarling at them over every grumble they make. Being on the ship, he hasn't had a drink all day and that doesn't aid his temper.' He sighed. 'Well, Matthew, what is this favour?'

'George, I would not trouble you were it not important. But a woman's fate may be at stake. I need to speak again to Philip West, that I saw at the Godshouse.' I took a deep breath. 'He is on the Mary Rose. I want to know if you can help me get on board there, this evening, to talk to him.'

Leacon looked doubtful. 'Matthew, they are only allowing people with official business on the ships.' He looked out to sea. The big rowboats had lit their lanterns now, little points of light dancing on the water. The setting sun outlined the ships from behind in a fiery glow.

'Please,' I said. 'It's important.'

He considered. 'Easy enough to pay a boatman to take us over to the Mary Rose, but getting on board may be another matter even with me there. You certainly won't get on without me. Very well. But I cannot take long, I need to get back to camp; the men are downhearted and they must make ready to parade before the King tomorrow morning.' He brushed away a mosquito; now dark was coming they were starting to whine around our ears.

'George, I am more grateful than I can say.'

'First I must wait until the rest of the men arrive with Sir Franklin. He can lead them back to camp, then—'

He broke off. Snodin, out of sight, was yelling furiously. 'Stand up! Stand, you lazy slugs!'

'God's death,' Leacon muttered. 'He'll go too far—' He walked rapidly round the warehouse, Barak and I following. Many of the men now lay sprawled on the ground. Snodin was haranguing them furiously. 'Lazy bastards! Stand up! You're not in your dirty houses now!'

Nobody moved. Carswell said, 'We're tired! Why shouldn't we rest?'

'The captain told you to wait, not lie on the ground like fucking toads!' The whiffler was almost beside himself, purple jowls trembling with fury.

Everyone turned as Leacon appeared. 'Don't talk to Master Snodin like that, Carswell!' he snapped.

Pygeon stood, pointing a shaking finger at the whiffler. 'Sir, he's been throwing abuse at us all day, all we wanted was to rest our legs after being on that ship!'

'Afraid, jug ears?' Sulyard called out contemptuously.

Then a new voice spoke up. 'If going on the flagship's such an honour, let the King come and serve on it!' Snodin turned and stared at Tom Llewellyn. The boy, normally so quiet, had stood up to face him. 'Let King Henry come and do this for sixpence a day, that's worth less than fivepence now!'

'And let us go back and get ready for the harvest!' another man called. Snodin whirled from speaker to speaker, so quickly it made some of the men laugh. Leacon stepped forward and grasped the whiffler by the shoulder. 'Calmly, Master Snodin,' he said in a low voice. 'Calmly.'

Snodin stood, breathing heavily. 'They have to be ready for battle, sir.'

'And they will be!' Leacon raised his voice. 'Come, lads, it's been a hard day, but I have been on ships before and you soon find your balance. And I have seen to it that a cow has been slaughtered for your meal tonight. Stand now, ready for Sir Franklin. See, the rest of the company are pulling up at the wharf!'

For a second nothing happened. Then, slowly, all rose to their feet. Leacon walked Snodin away a short distance and spoke quietly in his ear. Barak and I went over to where Carswell and young Llewellyn stood together nearby. 'Bold words, lad,' Barak said to Llewellyn.

The boy still looked angry. 'I'd had enough,' he answered. 'After today—we've all had enough.'

Carswell looked at me. There was no humour in his face any more. 'It's real now,' he said. 'I see what it'll be like if there's a battle. If the Great Harry grapples with a French warship it'll be cannon tearing into us, pikes thrust up at our bowels from their decks if we board. I always thought I had a knack for imagining things, Master Shardlake, but I could never conjure anything like that ship.'

'The size of it,' Llewellyn said wonderingly. 'It's as big as our church back home; those masts are like steeples. I thought, how can such a thing float? Each time the deck shifted I thought it was sinking.'

'The pitching of a ship is strange at first,' I said, 'but Captain Leacon is right, you get used to it.'

'We practised shooting our bows from the upper decks,' Carswell said, 'but the ship kept moving and throwing us off balance. The sailors were all laughing and guffawing, the malt worms. And it's hard to draw fully under that netting.'

Pygeon had come over to us. 'You spoke well, Tom,' he said. 'All this to save King Harry, that doesn't give a toss if we live or die.'

Carswell said, 'But if the French win they'll do to our people what we did to them last year. There's no help for it, we must fight.'

Sulyard shouted across, 'What're you plotting, Pygeon, you treasonous papist?'

'He's been trying to keep his courage together all day,' Carswell said contemptuously. 'The more he shouts the more you know he's frightened.' He looked at me. 'Why have you come back to this damned place, sir?'

Suddenly a well modulated voice called out, 'How now, what's this?' Sir Franklin had appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed as usual in fine doublet, lace collar and sleeves, the rest of the company behind him. 'Where's Leacon?' Leacon went over to him, followed by Snodin, who looked surly. Sir Franklin peered at them. 'Ah, there you are. All well?'

'Yes. Sir Franklin, I wonder if you would lead the men back to camp? Master Shardlake has asked me to do something for him.'

'Legal business?' Sir Franklin looked at me dubiously. 'You here again, sir? You don't want to get yourself too tangled up with lawyers, Leacon.'

'It should not take much beyond an hour.'

I said, 'I would be grateful indeed if you would allow it, Sir Franklin.'

He grunted. 'Well, don't be long. Come, Snodin, you look as though someone had dropped a bag of flour on your head.'