The Amorous Nightingale

    'Do you have that list with you?'

    'Of course,' said Christopher, producing it from his pocket to give it to him. 'Please disregard the last name.'

    'If only I could!' said Killigrew, looking at it with disgust.

    'I interviewed Sir William D'Avenant myself. He's not implicated.'

    'He'd do all he could to seduce Harriet away from me.'

    'Would he condone violence and murder?'

    'He'd roast his grandmother on a spit in the middle of a stage if he thought it would increase his income at the theatre.

    But no,' conceded the manager, 'not murder. I think the old crow would stop short of that.'

    'What of the other names?'

    'Henry has worked hard. He's got most of Harriet's close friends down here - and her enemies. In fact, there's only one person he hasn't put down and that's Martin Eldridge.'

    'A friend or an enemy, sir?'

    'Oh, a friend. No shadow of a doubt about that. Indeed, I have my suspicions that Martin Eldridge may have been elevated beyond the level of friendship by Harriet. She was deeply upset when I had to terminate his contract,' Killigrew said, lovingly caressing his moustache. 'She more or less pleaded with me to give Martin a second chance.'

    'Second chance?'

    'That's what Harriet called it. By my reckoning, it would have been more like a sixth or seventh chance.'

    'Was he a member of the company here?'

    'Yes. Martin was a clever actor - he might even have been a great one if he'd had the sense to apply himself, but he was too lazy. Too easily distracted. I'm a tolerant man, Mr Redmayne,' Killigrew announced with an intolerant scowl, 'but I'll not stand for wayward behaviour. I expect my actors to work at their craft. Martin Eldridge failed to do that.'

    'What is he doing now?'

    'What all unemployed actors do. Either look for work elsewhere, which means submitting themselves to that noseless monster who stalks The Duke's Theatre, or sponge off rich women.'

    'How would I find him?'

    'Talk to Abigail Saunders. She may be able to help you.'

    'I was going to ask your permission to speak to the lady, in any case,' said Christopher. 'It crossed Henry's mind that she might somehow be involved in the abduction of Harriet Gow.'

    'Abigail?' Killigrew shook his head. 'She'd never sink to that.'

    'Miss Saunders is the main beneficiary of her absence.'

    'But she isn't.'

    'Then who is?'

    'That rotting old lecher, Sir William D'Avenant. Can you believe that Abigail once granted him her favours? Well, yes,' he said with an oily grin, 'if you've the slightest knowledge of actresses, you can believe anything of them, I daresay. I certainly do. What a peculiar breed they are! Warrior queens with the faces of harmless cherubs.'

    'Is Miss Saunders a warrior queen?'

    'Decide for yourself, Mr Redmayne. Abigail should be here any minute for another rehearsal. She saved the day yesterday afternoon. And in view of what you've told me,' he sighed, 'she may have to come to our rescue for quite some time.'

    The man rode hard along the deserted road. By the time he reached the house, his temper was up and his horse was lathered with sweat. The woman greeted him with a token curtsey at the door. She had removed her mask to reveal plain features lit by a pair of gimlet eyes. Storming past her, the visitor went straight into the drawing room where the other guard was waiting for him, his own mask now discarded. The newcomer was inches shorter and far slimmer in build but he was not intimidated by the burly figure of Arthur Oscott before him. Snapping his whip hard against his thigh, he glared accusingly at the man.

    'Why did you let it happen?' he demanded.

    'I was only following orders, sir.'

    'Your orders were to keep both of them under lock and key.'

    'The girl escaped,' Oscott said. 'We couldn't let her get away or she'd have raised the alarm. She had to be stopped.'

    'Stopped and brought back here. Not beaten to death.'

    'They got carried away, sir.'

    'Carried away!' fumed his employer.

    'When they caught up with the girl, she screamed and fought back. Smeek said they had to shut her up.'

    'So they did - permanently.'

    'I'd blame Froggatt, sir. Too eager with that cudgel. Ben Froggatt doesn't know his own strength. He's the one who done her in. When they came back, I gave him the sharp side of my tongue, I can tell you.'

    'If I'd been here, he'd have had the point of my sword. Reckless fool! He could have ruined the whole plan.' He pointed the whip. 'And whose idea was it to deliver the body to the Palace?'

    'Mine,' admitted Oscott. 'You told me I was to use my initiative.'

    'That was when I thought you had a brain.'

    'We had to frighten them, you said. Force them into paying the ransom. What better way to show them we weren't to be trifled with than by sending a message like that?' Oscott was unrepentant. 'I was trying to turn the situation to our advantage, sir. Thanks to Froggatt, we suddenly had a dead body on our hands. We could hardly keep it here. Smeek has his boat so I got him and Froggatt to row downriver to the Palace under cover of darkness.'

    'Are you sure they weren't seen?'

    'They swear it.'

    'Where did they leave her?'

    'By the steps.'

    'And they got away safely?'

    'Yes, sir. They're well versed in their trade.'

    'I was told that you were as well,' snarled the other, 'but you let me down, Oscott. How on earth did that maidservant escape when two of you were guarding her all day long?'

    'Knotted bed linen. She lowered herself into the garden.'

    'Then the girl showed more initiative than you've managed.'

    'It may all turn out for the best, sir,' argued the other.

    'Mrs Gow was not to be harmed. I stressed that.'

    'I know.'

    'And I didn't just mean physical harm, you dolt! Think how she'll feel when she finds out what's happened to this Mary Hibbert. She'll be distraught. Keeping her locked up here is punishment enough in itself. There was no need to kill her maid.' 'It wasn't my fault,' said Oscott, thrown on the defensive.

    'Of course it was! You hired Smeek and Froggatt - and that other bully boy who helped us in the ambush. Choose reliable men, that was my instruction. Not imbeciles.' He walked around the room to calm himself down, tapping the end of his whip into the palm of his hand. 'Well, let's hope we can retrieve the situation. Who knows? It might even serve our ends. It might just scare the money out of His Majesty's purse.' He came to a sudden halt. 'Where is Mrs Gow?'

    'Sealed up in the bedchamber, sir.'

    'Safely?'

    'There's no way she can get out. The door is locked and the window has been boarded up. I saw to it myself.'

    'Closing the stable door after the horse had bolted.'

    'Mrs Gow is still here. She's the important one, isn't she?'

    'Yes,' agreed the other. 'Mrs Gow is the only important one. As long as we have her, we can put pressure on them to hand over the money.' He looked upwards. 'What have you told her about Mary Hibbert?'

    Oscott looked uneasy. 'Nothing, sir.'

    'Are you sure?'

    'We just let her know that the girl had been caught.'

    'And how did you do that?'

    'Mary Hibbert was wearing a brooch. We left it on Mrs Gow's bed.'

    'Why didn't you leave the dead body while you were at it!' roared the other, charging back to him. 'You've as good as told her that the girl will have no need for the brooch again. Was this another example of your famous initiative?'