The Amorous Nightingale

    'It was my wife's idea.'

    'Oh, was it now?'

    'She thought we should punish Mrs Gow.'

    'Whatever for?'

    'Helping her maid to escape.'

    'Your wife's every bit as stupid as her husband.'

    'We've done what we're paid for,' reasoned Oscott. 'We set up the ambush and brought Mrs Gow here. That's what you wanted.'

    'Granted,' said the visitor. 'What I didn't want was the taint of murder on our hands. It was so unnecessary. Where are those two madmen now, Smeek and Froggatt?'

    'Gone back to London.'

    'Can they be trusted?'

    'Yes, sir. They know how to keep their mouths shut.'

    'I don't want any of this leading back to me.'

    'Smeek and Froggatt don't even know your name, sir,' Oscott reminded him. 'No more do I. That was your stipulation. You're safe, sir. None of this can be connected with you.'

    'It could if the trail led to this house.'

    'Only the four of us know where it is.'

    'That's two too many,' decided the other, rubbing his chin with the end of his whip. 'Smeek and Froggatt are liabilities. To be on the safe side, I think we'll move Mrs Gow.'

    'Where to, sir?'

    'Another hiding place.'

    'But why?'

    'They worry me, Oscott, those two friends of yours with the over-zealous cudgels. If they don't know where Mrs Gow is being kept, they won't be able to tell anyone where it is.'

    'But they wouldn't do that, anyway,' insisted Oscott loyally. 'Smeek served in the Navy, sir. The man's as hard as teak and twice as reliable. Ben Froggatt's just such another. He knows how to earn his money. Have no fears about Smeek and Froggatt,' he said airily. 'They won't let you down.'

    The Hope and Anchor was one of the many inns along the river that catered for sailors. With so many ships moored nearby, it was doing brisk business and its taproom was full. Smeek and Froggatt pushed their way through the crowd until they found a corner where they could raise their tankards in celebration. Short but powerful, Smeek had the weather- beaten complexion of a seafaring man. Froggatt was bigger, broader and even more rugged in appearance.

    'We done well,' he said, drinking deep.

    'Arthur Oscott didn't think so, Ben.'

    'We shut the girl up for good. Pity we didn't have time to get some fun out of her before we did it, though. Pretty thing. I got a good feel of her body when we kidnapped her. I'd have enjoyed riding that little filly.'

    'So would I,' said Smeek. 'One thing, anyway.'

    'What's that?'

    'She got us to the Palace. Never thought I'd set foot there.'

    'Well, we did,' said Froggatt, jingling coins in his hand. 'And we got our reward from Arthur for doing it. He was pleased with us in the end. Leaving that body there would be another warning, he said.'

    Smeek looked down at the money in his friend's huge palm.

    'How long will it take us to drink through that, Ben?'

    'Let's see.'

    They shared a laugh, bought more ale then joined in the general revelry. The raucous atmosphere was home to them. Drinking heavily, they were quite unaware that someone was spying on them from the doorway. It was Froggatt who peeled off first to relieve himself. He made an obscene gesture to his companion then lurched out of the inn and around to the alleyway at the rear. Undoing his breeches, he broke wind violently then urinated against the wall.

    The first blow was across the back of his neck. It made him double up in agony. Before he could turn, other blows from a heavy object rained down on his head. Froggatt flailed around madly, trying to grab his attacker, but his legs began to buckle. A final relay of blows from the cudgel sent him dropping to the ground in a pool of blood and urine.

    Roland Trigg used a foot to turn the twitching carcass over.

    'Hello, Ben,' he said with a grin. 'Remember me?'

    Abigail Saunders was circumspect. Pleased to be introduced by Killigrew to a handsome young man, she balked slightly when she realised that he was Henry Redmayne's brother. The manager left the two of them alone in her dressing room so that Christopher could try to talk his way past her obvious reservations.

    'I heard what happened to your brother,' she said with a degree of concern. 'It was dreadful. How is Henry?'

    'On the mend, Miss Saunders.'

    'Good.'

    'I'm sure he doesn't regret it.'

    'Regret what?'

    'Coming here yesterday afternoon,' said Christopher. 'Even if it cost him a beating, he wouldn't have missed your performance as Aspatia.'

    'Thank you,' she said, melting slightly.

    'Everyone tells me that you were superb.'

    'You'll have to judge for yourself, Mr Redmayne.'

    'Will there be a chance for me to do so?'

    'Possibly,' she said, turning her head to let him see her in profile. 'The play is very popular with audiences. Mr Killigrew is talking of staging it again next week.'

    'What if Mrs Gow has returned by then?'

    'There's no sign that she will. Harriet has vanished into thin air.'

    'Have you any idea where she might be?'

    'None at all.'

    She turned back to look him full in the eye, almost challenging him to question her more closely on the subject. Christopher held back. Like Henry, he sensed that she knew more than she would ever divulge but, unlike his brother, he did not want to antagonise her with a thoughtless remark. He studied her face then gave a smile of approval.

    'Henry was right,' he said gallantly. 'You're very beautiful, Miss Saunders.'

    She blossomed. 'Thank you, Mr Redmayne,' she said happily. 'No disrespect to your brother but I find your praise more acceptable than his. Henry is too glib and well rehearsed. As an actress, I appreciate a capacity for rehearsal,' she continued, starting to relax. 'As a woman, however, I prefer a spontaneous compliment to a prepared one.' 'You must have plenty of both, Miss Saunders.'

    'A woman can never have too many compliments.'

    There was a teasing note in her voice. He did not respond to it.

    'I believe that you're a friend of Martin Eldridge,' he said.

    'Martin? Why, yes. We have a history.'

    'History?'

    'Not of that kind,' she reprimanded with a mock frown. 'Martin Eldridge and I could never be that close. But we did start out together in the theatre. We had our first parts in a play for The Duke's Men.'

    'Is he a good actor?'

    'I think so. And he was a staunch supporter of me.'

    'Why did he leave the company?'

    'Because he fell out with Mr Killigrew.' She looked towards the door. 'That's not too difficult to do, I'm afraid. He's a volatile character at the best of times. Martin upset him and his contract was not renewed.'

    'Where might I find him?'

    'Why should you want to do so?'

    'A personal reason. His name was passed on to me.'

    'I've no idea where he lodges presently but he's stayed with friends in Shoreditch before now. Somewhere in Old Street, I think.'

    'I don't suppose you'd know the name of those friends?'

    'No, Mr Redmayne. Martin has so many.'

    'So I'm told. According to Mr Killigrew, he was close to Mrs Gow.'