‘The cheapest kind of all, Nick. They get no wages.’
‘Only bed and board.’
‘You heard Dorothea. The beds are hard and the food is dreadful.’
‘So even more money is saved.’
‘Henry Cleaton said that rumours have been coming out of Bridewell for some time, but they are only rumours. No clear proof of mismanagement has been found. In fact, the place is at last being run with some efficiency. What shook me,’ said Elias, ‘was how much power those men have. Our merry lawyer claims that the terms of their contract make them positive kings inside Bridewell.’
‘Kings or tyrants?’
‘Whichever they choose to be.’
‘Joseph Beechcroft does not sound like a benevolent monarch.’
‘Dorothea dubbed him a monster.’ ‘And she got close enough to him to make that judgement.’
‘Why release her when she could make allegations against him?’
‘To whom could she complain?’ asked Nicholas. ‘What strength does the word of a convicted vagrant carry? She was no threat to Master Beechcroft. No, Owen,’ he concluded, ‘I believe that she was discharged to get her out of the way. Dorothea knew too much. As long as she was inside Bridewell, she’d have been trying to find out what happened to her friend. That would irritate them.’
‘And, to her credit, she refused to turn punk at Master Beechcroft’s request.’
‘So she could not serve her purpose in that respect. As far as he knew, she was alone and friendless in the city. When he had her turned out, Joseph Beechcroft believed that he was throwing Dorothea to the wolves and would never hear from her again.’
‘He reckoned without us, Nick.’
There was a long pause. ‘Let us suppose,’ said Nicholas, trying to think it through, ‘that the gatekeeper was telling the truth. Imagine that Hywel Rees was indeed discharged a few days ago. What would he have done?’
‘Banged on the door until they let Dorothea out as well.’
‘And if he’d been chased away?’
‘He’d have done as she did, Nick,’ decided Elias. ‘Hywel would have turned to the two people in London who showed him any friendship. I fancy that we’d have seen him at the Queen’s Head, asking for our help.’
‘That’s my belief. Yet there’s been no sign of him. As I know to my cost,’ said Nicholas with a wry smile, ‘the Welsh are nothing if not tenacious. Hywel is like you, Owen. He’d not give up without a fight. But, all of a sudden, he disappears from the city. Would he desert Dorothea like that?’
‘Never!’
‘Then there are only two explanations.’
‘He has either been hounded out of London altogether.’
‘Or he is no longer alive,’ said Nicholas, solemnly. ‘Master Beechcroft, we are told, swore that he’d not be allowed to cause any more trouble at Bridewell. How far would he go to shut Hywel up?’
Lawrence Firethorn’s day also began with a visit to church, taking the entire household with him. When he had seen his wife, children, servants and the apprentices safely returned to the house in Old Street, he mounted his horse and headed for the city. His first port of call was Edmund Hoode’s lodging and he was pleased with what he found.
‘You are out of bed at last, Edmund,’ he observed, approvingly.
‘I have been on my feet for the best part of an hour,’ said Hoode, embracing his friend. ‘I am trying to build up my strength again.’
Firethorn nudged him. ‘And I know why, you rogue. That comely girl, the daughter of the house, let me in. Adele looks even more fetching today. You’ll need all your strength to board that pretty little carrack.’
‘I’d not even think such thoughts on the Sabbath.’
‘More fool you!’
Firethorn inspected him more closely. Simply by exchanging his nightshirt for his doublet and hose, Hoode looked markedly better. His cheeks were still hollow but there was a sparkle in his eye and more zest in his voice. He sat near the window and waved his visitor to the chair opposite him.
‘What’s this I hear of a theft at the Queen’s Head?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ said Firethorn, angrily, ‘some rogue beat Luke Peebles to the ground and stole our money. We lost pounds that we can ill afford.’
‘Have you no idea who the culprit might be?’
‘No. Adam Crowmere has questioned all his servants but none could help us.’
‘Thank heaven this did not happen under our old landlord,’ said Hoode. ‘He’d have used it as an excuse to lever us out of the inn.’
‘His substitute shows Marwood up for the miser that he is. We could not ask for more sympathy. Adam even offered to make good our losses.’
‘A worthy benefactor!’
‘Our contract ties us and we had to refuse. But we saw his true character.’
‘Everyone has kind words to say of him. Michael Grammaticus told me that this generous landlord has been trying to help the company in other ways.’
‘Yes,’ said Firethorn. ‘He’s done things that would never even cross the mind of that maltworm, Alexander Marwood. New benches have been added to the galleries so that we may seat another sixty buttocks, and a better range of food is being served in the yard. More people have been tempted in.’
‘Michael spoke of playbills.’
‘Yes, Adam Crowmere lets us put them on every wall we choose. Nobody can pass the Queen’s Head without knowing what Westfield’s Men offer next. It’s such a joy to have a landlord who is on our side.’
‘If only I were there to share the joy.’
‘You will be, Edmund. I see a new man before me.’
‘The old problem persists, Lawrence. I am still tired for most of the day.’
‘That will pass in time,’ said Firethorn. ‘Before you know it, you’ll be reaching for A Way to Content All Women again.’ He gave a chuckle. ‘Though I could tell you how to do that for I’ve devoted my life to the art.’
‘My interest in the play has been rekindled,’ confessed Hoode.
Firethorn was thrilled. ‘You’ve started work on it again?’
‘No, but I talked about it with Michael. He’s offered to help me finish it.’
‘How? He has no ear for comedy. Just look at the man!’
‘Do not be misled by appearances,’ said Hoode. ‘Michael has a keen sense of humour. When he was at Cambridge, he acted in two comedies by Plautus. Admittedly, they were performed in Latin but they taught him much about how to provoke laughter.’
‘He can more easily produce tears. That’s where Michael’s skill lies, in the realms of tragedy. Flashes of humour there may be in The Siege of Troy, but it’s a play that will move an audience with its dark and mysterious power.’
‘Do not forget that I, too, have written tragedies.’
‘Yes, but you are Edmund Hoode, who can turn his hand to anything. How many authors are able to do that? Michael Grammaticus will never ape you in that respect.’
‘Give him the chance to try, Lawrence.’
Firethorn was unconvinced. ‘We’ll see, we’ll see.’
They talked for half an hour before Hoode began to weaken visibly. His visitor decided to take his leave. Getting to his feet, Firethorn clapped him on the shoulder.
‘Welcome back, Edmund!’ he said. ‘You’ve risen from the dead.’
‘Bear my fondest regards to all of our fellows.’
‘To those that deserve them, I will. But not to Barnaby, the wretch, who cannot find the time to call on you when you need comfort. And there are one or two others who do not merit your affection.’
‘Why not, Lawrence?’
‘They have let the company down badly.’
‘How?’
‘By allowing themselves to be seduced,’ said Firethorn, scornfully. ‘If there was a woman in the case, I would not mind, but the seduction involves a card table.’
‘At the Queen’s Head? Our landlord detests both cards and dice.’
‘Adam Crowmere does not share his objections. He has a man, lodging at the inn, who plays in his room and conjures money out of our fellows’ purses. Nathan Curtis and Hugh Wegges were the first to suffer. They had to beg Nick to give them their wages in advance. The latest victim is Frank Quilter.’