Business and the weather had detained Rush in London longer than he would have liked and he was impatient to see the woman again. Reports from his agent had been satisfactory enough but he wanted to check for himself that all was well. He strode up Love Lane to the bookshop.
There were no customers inside so Rush went straight in. Margaret Taylor was sitting behind her desk, writing in a ledger. From upstairs he could hear children’s voices. She looked up from her writing and stared at him. ‘I know where my brother is and I want proof that he is alive.’
Rush hid his surprise. ‘I am aware that you have disobeyed me and made certain enquiries.’ The lie came easily.
‘You are not the only one with contacts, Rush. I know that a ship named the Dolphin left Southampton for Barbados in March last year and I know that my brother was among the prisoners on board. I want proof that he arrived safely and is alive.’
‘And if you don’t get it?’
‘My daughters and I will disappear.’
‘You will be found.’
‘That is a chance we will take. I want to know that my brother is alive.’
Rush thought for a moment. ‘I can tell you that he arrived safely at his destination and that I have received no message to suggest that he is not perfectly well.’
‘I want proof.’
‘How do you suggest that I provide such proof?’
‘You will send him a message asking him to write a single word on a sheet of paper to be delivered to me. He will know what the word is and I will know if you attempt another forgery.’
‘Why should I agree to this?’
‘I have explained the consequences if you do not. We will no longer be pawns in your vicious game.’
‘Your brother will suffer if you try to escape me.’
‘If he is alive, he is already suffering. If not …’ Margaret let the thought hang in the air.
‘It has taken you some time to arrive at this.’
‘But now I have.’
Again Rush thought before replying. The woman had surprised him. ‘It will take time.’
‘It is a six-week voyage to Barbados. I will wait until the first day of August. If I do not have the letter by then, I shall assume that my brother is dead.’
‘I could kill you and your daughters now and tell him you are alive and well.’
‘You could, but then your pleasure would be the less. Only he would be under your control and then only by virtue of a lie. If he knew we were dead he would have no care for himself. Equally, I could kill you with the loaded pistol on my lap but then I would not know that my brother is alive.’ Margaret raised the pistol just enough for Rush to see the barrel. ‘Since you first came here it has never left my side. You might wish to tell your incompetent spy that.’
‘It will be done.’
Rush did not return directly to the coaching inn but made his way around the old abbey to Church Lane. He turned into a narrow alley running off the lane and stopped outside a rough cottage. He tried the handle, found the door unlocked, and went in. It was a mean hovel, with just a few sticks of furniture. In one corner blankets had been thrown down to make a bed. On the bed lay the man he had come to see and astride him a fat woman with lank red hair. He slid the blade from his cane and thrust it into the woman’s neck. Blood spurted from the wound and she fell sideways. A second thrust into her eye and she was dead. Rush glared at the naked man. ‘I do not pay you to spend your time whoring. The woman has been asking questions.’ The terrified man tried to rise. Rush kicked him back. ‘I have no use for incompetent fools.’ He whipped the blade across the man’s throat, watched him die and left.
Chapter 13
WEEKS OF NOTHING, then, suddenly, a torrent of newsbooks, pamphlets and reports from the Assembly. Despite James Drax’s plea for calm, the king’s execution had given the Walrond brothers the opportunity they had been waiting for and they were not going to miss it.
On the little Speightstown beach, Patrick was bursting with news. ‘While the Assembly was sitting Walrond led a troop of his militia to the Assembly House and demanded to be heard. Bell went out to meet him and found him mounted, dressed as a Royalist officer and backed by a hundred infantrymen armed with muskets and pikes. When Bell demanded to know why he was at the head of an armed force, Walrond replied that he had a thousand men at his disposal and would not hesitate to use them. He insisted that Bell immediately step down as governor and that he be appointed as his successor.’
‘Then what happened?’
‘Bell asked for time to consult the Assembly. When he appeared again word had spread and a large crowd had gathered. Bell announced that he had resigned and that Humphrey Walrond had been appointed as his successor. And that was that.’
‘And what did Adam Lyte make of it?’
‘He is furious. He does not trust Walrond.’
‘So Barbados has a new governor,’ said Thomas. ‘What will that mean, I wonder?’
‘For you it might mean a way home,’ replied Patrick. ‘Walrond has hinted at an early release for men indentured to any landowner who refuses to swear an oath of loyalty to the king.’
‘Has he now? Awkward for the brutes.’
‘Let’s hope the brutes refuse to swear. Then you can go home and they can go to hell.’
‘An excellent outcome.’
‘However, Mr Lyte thinks that we’ll soon see Cromwell’s ships in Carlisle Bay. And there’s another thing. Word has come that Lord Willoughby has Charles Stuart’s commission to take over as governor and plans to sail soon.’
‘Lord Willoughby of Parham?’ asked Thomas in surprise. ‘Once Parliamentarian admiral, now loyal servant of the man who would be king?’
‘The same. Mr Carrington and he have known each other since they were boys.’
‘So we shall be visited by both sides.’
‘Probably, and one way or another there’s going to be trouble. On some estates there’s been singing in the fields. The news of master fighting master has spread fast. There is unrest among the slaves and some are waiting for the right time to strike. I have warned the Lytes.’
Thomas sighed. ‘Bell and Walrond, Cromwell and Willoughby, master and slave, king and Parliament. I fear you’re right, my friend.’
‘The Lytes are talking of building defences around the estate and laying in stocks of food and weapons.’
‘I don’t suppose they’d like me to come and help?’ asked Thomas. ‘I’m sure the brutes wouldn’t mind.’
‘And how are the brutes, Thomas? Charming as ever?’
‘Bestial. One night they had two whores at the house – mother and daughter. They nearly killed them.’
‘For the love of God, Thomas, don’t provoke them. They could easily kill you.’
‘Adam Lyte told me it was your idea for him to offer to buy me.’
‘It was, and I’m sorry it took so long. He was not willing to speak to a magistrate about you, and that seemed to be the end of the matter. I only thought of buying you later. How much did he offer?’
‘Forty guineas.’
Patrick whistled. ‘A lot. Will they take it?’
‘You haven’t heard?’
‘No.’
‘They won’t sell me.’
‘Damnation. Why not?’
‘They should have been tempted. There must be a reason why they refused. They treat me like an animal but they haven’t whipped me to death and they won’t take forty guineas for me. They could get three more animals for that.’