‘It’s what came out of them that matters to me,’ said Hoode, flatly. ‘I’ve never heard anyone talk so much to so little effect. She gurgled like a never-ending stream. Whereas Ursula — God bless her — said little yet spoke volumes.’
‘Did she? Neither I nor Lawrence noticed that.’
‘You were too busy ogling her sister.’
‘Can you blame us? Bernice is divine.’
Hoode smiled wryly. ‘Be honest, Owen. Neither of you was attracted to the young lady by her divinity. All that you felt was lust.’
‘We are true sons of Adam.’
‘Then I must have descended from someone else,’ decided the playwright, ‘for she aroused scant interest in my breast, let alone in my loins. Besides, respect must always come before desire and Ursula was the only one whom I respected.’
Elias shrugged. ‘But she was as plain as a pikestaff.’
‘Not to my eye.’
‘Then you need spectacles, Edmund.’
‘I can see Ursula Opie with perfect clarity.’
‘That’s something I’d not care to do.’
‘Why not?’
‘Bernice decorates a room whereas Ursula is that dull piece of furniture you put in the corner. One sparkles, the other does not.’ Hoode shook his head. ‘It’s true, Edmund. But what’s this about one play beginning while another ends?’
‘Look to the sisters, Owen.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Study them both instead of just the pretty one. That’s what I did and it was a revelation. Ursula and Bernice Opie are two sides of the same coin. That helped me to see my mistake.’
‘What mistake?’
‘You’ll find out in good time,’ said Hoode, waving farewell. ‘Enjoy your ale, Owen, and raise a tankard to Ursula for me. You’ll have cause to thank her before long.’
‘Thank her?’ said Elias, perplexed. ‘Thank her for what?’
The boy’s name was David Rutter and he was no more than ten or eleven. Though his clothes were ragged and his face dirty, he had clearly been taught manners by someone. Nicholas found him polite and honest. Before he returned the dog to its young owner, however, he wanted to know all the details.
‘You were paid to release the dog like that?’ he asked.
‘Rascal, sir,’ replied the boy. ‘His name is Rascal.’
‘Then he lived up to it this afternoon. Who named him?’
‘My father. He came to us as a puppy and was so full of mischief that my father dubbed him Rascal.’ Rutter grinned. ‘It suits him.’
‘Only too well. How much were you paid?’
‘A penny beforehand with threepence more to follow if I did as I was told. The gentleman must have thought I let him down because there was no sign of him afterwards.’
‘I doubt if he ever intended to pay you anything else. He bought you and Rascal cheaply to inflict some very expensive damage. But how did you get into the stables?’ wondered Nicholas. ‘When I searched them, they were empty.’
‘That’s what you thought, sir, but we were there all the time. Rascal and I were hidden under a pile of hay. That was our mistake.’
‘Mistake?’
‘I was told to let Rascal loose ten minutes after the play had started,’ said the boy, ‘though I could only guess at the time. But it was so warm and cosy under that hay that we fell asleep.’
‘Even with the audience making so much noise?’
‘We live beside the river, sir. We’re used to noise.’
‘So you didn’t wake up until the play was two-thirds over?’
‘I’d no idea about that. All I could think about was the money we’d earn if Rascal did his job. So I let him out of the stable,’ he continued, ‘and that was the last I saw of him. What did he do?’
‘Let’s just say that he made his presence felt.’
The boy was anxious. ‘Was he hurt?’
‘It was Rascal who did the hurting,’ replied Nicholas. ‘He bit the Clown and chased everyone else around the stage.’
‘The bite was only meant in fun, sir. Rascal does that all the time when we play together. He never bites hard.’ He licked his lips once more. ‘Can I have him back, please?’
‘If you tell me about the man who paid you.’
‘Much like you in height but dressed more like a courtier.’
‘Have you ever seen a courtier, David?’
‘No, sir, but that’s how I think they must look — with a fine doublet and a tall hat with an ostrich feather in it. And he was rich,’ said the boy. ‘When he put a hand in his purse to find me a penny, it came out with a dozen gold coins in it.’
‘Was he a fair-haired man with a well trimmed beard?’
‘How did you know?’
‘And a voice that was not born in London?’
‘That was the fellow, sir — you’ve met him.’
‘No,’ said Nicholas, ‘but I’ve every intention of doing so. Come, David,’ he went on, turning away. ‘I’ll not only show you where I locked Rascal up. I’ll give you another penny to take him far away from here.’
When he stormed into the taproom, Saul Hibbert was impeded by members of the audience, who insisted on heaping praise on him. All that he could do was to smile, nod and express his thanks. It was minutes before he could make his way across to Lawrence Firethorn, who was seated at a table with Owen Elias. Hibbert stood over them.
‘I need to speak to you, Lawrence,’ he declared.
‘Then do so sitting down,’ replied Firethorn, ‘so that we may talk in comfort.’ Hibbert lowered himself onto a stool. ‘Will you join me in some Canary wine?’
‘No, I’ve come to talk business.’
‘And I know what business that is,’ joked Elias. ‘You wish your play to be known henceforth as The Malevolent Dog.’
‘I’d boil the creature in oil, if I catch it,’ vowed Hibbert. ‘Everyone I speak to congratulates me warmly on my play but saves their highest compliment for that yapping animal.’
‘I’d save it for Nick Bracewell. He got rid of the dog for us.’
‘But he was to blame for it being there in the first place.’
‘What makes you think that?’ asked Firethorn.
‘He admitted as much,’ said Hibbert. ‘It seems that the dog was hiding in the stables, waiting to be let out. Yet Nicholas claims that the stables were empty when he searched them.’
‘Then you can rest assured that they were.’
‘In that case, how did the dog suddenly appear?’
‘I don’t know,’ confessed Firethorn, ‘but we go to great lengths to make sure there are no animals in the yard before we begin. Someone smuggled in a cockerel one afternoon and let it loose while I was playing a tender love scene.’
‘And don’t forget that rabbit who once tried to take a role in The Loyal Subject,’ said Elias. ‘He, too, was released by way of a jest.’
‘That dog was no jest,’ insisted Hibbert, eyes aflame. ‘He was brought here in a deliberate attempt to ruin my reputation.’
‘What about our reputation?’
‘That’s too well established to be in danger, Owen. Mine, however, is not. If my play had been abandoned because of the dog, I’d be the real loser. I’ll not stand for it, Lawrence.’
‘Calm down,’ soothed Firethorn.
‘How can I calm down when my livelihood is at stake?’
‘You were safely up in the gallery when the attack was made. We were the ones onstage, having to dodge those gnashing teeth. You might begin with a word of thanks for the way we rescued the situation.’
‘Yes,’ said Elias, ‘and for the way that Nick captured the dog.’
‘But for him,’ argued Hibbert, ‘the animal would not have been there in the first place. Your book holder failed miserably in his duty. I’ll not have the bungling fool involved in a play of mine again.’
The Welshman bristled. ‘Mind your language. Nick is my friend.’
‘I’d sooner take his place myself.’
‘No man could do that,’ warned Firethorn. ‘He’s far more than a mere book holder. Nick controls the whole performance. He’s also in charge of counting our takings, dealing with our churlish landlord, finding any hired men we need and acting as our emissary to Lord Westfield. He has a dozen more responsibilities besides.’