The Parliament House

    Her discomfort was soon intensified. Sir Julius Cheever, it transpired, was being held in an upper room in the Bloody Tower, a place with a bleak and gory history. When they climbed the stairs, Susan was glad that Lancelot Serle had volunteered to accompany her. Sensing her distress, he put out a supportive hand to help her. A guard was standing outside the room. After they had identified themselves, he took a bunch of keys from his belt and unlocked the door. Susan burst in and flung herself into her father's arms. She did not hear the door being locked behind her.

    'How are you, Father?' she asked, appraising him.

    He forced a smile. 'All the better for seeing you, Susan.'

    'Brilliana did not feel well enough to come, Sir Julius,' said Serle. 'She sends her love and asked me to visit in her stead.'

    'You are welcome, Lancelot,' said Sir Julius, shaking him warmly by the hand. 'I'm only sorry that you have to see me in this state.' He looked around. 'This is one of the rooms where Sir Walter Raleigh was kept before his execution. His wife and son lived with him. As you see, it is quite comfortable.'

    It did not seem so to the visitors. The room was small and bare with oak boards that creaked whenever they were walked upon. There was a table, two chairs and a straw mattress. On the table were a Bible and some writing materials. A jug of water and a cup stood on a shelf. They did not need to be told why a large bucket had been put in a corner and covered with a piece of sacking. It was a prison cell and it degraded any person who occupied it.

    'How much do you know?' said Sir Julius.

    'Only what Christopher told us,' answered Susan.

    'We hold him largely responsible for this,' said Serle, glancing around with disgust. 'He was the one person in a position to stop you and he failed to do so. I find that deplorable.'

    'Then you do not appreciate the circumstances,' Sir Julius told him. 'Christopher had no option but to concur with my wishes. Nothing would have stopped me from issuing that challenge. I turned to him because I knew that I could trust him.'

    'I thought that I could,' said Susan to herself.

    'Just remember this. But for Christopher Redmayne, I would not still be alive. As to this enforced visit to the Tower, it was in no way his fault. I must take all of the blame.'

    'Why is that, Father?'

    'Because I should have known that Stoneleigh was too crafty to fight a duel to the death. He only agreed to face me so that I could be ensnared by some obscure piece of legislation that makes him look like a victim while showing me up as a would-be assassin.'

    'Christopher had never heard of the statute,' said Serle.

    'No more had I. Sir John Robinson explained it to me.'

    'Who is he?'

    'The Lieutenant of the Tower,' said Sir Julius. 'The law reached the statute book in the third year of the reign of King Henry VII. That would put it in 1488. In sending a challenge to the Earl of Stoneleigh, I committed a felony for I had designs on the life of a Privy Councillor. That much I admit,' he went on. 'Had we not been interrupted, I'd have cut the villain down.'

    Humouring her father, Susan said nothing. She knew from Christopher's account that the earl was getting the better of the duel when it was stopped but Sir Julius would never concede that. What she wanted to hear was how they could extricate him from the Tower. Without his coat, and weighed down by anxiety, he was a sorry figure. His flashes of fighting spirit seemed incongruous in such a place.

    'You do not belong in here, Father,' she said.

    'The law says that I do.'

    'Then we must hire someone to defend you,' said Serle.

    'I'm not sure that I have any defence, Lancelot.'

    'The earl maligned you in his play. A writ of libel can be issued against him. No man - aristocrat or commoner - should be allowed to get away with such vilification. Demand redress.'

    'I tried to do that with my sword.'

    'See him prosecuted.'

    'It would never happen,' said Sir Julius, resignedly. 'Libel is a minor offence compared to the one with which I am charged. In truth, we were both liable to arrest when we took part in that duel but there is no way that Stoneleigh will be arraigned.'

    'He should be,' said Susan, angrily. 'He fought with you this morning and you have witnesses to prove it. Christopher and Mr Polegate were there.'

    'So was my surgeon but what are three voices against the dozen that Stoneleigh will call? He brought a whole entourage with him. They will swear that he was trying to reason with me rather than fight a duel. No, Susan,' he said. 'The earl thought it all out in advance. I was to be arrested while he goes scot-free. There's no help for it.'

    'There must be.'

    'I fail to see the way out.'

    'Then we must rely on Christopher,' she said, surprised at the affection she felt for him again. 'He is the only person who has a means of saving you, Father, and he'll dedicate himself to doing just that. Rely on him.'

        'How ever did you get hold of this?' asked Christopher Redmayne, studying the list of ingredients in one hand and comparing it with the letter he held in the other. 'The hand is a perfect match.' 'I called on Mr Howlett at his brewery,' said Jonathan Bale.

    'On what pretext?'

    'To tell him that we had found Mr Everett's killer. He seemed pleased that I'd taken the trouble to do so.'

    'Even though he already knew of our discovery.' Christopher indicated the list. 'These are the constituent elements of beer.'

    'I asked him for advice on how best to make it.'

    'And you're certain that he wrote this?'

    'I stood over him while he did so.'

    "Well done, Jonathan. You outwitted him.'

    'I had a feeling about Mr Howlett, sir,' said Bale. 'It was that visit he paid to the Saracen's Head. There was no need for him to go there. Now we know why he did it.'

    'Thanks to you.'

    Christopher was delighted. It was not just the handwriting that matched. The paper was identical as well. He put both examples of Erasmus Howlett's shaky calligraphy down on his desk. They were in the study of his house in Fetter Lane. Having returned there in a mood of dejection, Christopher was now almost elated.

    'We have enough to make an arrest now,' said Bale.

    'No, Jonathan.'

    'But we have written proof that Mr Howlett instructed Dan Crothers to book a room at the tavern that day. And we also know that he's the cousin of the Earl of Stoneleigh. What more do we need?'

    'Evidence that the earl wrote this other letter,' said Christopher, taking it up from the desk. 'The one that warned Crothers that Sir Julius was leaving for Cambridge. It will be much more difficult to do that. I don't think that the earl will oblige you so readily with some advice on how to make beer.'

    'Then how do we get an example of his handwriting?'

    Christopher thought about his brother. 'I may have the answer to that, Jonathan. Give me some time.'

    'Yes, Mr Redmayne.'