Fiddler is a scoundrel.’
‘What shall we do, madam?’
‘There’s only one thing to be done. We must escape before it’s too late.’
Meg’s words surprised even herself and Bess’s jaw dropped. ‘Escape, madam? But where would we go?’
‘Anywhere, as long as it’s far enough away for no one to follow us. Perhaps we could find Tom. If it’s true he’s gone to join the army, where would he go? We may not be too late to catch up with him.’
A look of concentration came over Bess’s face and a few moments passed before she spoke. ‘Steward Stephen said if he wanted to do that, he’d go to Plymouth. That’s where the soldiers set out for the Low Countries from.’
‘Do you know where Plymouth is, Bess?’
Bess’s expression clouded. ‘No, madam, but Stephen said you went by the Exeter road, and if the constables had been quicker to keep a watch on it, Master Tom might be caught and hanged by now.’ She stopped, confused. ‘I’m sorry, madam.’
Meg took a deep breath. She would not think of that. ‘So we must go west.’ The germ of a plan swelled in her mind. ‘Help me cut off my hair then find me some old clothes like the footmen wear and a strip of linen to bind me. If anyone asks us, we are brother and sister, orphaned and looking for work. We shall have to walk. If we take Spirit, we might look too prosperous and draw attention to ourselves.’ Going to her embroidery basket, she pulled out a pair of scissors. ‘Here, use these.’
Bess hung back.
‘Oh, stop looking like that, girl.’ Meg grabbed a hank of hair and hacked through it. ‘There, I’ve started, now finish it. And hurry – the gates close at sundown.’
5
London
June–July, 1586
Tom woke to the peal of church bells. For a few moments, he forgot he was no longer in Salisbury but then the events of the last few days flooded back.
Jack’s ‘proper bed’ had been a pile of straw in a gentleman’s stables, where the ostler had let them sleep in return for the price of a quart of ale. The straw crackled as he reached over and shook Jack by the shoulder. In an instant, the boy was on his feet, fists raised.
‘Easy! It’s me: Tom.’
Jack rubbed his eyes, sneezed, and wiped his nose with the back of his grubby hand. ‘We’d better get out of here ’fore he wants more money for not turning us in to the constables for trespass.’
‘But you gave him money last night.’
Jack shrugged. ‘Won’t make no diff’rence.’
He would never get used to this place, Tom thought. Outside in the street, he found it impossible to walk more than a few steps without someone barging into him. Londoners must have some kind of dislike for their fellow men that they felt the need to walk straight through them. The noise too made his ears throb. In Salisbury, there were plenty of street sellers but here they were a thousand times more numerous, and all of them competing with each other to shout the loudest.
‘Come on, do you want him after us?’ Jack grabbed Tom’s hand and tugged him into a warren of twisty, narrow alleys. Just as Tom’s brain started to reel with confusion, Jack stopped halfway along one of them. He rapped at a door then put his ear to the rough wood.
‘It’s all right,’ he whispered, standing on tiptoe so his face was in front of the spyhole above the door knocker, ‘she’ll let us in soon.’ Tom heard the sound of heavy bolts drawing back and the door opened.
‘Where did you get to all night then? ’ A frowsy woman with grey hair straggling from a soiled white cap blinked at the morning sunshine. ‘If you want breakfast, you’d better have the money to pay for it.’
Jack grinned. ‘Let us in, Janey. I got lots of money.’
She sighed. ‘Don’t tell me how you got it and watch what you say - him upstairs couldn’t hold his drink last night. He’ll have a sore head this morning and a nasty temper to go with it.’
They followed her into a room where the remains
‘What shall we do, madam?’
‘There’s only one thing to be done. We must escape before it’s too late.’
Meg’s words surprised even herself and Bess’s jaw dropped. ‘Escape, madam? But where would we go?’
‘Anywhere, as long as it’s far enough away for no one to follow us. Perhaps we could find Tom. If it’s true he’s gone to join the army, where would he go? We may not be too late to catch up with him.’
A look of concentration came over Bess’s face and a few moments passed before she spoke. ‘Steward Stephen said if he wanted to do that, he’d go to Plymouth. That’s where the soldiers set out for the Low Countries from.’
‘Do you know where Plymouth is, Bess?’
Bess’s expression clouded. ‘No, madam, but Stephen said you went by the Exeter road, and if the constables had been quicker to keep a watch on it, Master Tom might be caught and hanged by now.’ She stopped, confused. ‘I’m sorry, madam.’
Meg took a deep breath. She would not think of that. ‘So we must go west.’ The germ of a plan swelled in her mind. ‘Help me cut off my hair then find me some old clothes like the footmen wear and a strip of linen to bind me. If anyone asks us, we are brother and sister, orphaned and looking for work. We shall have to walk. If we take Spirit, we might look too prosperous and draw attention to ourselves.’ Going to her embroidery basket, she pulled out a pair of scissors. ‘Here, use these.’
Bess hung back.
‘Oh, stop looking like that, girl.’ Meg grabbed a hank of hair and hacked through it. ‘There, I’ve started, now finish it. And hurry – the gates close at sundown.’
5
London
June–July, 1586
Tom woke to the peal of church bells. For a few moments, he forgot he was no longer in Salisbury but then the events of the last few days flooded back.
Jack’s ‘proper bed’ had been a pile of straw in a gentleman’s stables, where the ostler had let them sleep in return for the price of a quart of ale. The straw crackled as he reached over and shook Jack by the shoulder. In an instant, the boy was on his feet, fists raised.
‘Easy! It’s me: Tom.’
Jack rubbed his eyes, sneezed, and wiped his nose with the back of his grubby hand. ‘We’d better get out of here ’fore he wants more money for not turning us in to the constables for trespass.’
‘But you gave him money last night.’
Jack shrugged. ‘Won’t make no diff’rence.’
He would never get used to this place, Tom thought. Outside in the street, he found it impossible to walk more than a few steps without someone barging into him. Londoners must have some kind of dislike for their fellow men that they felt the need to walk straight through them. The noise too made his ears throb. In Salisbury, there were plenty of street sellers but here they were a thousand times more numerous, and all of them competing with each other to shout the loudest.
‘Come on, do you want him after us?’ Jack grabbed Tom’s hand and tugged him into a warren of twisty, narrow alleys. Just as Tom’s brain started to reel with confusion, Jack stopped halfway along one of them. He rapped at a door then put his ear to the rough wood.
‘It’s all right,’ he whispered, standing on tiptoe so his face was in front of the spyhole above the door knocker, ‘she’ll let us in soon.’ Tom heard the sound of heavy bolts drawing back and the door opened.
‘Where did you get to all night then? ’ A frowsy woman with grey hair straggling from a soiled white cap blinked at the morning sunshine. ‘If you want breakfast, you’d better have the money to pay for it.’
Jack grinned. ‘Let us in, Janey. I got lots of money.’
She sighed. ‘Don’t tell me how you got it and watch what you say - him upstairs couldn’t hold his drink last night. He’ll have a sore head this morning and a nasty temper to go with it.’
They followed her into a room where the remains
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