Chapter Twenty-six

 

There are many things that in themselves have nothing that is truly delightful; on the contrary, they have a good deal of bitterness in them; and yet, from our perverse appetites after forbidden objects, are not only ranked among the pleasures, but are made even the greatest designs, of life.

Utopia by Thomas More (translated by H. Morley)

 

Parker had never realized before now what a rabbit’s warren the Tower complex was. There were too many towers. Too many houses and rooms and cells.

“There is no way you will find her unless you get very lucky.” Kilburne was breathless from chasing after him. “And he’s dressed like one of my men. He won’t stand out.”

“Susanna will though.”

Kilburne looked at him pityingly, and Parker knew he was thinking Susanna had long since had her throat slit and was lying somewhere on the grounds, dead.

“Why did he take her down the stairs if he intended to kill her?”

Kilburne didn’t answer, and Parker knew again what he was thinking. That Jean wanted to rape her first.

He knew it was what Kilburne was thinking, because it was what he was thinking himself. His hands trembled, his heart skipped-each beat of it painful. Every second he did not find her, was a second longer Jean had her at his mercy.

There was no other reason Jean would deal with the inconvenience of a hostage, unless he had plans for her. Plans that were better suited to a private room than the open belfry of the Bell Tower.

Something caught his eye, a guard making for the door of the Lieutenant’s Lodgings across the Green. There was something furtive in his movements. “Who is that?”

Kilburne shaded his eyes against the afternoon sun and his demeanour changed as the man slipped through the entrance and closed it behind him. “It’s hard to say, but it looks like Merden.”

The name made Parker still. “I’ve heard of him.”

Kilburne glanced across. “Mistress Horenbout believes he is following the Cardinal’s orders, rather than my own.”

“So I gather.” Parker made for the door.

“We have no proof, Parker, and I cannot allow you to intimidate or injure my men.” Kilburne’s warning was soft but clear to his back, and Parker tightened the reins on his bloodlust. Hurting Merden would not save Susanna. It would only waste time.

There would be plenty of opportunity for revenge later.

“It is hardly likely Jean will be in the Lodgings.” Kilburne’s eyes tracked the inner curtain wall.

“Where did he come from?” Parker kept his eyes on the Lodgings’ door, but allowed Kilburne to draw him away, towards the inner towers.

“I don’t know. He was in the belfry before I got there.”

“And where were you, when Susanna rang the bell?” Parker stopped short. Turned to wait for Kilburne.

“I was in my rooms on the Lodgings ground floor.”

“And Jean got there before you.” Parker looked up at the Bell Tower. “He’s fast, but not that fast.”

“He was inside the Lodgings all along.” Kilburne’s mouth gaped.

“And if he’d been hiding there without discovery before, then why not go straight back to his hidey-hole?” Parker turned back and ran for the Lodgings door. He burst into the hallway and took stock, and Kilburne was right behind him.

“Right is to my chambers-if he were there, I heard nothing. Left is just a short corridor leading to the next house, but the door is locked, it isn’t in use. Upstairs is to Mistress Horenbout’s apartments and there is a door into the Bell Tower along from there.”

So most likely it was up. He’d been hiding right next to Susanna in one of the upstairs rooms or in the Bell Tower itself. It was audacious enough for Jean to attempt. Parker looked back to see if Kilburne was following him, and took the stairs two at a time.

* * *

“Helping you escape would be most inconvenient.” Jean hooked his crossbow onto his belt, and pushed away from the window. “You will have to make your own plans.”

“Then I will not tell you the exact location of the Mirror.”

He rounded on her, his face tight with anger. “I may never have another chance to get into this cursed place again. I am here now, within its walls-to help you leave and then come back in? No! You ask too much.”

They stared at each other, and Susanna realized she was breathing hard, as if she’d been running.

“Well, well. You are a difficult woman to find, Mistress Horenbout.”

Susanna spun to the door, registered Merden and saw his eyes go wide.

Jean had his crossbow raised, no trace of fear, or annoyance on his face. He was blank. Expressionless. And she had never been more afraid of him.

Merden and Jean stared at each other for a long moment, and then Merden broke, trying to dive out of the door.

Jean squeezed the trigger, unhurried, and Merden fell. Soundless but for the thump his body made falling to the wooden floor.

She could not see where Jean had hit him, she could only see Merden’s boots lying just inside the door. The rest of his body lay out in the passage.

She forced her gaze from the smooth-worn soles of Merden’s boots to Jean. He was calmly loading another bolt, cranking his crossbow, ready for another shot.

“He may not be alone. We will have to move.” Jean spoke in a tone that matched his expression.

“He . . .” Her voice cracked and she could not help her eyes going to Merden’s body again. The harsh, bitter taste of bile rose in her throat and she forced it down. “He may have been coming to look for me on his own. As a favour for the Cardinal.”

“He’s the Cardinal’s man?” Jean looked at his victim with interest for the first time.

“He tried to get me into the dungeons.” She shivered.

“He wanted to touch you.” Jean finished with his bow, clipped it again to his belt. “I could see it in his eyes when he spoke. He was so eager, he didn’t even notice me at first. Did he manage it?”

“Once. Briefly.” She stopped. Unwilling to speak about this with him.

“It is a pity then I could not gut-shoot him and leave him to bleed out.” He did not change his inflection. “Make too much noise, though.”

“This may mean the Cardinal is in the Tower, and looking for me. If he gets me . . .” She tried to look one last time out the window, but Jean blocked it completely. She shuddered. “I can’t stay. Not just for Fitzroy, but for myself as well. If Parker is not back and Wolsey is here looking for me, there is nothing to stop him taking me to the dungeons.”

Jean pursed his lips. “I would hate the Cardinal to get his way in anything. I have developed quite a dislike for him.” He tapped a hand on the stock of his crossbow. “Bien. This man was to take you to the White Tower to the Cardinal? Perhaps that is what we will do.”

Susanna pushed herself hard against the wall, as if she could burrow into its safety. “You want me to go with you, into the White Tower?”

“It is a solution. We go together, to get the jewel and to leave the Tower. We help each other.”

“But then I will be implicated in the jewel’s disappearance. It will change nothing for me.”

“Where the jewel is kept, will it be noticed missing right away?”

She thought about it. Shook her head.

“Then a guard bringing in a prisoner, taking them away again, this happens nearly every day, I would think. What blame could be laid at your door?”

It may be the only way she could escape. She pushed away from the wall. “Let’s go, then.”