Revenger

Chapter 20

Just as the bats began to fly for food in the dusk, Shakespeare found a bed for the night at the Ox and Harrow tavern in the village close by Le Neve Manor. He ate a supper of wigeon and walnut pudding, then drank two pints of ale as he talked with the landlord and tried to find out more about the Le Neve family and the death of Amy and Joe.

The landlord was a man of middle years, whose pitted face showed the ravages of the smallpox. He told Shakespeare that most local people did not believe the deaths to have been self-inflicted.

“Who do you think killed them?”

“Vagabonds? There’s been enough come through here this summer, though we always drive them on after we’ve given them a loaf and some ale. Mind you, though, sir, something like this makes you look at your neighbors closer.”

“Do you know the family?”

“The Le Neves? Of course. Them and my lord of Essex and the lady Lettice own everything in these parts, all the houses in the village, this tavern included. Essex and his mother own most of the land, of course, what with the forest and all the hunting that goes with it, but a goodly parcel of acres belongs to Sir Toby. Yet even he is beholden to the Earl and must go with him when there’s wars to be fought.”

“And the boy, Joe?”

“Yes, I met him. A snout-fair lad, I’d say. He came in here for an ale once or twice. Always behaved himself proper and left a drinkpenny, so I had no complaints. But I would not have wanted to cross him.”

Shakespeare finished his ale and bade the landlord good-night. Taking a candle, he climbed the rickety staircase to his second-floor chamber and quickly fell into an untroubled sleep.

He awoke in the early hours and knew he was not alone.

He could hear faint breathing. He opened his eyes. Light from a three-quarters moon streamed in through the unshuttered window, and he could make out the darkness of a human figure, standing still, watching him.

Shakespeare’s sword was at the side of the bed, unsheathed, ready. He knew exactly where the hilt was. He was still clothed and was not encumbered by bedding.

His left hand went for the sword hilt and in one swift movement he rolled from the bed, twisting himself back away from the intruder, then straightway rising to a crouch, close to the head of the bed. His sword arm was outstretched, pointing directly at the figure by the window.

“Fear not, Mr. Shakespeare. I will not kill you.” It was a woman’s voice.

“Lady Le Neve.”

“Though had I wanted to kill you, your throat would have been slit while you slept and you would have known nothing of it until you woke drowning in blood.” She laughed and held up a butcher’s knife so that it glinted in the moonlight. “See? I could have dealt with you as I have often done for a Christmas pig. You should have locked the door.”

Shakespeare rose to his feet, but did not relax his sword arm. “Why are you here?”

She dropped the knife, which clattered to the floorboards. “To persuade you to leave us alone.”

“And the knife?”

“The knife was to defend myself. It cannot be safe for a lady to be out at this time of night with murderers about.”

“I ask again: why are you here?”

“The door latch was broken.” She shrugged. “And I wish to know who you are. You come to my house uninvited; you interrogate my maid behind my back.”

“You know who I am. You know that I was sent by the Searcher of the Dead.”

“You asked about Charlie McGunn… I think you are his agent, sent to avenge the death of his boy.”

Shakespeare put down his sword, still unsheathed, on the bed and took two steps toward Cordelia Le Neve. “No,” he said.

“You are sent here to kill us, though I have done no harm to McGunn. I did not want the boy to have Amy, but neither did I cause him hurt, and I would have done nothing to harm my daughter.”

“Why do you believe McGunn wants you dead? What could make him think you killed Joe?”

“You jest with me, Mr. Shakespeare. Men like McGunn do not look for evidence or proof. I have seen such men before.”

“Men like McGunn? Where would you have seen such men?”

He thought he saw the wisp of a smile in the silvery light.

“Mr. Shakespeare, I have seen things you have never dreamed of. Done things that would shame you to hear. But now I wish to be left in peace, which is why I have come to you tonight, to plead with you. I had wondered about killing you while you slept, but that would not have stopped McGunn. He would have sent another and another, until the deed was done.”

“Lady Le Neve, I am no hired killer.”

“What does a killer look like? Does gentleman’s attire mean you are a gentle man?” She seemed to smile. “No, you are not a hired killer. That is what saved your life when my blade touched your throat and I withdrew it. Yet I worry still, for you know McGunn.”

“Many people know McGunn.”

“He is death.”

“Lady Le Neve, the thing that will keep you safe from McGunn is finding the real murderer.”

She stepped to the bed and sat down at the end, her face half-turned toward him. He saw how astonishingly beautiful she was. Her hair was wild and her complexion no longer had its youthful sheen, yet she had a raw sensuality that would make any man want to take her.

“Tell me now,” he said. “How do you know McGunn?”

She sighed, but as she answered him, her voice was not desperate, nor weak. “I might as well be plain, for I am sure Dodsley has given you some idea of our straits. We borrowed money from McGunn. A great deal of money, at usurer’s terms. I believe my husband signed a note for two thousand and received fifteen hundred, to be repaid at interest of two shillings in the pound per annum. It is a common trick. Yet he had been recommended to us as a man who could help people. Of course, it became difficult to pay him, which is when the threats and demands began and when the boy came into our lives, with his razor knives and his killing smile. When he met Amy, his tone changed. I saw him climb to her chamber, night after night, and I could do nothing. It was then that I knew how deep we were in McGunn’s clutches. My husband would not heed what was happening. He was either away in France fighting or he was engaged here on his other interests. I called in our lawyers and secretaries. By collecting all that was owed us in rent and leases, and by selling our lands in Suffolk, I was able to bring together enough gold to pay off McGunn in full, which I did. It left us only ruin. I cannot even afford to pay the servants. But I hoped to buy our freedom, to get McGunn and Jaggard out of our lives.”

“But you didn’t.”

Cordelia Le Neve laughed. “McGunn was not happy to have his money back. He prefers to keep control than to retrieve his money. Nor did the repayment of the debt stop that boy coming to Amy. Even on her wedding day.”

“Did you see them leave the bridale together?”

Her eyes held steady in the gloom. “Yes,” she said at last. “I prayed that no one else had seen them and that they would return soon, before Mr. Winterberry discovered her absence. It was later, when he asked whether I had seen her-for it was time for their nuptial retiring-that I raised the hue and cry.”

“Her wedding to Mr. Winterberry meant a lot to you?”

Cordelia laughed again, this time with bitterness. “It meant the restoration of our fortunes, Mr. Shakespeare. Mr. Winterberry is a merchant of immense wealth. He has a wharf close by the Tower. He has riches beyond imagining. He would have given Amy the life any woman would wish for, and he pledged to help us, too. Now I have lost everything. I will probably return whence I came.”

In the semi-darkness, Shakespeare tried to look at the woman closely. There was as much unsaid as said here in this room. He needed to know more. “Amy was your stepdaughter. Sometimes such relationships are not easy.”

“We had differences.”

“You wanted her to make this match. She did not want it. That alone must have caused a rift.”

“Mr. Shakespeare, I wanted the best for her.”

“And for yourself? You said it yourself-you had much to lose if the marriage did not proceed. If you saw her leave the bridale, you would have been enraged, would you not?”

“What are you suggesting? Her interest was paramount in this. I knew what was good for her. I would not have harmed her.”

Shakespeare tried to imagine her creeping out into the fields and woods after the young couple, taking them by surprise and killing them.

“Your maid, Miranda. Could she have harmed your daughter?”

Lady Le Neve shook her head dismissively. “She is a plain girl. I would not be surprised if she was jealous, but I do not believe her capable of murder.”

Through the window, Shakespeare saw the first light of morning. Lady Le Neve noted it, too.

“People will be about soon. I must go home. I cannot be seen here.”

“Who do you think killed them, and why?” Without thinking, he put his hand out and stroked her hair, smoothing down its unruly knots.

She looked up at him, unsurprised by his touch, as if she were used to such uninvited attentions. “It occurs to me that you are that rare thing, a good man, Mr. Shakespeare.” She rose from the bed, then kissed him on his lips. “We should have met at another time and place.”

The kiss was a kind of nectar to his dry lips. His very life was dry these days. Shakespeare brought his errant thoughts back into line. “Who killed them?”

“I wish I knew.” She picked up the knife and went to the chamber door. She opened it and turned quickly to him. “Mr. Shakespeare, I know you mean well, but please, it would be better for everyone-for me, for you, for Miranda-if you were to go now and forget us. I promise you nothing good can come of your delving.”