An Instance of the Fingerpost (76 page)

‘Not in detail.’

‘How he communicates with Lord Bristol?’

‘No.’

‘Whether there be any letters or hard evidence that he has ever done so?’

‘No.’

‘And you expect me to do what? Charge His Lordship with high treason, perhaps? You forget, perhaps, that just as I am your patron, so he is mine. If I am to break with him then I must justify myself absolutely, or be accused of perfidy. If Lord Bristol falls, half the court falls with him, and there will be few restraints on Clarendon and even fewer on the king. The economy of the entire government will be disrupted and crippled. I tell you, Dr Wallis, I find it hard to credit that the man can risk so much.’

‘He does. He must be stopped and you must take his place.’

Bennet looked at me.

‘I do not flatter you, or tell you anything you do not feel in your own heart. Your value to His Majesty is well known. Your usefulness in balancing the interests of Lord Clarendon would be equally clear. Lord Bristol’s lack of moderation has prevented him from doing that. You can, and can do so the better if you are free of his foolishness. You have to break with him and pull him down yourself. If you do not, you can be certain that he will fall anyway, and you will go down with him.’

Still he stared at me, but I was emboldened to continue, for I knew that I was speaking to his soul. ‘You are bound to him as a man who has brought you up, and advanced you, and I know you have repaid that debt loyally and well. But you are not obliged to aid him in evil, and his attempt at such a thing dissolves all ties.’

Finally he reacted to my words, and rested his head in his hands, his elbows on the desk, the most informal posture I had ever seen him adopt. ‘Throw the dice, you think, Doctor? And if Clarendon is killed anyway and Bristol actually succeeds? What mercy for me and mine, then? Have you thought how long you would retain your position?

‘Not many weeks. But I doubt I would live long in any case, so the loss of office would be a minor problem for me.’

‘I have long considered what my true degree should be at court. You no doubt think me ambitious, and so I am. But I am also a good servant to His Majesty, and whatever my own beliefs, I have always advised him for the best. I deserve the highest places in the land. Clarendon has always blocked me, as he blocks all who are younger and more agile than he. And you tell me that I have to abandon a man who has always been kind to me, and keep in power one who detests the very air I breathe?’

‘I am not saying you should keep him in power. I am merely pointing out that you must not in any way associate yourself with his murder and to stay silent is such an association.’

Mr Bennet considered, then gave way, as I knew he would in due course.

‘Do you plan to confront Lord Bristol, or inform Lord Clarendon?’ I asked.

‘The latter. I have no desire to level accusations. Others can do that. Come, Dr Wallis. You must come as well.’

I had never before met the Lord Chancellor of England in person although I had, naturally, seen him on numerous occasions. His grotesque corpulence did not surprise me, although the ease with which we gained access to him did. He maintained little formality about his person; no doubt his years in exile, when he lived a hand-to-mouth existence and often even had to do without so much as a servant, had taught him the virtues of simplicity – although I noted that similar deprivation had imparted no such lesson to Mr Bennet.

As Mr Thurloe had said, he was a man of the utmost loyalty to his master the king, who had on numerous occasions treated his servant shabbily, and was, in future years, to treat him more shabbily still. None the less, Clarendon stood resolutely by him, steering him away from such follies as he could. He worked tirelessly while in exile for His Majesty’s return, and strove mightily to keep him there once this great goal was accomplished. His great weakness was that which attends many older men, for he placed too great store on the wisdom
of age. No doubt deference is a virtue, but to expect it without question is great foolishness and stirs up only resentment. Mr Bennet was one whom he had needlessly antagonised, for in their common good sense they were natural allies. But Clarendon blocked Bennet’s friends on all occasions, and would rarely allow the spoils of office to go to anyone outside his own circle.

The antagonism between the two men was scarcely discernible, however. Mr Bennet’s punctiliousness and Clarendon’s natural gravity meant that anyone less observant or less knowing than myself would have assumed that relations between the two were entirely cordial. But they were far from that and I also knew that, underneath the coolness of his manner, Mr Bennet was certainly highly anxious of the outcome of this meeting.

When dealing with matters of true importance, Mr Bennet was not a man to disguise his meaning with elaborate phrases or half-spoken implications. He introduced me as his servant and I bowed, then he announced curtly that I had a matter of the utmost importance to communicate. Clarendon’s eyes narrowed as he recalled who I was.

‘I am surprised to see you in such company, Doctor. You seem able to serve many masters.’

‘I serve God and the government, sir,’ I replied, ‘the former because it is my duty, the latter because I am asked to do so. Were my services not required and requested, I would happily live in pleasant obscurity.’

He ignored this reply, and walked heavily about the room in which we had found him. Mr Bennet stood silently, a look of barely concealed disquiet on his face. He knew that his future rested entirely on how I conducted myself in the encounter.

‘D’ye find me fat, sir?’

The question was obviously addressed to me. The Lord Chancellor of England came to rest in front of me, wheezing with the effort of taking a few steps, his hands resting on his hips as he spoke.

I looked him steadily in the eye. ‘Of course I do,’ I said.

He grunted with satisfaction, then hobbled over to his seat and sat down, gesturing to us that we might do the same.

‘Many men have looked me straight in the eye as you did and sworn blind that the resemblance to Adonis was extraordinary,’ he
observed. ‘Such is the power of high office, it can even distort men’s sight, it seems. I throw such men out. Now, Mr Bennet, tell me what it is that makes you overcome your detestation for me. And why you bring this gentleman with you.’

‘I will allow Dr Wallis to speak, if that is agreeable to you. He has all the information at his fingertips, and it will sound better from him.’

The Chancellor turned to me and I, once more, recited my tale as briefly as possible. Again I must confess all my weaknesses, for this narration is of no use if I behave in an Italian manner and leave out what is not in my interest. I did not tell Lord Clarendon about Sarah Blundy.

I had lived with the facts for so long now that none of it even surprised me any more; it was instructive to see how more ordinary men (if I may for a moment call the Lord Chancellor such) reacted to accusations I now took for granted. Clarendon’s face grew stony and pale as I laid out my investigations and conclusions, his jaw clenched hard in anger and eventually he was unable even to look at the bearer of such news.

There was a long, a very long, silence when I finished. Mr Bennet would not speak; the Chancellor, it seemed, could not. For my part, I considered my role over; I had done my task and reported my findings to those with the power to act. I was aware of the momentous thing I had done and realised anew the tremendous power of words, which can tumble men from on high in an instant and accomplish more in a few sentences than entire armies in a year’s campaign. For men are held above their fellows by the gossamer of reputation, which is so soft and fragile a breath can blow it away.

Eventually Clarendon spoke, and subjected me to the closest interrogation I have ever endured in my life; he was a lawyer, and like all lawyers loved nothing more than the chance to show off his skills in questioning. My interrogation went on for the better part of an hour, and I answered as best I could, calmly and without resentment. Again I will be open about the matter, for the most part my answers satisfied him; but his skill probed my case mercilessly and whatever weaknesses existed were soon laid out for him to inspect.

‘So, Dr Wallis, your belief in Mr Cola’s military skills . . .’

‘Comes from a trader who conveyed him to Venice from Italy,’
I replied. ‘He had no reason to lie to me as he did not know my interest in the man. He was not of any breeding, but I consider him a reliable witness none the less. He reported what he saw and heard; my conclusions are in no part based on his opinions.’

‘And Cola’s links with radicals?’

‘Well attested by my informants in the Low Countries, and by my own servant. He also formed a strong connection with a notorious family in Oxford.’

With Sir William Compton?’

‘He was seen by a reliable witness at Sir William’s house, and stayed there for many days. They discussed you on several occasions, the route you planned to take in a few weeks’ time, and expressed the hope you might be ambushed on the road.’

‘With My Lord Bristol?’

‘Sir William is of Lord Bristol’s interest, as I am sure you know . . .’

‘So is Mr Bennet here.’

‘I told Mr Bennet of my suspicions before I had any inkling of who Cola’s master was. He told Lord Bristol and within twenty-four hours my servant was murdered by Cola. I was myself the target of an attack a few days later.’

‘That is insufficient.’

‘It is, but it is not all. Lord Bristol is known to favour a Spanish alliance, and Cola also has strong connections with the governor of the Netherlands; he is a known Catholic and hence does not acknowledge the authority of the king, parliament or the laws of this country. And it is not the first time he has attempted a foolish scheme. Moreover, his hand has guided a young man for some time in an attempt to attack you by destroying the reputation of Lord Mordaunt.’

Eventually I had no more. Clarendon would be convinced or not. It is a strange business, trying to persuade a man he is to be killed; and it says much for Lord Clarendon that he wanted good reason before he would own himself satisfied. Many men lesser than he would have happily leapt at the suspicion and invented any extra evidence in order to destroy a rival.

‘But they have never met? No man has seen them together? There are no letters, no one has overheard any conversation between them?’

I shook my head. ‘No; but I would doubt if it is likely. Common sense dictates that all contact be through a third party.’

Clarendon leaned back in his chair, and I heard the joints creaking from the strain. Mr Bennet had sat quite impassively throughout, showing no sign of emotion on his face, neither helping me nor hindering me. He was entirely quiet until Clarendon turned to him.

‘You are convinced of this, sir?’

‘I am convinced you may well be in danger and that all possible means should be taken to prevent any harm coming to you.’

‘That is generous from a man who loves me so little.’

‘No. You are His Majesty’s closest minister, and it is the duty of all to protect you as the king himself. If the king chose to dismiss you, I would not exert myself to prevent your fall; you know that, I am sure. But it is as treasonable for anyone else to force His Majesty as it is criminal to kill a man outside the law. If Bristol wishes this, I will have none of him.’

‘Do you think he does? That is the question, is it not? I do not intend to sit here and see whether a knife in my back proves Dr Wallis correct. I cannot charge Lord Bristol with treason, for the case is not strong enough and the king would see any attempt to prosecute as a misuse of my office. And I will not adopt such methods myself.’

‘You have in the past,’ Mr Bennet said.

‘Rarely; and I will not in this case. Lord Bristol has been at the king’s side, and his father’s side before that, for more than twenty years, and I have been with him. We shared exile, despair and deprivation together. I loved him as a brother, and do still. I cannot harm him.’

The discourse which passed between the two men continued in such a way; moderation, subtlety and regret being the only emotions and feelings they expressed. This is the way of the courtier, who talks in a code more deep and impenetrable than any of the petty conspirators who were my daily antagonists. I do not even doubt that they meant everything that they said; but left unsaid, and understood by each other beneath the words, a more pitiless conversation was taking place, with each man bargaining and plotting how to turn the situation I had created to their own advantage.

I do not despise them for this; each man believed, I am sure, that
the triumph of him and his was for the general good. Nor do I think such flexibility an error; in the past few years England had suffered greatly at the hands of rigid men of principle, who would not bend and could not change. That Clarendon and Mr Bennet competed for the king’s favour added lustre to His Majesty’s glory. Forcing that favour, taking away his right to choose, was the sin of Parliament in the past and Lord Bristol in the present. That was why both had to be opposed.