Court of Conspiracy (25 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Devising a believable reason to go into the palace and find Gwenette proved much more difficult than Luke had thought. He had no wish to bring Sir Nigel Kerr’s wrath down on his head again. He sat in the kitchen, elbows on the table, head between his hands, cudgeling his brains to find an excuse for visiting the Watching Chamber. It occurred to him that Gwenette might have been put to work elsewhere. Who would know? With a sudden exclamation, he hurried into the shop and sought out the bowl in which he had mixed the recipe for her pomander. He had made it exclusively for her, and she had been in his mind as he put each ingredient in. It was his normal practice to make enough for at least two doses if it was for a specific patient, keeping the mixture fresh with a preservation spell. There should be enough left over from the first portion for the overlooking spell, enabling him to establish a mind-link with Gwenette and see where she was.

He put his hand up to the shelf and removed the bowl. It was empty and had been cleaned, presumably by Pippa, although she usually never meddled in the shop. So why had she now? Excess of zeal after her transgression with Peveril perhaps? With an oath, he went back to the kitchen table.

After a few minutes of fruitless and frantic thinking, he was no nearer to a solution and decided that the only thing to do was walk into the palace as if he had business there. If he were challenged, he would make up some tale about Princess Elizabeth and hope she would corroborate it. He put on a clean shirt and opened the back door. At the gate he was conscious of Joss nudging the back of his knees. He turned to see her looking up at the roof of the house, where three crows sat on the ridge tiles. He stood gazing at them in dismay. How had the Elemagus known to warn him he might be stalked by crows? Could it mean the sunderer was using them as a means of surveillance? He strode back into the kitchen.

When Pippa came to collect her few possessions later that afternoon, she found Luke in a sore temper. He stared with frowning face when she told him that she was moving to the Elemagus’s house.

“Why?” he asked, all his suspicions of Peveril returning.

“Because it is the right thing to do. I want to further my studies, but whilst Ajax is so ill, I must remain close to Master Dufay.”

“Ajax is still ill?”

Tears sprang to her eyes and she dropped onto the settle, looking up at him and biting her lip. “When Master Dufay mended his leg, it seemed as if everything was going to be all right. But on the journey here, he began to limp again, and I think he is thinner.”

Luke examined the dog, kneeling so that he was level with Ajax’s head. He ran his hands along the dog’s body. She was right. The ribs were plain to feel and there was the beginning of transparency about Ajax’s ears that he had never seen before and that caused him much disquiet.

“I think you are wise to stay with Master Dufay. When you get back, show him Ajax’s ears. Meanwhile, I will try a replenishing spell. If it does no good, it will do no harm.”

Pippa wept silent tears as she cradled her greyspring. “Please don’t die, Ajax, please,” she whispered over and over.

Luke mixed up a large bowl of fragrant oils and powders. “Half the problem is you,” he said. “You’ve been mooning about the place with a face that would curdle milk and yet you expect Ajax to be as chirpy as a robin in spring. Use your brain, girl. In fact, I shall treat both of you and let’s see if that does any good. You must still tell Master Dufay that Ajax is ailing. Stand up. Put Ajax in front of you and then close your eyes.”

Pippa did as she was bid. Luke draped her with a linen cloth that also enveloped the dog. Then he dipped his fingers into the bowl and began spattering her with drops, whilst muttering the replenishing spell.

* * *

When she closed her eyes, Pippa felt nothing other than the darkness that had been with her for days. Heartache she felt over Geoffrey mixed with terror that Ajax might die, that everything was her fault, banished any other thoughts. She had left her aunt’s house with a determination to find contentment, if not happiness. All she had done since she arrived at Hampton Court was make disastrous choices, based on her own selfish whims. She had thought that nothing could be worse than the life she had endured in Suffolk, but at least there, she had had the comfort of knowing that her unhappiness was due to the actions of others. This mess was all of her own making.

Luke had shown her nothing but kindness, as had Bertila, and she had not thought twice about throwing their benevolence back in their faces. Even now, she would not dare put her hand on the Bible to swear that she would never see Geoffrey again, but she promised herself she would try to be worthy of the trust that Luke and Master Dufay were putting in her. When she felt stronger, she would go and see Bertila and beg her forgiveness.

She breathed in the scents from the oils and the dark clouds in her mind began to lift and disperse. Aye, that was the right thing to do. Beg forgiveness and work hard at her magic so that she could help people. A shaft of sunlight cut through the remaining wisps of cloud and she was walking in a fragrant meadow, the sky a deep limpid blue above her. She could feel the warmth on her upturned face and whilst part of her knew that she was still standing in Luke’s shop, another part of her wanted to run across the bright green field. She looked down. Ajax was lying on his back in the grass, wriggling in an ecstasy of high spirits. Then he rolled over, stood up and shook himself, his tongue lolling from his mouth and looking for all the world as if he was laughing. She heard a click of fingers and the sunlight faded. Both she and Ajax were back in the shop.

“You both look better,” Luke said.

“I feel better,” she replied and looked down at her dog. He was standing, his tail wafting slowly from side to side. “Ajax looks better, too.”

“You’ll still need to ask Master Dufay to look at him, and you. What I have done is only temporary.”

On impulse, she seized his hand and brought it to her lips. “I am sure you have saved Ajax’s life, Luke, and I have no words to tell you how grateful I am. If there is any service I can do for you, please ask.”

Luke pulled his hand away and she saw a dull red flush sweep up from his neck to the roots of his curly blond hair. “I have done nothing more than I would do for any patient,” he said, but she could tell from the gruffness of his voice that he was pleased. He carried the bowl back to the counter and then swung to face her.

“Actually, Pippa, there is one thing you could do for me.”

* * *

A tall red-headed girl wearing a green gown slipped unchallenged under the Counting House gate from the direction of the Tiltyard. She had surmised that the yeomen guards would think she had come back from watching the young bloods practicing, and it looked as if she was right. They had not spotted Ajax and she prayed that she could deliver her message and be out of the palace by the time the oil on his fur dried. She mingled with the liveried servants, laden with food and running up and down the stairs to the Great Hall. They would already have taken the food to the Watching Chamber where those closest to the King ate.

Pippa had timed her visit to coincide with the mealtime, hoping that she would be able to catch Gwenette in the throng and give her Luke’s message. The stairs were crowded and she realized as soon as she came into the hall that there were so many people milling about, she would have little chance of finding the seamstress. The noise, mingled with the smell of food and closely packed humanity, made her want to swoon. She felt a hand take her arm.

“Are you ailing, Mistress?”

Pippa turned, relieved beyond belief to see Gwenette’s face. “Mistress Paige,” she said.

Gwenette frowned. “Do I know you?”

Pippa could have kicked herself. “No, Mistress, but you were described to me by a certain apothecary who lives near the palace.” She smiled to see Gwenette flush scarlet.

“You know Master Ballard?”

“I have not known him long,” Pippa said. “He suggested that it was time your pomander was refreshed and that if you would like to come to his shop, he would be delighted to see you.”

“But Sir Nigel Kerr has said that I must go to a court apothecary,” Gwenette said.

“What a shame,” Pippa replied. “I believe Master Ballard was collecting together the ingredients preparatory to making the mix as I left his shop. Forgive me, I must return to my mistress.”

Pippa made her way to the long staircase leading down to the gateway between the Base Court and Fountain Court and began to descend. From the quiet shadows of the arch she observed the man who had been dallying with Cecily enter the main gatehouse, carrying a massive basket of flowers. Pippa drew back into the shelter of the wall. She saw him share a joke with the guards and then carry on with the basket toward the Lady Mary’s rooms.

There was something about the set of his shoulders that made Pippa’s senses twitch. Before she could think twice, she stepped out from the arch and began to walk on a collision course with the man and his basket. Purporting to see him at the last moment, she stopped short with a little cry, one hand on her throat as if he had surprised her. She curtsied. He bowed and stared at her. She could see the interest in his eyes as they raked her from head to toe.

“I humbly beg pardon, sir,” she said. “I was daydreaming.”

“No need for pardon, Mistress,” the man replied. “We have met before, have we not?”

“Indeed sir, you were in conversation with a lady near the chapel.”

“Ah, I remember now. How could I forget such a charming face? May I present my courtesies? I am Edwin Achard.”

Pippa could not help the smile that curved her mouth, although she bent her head with a modesty she knew would pique him. “I think, sir, that the lady to whom you were speaking is far prettier than I.”

“And your name, Mistress?”

“Ysabel Amory,” she said, plucking a name from the air. “What beautiful flowers.”

“Indeed. They are for the Lady Mary. It is the custom of the gardener to send her fresh flowers. He knows her of old.”

Pippa bent her head to smell one of the roses. She wondered what Achard meant by the gardener knowing Lady Mary of old. Then she saw, tucked down into the depths of the stems, a flash of buttermilk yellow. Pretending to savor the scent of the rose, she concentrated her eyes on it. A small cylinder of parchment was hidden deep inside the basket. Achard leaned over her, intent on flirtation. She leapt back, making him jump and sending the contents of the basket flying.

“Oh, sir, I am certain I saw a large spider,” she said, frantically picking up handfuls of flowers. She deliberately spiked her finger on a rose thorn and cried out afresh. Achard, bending to pick up flowers, hastened to soothe and quiet her. She crouched to help him again and felt the dryness of the parchment under her fingers. Picking up roses with her other hand, she quickly tucked it into her sleeve and began to cry, huge tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Oh, I have ruined all. What shall I do?”

Achard seemed more intent on not drawing attention to them than on the flowers. He looked round toward the gatehouse. Two guards were watching them, grins evident on their faces.

Achard cursed softly under his breath. “Do not worry, Mistress Amory. The flowers are not damaged, but I must get them to the Lady Mary before they suffer further hurt.”

“Here’s the last one,” Pippa said thrusting a broken-stemmed gilliflower into the basket. Aware that for the past few moments, Ajax had been nudging the back of her gown, she looked up. The sun was streaming into the court. The oil must be drying on his coat. If she did not act now, he would be discovered. She twirled round very quickly as if to check the ground for more fallen flowers and managed to throw her skirts over him. Then she turned more sedately to face Edwin Achard.

“I must return. I am surprised my mistress has not sent someone after me. I only had leave to eat and return to her apartments.”

Achard paused. “You are with the Princess?”

“It is a recent appointment, one arranged by my father. May I tell you a secret, sir?”

Achard bent close and Pippa had to steel herself not to wince at his breath. “The Princess is a strict mistress. I am rather afraid of her.”

Achard winked, grinned and bent close again.

“That is natural. I hope we meet again, Mistress Amory.”

“As do I, sir. I have found no friends at the palace until today.”

She acknowledged his bow and almost laughed aloud at the preening oaf as he straightened his shoulders and swaggered toward the Lady Mary’s apartments. Glancing at the guards, she saw that they still watched her, so she turned back toward Fountain Court, being careful to move in a smooth and seemly manner so that Ajax remained hidden.

Once in the corridor by the chapel, Pippa made her way through the cloister to the court adjacent to Princess Elizabeth’s rooms, walking out of the palace by the bowling alley into the park. Knowing the parchment would soon be missed, she hurried to the main gate near the river, slipped past the yeoman guard with a smile and hurried toward Luke’s shop.

Pippa slithered through the door and sank onto the settle.

“What ails thee? Did you give my message to Mistress Paige?”

“Aye, but I’ve also brought you this.” And with a flourish and a curtsey, she took the parchment cylinder from her sleeve.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“It is a series of numbers,” Luke said, unfurling the parchment after hearing Pippa’s story. “Probably just some child’s game. Nothing to excite us,” he continued, rolling it back up and putting it in his sleeve.

“If it was nothing but a child’s game, you would not hide it from me,” Pippa said, clenching her hands. “Have I not retaken my vows and renounced the man I love? Is that not enough for you, Master Ballard? Am I to remain untrusted and treated as if I am of no account?”

Luke could see her color rising. “Of course not, stupid girl. Do you not understand that the more you know, the more vulnerable you become? It is dangerous enough that you are aware of the parchment’s existence. If you were questioned by a sunderer, he or she would have the information out of you inside an hour, and during that hour, you would suffer torments you cannot begin to imagine.”

She held her head high and he could see her lip beginning to curl. “You do not know me if you think I would betray you. Perhaps I had better return to Master Dufay.”

“Not until the perception spell has worn off. I ask pardon, Pippa. I did not mean to imply that you would blab of your doings, but dark spells have a power you cannot dream of and would be helpless to resist. Go and change into your usual garb. Let us share a goblet of wine before you return.”

Luke waited until she had flounced into the kitchen. Then he seized two jars of powders, one to aid her resolution and the other to make her forget the parchment and her encounter with Achard. When Pippa came back into the shop with her basket on her arm, he offered her a goblet.

“Let there be peace between us, Pippa. I do not like bad blood. Here, drink this.”

He watched her sip and saw the pleasure come into her face. “It is a recipe of my own. I sometimes use it for small children to hide the taste of their medicines.”

She peered into the goblet. “And what have you put into this one?”

“Nothing that need worry you. You will feel stronger and that will feed its way to Ajax, but I will feel easier in my mind when I know that Master Dufay has examined him,” he said, hoping that mention of her greyspring would deflect her attention from the parchment.

“I will ask,” she replied, licking her lips in obvious pleasure. “This is so smooth and sweet, I feel quite heady already.”

Luke smiled in satisfaction. “Look at me, Pippa.”

“Hmmm?” she replied staring at him with unfocused eyes.

“You found Mistress Paige.”

“I found Mistress Paige,” she said, nodding.

“You gave her my message.”

“I did.”

“You came straight back here and met nobody on the way.”

“Not a solitary soul,” she agreed.

“When you went to the palace, what happened?”

“I had a message for Mistress Paige. I found her in the Great Hall. I gave her the message.”

“What was the message?”

“That Master Ballard had made up another mix for her pomander if she cared to come and collect it.”

“What happened then?”

“I came back to the shop.”

“Did you meet anyone?”

“No.”

Luke stared at her dreamy expression and smiled. Any memory of Edwin Achard and the parchment had been wiped from her mind. He clicked his fingers and Pippa shook her head. “Marry, no wonder you give it to children to take away the taste. It’s very sweet, isn’t it?”

“Aye. So, are we at peace with each other?”

“Of course. Is there a reason we should not be?”

“None. Are you ready to go?”

That night in his bedchamber, Luke examined the parchment again. Now he looked at it with more attention, he could see that there were gaps in the numbers at intervals. Picking up a clean sheet of paper, he took an inkhorn and copied them, inserting strokes where the gaps were.

33 24 22 15 25/ 42 23 54 33/ 11 33 14/ 12 15 33/ 31 11 33 33 34 15/ 52 24 31 31/ 32 15 15 44/ 44 23 15 24 42/ 14 15 43 44 24 33 54/ 54 34 45/ 32 11 54/ 35 45 44/ 54 34 45 42/ 44 42 45 43 44/ 24 33/ 23 11 42 34 31 14/ 21 34 42 25 52 34 33/ 11 33 14/ 22 35/ 11 33 14/ 44 23 15/ 23 34 31 31 54

Having checked that he had transcribed them in the correct order, he hid the cylinder under the floorboards alongside the glove. Then he settled down to see if he could work out what the numbers meant. They obviously represented letters. He could see that some words had the same letter repeated. There were only a few that could be doubled, but gaze as he might, he could see nothing.

After an hour of fruitless calculation, he decided he had no option but to show the cipher to Roland Dufay. The Elemagus was, after all, a numerologist and mathematician. Numbers were his passion as well as his work. Luke also thought he ought to get a message to Queen Anne to tell her of the latest development, but if he went to her now, he might well compromise himself and her. There was nobody he could send with a message, either. Furthermore, what could he report? That a cipher had been found in a basket of flowers on their way to the Lady Mary. It was not proof positive that the message was for her, and in these days when anyone could be condemned out of hand, Luke did not want an innocent death on his conscience. The cylinder gave no clue as to who had put the message in the basket, so in reality he had nothing to tell the Queen, save that Achard had carried the basket and had easy access to the palace.

* * *

Pippa stood at the kitchen table yawning in the rays of the early morning sunshine. Ajax, too, seemed more than reluctant to move from his place at the side of the fire, near her pallet. They had both undergone treatment from Master Dufay. She remembered drinking the potion he gave her and nothing more until she woke up.

Dufay also seemed tired, but she knew it was his habit to work into the small hours. He seemed eager that they should continue her studies without further delay.

“I want to test your telepathic power,” he said.

Pippa nodded, biting back the questions that sprang to her lips. “Shall I go and prepare your workroom?”

“No. This test needs nothing other than a quiet atmosphere. Here is as good as anywhere. Sit down.”

Dufay waited until Pippa had taken the chair by the fire. Ajax sat leaning against her leg, his head stretched up to her lap, her hand resting on his flank.

“Do the breathing exercises I taught you. How long does it take now?”

“When we first started, quite a few minutes, but now, it is almost as if I can go to the inner level within seconds.”

“Good. I will fetch my cards, whilst you prepare. Do you have the blue ribbon from your pouch? Fasten it inside your bodice next to your skin. It will aid your mental clarity.”

Pippa waited until she had finished her exercises, then stood up, eyes closed, head bent, feeling her inner being slip into the core of her body. The softness of Ajax’s fur against her hand together with the scent from the apple logs on the nearby fire calmed and soothed her. The sound of the birds receded as she slipped into that serene chamber in her mind where the essence of what made her Pippa Gardiner resided. She knew that she would be able to answer Master Dufay, but she would be unable to physically move until he gave her leave.

His voice came as if from a distance. “I am holding up a card with something on it. What is it?”

Something stirred, floated across her inner vision. A familiar shape, bathed in a blue light that she could only assume was the effect of the ribbon. “It is a boat,” she said.

“And this?”

Once more she looked at a silhouette hovering on the other side of the chamber. What was it? The light dimmed, hiding the shape from view. “I cannot see it,” she said.

“That is because you are allowing your thoughts to intrude. Try again. Just relax and let it come to you.”

“A house.”

“And this?” But before she could look into the light chamber, the sound of the back door opening thrust her back to the kitchen. The jolt as she came to full awareness made Pippa feel as if she had been winded. She gasped, dropping into a chair, one hand at her throat, struggling for breath.

* * *

Luke saw the card in Dufay’s hand and the confused apprehension in Pippa’s eyes.

“Master Dufay, I crave pardon, but I have something urgent I must show you.”

Dufay glanced at his face and turned back to Pippa, smiling at her in sympathy.

“That was a little sudden, was it not? Never fear. Take some wine. We will continue this another time.”

“As you wish, sir. I will prepare breakfast. Shall you join us, Master Ballard?”

“Thank you, I will. Master Dufay?”

“Come this way, Luke.”

Luke showed Dufay the numbers. “I cannot make any sense of it. I know that it is a cipher, but that is all.”

“Where did you come across it?” Dufay looked up and Luke knew that the Elemagus could see the indecision in his mind. “Do you remember when I applied the
veritas
spell to Pippa and told you that I had performed it only once?”

“Aye, you said that you were charged with finding out the truth of the Dowager Princess Katherine’s first marriage to his late majesty’s brother.”

“Who do you think gave me that charge?”

“I cannot tell.”

“It was not the King. Who else could it have been? The King could not be seen to dabble in such things, but the lady had no such constraints. I realize that you have been told to trust no one, but there comes a time when you have to have faith in someone. I am not against you, Luke. What concerns me more at the moment is Pippa.”

“Not more trouble? What has she done now?”

“Someone put a misremembrance on her yesterday and I fear it might have been Master Peveril, but although I tried last night, I could see nothing in her.”

“It was me. Pippa found the cipher. I was trying to protect her.”

“Where did she find it?”

“Within the confines of the palace.”

“Ah, that explains much. You performed a perception spell on her and it had barely worn off when you worked the misremembrance. It is hardly surprising she could not string a sentence together last night and is still befuddled with sleep this morning. Think about consequences more, Luke. The girl could have been put out of her wits completely. Fortunate for all that she is young and resilient.”

“You are right. I did not think, sir, only to wonder how to protect her. Did she tell you about Ajax?”

Dufay’s mouth pursed. “Aye. I am not easy about him, but we are doing what we can. I have dosed him with a stronger replenishing spell than you used and Pippa is trying to concentrate on things pertaining to God and light. She understands now how much this will help him.” He looked down again at the numbers. “A pretty little math problem,” he said.

“I can see it is a series of numbers,” Luke said, “but it has to be a message, so I do not understand where mathematics comes in.”

“Mathematics is evident in every aspect of our lives, Luke,” replied the Elemagus. “If you travel to London, you need to calculate the speed of your horse against the distance to be traveled to know what time you will arrive. How do you think the great palace here was built, unless the builder used mathematics? It would have fallen down otherwise. Even Pippa when she goes to market uses mathematics to make sure she buys everything she needs in the quantities she can afford and that will not decay before she uses it.”

“Talking of decay, sir, I noticed a strange smell of rotting on Goodwife Corbett when I treated her for stomach gripes. Mayhap I am oversensitive, but I cannot help but think she is in some danger.”

“Why?” There was a pause. “Is she part of your quest?”

“Not directly, but she gave succor to Goodwife Pitt and that poor soul is dead.”

Dufay considered for a moment. “What have you given her?”

“Willow and poppy, but if her malady emanates from diablerie...”

Dufay walked into his workshop, emerging a few seconds later. “I have an expulsion spell that should help. Make her up more of your remedy and put some of this in it. Do it today. The longer you tarry, the more difficult the spell, if there is one, will be to eradicate.” He held out the cipher. “Meanwhile, I think it would be of enormous value to your studies if you solved this. I am sure that what one man can formulate, you can solve, using what I have already taught you. A pretty exercise in pattern recognition and better than I would have devised as a first exercise for you. The message must consist of letters and there are few permutations of patterns in words. Start from there.”

Luke bowed. He knew he must cloak his impatience. Why could the Elemagus not understand that this message might be vital to his investigation and that he would waste precious time performing what Dufay saw as simply an exercise? The answer, he realized a moment later, was that in Dufay’s life, only those things requiring ratiocination were of any interest. He told the bald truth when he said he wanted nothing other than his studies. “When should I return for my next lesson, sir?”

“Come and see me tomorrow. Today, my brain will benefit from working on something a little less strenuous than my current task. I shall minister to Ajax and tutor Pippa.”

They returned to the kitchen. Pippa seemed to be in a sunnier mood, if a little sleepy. Ajax was also sleeping by the pallet next to the fire. Luke cursed himself for interrupting the girl’s telepathic exercises. Within the last few hours, she had been subject to a perception spell, a misremembrance spell, and had then been jolted from a telepathic trance. No wonder she looked so bewildered. Still, his mission was urgent and some risks must be taken.

After breakfast, Luke headed back to his shop. He knew there would be a queue waiting for treatment when he opened the shutters, and he was not mistaken. For an hour, he was kept at full stretch. By the time his last client, a child with quinsy, had been dosed, Luke’s shoulder muscles felt like rocks. His counter was cluttered with jars and pots. Stretching up and windmilling his arms to ease the tension, Luke prepared to make everything tidy. He had just put the last pot back on the shelves, and was about to make a list of ingredients that needed replenishing, when he felt a disturbance in the air near the door.

When Luke looked up, he saw the grim red face of Byram Creswell, the Captain of the Guard, staring back at him in no friendly manner.