Page 32 of Linenfold (The Alice Chronicles #4)

He rouses himself and takes her arm. ‘There’s more to this than meets the eye. Come on into the parlour, it’s cold here in the passage and I have something to tell you.’

He leads her into the low-ceilinged winter parlour and closes the door. The raw, wintry sky outside renders it dim but there is a healthy fire in the hearth. As they sit down either side:

‘I think I was not meant to hear you, cousin.’

‘Juliana!’ Jack and Alice swing round as she gets up from the window seat at the far end and approaches.

‘I was playing with the children and I believe I exhausted them. At least, they exhausted me and I came in for a little respite. What’s this about the Queen’s trenchers? How is Philip involved?’

‘You’re right, you weren’t meant to hear,’ Jack says. ‘It’s my fault. I should have checked. This is not something you need to worry about, Juliana.’

‘I’m not worried, and I dislike being treated like a child, Jack. It’s what Mother and Father do all the time. I too can keep a secret when necessary.’

Alice has remained silent during the exchange. This is not for her to decide, but she is glad when Jack says, ‘You’d better come and join us, Juliana. I’ve already asked Alice not to speak openly of this, and I’ve yet to tell her the connection between Philip and the trenchers.’

‘Just trust me, cousin. Please.’

He nods. ‘Come and sit down. I need to go back a bit. If you’ve the time, Alice?’

‘Of course.’ Her natural curiosity is whetted, her need to resolve the growing mysteries this tragic sojourn has engendered.

‘Bear with me. You won’t immediately see a connection.

Last year, there was a sea battle off the north-west coast of France.

A man called the Duc de Soubise – he’s not a duke, simply styles himself as such, but that’s beside the point – this man led forces against Louis’ navy.

It was styled as a Protestant revolt against Catholic repression.

Essentially, he was taking advantage of a very weak French navy and succeeded in gaining control over the stretch of coast down to Bordeaux.

‘Richelieu had to hire ships from abroad, some of them ours, would you believe, and later on last year Richelieu counter-attacked and regained mastery. But in the meantime, amongst other triumphs, Soubise had carried off the French fleet’s flagship, the Vierge .

Eighty gun ship-of-the-line. A brilliant feat, especially with only a few hundred men.

Along with that, he retrieved a fortune discovered on board.

The French didn’t admit it, and Soubise kept his counsel, but such information has a way of leaking out.

We have reason to believe it is currently in transit.

It’s inconceivable that Buckingham doesn’t know too. ’

‘I expect His Grace wishes it would come to him,’ Alice comments, ‘as recompense for his outlay on that disastrous Cadiz venture he instigated.’

‘His Grace will not be the only one trying to lay his hands on it.’

‘Whose is it?’

‘The fortune was stolen from La Rochelle. It has long been suspected that the Huguenots of La Rochelle had accumulated considerable wealth. The skills of these people, not least in silk weaving, are legendary, along with their trading acumen. A thorn in the side for Cardinal Richelieu. His spies located the treasury, stole it and placed it on board the Vierge for safekeeping. But then Soubise sprang his attack. For Richelieu, losing that and his flagship too was a great humiliation. He will be chasing hard on its heels.’

‘What did Soubise do with the treasury?’ Juliana asks.

‘Soubise’s loyalties lie with the Huguenots,’ Jack says. ‘They got it back, but that coastline soon after came back under French control, so they knew they had to get it out of La Rochelle.’

‘Huguenots!’ Alice exclaims. ‘Everywhere I turn there seems to be a Huguenot! Did you know there are two Huguenot women in Lord Hardcastle’s train?’

‘Tell me?’ And Alice recounts how the two Frenchwomen fleeing La Rochelle came to Paris, failed to find lodging with relations and were redirected to Lord Hardcastle’s house, how His Lordship offered them safe passage to Spitalfields on his way to his own house in London.

‘So he was sympathetic to that cause.’

‘To any persecuted minorities, Philip said to me.’

‘Where are they now?’

‘With us at High Stoke.’

‘What baggage did they carry?’ Jack asks.

Alice thinks back to their surprise arrival, their emergence from the baggage coach.

‘They had a bag each. Enough to hold a change of clothing that would not be onerous to carry on their way across France. And Honorine carried a small pocket on a cord from her waist, too small to carry much. I know what you’re going to say, Jack.

No, I never looked into their bags, but while the duke spoke with them in the winter parlour to put them at their ease, His Grace’s man Vernon searched their chamber. ’

‘Anything?’

‘No. I was with him and I know he found nothing. Does this put them in danger from His Grace, Jack? Was that what he was really here for? I mean, will he have them arrested? Some trumped-up charge so that he can question them about their knowledge of the treasury?’

‘He could have done that when he was there. No, Buckingham is a clever, subtle man. It’s how he’s risen as far as he has. It’s more likely he’ll have them followed. Do you know where in Spitalfields the Frenchwomen were hoping to go?’

‘I don’t,’ she admits. ‘From what Philip says, Lord Hardcastle was going to arrange it for them. Perhaps he knew someone who would help. I’ve asked Philip to think who that might be.’

‘Then I believe it’s time we brought Philip into this.’