Page 47 of Linenfold (The Alice Chronicles #4)

Y ou forestalled me, Alice,’ Philip says. ‘I was looking forward to killing him.’

‘Is he dead, then?’

‘Is he dead? Before he hit the ground. He collapsed like a spent bladder.’

They are sitting in the winter parlour, Alice, Olivia, Jack, Philip and next to him, Juliana.

Cushions prop Alice up in the large chair with arms that Henry used to occupy at the hall table.

Comfortable in a loose-gown, her feet in soft house slippers resting on a cushioned stool.

She has refused to stay in bed and this is the compromise.

The cradle sits on the floor next to her and Olivia knees it periodically into gentle rocking.

Little Henrietta lies asleep under the coverlet so beautifully worked by Alice’s friend Ursula Cazanove.

All I want to do is look at her, hold her.

At this moment, she fills my heart to the exclusion of all else.

‘Sir Malcolm is coming this morning,’ Philip says.

She comes back to herself, ‘Oh, no. A red-letter day for Sir Malcolm at last.’

‘Or not,’ Jack says.

‘I killed Pearce. He’ll latch onto that like a tick on a hind. I’ve made myself a target for his—’

‘He’ll not latch onto anything, least of all yourself,’ Olivia says, and Jack adds, ‘His Grace of Buckingham will see to that.’

‘His Grace of Buckingham is on the coroner’s side,’ Alice reminds him.

‘Well, now he’s on our side,’ Jack assures her.

‘Since when?’

‘Since yesterday,’ Philip tells her. ‘Jack and I went to visit him.’

‘Yesterday? But it takes weeks for petitioners to be granted audience.’

‘Well, he saw us,’ Philip says, grinning.

‘Don’t tease her,’ Olivia says.

‘I called in a few favours,’ Jack tells her. ‘They all insisted it was impossible. And within an hour we had a time and a place.’

‘That was after we saw Her Majesty, of course,’ Philip adds, looking rather pleased with himself.

‘Don’t tell me,’ Alice says. ‘You called in favours as well.’

‘No I just wrote her a little note.’

‘“ Your Majesty, I’m in London and thought I’d call by. A bient?t, Philip ”,’ she says.

‘It said I carried a message from Lewis Cargill. I was admitted straightway. The duchess was with her.’

‘And what was the message?’

‘Three sets of letters. LC, LdeK, LdeB .’

Lewis Cargill, Louise de Kergyle, Louis de Bourbon. ‘My God, Philip!’ Alice gasps. ‘It’s an accusation of treason against the Queen! They could have had you arrested and silenced and no one the wiser. What did the duchess do when you said that?’

‘Nothing, because I didn’t say it. After a little righteous blustering on her part, I was permitted to approach the Queen to whisper the message. The duchess was confident that any message from Cargill to the Queen would be reported by Cargill to the duke in due course.’

‘What did Her Majesty say when you gave her this message?’

‘Nothing at first. She understood the connection all right. She was rather pale, but she has great courage. She thanked me graciously for the message of goodwill “from my dear friend the Comtesse de Tillières”.’

‘And she has a quick wit too,’ Alice comments.

‘The Buckingham ladies will be well aware the comtesse was in the Queen’s original entourage and might indeed have sent her an affectionate message.

And wasn’t it the comtesse who was to pass the fruit trenchers to Lewis?

By the way, Honorine was in the comtesse’s household.

Was ordered to accompany Lewis as his sister, did you know that, Philip? ’

‘I didn’t but it doesn’t surprise me.’

‘So you gave Her Majesty the trenchers?’

‘As it happened, the duchess’s presence suited us very well,’ Philip goes on.

‘When I presented the trenchers, Her Grace couldn’t resist gloating in delight how glad she was that her idea to send for them had been taken up by the Queen.

I added my compliments to Her Grace for good measure.

So the Queen knows that I know what she was up to, but also that I have let her off the hook.

She cannot be accused of treason in sending Lewis, because she was only following the Duchess’s suggestion. ’

‘Didn’t they ask where Lewis Cargill was?’ Alice asks. ‘Surely as her page, they would want to know why you and not he brought the trenchers?’

‘I spared their blushes, merely said that he had met with an accident and would not be able to resume his duties, and I was there on his behalf,’ Philip explains. ‘Neither asked any more. Their silence was very … speaking.’

‘I’ll wager His Grace was fuming when you told him what the Duchess said.’

‘He wasn’t very happy, it’s true,’ Philip confirms.

‘He saw the sense in drawing a veil over the whole affair,’ Jack adds, ‘especially finding out that Cargill was a French agent. He understood very well that he’d not only been duped as to Cargill’s loyalties, he’d been found out in his own schemes, employing both Cargill and Pearce.

So instead of having his agent spying on Her Majesty, he had introduced one of Louis’ top agents into her presence, and thus indirectly into the King’s presence.

Not something you do if you want to keep royal favour. ’

‘So he’s decided it is politic to help us in another way,’ Philip goes on.

‘He’s sent his equerry to Sir Malcolm on behalf of His Majesty, coroners being the King’s officers, as you probably know.

He expressed the King’s displeasure at Sir Malcolm’s inept handling of my uncle’s death.

The verdict will be overturned and changed to murder by John Pearce.

As regards the death of Cargill, Sir Malcolm is to announce murder by Pearce of an unknown man disguised as a woman.

And Pearce’s death will be given out as the result of the fight with the “unknown” man. ’

‘I cleaned the filleting knife,’ Philip says, and adds with relish. ‘And I bloodied Pearce’s knife to add credence to our story.’

‘He’d already bloodied it on Juliana’s neck,’ Alice says.

‘Only a nick,’ Juliana says and points. ‘There. Hardly a mark.’

Alice gives herself a shake. ‘Well, I am more grateful than I can say that you have quashed Sir Malcolm. But it frightens me, the risks you took.’

‘What of the risk you took?’ Olivia asks her.

She has no answer to that.

‘It added spice,’ Philip says. ‘The best was watching His Grace squirm when he not only realised we knew about Cargill being his spy, but also discovered he was a spy for the French. I thought he might have a seizure when we suggested Pearce was involved in the plot to search for the Huguenot treasury and probably working for someone in this country.’ He laughs delightedly, there is no making him face up to the danger he courted.

‘When Joe and Jackson brought me back here that night, I told Juliana I’d be back later,’ Olivia says, and turns to Juliana. ‘It’s highly to your credit that you didn’t jump on your horse and gallop over here within the hour.’

‘I was tempted.’

‘That’s what makes it to your credit that you didn’t. He was still out there. In the darkness I dread to think what might have happened.’

Alice says, ‘I’m so relieved you came to no harm in the end.’

Juliana’s eyes glow. ‘Between us, we battled him, Alice. But I shall never recover from failing to knee him where he deserved it!’

‘I’m glad at least that we have provided you with a measure of entertainment before you return home,’ Olivia says.

‘I shall miss being here. You can truthfully say you have entertained me royally.’

‘I shall be calling on Juliana back in London,’ Philip tells them. ‘After a decent interval, that is. I need to bury my uncle, and for all I know she may change her mind and decide I am to be discarded.’

‘Probably, yes,’ Juliana says, but her words fool no one.

‘And where is Honorine now?’ Alice asks.

Jack laughs. ‘Oh, I think you can best guess where Honorine is. Or perhaps she is now Honorio. Allan’s garments mysteriously disappeared from the woodshed.’

‘Good,’ she says and leaves it at that.

Jack becomes serious once more. ‘And now will you please put us out of our misery?’

‘What misery?’

‘By telling us where the rest of the treasury is.’

‘Oh, that.’

‘Yes, oh that?’

‘Allan retrieved the ruby,’ Olivia says, ‘and I found an emerald on the floor in the main chamber.’

‘So where’s the rest?’ Philip asks.

It is Alice’s turn to laugh. ‘Under my nose all the time. Did you know that your uncle gave me a gift for housing you all?’

‘Oh, so in the end he did, did he?’ Philip says. ‘Good. What did he give you?’

‘Did you notice the crewelwork bed-hanging in the main chamber.’

‘Only in passing,’ he says. ‘It didn’t come from the Paris house.’

‘Not that execrable curtain?’ Olivia says, aghast.

‘Not the curtain exactly,’ she says. ‘Philip said his uncle went to “transact some business” while in Paris. I would guess that business was with the mysterious Marcel Boileau, the correspondent who offered to advise him on packing. I would guess Boileau is a Huguenot agent and he gave your uncle the hanging to bring to England. And your uncle knew it was the Huguenot treasury. After all, he was the one who made up the riddle. In case.’

‘But hangings aren’t that valuable,’ Philip objects.

‘No, but what they contain could be. It’s all in the riddle. Have you your piece with you, Philip?’

‘As ever,’ he says and draws the little bag out from between the buttons of his doublet.

‘I think it probably read something like this,’ she says.

The chainéd limbs thus spread inspire Eve’s craft

To place her cruel shields on hardened raft,

Lest, cyprus stripped, the eyes be stimulated

And robber-king’s gross desires be consummated.