Page 41 of The King’s Man (Guardians of the Crown #2)
A bitter early morning wind blew up the river, bringing the small boat with the red sail in to dock at St. Katherine’s. Kit hunched his shoulders into his cloak, stamped his feet and blew on his hands. They had been waiting hours and he was frozen to the bone.
A sailor flung a plank across the gap between the boat and the dock and De Baas, immediately recognisable from his hawk-like visage, pranced across it.
‘ Mes cheres ,’ he exclaimed, clasping Henshaw and Kit to his perfumed person. ‘I ‘ave brought him.’
A second man crossed the plank and stood beside De Baas – a slight figure, his face shadowed by the wide-brimmed hat. Despite himself, Kit shivered, feeling a dark malevolence in the very stillness of the man.
De Baas gestured at his companion. ‘Monsieur Debigné, my English friends Henshaw and Lovell.’
The Frenchman bowed but did not speak.
The unseen eyes of the hired assassin seemed to bore into Kit’s soul and his flesh crawled. He had killed men but it had always been in the heat of battle or self-defence, never in cold blood. He wondered what sort of person would undertake such a calling.
Henshaw cleared his throat. ‘There is an inn nearby where our friends wait. I suggest we adjourn there and we can advise you of the plan.’
Gerard and the recruit, Vowells, had taken the private parlour. A luncheon of cold meat and cheese encircled a map.
‘Cromwell is accustomed to visiting Hampton Court Palace every Saturday,’ Henshaw said.
‘We’ve been watching him. He takes the same route every time.
’ His finger traced the road from London to Hampton on the map.
‘He travels by coach with a guard of twenty men. Wiseman and I have reconnoitred the route and we believe an ambush can be laid here.’ His finger jabbed.
‘It’s heavily wooded and there is a bend in the road which will force the coach to slow. ’
Kit translated for Debigné, then asked, ‘How many men? To my mind, we will need at least forty. ‘
‘We have three times that number,’ Henshaw replied, speaking in French.
‘Experienced?’ Debigné spoke for the first time, in time, glancing at Kit to provide the translation.
Vowells shrugged. ‘Some.’
‘Forty men is a large number to secrete,’ Debigné commented.
‘It can be done,’ Henshaw said. ‘Our target is Cromwell. A select few will go in with the sole purpose of dragging Cromwell from the coach and Ireton if he is with him. Monsieur, you know your job. I do not need to tell you what must be done.’
Debigné nodded. ‘It will have to be fast.’
‘Once it is accomplished, we make haste for London. Vowells – you and Fox will have the ’prentices here and here,’ Gerard pointed to places on the map within striking distance of Whitehall.
‘There will be chaos when news of the Protector’s death hits the streets.
We must act fast. Ireton, Thurloe and the others – you have the names – must all be secured. ’
‘And what is your alternative plan?’ Debigné asked mildly.
‘Alternative?’ Lord Gerard glanced at the Frenchman, then at Kit, to check that he had heard the word correctly.
‘What if Cromwell does not choose to visit Hampton Court on this particular day?’ Debigné asked.
‘Why would he? He always does it.’
Debigné shrugged. ‘Something may detain him.’ He looked around the circle of faces. ‘He may get wind of the plan.’
‘Only those of us within this room know these plans,’ Lord Gerard said firmly. ‘Every man here is to be trusted.’
Debigné straightened. ‘That is good,’ he said. ‘When next we meet we talk about an alternative plan. Now, gentlemen, I am weary from the voyage. Baron?’
‘Where are you staying?’ Kit asked.
Debigné’s cold eyes met his. ‘I make my own arrangements. You may leave a message with Baron De Baas and I will contact him.’
After Debigné and De Baas left, the conspirators turned to their usual occupation of wine and cards. Kit chafed with impatience. He would have liked to have followed the Frenchmen, but to have left immediately on their tail would have caused comment.
He forced himself to a few rounds before excusing himself. There were other things he needed to accomplish before the day was done, and the first required a ride to Turnham Green to tell Jane Knott that her sister was safe.
***
Kit chose a horse with a better temperament than his last mount and made good time to the village.
With the practice of years, he took up a position where he could watch the house in Turnham Green unobserved.
He had no wish to see Roger Knott, so he dispatched a boy with a short, cryptic note that only Jane Knott would understand.
Wearing a cloak and hat and carrying a basket, Jane Knott left the house half an hour after the boy delivered his note. Kit slipped from his hiding place and followed her at a discreet distance.
She bought vegetables and some meat from the local stallholders and, carrying her basket, walked down to the riverbank.
When he was certain she was out of sight and earshot of the village he closed the distance between them and came upon Jane, sitting on the riverbank, her knees drawn up to her chest, like a child.
‘Mistress Knott?’
She jumped like a startled rabbit and started to rise.
He held up his hand and sat down beside her. ‘I’m sorry to startle you.’
‘Your note was somewhat vague,’ Jane said, ‘but I hoped it was you.’
‘I have just come to tell you that I found Thamsine.’
Jane looked up at him. ‘Is she … ?’
‘She is alive and unhurt.’ He paused, uncertain of how much to tell her. ‘He had confined her to Bedlam.’
Jane put a hand to her throat. ‘Oh, surely not that awful place?’
‘She would have been dead or mad within weeks,’ Kit stated. ‘He used the name Annie Morton to secure her. His sister, I presume?’
Jane nodded. ‘Yes, poor Annie. Is Thamsine all right? He didn’t … ?’
‘Apart from a few bruises and shock she seems unharmed, and she is safe with friends for the moment.’
Jane closed her eyes. ‘Thank God. Morton came to the house this morning in a fearful temper. He and Roger left for London two hours ago.’
‘Morton needs your husband again.’
Jane lowered her eyes. ‘I know. He and your friend Lucy Talbot hold him fast. He is so afraid of scandal. He would be ruined.’
‘And what about you?’ Kit frowned. ‘Mistress Knott, your husband is a confessed adulterer of the worst sort. Have you never considered leaving him?’
She looked horrified. ‘Those who God has joined together, let no man put asunder,’ she said. ‘And there are the children … no, I could never leave him. Despite what he did, he does love me, Captain Lovell.’
Kit nodded. He was not sure he entirely understood but he respected her right to value security over honour.
‘You may have found Thamsine and while she is safe for the moment, it will not end there, Captain Lovell.’ Jane accepted his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. ‘It won’t end until Ambrose Morton is dead or … ’ She looked at him.
‘Or … ?’
‘Or Thamsine is wed to another.’ She paused and looked up at him. ‘My father’s will does not name Ambrose Morton as a beneficiary. It states that the estate passes to Thamsine upon her marriage. Marriage will free her.’ She grasped his hand. ‘Captain Lovell, do you love her?’
She mistook his silence. Her voice faltered as she said, ‘I suppose love doesn’t matter. If you care for her at all, even if it is just as a friend, marry her.’
Kit spread his hands. ‘Mistress Knott, I can’t marry her! My life is … complicated.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Do you have a wife, Captain Lovell?’
He shook his head. ‘No … ’
Tears shone in Jane Knott’s eyes and her voice shook as she said, ‘I am certain she loves you, Captain Lovell, and it would be the one sure way to free her from Ambrose Morton.’ She smiled. ‘Surely you must see that it would not be to your disadvantage either.’
Kit straightened his shoulders. ‘I am not so far lost that I would marry her for her fortune, Mistress Knott. That would make me no better than Morton.’
‘But you don’t deny it would be helpful?’
‘Of course it would be. An heiress for a wife would be the answer to my prayers.’
‘Then marry her and be done with it, Captain Lovell,’ Jane said. ‘If you don’t, and something happens to her, you will regret it for the rest of your days.’
He nodded. ‘That is a hard choice you give me, Mistress Knott. My life … ’
She dropped her eyes. ‘Is complicated. I’m sorry if I misunderstood the nature of your friendship with Thamsine.’
He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. ‘I … I want you to know that I do love Thamsine, but there are other forces at work here that are beyond my control. Rest easy, I will think on it. In the meantime, I will wish you a good day, Mistress Knott.’
He took his leave of her and rode slowly back to London. At every step, a single thought jolted through his mind.
Marry Thamsine .