A Conspiracy of Violence by Susanna Gregory Read Free Book Online Page A

villainous-looking fellow with no teeth.
     Chaloner followed them down the slick green steps and into a bobbing craft.
    He scanned the pier as he scrambled into the bow, alert for any indication that he might have been followed. He did not think
     Kelyng could have caught up with him, since he had rushed off in the opposite direction, but Bennet might have managed. However,
     there was nothing amiss, and he began to relax, grateful to rest his aching leg. Leybourn and the boatman continued to haggle
     as they moved away from the jetty and eased into the powerful current that carried them north and then east, towards Temple
     Stairs where Chaloner intended to disembark. He had no idea what Leybourn would do, since Cripplegate was a good way from
     the river.
    Then he heard running footsteps. It was Bennet. The chamberlain seized a riverman by the shoulder, pointed at Chaloner’s craft,
     and silver flashed. The message was clear: more would be given if the fellow caught up. The boatman grabbed his oars, clearly
     intending to have whatever had been offered. Chaloner watched, aware that avessel containing three people could not possibly outrun one carrying two, the driver of which was already hauling as though
     his life depended on it. It was gaining, while Chaloner’s man was enjoying a niggardly debate with Leybourn about the cost
     of oysters. With nowhere to run, and no means to escape, Chaloner was trapped like a fish in a barrel.

Chapter 2
    Bennet knelt in his boat, bracing himself against the rocking motion, and took a pistol from under his cloak. If his riverman
     thought this irregular, he made no comment, and only continued to haul on his oars for all he was worth. Chaloner’s own man
     faltered when he saw the weapon.
    ‘Pull,’ Chaloner ordered, scrambling forward and grabbing an oar. The boatman obeyed with mute terror, and they began to ease
     ahead. Then Chaloner saw Bennet extend his arm and squint along the barrel. Even the most dire of marksmen could not miss
     at such close range, and he braced himself for the impact.
    But Leybourn hauled something from his doublet. ‘Fireball!’ he yelled, hurling it at the other craft. It landed with a thud
     that was audible even at a distance. Bennet’s oarsman gave a shriek of horror and dived overboard. Bennet tried to maintain
     his balance in the savagely bucking craft, but soon disappeared with an almighty splash. Chaloner’s man cheered wildly, and
     stood to make obscene gestures at the bobbing heads that surfaced a moment later. Leybourn sat with a satisfied smilestamped across his thin features.
    ‘What was it really?’ asked Chaloner.
    ‘Tobacco,’ replied the bookseller. ‘A customer gave it to me in exchange for one of my pamphlets. I am sorry to see the Thames
     have it, but it cannot be helped.’
    ‘It is a waste,’ agreed the boatman. He elbowed Chaloner away, wanting the craft back under his own control. ‘This will affect
     the fare, gentlemen. Me being threatened with firearms costs extra.’
    ‘And you being you rescued from gun-toting lunatics does not come cheap, either,’ retorted Leybourn tartly. ‘I charge for
     that sort of service, so I advise you to stick to our original agreement or you may find yourself in debt at the end of the
     journey.’
    ‘He was trying to kill your friend,’ objected the boatman. ‘
You
endangered
me
, by making me carry you when Gervaise Bennet was after your blood. If you got on
his
wrong side, then you had no business asking me to take you upriver. I might have been killed.’
    ‘You are mistaken,’ said Leybourn smoothly. He pointed forward, to where another boat was in disarray, oars in the water as
     it rotated hopelessly out of control. A large, heavily paunched man in a red wig, and a pretty, fattish girl carrying a long-handled
     parasol were shrieking their alarm while their boatman paddled ineffectually with his hands. ‘Bennet was aiming at them. It
     was my quick thinking that