Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors by Conn Iggulden Read Free Book Online

than empty-handed, a thousand times over.
    Panting, Henry pressed on. His uncle Jasper had no protection in the law for his past estate. As a common man, Jasper could be arrested and put to torture by any king’s officer. It was true a judge and jury would eventually be called to hear his accusers, but with Earl Herbert to speak against him, there was only one possible outcome.
    It was far more likely that his uncle would be cut down in the pursuit or take an iron bolt in the back. Henry jogged along after the man, a stranger in all but their shared name, weighing the odds of being killed as his companion. There would be chances he could take, he thought, before the end came. There would surely be a moment when he could just step aside and melt into the crowd, or even to surrender to one of the guards, who would know him by sight. To his surprise, Henry found himself struck by discomfort at the thought. Yet he would not choose death for a man he barely knew, not if there was a chance to live and plan again.
    Henry kept his eyes on his uncle as they wove through the crowd, passing close enough to an apprentice carrying a pig carcass to make the man stagger. As the butcher’s boy turned to shake his fist, Henry slipped around his back, amusing himself by slapping the pig loudly on its haunch. The apprentice began to turn the other way in rising indignation, but Henry was past, barely in time to see his uncle vanish into the gloom of an apothecary shop.
    Henry hesitated as he reached the door, looking back along the busy street. The guards were still there, not far behind. They seemed determined to continue the chase and he thought he could hear them shouting. He felt as if he could lead them a merry dance all day, but he had no special desire to be run to exhaustion. The harbour was a few hundred yards away, behind the cliffs and the row of shops at their foot. The apothecary was surely just a rathole, with no way out. The guards would find them. Henry took a deep breath, calming himself. Perhaps it was time to surrender to Earl Herbert’s men. He’d take a beating, but he’d survived those before.
    His thoughts were interrupted as a wiry arm reached out from the shop door and snagged his collar, yanking him in. Henry grunted, his hand dropping to his belt dagger until he felt fingers tighten over his and he looked up at his uncle.
    ‘Can’t have you standing out there like a signpost, can we, lad?’ Jasper said. He was panting and flushed, but he smiled on one side of his mouth and his eyes were bright with amusement. ‘Come on.’
    With his uncle’s hand on his arm, Henry stumbled across the wooden floor of the shop, between rows of glass jars and vials on either side. The shelves were so crammed with goods that there was barely an aisle and his uncle had to turn and sidestep to reach the counter. The place smelled strongly of vinegar and something else at least as bitter. Henry held his nose in his fist as a sneeze built, still half trying to listen for their pursuers. He looked up when his uncle spoke to the owner.
    ‘Master Ambrose? I give you good day and God’s blessings. Do you remember me? Do you know my name?’
    ‘I believe I do, my lord,’ the apothecary replied, not looking particularly happy about it. The little man was completelybald, his scalp a pale and freckled white from all the years spent in the sunless shop. He looked a little like one of the strange fish peering out of the glass-stoppered jugs on the high shelves. When he smiled, Henry saw he had very short teeth, worn to nubs that barely cleared the gums.
    ‘This is my nephew, Ambrose, not much older than I was when I was last in this shop of yours.’
    Henry and the old man exchanged wary glances. The action was enough to bring the apothecary’s courage to the surface.
    ‘The … new earl is said to be a vengeful young pup, my lord,’ the old man said, sucking at something in his mouth so that his entire face twisted. ‘If I am accused