The Vagabond Clown by Edward Marston Read Free Book Online

newcomer to his circle. Lord Westfield did promise to find out more about the fellow. Nick is due to see our patron again to learn what information has come to light.’
    Gill curled a lip. ‘Nick Bracewell
has
been busy,’ he sneered. ‘Searching the prisons of London for Giddy Mussett and poking his nose into a murder that is of no concern at all to him.’
    ‘It’s of concern to him and to all of us,’ asserted Firethorn.
    ‘I’ll not lose sleep over it.’
    ‘You should, Barnaby.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Because you were directly involved in the crime.’
    ‘How could I be, Lawrence? I was myself a victim.’
    ‘We all were,’ said Firethorn. ‘I did not realise it until Nick Bracewell pointed it out to me. The affray was not simply a means of wrecking our performance. It caused a commotion that served to hide a foul murder. The villain who killed Fortunatus Hope was in league with the devils who ruined our play.’
    ‘Ruined our play,’ repeated Gill morosely, ‘and broke my leg.’
    ‘Master Hope’s fate was far worse than yours,’ said Elias. ‘Remember that. Which would you prefer – a broken leg or a dagger in your back?’
    ‘Oh, I’d choose the dagger every time, Owen. At least, it would have saved me from the indignities you pile upon me. To be replaced by Giddy Mussett is a living death. Give me oblivion instead,’ declared Gill. ‘I’d suffer no pain and disgrace in the grave.’
     
    Anne Hendrik was not looking forward to the morning. A night of shared tenderness in the arms of Nicholas Bracewell had left her feeling vulnerable. She always missed him sorely when he was away from London and this time his absence promised to be longer than usual. Knowing that he would only be in Kent, she had toyed with the notion of travelling to the county herself to watch one or more of the performances but the demands of her work were too pressing. Anne was the widow of a Dutch hatmaker, who developed a business in Southwark because theguilds prevented him, along with other immigrants, from operating within the city boundaries. When Jacob Hendrik died, his English wife not only took over from him, she discovered skills that she did not know she possessed. In the early stages, however, before her prudent management led to increased prosperity, she took in a lodger to defray expenses. Nicholas Bracewell soon became much more than a man who slept under her own roof yet he never threatened her independence or forfeited his own. It was an ideal relationship for both of them.
    ‘Will you be sorry to leave?’ she asked him.
    ‘I’m always sad to leave you, Anne,’ he replied, slipping an arm around her, ‘but there’s no remedy for it. The Queen’s Head is closed to us and we have no other playhouse in London. We are fortunate to have invitations that take us to Kent.’
    She snuggled up against him. ‘You have an invitation here as well.’
    ‘True, but I could hardly share that with the whole company.’ Anne laughed and he kissed her gently on the forehead. ‘There is, I confess, another reason that makes me want to tarry.’
    ‘Am I not reason enough?’ she said with mock annoyance.
    ‘You are the best reason I ever met in my life, Anne.’
    ‘Then I’m content to let you go.’
    Nicholas became serious. ‘What irks me as well is that I’ll be unable to look more closely into the murder that took place. For the sake of Westfield’s Men, it’s a crime I would dearly love to solve.’
    ‘But the victim has no link with the company.’
    ‘Master Hope was a friend of our patron.’
    ‘From what you told me, he sounds more like an acquaintance. Someone who was on the very fringe of Lord’s Westfield’s entourage.’
    ‘It matters not,’ said Nicholas. ‘He was murdered during our performance.’
    ‘That does not mean you have to be involved in finding the killer, Nick.’
    ‘I believe that it does. We are implicated here. I’m certain that the riot and the murder were linked,’ he