'Royston…'
The name triggered off a thought. Two long days of walking on foot had taken none of the swagger out of Christopher Millfield. He looked neat and trim in his doublet and hose. Nicholas, wearing an old shirt and a buff jerkin, felt dishevelled by comparison. He had never really taken to the young actor and put it down to the latter's forced affability.
Christopher Millfield produced his annoying grin.
'May I be so bold as to make a suggestion?'
'Please do, sir.'
'If we should fail to find an audience in Royston, as we did in Ware, there may yet be employment for us.'
'From what source?'
'Pomeroy Manor.' You know the place?'
Only by repute,' said Millfield airily. 'It lies on the estates of one Neville Pomeroy, a man of true breeding and culture, not unfriendly to the theatre and like to give us a kinder word than the folk at Ware.'
Nicholas nodded his thanks. The name of Pomeroy was vaguely familiar to him. He had heard it mentioned by Lord Westfield, and in terms of praise, which was unusual for their patron. A local landowner with a liking for entertainment might be able to rill his largest room with some spectators for them.
Where is the house?' he said
'Towards Meldreth. Not far out of our way;'
'In which direction?'
'Cambridge.'
It was worth considering. If Banbury's Men were intent on queering their pitch, then Royston might well be closed to their art. Giles Randolph would not have ruined their chances at Pomeroy Manor. He might yet be thwarted.
Christopher Millfield stood with arms akimbo.
'Why do you not like me, Master Bracewell?'
'Have I said as much?'
'I read it in your manner.'
'You are deceived. I like you well enough.'
'But not as much as Gabriel Hawkes.'
'I gave the matter no thought.'
'That is not what Master Gill believes. He tells me that you urged the name of Gabriel over mine.'
'I will not deny it.'
'May I know your reason?'
'I took him to be the finer actor.'
Millfield winced. 'You are mistaken there, sir.'
'I can only give you my true opinion.'
'It may be changed ere long,' said the other with a flash of pride. 'But was that the only cause of your preference for Gabriel? That you rated him more highly?'
'No, Christopher.'
'What else?'
'I found him more honest company.'
Nicholas gave a straightforward answer that was not to Millfield's taste at all. After shooting a hostile glare at the book I holder, he invented a nonchalant smile.
'It is of no moment,' he said.
'How so?'
'Gabriel is gone to Heaven. I am here in his place.'
'Can you spare the dead no respect?'
'He was my rival. I do not mourn him.'
'Even though he was murdered?'
Christopher Millfield was taken aback for a second but he retrieved his composure very quickly. Unable to determine if the man's reaction arose from guilt or surprise, Nicholas tried to probe.
'Did his death not strike you as sudden?'
'He was afflicted by the plague.'
'It does not usually kill its victims so fast.'
'I have seen men snuffed out in a single day.'
'The old or the weak,' said Nicholas. ' The young and the fit are able to put up some sort of struggle.'
'What are you saying, Master Bracewell?'
'Until the day when fever broke out, Gabriel was a healthy young man in the prime of life. He should have not have been carried off so speedily.'
'Your conclusion?'…
'Someone helped him on his way'
'You have proof of this?';;:
'I have a strong feeling.'
'Is that all?' said Millfield with a smirk. 'You will need more than that to make your case. Besides, what does it matter now? Gabriel was marked for death. If someone did kill him, then he rendered the man a service by sparing him the agonies of a lingering end.'
You take this too lightly, Christopher.' It is idle contemplation.'
'When a good man is murdered?'
'By whom?' challenged the other.
Someone who stood to gain from his early demise.',
Millfield met his searching gaze without a tremor.
Royston was no more than a glorified village with a bevy of thatched cottages huddled around the church like anxious children clutching at their mother's skirts. Westfield's Men had once more come too late. Their rivals had performed in the yard of the Barley Mow to an audience drawn from all the villages in the area. What enraged Lawrence Firethorn to bursting point was the fact that Banbury's Men had again filched a play from his own repertoire, The Two Maids of Milchester, another rustic comedy that was suitable for the lower sort. They were poisoning the very water from which Westfield's Men drank.
After abusing everyone in sight in the roundest terms, the actor-manager withdrew his company to a field nearby to consider their next move. Nicholas Bracewell put forward the idea mooted by Christopher Millfield and it found ready acceptance. Rather than struggle on to the next possible playing location, they elected to look for somewhere nearer. Pomeroy Manor sounded an interesting possibility and Firethorn warmed to the notion.
'Master Pomeroy is not unknown to me,' he said with casual arrogance. 'Lord Westfield presented him after one of my performances at the Rose. He knows my worth.'
'As who does not?' asked Nicholas, 'Ware does not! Royston-be damned-does not!'
'To their eternal shame, Master.'
'I would not play before these dolts if they offered me a king's ransom. Palates that have been jaded by a taste of Giles Randolph would choke on the rich food of my talent. There is a world elsewhere!'
'Shall I ride on to Pomeroy Manor?'
'With all haste, Nick,' said Firethorn, scenting the chance of a performance at last. 'Take Master Millfield with you. He knows the way and will ease your solitude.'
Nicholas could have wished for another companion but he had no choice in the matter. Edmund Hoode was quick to offer the loan of his horse to the book holder and-what was more astonishing-Barnaby Gill handed over the bay mare to Millfield with something approaching willingness. It was a gesture that Nicholas was to remember later.
The two riders set off on their expedition. Though Millfield had never been to the house before, he seemed to
