'I'm going into chambers for a minute.'
I entered the office to find Skelly working by the light of a candle he hardly needed in the full daylight. 'Here again on Sunday, John?' I asked, hiding my irritation.
He gave me a shifty look. 'I'm behind, sir.'
I could not face looking over his scribbles. I turned to Godfrey's door. 'Master Wheelwright in?'
'Yes, sir.'
Godfrey was working quietly at his desk. 'Here on the Sabbath?' I asked. He looked at me seriously.
'God will forgive me. I want to get my cases in order. Word is I am to be disbarred if I don't apologize to the duke.' He smiled wryly. 'That will create a mighty furore. Perhaps it will make our brothers consider who it is we lawyers serve, God and the commonwealth or the Duke of Norfolk.'
'Many will ease their consciences by saying it was a matter of discourtesy, Godfrey, not religion.'
'Then they deceive themselves.'
'What will you do if you leave chambers?'
'Become a preacher.' He smiled. 'I believe that is what God is calling me to do.'
'Dangerous times may be coming.' If Cromwell falls, I thought. If I fail. If he doesn't get Greek Fire. The hideous tangle of loyalties I was caught in made me feel faint for a moment and I clutched at the edge of a chair.
'Are you all right, Matthew?'
I nodded. 'I have been working hard.'
'At least no more of your cases have gone,' he said.
'Good.' I decided to make one last attempt to make him see reason. 'Godfrey, would it not be a dreadful thing to throw over your position, the talent you have used these many years?' And yet, I thought even as I spoke the words, was that not what I too had been thinking of doing?
'Sometimes God calls us to a new life.'
'And to great tribulations.' I gave up. 'I may not be in for a few days now.'
I stepped back into the office, where Barak was talking to Skelly in a low voice. Getting gossip about me, I supposed. 'I'm going to Lady Honor's,' I said.
'I'll ride with you,' he said. 'Then I can call in at the Old Barge.'
We walked back down Chancery Lane in silence. I cursed inwardly. I had hoped Barak would leave me to go to Lady Honor's alone, for afterwards I planned to go to Guy's. But he seemed to be sticking to me today.
Chapter Thirty-seven
WE FETCHED THE HORSES and rode down to the City. Barak was still morose, saying little. As we rode under the Ludgate I noticed a patch of lighter colour in the wall where the repairs had been completed.
'The stones from the old synagogue came from there,' I said to make conversation.
Barak grunted. 'I bet the watchman had some ripe comments about Christ killers ready when you said they came from a synagogue.'
'I don't remember,' I said, though I well recalled that he had.
We rode on past St Paul's, the huge spire casting a welcome patch of shade. As we came into the sun again, Barak pulled his horse in close. 'Look round slowly,' he said. 'Don't stop the horse. By the bookstalls near St Paul's Cross.'
I turned and saw Toky leaning against a rail, ignoring the crowds and scanning the passers-by with that pale ravaged face of his.
'I thought he'd disappeared,' I said. 'Could we not try to apprehend him? Or call the constable?'
'If Toky's there, Wright's nearby and they'll be armed. I don't fancy a tussle with the two of them, and some old constable wouldn't last long.'
'They know a great deal. Their capture could solve many of our problems.'
'That's why Lord Cromwell's men are looking for them all over town. The yard's a good place to see who's coming in and out of the City. I wonder who he's looking out for.'
'Us probably.'
'Well, he missed us. I know who's dealing with it for the earl – I'll send word to them.' He shook his head, half-admiringly. 'They're as smart a pair of rogues as I've ever seen, the way they dodge about the City.'
'They swim in its filthy waters, hidden by its blackness.'
'You sounded like your evangelist friend Godfrey, then.' He rode on into the crowds of Cheapside and I followed, keeping a wary eye out even though Toky was far behind us.
WE PARTED COMPANY at the Walbrook. Barak went off to send a message to Cromwell, saying to my dismay that he would call to collect me in an hour at Lady Honor's. We should stay together, he said, if Toky was about. I could think of no objection, though that meant I could not go to Guy's. Barak rode off and I went on to Blue Lion Street.
At the House of Glass a couple of servants were washing the windows with vinegar. Informed that Lady Honor was at home, I passed Genesis to a stable boy and was ushered through the house to the inner courtyard. A servant was watering the plants set in pots round the walls. Lady Honor sat on a bench watching him. She wore a blue dress and her blonde hair was uncovered today, tied in a bun with a silk ribbon. She smiled in welcome.
'Matthew. This is an unexpected visit.'
I bowed. 'I apologize for coming unannounced. But-'
'Official business?'
'I fear so.'
She took a deep breath. 'Come then, sit with me. Edward, that will do for now. Finish the watering this evening.' The man bowed and left us. Lady Honor looked over her courtyard. 'I fear my little bushes are dying in the heat. See there, I have been trying to grow pomegranates, but my foolish servants know nothing about the care of plants, they water them at the wrong times, too much or too little.'
'Everything is dying in this fierce weather. The crops will be bad.'
'Will they?' she asked indifferently. 'But you have not come to talk of planting, I think.'
'No. Lady Honor, I have a confession.' I cursed my awkwardness. I should not be apologizing for questioning her, it was my duty. 'I know about the Duke of Norfolk's pursuit of you,' I said bluntly. 'I needed to follow up the question you left me with on the river bank. I spoke to Marchamount.'
I half-expected anger but she only turned away and stared ahead for a moment. When she turned back to me her face wore a tired smile. 'After we spoke on the river I feared you would report me to Cromwell and I should be in trouble. Did you ask Marchamount first to save me from the earl's rough ways?'
'Perhaps.'
'You are gentle with me, more than I deserve. I felt that if the duke's insulting demands were forced out of me by Cromwell, my honour would be less besmirched. A foolish notion, perhaps.'
'I am sorry I could not save you from my knowing.'
'At least you will not gossip like most would.' She looked at me seriously. 'Will you? It is a tasty morsel, I realize.'
'You know I think too much of you for that, Lady Honor.'
She laid a hand on mine for a second, then lifted it, although I had the odd sensation it was still there. 'You are a natural gentleman.' She sighed. 'I have sent Henry back to the country. He could never make his way at court. So I have been able to reject the crude advances of that old brute with a clear conscience.'
'I did not realize you disliked the duke so.'
'He is unfit for the position he occupies. He may be the senior peer of the realm, but his lineage is not old, you know.' She smiled. 'Unlike the Vaughans.'
I took a deep breath. 'Lady Honor, I must ask – for the last time, I promise – is there anything you have not
