The Game Of Kings Part 41

"To know what was in his brain as he drew back that bow at Hex-ham we must look at the record of his actions i~ the past for his real ambitions, his real mind on issues moral and ethical and all those intangible things which dictate whether a man conducts his body for the profit of his body, or for the greater renown and comfort of his country, or in the service of his G.o.d.

"We have not found out these things this afternoon; and we shall not find them in those things I have mentioned. For this we must go further back, to the dreadful and deadly crimes of which Francis Crawford was accused six years ago, and for which he has still to answer. These are the matters I am proposing to bring before you now..

A macer, hurrying from Lord Culter's side, bent and said some-thing to Argyll. The Justiciar's voice said, "What? Oh. . . . Certainly. No purpose in endangering-" And wriggling back his sleeves, the Earl whacked the table. "Adjournment for an hour. Break off meantime, Mr. Lauder..

The Lord Advocate followed his eyes, then turned back, bowed and sat down as Sir James Foulis appeared at his elbow. "The old fool: it's been coming for half an hour. Hasn't he got eyes?" said Lauder comfortably. Through the curtain of officials and guards he could see that Lymond had lowered his head on crossed arms, exposing nothing but the nape of his neck and the admirable lace of his shirt.

The room was clangorous with conversation. Most of them, Committee and witnesses, were on their feet with a flopping and Un-puckering of robes, a stretching and a crackling of paper. They gathered in half-prepared knots, mesmerized still by the rigours and tensions of the day, and unwilling to leave while the play was not yet done.

After less than two minutes Lymond gripped the arms of his chair, and then rose. The moment's collapse, Lauder guessed, had been a bitter humiliation: he had not yet regained any colour. Nevertheless he made a deep and impeccable bow to Argyll and walked out through the door without pausing.

"That," said Henry Lauder, closing his spectacles and throwing his pen in the wastepaper basket, "is a brain. If I were ten years younger and a la.s.sie, I'd woo him myself..

Foulis of Colinton caught Oxengang's eye and grinned; to Lauder he said, "Well, he timed that little episode neatly enough..

"He timed it?" The Lord Advocate, peeling off his soaking robe, was making for the cool air outside. "He timed it? Don't be a b.l.o.o.d.y fool, Jamie..

Will Scott was among the last to move. As he made to get up, a heavy hand cuffed his head and he looked around and up to see his father.

"Are your teeth sewn up?" demanded Buccleuch. "You've been busy enough chattering all around Edinburgh up till now..

Will said resentfully, "Lauder stopped me twice, but he won't again. I'll d.a.m.n well . .

"Dod, d'ye need a dub and whistle? Bawl it out, man, and he canna stop ye." He grinned reminiscently. "Your man has GeorgeDouglas's measure, anyway. There's no proof one way, but thanks to Douglas there's no proof the other, either..

Scott said grimly, "Does it matter? They'll have him nailed down with the original indictment. All the evidence is on their side this time..

Buccleuch grunted, observing his son's expression. "I've seen Henry Lauder up to the oxters in evidence and still lose a case," he said mendaciously. "I'm off to the house for a dish of eggs. If you're staying with Culter, find out about that little mare of his. If I get some siller for this fellow Palmer I'll think about buying her after all..

Scott had already nodded and moved away when the sense of this penetrated. "Palmer?.

Buccleuch grinned. "High and mighty Sir Thomas Palmer, the engineer. Did ye not know? I took him after the raid last month..

"Where is he?.

"In the Castle with the rest of them. A wild lot, I'm told. Why?.

"Nothing," said Scott, and made for the street so fast that he jammed himself in the doorway with his sword.

* * *Big Tommy Palmer, former captain of the Old Man at Boulogne, former knight-porter of Calais, former overseer of petty customs, former gentleman-usher and popular companion of King Henry VIII, had been a prisoner of war once before, in France, and although financially unembarra.s.sed by this second mishap was spiritually much discomfited and in need of cheering up.

At his request, he and a dozen of his own men had been put together in one medium-sized room in the Castle. They were all men of good standing and of reasonable value in cash, so the room was pleasant, with carved oak panelling, slightly chipped; a small-paned window looking sheer down the Castle rock into the loch, and a low, thick door with an adequate guard outside it.

Will Scott found it less easy than he had expected to get in. He finally managed it only with the help of Tom Erskine, and then on the pretext of discussing with Palmer his father's plans for his ransom.

Since in fact he had nothing to discuss, the business aspect of his talk with Sir Thomas came to an early end, and Tom Erskine moved to go. But captivity by this time was boring Palmer; he was willing to go on talking, and Scott was in no hurry to leave.

They exchanged politely some of the current gossip of both courts and touched chastely and with mutual interest on the characters of some of the less powerful but more public figures in each. One or two of Palmer's companions joined in.

Erskine, aware that it was nearly time to make for the Tolbooth and taking only a detached interest in the talk, found the engineer rather likable: a man in his late fifties with grey beard and bright curling hair. Between hair and moustache the skin was red-brown with the sun; his much-wired front tooth sparkled like a trout rising in still water when he laughed, which was often.

Tom was so busy watching Palmer that he missed Scott's move to open his purse. When they brought a small table and put it between the two men, Erskine was surprised. He was more surprised to see Palmer gaze on it as a mother elephant on the prize of some interminable gestation.

On the table lay a small pack of playing cards. "Hold me hand," said Tommy Palmer. "If you'd offered me the throne of China and Helen of Troy thrown in, I'd still choose the tarots. You'll not miss them?.

"Not at all. Glad to leave them," said Scott politely. And to Erskine's astonishment he added, "I'll start you off with a game, if you like," and sat down to hearty expressions of Palmer's glee. Erskine tapped the boy on the arm. "The time, Scott. We ought to be going..

The carroty head turned vaguely. "There's time for one game, surely. You go on if you want to. I'll follow." He was already shuffling the cards. Tom eyed him sharply; and then, twitching up a chair, sat astride it, watching the play.

He had seen these tarots several times in Scott's possession since he had come to Edinburgh. They were gruesome, Gothic, and graced with a kind of lithless malevolence all their own. The four suits were commonplace enough: the artist had reserved his fantastic brushes for the figured cards. The Bateleur, the Empress, the Pope, l'Amoureux and le Pendu, Death and Fort.i.tude, the Traitor, the Last Judgment itself, all shared a grotesque camaraderie of the paintpot.

He admired the set. He enjoyed tarocco himself, but he was uneasily aware that there was not, in fact, time for a game. He said again, "Listen, Scott"; but the cards were already dealt and Will was hesitating over his discard. Erskine gave up, and resigned himself to waiting.

Scott played not one, but two games. He lost them both, but so narrowly that it was not until the last trick of the outplay that Palmer's evident brain and experience gave him the day. Both games were played in an atmosphere of jocular excitement, and Erskine gathered that to have opposed Palmer at all was something unusual; and to have run him so close something unique.

At the end of the second game, Palmer leaned back with a kind of anguished roar. "d.a.m.n it, I don't know when I've had two better games. Why the pest must you go? I can't settle: you can't settle: it isn't fair to the game..

Scott got up and stretched himself, grinning. "You've got troubles enough. You don't want to risk being beaten by me..

"Beaten!" It was a chorus. Someone said, "Hey, my boy. You're speaking of the best card player in England..

"I still say beaten," said Scott.

There was an unholy light in Thomas Palmer's eye. "Is that a challenge?.

"Not particularly," said Scott. "Sine lucro friget ludus is a family motto. Not much point in playing for love..

"h.e.l.l, we can do better than that," said Palmer. Their packs were stuffed into an armory let into the panelling: he tossed out parcels until he came to the one he wanted. Then he had another look and, bringing out a second roll, flung them both at Scott's feet.

"A change of good clothes there, and some money and a silver cup and a good pair of boots. And there's more still in the other: it's another man's stuff that belongs to me now. Will that do for a start?.

Scott drew out his own heavy purse and tossed it once in the air. "I'm sure it will; but we're a gey practical nation. Will you open them both so that we can see?.

Palmer, unoffended, glinted the b.u.t.ter-tooth in his direction, and slit open the packs with Will's knife. In his own the contents were exactly as he had said. The other roll was less well-kept: the clothes were soiled and there was no money at all. Scott bent and turned over a long, narrow rectangle of folded papers, sealed with red wax. "What's this? Deeds of ownership?.

Palmer, shuffling the tarots, glanced at it and shrugged. "Sam didn't own a rabbit, poor devil. Perhaps a letter to his lady friend..

Scott turned it over. There was an inscription on the other side, and he held it so that Erskine also could read. The neat writing said, Haddington, June, 1548. Statement. And underneath in a differentwriting, presumably Wilford's: Samuel Harvey. Put with things for P. That was as far as they got before it was whipped from Scott'sfingers.

"Interested?" asked Palmer in the same good-tempered voice. "I thought there was something fishy in the air. Perhaps I'd better keep this..

For a moment, Erskine thought that Scott would attack the big man. Instead he turned and, opening his purse, upended it on the table by the cards. The crowns rolled and clanked among the little nightmarish drawings and rose in a winking, lunar pile. "I could easily get it by calling the guard," said Will. "But I'll buy it from you instead..

Palmer grinned. "I don't want to sell..

The freckles marched cinnamonlike over Scott's pale face. "Name your price..

Sir Thomas Palmer got up, the folded papers still in his hands. At the fireplace he turned, and still surveying them both quite pleasantly, broke the seal. "Perhaps I should see first what all the fuss is about. After all, he was my cousin, you know..

They waited as the pages flicked over. He went through them all, folded the papers and handed them with an inaudible remark to the Englishman, Frank, who was nearest. Then he returned to the table. "You want these papers?.

"Yes," said Scott shortly. "It's a matter of life and death..

"Jesus. Whose life? A Scotsman's?.

Yes..

Palmer grinned more widely. "That's all right: I'm not the vindictive sort. Sine lucro friget ludus, eh? You want this, you say. Then play me for it..

"I'm offering you any price you ask," said Scott.

"I don't want money..

"Then I'll give you what you do want. Your freedom. Your immediate release, Sir Thomas, in exchange for these papers..

Palmer sat down with a thump, still grinning. "I like Edinburgh. I like the Castle. I like the company. I can get my freedom any time, for a little cash, and a d.a.m.ned bore it is, with Willie Grey in both ears and the Protector under my hat. Give me the man who can stretch me at tarocco and you can keep Berwick ~and every b.u.mbling Northerner in it..

Scott sat down himself rather suddenly. "For G.o.d's sake, I'll playcards with you all night, if that's all you want. I'll play every day for a month without the sniff of a win. But not to gamble on this kind of stake. What do you take me for?.

The big man was shuffling the cards. "A member of a practical nation. I don't want bad play and a sure win: I get enough of it. I don't want a game that's a duty or an imposition or a debt or any other d.a.m.ned, dreary penance. I don't like it and the tarots don't like it. Look at themi" With a flip of his thick fingers he sent the cards reeling across the polished wood, convulsed, mouthing and snarling. "n.o.body's going to fob them off with paltry wagers of three louis a game. They want flesh, do the tarots..

Scott and Erskine were standing shoulder to shoulder. "Get the guard," said the boy without turning his head. "Quickly. Christian Stewart was killed for these papers..

Erskine didn't go for the guard: he took action. The dive he made for the fireplace was nearly quick enough, but not quite. By the time his outstretched hand had reached the man Frank, the papers were already curling in the smoke a foot above the little fire.

"Call the guard-or try that again-and Frank'll throw the whole thing in the fire," said Palmer agreeably. He settled comfortably in his chair. "G.o.d! I was bored. Come along, laddie. I've plenty of time. I'll play you tarocco, my boy, for all the money and every st.i.tch each of us possesses in this room, and these papers go into the rest on my side last of all..

There was a short silence. Then Scott said, "Let me see the papers..

The boy bit his lip, staring at Palmer's cheerful face. "It might take all night..

The tooth winked and wagged. "It might take a good deal longer. Are you in a hurry?"-and continued to wink as Scott argued. At the end of it he picked up the cards and started to ruffle them through his big hands. "It's no concern of mine what you want them for. I've told you the conditions." He looked up. "Why're you worrying? You might win the lot in an hour..

Scott sat down. In silence he untied and pulled off his jerkin and in silence he pushed up his shirt sleeves and laid his hands flat on the table. "Very well," he said flatly. "For G.o.d's sake let's start..

The hour of recess had, .inevitably, nearly doubled before the Committee was harried together again; and even so, the interrogation had been under way for some time when Tom Erskine finally slid into his seat, pa.s.sing on the way a face he knew: Mylne, the Queen's surgeon. But Lymond seemed perfectly composed in his chair: the abuses to his body were perhaps visible, but not those to his intellect, which showed fresh and sinewy still under the sharp and thickening barbs from Lauder. The Lord Advocate was beginning to concentrate his attack: the darts glanced in the silence and were returned, with unfailing felicity.

Erskine said in Lord Culter's ear, "What's happening?" and Richard replied without taking his eyes from the high table. "He's got Orkney on the raw, the fool. The nearer the Committee gets to Eloise, the harder he's. .h.i.tting them. They don't like it, and it isn't doing him any good. . . . Where've you been?.

Erskine said uninformatively, "At the Castle," and glanced at the top table. Buecleuch's face was turned toward him and the black circle of the mouth shaped the words "Where's Will?.

Having no desire to answer that either, Tom stabbed a finger several times in the air due west, and as Sir Wat continued to look expressively at him, mouthed the word "Later" and turned overtly to the centre of the floor.

"You arrived in London," the Queen's Counsel was saying, "along with a thousand others taken prisoner in 1542 after the battle of Solway Moss. At that time, as we all know, the late Henry VIII of England had declared war on our King his nephew and was attempting to prove his t.i.tle to Scotland by force. Unlike others of your own rank you were immediately given preferential treatment in being lodged in a private English house..

"After three days in the Tower. Not very preferential..

Lauder looked at his notes. "We have that point quite clear. All but yourself were n.o.blemen of the first rank, and all those with whom you say you had contact are now unfortunately bearing witness in higher courts than these. The Earl of Glencairn died last year; Lord Maxwell two years ago; Lord fleming and Mr. Robert Erskine at Pinkiecleugh..

"The nation's subsequent failures in the field," said Lymond gently, "are my misfortune, not my fault. Sir George has already told you that I stayed at his brother's London house under no special concession.

The Bishop of Orkney cleared his throat. "And why, Mr. Crawford, did you not then return to Scotland ten days later as did the great majority of such boarded prisoners? Were your scruples such that even tongue in cheek you could not bring yourself to sign the necessary oath of allegiance to King Henry, as your compatriots did? Men of honour, it seems to me, must be prepared like them to sell that honour for their country's good. Why did you not sign?.

"I wasn't asked," said Lymond, and a fleeting regret slipped through the pleasant voice. "Only prelates and barons were thought to have sufficient tongue and sufficient cheek..

Richard swore. It was Lord Herries who saved the situation with a brusque and ba.s.s inquiry. "Since he's a younger son, there would be little point, surely, in asking Mr. Crawford to sign a bond to serve the King in Scotland?.

The Bishop said, breathing heavily, "I disagree. He was, in sort, his brother's heir. If he were innocent he would have contrived, surely, to return on some pretext..

"The thing reeks of inept.i.tude, doesn't it?" said Lymond. "If I were a spy, it was shockingly careless of the English to capture me in the first place. And if I were a spy, my first thought would have been to return to Scotland as fast as I could. According to the Bishop, my treason lay in not promising to work secretly in Scotland against the Queen. If that's treason then let's make an end. I admit it..

Lauder was undisturbed. "You made King Henry no promise to serve him?.

"You had in the past performed no service for him?.

"I had not..

The Lord Advocate looked mildly regretful. "And the presentation to Francis Crawford, Scottish gentleman, of the manor of Gardington, Bucks, was an elaborate ruse to make us believe you had done these things? King Henry must have thought you very important to us, Mr. Crawford. You did, I suppose, receive the deeds of this lordship and manor?.

"Yes. I did..

"And can you suggest why, if it was not in grat.i.tude for favours received?.

"Europe's most Christian Bachelor and I had nothing in common," said Lymond. "He had a fancy to control my tongue. And also to restrain his niece..

"Ah, yes. The Lady Margaret Douglas, now the Countess of Lennox. Are we to take it that, seduced by your charms, the lady asked for Gardington as her dot?" George Douglas, he saw, was watching the prisoner like a predator.

"Not precisely. She is, shall we say, a person of violent but practical enthusiasms. She has already been imprisoned twice for endangering the succession, and one of her lovers, as you may recall, died in the Tower from a surfeit of Scottish heart and English briar. No. At a guess, she wanted . . . a new stimulus and a new experiment. And encouraged her uncle to leash me permanently by telling him what I had found out; and even perhaps some things I hadn't..

Methven's silly voice cut through the tactful silence. "And what had you found out?.

The Master's gaze neither looked at nor avoided Sir George. "Something of his immediate plans, which later became common knowledge. I had access to rooms which should normally have been closed to me, and found them out by chance..

"Bedrooms?" inquired the Queen's Counsel.

The veiled eyes lifted. "Not every legal doc.u.ment is framed in a bedroom, my lord." The Justice-Clerk laughed aloud."Well," said Henry Lauder. "You have an estate and a beautiful lady in prospect, and her wicked uncle allows you to enjoy neither. The gift of the estate has already made your fellow Scots suspicious; your return to Scotland is finally made impossible by spreading the news among your countrymen that you were responsible not only for the disaster of Solway Moss, but for a long career of previous spying and intrigue. . . . Why trouble with all this fearsome plotting, Mr. Crawford? If King Henry didn't like you, weren't there simpler and more obvious means of getting rid of you?.

Argyll, surprisingly, said, "I can see the point of some of it. His Majesty learned just after our prisoners reached London that our King had died and Scotland was accordingly under a regency, and he was immediately bent on winning over as many leading Scots families as possible to his interests. Hence all the prisoners being taken from the Tower to better lodgings, and the offer to let the most important go free if they signed an oath of allegiance to England. It wasn't the time for the sudden murder of a prisoner of war in his hands-even a less important one..

"Also," said Lymond, continuing the argument with an unbounded scholarly detachment, "he probably wanted to protect thereal purveyor of secrets. If Edinburgh was becoming suspicious, he was calling off the hunt by making me scapegoat. Then, having discredited me at home and with the prisoners still remaining in London, he could dispose of me in safety..

"And yet you survived?.

"I was taken to Calais and allowed to fall into the hands of the French. Perfectly simple..

"And after that, the galleys?.

"Yes," said Lymond with no trace of expression in his voice.