Tombland

‘No more, now the Protector has made his intentions plain through the Herald. You should leave, sir. There is your future to consider.’ He turned to Natty, looking at the ugly wound in his forearm. ‘You need that stitched, boy. I’ll do it.’ He had a little bag with him, from which he produced needle, thread and some oil. Natty clenched his jaw. I looked away, towards Kett. Most of the crowd had dispersed at Kett’s behest, to look for arms. Weapons were something the camp needed, and it would be a way of focusing some of that potentially dangerous energy among the men. One group walking away from the steps was, I saw, led by Michael Vowell. He paused to speak to me. He was in high spirits. I stood up, my knees creaking.

‘Master Shardlake. You have come to the city!’

‘Yes. To find my friends. I saw the bodies on my way in.’

‘The camp has the city poor to thank that more were not killed. At the height of the fighting they got some men to shout out, “To your weapons, the enemies are entered the city!” and half the defenders of Bishopsgate ran towards the other side of the city. That’ll teach them to treat us as doddipolls, eh, lads?’

‘I see some gentlemen have been taken prisoner. Do you know aught of your old master?’

Vowell lowered his voice. ‘The first thing I did after entering the city was lead some men to his house. He answered the door himself – he hasn’t got a new steward, and his other servants are all women, you understand. But the old bastard paid them off with gold. Not all our men are incorruptible.’

I looked over at the Maid’s Head. ‘I wonder whether any correspondence might have arrived for me there.’

He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘The royal Herald is shut up in there, they won’t open the door, and Captain Kett’s orders are he’s not to be touched. But I don’t think there’s been any correspondence in or out of Norwich this last week. And now, we must go.’ He waved an arm, and led his group away.

I looked at Simon, quieter now. Natty was enduring the stitching of his arm in silence; beads of sweat standing out on his forehead. I said, ‘Goodman Johnson, when Dr Belys is finished, will you and Natty take Simon back to the camp; I think that the best place for him. Barak and I have some friends to find.’

Barak said, ‘We don’t know the state of affairs at the castle; maybe we should go to Edward and Josephine’s first. Hopefully now he will be back at home.’

‘It is further, but you’re right.’

‘I did well with the horses,’ Simon said with a sudden, unexpected smile.

‘You did, lad,’ Hector Johnson said roughly. ‘Never seen someone with such a gift for calming them.’

‘One thing you should know,’ Natty said. ‘The people who hit me with an arrow were a couple of yellow-haired twins. It was those Boleyn lads, fighting with the defenders. Fortunately, the arrow that struck me, like most of the defenders’, was a practice arrow for the butts, with no backward-pointing spikes to tear the flesh. I was able to pull it out. Some other of our wounded lads pulled arrows out, too, and passed them back to our archers. No one will ever say the men of Mousehold weren’t brave.’ His voice shook.

‘No,’ I agreed. ‘They won’t.’ I took a long breath. ‘I thought the twins would have made for London. So,’ I said grimly, ‘they are still here. They must be found.’

Chapter Fifty-six

We walked down past the castle. Groups of men had already broken in the doors of some gentlemen’s houses, and were carrying out weapons, money and plate. Down in the poorer southern areas of Conisford Street things were quieter, the streets much as normal. I made my way into the dusty courtyard where Edward and Josephine lived; all was quiet apart from some chickens pecking at a dog-turd. I knocked on Edward and Josephine’s door. Josephine opened it a crack, looking nervously out. When she saw it was us her eyes widened. ‘Master Shardlake!’ she said with relief.

‘How are you, Josephine?’ She looked tired and strained. She had been changing Mousy’s cloth; the child, lying on the table, smiled at us and Josephine held her and wiped her bottom, making sure she was clean. As she did so she said, ‘I have had a message Edward is coming soon. And that Captain Kett has taken Norwich.’

‘He has. I saw the battle from the road down to Bishopsgate.’

‘Was there much fighting?’

‘Some, round the river. But all is over now. The city is taken.’