Wolf Wood (Part Two): The Dangerous years (25 page)

Maud said that Edmund's throat would have been cut if it had been a real battle. That wasn't nice to hear but it was true. It made you realise what life was really about. It wasn't about playing games. Life was real until it ended. If you got it wrong in battle, it could end suddenly and in a very nasty way.

From the way people were talking, fighting could break out again. He would soon be old enough to take part. Because he was an earl, they would put him in charge of a battalion. If he made a mistake people could die. One of them might even be Edmund. No silly girl would be able to say he was still alive after he had bled to death. This time he'd really be dead.

Double Agent

I
t was snowing at Windsor too but not as strongly as at Ludlow. Steven stood with his back to the fire and waited for RW to arrive. He had discovered the man's identity. He was none other than Matthew Cunningham, the queen's spymaster. At least, that's what people called him. Steven suspected that Cunningham had other names.

Parliament had ordered Queen Margaret and her cronies out of Westminster and had sent them to Windsor with instructions to stop meddling in politics and care for the king. Steven had gone with the royal party at the queen's request. In his way of thinking, Margaret had promoted him from
palace mascot
to
royal mascot
. His ambition was to become a
royal spy
and that was why he wanted to see Cunningham.

His mother was at Windsor too. They needed her there so she could do her Sister Alice act with the king. She was the only person who could coax Henry out of his stupor, which pleased Margaret. And she didn't claim any credit for what she was doing, which pleased the royal doctors. They insisted that the improvement in the king's condition was due entirely to bloodletting and the other awful things they were doing to him. Mother had her own apartment, wore her Sister Alice outfit and was allowed to work in the hospital which the king had built in town.

Father had remained at Westminster. That suited him because he saw himself as an administrator who didn't take sides. The government offices were at Westminster and Parliament met there. Parliament was dominated by the great families of England but their power was slipping away. The boroughs were on the rise and couldn't be ignored. That was because the wealth of England depended on the boroughs and their support was needed to raise taxes. What's more, the boroughs had militias. If it came to a fight, their troops could tip the balance.

Steven figured that Queen Margaret expected his father to spy for her. That wasn't going to happen. Harald Gascoigne didn't spy on principle and could be amazingly stubborn. He had even refused to spy when sent on diplomatic missions in France. He said the French respected him for that and he was able to serve England all the better for it.

Footsteps on the stairs told him that Cunningham was about to arrive. Steven studied footsteps. It was amazing how much you could learn from them. Footsteps were like voices. People sounded different from one another and they sounded different when they were tired or unwell. Right now, Cunningham sounded like a man in a hurry. The door flew open and his handsome face appeared.

'Steven. They told me you were here.'

'You got my message?'

'You said York has moved his people into Westminster.'

'That's what I'm told.'

Steven leant back casually. Cunningham's staff showed inordinate respect towards their boss. He wasn't going to fall into that trap. Cunningham would have to court him to get his services. He was a prize worth having. His contacts went to the heart of York's operation.

'Are your sources weliable?'

Steven used to find Cunningham's failure to sort his Rs from his Ws amusing. The man would get it right in one sentence and wrong the next. Some people thought it was an affectation. They were probably right. If you led a double life, it would be advisable to wear a disguise and change your voice. He suspected that Cunningham led a double life and spoke normally when he was not being spymaster to the queen.

'One of my sources is Sister Alice,' Steven replied with a grin. 'I've known her all my life and have come to trust her. She believes that lying is a sin.'

'And do you share your mother's beliefs?'

'Only the good ones.'

A faint smile appeared on Cunningham's face. Steven guessed the man was warming to him.

'How did your mother obtain this information?'

'From someone in the hospital.'

'Your father didn't tell her?'

'My father never talks about his work.'

'But the information was about personal acquaintances. Surely, he would have mentioned it to her. Your father has visited you here at Windsor.'

'If you knew my father, you would know that he obeys rules. That is why Commander Gough employed him in France.'

'Have you told your parents that you provided the information that led to the apprehension of York's spies.'

'You mean the man with the greyhound?'

'I mean Gaweth Pritchard.' Cunningham gave him a penetrating stare. 'The Welsh archer and his son, David.'

Steven knew he must be on his guard. The slightest show of emotion could betray his true feelings. Gareth and David had died horribly and he was to blame. He allowed himself a flicker of a smile.

'I played with David in France. My mother would never speak to me again if she knew what I had done.'

'You mean your mother would not have informed us of an enemy of the king even when she knew he was endangering His Majesty's life?'

'I'm saying my mother can't cope with situations like this.' Steven struggled for words. 'She truly loves the king and is working hard to restore him to health …'

He battled on and Cunningham watched him intently, asking one question after another, trying to trip him up. Steven knew the routine and chose his answers carefully. Cunningham's face remained enigmatic. Eventually, he came to the question Steven had been waiting for.

'Will you spy for the king?'

'I believe I can be of assistance to Their Majesties.'

'How?'

'I know Sir Robin Perry. He is captain of York's personal guard. He's based at Ludlow with his family.'

'Do you think Perry will supply information?'

'I don't know.' Steven shrugged. 'The only way to find out is to contact him. But I don't want to do that unless you know what I'm doing and can train me to do it properly.'

Cunningham stroked his beard thoughtfully and looked Steven up and down. When at last he spoke it was in short, sharp sentences.

'You will report directly to me and only to me. I shall supply the training you need. Return here after dinner for your first lesson.'

***

R
obin glanced behind him. There was something tantalisingly familiar about the young man who had passed him on the stairs. He searched his mind. Memories flooded back. None quite matched. He felt sure he knew the young fellow but was unable to place him.

He entered his office and thumbed through a pile of reports. Most concerned security. There was an appalling lack of it at Westminster and it was his job to sort out the mess. People came and went unchecked. The place was more like a fun park than the seat of government.

York was Lord Protector and meant to run the country. Parliament had given him the task and supplied him with an administration staffed by supporters of the old regime. To make matters worse, their offices were in the Palace of Westminster.

Over the years, the place had degenerated into an untidy complex of buildings, riddled with secret passages and open to almost anyone who wanted to wander in for a chat. Senior staff worked in cramped conditions and could spy on one another with ease.

Westminster had infuriated Robin when he served with the English garrison in Normandy and it infuriated him now. The place was every bit as bad as he had imagined. He fumed in silence as he read the reports and wondered how many men would be needed to put things right.

His mind kept returning to the young man. He felt certain he knew who he was but couldn't place him. Could he be the son of one of his colleagues? Had he come with York's party? Some of the officers had sons of that age. He ran his mind through a check list. Long fair hair, below average height, slim build, thin face … penetrating blue eyes.

Something clicked. The eyes shone like diamonds. The young man had other distinguishing features but his eyes made him stand out in a crowd. Robin realised why he had not placed him sooner. He had failed to search back far enough into the past.

If he had cast his mind back to Normandy there wouldn't have been a problem. The eyes had been just as bright then. The face had changed. It was older and more mature but still recognisable as belonging to Steven Gascoigne.

He felt foolish. Steven was not the sort of person you would forget in a hurry. His bright eyes and innocent-looking face masked a penetrating mind. His playful nature and silly jokes gave the impression that he never took anything seriously.

People had fallen into that trap. Some had tried to manipulate him. Others had tried to intimidate him. That was a bad mistake. Steven could be ruthless if he felt threatened. Three years ago, Robin had seen him in action during the Battle of London Bridge and knew that Steven had to be taken very seriously.

His upbringing in the English garrison in Normandy must have contributed to his strange personality but there had to be more to it than that. Robin couldn't think of anyone remotely like him. The boys in the garrison usually followed their father's profession or became priests.

Steven's father was a lawyer. Harald wanted his son to go to university and study law. Instead, he had joined the royal court and gone out of his way to ingratiate himself with Queen Margaret. Robin had a dossier on the Gascoignes. He wished it contained an artist's likeness of Steven then he would have recognised him at once.

York thought that Harald Gascoigne might be recruited as an agent. Attempts to approach him failed tragically when Gareth Pritchard and his son, David, were caught and brutally killed. Robin shuddered whenever he thought of it.

He had known Gareth since he was a boy. Gareth's father had rescued Alice when she was being hunted as a witch. The three families were united in a shared past and shared loyalties. The enormity of it couldn't be forgotten. Nor could he ignore the possibility that Steven had betrayed David.

Steven would have to be watched. He was probably in Westminster to visit his father. That might provide an opportunity to speak to him. At any rate, his movements would have to be followed and his contacts investigated.

***

S
teven squeezed a bedbug between his fingers and searched for others. It was a long time since he'd had to put up with the noxious pests. His mother was exceedingly fussy when it came to unwanted guests and had all sorts of ways of dealing with them. His father didn't seem to be troubled. They left him alone. His mother said that was because he had lived with them as a child at Wolf Wood and his body had learnt to produce toxic substances to repel them. Steven wondered how long it would be before he became equally repulsive to the nasty little creatures.

He was sleeping on a cot beside his father's bed. They had been turfed out of their luxurious apartment to make way for the people the Duke of York had brought to Westminster. One of them was Robin Perry. He had written to him suggesting that they should go for an early morning ride around the park.

Things were working out nicely. Robin was captain of the duke's guard but he wasn't merely responsible for a fighting unit. His duties went much further than that. Robin was one of York's senior intelligence officers. Cunningham had supplied that important piece of information.

He had coached Steven in the subtle art of espionage and double dealing. His mission was to contact Robin and offer his services as a spy. Cunningham figured that Robin would jump at the chance. He had already attempted to contact Steven through the boy, David, and failed. A second chance would be like a gift from heaven.

There was, of course, the awkward question of how David came to be caught. Cunningham's answer was simple. David and his father were a pair of incompetents. The boy made a total hash of it. Steven couldn't decide whether he was genuine or a palace agent. He was to tell Robin that. He was to say that while he was trying to make up his mind the boy was arrested. What happened to him was so horrible he decided to turn against the palace and work for the Duke of York.

The explanation was utterly plausible and frighteningly close to the truth. Steven wondered if Cunningham had any idea of how close he had come to guessing his true intentions. The man had recruited him as a double agent. In Cunningham's scenario he would be working for the House of Lancaster while pretending to spy for the House of York. In Steven's scenario the exact opposite would apply.