The Nine Giants Page 24

  Leaving his ward, he followed the procession along a cheering avenue that led to the river. At the front of the parade were two men who bore the arms of the Mercers’ Company. They were followed by a drummer, a flute-player and a man with a fife. Behind them, in blue gowns and caps and hose and blue silk sleeves, were sixteen trumpeters blowing their instruments in strident unison. Horse-drawn floats came next, each one elaborately mounted by an individual Guild and competing with each other in colour and spectacle. The Fishmongers’ Ship was among the finest on display, a huge galleon that seemed to sail above the craned heads of the populace as it passed by. Another favoured contender was the Goldsmith’s Castle, a quite magnificent structure that was first produced for the coronation of Richard II. And there were many others to keep the fingers pointing and the jaws dropping.

  Fittingly, it was the Mercer’s Maiden Chariot which outshone them all. This pageant was a Roman chariot, some twenty feet or more high, with sides of embossed silver and surmounted by a golden canopy above which sat Fame blowing her trumpet. In the chariot sat the Mercer’s Maiden. This was customarily a young and beautiful gentlewoman with a gold and jewelled coronet on her head. At the Lord Mayor’s feast, she dined royally at a separate table. This year, however, there was a significant break with tradition. Instead of choosing some long-haired young lady from one of the mercers’ families, Walter Stanford selected his own wife as the Maiden and she was overjoyed. Seated high above the long ribbons of yelling people, Matilda Stanford felt the thrill of being a performer and the extraordinary honour of being wife to the Lord Mayor. The journey in the chariot helped her to forget all about Lawrence Firethorn and find her husband instead.

  At the rear of it all came the Lord Mayor himself. He was preceded by the Sword Bearer in his immense fur hat and by the Sergeant-at-Arms who bore the mace. Other ceremonial officers walked close by with the Chamberlain among them but Stanford paid him no attention. It was important not to arouse the suspicions of Aubrey Kenyon or of any of the others until they could all be safely apprehended. When the Lord Mayor was not bestowing a genial wave on the crowd, he was keeping one eye on the soldier who marched just ahead of him. Dressed in an armoured breastplate and wearing a steel helmet, the man trailed his pike in the same manner as his fellows but he was no ordinary member of the guard. Nicholas Bracewell had a duty that went well beyond the ceremonial.

  Abel Strudwick had rowed his boat out into the middle of the river to be part of the huge armada that accompanied the procession up to Westminster. All around him were other craft with eager spectators and it gave him a feeling of superiority to think that they had simply come to gawp and goggle. Poetry had put the waterman on the Thames that day. He was there to find inspiration for some new verses, to immortalise a great event with the creative fire of his imagination. From where he sat and bobbed, he had a fine view of the parade as it moved from land to water.

  First to set off was the Mercers’ Barge with its coat of arms proudly displayed aloft. Behind it came the Bachelors’ Barge which was followed in turn by the vessels of the other companies, strictly in order of precedence. Strudwick saw the arms of the Grocers, the Drapers, the Fishmongers – with Sir Lucas Pugsley aboard – the Goldsmiths, the Skinners, the Merchant Taylors, the Haberdashers, the Salters, the Ironmongers, the Vintners and the Clothworkers. No place for Rowland Ashway there. The alderman had to wait upon the Dyers before his Guild could step forward for attention. It was an imposing sight that was made even more vivid by the fact that the companies wore their distinctive liveries.

  The waterman felt no verse stirring as yet but he remained confident. What drew his gaze now was a sight that never failed to impress and even frighten a little at a Lord Mayor’s Show. Two huge and grotesque creatures were in the prow of the last barge, pretending to draw a model of Britain’s Mount. Strudwick recognised them as Corinaeus and Gogmagog, fabled inhabitants of the city in ancient days.

  They were giants.

  Walter Stanford was vastly more confident now that he was afloat with his guard all around him. Out in the open street, he felt he was a target for a knife, an arrow, even for a sword if its owner could get close enough. He began to enjoy the procession as it sailed slowly down river between the echoing banks of applause. Nicholas was close enough to him for a brief conversation.

  ‘Your fears were groundless, sir,’ said Stanford.

  ‘The day is yet young.’

  ‘What harm could touch us here?’

  ‘None, I hope,’ said Nicholas.

  But his instincts told him otherwise. The Lord Mayor and his retinue were standing on the upper deck of the barge so that they could be seen more clearly. Corinaeus and Gogmagog were several yards in front of them. The book holder took a professional interest in how the giants had been fashioned. They were about twelve feet high and made out of carved and gilded limewood. Skilful painters had given them hideous leering faces. Corinaeus was dressed like a barbarian warrior and sported a morning star on a chain. Gogmagog wore the costume of a Roman centurion and carried a spear and a shield that was decorated with a symbolic phoenix. Nicholas admired the strength of the men inside each of the models. They were even able to manipulate levers that made their weapons lift and fall in the air.

  It was when Walter Stanford stepped forward to take a closer look at the giants that the danger came. Corinaeus made no move but Gogmagog responded at once. Through the slit in the bodywork, the man inside saw his chance and acted. Raising his spear, he tried to jab it hard at Walter Stanford but a soldier was there to parry the blow with his pike. What came next caused even more panic in the barge. Gogmagog rose feet in the air and then hurled himself directly at the Lord Mayor with a force that would have killed him had the giant made contact. But the pike of Nicholas Bracewell again did sterling duty and guided the huge wooden object over the side of the barge and into the water. The splash drenched people for twenty yards around and caused some of the smaller boats nearby to capsize.

  Michael Delahaye had failed. He glared at his hated uncle with his one malignant eye then hurled a rope at the advancing guards to beat them back. Before they could get him, he had dived over the side of the barge into the river. It all happened with such speed that everyone was totally confused but Nicholas had his wits about him. Throwing off his helmet and divesting himself of his breastplate, he ran to the side of the barge and flung himself after the would-be assassin. Delahaye was strong and cleaved his way through the water but his pursuer was the better swimmer and clawed back the distance between them. Bewildered spectators on boat and bank watched in silence at the two pinheads that seemed to be floating on the waves. None of them understood the significance of what they were witnessing.

  Abel Strudwick was well placed to view the final struggle. When Nicholas caught the kicking legs of his man, the latter turned to fight, pulling a dagger from his belt and hacking madly at his assailant. But the latter got his wrist in a grip of steel that would not slacken. They struggled and splashed with frenetic energy then both disappeared beneath the dark waters. Strudwick rowed in closer and peered down but he could see nothing. Long minutes passed when nothing happened and then blood came up to the surface of the water to brighten its scum. A head soon followed, surging up with desperation so that lungfuls of air could be inhaled. The swimmer then lay on his back to recover from the fatigue of a death-grapple. The waterman rowed in close and helped Nicholas Bracewell into his boat so that he could enjoy some of the cheers of congratulation that were ringing out.

  Michael Delahaye did not surface.

  The atmosphere at the Queen’s Head was vastly lighter now that the threat of eviction had disappeared. With the arrest of Rowland Ashway, the contract to buy the inn was effectively rescinded. The alderman would never be able to take possession of his intended purchase now. Relief was so great and comprehensive that a smile dared to flit across the face of Alexander Marwood. He had not only been reprieved from a deal which turned out to be more disadvantageous th
an he had thought. The landlord was also reunited with a termagant wife who had badgered him incessantly about the idiocy of his action in signing. Nocturnal reconciliation let Marwood recall happier days.

  Edmund Hoode was in a generous mood. He bought pints of sack for himself and his friend then sat at the table opposite him. A week had passed since the Lord Mayor’s Show but it still vibrated in the memory.

  ‘You were the hero of the hour, Nick,’ said Hoode.

  ‘I thought but of poor Hans Kippel.’

  ‘His death is well revenged now. And all those other villains are locked secure away, including the Chamberlain himself. Who would have thought a man in such a place would have stooped to such crimes?’

  ‘Temptation got the better of him, Edmund.’

  ‘Yes,’ said the other harshly. ‘The same may be said of Lawrence. But for you again, that dalliance might have led us into further disaster. What an actor, Nick! But what a dreadful lecher, too! Margery has much to endure.’

  ‘She is made of stern stuff.’

  They sipped their drinks and enjoyed the comfort of being in their own home again. The Queen’s Head might not be as well appointed as some inns but it was their chosen base and its landlord was anxious to renew his dealings with them. Nicholas had negotiated a new contract that favoured the company and he extracted an important concession from Marwood. A job had to be found at the inn for a man who had been an immense help to the book holder and whose occupation was now at risk. Leonard would henceforth be working at the Queen’s Head and it would be good to see his friendly face around the establishment.

  Nicholas thought of another friend and smiled.

  ‘What do you make of Abel Strudwick?’ he said.

  ‘His verse is an abomination,’ snapped Hoode.

  ‘Yet he has finally found a market. His ballad on the Lord Mayor’s Show is the talk of the town. He describes my fight below the water in more detail than I could myself.’

  ‘The fellow is a bungling wordsmith.’

  ‘Let him have his hour, Edmund.’

  ‘He uses rhyme, like a sword, to hack.’

  ‘There are worse things a man may do.’

  Hoode agreed and took a kinder view of the waterman. He felt a vestigial sympathy for him because of the way that he was routed at the flyting contest. It had been a fight between the world of the amateur and that of the professional. Abel Strudwick had no chance. He was entitled to his brief moment of glory as a ballad-maker. Such thoughts led Hoode on to consider the merits of the raw amateur whose passions were not inhibited by too great a knowledge of the technicalities of poetry. He recalled the Lord Mayor’s banquet to which Nicholas had been bidden as an honoured guest.

  ‘Tell me, Nick. What was it like?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘This play of theirs – The Nine Giants.’

  ‘Do I detect jealousy here?’

  ‘No, no, of course not,’ said Hoode quickly. ‘I am above such things, as you well know. My plays have held the stage for years and I fear no rival. I just wish you to tell me what this pageant of the nine worthy mercers was like.’ He fished gently. ‘Tedious, perhaps? Over-long and underwritten? Basely put together?’

  ‘It was very well received,’ said Nicholas.

  ‘By Mistress Stanford?’

  ‘By her especially.’

  Hoode drooped. ‘Then is my cause truly lost.’

  ‘I liked the piece myself. It had quality.’

  ‘What sort of quality, man?’

  ‘Height and hardness.’

  ‘You lose me here.’

  ‘The Nine Giants resembled our own at Richmond.’

  ‘They stood in a circle?’

  ‘They were tall, straight and monstrously wooden.’

  Edmund Hoode laughed for an hour.

  If you enjoyed The Nine Giants, look out for more books in the Bracewell Mystery series …

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  The Mad Courtesan

  While England is brought low by rumours of Queen Elizabeth’s declining health, celebrated theatre company Lord Westfield’s Men suffer their own bitter blows. A vicious feud between players causes chaos; a rival company launches a new production; a mysterious beauty reduces their leading actor to a lovelorn wreck; and a brutal murder leaves the group of actors reeling. With matters so fraught, even a performing horse becomes a threat.

  Stage manager Nicholas Bracewell, accustomed to damage control, is the only man with the wit to keep the company afloat. As the Queen sinks towards death, Nicholas begins to discern the connections between the company’s misfortunes and the larger shadow falling over England …

  The Silent Woman

  When fire destroys their London theatre, Lord Westfield’s players must seek out humbler venues in the countryside. But stage manager Nicholas Bracewell is distracted by a shocking tragedy – a mysterious messenger from his native Devon, murdered by poison. Though the messenger is silenced, Nicholas understands what he must do: return to his birthplace and conclude some unfinished business from his past.

  The rest of Westfield’s Men, penniless and dejected, ride forth with him on a tour that will perhaps become their valedictory, dogged as they are by plague, poverty, rogues and thieves. And among the sinister shadows that glide silently with them towards Devon is one who means Nicholas never to arrive …

  About the Author

  EDWARD MARSTON was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over forty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre and is a former chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association. Prolific and highly successful, he is equally at home writing children’s books or literary criticism, plays or biographies.

  www.edwardmarston.com

  By Edward Marston

  THE BRACEWELL MYSTERIES

  The Queen’s Head • The Merry Devils • The Trip to Jerusalem

  The Nine Giants • The Mad Courtesan • The Silent Woman

  THE RAILWAY DETECTIVE SERIES

  The Railway Detective • The Excursion Train

  The Railway Viaduct • The Iron Horse

  Murder on the Brighton Express • The Silver Locomotive Mystery

  Railway to the Grave • Blood on the Line

  The Stationmaster’s Farewell • Peril on the Royal Train

  The Railway Detective Omnibus:

  The Railway Detective, The Excursion Train, The Railway Viaduct

  THE CAPTAIN RAWSON SERIES

  Soldier of Fortune • Drums of War • Fire and Sword

  Under Siege • A Very Murdering Battle

  THE RESTORATION SERIES

  The King’s Evil • The Amorous Nightingale • The Repentant Rake

  The Frost Fair • The Parliament House • The Painted Lady

  THE HOME FRONT DETECTIVE SERIES

  A Bespoke Murder • Instrument of Slaughter

  Copyright

  Allison & Busby Limited

  12 Fitzroy Mews

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  www.allisonandbusby.com

  First published in Great Britain in 1991.

  This ebook edition published by Allison & Busby in 2013.

  Copyright © 1991 by EDWARD MARSTON

  The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being impose
d on the subsequent buyer.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 978–0–7490–1296–0