By Royal Command Read online

  Twenty. The number of gold coins I’d heard mentioned by Mr Kelly.

  Before I could think more on this, I heard Mr Mucklow coming down the stairs and quickly moved away from the table.

  ‘Will there be a reply, Sir?’ I asked, somewhat timidly.

  He shook his head and took up the letter again. ‘I must speak to my wife, but the apothecary has given her a sleeping draught and her maid said she mustn’t be disturbed. Tell your master that I’ll communicate with him tomorrow morning.’

  The maid was called to show me to the door and this she did, on the way asking in a low voice if it was true that Dr Dee spoke with spirits and could raise the dead. My answer to this – as always – was that if he did raise the dead, then they’d be most welcome to undertake a few jobs around the house.

  I walked home briskly, thinking of what I’d overheard of Dr Dee and Mr Kelly’s conversation the previous day and of what I’d now discovered, and it didn’t need someone with the mind of a scholar to come upon the truth: that Mr Kelly had kidnapped Charity Mucklow with the intention of asking her father to pay for ‘finding’ her in the show-stone.

  It had been no ghost that I’d heard sighing about the place, but Miss Charity.

  Chapter Four

  I had instructions to go straight into the library when I arrived back from Mr Mucklow’s house and this I did, not even stopping to take off my outer clothes.

  ‘Have you brought a reply to the letter?’ Dr Dee asked as soon as I entered the room.

  I shook my head.

  ‘No reply!’ Mr Kelly swore an oath and rounded on Dr Dee. ‘You should have been more exact in your assertions, Sirrah! You should have told him that if he didn’t agree to pay for the ceremony then she would never be found.’

  ‘Enough.’ Dr Dee lifted his hand for silence, nodding in my direction. ‘Was there no message at all?’ he asked me.

  I said that yes, there was. ‘Mr Mucklow said to tell you that he’ll communicate with you tomorrow morning.’

  ‘Is that all?’ asked Dr Dee, frowning.

  ‘Did you see Mistress Mucklow?’ Mr Kelly asked.

  I shook my head. ‘I did not, Sir,’ I said, ‘and I found the household very out of sorts, for it appears that the Mucklow’s youngest daughter has eloped.’

  ‘That is what they think, is it?’ Mr Kelly said, smiling behind his hand, and Dr Dee gave him another warning glance.

  I was dismissed. Going into the kitchen I found that I’d missed dinner, so had to make do with a fish soup and some leftover bread.

  I would have begun searching for Miss Charity straightaway, or at least started thinking about where she might be hidden, but the house was thrown into disarray early that afternoon by a knock at the front door and, sent by Mistress Midge to open it, I found a grandly dressed lady there. She’d just dismounted from a fine chestnut horse, and this was standing by, with a small boy holding its reins.

  ‘Is your master in?’ she asked me.

  ‘He is, Madam,’ I said, and I gave a low and regal curtsey, as befitted her apparent status, wondering which of Dr Dee’s rich and titled patrons she was.

  ‘I wish to speak to him.’

  ‘Of course, Madam.’

  I began to walk her towards the library, then changed my mind, for if Dr Dee and Mr Kelly were engaged on something magickal then they might not answer my knock. I back-tracked a little, apologising, and then led her towards the dining room, the finest-decorated room in the house. I ascertained her name, then went to the library to inform Dr Dee that Lady Emmeline Collins awaited him.

  Dr Dee looked agitated at hearing this news, for both gentlemen seemed to be busy with the apparatus on the table: something was boiling in a jar, while a pale liquid coursed down a long, narrow tube and a funnel spouted steam.

  ‘Who is she?’ Mr Kelly asked.

  ‘One of the queen’s maids of honour,’ said Dr Dee in some alarm.

  ‘Shall I bring her here, Sir?’ I asked, knowing the dining room was fearsome cold.

  ‘No!’ He gestured towards the things on the table. ‘We are in the middle of an experiment and ‘tis not fitting.’ So saying, he pushed past me and, lifting up his robes, practically ran down to the dining room, with Mr Kelly close behind him.

  I followed on, hearing Dr Dee say in an ingratiating voice. ‘Madam! Your servant. How extreme kind of you to call,’ and as I neared the dining-room door, Mr Kelly was bowing very low over her hand.

  ‘How can I best serve you?’ asked Dr Dee.

  ‘Her Grace follows straight,’ replied Lady Emmeline, and my heart leapt. ‘There is something troubling her which she wishes to consult you about.’

  ‘Her Grace is attending now?’ Dr Dee asked.

  ‘Immediately,’ said Lady Emmeline. ‘She wishes her visit to be a private one and has no equerries or gentlemen-of-arms with her.’

  ‘Of course . . . we are honoured . . .’

  By taking very small and slow steps I’d only just reached the kitchen door when Dr Dee called me back.

  ‘Girl! Bring paper and tinder. Light the fire! Hot coals, if you please.’

  ‘At once, Sir,’ I called over my shoulder, and I ran to the kitchen to find Mistress Midge. ‘The queen is coming!’ I said to her with some excitement.

  ‘Oh Lord,’ she replied wearily. ‘More work.’

  ‘Lady Emmeline Collins has come to announce her,’ I went on, ‘and I’m to make up the fire for them in the dining room.’

  Beth sighed. ‘We don’t have to change our gowns and be presented, do we?’ she asked, and Merryl pulled a face of such dismay it made me laugh. ‘I can’t change my gown,’ she wailed. ‘You have used so many pins on me today that it would take two hours for me to get out.’

  ‘I don’t think you’ll be called upon to appear,’ I said, hurrying through to the back door to find twigs to start the fire. ‘Lady Emmeline said it’s a private visit.’

  ‘Thank the Lord for that. Most likely they’ll only be here for a moment or two, then,’ Mistress Midge said. ‘She’s come to consult Dr Dee on the best day for receiving one or other of her suitors, no doubt. Or maybe she’s had a proposal of marriage and wants to know the most auspicious day for a wedding!’

  ‘Surely not!’ I gasped.

  ‘Though if she takes my advice she’ll stay single, or else find herself ruled by a man. What use is marriage to a woman as powerful as she?’

  ‘She says she’s married to England,’ Beth said. ‘Though I don’t know how anyone could be married to a country.’

  I found the stuffs I needed and when I hurried back into the dining room, Dr Dee and Lady Emmeline had already gone to the front door to await the arrival of the queen.

  ‘Quickly, girl, quickly!’ Mr Kelly said. ‘Or she’ll be here and gone before you’ve hardly singed the wood.’

  I bent over the fire, struggling with the tinderbox. I very much wished to see Her Grace, but was embarrassed about what she might say to me, for I hadn’t set eyes on her since I’d snatched a flask of poison from her hand. It had been after that that she’d said she’d make provision for me to attend the Court and serve her further.

  I was still crouched over the grate, swearing under my breath at the damp and stubborn wood, when I heard the swish of silken skirts behind me and Mr Kelly say in a voice quivering with emotion, ‘Your Grace!’

  I stayed on my knees, crouching low. All I could see were the soft leather riding boots of the queen: a bright daffydill yellow, with pointed toes and jewelled buckles.

  ‘This is my esteemed and trusted scryer, Mr Kelly,’ said Dr Dee.

  ‘We trust your experiments are going well, gentlemen?’ said the queen.

  ‘Your Majesty . . . we are in the middle of an important one at the moment,’ said my employer.

  ‘For that certain stone?’ the queen asked, and both gentlemen murmured yes, Dr Dee adding devoutly that he hoped the Good Lord would help them in their endeavours.

  I continued struggling to
cause a spark that might ignite the fire. ‘I’ll come straight to the point,’ I heard the queen say. ‘Emmeline, will you give the doctor the object?’

  ‘Gladly!’ said Lady Emmeline, a shudder of distaste in her voice, and she let loose a roll of cloth she had under her arm and allowed a small object to fall to the floor. It was within my line of vision, so I saw a crude doll, about six inches tall, dressed in a rich scrap of fabric and undoubtedly supposed to represent the queen, for it had red wool hair over its inked-on features and, most telling of all, a simple paper crown, painted gold, on its head. Disturbingly, however, this poppet queen was a horrid sight, for it had pigs’ bristles stuck into its eyes.

  Gazing at it, Mr Kelly tutted in dismay and Dr Dee gave a growl of distaste.

  By now, I’d caused a spark from the box to light a scrap of paper and when I was certain it wouldn’t go out, I rose to my feet and, my eyes still lowered, began to back out of the room to fetch some hot coals.

  ‘One of our maids found this outside the window of our chamber,’ the queen was saying as I left the room. ‘’Twas placed by a follower of the Scots queen, we wager.’

  ‘Perhaps so, Madam,’ said Dr Dee, still staring at the object on the floor.

  I was at the doorway by this time but had to leave the door open, of course, so that I could come back quickly with the hot coals.

  ‘We made light of the tawdry thing, but would ask you if such an object has any power,’ I heard the queen ask.

  ‘None whatsoever, Your Grace,’ Dr Dee replied. ‘It is merely a toy made by some vulgar and ignorant quack. The only power it has is the capacity to cause disquiet in the mind of whoever receives it.’

  ‘Then we are hearty glad to hear it,’ the queen replied stoutly, ‘and it will not now cause us any unease.’

  I heard this, then ran down the corridor towards the library, where I took up a shovel full of hot coals from the grate and carefully carried these into the dining room. As I entered, the queen was turned away from me and speaking to Mr Kelly, therefore enabling me to gaze at her and take in every aspect of her appearance. I saw that her outermost garment was a short black velvet cape, lined in fur, this being thrown back over one shoulder to reveal a wool riding suit in bright turquoise. On her head she wore a canary-yellow felt hat which bore several jaunty ostrich feathers, and all most wonderful and elegant.

  ‘Will you be seated, Your Grace?’ Dr Dee asked, gesturing towards one of the new, carved settles.

  ‘We will not stay longer, thank you kindly,’ said the queen. She took a step to the door. ‘Oh, but, good Dr Dee, one more thing – we know that you are oft consulted on the meaning of dreams . . .’

  I saw Dr Dee bow in acknowledgement of this.

  ‘And though we are of the opinion that dreams are, in fact, like thoughts and are entirely of a random nature, there is one which we have had several times lately and which we would like you to interpret.’

  ‘At your service, Your Grace . . .’

  ‘It involves fish.’

  Still bent over the fire rearranging coals, I wanted to giggle, but of course did not.

  ‘To dream of a shoal of fish is a sure sign of wealth to come,’ said Dr Dee with great assurance.

  ‘Especially if they are silver or gold,’ put in Mr Kelly quickly.

  The queen laughed. ‘Then that’s good! The next time we dream of them we will try to ascertain the colour.’ I was aware of her skirts swishing around on the polished wood floor, then knew that she was looking at me.

  ‘Girl, what say you to dreams?’ she suddenly asked, a merry inflection to her voice.

  I struggled to get off my knees quickly, then immediately bent down into a low curtsey. ‘What . . . what say I?’ I stuttered, for it had been a dream which had led me to the queen before – a dream that she was about to take poison. ‘I believe dreams can foretell the future, Your Grace,’ I said, ‘but if I dreamed of fish ‘twould merely mean that the day is Friday and I am going to eat boiled mackerel.’ Both she and Lady Emmeline smiled at this. I rose from the curtsey but remained with my head lowered, wondering if Her Grace remembered me from my previous visit to the palace. Was that why she’d addressed me? Or would the sheer number of people she met each and every day, the vast number of faces she saw, mean that she merely thought she was speaking to Dr Dee’s nursemaid, a simple girl she’d never met in her life before.

  ‘I often dream that I’m swimming in the Thames,’ said Lady Emmeline. ‘Though I would never dream of doing such a thing in my life.’ She realised what she’d said and gave a trill of laughter.

  ‘To dream of being immersed in water is an auspicious dream,’ said Dr Dee ponderously, ‘as long as the water is calm and still. If it is turbulent, then the dream is not so favourable.’

  ‘I can scarce remember how the water was,’ said Lady Emmeline, ‘but what say you?’ she asked, gesturing for me to speak.

  ‘The only time I have had a dream of swimming,’ I said, ‘I woke and found that my sister’s little child had wet the bed where I was lying.’

  As I spoke I realised – just a little too late – that it was not the thing to be speaking to a queen about, but she and her lady laughed and the gentlemen had no alternative but to give tight smiles. Bolder now, I added, ‘But I’ve always been a great dreamer, so much so that my mother used to make me a cordial of dried cowslip flowers to take away my night-frights.’

  The queen smiled at me, her face pale with ceruse, her lips rouged red. She smoothed her gloves, which were of the finest kid leather, and I saw that she had very beautiful hands, long, slim and elegant. ‘You speak quaintly, little girl, and would be welcome at Court to amuse us sometime.’

  I felt myself blush with pleasure, but did not dare to look at the faces of Dr Dee and Mr Kelly.

  Her Grace turned. ‘You and Mr Kelly will come to Court over the Twelve Days to join an evening of entertainment, will you not?’ she asked Dr Dee.

  ‘Indeed, Madam,’ he replied unctuously, bending so far into a bow that his hair brushed the floor.

  ‘Then perhaps you will bring this little missy with you.’

  Dr Dee looked from me to the queen with some shock, while Mr Kelly’s expression was one of pure incredulity. ‘Of course,’ Dr Dee replied – for what else could he say to the Queen of England?

  I curtseyed again. Tomas had said that Her Grace would make provision for me to attend Court occasionally and carry out certain tasks, and it seemed that I would start the first of these soon. This, happily, meant that I’d soon see Tomas again . . .

  Chapter Five

  I went to my bedchamber early, just as soon as Beth and Merryl were asleep, but of course I could not close my eyes. I knew I must stay awake in order to go in search of Miss Charity, and besides, was so excited at the thought of being invited to Court by the queen that sleep was the last thing on my mind, and my thoughts were dancing all over the place.

  I mused on the girl I had to find, and pondered on the reasons she’d been taken: because of the fee to be earned by restoring her to her family, of course, but also, perhaps, for the increase in prestige Dr Dee would gain by discovering, by supposed occult means, someone who was missing.

  I’d known of my employer’s name and standing before I’d come to work at his house, but had since realised that his appointment as court magician had been based upon past achievements, when he was young and the queen new on the throne. He was old now, and over the years he’d increased his vast knowledge (or so I deduced from the books in strange languages he pored over and the vast charts of oceans he calculated). However, he had not succeeded in discovering that which would set him on the pinnacle of his profession: the philosopher’s stone which would change base metals into gold, and provide the secret of eternal youth. Beth had told me that Mr Kelly spoke to angels who’d pledged they’d reveal these secrets, but she’d also told me that so far all the revelations had been given in a strange language, using a code which Dr Dee and Mr Kelly had not managed t
o decipher.

  Eventually, Mr Kelly went home, Dr Dee retired for the night and the house, apart from the various creakings and groanings of its timbers, became hushed. Still I waited, making myself go through the letters of the alphabet and shaping each in my mind until, at last, I deemed it safe to rise.

  During the day I’d hidden away two sturdy candle-ends, and I stuck both of these on to a tin plate and found that they threw quite a reasonable light. It was blessed cold, though, so I dressed warmly, putting my day clothes over my shift, wearing gloves and a pair of thick woollen stockings, and having two shawls about my head. I then stood in my bedchamber with my ear pressed to the door, listening to the sounds of the house to make quite sure that no one was about, for I knew that Dr Dee would occasionally, on an auspicious date, rise in the middle of the night to commune with spirits. I wondered at this stage of the whereabouts of the children’s monkey, and hoped that – as was usual at this hour – he was fast asleep somewhere close to the kitchen fire and would not set up a chattering when he heard me stepping out.

  I only had my own senses, I realised, for believing that Miss Charity was being held somewhere in the house against her will, for it could be that the letter I’d conveyed to her father was perfectly genuine in its offer to scry for her; it could be that the sighs and moans I’d heard had been nothing but the wind. But my inner voice spoke to the contrary, and since I’d been living in this house I’d learned to listen to what it told me, however unlikely the message seemed.

  Gently, I lifted the latch and pulled open the door, then began to make my way along the passageway to the library. It was in here, I was sure, that I’d find Miss Charity, for one afternoon when I’d been playing hide-and-seek with my little charges I’d discovered a small, secret chamber behind the library fireplace – a chamber that no one else in the family seemed to know was there. Later, Mistress Midge had told me that when our queen first came to the throne, those Catholics who wanted to continue to celebrate Mass in their homes oft provided a place for a priest to take cover if the Protestant church authorities called, and this was one such hidey-hole.