The Splendid Hour by Kathryn Le Veque

CHAPTER NINE

The man dressed in peasant clothing chugged down an entire cup of fine wine, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Well?” Walter de Quincy demanded. “What do you have to tell me?”

The man was one of many that Walter had paid to follow Peter de Lohr and report back on the man’s activities and movements. There was an entire army of them, about twenty men, who kept track of Peter from the time he left Lonsdale and all around the city. They knew where he ate and where he slept, and who he kept company with. They also spoke to people who had seen him to get even more information, all of it reported back to Walter and Agnes.

Like today.

This particular man was a servant at Lonsdale who was on Walter’s payroll. He had followed Peter from Ludgate and to the Street of the Jewelers, and every time he came to Walter with a report, the man gave him a shiny, silver coin. But today… today, he was going to get more than that.

He’d already decided.

“De Lohr came into town very early, m’lord,” he said. “De Sherrington came with him.”

“The earl’s son-in-law?” Walter asked.

The man nodded. “The same,” he said. “He’s… deadly, m’lord. I didn’t want to get too close because de Sherrington is an assassin. Everyone knows he is. He’ll kill me and throw my body in the river.”

Walter nodded impatiently. “Tell me what you saw and be quick about it.”

The man opened his mouth but paused when he saw Agnes enter the well-appointed solar. The room was full of furs and tapestries and valuables, all of it crammed into the small solar of a townhome that belonged to a de Quincy cousin, Saer de Quincy, who was the Earl of Winchester. He also happened to be among the leaders of the rebellion against John and was one more reason why Walter was so determined to make a marriage with de Lohr.

He wanted those connections.

Irritated that his daughter interrupted the spy, Walter waved the man on.

“Go on, go on,” he demanded.

The man was mostly looking at Walter as Agnes eyed him most curiously. “I followed Peter and de Sherrington into London,” he said. “They stopped at a tavern to procure food before moving towards Milk Street where he met up with some children. I do not know what happened, or what was said, but they soon left the children and went to the Street of the Jewelers.”

Walter’s brow furrowed. “Street of the Jewelers?” he said, puzzled. “I wonder why?”

The man lowered his voice. “I do not know why, but I can tell you what I saw,” he said. “And it will cost you another coin.”

Walter’s features stiffened. “You dare to make demands?”

“Not demands, my lord,” he said. “What I saw was worth more than the usual payment.”

Walter was about to throw the man from the chamber, but thought better of it. He sighed sharply. “Very well,” he said. “I’ll give you another coin. Tell me what you saw.”

Satisfied, the man continued. “He went to the shop of Haim ben Thad. He is the king’s jeweler.”

Walter recognized the name. “He is one of the most prominent jewelers in all of London,” he said. “Peter went there to buy something?”

The man looked between Walter and his daughter. “I do not think so,” he said. “I could not hear what they were saying, but he did not go into the shop. A young woman came forth to greet them and he spoke with her. I was hiding in a doorway, you see, so I could see them clearly. There were other people around, so I did not stand out as a lone man cowering in the shadows and I was able to see a great deal. Peter and this young woman were speaking while de Sherrington was standing off to the side somewhere. He was not part of the conversation.”

“And?”

The man stepped closer and lowered his voice further, as if divulging a great secret. “And I saw Peter kiss the woman’s hand.”

“Kiss?” Agnes said, incensed. “Are you certain?”

The man had known from the beginning of his association with de Quincy that all of the spying he was doing was because of Agnes. It was no secret in the de Lohr household that Walter very much wished for a marriage between his daughter and Peter de Lohr, so he knew this news would upset the young woman.

He was right.

Agnes’ face was turning as red as her hair.

“Peter was speaking to the young woman, m’lady,” he said. “When she lifted her finger to point at him, he took her hand and kissed the tip of her finger. That is not the usual polite kiss. It seemed like there was something more. In fact, it seemed like there was something more through the entire conversation because they were smiling with each other and… and…”

Agnes was ready to explode. “And what?”

“And it seemed to me that they were teasing one another – flirting.”

Agnes’ mouth popped open in outrage. “Who is this young woman?”

The man shook his head. “When a man came out of the shop, she called him her father,” he said. “I assume it is the jeweler’s daughter.”

Agnes looked at her father as if she were ready to kill someone. Walter had a sick feeling in his stomach that Peter de Lohr was slipping through his fingers. He quickly paid the man his extra coin and sent him along his way before returning his attention to his daughter.

“A jeweler’s daughter,” she seethed, pounding her fist on the back of a cushioned chair. “A jeweler’s daughter!”

Walter’s mind was working quickly. “Not just any jeweler’s daughter,” he said. “The king’s jeweler. There is something significant in that, Agnes. There is something happening.”

Agnes stopped pounding the furniture and looked at him. “What could possibly be happening?” she snapped. “That… that whore is to have my husband!”

Walter held up a hand. “She’s not a whore,” he said. “If she is the jeweler’s daughter, then she’s a Jew and, more than likely, quite sheltered. A Jew cannot marry a Christian and, most importantly, not a de Lohr. Hereford would never allow it.”

“If he knows,” Agnes pointed out. “He may not know at all.”

A thought occurred to Walter. “Mayhap not,” he said. “But that will change. I am happy to tell him that his son is allowing himself to be seduced by the jeweler’s daughter. The jeweler of John, the very man we are fighting against. Mayhap Peter is even giving the woman information about the rebellion.”

“Of course!” Agnes cried. Somehow, it made her feel better to have a reason behind Peter’s defection other than the fact he simply didn’t like her. “That is the only thing that makes sense. She is seducing him to discover the rebellion’s plans so that she can tell her father and he can tell the king!”

Walter looked at her, shocked by his own revelation. Peter de Lohr was leaking information to the king’s cause. He clapped his hands together sharply.

“Quickly,” he said. “Tell the servants to bring my horse around. I must ride to Lonsdale immediately.”

“Can I come?” Agnes begged.

Walter shook his head. “Nay, Daughter,” he said. “You remain here. I will tell Hereford personally that his son is a traitor and I do not need you present. I will tell him that I will not inform the rest of the warlords of his son’s betrayal if he will immediately consent to a betrothal. After all, I would never betray family. Truly, this is perfect. Young Peter has done our work for us.”

Agnes squealed with delight and dashed off, shouting to the servants to have her father’s horse prepared. Walter could hear the commotion in the house as he went to collect his cloak. As he’d said, the situation was perfect. Now he had a bargaining chip to use against de Lohr when it came to the betrothal that Hereford was so keen to dodge. If Walter threatened to tell the rebel warlords that Peter was a traitor to their cause, then surely de Lohr would do anything to save his son.

Even marry him to Agnes de Quincy.

Truly… he couldn’t have planned it better. Walter was quite happy to gloat about it when a nervous servant brought him a missive that had just been delivered. Annoyed at the interruption, he was about to toss it aside when he saw Pembroke’s seal.

William Marshal.

Quickly, Walter broke the seal and read the contents. He read it twice. Tossing the missive aside, he went shouting for his horse even though the servants were already preparing it. In less than ten minutes’ time, Walter was tearing from the small yard of the townhome, riding out to the countryside east of London.

The Marshal’s missive had him heading straight for the de Lohr stronghold of Lonsdale.