A Parliament of Spies Read Online Free

bigger than anything ever seen before. There are other signs of their readiness. We’d be fools to ignore them.’ He frowned. ‘The question is, will Parliament grant King Richard the money to pay for our defence? The rumour is it will not. Lancaster’s son, Harry
Bolingbroke, the Earl of Derby, and his uncle the Duke of Gloucester, are refusing to grant permission to raise taxes. This is why we’re being called to Westminster. The King will have to plead with them to vote for sufficient resources to defend the realm. And you can be sure,’ he warned, ‘his enemies will pack both chambers with placemen in order to defeat him.’
    ‘You mean they’ll vote as they’re paid to vote? But if they do defeat the King and leave us undefended the French will swoop.’
    ‘There are rumours …’ he frowned. ‘It’s not merely a question of raising a war fund. The King has personal enemies. Members of his own family. They want nothing more than to get rid of him. The fear is this: they may use the invasion as a way of ridding themselves of him once and for all.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘They will use the invasion as a pretext.’
    ‘A pretext … ?’
    He gave her a long stare. ‘You recall what happened to King Jean of France after we captured him and put him up for ransom?’
    ‘Why yes, everyone knows. He was held for twenty years and died in the royal apartments in the Tower of London simply because the French dukes would not pay up.’
    The archbishop was silent.
    Hildegard could only stare. ‘You mean there’s a plot to exchange Richard for the price of peace? To allow the French to hold him to ransom – and never redeem him?’
    Neville nodded.

    ‘But that would be diabolical.’
    ‘Indeed.’
    ‘First he would have to lead an army into France. And this is precisely the course of action they seem to want to block by refusing to grant him the funds …’
    He gave a humourless smile. ‘There are other ways of offering a king for barter.’
    Neville was staring hard at her as if trying to read her thoughts. ‘All I require of you,’ he murmured in an urgent undertone, ‘is your observing eye when we reach London. It’s a cesspit of conspiracy. Plot and counterplot prevail. If we’re to survive we need to know who our enemies are, the ones who work in darkness against the realm.’
    He lowered his voice further. ‘There are names at court you will need to learn. Medford. Slake. Several others. They may mean nothing now but they’ll come to mean more over the next few weeks. They’re attached to the Signet Office. Mr Medford is King Richard’s personal secretary. He has use of his Signet, the royal seal, without which no business can be conducted. It bestows great power on him. Remember that.’
    She made a mental note of both names. ‘Is their loyalty in question?’
    Neville leant back. He made no answer. ‘There’s more—’ With some abruptness he changed the subject. ‘I understand you know something of herbal lore, Domina?’
    ‘A little,’ she admitted, startled by his sudden change of topic. Then she heard a noise outside.
    His expression had not altered. ‘There’s a curious
garden outside the city walls at a vill called Stepney. You may care to visit it while we’re down there. See if you can find a cure for my arthritis.’
    He raised his voice a fraction and now she glimpsed a shadow behind the swinging flap at the entrance.
    ‘They say the Dominican who runs it grows over two hundred different kinds of herbs,’ he continued smoothly. ‘I can imagine he supplies most of the city’s apothecaries with cures and the necromancers too. An extraordinary idea, don’t you think, to grow plants for the purpose of commerce – oh, there you are, my dear brother. My thanks.’
    He reached for the flagon Thomas was holding out, refilled all their goblets despite the lurching of the char and raised his own. ‘The King!’
    So I’m to be his spy at Westminster, Hildegard said to