scholar.’ Abraham paused for a sip of wine. ‘He was also a creature of habit. On Wednesday evenings, he always dined at Exeter. Exeter serve venison on Wednesdays. Alas, Erasmus’s taste for it mayhave been his undoing. It was a Thursday morning when his body was found in Brasenose Lane on the south side of the college. His throat had been cut, and he’d been robbed.’ Abraham took another sip from his glass.
‘Such deaths are not uncommon, Abraham,’ remarked Thomas quietly, thinking again that this was not the Oxford he remembered, or should have returned to. His place was with his family, not here among murderers.
‘Indeed they’re not, especially now. I daresay he’d enjoyed the hospitality of the evening, but Erasmus was a cautious man. He would not have walked in the dark down that foul lane. And remember that Erasmus was the king’s cryptographer. He had access to almost every order and report to and from the king’s commanders. He knew a great deal.’
‘As do you, my friend. Yet, happily, I find you alive and well.’
‘Happily, you do. But there’s another thing. I knew Erasmus as well as any man. In the weeks before his death, something was troubling him. He didn’t speak of it and I didn’t ask, yet I’m sure of it. I wish I had asked. Erasmus might be with us now. As my sight has deteriorated, so my hearing has become more acute. Interesting how the body works, don’t you think? Icould hear fear in his voice. Fear, and something else. I think it was guilt.’
‘Guilt? But why?’
‘I believe his role was discovered by an enemy, and he was being threatened. There are many spies in the town. One of them may have got to him, and frightened him into betraying secrets.’
‘And killed him when he refused?’
‘It’s more likely he was killed because the enemy thought he was about to be exposed as a traitor to the king. If so, he would have suffered greatly, and would eventually have revealed the identity of the spy.’
‘Had they grounds for thinking that he was under suspicion?’
‘Possibly. When a message arrived from Lord Digby informing the king that he planned to attack Alton, the town garrison was immediately strengthened. The attack never took place. It looked suspicious.’
‘If you’re right, there is a vicious traitor in the town.’
‘And not just one, Thomas. Oxford seethes with unrest and deception. There are two worlds here now – one you can see going about its daily business, and another which lurks in the shadows and listens at keyholes. I doubt we shall ever know who killed Erasmus.’
‘Already you make me wish I had stayed at home, Abraham.’
‘But you are here now.’ Abraham’s voice was suddenly brusque. ‘Thomas, the king, with reason, trusts almost no one. I’ve persuaded him that you’re the best cryptographer in the land, and that I would gladly put my life in your hands. We need you. We want you to take Erasmus’s place.’
‘Abraham, you know my views on this war,’ replied Thomas evenly, ‘and on any war. On the journey here, I asked myself again and again why I was coming to take part in something I am so opposed to. And, when I saw what has become of the city, I very nearly turned round and went straight back to Romsey. Beggars, soldiers, whores, poverty, destruction, filth. Barely a scholar to be seen.’
‘So why did you come?’
‘I’m still not sure. The pleasure of seeing you, of course. The vain hope that I might hasten the end of the war. Perhaps even loyalty to the king. He is the king, after all, for all his faults. I would not have done the same if the summons had been from Pym.’
‘Of that I am sure, Thomas. But will you do as I ask?’
Thomas took a deep breath and spoke slowly. ‘For your sake, my old friend, I will. I would not see youembarrassed before the king, and, in any case, I have no wish to climb straight back on a horse for four days. But it’s some time since I worked on ciphers. I shall need
‘Such deaths are not uncommon, Abraham,’ remarked Thomas quietly, thinking again that this was not the Oxford he remembered, or should have returned to. His place was with his family, not here among murderers.
‘Indeed they’re not, especially now. I daresay he’d enjoyed the hospitality of the evening, but Erasmus was a cautious man. He would not have walked in the dark down that foul lane. And remember that Erasmus was the king’s cryptographer. He had access to almost every order and report to and from the king’s commanders. He knew a great deal.’
‘As do you, my friend. Yet, happily, I find you alive and well.’
‘Happily, you do. But there’s another thing. I knew Erasmus as well as any man. In the weeks before his death, something was troubling him. He didn’t speak of it and I didn’t ask, yet I’m sure of it. I wish I had asked. Erasmus might be with us now. As my sight has deteriorated, so my hearing has become more acute. Interesting how the body works, don’t you think? Icould hear fear in his voice. Fear, and something else. I think it was guilt.’
‘Guilt? But why?’
‘I believe his role was discovered by an enemy, and he was being threatened. There are many spies in the town. One of them may have got to him, and frightened him into betraying secrets.’
‘And killed him when he refused?’
‘It’s more likely he was killed because the enemy thought he was about to be exposed as a traitor to the king. If so, he would have suffered greatly, and would eventually have revealed the identity of the spy.’
‘Had they grounds for thinking that he was under suspicion?’
‘Possibly. When a message arrived from Lord Digby informing the king that he planned to attack Alton, the town garrison was immediately strengthened. The attack never took place. It looked suspicious.’
‘If you’re right, there is a vicious traitor in the town.’
‘And not just one, Thomas. Oxford seethes with unrest and deception. There are two worlds here now – one you can see going about its daily business, and another which lurks in the shadows and listens at keyholes. I doubt we shall ever know who killed Erasmus.’
‘Already you make me wish I had stayed at home, Abraham.’
‘But you are here now.’ Abraham’s voice was suddenly brusque. ‘Thomas, the king, with reason, trusts almost no one. I’ve persuaded him that you’re the best cryptographer in the land, and that I would gladly put my life in your hands. We need you. We want you to take Erasmus’s place.’
‘Abraham, you know my views on this war,’ replied Thomas evenly, ‘and on any war. On the journey here, I asked myself again and again why I was coming to take part in something I am so opposed to. And, when I saw what has become of the city, I very nearly turned round and went straight back to Romsey. Beggars, soldiers, whores, poverty, destruction, filth. Barely a scholar to be seen.’
‘So why did you come?’
‘I’m still not sure. The pleasure of seeing you, of course. The vain hope that I might hasten the end of the war. Perhaps even loyalty to the king. He is the king, after all, for all his faults. I would not have done the same if the summons had been from Pym.’
‘Of that I am sure, Thomas. But will you do as I ask?’
Thomas took a deep breath and spoke slowly. ‘For your sake, my old friend, I will. I would not see youembarrassed before the king, and, in any case, I have no wish to climb straight back on a horse for four days. But it’s some time since I worked on ciphers. I shall need
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