A Conspiracy of Violence Read Online Free PDF Page B

garden.’
    ‘I would rather—’ began the second.
    ‘No, Bennet!’ interrupted the wolf. ‘I do not want your opinion. Just do as I say.’
    Bennet’s face was a mask of disapproval, but he slouched off in the direction indicated by his companion’s pointing finger.
     The wolf, using his sword as a scythe to probe the vegetation, began to move towards Chaloner, who picked up a handful of
     dirt and tossed it into a bed of mint.
    ‘Stay where you are,’ ordered the wolf, when Bennet immediately turned towards the noise with a predatory grin. ‘It is a trick.’
    Chaloner grabbed a second fistful of soil and lobbed it at the gate, which had Bennet kicking at the brambles in a frenzied
     attempt to determine whether someone was hiding there. When the wolf turned to berate him, Chaloner leapt to his feet and
     ran full pelt towards thehouse. Another crack echoed as a pistol was discharged, and splinters flew from a nearby tree. Chaloner hurdled a bed of
     winter cabbages, jigged behind a tangle of raspberry canes, and raced into the steamy warmth of a kitchen. Startled scullions
     gaped as he pounded through their domain, his feet skidding on the grease-coated floor. He saw an exit at the far end and
     powered towards it, knocking over a boy carrying a tureen of soup; the bowl crashed to the floor, adding its contents to the
     already slick surface.
    Chaloner found himself in a long hallway, at the end of which was a door. He heard Bennet shout behind him, ordering him to
     stop. A scullion grabbed his arm, but Chaloner felled him with a punch. He reached the door, and spent several agonising seconds
     pulling away a bar, praying it would not be locked, too – if it was, then he was a dead man, because there was nowhere to
     hide and even the most inept of gunmen could not fail to miss him at such close range.
    The yelling grew closer. Bennet cursed foully as he lost his footing in the oily spillage and went flying in a whirlwind of
     arms and legs. Chaloner tugged at the door. It did not budge. The wolf was scrambling over Bennet and bringing a pistol to
     bear, triumph lighting his pointed features. Made strong by desperation, Chaloner hauled on the door again. Something snapped
     and it flew open. Then he was outside, disappearing into the crowd that was surging towards the Banqueting House.
    Chaloner mingled with the throng, pulling off hat, wig and cloak and tucking them under his arm in an attempt to change his
     appearance and confuse his pursuers. He knew they would expect him to head in the oppositedirection, to put as much distance between him and the scene of Hewson’s – or was it Jones’s? – death as possible, so he
     did the reverse: he allowed the crowd to take him back towards Kelyng’s rear gate, and then on to White Hall. He listened
     to people’s speculations as he moved among them, keeping his head down and working at being inconspicuous.
    Everyone seemed to know that shots had been fired as the King had ridden from St James’s Park to the Touching Ceremony, and
     some folk claimed to have heard them. A baker said there had been three loud bangs, but a woman swore on the lives of her
     children that there had been eight. Most believed an attempt had been made on the King’s life, although an apprentice wearing
     a blood-splattered apron maintained that the King had shot one of his spaniels, to show his new government what would happen
     to them if they used him as they had his father. A fat vicar was of the opinion that the incident originated with Lady Castlemaine,
     whose husband had executed one of her many lovers. Chaloner recalled a comment his uncle had once made about how a mob could
     be controlled with rumours, but how dangerous it could be if the tales took on a life of their own.
    He glanced behind him. The wolf was on the doorstep, scanning the street with one hand behind his back to conceal his reloaded
     weapon. He scowled when Bennet arrived and elbowed him to share the