[Roger the Chapman 02] - The Plymouth Cloak Read Online Free PDF

A certain amount of - what shall I say? - harshness was inevitable.'
    I stared at him, fascinated by a callousness which could admit so much; by his complete indifference to what anyone thought of him. Nothing I could say or do, however, would awaken in him a sense of wrongdoing, so it was pointless to try. I asked: 'But why was a sea journey necessary? As you have just indicated, these mannikins exist in every country.'
    He shrugged and finished the remaining stew in his bowl.
    'Common sense. It's better to sell them in a foreign land, where they are unable to run away and return home whenever the fancy takes them. So we sold English dwarfs in Italy and France, and French and Italian dwarfs over here. At one time, there was a great demand for English dwarfs in Italy. No noble household was complete without one.' 'I wonder you could find so many.'
    Again Philip Underdown shrugged his powerful shoulders. 'There are always ways and means if one knows them. Paolo I was lucky enough to sell into the Duke of Gloucester's household. By some means or another the Duke came to hear of my history and circumstances, and suggested me to King Edward as a possible Royal Messenger.
    Someone who had travelled a great deal abroad and who could take care of himself. Which makes it all the more galling to have you foisted on to me for a mere two-day trip from Exeter to Plymouth. What does he think I am? An incompetent child?'
    'He's taking no chances. This letter you're carrying seems to be important.'
    'They're all important,' he retorted huffily. 'Why should this one be any different?'
    I wondered whether or not to broach the subject of the Duke of Clarence, but in the end decided against it. I felt I would probably get an evasive answer, and that I had asked enough questions for the time being. We had two days and nights before us, during which I might well be able to discover more. I swung both legs over the bench and stood up. 'I'm ready to go if you are.'
    He nodded, wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and rose to his feet. 'Our horses are waiting for us in the Bishop's stables. I'll show you the way.'
    'I must get my stick first. It's with my pack in the entrance hallway.'
    I duly collected it, along with my razor and a short, black handled knife which I used for eating, knotting the two latter inside a square of stout, closely-woven woollen cloth that I happened to be carrying. Then I followed my companion out of the Palace and across the hundred or so yards to the stables.
    Philip Underdown's mount was a large, fiea-bitten grey, a showy animal who rolled an intelligent eye in my direction, it gave, I noticed, no whinny of pleasure at the approach of his master. I was to ride a sturdy chestnut cob, to use its modem name; although in my youth those placid, good-natured creatures were known as rounceys. My few belongings went into the saddle-bag, but, as I had foreseen, the cudgel presented something of a problem. In the end I was persuaded, very reluctantly, to shorten it by several inches so that I could carry it across my saddle-bow.
    'Easier to use, I should think,' Philip Underdown commented. 'You can take more of a swing with it. Not so unwieldy. Anyone could handle something of that size.' 'You obviously know nothing of the art of cudgel-sticks,' I answered tersely, restoring a little of the self-esteem which had been eroded by my clumsy mounting of the cob; an effort that had afforded much amusement to both my charge and the spotty-faced stable-boy who was assisting us. 'Shall we be on our way? We want to reach Buckfast before dusk.'

    In fact, we had cleared the busy streets of Exeter and were moving south at a steady pace before the sun was much lower in the sky. The haze of early autumn clouded the valleys and hung over the hills like gauze. The track along which we rode was almost deserted, studded here and there with gorse bushes, the golden flowers embattled behind sharp black spikes. Mossy cushions of emerald-green