The Body in the Thames Read Online Free PDF Page B

Goch did. But his retinue of diplomats, servants and soldiers comprises more than two hundred people. Among so many,
     differences of opinion will be inevitable.’
    ‘Yes, I suppose the delegation
is
that large,’ acknowledged Clarendon. ‘Of course, you are in a unique position to know their real thoughts, given that you
     speak the language.’
    ‘I do not spy on them,’ said Chaloner immediately.
    ‘You should,’ countered the Earl. ‘You might learn something useful.’
    ‘And I might hear it in the wrong context, and tell you something inaccurate or misleading,’ replied Chaloner. ‘There is more
     to spying than just repeating what is overheard.’
    ‘Yes, I have been told that the reports you composed when you were stationed overseas were good in that respect. But you
know
these people and their ways, so Ido not see why you cannot manage a little eavesdropping to help your country.’
    ‘I would need to be there on a full-time basis to be of any real value,’ explained Chaloner, striving for patience. They had
     discussed this before. ‘Besides, I am sure Spymaster Williamson has his own people in place. Too many intelligencers will
     cause confusion and be counterproductive.’
    The Earl was thoughtful. ‘The negotiations are proceeding far more slowly than they should, and mistrust and suspicion are
     rife. Perhaps you have just explained why – a surfeit of spies.’
    ‘Perhaps. Of course, there is also the fact that the Dutch know that most of our country would much rather go to war. It is
     hardly an attitude that encourages them to make concessions.’
    The Earl grimaced. ‘I am aware of that, believe me! But there is another reason why you must find Hanse as quickly as possible.
     It pertains to the Privy Council papers that were stolen.’
    ‘What Privy Council papers, sir?’ asked Chaloner warily.
    The Earl glared at him. ‘I am sure I told you about them in the park yesterday. They went missing on Friday evening. From
     this very room! And I want them back.’
    ‘I see,’ said Chaloner, biting back his exasperation that the Earl had neglected to inform him of such an important matter
     immediately. It certainly had
not
been mentioned in the park, and the passage of time would make them that much harder to locate. ‘But how do they relate to
     Hanse?’
    ‘On Friday morning, just hours before they disappeared, I entertained two men here: van Goch and Hanse.They must have seen these documents, and decided to steal them.’
    Chaloner gazed at him, not sure whether he was more startled by the suggestion that two high-ranking diplomats would resort
     to theft, or that the Earl should have left such items lying around for foreign visitors to spot in the first place.
    ‘Hanse and van Goch are not thieves, sir,’ he began.
    ‘They are—’
    ‘Well, someone made off with them,’ snapped the Earl. ‘And they went on Friday evening, between six and eight o’clock, when
     I was dining with my wife and the papers were up here unattended. They could not have been taken before then, because I was
     reading them.’
    ‘But van Goch and Hanse left you at noon,’ said Chaloner, recalling the pair walking away to the accompaniment of bells striking
     twelve o’clock. ‘They were not here between six and eight.’
    ‘So? All that means is that they saw the papers, and elected to come and steal them later.’
    ‘How? There are guards on all your doors
and
patrolling the garden. Or are you suggesting that Heer van Goch climbed up the side of the house and slipped in through a
     window?’
    ‘Do not be impertinent!’ barked the Earl. ‘Hanse must have done it.’
    ‘He has an alibi. He was in the Sun tavern from six o’clock until roughly half-past eight.’ Chaloner did not mention that
he
was the alibi. ‘He could not have stolen these papers.’
    ‘I do not believe it,’ snapped the Earl. ‘He
did
steal them, and
that
is why he has disappeared. He is ferrying them back to the