The Counterfeit Crank Read Online Free PDF

her last groat. You are new to the city, I see, and picked the wrong place to beg.’
    ‘Yes,’ advised Elias. ‘Always choose somewhere in the open so that you can take to your heels, if you are found out. Here, in this lane, you were trapped. Nick may have laid bare your device, but he also saved you from a sound beating.’
    The young man gave a grudging nod. ‘Thank you for that, at least.’
    ‘So tell us your names.’
    ‘I am Hywel Rees and this is Dorothea.’
    ‘Dorothea Tate,’ she admitted. ‘And, no, we are not brother and sister. We met in St Albans, where Hywel rescued me from much worse than a beating.’ She pulled back a sleeve to reveal ugly bruises all the way up her arm. ‘There were two of the devils and they’d not be denied. Hywel took them on alone.’
    ‘And sent them on their way,’ said Hywel, proudly. ‘I look after Dorothea now.’
    ‘Then do it with more care,’ suggested Nicholas. ‘Do you have any money?’
    ‘None at all. But we met this man on the road who told us that beggars could prosper, if they were guileful enough. He talked of a counterfeit crank he knew who could make six shillings a day with the falling sickness.’
    ‘Six shillings a day!’ exclaimed Elias. ‘Hell’s teeth! That’s far more than I could earn, Hywel, and yet we are in the same trade.’
    ‘Are we?’
    ‘I am an actor with Westfield’s Men. Nick here is our book holder.’
    ‘Yes,’ added Nicholas. ‘This afternoon, we performed the tragedy of Julius Caesar and our manager, Lawrence Firethorn, in the role of the emperor, was called upon to do exactly what you did and feign the falling sickness.’
    ‘We’ll tell him about the soap to make him foam at the mouth. A clever touch.’
    ‘It tastes foul,’ said Hywel. ‘The first time I tried it, I swallowed a piece.’
    ‘It made him sick,’ remembered Dorothea.
    ‘There must be easier ways to earn a living.’
    ‘There are, Hywel,’ said Nicholas. ‘You can do it by honest toil. Have you better clothing than these filthy rags?’ Hywel nodded. ‘Then we might be able to find you employment at the Queen’s Head in Gracechurch Street. Our company performs there. We have a new landlord and he was looking to hire some more labour. If Dorothea was taken on as a kitchen wench, would you work as a serving man?’
    Hywel was doubtful. ‘I do not know.’
    ‘It might be worth it,’ said Dorothea. ‘At least, we’d not go hungry.’
    ‘Would you like me to speak to the landlord on your behalf?’ asked Nicholas.
    ‘Not yet,’ said Hywel. ‘Let us think it over. The Queen’s Head, you say?’
    ‘In Gracechurch Street. You’ll always find us there.’
    Elias reached into his purse. ‘For a penny apiece, you can stand in the yard and watch us perform,’ he said, pulling out some coins. ‘Here’s enough to buy you a good meal and take you to a wondrous play tomorrow afternoon.’
    ‘Thank you, sir,’ said Dorothea, grasping the money. ‘You are very kind.’
    ‘I hate to see a fellow Welshman having to beg.’ He winked at her. ‘And the same goes for his sister. I dare swear you are pretty enough to come from Wales.’
    ‘
Diolch
,’ said Hywel, squeezing his arm. ‘
Diolch
yn fawr.
’
    ‘
Cymru
am byth.
’
    Hywel gave his first smile and it lit up his face. ‘
Cymru
am byth.
’
    ‘What does that mean?’ said Nicholas.
    ‘What else?’ returned Elias. ‘Wales forever!’
    Dorothea, too, now felt secure enough to smile, disappointed that Hywel’s performance as a counterfeit crank had failed but sensing that they had made some good friends as a result. London had given them slim pickings since their arrival. On the previous night, they had slept beside the Thames and felt the cold wind of poverty. Thanks to their new acquaintances, she now had some money warming the palm of her hand. Hope began to flicker.
    ‘We are not afraid of hard work, sirs,’ she volunteered.
    Hywel stuck out his jaw. ‘We are not