The Nine Giants Read Online Free PDF

such a duty. It is all part of his apprenticeship. I warrant that he was delighted when you chose him.’
    ‘Indeed, he was. It got him away from here.’
    ‘Out of the dullness of his workplace and into the excitement of the streets,’ said Nicholas. ‘Hans will have been a little careless, that is all. He will not make the same mistake again.’
    ‘But that is the trouble of it.’
    ‘What is?’
    ‘Hans does not understand the nature of his error.’
    ‘He was off guard for a moment, surely?’
    ‘Maybe, Nick,’ she said. ‘But he does not remember. Hans took such a blow on the head that it has knocked the memory out of him. All he can recall is that some men attacked him and that he got away. When, where or why are questions that the lad cannot as yet comprehend.’
    ‘His wounds have been tended?’
    ‘Of course, sir. The surgeon said it is not uncommon to find a lapse of memory in such cases. Hans must be given time to recover. As his body mends, haply his mind will be made whole again.’ Anne seized his hands to squeeze them.‘Speak to him, Nick. The boy likes you and looks up to you. Help the poor creature for pity’s sake.’
    ‘I will do all that is needful. Trust it well.’
    ‘Your words are a balm to me.’
    He leant forward to embrace her then turned to his own story. When he explained what had detained him, Anne was thrown into disarray once more. The injuries of a young apprentice paled beside the discovery of a dead body in the River Thames. Nicholas Bracewell and Abel Strudwick had taken the corpse back to the wharf from which they had departed. After rousing the watch, they had been required to give sworn statements to a magistrate before being allowed to go. Strudwick had then rowed his friend to Bankside in a grim silence that no music could break. Tragedy had knocked all poetic skills out of him.
    Anne was in a state of total dismay.
    ‘Who was the man?’ she said.
    ‘We have no means of knowing as yet.’
    ‘But why was he stripped of his clothing?’
    ‘The murderer may have thought his apparel worth the taking,’ he said. ‘And that argues rich garments which could be sold for gain. I think, however, that there could be another reason behind it. His clothing could have helped to identify him and much care was taken to render the poor soul anonymous. The way that his face was beaten to a pulp, his own kin would not be able to recognise him. He went out of this world in the most damnable way.’
    ‘Could nothing be learnt from the corpse, Nick?’
    ‘Only some idea of his age, which I would put around thirty summers. And one thing more, Anne.’
    ‘Well, sir?’
    ‘The body had not long been in the water.’
    ‘How can you be sure of that?’
    ‘By bitter experience,’ he said. ‘I have seen all too many men who have found a watery grave.
Rigor mortis
sets in after a time and the miserable creatures become bloated in a way too hideous to describe. The person we found tonight was dropped into the river only a short time beforehand.’
    ‘Was any other villainy wreaked upon him?’
    ‘He was stabbed through the neck and one of his legs was horribly broken.’ He saw her flinch. ‘But these are details enough for you. I would not vex you any more.’
    ‘My joy at seeing you again is blackened by this grim intelligence.’ Fresh tears threatened. ‘The body in the river could so easily have been yours, Nick.’
    ‘With Abel Strudwick to look after me?’ he said with a smile. ‘I could not ask for a better guard. A whole armada would not dare to take on Abel when he is afloat. He would give them a broadside with his curses then rake their decks with a fusillade of poems.’
    She went back into his arms and hugged him close.
    ‘It has been a long and lonely night for me.’
    ‘I did not stay away from you out of choice, Anne.’
    ‘There is almost too much for me to bear.’
    ‘Let us share the load, my love.’
    ‘That was my hope.’
    ‘Consider it