The Mammoth Book of Jacobean Whodunnits Read online

  Mike Ashley is an author and editor of over eighty books, including many Mammoth titles. He worked for over thirty years in local government but is now a full-time writer and researcher specializing in ancient history, historical fiction and fantasy, crime and science fiction. He lives in Kent with his wife and over 20,000 books.

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  Constable & Robinson Ltd

  3 The Lanchesters

  162 Fulham Palace Road

  London W6 9ER

  www.constablerobinson.com

  First published in the UK by Robinson,

  an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2006

  Copyright © Mike Ashley, 2006

  The right of Mike Ashley to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-84529-303-1

  ISBN-10: 1–84529–303–7

  eISBN 978-1-78033-354-0

  Printed and bound in the EU

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  CONTENTS

  Copyright and Acknowledgments

  INTRODUCTION: GUNPOWDER, TREASON AND PLOT

  Mike Ashley

  THE KING’S FIRST ACHIEVEMENT

  Fiona Buckley

  THE DUKE OF YORK

  P. F. Chisholm

  THE TOWER’S MAN

  Michael Jecks

  A DISOBEDIENT DAUGHTER

  Jean Davidson

  MURDER UNAUTHORIZED

  Amy Myers

  ICE SAILOR

  Laird Long

  SATAN IN THE STAR CHAMBER

  Peter Tremayne

  GREEN TARTS

  Deryn Lake

  “O, POISONOUS WEED!”

  F. Gwynplaine Maclntyre

  A DEAD MAN’S WISH

  John T. Aquino

  PERFECT ALIBI

  Philip Boast

  THE RESTLESS DEAD

  Martin Edwards

  A TASTE FOR DUCKING

  Marilyn Todd

  DEATH KNOWS NO COMPROMISE

  Derek Wilson

  A HOUSE DIVIDED

  Judith Cutler

  TWO SIDES

  Mike Stotter

  THE PALATABLE TRUTH

  Carol Anne Davis

  THE COMEDY THAT BECAME A TRAGEDY

  F. Frankfort Moore

  THE DUMB BELL

  Kate Ellis

  THE CURIOUS CONTENTS OF A COFFIN

  Susanna Gregory

  THE DUTCHMAN AND THE MADAGASCAR PIRATES

  Maan Meyers

  TOM OF TEN THOUSAND

  Edward Marston

  THE PHILADELPHIA SLAUGHTERMAN

  Ian Morson

  TO WALK ON THORNY PATHS

  Paul Finch

  COPYRIGHT AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  All of the stories bar one are original to this anthology and copyright © 2006 in the name of the individual authors. They are printed by permission of the author and their literary representative, as follows.

  “The King’s First Achievement” printed by permission of Valerie Anand and the author’s agents, the David Grossman Literary Agency.

  “A Dead Man’s Wish” by permission of John T. Aquino.

  “Perfect Alibi” by Philip Boast, “A Disobedient Daughter” by Jean Davidson, “The Philadelphia Slaughterman” by Ian Morson and “Murder Unauthorized” by Amy Myers, all printed by permission of the authors and the Dorian Literary Agency.

  “A House Divided” by permission of Judith Cutler.

  “The Palatable Truth” by permission of Carol Anne Davis.

  “The Restless Dead” by permission of Martin Edwards.

  “To Walk on Thorny Paths” by permission of Paul Finch.

  “The Duke of York” by permission of Patricia Finney.

  “The Dumb Bell” by Kate Ellis, The Curious Contents of a Coffin” by Susanna Gregory and “Satan in the Star Chamber” by Peter Tremayne by permission of the authors and A. M. Heath & Co.

  “The Tower’s Man” by permission of Michael Jecks.

  “Green Tarts” by permission of Deryn Lake.

  “Ice Sailor” by permission of Laird Long.

  “‘O, Poisonous Weed!’” by permission of F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre.

  “Tom of Ten Thousand” by permissio
n of Edward Marston.

  “The Dutchman and the Masagascar Pirates” by permission of Annette and Martin Meyers.

  “Two Sides” by permission of Mike Stotter.

  “A Taste for Ducking” by permission of Marilyn Todd.

  “Death Knows no Compromise” by permission of Derek Wilson.

  “The Comedy That Became a Tragedy” was first published in Pearson’s Magazine, November 1899. Copyright expired on 31 December 2001.

  INTRODUCTION: GUNPOWDER, TREASON AND PLOT

  MIKE ASHLEY

  The Jacobean Age might at first seem a rather obscure period for a volume of murder and mystery stories, until you think about it in more detail. The phrase is usually applied to the reign of James I, the first Stuart king of England. He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and had been James VI of Scotland before he succeeded Elizabeth as James I of England in 1603. His reign lasted until his death in 1625 at the age of 58. It was a period that saw considerable changes in Britain, particularly the growth in Puritanism, but it also set in chain a whole series of events that would change the face of Britain forever – not just the eventual union of England, Scotland and Wales into the United Kingdom, but more immediately the Civil War that would see the execution of James’s successor, Charles I.

  James was not that popular a king. If there is one event we remember in history (aside, I suppose, from the Battle of Hastings and the Battle of Trafalgar) it is the Gunpowder Plot and the attempt by Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators to blow up Parliament, including the king, in November 1605. James was intelligent and well-read – he did, after all, initiate the new translation of the Bible which has remained the “authorized” edition to this day – but he was also bigoted, rash and oblivious to the views of others. He believed strongly in the God-given “divine” right of kings. He had a passionate hatred of anything “supernatural” and his writings against witchcraft and demonology are renowned. He had a strong Scottish accent that few English could understand. He was openly homosexual, fondling his favourites in public. He had a rather disgusting habit of dribbling, he drank too much and had such a fondness for fruit that he suffered from frequent bouts of diarrhoea. But at least he was against smoking, so he wasn’t all bad.

  There is scope a-plenty for murder, mystery and mayhem in James’s reign. One of the most notorious of all murder trials, about the mysterious death of Sir Thomas Overbury, occurred during his reign and features in this collection.

  But why stop with James I? The phrase “Jacobean” also applies to his grandson, James II, albeit briefly, as this James, even more pig-headed and intransigent than his grandfather, lasted only three years on the thrones of England and Scotland before fleeing Britain to live in exile in France. Between James I and James II we have the reigns of Charles I and II, the English Civil War and the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. Why leave those out just to split hairs over when “Jacobean” begins and ends?

  So this anthology covers crimes and punishments throughout most of the seventeenth century, from 1604 to 1688 to be precise. It was a period which includes many well known characters, many of whom appear in this book, including Francis Bacon, Sir Walter Ralegh, Sir Robert Cecil, Pocahontas, Nell Gwynn, the artist Rubens and, of course, William Shakespeare. All but one of the stories are new, written specially for this anthology, and the one reprinted story is so rare I’ll guarantee you won’t have come across it before. I’m delighted to say that Fiona Buckley has written a new Ursula Stannard story, and P. F. Chisholm has written a new story about Robert Carey. Stories are set not just in Britain but in the American colonies, including the lost colony of Roanoke and the early days of New York and Philadelphia.

  The stories feature many of the key events from this period, but often viewed from a new or different angle, and I was fascinated to see how the authors have brought new twists to interpreting events. This book contains quite a few surprises.

  As always the stories are presented in chronological order so let us part the curtains of crime and head back four hundred years to the dawn of Great Britain.

  Mike Ashley

  THE KING’S FIRST ACHIEVEMENT

  FIONA BUCKLEY

  Although James, as James VI of Scotland, had long waited for the day when he would also rule England, the result was not quite what he had anticipated. Though intelligent, James was easily blinded by the glory of his position and failed to notice the realities beyond. England held a far more complicated and, at times, vulnerable position in European affairs than Scotland. One of the first problems he had to face was the state of war between England and Spain, which had dragged on for seventeen years. Both countries were tired and James was able to score an early coup by negotiating a peace treaty. Known as the Treaty of London it is the events leading up to that which form the background for the following story, which also allows us to meet such noted characters as William Shakespeare and Sir Robert Cecil.

  The story features Ursula Stannard, the married name of Ursula Blanchard, the heroine of a series of books starting with The Robsart Mystery (1997). Ursula is treated as one of Henry VIII’s illegitimate offspring and thus the half-sister of Elizabeth I. Elizabeth finds she can trust Ursula, welcomes her into her court, and uses her as one of her spies. This story is set forty years after the events in that first book, but Ursula’s abilities have not dimmed.

  Fiona Buckley is the alias of Valerie Anand (b. 1937), author of many historical novels starting with Gildenford (1978), unusually set in the last days of Saxon England. Other books include The Disputed Crown (1982), King of the Wood (1988) and the Bridges Over Time series, starting with The Proud Villeins (1990), which traces the generations of a family from pre-Conquest England to the present day.

  1

  “How on earth,” said Mr William Shakespeare theatrically, “are we to rehearse any of our forthcoming productions when the King’s Players are on duty every day, all through August, sweltering in scarlet wool breeches and cloaks, standing round a conference chamber and fetching mid-morning wine for the august delegates as if we were a gaggle of waiters?”

  He was unassuming to look at and no longer young but he used both his voice and the English language like a good musician handling a dulcimer. “Why must we waste our time as a guard of honour,” he demanded rhetorically, “while the Royal Council and the Spanish embassy argue over their peace treaty? Can anyone tell me? Thank you, Furness, a cup of good wine won’t come amiss when we’re the ones drinking it. I love your Venetian glass goblets.”

  “So do I. He may look like something that ought to be kept in a menagerie,” said Richard Burbage in his beautiful and carrying actor’s voice, “but he has the tastes of a civilized man.”

  “I am a civilized man,” said Thomas Furness, accepting this backhanded compliment as though it were pure flattery. “I gave my daughter a set of similar glasses when she married,” he added, holding up the exquisitely patterned example in his hand. “She has good taste, too.”

  He was as competent an actor as any, but he was too tall and massive for leading parts. His hands and feet were enormous, his face apparently the work of a sculptor who had given up at the rough-hewn stage and his voice resembled coal rumbling down a chute. He specialized in supporting roles in what had once been Queen Elizabeth’s own theatre company and was now the King’s Players for her successor King James. When such exalted Players as Richard Burbage and Edward Alleyn, or Will Shakespeare, who not only took major parts but wrote them too, accepted his invitations to dine, he was always flustered as well as delighted and doubly determined to provide good wine.

  “Will is right,” complained Burbage. They had abandoned the table and the debris of a prolonged dinner. All elegant grooming and graceful postures, he had draped himself over a window seat overlooking the street. “I know that room in Somerset House. It gets the sun. If this heat wave goes on, we’ll all melt.”

  “Quite. A row of dear little puddles on the floor with our pretty scarlet liveries soaking in them, that
’s how we’ll be.” Shakespeare elaborated with enthusiasm. “Pools of what the Spaniards are now calling cochinilla dye will look very gruesome.”

  “I can’t see why a peace treaty needs so much cogitation,” grumbled Alleyn. He was less obviously handsome than Burbage but possessed of a presence that made other people shrink when he entered a room. “The old queen had a personal feud with Spain but King James hasn’t and I daresay the Spanish want a new start as much as anyone. We want them to promise never to send another Armada and I don’t suppose they want to send one anyway. One day should be enough to agree on that!”

  “It’s because it’s important,” said Shakespeare, “If they don’t take at least three weeks over it, it won’t feel important. You know, I have a notion that maybe we’re going to be more than a guard of honour.”

  “What do you mean?” Furness looked startled.

  “I mean,” said Will Shakespeare, “that wherever old enemies try to make peace, there is someone who wants to maintain hostilities. I think there may be people who want the conference to fail. Passionate Puritans. Passionate Catholics. Odd, is it not? They are opposites and yet on this they agree. Like the two ends of a cord meeting if you bend it into a circle.”

  “I must say I hope life will be easier for Catholics henceforth,” Furness said, strolling to the window and peering past Burbage at the scene below. In one direction the street led past Somerset House to the fine houses of the Strand, and in the other it stretched downhill towards the Fleet river. It was as usual crowded with coaches, carts, riders and pedestrians, but one coach was noticeable as it had just drawn up in front of the house next door.

  “My father was a Catholic,” Furness said, “and he was fined over and over for not attending Anglican services. Me, I’d rather keep the law and stay out of trouble. I never criticised Queen Bess. And I don’t think I will now, either,” he added.

  “Why not?” asked Alleyn.

  “Because, according to the widow next door, her departed majesty’s half-sister Ursula Stannard is moving in as her tenant for a few weeks, with some of her family. Her steward came to London in advance to find a house for them and I think the main party has just arrived. That must be her, in grey, getting out of the coach down there.”