A Murder On London Bridge – Susanna Gregory

‘The rest of us follow these edicts anyway.’ Chaloner changed the subject at that point, afraid Hannah would make a declaration about her own faith. Catholicism was not illegal, but it was not something to be announced to virtual strangers, either. Hannah glared at him, to let him know that she had not appreciated the interruption. Also among the audience was Sir John Winter. He was with Phillippes and Kaltoff, laughing at some anecdote Phillippes was telling.

Phillippes was elegant, handsome and graceful in his finery, but although Kaltoff’s clothes were obviously expensive, he was not the right shape to achieve the stylish insouciance for which he was aiming, and the result was vaguely comical. When Winter spotted Chaloner, he broke away from the dial-makers and strode towards him, moustache quivering with pleasure as he launched into a description of a performance of the King’s Private Musick the previous evening. Chaloner looked for a way to escape when he saw Phillippes and Kaltoff prepare to leave the theatre, intending to follow them, but Hannah was clinging to his arm and Winter was disinclined to stop talking.

With resignation, Chaloner watched the dial-makers climb into a carriage. Had they recognised him from the encounter in Chapel House, or was it some other business that called them away in the middle of the performance? ‘It pulled at the heart-strings,’ Winter was declaring, dabbing at the corner of one eye with his sleeve.

‘Even today, the memory of those haunting melodies has the power to move me.’ ‘I wish I had been there,’ said Chaloner, politely masking his frustration. ‘You should be proud of your husband, madam,’ said Winter, turning to Hannah and still struggling with his emotions. ‘It is rare to see such talent among amateurs.’

‘I am proud,’ agreed Hannah, squeezing Chaloner’s hand. ‘And I play the flageolet.’ Few real musicians took that particular instrument seriously, but Winter was a gentleman. ‘Then I should like to hear you sometime,’ he said graciously. He frowned suddenly, and when Chaloner followed the direction of his gaze, he saw several of the Dowager’s grey-robed Capuchins. ‘It is unusual to see friars at the theatre,’ remarked Hannah, also staring at them. ‘Yes, it is,’ muttered Winter.

‘Damn! I thought I had persuaded the Dowager to excuse them from today’s performance. It is the Feast Day of St Juliana, you see, and they wanted to spend the time in private devotion.’ Hannah frowned. ‘The Dowager makes her priests watch plays?’ ‘She likes all her court to be well-versed in contemporary arts,’ explained Winter. ‘The Capuchins do not mind attending musical events, but I doubt they enjoy the stage.’ ‘I doubt it, too,’ said Hannah. ‘And they should not be here – people are glaring at them.’

They were doing a good deal more than glaring.

Susanna Gregory was a police officer in Leeds before taking up an academic career. She conducted post-graduate studies at the University of Durham before earning a PhD at the University of Cambridge. She has spent seventeen field seasons in the polar regions, and has taught comparative anatomy and biological anthropology. Aside from her two popular series of historical mysteries featuring Matthew Bartholomew and Thomas Chaloner, she has also written books on castles of Britain and cathedrals of the world.

She now lives in Wales with her husband, who is also a writer, and the two have published another series of medieval mysteries under the pseudonym Simon Beaufort. 1kitap1.com/en Also by Susanna Gregory The Matthew Bartholomew Series A Plague on Both Your Houses An Unholy Alliance A Bone of Contention A Deadly Brew A Wicked Deed A Masterly Murder An Order for Death A Summer of Discontent A Killer in Winter The Hand of Justice The Mark of a Murderer The Tarnished Chalice To Kill or Cure The Devil’s Disciples A Vein of Deceit The Killer of Pilgrims The Thomas Chaloner Series A Conspiracy of Violence Blood on the Strand The Butcher of Smithfield The Westminster Poisoner 1kitap1.com/en Published by Hachette Digital 2010 Copyright © 2009 Susanna Gregory The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be 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 CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. eBook ISBN 978-0-7481-2456-5 This ebook produced by Palimpsest Book Production Limited, Falkirk, Stirlingshire Hachette Digital An imprint of Little, Brown Book Group 100 Victoria Embankment London EC4Y 0DY An Hachette Livre UK Company www.hachettelivre.co.uk 1kitap1.com/en For Captain Dick Taylor 1kitap1.com/en 1kitap1.com/en Prologue Canterbury Cathedral, December 1643 The Reverend Richard Culmer loved the sound of smashing glass.

And when that glass was the stained type, bursting with idolatrous images of popish saints, then the sound was even more satisfying.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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