“Friends?” He laughed, as if perplexed by the idea. “I am now your employer, Gwynnie. We cannot be friends.”
“Perhaps not, but neither do I think you have a black heart.” She stared at the river and the retreating figure of Fitzroy. She now knew what having a black heart truly looked like.
“Speaking of black hearts, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.” Tombstone nudged her arm, trying to get her attention back from the water. “Why did you not take your chance in the flood?”
“What?”
“After you had seen what Fitzroy had done, you must have known either you would end up dead or framed for the murder. Why did you and your mother not run?”
“The flood made it impossible. We would have struggled to survive, and…” Gwynnie paused. She knew the truth, deep down. “Even if we had, by some miracle, managed to make it to the other side, what then? Poor Esme Battersby wouldn’t have had her justice, not that she particularly has it now.”
“Hmm.” Tombstone grunted. “A thief with a sense of right and wrong? That doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Maybe the world is not as you perceive it to be.” Gwynnie looked at Fitzroy once again. He sat at the stern of the barge, his feet lifted on the gunwales as he smiled out over the river, clearly congratulating himself on his escape. “It’s certainly not what I perceived it to be.”
“Have you not heard? Oh, it’s too horrible!” a lady gushed to another as she ran under the archway of the tower, out onto the riverbank. “It is true. I would not lie about such a thing. I heard it from the queen’s lady-in-waiting just now.”
“What is all this?” A gentleman broke off from the group that had waved Fitzroy off. He moved up the bank, joining the ladies where they stood between the group of lawyers, and where Gwynnie stood with Tombstone.
“It is shocking, truly shocking indeed,” cried one of the ladies. “The king this morning has said that he believes the queen ensnared him into marriage by sortilege.”
“Sortilege?” Gwynnie repeated. “What does that mean?”
Tombstone didn’t answer her right away. He was too busy staring at the lady who had spoken.
“Tombstone? What does the word mean?”
“It is a French term. It can mean power, divination, but it also has another meaning entirely. It implies witchcraft, bewitchment or manipulative deceit.” He pulled his bonnet low over his temple as he turned back to face Gwynnie. “King Henry said such a thing of Queen Catherine once, before their marriage was annulled.”
Gwynnie stared as people gathered in groups on the bank. The gossip spread like fire, the words passed between the people so fast, the sparks could practically be seen in their conversation.
It seemed the woman who had been struck by the king was about to be pushed out of her position.
“Do you think he will do it again?” Gwynnie asked. “Do you think he will divorce another wife?”
“We shall see.” Tombstone stepped away.
Gwynnie purposefully slowed her pace as she followed him. She glanced back at the ladies, listening intently to every word they uttered.
“It is as before,” an elder woman said to the younger beside her. “You mark my words. The past is to repeat itself again. We must be wary. We must be vigilant. All these deaths, all this ice and the flooding, it is all an omen.” She held a hand up to her throat, where a cross hung around her neck. “It is happening all over again.”
***
Want to carry on the adventure? Read Death At The Tower — Book Two in the Shadow Cutpurses Series.
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A NOTE TO THE READER
Dear Reader,
Thank you for taking the time to read Murder at Greenwich Palace. I truly hope that you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Gwynnie will be back in a new adventure soon.
Reviews by readers these days are integral to a book’s success, so if you enjoyed Murder at Greenwich Palace I would be very grateful if you could spare a minute to post a review on Amazon and Goodreads. I love hearing from readers, and you can talk with me through my website or on Twitter and follow my author page on Facebook.
I hope we’ll meet again in the next adventure.
Adele Jordan
HISTORICAL NOTES
This book is designed to entertain. Though elements of the book are inspired by true events, such as the turmoil that led to the breakdown of Henry VIII’s and Anne Boleyn’s marriage, including his jousting accident in January 1536, please note that this book is a work of fiction. I have taken facts and used them to inspire a story meant for entertainment. I truly hope you have enjoyed the creative aspects of this story.
Henry VIII did indeed have an acknowledged illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy. The true historical figure I have used as inspiration for the Henry Fitzroy in this story. From my reading, there is no suggestion about Fitzroy’s sexuality, nor was he known to be the violent figure I create in this tale.
Chief to this story is its setting, Greenwich Palace, or Palace of Placentia, which was built in 1443. Believed to have been extensively rebuilt by Henry VII in the latter years of his reign, it was a palace often visited by Henry VIII and his wives. It featured heavily in Henry VIII’s reign, being both his birthplace and the birthplace of his daughter, Mary I. During the Civil War, the palace fell into disrepair and was eventually demolished on the orders of Charles II, to make way for a new building. The site has undergone many changes since and a lot of what we know of the building has been discovered in historical records and through archaeology. Using this research, and inspiration from other royal palaces, such as Hampton Court, I have created a unique version of Greenwich Palace for this story.
I hope you have enjoyed the historical references in this tale.
ALSO BY ADELE JORDAN
THE SHADOW CUTPURSES SERIES:
