Free The Cheapside Corpse by Susanna Gregory Page B

balefully, wishing she held him in higher regard. ‘I have not been home long enough to warrant those sorts of attentions. It was certainly him they meant to kill.’
    ‘Ask Richard or Dr Misick about him. They knew him better than I. Especially Misick. He is physician to the bankers, and can usually be found in and around Goldsmiths’ Row. Where are you going, by the way? Now I have my own coach, I can take you there.’
    ‘Chancery Lane,’ replied Chaloner. ‘To see John Thurloe.’
    As it transpired, Chaloner would have made better time on foot, because London was in the grip of one of its ‘stops’ – traffic was often heavy on Cheapside, even late into the evening. A vehicle had broken a wheel by the Little Conduit, and coaches, hackney carriages and wagons were jammed nose to tail, none going anywhere until it was removed.
    Chaloner begrudged the wasted time, although Temperance was content to lounge in smoky luxury, chatting about the club. Her patrons gossiped, especially when they were in their cups, and as some were members of government, the Church, various national committees and the Privy Council, they were party to a good deal of sensitive information. Thus Chaloner learned that the war was predicted to cost a good deal more than the two million pounds that had originally been anticipated, and that this, along with the reckless excesses of Colburn the gambler, had put the city’s bankers in a tight spot.
    ‘I know,’ he said. ‘Robin Shaw mentioned it earlier.’
    ‘The man who sells music to the Court? He is a morose fellow, and I cannot imagine how Lettice puts up with him. However, they did teach me how to play “Green Sleeves” on the flageolet that I bought from them. I shall entertain you with it the next time you visit.’
    ‘Oh,’ said Chaloner, sincerely hoping she would forget.
    ‘There is his shop.’ Temperance pointed out of the window, reminding him that they had only travelled half the length of Cheapside since he had embarked. ‘And the scruffy place next door is the home of that revolting Oxley family. Did Shaw tell you about their sewage?’
    ‘Lettice mentioned an overflow from her neighbours’ cesspit.’ The conversation had taken a distinct nosedive, and he searched for a way to bring it back to his investigations.
    ‘It caused a terrible mess,’ Temperance went on before he could think of one. ‘Oxley is in Baron’s trainband, which he thinks gives him the right to do whatever he likes. However, his wife is a whore, while his children should have been strangled at birth.’
    ‘You do not like them, then.’
    ‘No, I do not,’ spat Temperance, then became aware that he was laughing at her. She scowled at him and fell into a sulk, although not for long. The sight of a carriage that was even more sumptuously appointed than her own prompted another bout of gossip.
    ‘That is Backwell’s coach. He is impossibly wealthy, but even
he
cannot give the King everything he wants for the war, so he has been obliged to sell his clients’ debts to Taylor.’
    ‘Yes,’ said Chaloner drily. ‘Hannah’s was one of them.’
    ‘Then I pity her. Taylor is a beast, and so are the men he hires to do his bidding.’
    ‘The bankers should tell the King that they cannot meet his demands. It is unreasonable to expect them to pull money from thin air.’
    Temperance smirked. ‘They are afraid that if they do not give him what he wants, he will follow his father’s example and help himself.’
    ‘Impossible! A monarch seizing his subjects’ assets would start another civil war.’
    ‘On the contrary, everyone hates the goldsmiths and would love to see them broken. Indeed, it would make His Majesty the most popular man in the country. After all, would
you
give your life to defend the riches of wealthy financiers?’
    Chaloner would not, especially after their dealings with Hannah. ‘James Baron,’ he said, turning to another matter. ‘Have you ever met him?’
    ‘Several