Page 27 of The King's Man
Thurloe smiled. ‘Not you?’
‘Never me, Thurloe.’ Kit’s finger traced the carving on the arm of the chair. He looked up and met Thurloe’s eye. ‘What do you intend to do with them?’
Thurloe’s long fingers drummed the table. ‘They’re a sorry enough crew. Very quick to talk and there are titbits of information I find quite intriguing. As for the plot itself?’ He shrugged. ‘Pathetic, laughable in fact.’ He shook his head. ‘When all is considered, there is precious little evidence to hold them on. To be honest I doubt that they will see a trial. We’ll hold them long enough to make them think twice about entering into conspiracies and then let them go again.’
‘Good of you. What about me?’
‘Well, I can hardly let you go without attracting some sort of suspicion.’
Kit narrowed his eyes. ‘You enjoy this, don’t you? You’re like a cat playing with a mouse. You allow me so much freedom and then haul me back in. Is that why you’ve waited so long to see me?’
‘I wouldn’t want you to be in any doubt about your position, Captain Lovell. If you don’t care for the life I allow you, there is always an alternative!’ Thurloe leaned forward. ‘Now pay your dues! What do you know about a committee sanctioned by Charles Stuart?’
Long practice prevented Kit’s face from betraying his surprise. His eyes widened. ‘Another committee?’
Thurloe sat back in his chair. ‘Don’t play the innocent with me, Lovell. Do I need to remind you of the reason you work for me?’
Kit’s mouth tightened and he leaned forward. ‘Thurloe, our arrangement is at an end. I gave you the girl. I have given you Dutton and the others. You cannot ask any more of me.’
‘An overwrought woman and a pack of fools? Hardly the stuff to unsettle the Commonwealth,’ Thurloe sneered. ‘And in the meantime, you have been more than a drain on the purse,Captain Lovell. May I remind you how much it cost to settle your debts and get you out of the Clink over that matter of the horse?’
‘A gentleman must maintain his standards, Thurloe.’ A sardonic smile lifted the corners of Kit’s mouth.
‘A gentleman of no means must learn to lower his standards,’ Thurloe rejoined. ‘Now tell me what you know.’
Kit looked down at his right hand. He had gripped the arm of the chair so hard the knuckles showed white. ‘All I know is that there is a new committee that holds a commission from the King to organise a general insurrection.’
‘The Sealed Knot?’
Kit blinked in surprise. ‘You know about them?’
‘I know they call themselves the Sealed Knot. Now tell me something I don’t know.’
Sudden anger flared in Kit’s eyes. ‘If you already know about it, then why ask me?’
Thurloe held up his hand. ‘I know what it is. What I need to know is who is involved and what they plan. I want names.’
Kit took a breath. ‘I don’t have names. There are too few of them and they are playing it close.’
‘You’re lying.’
Kit spread his hands, the chains rattling. ‘God’s death! I can’t tell you what I don’t know! What are you going to do – employ some other means of persuasion on me?’
Thurloe sat back in his chair, his gaze on Kit’s face.
‘I don’t need to, Lovell. If you don’t know any more than you’re telling, the effort will be wasted, and I know you have good enough reason not to withhold information. I’m sure you’ll tell me as soon as you have anything useful.’ He paused, his eyes narrowing, ‘And as for our arrangement, Captain Lovell, I assure you I intend to keep my word when I am satisfied that you have outlived your use to me.’
‘Your use of words is hardly subtle, Thurloe.’ Kit smiled bitterly.
‘It’s not intended to be,’ Thurloe snapped. ‘If not for me you would have swung on a gibbet long before this or died, forgotten, in some prison. If you don’t like “outlive”, well then, maybe when I am satisfied that there is no more to be usefully gained by your employment. Now think again. Names, Lovell.’
‘Maybe Richard Willys,’ Kit said in a low, sullen voice.
Thurloe picked up his pen and began smoothing the feathers. ‘Willys? Yes, that would make sense, but there must be others, bigger fish than Willys.’ He broke off from his musings and looked at Kit. ‘What about Fitzjames?’
Kit’s lips tightened and his guts clenched. ‘If Fitzjames is involved with the Sealed Knot, it is only on the edge,’ he said. ‘Willys is your man.’
Thurloe’s eyes narrowed. ‘Then work on Fitzjames, use your friendship with him. I don’t have to tell you how to do your job, Lovell.’
