Page 56 of The King's Man
‘The French want Charles out of Paris and they want him back on the throne of England, all without being seen to assist.’
‘Such as the necessary military force?’ Kit asked.
‘Exactly. We have a contact here in London, sent here by Mazarin,’ Gerard said.
De Baas?Kit held his breath.
Fitzjames continued. ‘Gerard and I have met with him and it is clear that they have the means to help us in an assassination attempt.’
Kit ran his hand through his hair. ‘Assassination is not the answer. This is madness, Fitz!’
‘It will work, Lovell.’ Fitz’s eyes blazed with a new passion. ‘Don’t you see? With Cromwell and Ireton dead, the army andgovernment will be in disarray and begging for the King to return.’
‘And if it doesn’t?’ Kit asked.
‘They have a French assassin who knows nothing.’
Kit rolled his eyes. ‘Who is Mazarin’s contact here?’
Fitz and Gerard looked at each other. ‘The Baron de Baas,’ Fitz said in a low voice. ‘Do you know him?’ Fitz asked.
‘No,’ Kit said.
‘He is a confidante of Cardinal Mazarin,’ Fitz said.
The pieces had begun to fall into place. Mazarin had sent De Baas to London to assist with the assassination of Cromwell, although for what purpose Kit still didn’t know. Was it just to put Charles back on the throne, or did it carry deeper into France’s war with Spain?
Gerard drained his glass. ‘Until we have spoken to the King, there is nothing we can do at present except waiting.’ He stood up. ‘We will meet in Paris, gentlemen.’
Kit watched the young man’s confident swagger as he pushed his way out of the crowded inn, and wished he still felt that sense of immortality. Every day, he felt Death’s hot breath on his neck. He played a dangerous game and he had begun to wonder if he was losing his nerve.
‘Deep in thought?’ Fitz raised an eyebrow at Kit and lifted his cup. Kit nodded and Fitz summoned the potboy for a jug of wine.
‘Am I getting old, Fitz?’
‘I don’t know. You turned thirty yet?’
Kit nodded. ‘Just before Christmas. Do you think that’s why I am losing my taste for excitement and starting to think of hearth and home?’
‘God forbid!’ Fitz filled their cups again. ‘Lovell, I despair of you. Your Lucy will have you before a priest before you can say “praise the Lord”.’
‘Lucy? No, Lucy’s not the sort I see myself settling with.’
‘What became of that girl in the Ship?’ Fitz asked. ‘Now, she had something about her. Where’d you meet her?’
‘I knew her brother. He died at Worcester,’ Kit said, grateful for Thamsine’s confidence that lessened the lie. Hecouldhave known her brother. ‘Anyway, what about you, Fitz, still pining for the lovely Althea?’
‘I wrote another poem. Want to hear it?’
‘No,’ said Kit shortly. He had heard too many of Fitz’s sentimental poems dedicated to that particular lovely, but unattainable, young woman.
‘Oh, very well,’ Kit conceded as his friend affected a downcast look. ‘Let us hear of nymphs, shepherds, and the lovely Althea. It makes a pleasant change from talk of assassination.’
Chapter 15
‘Mademoiselle Granville!’
Thamsine heard the Baron’s affected voice and stopped in her tracks. She turned to face him, a smile fixed on her face.
