Page 130 of The King's Man
Barkstead cast a cursory glance at the contents and summoned a turnkey.
‘Mistress Lovell, it has been a pleasure. I shall make arrangements for your husband at once … ’
Thamsine bestowed a smile on him. ‘Thank you, Colonel. I hope on my next visit I will find everything to my satisfaction.’
As she had expected, Kit had been cast into one of the gloomy cells similar to the one she had occupied. Not the worst accommodation in the Tower, but far from comfortable. The heavy door swung open and Thamsine stepped through it, blinking as she allowed her eyes to grow accustomed to the gloom.
‘Thamsine?’ Kit, who had been lying on his back on the cot, pulled himself up, staring at her. ‘My God, Thamsine, I wouldn’t have recognised you.’
Thamsine undid her cloak, removed her hat and mask and smiled.
‘Neither did Barkstead,’ she said. ‘Amazing what a transformation a decent wardrobe can make.’
‘Not just good clothes, Tham,’ Kit said. ‘You look different.’
‘I’ve decided to take control of my life, Kit. I’m not leaving my future in the hands of stupid men like Roger Knott, nor will I allow myself to be terrorised by Ambrose Morton anymore. I am Thamsine Lovell, wife of the future Viscount Midhurst.’
Kit rose to his feet and took two steps towards her. He took her hand, looking her up and down.
‘I think this new Thamsine will take some getting used to.’
‘This new Thamsine is a creature of your invention, Kit.’ She slid her arms around his neck, looking into his unshaven face. ‘Now, are you going to kiss your wife?’
He bent his head and obliged. Thamsine laid her head on his shoulder and he kissed her hair.
‘Oh Thamsine, I’m so sorry!’ he murmured.
‘For what?’
‘For this mess, for marrying you, for … everything.’
‘Don’t be a fool, Kit.’ Thamsine broke away from him. ‘It’s all arranged. I have a lawyer. Roger says he is the best … ’
‘Save your money, Tham.’
‘Kit?’
‘No lawyer in the world can save me. My colleagues have dug the grave for me.’
‘No!’ Thamsine protested. ‘You’re not just going to go to the gallows without a fight.’
Kit raised his good hand. ‘Hear me out. I’ve seen Thurloe, and on his advice I’ve admitted my involvement in everything. Icould hardly deny it. My comrades have betrayed me as surely as I did them.’
‘What will Thurloe do?’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t know but I have to trust him, Thamsine. He’s my only hope.’
‘He’s the spymaster, Lovell. You are expendable. Why should he help you?’
‘Whatever else he is, he’s a man of his word, Thamsine.’
‘And what exactly has he promised you, Kit?’
Kit’s silence gave her the answer she sought.
She turned away. ‘Nothing? Kit, you’ve given away your hope on a slim promise?’
His face was still. ‘I’m not scared of death, Thamsine. I faced my own mortality every time I rode into battle, every time I ever took a wound, but now … now … ’ He cupped her face in his good hand, his thumb caressing the curve of her cheek. ‘For the first time, I have a reason to live, and I am looking down a dark passage with no escape. They have selected four of us to try: Gerard, Vowells, Fox and me. The choice is deliberate – our fate is to act as a deterrent to those who seek to plot.’
