Page 24 of The King's Man
Thurloe gave a barely perceptible nod to the clerk, who began writing.
‘Mistress Granville, do you deny that you threw a brickbat at the carriage of the Lord Protector on the eighth day of February?’
‘I do.’
Thurloe sighed. ‘I see. Do you know what the punishment is for the attempted assassination of the Lord Protector?’
Thamsine stared at him.
‘Hanging, drawing and quartering. Have you ever seen a man hanged, drawn and quartered?’
She shook her head.
‘First, they will take you to the gibbet and hang you until you are not quite dead. Then you will be cut down and you will be disembowelled, your head and limbs cut from the body and dispersed about the kingdom as a warning to others.’ He watched her face from beneath his hooded eyes. ‘It is an unpleasant way to die.’
‘For a woman?’ Thamsine’s voice shook.
He shrugged.
‘What proof do you have that I committed this deed?’ Her voice wavered.
‘I am afraid, my dear Mistress Granville, I have a witness who has identified you as the perpetrator of this heinous act.’
‘Who is this eye-witness?’
‘Someone who saw you hurl the brickbat and then saw you again singing I believe, another violation of the law by the way, in a tavern. There is no mistake.’
She took a deep, shuddering breath and looked down at her manacled hands. ‘If, just if, I were to admit to such an offence would it … ? Would it make it easier?’
Thurloe moved from his place by the window to the fire. He prodded the logs for a moment or two, watching the sparks flying up the chimney, as if deep in thought.
‘It may depend on the reason why such an act was committed,’ he said at last. He turned to face her, crossing his arms, his dark eyes skewering her to her chair like a moth trapped in the light. ‘Do you admit you threw the brickbat?’
She nodded.
‘Did you act alone or in concert with others?’
She looked up at him. ‘Quite alone.’
‘The State has many enemies, Mistress Granville. Some would use any means to see the death of the Lord Protector. You have never had any business with such malignants, who might have ordered you to take this step?’
She shook her head. ‘Master Thurloe, I assure you I acted quite alone.’
‘What of those who were also taken at The Ship Inn? What dealings have you had with them?’
‘None,’ Thamsine protested. “I have recently secured employment at the inn. That is all.”
‘You have never attended any of their meetings? Been privy to their plotting?’
‘No.’ Thamsine’s voice rose. ‘I knew none of them, except … ’ She bit off the last name.
‘Except?’
‘Except Captain Lovell.’
‘And how do you know him?’
‘He … he was a friend of my brother.’ The lie came easily.
