Page 88 of The King's Man
The couple shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. He decided that what he saw were two people overwhelmed by events and beset with guilt.
Kit turned to Jane Knott. ‘Your face, Mistress Knott? Is that Morton’s handiwork?’
Jane’s fingers shook as they rose again to her bruised face and she nodded.
‘My wife showed more courage than I did, Captain Lovell,’ Knott said unhappily. ‘I have been a fool in so many ways.’
He clasped his wife’s hand and lifted it to his lips.
‘It would help,’ Kit said, ‘if I were to know the full story.’
‘I only know what Thamsine has told me,’ Jane said. ‘You must understand, the war separated us for too long.’
‘Tell me what you know, then,’ Kit said, with enormous patience.
Jane swallowed. ‘I am somewhat older than Thamsine and her brother. My mother died when I was eight and my father remarried. Thamsine was born when I was eleven and Edward two years later,’ Jane began. ‘Shortly before the war I married Roger.’ Jane looked at her husband and smiled. ‘At much the same time, Thamsine became enamoured of our neighbour, Ambrose Morton. He was past twenty and she was but sixteen. He wooed her with considerable charm and ardour and she begged my father for a betrothal, which he granted.’
‘What did Ambrose Morton want with Thamsine?’
‘Her dowry was generous enough, but what she stood to inherit from her mother’s estate was considerable,’ Knott said. ‘Her mother was the daughter of one of Elizabeth’s merchant venturers. He amassed a fortune in his lifetime and, under the terms of his will, it passed to his daughter Elizabeth, Thamsine’s mother, and then directly to her children. Edward and Thamsine were to share it. After Edward’s death at Worcester, of course, it all passed to Thamsine.’
‘The Morton family has been less fortunate,’ Jane continued. ‘They are a Catholic family. Ambrose’s mother, Isabelle, was a spendthrift, and what little was left of their fortunes she squandered.’
Kit sighed as it all became clear. ‘So, Thamsine’s fortune, enhanced by her brother’s death, was very attractive. But Mistress Knott, you said they were betrothed before the war? That is twelve years ago.’
‘You must understand,’ Jane said hurriedly, ‘that the war divided us. Roger sided with Parliament … ’ She cast her husband a quick, sideways glance, ‘… my father for the King. I did not see Thamsine from early 1642 until late last year, when she came to us seeking help, which … ’ She paused, her eyes unhappy, ‘ … we were not able to give.’
Kit narrowed his eyes but let the comment pass.
‘So, what had happened between Thamsine and Morton?’ he said.
‘She told me she broke the betrothal in 1646 after coming across Morton in the act of … ’ Jane swallowed, ‘ … congress with a maid. She did not believe it was consensual.’
Kit stared at her. He felt neither shock nor surprise. Morton enjoyed taking women by force. He had intimated as much in one of their conversations.
‘And after that?’ Kit moved on.
Jane shrugged. ‘Morton went to the Continent. My father, stupid besotted fool, married Isabelle Morton, and Ambrose came home. After Edward’s death, Ambrose and his mother persuaded my father that Thamsine was not capable of inheriting such a vast estate in her own right. My father changed his will, making Ambrose her guardian and at the same time executing a deed of betrothal between Thamsine and Morton. He bound her to that monster for life. After our father died early last year, Thamsine did what she could to delay the wedding but Morton grew impatient. One night he tried to force her … ’ Jane took a deep breath. ‘She was only saved by Annie.’
‘Annie?’
‘Ambrose has an imbecile sister, of whom he is very fond.’
That surprised Kit. He could not imagine Morton being fond of anything or anyone.
‘Annie gave Thamsine Ambrose’s pistol and she shot him. She thought she had killed him so she ran to us here in London for sanctuary. Only, we failed her.’
Jane looked at her husband, who looked away. She continued, ‘It transpired that Morton had only been grazed by the pistol ball. He came here looking for her but Thamsine saw him and managed to escape.’
‘We … he spent the last four months scouring the streets of London, looking for her,’ Roger Knott concluded.
Kit looked from one to another. Knott looked away. There was more to this story. He addressed the man directly.
‘I’m sorry, Master Knott, but I don’t understand your role in this. Surely as Thamsine’s closest relative, you should have protected her. What power of persuasion does Morton use on you?’
Knott’s tongue circled his thin lips.
‘Tell him.’ Jane’s voice was soft but beneath her gentle demeanour, Kit sensed an iron will. Jane Knott knew her husband well.
