Page 46 of Exile's Return
Thornton straightened slightly and shook his head. ‘I know only what I read in the London news sheets. What I can tell youis that Kit was badly wounded at Worcester. I saw him fall. He had taken a pistol ball in his leg but you know how it was that day…’ He trailed off and both men stared at the fire, reliving the horror of the third of September 1651. ‘He wouldn’t have escaped unaided and I can only assume he was taken prisoner. But it seems, unlike you, he did get away and lived long enough to get himself embroiled in the foolish plots of ‘54. By all accounts, they hanged him in the Tower of London.’
Daniel sensed an unspoken “but” in Thornton’s words. He narrowed his eyes. ‘You heard otherwise?’
Thornton shrugged. ‘No…yes…foolish, unsubstantiated rumours that I give no credence to. But you knew your brother better than I.’
Daniel shook his head. ‘I’m not sure I did. They intimated that Kit had turned coat. That he was a traitor, a spy set by the Commonwealth and that the plot was betrayed by him.’ The knife twisted in Daniel’s heart. ‘If that is true I don’t understand why he would have turned his cloak. The Kit I knew would never…’
Thornton looked up sharply. ‘Someone betrayed the plotters. Three good men died that day as well as your brother. The traitor in their midst may have been Kit or anyone else. Even the best of men can turn their cloak if the reason is just.’
Daniel swallowed. ‘But Kit? Kit was a king’s man to the bone.’
Thornton cleared his throat. ‘There was a man, Cromwell’s Secretary of State, John Thurloe. He organised a system of spies and agents that Queen Bess’ Walsingham could only have dreamed of. I would wager a bag of gold that half the men surrounding Charles are in the pay of the government. Nothing happens in the exiled court without Thurloe, or whoever it is who has replaced him, knowing about it. If Thurloe had an interest in your brother, he could be very persuasive.’
Something in the man’s tone made Daniel look up. ‘You met him?’
‘Oh yes.’ Thornton held up his hands, allowing the cuffs to fall away from his scarred wrists. ‘I carry these as a permanent reminder of Master Thurloe. He thought to turn me to his employ.’
‘But you didn’t turn.’
Jonathan shook his head. ‘No, but between us, it would have been very easy to have agreed to whatever he had to offer. Freedom for the price of court gossip? Don’t think too poorly of your brother, if indeed he fell into Thurloe’s hands. The choice, when it was offered to him, may not have been a choice.’
Daniel’s fingers tightened on the arms of the chair. ‘If he was responsible for the deaths of those three men, Sir Jonathan, I am not sure I could forgive him that, whatever the reasons.’
Jonathan’s level gaze met his and held it for a long moment before he said, ‘You are swift to judge, Daniel, but you may never know. Kit is dead, God rest him.’ He gave a low chuckle. ‘He was always trouble. What of the rest of your family?’
‘I don’t know. I left my mother and sister at Eveleigh. My grandfather was old and ailing when I left home, so I imagine he is long gone. With Kit dead, I am probably Lord Midhurst.’
Thornton smiled. ‘Do I offer you my congratulations or my commiserations…my Lord?’
Daniel shook his head. ‘Neither. I can make no claim on the estate while I remain outside the law.’
At this, the older man raised his eyebrows. ‘And are you outside the law?’
Daniel laughed. ‘Very much so. I escaped from my sentence in Barbados and I have had a profitable few years on a French privateer.’
Jonathan Thornton nodded, a smile touching his mouth. ‘You are indeed an outlaw, my friend. But what of your plans? Whycome back to England now when you could have just sat quietly with the Court in Bruges and bided your time?’
Daniel hesitated for a long moment before he replied. ‘I have unfinished business of my own.’
Thornton shook his head. ‘We all have unfinished business, but there comes a time when we have to let the past lie.’
Daniel turned his gaze to the fire, watching the flames catch a twig with a leaf, sending it flying up the chimney. ‘I witnessed my father murdered in cold blood. He had surrendered Eveleigh and yet Ashby ordered him shot on the steps of his own home. Ashby must pay with his blood.’
Thornton frowned. ‘Ashby? Is that the same Ashby Agnes told us about?’
Daniel nodded and Thornton shook his head. ‘So that is what binds you and Mistress Fletcher? Does she know you are seeking revenge on this man?’
Daniel swallowed. ‘I’ve tried to be honest with Agnes. I’ve told her as much as she needs to know. Our interests align. If she wants the children returned to her keeping then only Ashby’s death will accomplish that.’
Thornton’s lips tightened and he frowned. ‘Revenge is a dangerous master, Lovell. If there is to be a reckoning, for both of you, the time is coming with the return of the King. You must be patient.’
Daniel shook his head. ‘No…the King is preaching forgiveness and I can never forgive Tobias Ashby. It’s all I have. It’s all that has driven me for the last few years. It’s what sent me to Worcester.’
‘And Agnes is your entry into Charvaley?’
Daniel nodded. ‘There is more to this than just my personal feelings, Sir Jonathan. You were right at the start, I do have a commission from the King — to find the gold James Ashby hid before he was taken.’
Thornton raised an eyebrow. ‘Gold?’
