The Midwife's Tale(35)
I looked at Yeoman in shock. “Stephen was suing Richard Hooke?”
“It was the other way around, actually. Richard sued Stephen. Stephen only returned the favor. It is an immensely complicated case.”
“Do you know Richard Hooke?” I asked skeptically.
“I know him well enough. Do you mean to say that you don’t think he was behind the suit?”
“The man is a simpleton,” I replied. “He has neither the intelligence nor the strength to pursue an expensive case.”
To my surprise, Yeoman laughed out loud. “He is that,” he said. “In answer to your question, no, I do not think he is managing the case.”
“Rebecca is.”
“It seems likely. Stephen certainly thought so. If you are bent on finding someone else who might have killed Stephen, Rebecca would be a good start. From what Stephen said, he was on the verge of winning his suit and ruining the Hookes.”
I leapt to my feet, unable to contain my excitement at this news. I had no doubt that Rebecca would resort to murder if she felt her family were on the verge of destruction. I thrilled at the prospect of bringing down Rebecca even as I saved Esther. “Esther also mentioned that Stephen may have thrown in his lot with the rebels,” I said, almost as an afterthought. “She said he was receiving visits at odd hours from strangers to the city.”
Yeoman’s face turned deadly serious and his ice-blue eyes bored into mine. “She told you that.”
I was taken aback by his reaction and sat back down. “She—she worried that he might be conspiring with Parliament’s armies to take the city,” I stammered. What had I said?
“I will tell you right now that he was not involved in any such business,” he said with an air of finality.
“But the men who visited him…,” I protested.
“Do you know why I’m here in York?” he asked.
“It is said that you became disgusted with the wrangling between the King and Parliament and retired from public life. You came to York to escape the war, but it followed you here.”
“Do you believe that?”
“I don’t think you would ever give up power willingly.”
“No, I would not,” he said with a mirthless smile. “And I must profess amazement at the number of people who believe that I did. I came to York at the behest of the city council when it seemed likely that Parliament would attempt to take the city. Because the council is divided between the King’s men and Parliament-men, they worried that under the pressure of a siege, violence might break out within the city itself. Visions of St. Bartholomew’s massacre, I suppose.”
“And they brought you here to prevent that.”
“The council has hired me—at great expense, I might add—to do two things: to mediate divisions within the city so that they do not become violent; and to prevent the rebel armies from sacking the city. So long as the city survives, I don’t care whether the Royalists keep the city or hand it over to the rebels. In that sense I am without political opinion.”
“How does this relate to Stephen’s murder?” I asked, puzzled.
“Since coming here, I have gained each faction’s trust. More importantly, I have spies in each camp, and I would have known if Stephen were involved in any conspiracy. He was not.”
“But what about the visitors?” I asked. “Esther seemed quite sure—”
“Lady Bridget, let me be clear. After yesterday’s attack on the city, the political balance in York is precarious at best. If in the course of your … investigation, you were to spread the rumor that Stephen Cooper had conspired with the rebels in the attack, the repercussions would be disastrous. Such actions would violate the truce I have arranged, and the Royalists would demand retribution. If I could not satisfy them, they would take matters into their own hands, perhaps by killing one of the city’s Parliament-men.” He paused. “Given your brother’s political inclinations, I should be very careful about stirring up this particular hornet’s nest. There is no way of knowing what the effect will be. If violence breaks out, I will be unable to protect you or those you care about.” The threat was clear. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have other business that demands my attention. I’m sure you understand.”
“Why did you tell me about your role in the city?” I asked. “It is not public knowledge.”
“I trust a midwife as much as any woman. You keep your clients’ secrets, and now you will keep mine.” As he said this, his eyes narrowed and he stared at me intensely, and I felt my skin become clammy with fear. While he’d said nothing explicit, he’d made it abundantly clear that if I revealed our conversation, I would suffer dire consequences. “I take it there is nothing else, my lady.” It was a statement, not a question.