The Midwife's Tale(90)

“Give me some paper. I’ll write to him immediately. That money also should pay for a blanket. If she calls for me, do not hesitate to send Tree.”

When we reached the top of the stairs, we found Will and Tree playing at dice, with Will clearly coming off the worse. While they played, I wrote a letter to the captain, assuring him that Anne posed no threat to the city and guaranteeing her good conduct. After Tree had pocketed all of Will’s pennies (he wisely declined the boy’s offer to play for shillings), I gave him the letter and sent him to the captain. With that business taken care of, Will and I left the Castle and started home.

“Do you realize that the boy was cozening you?” I asked.

“Of course. But for the life of me I could not figure out how. I still don’t know. So who was the woman who summoned you?”

“Anne Goodwin, of all people.”

“The Hookes’ servant? She was trying to flee the city to escape the Hookes?”

I related Anne’s story of her delivery, imprisonment, and escape. “She’s safe for the moment,” I said. “But I don’t know what to do next.” We reached my house, and even as we settled in the parlor Martha joined us. I filled her in on what I’d learned from Anne, and together we considered our options.

“We could go to Alderman Hodgson,” Martha suggested. “He trusts you and might begin a formal investigation.”

“You know that’s not how the law works,” I said. “Edward would not order the arrest of any citizen based only on the word of a bastard-bearing maidservant who was caught trying to flee the city.”

“But if you talked to him … he trusts you.”

“I am still a woman and Anne is nothing but a girl. The Hookes would cast her as a disorderly servant and a wench of lewd character. Edward would not believe a word she said.”

“What then?” she asked angrily. “Will you let them escape unpunished?”

“What would you have me do?” I snapped back. “If Anne is the only witness, there is nothing we can do! The Lord Mayor and Aldermen are rushing to burn Esther Cooper for murdering her husband. They are not going to pull down another respectable household on the word of a maidservant. The Hookes would destroy her.”

“Then we find someone else,” she said angrily. “Someone must have seen something. One of the servants, perhaps. We can’t just give up.”

I thought for a moment, an idea slowly dawning on me. “The servants would never testify. But James might.”

“Why in God’s name would he do that?”

“Murdering a child brings with it a heavy burden, one that few people can bear alone. Even if he didn’t kill the child himself, he knows what happened and is responsible, at least in part. If we can confront James without his mother nearby, he may tell us the truth.”

“If he did, he would send himself or his mother to the gallows,” Will said. “Why would he do that?”

“Out of guilt. I’ve seen it too often in mothers. They deny everything at first, but all men seek forgiveness in this world, no matter what their fate might be in the next. Bacca was right: Papists have their priests for confession—we Protestants are not so fortunate. We must confess to each other, or live and die with the burden of our sins. James is unaccustomed to living with a guilty conscience. If we give him the chance to unburden his soul, he may confess.”

“I must assume you have some idea how to do this,” Will said.

“I do, and you are the key player. We’ll need Tree as well.” I laid out my ideas, and shortly after supper Will left the house to set the plan in motion.

* * *

After Will had been gone for nearly two hours, there came a knock at the door. Martha opened it to admit Tree. “They’ve been in the alehouse since four,” he reported. “Mr. Hodgson has had two pints, but the other man has doubled that, and drunk some liquor as well.”

“Well done, Tree,” I said. “Do you remember the rest of your job?”

“Of course,” he said tartly.

Martha, Tree, and I walked swiftly up Stonegate to an alehouse not far from the Minster. Martha and I waited out of sight, while Tree ducked inside to signal Will. A few moments later, Will and the boy exited the alehouse and crossed to the alley where Martha and I had hidden.

“He’s inside. I told him I had to go to the jakes.”

“Good man,” I said, and turned to Tree. “Here’s the three pennies we agreed upon, and another for doing such a fine job.”

“Thank you,” he said, his eyes widening at the sum. I looked at him hard, withholding the coins. “Thank you, my lady,” he said.