Twisted

reach of justice than Lord Westcott in heaven. For Sir Murtaugh is much in favor with the duke and others highly placed at Court. Many have availed themselves of the villain’s services to diminish their debt. The judges at Queen’s Bench will not even hear thy claim and, in truth, thou will put thy freedom, indeed thy life, in jeopardy to bring these charges into the open. My desire this night was not to set thy course on a reckless journey of revenge, sir. I intend merely to make amends to one I have wronged.”
    He gazed at Marr for a moment and then said, “Thou art an evil man and though I am a good Christian, I cannot find it in my heart to forgive thee. Still, I will pray for thy soul. Perhaps God will be more lenient than I. Now, get thee gone. I swear that should ever thou cross my path again, my bodkin hand will not be stayed from its visit to thy throat and thou shall find thyself pleading thy case in the holy court of heaven far sooner than thou didst intend.”
    “Yes, good sir. So shall it be.”
    Charles’s attention turned momentarily to the ring so that he might place it on his finger. When he looked up once more, the alleyway was empty; the ruffian had vanished silently into the night.

    Near candle-lighting the next day Charles Cooper closed his wares house and repaired to the home of his friend, Hal Pepper, a man near to Charles’s age but of better means, having inherited several apartmentsin a pleasant area of the city, which he let out for good profit.
    Joining them was a large man of deliberate movement and speech. His true name was lost in the annals of his own history and everyone knew him only as Stout, the words not referring to his girth—significant though that be—but to his affection for black ale. He and Charles had met some years ago because the vintner bought Stout’s wares; the man made and sold barrels and he often joked that he was a cooper by trade while Charles was a Cooper by birth.
    The three had become close comrades, held together by common interests—cards and taverns and, particularly, the love of theater; they often ferried south of the Thames to see plays at the Swan, the Rose or the Globe. Pepper also had occasional business dealings with James Burbage, who had built many of the theaters in London. For his part, Charles harbored not-so-secret desires to be a player. Stout had no connection with the theater other than a childlike fascination with plays, which he seemed to believe were his portal to the world outside working-class London. As he would plane the staves of his barrels and pound the red-hot hoops with a smithy’s hammer he would recite lines from the latest works of Shakespeare or Jonson or from the classics of the late Kyd and Marlowe, much in vogue of late. These words he had memorized from the performance, not the printed page; he was a poor reader.
    Charles now told them the story that Marr had related to him. The friends reeled at the news of the death of Richard Cooper. They began to questionCharles but he brought all conversing to a halt by saying, “He who committed this terrible deed shall die by my hand, I am determined.”
    “But,” Stout said, “if thou kill Murtaugh, suspicion will doubtless fall immediately upon thee, as one aggrieved by his foul deeds against thy father.”
    “I think not,” Charles replied. “It was Lord Westcott who stole my father’s land. Murtaugh was merely a facilitator. No, I warrant that this brigand hath connived so much from so many that surely to examine all those with reason to kill him would keep the constable busy for a year. I believe I can have my revenge and escape with my life.”
    Hal Pepper, who being of means and thus knowledgeable in the ways of the Court, said, “Thou know not what thou say. Murtaugh hath highly placed friends who will not enjoy his loss. Corruption is a hydra, a many-headed creature. Thou may cut off one head, but another will poison thee before the first grow back—as it surely will.”
    “I care not.”
    Stout said, “But doth thy wife care? I warrant thee, friend, she doth very truly. Would thy children care if their father be drawn and quartered?”
    Charles nodded at a fencing foil above Hal’s fireplace. “I could meet Murtaugh in a duel.”
    Hal replied, “He is an expert swordsman.”
    “I may still win. I am younger, perchance stronger.”
    “Even if thou best him, what then? A hobnob with the jury at the Queen’s Bench and, after, a visit to the