Dissolution

At first I could not see him. Then I made out his stocky form, standing by a table at the far end of the room. He was holding up a casket and studying the contents with a contemptuous frown, his wide, narrow-lipped mouth downturned above his lantern chin. His jaw held thus made me think of a great trap that at any moment might open and swallow one whole with a casual gulp. He glanced round at me and, with one of those mercurial changes of expression that came so easily to him, smiled affably and raised a hand in welcome. I bowed as low as I could, wincing, for I was stiff after my long ride.

'Matthew, come over here.' The deep, harsh voice was welcoming. 'You did well at Croydon; I am glad that Black Grange tangle is resolved.'

'Thank you, my lord.' As I approached, I noticed the shirt beneath his fur-trimmed robe was black. He caught my glance.

'You've heard the queen is dead?'

'Yes, my lord. I am sorry.' I knew that after Anne Boleyn's execution Lord Cromwell had hitched his fortunes to those of Jane Seymour's family.

He grunted. 'The king is distracted.'

I looked down at the table. To my surprise it was piled high with caskets of various sizes. All seemed to be of gold and silver; many were studded with jewels. Through ancient spotted glass I could see pieces of cloth and bone lying on velvet cushions. I looked at the casket he still held, and saw it contained a child's skull. He held it up in both hands and shook it, so that some teeth that had come loose rattled inside. The vicar general smiled grimly.

'These will interest you. Relics brought specially to my attention.' He set the casket on the table and pointed to a Latin inscription on the front. 'Look at that.'

'Barbara sanctissima,' I read. I peered at the skull. A few hairs still clung to the pate.

'The skull of St Barbara,' Cromwell said, slapping the casket with his palm. 'A young virgin murdered by her pagan father in Roman times. From the Cluniac Priory of Leeds. A most holy relic.' He bent and picked up a silver casket set with what looked like opals. 'And here – the skull of St Barbara, from Boxgrove nunnery in Lancashire.' He gave a harsh laugh. 'They say there are two-headed dragons in the Indies. Well, we have two-headed saints.'

'By Jesu.' I peered in at the skulls. 'I wonder who they were?'

He gave another bark of laughter and clapped me soundly on the arm. 'Ha, that's my Matthew, always after an answer for everything. It's that probing wit I need now. My Augmentations man in York says the gold casket is of Roman design. But it will be melted down in the Tower furnace like all the others and the skulls will go to the dunghill. Men should not worship bones.'

'So many of them.' I looked through the window, where the rain still beat down in torrents, sweeping the courtyard as the men continued unloading. Lord Cromwell crossed the room and stood looking out. I reflected that though he was now a peer, entitled to wear scarlet, he still dressed in the same style as I, the black gown and flat black cap of legal and clerical officials. The cap was silk velvet, though; the gown lined with beaver. I noticed his long brown hair had become flecked with grey.

'I must have those things taken in,' he said. 'I need them dry. Next time I burn a papist traitor, I want to use some of that wood.' He turned and smiled grimly at me. 'Then people will see that using the heretic's own images as fuel does not make him scream any the less, let alone make God strike out the fire.' His expression changed again, became sombre. 'Now come, sit down. We have business.' He sat behind his desk, motioning me brusquely to a chair facing him. I winced at a spasm from my back.

'You seem tired, Matthew.' He studied me with his large brown eyes. Like his face, their expression constantly changed and now they were cold.

'A little. It was a long ride.' I glanced over his desk. It was covered in papers, some with the royal seal glinting in the candlelight. A couple of small gold caskets appeared to be in use as paperweights.

'You did well to find the deeds to that woodland,' he said. 'Without them the matter could have dragged on in Chancery for years.'

'The monastery's ex-bursar had them. He took them when the house was dissolved. Apparently the local villagers wanted to claim the woods as common lands. Sir Richard suspected a local rival, but I started with the bursar as he would last have had the deeds.'

'Good. That was logical.'

'I tracked him to the village church where he had been made rector. He admitted it soon enough and gave them up.'

'The villagers paid the ex-monk, no doubt. Did you have him in charge of the justice?'

'He took no payment. I think he only wanted to help the villagers, their land is poor. I thought it better to make no stir.'