The Vagabond Duchess. Claire Thornton

me gone, that is easily arranged. Allow me a moment to restore myself.’

      Before Temperance’s disconcerted gaze he replaced the periwig on his head and arranged it about his shoulders to his satisfaction. The contrast between his hawkish features and the long black curls now framing his face was compelling.

      ‘Farewell, Madam Tempest.’ He bowed and strolled away.

      Temperance watched him go, then dropped into her chair. He was gone. She should feel relieved. Instead she felt flat. Disappointed. He’d gone. And even though he was a scoundrel of the first water, he’d taken all the sparkle of the day with him.

      Covent Garden, Sunday 2 September 1666

      Jack woke to the smell of coffee and muffled sounds from the coffee room downstairs. He climbed out of bed and stretched, bending his arms to accommodate the low ceiling. He’d enjoyed a convivial evening of music and conversation last night, but it was his afternoon encounter with Temperance that lingered in his thoughts. He smiled as he remembered her reaction when he’d told her he’d taken his cousin’s clothes and left him behind at Dover. She’d been just as entertainingly scandalised as he’d expected—and perhaps she was worried about his fate if his vengeful cousin caught up with him. Jack had no such fears, but he was flattered by her concern.

      During his years of exile before the Restoration of Charles II, he had often travelled under the name of Jack Bow. It had given him a freedom of action he’d lacked when he’d been trying to maintain the dignity of his title without the support of either estates or fortune. But he hadn’t meant to assume the guise on his trip to fetch Athena. He’d only done so after he chased her all the way from Bruges to Venice and back again. By the time he’d reached Milan all his entourage had left him for one good reason or another. Once he was travelling alone it had been quicker and more convenient for him to do so as Jack Bow, rather than the Duke of Kilverdale.

      He still hadn’t spoken to Athena, but he had caught up with the man who’d brought her back to England—and held a sword to his throat. The Marquis of Halross hadn’t turned a hair at having his intentions towards Athena questioned under such hazardous circumstances. Jack was reasonably satisfied Halross would make his cousin a good husband, but he couldn’t ask Athena if she wanted the marriage because Lord Swiftbourne had taken her to visit her family in Kent. Jack had decided to wait in London for her. He hadn’t yet resumed all the usual trappings of his rank, because he’d never before had a chance to wander unnoticed through the crowds of London. From the day he’d been part of Charles II’s triumphal return procession to the City, he’d always been surrounded by the pomp and formality associated with his title. It was a novelty to entertain a London tavern audience as Jack Bow, and know their praise for his music and story-telling was genuine—not prompted by the hope the Duke of Kilverdale would reward them for their flattery.

      Half an hour later he wandered down to the coffee room. The serving boy had finished sweeping the floor and was scattering fresh sawdust over the boards.

      ‘Morning, Tom,’ said Jack.

      ‘Sir!’ The boy set aside his pail of sawdust at once. ‘There’s rumours of a fire in the City!’

      ‘A fire? Where’s your master?’

      ‘He went out to hear more. Three hundred houses burned already, so one fellow told me,’ Tom said, following close behind as Jack went to the door.

      The coffee house was located in Covent Garden, well away from the heart of the City, but when Jack went outside he saw the street was unusually busy for an early Sunday morning.

      ‘It’s down by London Bridge,’ said Tom at his elbow. ‘They’re saying the Dutch started it. Do you think they did? I know you’ll want to see for yourself. I’ll come with you—to…to summon the lighter if you want to go by water.’

      ‘What about your duties here?’ Jack asked, looking at the half-finished floor.

      ‘Oh, Mr Bundle just wanted me to be here to wait on you,’ Tom replied. ‘Now you’re up I can wait on you wherever you like. And I’m sure you’d like to see the fire.’

      Jack laughed at the boy’s opportunism. ‘Fetch me some bread and cheese, then. I can eat while we walk, but I’m not going fire-chasing on an empty stomach.’

      ‘Yes, sir.’ Tom tore off to the kitchen.

      Jack frowned thoughtfully, then went to get his sword. He didn’t put much credence in rumours—at the end of a hot summer fires were a predictable hazard in the crowded timber buildings of the City—but he made it a habit to be prepared for the worst. If the Dutch were about to launch an attack on London, he’d not go to meet them unarmed.

      ‘Even the pigeons are burning.’ Tom sounded close to tears.

      ‘Yes.’ As Jack watched he saw a pigeon hover too close to its familiar perch. A sudden gout of fire singed its wings and it tumbled down through the smoke-filled air.

      ‘Why didn’t it just fly away?’ Tom said.

      ‘I don’t know. Most of them are.’ Jack offered the small comfort without taking his eyes off the horrific scenes all around them.

      They were in a lighter on the Thames. All around them the river was full of lighters and wherries loaded with household goods, but some people were as reluctant to leave their homes as the pigeons. Jack saw a man shouting from a window only yards from where a house was already being consumed by the leaping flames. Other people clambered about on the waterside stairs. Even from a distance Jack had the impression they were scrambling from place to place without clear purpose, too confused and shocked to know what they should do.

      Some people trembled in silent fear and others shouted and cursed. The roar of the fire made it impossible to distinguish one cry from another. In this area of London the wooden houses were packed tightly together and the narrow alleys made it impossible to get close enough to the fire to fight it. There were timber warehouses near the river, some of which were thatched, and many of which were filled with dangerously combustible goods: pitch, oil, wine, coal and timber. The fire had taken a strong hold, and it burned hot and savage. To make matters worse, a strong easterly wind was driving the flames relentlessly into the City.

      The houses on the northern end of London Bridge were also ablaze. Only a break in the buildings caused by a fire over thirty years earlier saved the whole bridge from destruction. The gale blew hard across the flames, sweeping a searing rain of fire droplets over the boats below. The waterman Jack had hired cursed and manoeuvred the boat closer to the south bank. Smoke swirled around them in choking clouds.

      Jack covered his mouth and nose with his handkerchief. He heard Tom coughing beside him. The surface of the river was full of objects that had fallen from the overladen boats. A chair smashed against the side of the lighter. Jack pushed it away, then looked up. Above him smoke coiled around the rotting heads of traitors displayed over Bridge Gate. The dead features were hideously illuminated by sulphur bright flames.

      ‘’Tis hell on earth!’ Tom gasped. ‘It was prophesied. ’Tis the year of the number of the beast.’

      ‘Sixteen sixty-six,’ Jack murmured. ‘Six, six, six.’ He was aware that many almanac writers had predicted the year would be significant. But until he had evidence to prove otherwise, he would continue to assume the fire had been caused by human actions—either accidental or deliberate.

      ‘I’ve seen enough here,’ he said to the waterman. ‘Take us back upriver.’

      The streets were in chaos. Temperance found her way blocked over and over again by people, carts and horses. A man in front of her, carrying a huge load on his back, tripped and sprawled headlong. One of his packs broke open as it hit the ground. Bits of broken pottery, spoons and a couple of iron pans rattled on to the cobbles. Before Temperance could offer to help, he pushed himself upright and collected the unbroken utensils, cursing continuously. All around people shouted and pushed and got in each other’s way—but there were others who wandered or stood aimlessly, clutching their hands and doing nothing of use at all.