‘Take a breath, Piers,’ Jude whispered, nudging him. ‘They’ll only give you more work to do if you finish those damned summonses. Look around: Sowerberry and the rest are doing nothing at all, fiddling with their cod-pieces, picking their noses, scratching their arses. We’re the only ones working.’
‘I’d rather be doing something to pass the time ’til dinner.’
‘Here, take a look at this.’ Jude handed Creed the creased paper that caught his attention earlier. ‘What do you make of it, eh? Interesting?’
‘Not much, in truth,’ Creed admitted after a deal of squinting and thumb-chewing. ‘Italian tongues aren’t my strong point. What do you think it says?’
‘I best not tell you too much. ’Tis a love letter to King Edward’s latest mistress. We don’t want that to become common knowledge, do we now? The king might throw us in the Tower of London and feed the key – or us – to the bloody lions in the Menagerie.’ Despite his words of doom, Jude was laughing, watching Creed’s horror-stricken face. ‘I’m jesting, Piers. Don’t take everything so damned seriously. Of course, it’s not a bloody letter from the king. Why would it be when the king doesn’t know any Italian? If he did, he wouldn’t need me and I wouldn’t be freezing my bollocks off in the pest hole. See sense, you daft fool.’
‘What does the letter say?’
Jude shrugged.
‘Ah, now, ’tis a difficult hand to make out, is it not? I’ll take it home; work on it there. I can hardly concentrate here, what with you farting and him sneezing all the time.’ Jude cocked his chin at Secretary Oliver who appeared to have nodded off.
‘’Tis most conscientious of you, to work at home when you’ll not be paid for it.’ Creed sounded surprised – as well he might – if not impressed.
‘That’s me, Piers: a most hard-working fellow indeed,’ Jude said as he surreptitiously folded the letter out of sight, beneath his desk, and slipped it into the sleeve of his gown. In truth, he had no idea what it said; his Italian was not that good. But to keep up the pretence of fluency, he had his secret assistant. Chesca.
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