The Cheapside Corpse Read Free Page B

thousand pounds,’ mumbled Hannah, rather indistinctly.
    ‘
What?
’ It was far worse than he had anticipated. ‘How much Epsom water did she drink? Or is it the Lely portrait that has ruined us?’
    ‘We are not
ruined
, Thomas,’ said Hannah irritably. ‘We are temporarily embarrassed. And it is not the housekeeper or Lely who put us there – she paid for most of her treatment herself, while Lely agreed to defer payment until next year.’
    Chaloner regarded her accusingly. ‘You promised not to spend more than we earned. In fact, you swore an oath.’
    ‘And I have kept it,’ declared Hannah indignantly. ‘I have not spent a shilling more than we agreed – other than the Lely, which I knew you would not mind. He was free for a few weeks, and it was too good an opportunity to miss. The painting is an investment, you see.’
    ‘So why are we in debt? Again.’
    ‘Because I inadvertently defaulted on the loan I had to take out when I bought my post with the Queen. I had no idea the conditions had changed until the demands came for the arrears.’
    Chaloner blinked. ‘You
bought
the post? I assumed you won it on merit.’
    ‘Oh, really, Thomas! That is not how things work at White Hall. You may have unique talents that earls clamour to purchase, but the rest of us are rather more ordinary.’
    Chaloner almost laughed at the notion that noblemen were falling over themselves to hire his services. He had fought for Parliament during the civil wars, and had worked for Cromwell’s intelligence services thereafter. Employment was scarce for such men in Restoration England, and he was fortunate that the Earl had been willing to overlook his past loyalties and take him on.
    ‘I hardly think—’ he began.
    ‘Anyway, it cost three thousand pounds, which obviously I did not have, so I had to borrow from Edward Backwell. But the King asked the bankers to donate a million pounds for the Dutch war, and as they do not have such a huge sum to hand, they have to raise it by any means they can. Most do it by selling their debts – Backwell sold his to Rich Taylor.’
    ‘I have heard of Rich Taylor. He was one of few goldsmith–bankers who remained a Royalist during Commonwealth.’
    Chaloner knew this because such loyalties had been deemed suspect when Parliament was in power, so Taylor was one of those whom John Thurloe – then Cromwell’s Spymaster General – had been obliged to monitor.
    ‘Well, he is a terrible rogue,’ said Hannah. ‘And I am now in debt to him.’
    Chaloner was puzzled. ‘You must have had this arrangement with Backwell when we married. You have been a lady-in-waiting for more than three years now but I have never heard of it before. Why not?’
    ‘Because the money was always taken directly from my salary, so I never had cause to think about it. Many courtiers are in the same position, and handling “standing orders” is a service that White Hall’s accompters offer. They gather all the payments together, and deliver them to our creditors on the first day of every month.’
    ‘So what has changed? Did the clerks forget?’
    ‘No – the problem came when Taylor revised the agreement I made with Backwell, which I only discovered when I received a letter informing me that I was in arrears. I went to the Solicitor General, expecting to be told that Taylor had acted illegally, but it seems he
was
within his rights to change the terms.’
    ‘How did he change them?’
    ‘Instead of the five per cent interest that Backwell charged, Taylor wants fifteen. I refused, of course, but all that means is that my debt has mounted, and I am now in rather a muddle.’
    ‘But that is extortion – usury. Which
is
illegal, no matter what the Solicitor General says.’
    Hannah sighed. ‘Unfortunately, there is a clause in the contract that lets any new lender do as he pleases. I queried it when I signed with Backwell, but he told me not to worry, as he would never sell the arrangement.’
    ‘But he