Murder by Misrule

  ***

  Jugglers appeared to fill an intermission, allowing the audience to mingle before the next performance. Ralegh turned toward Francis. "Your gamble is likely to come to naught, Mr. Bacon. If you know which is your man, surely there are more certain methods of apprehension at your disposal."

  "He claims he doesn't know," the queen said. "But that doesn't sound like our Francis Bacon, does it?"

  Francis hoped she meant that as a compliment. "I believe that I do know, but belief is not certainty. I am loath to stain an innocent man's reputation with so dark a color as murder without more tangible proofs."

  "Do you really think these foul crimes were committed for professional advancement?" Essex asked.

  "Do you not believe that a lawyer can be ambitious?" The queen and Ralegh laughed, two adults versus the stripling boy.

  Francis admired the way young Essex held his ground. "I merely seek to clarify the basis of the coming test. If ambition is the motive, then I place my wager on the murderer being found among the ancients of Gray's Inn. They have the farthest to climb and thus the most to gain from a ruthless gambit."

  The queen said, "Ah, but it's the benchers that are always plucking at my counselors' sleeves, seeking serjeanties and judgeships. They're close enough to smell their prizes; their appetites are fully whetted."

  "I'll take that bet, Essex," Ralegh said. "I wager that our man's a bencher."

  The two courtiers shook hands. Ralegh begged leave to absent himself for a moment and drifted off into the crowd. Francis caught sight of him a few minutes later in animated conversation with Lady Elizabeth Throckmorton. He felt his stomach tie itself in nervous knots. His reputation was now at stake before the entire court. If nothing came of his unmasking, he'd be a laughingstock.

  At least he could trust that the courtiers would maintain a clear line between the wagerers and the wagerees; between the court and the Gray's Inn men. None of these avaricious, novelty-starved noblemen and women would wish to queer their bets.