Stranger Times

John Henry

May 11th, 1812

Two brown boots dangled a few inches above a wooden platform. The shoes, recently cleaned and polished, lazily swung from north, to north east, and then east.

The groan of a strained rope sounded remarkably similar the laughter of the crows perched on the wooden beam that John Bellingham's limp, lifeless form now hung from. The still crowded square was so silent the cackle of the birds seemed offensive.

There were a lot of troubled feelings about the man who had murdered the Prime Minister. Troubled and surprisingly sympathetic, which was why only a week after the murder, John Bellingham had been brought here to hang until dead.

Dead. It was, to Arthur Noakes, a rather inconvenient state. Dead men could not answer questions.

"Constable Noakes?" a voice asked from behind Arthur, as a well-dressed man in a very expensive looking coat rested his hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"Walk with me."

Arthur followed the man, who easily made an arrow-straight path through the crowd to the edge of the square. Arrow straight, because the people around them instinctively moved out of his way.

Which wasn't a surprising thing. It took Arthur a moment to realize he recognized the man leading him into the street. Lord Robert Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool and current Secretary of War for His Majesty's Government.

"Lord Jenkinson," Arthur said, as soon as they cleared the crowd. "My condolences, for whatever it's worth."

The Earl of Liverpool missed a step, stopped in apparent shock, and stared at Arthur for a long, awkward moment.

"My lord?" Arthur asked.

The Earl then laughed, and shook his head. "Forgive me Constable, and my thanks. I have grown too accustomed to politicians. Honest sympathy is an uncommon thing to find in His Majesty's Government."

"You come well recommended among the Bow Street Runners, Constable Noakes," the Earl said. "I believe you received a commendation in your first year, during the foiling of the Despard plot. You were credited with ensuring Colonel Edward Despard was taken alive."

"Thank you, my lord. I..." Arthur hesitated, shifting his shoulders beneath his heavy blue greatcoat. "I'm glad that went as well as it did."

"Being able to give the man a trial helped calm a lot of nerves. Including Admiral Nelson. God help us all if that man had resigned in protest."

The Earl then opened his coat, and drew out a small bundle of paper. He held it in the air between his two fingers. "Constable, I trust you can be circumspect?"

"Of course, my lord," Arthur replied immediately.

But the Earl frowned, and Arthur could see the hesitation as a grimace waxed and waned on his face. "I'm not asking for anything illegal, but I do not want you to act on an arrest without my blessing. This is an extremely sensitive issue."

"I understand, my lord."

"Good," the Earl said as he extended his hand. Arthur took the papers and unfolded them.

He was surprised to see a fairly bland balance transfer request, unremarkable apart from the thousands of pounds listed to transfer. The recipient was a woman named Mary Neville, to be set up as a subscription fund to be paid in regular instalments. The signatory acting was a man named 'John Henry'.

"I would like you to investigate the assassination of my predecessor, Lord Perceval. Particularly, I would like to know the motives of Mister Bellingham's actions. I will need you to be both discreet, and swift."