Read 1635: A Parcel of Rogues - eARC for Free Online

tomfoolery, Boyle waved him off. “You’ve plenty to be about, Holderness. And since it’s plain you’ve no Irish, Mister Finnegan addressed you with a title of the respect he feels you’re due. I know him of old as a man keen to show all proper respect.”
    With Holderness safely away, Finnegan returned his attention to his master after a thoughtful-looking inspection of the damage to the Tower. In truth, not as bad as it looked, but plenty to cover a mass escape. “Almost like they were really only trying to make it look good, y’earlship. How many of the regular garrison are missing? With their families?”
    “Sharp, Finnegan, yes, there are some Yeomen missing. I don’t know about the families yet, but Holderness, the useless streak of piss, will have that report for me tomorrow. And speaking of sharp, you’re going to get yourself cut with it one day, Finnegan. Supposing he’d known what that meant?” Boyle knew Finnegan didn’t care a bit, but the man’s education had been expensive and seeing it wasted in some pointless duel, or more likely in hiding the man away until the trouble over a killing died down, would offend his sense of parsimony.
    “About as likely, my chief, as him realizing just exactly how much respect he’s due, so. Which I’ll remind you I gave him every bit of. He was in charge here, yes?”
    “Yes, though to be fair His Majesty dumped the poor man into an impossible situation, watching over the Americans after they’d had months to work their subversion on the Warders. You’d have done better, but I doubt many would.” Boyle wasn’t quite that sure; he’d had his own spies inside the Tower and from what he’d heard it’d be a hard man and a cunning man both who got ahead of them with their suborning. Finnegan was both, but enough to outbid or outfox people who could see a child live who would have died?
    That was the Americans’ signal advantage: paying in considerably more than coin. Boyle was sure there were some things he could learn from them and use back in County Cork to buy even more of the peoples’ loyalty. And there was every chance the Americans would provide the knowledge to do much of it just for the asking. It was a frustration his own youngest boy wasn’t older; from the future histories he’d have a name to make in the natural philosophies, and having the family’s own famous scientist—the new word still sounded odd to him—there to bring the new marvels to the people would be a nice touch. As it was, one of the older boys would have to serve. Either Richard, to cement him into the minds of the people as their future earl, or Roger, to give him something besides his martial ambitions to think on.
    “I’m sure your lordship sees no harm in having the man sweat a while. So, who am I to catch for you?”
    “The missing so far are Wentworth, Cromwell, and all the Americans we had here. I’ll see you get a list before you’ve got your boys ready to ride. Picked up anything by yourself, yet?” Part of what made Finnegan so bloody useful was the fact that outside County Waterford, everyone assumed he was just another bog-trotting paddy, if English, or a ruffian torai , if Irish. Behind the brutish facade, that he could turn up and down like a lampwick, was a keen mind that could get ahead of his master’s orders in gratifyingly useful ways. Never an excess of zeal, no, but frequently armed with just the right information or preparations to get at the task in ways that left other servants standing. Boyle had more than one bright man in his service, but Finnegan was definitely one of the best. Top three, at least.
    “Nothing yet, apart from a quiet word with folk as we strolled in. Boats went downriver, two of them, maybe three, maybe just the one. Your earlness knows what a lot of half-stories come out of a mess like this. I’ve given Mulligan and O’Hare a bag of pennies to buy drinks down by the water to get some tales told. Sure and they’re