The Muses’ Darling – Chapter 4

Marlowe Month continues with Chapter 4 of The Muses’ Darling – one of the many names used to describe Kit. This one was the inspiration of fellow Tudor dramatist George Peele. In this chapter there is an introduction to Kit’s presumed connections with the government’s espionage ring. As this is a work of fiction, all characters but the Marlowe family are my inventions and any resemblance they may have to real people is pure coincidence.

The photograph above shows Canterbury’s St George’s Street, probably around 1900. St George the Martyr church, where Kit was baptised on 26^th February 1564, is in the background on the left, with its clock overhanging the road. The house believed to be where Kit was born was situated opposite the church, on the corner of St George’s Lane. Unfortunately, along with St George’s, it was demolished by a bomb on 1^st June 1942 – only the church clock tower remains. On this imaginary visit by Kit, he is unlikely to have stayed in this house as the Marlowe family is believed to have moved from there some years before.

The audio version on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e1k5adq

For those who missed previous postings from The Muses’ Darling, preceded by the mini biography on Kit, and want to catch up, you can find them via these links:

The Photograph (mini biography)

The New Playwright (Chapter 1)

The Journey to Canterbury (Chapter 2)

Back Home in Canterbury (Chapter 3)

THE MUSES’ DARLING

Chapter 4

A Wet Monday

Canterbury awoke to heavy rain on the Monday morning. Kit looked out of his bedroom window and was quite pleased by the downpour in front of his eyes. This meant the weekly bedding and clothes washing task would be postponed and his mother would probably swap the chores so Tuesday’s baking session would take place instead that day. He relished the thought of the house being filled with the aroma of new bread and pies and the chance to eat them afterwards. More to the point, the whole family would be occupied till teatime, so he could spend the hours writing rather than feeling in the way or, even worse, being given a job! After all, it was too wet to go out voluntarily.

He sauntered downstairs to find all the women in the kitchen, including his mother’s new maid Sarah Harper who was busy with a duster. He knew her as she was an old friend of his sister Anne, and he had been expecting to see her early in his stay as she worked the first four days of the week – the arrangement of Friday–Sunday off being mutually suitable for her and the Marlowe family. He asked after her family and was pleased to hear all were well and she was an aunt to her brother’s two-month-old baby boy Daniel.

Kit was soon eating his first meal of the day, amid the mayhem in the kitchen. Sarah went off to continue her dusting duties but returned a minute later, reporting that the master’s mid-morning snack was still on the table by the front door.

“That’s not like him to forget that,” Katherine Marlowe remarked. Then looking at her son she said, “Kit, when you’ve finished eating, be a dear and take it along to him, or he and the apprentices will go hungry till lunchtime.”

“Of course,” replied Kit with half a smile, thinking to himself that surely one of them could go along to Sam’s bakery just along the street and buy a few pies or cakes, but he couldn’t refuse his mother so quickly finished his bread and honey and prepared to brave the elements.

By the time he stepped outside, the rain had eased to a slight drizzle but he set off at a brisk pace, eager to miss the next shower. His father’s shoemaking business was only a short walk away, and the road so familiar. Despite this, he began to feel apprehensive as he became aware of someone walking behind him at the same pace. He stopped to look in a shop window to give the stranger the chance to pass by. However, the footsteps also stopped. Kit looked to his right to see the end of a brown cloak disappearing down a nearby alleyway. Coincidence or was he being followed? His training in the espionage ring had made him extremely wary of anyone in his wake but he decided to walk on and see if the follower returned. Seconds later he heard footsteps again and, turning slightly, saw a man in a brown cloak walking across the road, dodging the carts which were trundling along. He felt sure there was more to it than coincidence, so he continued his walk till he came to the bakery.

Opening the door, he was greeted by Sam the baker and family, all engaged in the process of baking and selling. While in conversation with them, Kit glanced out of the window and saw the brown-cloaked man idling around on the other side of the road, obviously waiting for him to emerge. This gave Kit an idea. Having admired the cakes, he made a spur-of-the-moment decision and ordered 10 marzipan animals which he’d collect on Saturday. They were expensive items but he thought little gifts for the family, with friends included, were worth the outlay. When asked which animals he’d prefer, he was shown the range by Sam’s wife Lucy. Kit decided on two each of the cat, dog, rabbit, horse and swan. He then said he must take his leave and handing Lucy half the cost of the order, with the rest to be paid on collection, he asked if he could go out the back way as this would cut a corner to his father’s shop. As he walked along the less trodden route, he laughed to himself, wondering how long his follower would wait for him to appear at the front of the bakery.

Arriving at the shoemaking premises, Kit met senior apprentice Joe, about to set off for the bakery. Kit stopped him, with the news that he had brought the forgotten snacks for them all. John Marlowe was pleased to see his son and, taking the dish, led him through to the workshop where there were many pairs of shoes in a half-completed state. The business was obviously thriving which was good news. Beyond was the room where the leather was prepared before it could be fashioned into shoes and boots – the odour of which still turned Kit’s stomach, so he walked back into the shop where the smell had dissipated somewhat. He viewed the well-made boots on display, awaiting collection by their new owners, then joined the shoemakers for their mid-morning snack, asking Joe and the younger apprentice Adam about their work and admiring the ornately decorated boots his father was finishing for a country gentleman. It took him back to his childhood when he would often sit there, fascinated by his father’s leatherwork skills.

Although the rain had abated, the sky seemed to be threatening a further deluge, so Kit decided to head back home before it descended and, using the back route again, he arrived, almost dry, without having seen anything of his follower. However, he was convinced that for some reason he was under surveillance by this shady character and speculated on whether this was the same person he had seen on the black horse at Rochester Castle.

The ladies were all busy with domestic chores and the wonderful smell of baking greeted him as he walked into the house. He handed the dish and lid to his mother and assured her all was well. Having half-heartedly offered to lend a hand, only to be laughed at by her with an added rhetorical question asking what a university man would know about baking, he decided to make himself scarce. He spent the remainder of the morning, and then the afternoon, writing his speech for Friday’s school drama class, before continuing the poem he had started a week before.

The rain had returned with renewed force and poured down the whole afternoon, not that Kit noticed, so intent was he on his writing, though his flow was interrupted by a scream from downstairs. Almost knocking his chair over, fearing a fire in the oven, or one of his sisters had got burned, he raced downstairs to find Sarah quivering by the stairs, with Anne and Katherine trying to pacify her.

Kit walked over to them and asked what was wrong. “Sarah saw a face leering at her through this window,” Katherine explained.

This alarmed Kit slightly – was it his follower, spying on him and his family?

Sitting Sarah down in the kitchen, he asked her gently what she had seen.

“A face, a face,” she repeated.

“What sort of face – a man, woman, child?”

“A man. He was looking at me but when I screamed he went.”

“Did you notice anything about him?”

Sarah shook her head, in tears as she recalled the incident.

“Nothing at all? Hair colour, the clothes he was wearing?”

She thought, then still crying said, “He had fair hair sticking out from his hat and was wearing brown.”

“Would that be a doublet or a cloak?”

“Probably a cloak, but I’m not sure.”

“What shade of brown – light or dark?”

“Quite dark. Oh Kit, I’m so afraid! I was about to go home; that’s why I was near that window, just about to get my hat when I saw him.”

“Don’t worry. He might have been a beggar hoping to find food, or someone seeking shelter from the rain. He probably meant no harm – just inquisitive,” said Kit sounding more convincing that he felt with this explanation, as the description fitted his follower perfectly and was probably the Rochester horse rider.

“I’m frightened. Very frightened. He might try to hurt me on my way home,” she persisted.

“Well, he’ll have to get past me first,” said Kit determinedly.

“How come?”

“Because I shall take you home, with Anne,” replied Kit, looking questioningly at his sister who nodded. “You sit here with Anne and my mother and I’ll be back in two minutes to accompany you home.”

Wrapping his cloak round himself against the rain, Kit set off with the girls, he on the outside and Sarah in the middle. He remarked that it must be his lucky day to be in the company of two such lovely ladies, which made both girls giggle.

Sarah lived in the next street, so they were soon at her front door. She asked them both in and explained to her mother what had happened. Mrs Harper immediately put her arm round her daughter, while thanking Kit and Anne profusely for bringing her home safely. She wanted them to stay for a meal, but Kit politely declined, explaining that there would be a meal ready for them on their return home. So shaking Kit’s hand and giving Anne a hug, she told them how grateful she was to them both. Kit then asked Sarah if she’d like him to call for her in the morning to take her to their house for the day, but Mrs Harper answered saying her husband would walk Sarah there on his way to work, as he did every day. He was the local chandler, his shop a short walk from the Marlowe home, and he had to pass their door. Kit then offered to accompany Sarah back home the next day and to see how she felt after that. She accepted gratefully, giving him a hug as if he were her big brother.

Back at home, Kit and Anne changed out of their very damp clothes. His mother hung them near the fire on a pulley contraption her husband had rigged up, and with luck they would be dry in the morning. Kit was well aware that he was meeting George Walker for lunch at the inn, so hoped to have at least his cloak dry enough to wear. The evening was uneventful with a lively conversation over the meal, which included the mystery face at the window, and the activities of the day for each of them. Once the washing-up was out of the way, they played a parlour game with much laughter from them all.

As he got ready for bed, Kit reflected on the day and his follower. It had started out with all the promise of a mundane Monday, though had turned out to be anything but. It made life more interesting but he wasn’t sure this was the kind of interesting he was keen to encounter, especially as this was supposed to be his week off. With luck, tomorrow would be different again.

© Chasqui Penguin 2022

Twitter: @ChasquiPenguin