‘Fooled you,’ Buckingham cried triumphantly. ‘Fooled you completely.’

John stared at the face of his lord, absurdly concealed by a false beard and a muffler. ‘Your Grace –’ He glanced across at the other horseman and recognised, with a sense of shock, the young prince he had last seen snivelling at the heels of his older brother. But now the young prince was the heir, Prince Charles. ‘Good God! Your Highness!’

‘Will we pass, d’you think?’ Buckingham demanded joyously. ‘I am John Smith and this is my brother Thomas. Will we pass, d’you think?’

‘Oh, yes,’ John said. ‘But what are you about, my lord? Wenching?’

Buckingham laughed aloud at that. ‘The finest wench in the world,’ he whispered. ‘We’re going to Spain, John, we’re going to marry His Highness here to the Infanta of Spain! What d’you think of that?’

For a moment John was too stunned to speak, then he grabbed the hunter’s bridle above the bit. ‘Stay!’ he cried. ‘You can’t.’

‘You order me?’ Buckingham enquired politely. ‘You had much better take your hand off my horse, Tradescant.’

John flinched but did not let go. ‘Please, your Grace,’ he said. ‘Wait. Think on this. Why are you going disguised?’

‘For the adventure!’ Buckingham said merrily.

‘Come on, Thomas!’ the prince said. ‘Or are you John? Am I Thomas?’

‘I beg of you,’ John said urgently. ‘You cannot go like this, my lord. You cannot take the prince like this.’

The prince’s horse pawed the ground. ‘Come on!’ the prince said.

‘Forgive me!’ Tradescant looked over at him. ‘Your Highness has perhaps not considered. You cannot ride into France as if it were East Anglia, Your Highness. What if they hold you? What if Spain refuses to let you leave?’

‘Nonsense,’ Prince Charles said briefly. ‘Come on, Villiers.’

Buckingham’s horse moved forward and John was dragged along, not releasing his grip on the bridle. ‘Your Grace.’ He tried again. ‘Does the king know of this? What if he turns against you?’

Buckingham leaned low over the horse’s neck so he could whisper to Tradescant. ‘Leave me go, my John. I am at work here. If I marry the prince to the infanta then I have done something which no man has ever done – make Spain our ally, make the greatest alliance in Europe and myself the greatest marriage broker who ever lived. But even if I fail, then the prince and I have ridden out like brothers and we will be brothers for the rest of our lives. Either way, my place is assured. Now let my bridle go. I have to leave.’

‘Have you food and money, a change of clothes?’

Buckingham laughed. ‘John, my John, next time you shall pack for me. But I must go now!’