The coach passed beneath a large stone gateway and into the grounds of a country estate. The rutted road turned to gravel and, as they approached the main house, lush lawns took over from the pastured fields. Marble statues of Roman emperors formed an imperial procession up to a stone bridge, beyond which stood the imposing manor house of red brick, tiled roofs and tall corkscrew chimneys. Four storeys high in places and protected by a wide square moat, the house was more akin to a castle than a country residence.

Crossing the bridge, the coach clattered through a gatehouse into a large cobbled courtyard, where the driver drew the horses to a halt. Jack and his friends clambered out, stiff from the ride and cautious at their unannounced arrival. Signor Horatio paid the driver as Jack’s eyes swept round the yard, deserted apart from another coach which looked to be the one that had borne his sister away. He gazed up at all the glazed windows encircling the inner yard, astounded by the huge quantity of glass in one building. Suddenly his breath caught in his throat. High up on the top floor, through the smallest window, a pale girl’s face peered down at him –

‘Fletcher? Is that you?’ boomed a voice.

Jack spun round to see a portly figure with a pointed white beard emerge from the main house.

‘Sir Henry Wilkes!’ gasped Jack. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I might ask you the same, Jack! This is my family home,’ Sir Henry replied. Jack snatched another glance at the upper window but the face had gone. ‘Too much talk of plague doctors in London,’ Sir Henry went on. ‘So I thought I’d escape to the country – but it seems the doctors are everywhere!’

‘Everywhere?’ gulped Yori, a visible tremble making the bells of his shakujō ring.

‘Yes, I fear so. Aylesbury, Buckingham, Banbury … they’ve all been visited. The last sighting of them was in the village of Kineton.’ Sir Henry shook his head in dismay. ‘I pray that the plague doesn’t spread any further north. Kineton is little more than ten miles from here!’

Jack exchanged a troubled look with Akiko and Yori. The four ninjas must have picked up their trail. Are they that close to Stratford? thought Jack. The need to find Jess had just become even more pressing.

Sir Henry suddenly noticed their sword master and squinted. ‘Why, Signor Horatio Palavicino!’ he exclaimed. ‘I thought you’d returned to your homeland, sir.’

Doffing his feathered hat, Signor Horatio bowed. ‘Che piacere vederti, Sir Henry. No, I’ve been in Stratford establishing a new fencing school. In fact, you’re talking to some of my best students.’