‘There’s nothing worth having in the shops,’ the housekeeper remarked to Hester. ‘So if you were thinking of new fashions you might as well have stayed at home. There are more tailors out of business than you could name.’

Hester nodded. ‘My husband’s first wife’s family are haberdashers,’ she said. ‘I thought they would let me see if they have anything left in stock.’

The housekeeper nodded. ‘They’ll surely have some silk saved for the little miss here. Isn’t she a beauty?’

Hester nodded. Frances was struggling out of the thick cape and the big bonnet which Hester insisted she wore. ‘Yes, she is.’

‘Looking for a husband for her?’

Hester shook her head. ‘Not yet.’

The woman nodded and bustled off. ‘I shall serve you with your dinner in a few minutes,’ she promised.

Alexander drew a chair near the fire for Hester. ‘Was it cold on the river?’

‘A little,’ she said, sitting down.

‘Are you in trouble?’ he asked very quietly.

‘A royalist officer came and took John’s horse. He was looking for John to help them in a plot to claim Lambeth for the king.’

Alexander looked shocked. ‘When was this?’

‘He left this morning. But he came for the first time two weeks ago.’

He nodded. ‘Did he get safe away?’

Hester shook her head. ‘I don’t know. There was no-one waiting outside the house, at any rate, and no-one seemed to be watching us leave today. But he was headed for Oxford and the king. I don’t know if he got there.’

He turned away from her for a moment.

‘What is it?’ she asked. ‘The boatman said there was some kind of plot.’

‘It’s Lady d’Aubigny,’ Alexander said.

Hester gave a little gasp.

‘You knew her name?’

‘It was a name I heard when he was swearing me to secrecy two weeks ago. I didn’t think that everyone would know it so soon.’

‘She’s a fool. Edmund Waller and she were plotting together to seize London for the king. They were going to seize the Tower and arrest Parliament and the House of Lords was to gather behind them and royalists were to rise up.’

Hester’s face was pale. ‘And?’

‘And nothing. Everyone in the plot spoke about it from the assemblies to the taverns, and they were arrested this morning. Lady d’Aubigny has disappeared, no-one knows where yet; but Waller is arrested, and half a dozen others.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Who knows you’re here?’

‘The household. I said we were coming for a visit. I thought it might look worse if we went into hiding.’

He nodded. ‘You were right. But I am wondering if you should leave London.’

‘All of us?’

‘Just you. D’you have family somewhere outside the City? Somewhere you can go until this panic is over?’

She shook her head. ‘John said I was to go to Oatlands if I was in danger. He still has his house there. He is still gardener there.’