The de Vere Deception (David Thorne Mysteries Book 1) (5 page)

            Raskin smiled his most social smile, Kirk-Halstrom remained calm on the sofa, and Blackstone went to the window and lit a cigarette.

            Bada said, “We’ll also provide you all the information you’ll need to perform the services we require. By the way, where are you staying?”

            Thorne said, “You have my e-mail address. I think that’s the best way to keep in contact.”

            Bada said, “Before I continue, I have two important questions of you, Mr. Thorne. First, are you absolutely sure you will be available for the next three months, and second, are you free to travel to England?”

            Thorne fought his annoyance. He had tentatively expressed his interest and now wanted to discuss his role in the venture in greater depth. In a measured tone, he said, “Yes.”

            Bada said, “Good, I’ll try to be as succinct as possible.

Chapter 8

Bada smoothed his dark hair back with the palm of his hand, and cleared his throat. “First, I will try to familiarize you with our group and our respective backgrounds.”

            “Mr. Raskin and I have both done extensive research on the controversy surrounding the true authorship of the works of William Shakespeare.

            “Mr. Kirk-Halstrom is a descendent of the Edward de Vere, the 17
^th
Earl of Oxford, and a contemporary of Shakespeare. Mr. Kirk-Halstrom has done genealogy work on the de Vere family. We will provide this information to you once we finalize a contract with you.

            “Mr. Blackstone is a former general contractor from South Africa, and has extensive experience in demolition and retrofitting stone structures. He is also interested in the controversy as well as the renovation of Kilshire Castle.

            Mr. Hollister owns a prominent bookstore in Stratford-upon-Avon. He has a trove of publications relating to the controversy.”

            Thorne was patient and gave no indication he was already familiar with their backgrounds.

            Bada continued, “The Stratford man—William Shaksper—the man popularly described as Shakespeare—died in 1616 and curiously enough, his death went unnoticed by the literary community. By contrast, the poet Spenser was broadly eulogized by numerous poets. The poetry on the Stratford man’s tombstone is mediocre at best.”

            Raskin said, “Twelve years earlier, in 1604, King James commissioned six committees comprised of eminent ecclesiastical and literary scholars to translate the Bible into English. Interestingly enough, no one with the name William Shakespeare was ever asked to serve on any of those committees. This, in spite of William Shakespeare’s reputation as the preeminent playwright and poet at the time.”

            Bada continued, “In his will, the Stratford man left property—mundane items such as his ‘”second best bed” to his wife. This is not unusual as it applied to their personal bed. The best bed was customarily reserved for guests. There’s no mention of books, letters, or manuscripts—at least we haven’t found any. It also appears there have been no letters
from him
to anyone.

            “Most of the people around him were illiterate, and many couldn’t even sign their names. Examples of his own signature are rare and, as you will see, those that are available aren’t much more than a childish scrawl executed in different styles.”

            Thorne glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantle before turning his attention back to Bada. He was interested in getting on with the details of his involvement in the project, not going over the controversy of who wrote what. He was still being given a repetitious sales presentation of things he had already investigated, but he folded his hands and said nothing.

            Bada didn’t appear to recognize Thorne’s impatience. “Shakespeare’s work shows a broad knowledge of the Elizabethan Court, business, law, politics, the classics, languages, and travel on the continent. As a commoner, the Stratford man could not travel in the same circles, as did the nobility. He would have been totally out of touch with convention and the royalty and noble personages as figure in the plays of Shakespeare.”

            Raskin said, “The First Folio, a collection of 36 plays by Shakespeare, was published in November, 1623, seven years after the death of William Shaksper of Stratford-upon-Avon. Responsibility for the compilation of the plays seemed to rest solely on Shaksper’s fellow actors, David Hemmings and Henry Condell. The two men were listed as ‘editors’ of the plays, and the doubters of Shaksper as the true author have suspected a conspiracy motivated by financial gain

            “Just a few of the many well-known names who also believe the Stratford man was
not
the true author include: Mark Twain, Henry James, Walt Whitman, John Gielgud, Orson Wells, Sigmund Freud, Charles Dickens, Supreme Court Justices Blackmun and Powell, and a host of others. By contrast, those supporting him are meager in their prominence. Many are amateurs, high school drama teachers, professors of English Literature—and other incidental academics.”

            Bada sipped his tea and continued, “Many of these academics have a vested interest in maintaining—for want of a better word—the status quo that exists in the academy. Their institutional mindset—and a lot of their work—would be knocked into a cocked hat if de Vere—or any other author—were to be proven—by hard facts—to be the actual author of Shakespeare’s work. Because of our studies at Oxford—and work we have had published—many think of us as academics, but we don’t share their traditional views. My purpose is—”

            Thorne’s patience was at an end and he interrupted the monolog. “Mr. Bada, I think you should know I prefer to limit the number of surrounding issues relating to the job—things that might be distractions in performing my portion of the job. Personally, I have no interest in who the true author might be. It appears I was invited here on the pretext of discussing how I might help in discovering things in a castle in Stratford.”

            Bada ignored the sharp tone in Thorne’s voice and smiled. “I understand. I just thought the additional information might be helpful. Let’s just leave it at that and proceed.”

            Thorne shifted nervously in his chair. From his cursory research earlier in the day, he found many scholars s at the prestigious Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. supported the Stratford man

            The Folger, an institution on Capitol Hill, was considered a world-class research center on Shakespeare. The well-respected Stanley Wells, Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, was a strong supporter of the Stratford man. Other well-known scholars supporting the traditional view included journalist Michael Shermer and authors Scott McCrea and Irvin Matus. Unfortunately, information on the internet was heavily weighted in favor of the famous doubters with few supporters known outside the academic community.

            In addition to the dramatist Ben Jonson, other contemporaries and supporters of the Stratford man, included the respected poet Richard Barnfield, academic Gabriel Harvey, and writer Francis Meres. They expressed little doubt as to the authenticity of William Shakespeare of Stratford. They held it was a baseless argument, and the Stratford man was being dismissed because he was a commoner. It was well known Christopher Marlow and Ben Jonson were sons of commoners, yet often wrote about the court and the upper classes with an ease conversant with royal attitudes.

            Thorne became uncomfortable and shifted in his chair. He had always wanted to know the truth—wherever it led—but he knew the sorting out of the true authorship was a quagmire. Scholars would enthusiastically spend their lives researching, debating, and putting forth theories about the subject. He preferred to leave it alone. His interest was in his present financial problem and the prospect of solving it.

            Bada said, “One final note and then we’ll leave the subject. As with many noblemen who wrote plays during that era, de Vere kept his identity secret for political, social, and business reasons. It wasn’t considered proper for gentlemen to be associated with the stage and the writing of plays. During Elizabethan times, any association with the stage would place one low on the social scale.”

            Thorne’s cursory glance that morning at information on de Vere showed he
had
been involved with the stage. He had formed his own production company, Oxford’s Boys, leased the Blackfriars Theater,
and
produced entertainment at Court, even going so far as to having his household servants perform in the plays. It appeared Bada and his group were being selective about
all
the facts. Still he kept quiet and allowed Bada to continue

            Bada said,” But enough about the controversy for now. Since we’re all in agreement of your abilities, and have a strong inclination to hire you, I think we should tell you our intentions.”

Chapter 9

Bada’s gaze swept the room for a consensus to continue the discussion. There was silence, so he turned back to Thorne. “Our property is Kilshire Castle, in Stratford, across the River Avon from the Royal Shakespeare Theater. Both the castle and land are owned by the Bada family and Bada, Limited.” He turned to Freddie Hollister. “Freddie has proposed we renovate the castle—and he has placed in our hands certain information we feel could strengthen our position of support for Edward de Vere.

            “Richard Moldar, the 2
^nd
Earl of Hofley and builder of the castle on the River Avon, had also previously built a spacious Tudor-styled manor house east of the castle. It was built on a large parcel of land granted his family by King Henry VII. Freddie can fill you in on the relationship of King Henry and the Moldar and Bada families in good time”

            Raskin said. “My research shows Robert Dudley, the 1
^st
Earl of Leicester, was Queen Elizabeth’s favorite at the time. She and Dudley spent many pleasant times while they were at Kenilworth Castle, north of Stratford, in 1575. Dudley’s success in attracting the Queen to his castle at Kenilworth motivated Moldar to construct his castle on the Avon.”

            Thorne noticed Kirk-Halstrom, Blackstone, and Freddie had offered little input during the presentation. The domination of the conversation by Bada and Raskin confirmed Thorne’s impression the two men would be in control of the project.

            Bada said, “The Keep, the safest area of the castle, was built by Moldar solely for Queen Elizabeth’s use. Unfortunately, for Moldar, she never showed an interest in visiting the Keep—or Kilshire Castle for that matter—and he supposedly died of a broken heart. A local story persists that Moldar’s ghost still haunts the queen’s Keep, preparing for her imminent visit. It’s an interesting story about Moldar. Another interesting item Freddie can relate to you later.”

            Freddie, silent during Bada’s presentation, finally spoke. “I’ve suggested we transform Kilshire Castle into a first class museum and tourist attraction. I also plan to relocate my present bookstore and have a Shakespeare and de Vere research center there.” He turned to Bada. “The new bookstore would be more than twice the size of my current store in Stratford proper. Gil’s interest in the museum and research center will also provide Bada, Limited positive public exposure.”

            Freddie looked at the other men in the room before continuing. “Obviously, the construction process will also provide us a venue to proceed with the search for—”

            Thorne noticed the other men were staring at Freddie.

            Bada interrupted and cleared his throat. “This brings us to our interest in retaining you.”

            Bada said, “We’ve already discussed our plans for the castle, and a preliminary design scheme, with certain prominent individuals on the town council. Mr. Blackstone and our architect have been in touch with the town officials and our overall design scheme has met with favorable response.

            “However, I need to say, we’ve encountered resistance to our plans, and although there is minimal opposition to our drawings and overall design scheme, there are those still opposed to us. Their main opposition is the project will detract from the overall historical spirit of Stratford across the river.

            “What they’re saying is we will be questioning Shaksper, the Stratford man, as the true author. They feel the relocation and enlargement of Freddie’s bookstore to the castle, and away from Henley Street—the heart of Stratford’s shopping district—will be detrimental to Stratford’s main industry, which
is
William Shakespeare and the Festival. Many also disapprove of Freddie’s numerous books supporting the de Vere position, and say it’s unseemly to denigrate William Shakespeare, their most illustrious citizen. It’s obvious business is a main ingredient in their argument. At a recent meeting at Civic Hall in Rother Street, almost three-hundred thousand pounds was approved to promote tourism.”

            Raskin said, “It’s quite true the renovation of the castle and the relocation of Freddie’s bookstore will stimulate discussion. Freddie’s bookstore is well known for carrying a large number of books and journals about de Vere, as well as Shakespeare—and the controversy. However, we believe it will encourage additional research into the subject, and eventually
add
to Stratford’s prominence.” He produced a wan smile. “It may also prove de Vere to be the true author, and—”

            Bada nodded his agreement and said, “We’ll just have to face that problem when it arises.” He paused and drank from his cup. “The Oxford Society, a research group, meets at Freddie’s bookstore on occasion. The Society is a prominent advocate of de Vere as the true author, and many prominent people are members of the Society. I’m not a member, but have made no secret of my interest in their research.