There are forty from his guild, marching in order as part of the king’s triumphant procession into the city, home from Scotland. Not much to be triumphant about, Ned crowed on the way there. The king’s power is a limited thing in the north now, after the costly failures of the Scottish wars, and the godly Covenanters have the Scots’ souls in hand. But Ned is there to wave on his father, not the king. Richard Challoner is a rising man. A City player. He has his health, his hair and his teeth. A man to be envied: rich and prosperous, and blessed with two hale sons and one irrelevant daughter. Today is his day of triumph, chosen from all the guild to ride with the king. Hen, there with Sam and Ned and the apprentices, cheers loudly and waves back at their father. Cheese shouts, ‘Don’t he look the part!’ above the crowd’s hubbub and she nods happily. She imagines Cheese’s head is filled with images of himself, fat and prosperous, riding as a liveryman through cheering crowds.
