Chapter 24

"Majesty," the Chamberlain murmured in almost a whispered voice to the King of Portugal, "Dom Alfredo de Marialva has been found dead."

King Manuel was sitting upon his throne in his audience chamber. About him and around the room were men who had presented themselves that day to seek out the king's favour. Some were local noblemen and some were merchants and adventurers. A few were foreigners seeking a place within Portugal's growing empire and two were ambassadors. None of them were from Spain.

"What do you mean Dom Alfredo is dead?" the King of Portugal growled back at his chamberlain in a voice that carried. Immediately men moved to distance themselves from the throne and the possibility that the king's wrath would fall on them.

"Forgive me your Majesty," the chamberlain hurriedly pleaded, "but that is what I have been informed. Guardsmen were sent in search of Dom Alfredo as per your command. A troop of them found his body in the home of his mistress. He had been killed in the night."

"I do not believe this," the king shouted in denial. "First the Count de Alvarez goes missing and no man can find him for weeks. The Dom Henrique de Menezes goes missing and my soldiers find the body of Dom Roberto within the walls of Dom Henrique's keep. Now you are telling me that the commander of my royal guard has been murdered in the bed of his mistress. What is going on in my kingdom? Answer me that!"

"Majesty," the Chamberlain murmured apologetically, "I cannot say for I do not know."

"Bah!" the King of Portugal threw back dismissively. "What good are you then you old fool. You are my chamberlain and you know nothing. I don't know why I keep you around me. Perhaps it is time to find a younger man to replace you. What do you say to that?"

"Majesty," the Chamberlain gasped in reply, bowing submissively as he spoke, "I dare not assume to think for you on a matter as important as that. However I am your servant and I have always been so and I will continue to serve you loyally in whatever capacity that you honour me with."

"Bah!" the king spat back again dismissively. "Enough of that for now for I have more important matters to discuss besides your loyalty or your career. The Spanish ambassador has avoided my court for the last day or so while all these events have taken place. Whispers have reached my ears that claim the man is behind these acts and others. With his ship sailing without my permission the question is raised whether the man has fled our company or not. If so then my sweet cousins upon the Spanish throne will hear of this insult in addition to whatever other charges I will lay at the man's feet. Send a guard immediately to his residence and inquire after Don Hugo. If the man is still in attendance within his residence, give him my compliments and have the guard request his attendance upon me forthwith. Do that at once and be quick about it. I wish to hear an answer within the hour."

"As you command Majesty," the Chamberlain replied, bowing once more as he spoke. "It shall be done."

"What is it?" Don Hugo growled hoarsely at the servant standing before him.

The servant was a common stable boy barely ten years old. He was short and thin and ragged looking both in appearance and attire. For the life of Don Hugo he just couldn't figure out what the boy was doing standing across from him in his private study. Stable boys weren't allowed within the ambassadorial residence. Who had let this filth into his presence?

"Forgive me Excellency," the boy stammered apologetically from where he had come to a halt before Don Hugo's massive desk. "I was sent to find you by the guards."

The guards, Don Hugo thought to himself, blinking sleep filled eyes as he did. Why would the guards want to speak with him?

Don Hugo had been asleep. Sometime during the night he had fallen asleep at his desk. He had been lying there with his head upon the top of his massive desk snoring away when the boy had woken him. His mind was still groggy from his fatigue and it lent to his inability to comprehend. Slowly he tried to remember what matters had consumed his night in such a manner that he would end up sleeping at his desk. At the same time Don Hugo tried to understand what would allow a stable boy into his presence. Something was obviously wrong within his residence. He just couldn't figure it out.

"Why did the guards send you to speak to me boy?" Don Hugo finally forced himself to ask. "Where are my pages and secretaries? Why aren't they here attending me this morning? It is morning is it not?"

"It is Excellency, although closer to midday than dawn," the boy stammered in reply. "As for why I am here Excellency, I was the only one that they could find this morning to fetch a message to you. Your pages and secretaries are missing."

"What is this?" Don Hugo exclaimed loudly a look of anger flashing across his face. "What do you mean my pages and secretaries are missing? Where have they gone?"

Don Hugo's outburst startled the boy and caused him to step backwards away from the man. The boy trembled with fright and tried to look away as he stammered out an answer.

"Excellency," the boy murmured softly in reply, "most of your household staff has slipped away this morning while you slept. They've run away!"

"No!" Don Hugo cried out forcefully. As he did the man threw himself to his feet. Then he slammed his fist into the surface of his desk. "That cannot be. You are lying to me boy."

"No your Excellency," the boy stammered in response, continuing to back away as he answered Don Hugo, "I am not lying to you. Most of your residence is now empty. That is why the guards have sent me. I was the only one available to carry the message that there were people at the gate looking for you."

"What people boy?" Don Hugo demanded to know, his face red with anger. "Who is at my gate demanding to speak to me? What are their names?"

"I don't know Excellency," the boy answered in a soft voice, still backing away from Don Hugo as he answered. "All I know is that they are Portuguese noblemen who have come from the King of Portugal. They demand entrance and an audience with you."

"They demand, do they?" Don Hugo shouted back at the boy. "How dare they demand anything of me? Those dogs will soon learn who is master here. I will deal with them in good time. Now tell me where my captain of the guard is? Where is Alfonso and why isn't he here reporting to me?"

"The Captain is gone as well, your Excellency," the boy responded, now standing in the open doorway to the study, looking as if he was about to take flight. "None of the guards know where he is."

"What?" Don Hugo shouted loudly once more. "How can this be? Where is Alfonso? Where is my captain of the guard? Answer me boy!"

The boy didn't answer Don Hugo. Instead he turned and ran. He ran down the corridor and then down the steps that led to the grand entrance to the ambassadorial residence. Then he fled the building. He didn't stop until he reached the stables. He certainly didn't halt when Don Hugo called after him to stop and he didn't stop when the guards called out to him to learn whether the Count de Cordoba would receive the Portuguese envoys that were waiting at the gate. He only stopped until the stable master grabbed him by the arm and hauled him up short.

"What is this boy," the old stable master asked in a voice filled with both annoyance and curiosity. "Why are you running like this? What is the matter? Speak to me and be quick about it or I'll give you a whack."

"Flee," the boy exclaimed in reply, looking up at his master with eyes filled with fright. "We must flee this place right now. The master has gone mad and ruin will follow any who remain here. We must flee or we will die."

With that the boy pulled himself free from his master's grip and he ran towards the stall that he shared with the other stable boys in order to gather up what meagre possessions that he had there, leaving the stable master standing in the aisle between stalls wondering what was going on.

"The man refused you an audience," the King of Portugal exclaimed with a look of utter disbelief upon his face. "I cannot believe that."

"He did your Majesty," the officer of the royal guard replied in a respectful manner, "or to be completely honest, his guards did when no word came from the residence saying that we could enter."

"Unbelievable," King Manuel stated, glancing about as he uttered the words.

King Manuel was still in his audience chamber being attended by his officers of the court and by those wishing to do business with him that day. Not much had been accomplished. The matter of the Spanish ambassador had taken up most of the morning and part of the afternoon. The king and his officers were engrossed in the topic and no one in the audience hall desired to broach another topic with the king. The fact was that most were more interested in what the Spanish ambassador had gotten himself into with the Portuguese court than in conducting their own affairs with the Kingdom of Portugal. From their perspective, those matters could wait. While only two men in attendance officially represented other powers, most knew that foreign governments would pay well to learn what was going on in the Portuguese capital. Who knew what the fallout would be once this matter had been resolved. Perhaps Portugal would be weakened by the events. Attendance was therefore important.

"I agree Majesty," the old chamberlain muttered in response a moment after his sovereign had spoken. "It is indeed unbelievable. To think of the insult that the man has thrown in our faces makes me filled with anger. A protest must be filed."

"Oh shut up you old fool," the King of Portugal snapped back at his chief advisor, "and let me finish speaking to this soldier."

The chamberlain gasped loudly at his master's rebuke but said nothing in reply. He did not move away and he did not turn his back on his king. Instead he just shut up and did as he was told. Those about him and the king said nothing as well. Their faces remained without emotion in the wake of the king's words. Only the young lieutenant of the royal guards looked embarrassed by his liege lord's outburst and even so the young man kept his mouth shut in response, waiting at attention while the king fixed his eyes upon him once again.

"The guards at the residence refused you entry?" the king inquired in a voice filled with curiosity. "Is that so?"

"Majesty, it is indeed so," the young officer replied. "My men presented ourselves at the gate to the residence which we found to be barred from within. Upon inquiring after the Spanish ambassador and asserting that the Count de Cordoba was still in residence, I presented myself to the guard on duty and demanded an audience with the Count in your name."

"The guard acknowledged that the Count was still in residence?" the king asked interrupting the young officer's narrative. "You are certain of that Dom Rodolfo?"

"Yes Majesty, I am certain that the Count was in residence," Dom Rodolfo replied. "The guard refused us entry until his master agreed to letting us pass the gate. From his behaviour it was clear that the Count was within the residence. The guard called for a boy to bear the message of my presence to the Count and he forced me and my men to wait within the streets until an answer returned."

"And the answer that returned was no?" the king inquired in a scornful manner.

"No Majesty, that is not so," Dom Rodolfo replied hesitantly. "The truth is that no reply returned whatsoever from the residence. We waited and listened to the voices speaking within. Eventually we heard the guard to whom I had spoken call out to the boy that he had sent within the residence. The man called to the boy several times but the boy did not answer him. The guard became angry and he cursed the boy but he still received no reply. At that point I called out once more and demanded entrance again. The guard refused saying that the Count was ill and not receiving anyone that day. With that reply I returned here to bear my news to you, Majesty."

"Incredible," the King of Portugal declared shaking his head in disbelief from where he sat upon his throne. "I just can't believe it."

"Majesty, such an insult cannot be tolerated." a tall, hawkish looking man spoke from one side of the room, drawing the king's attention to him, "With your permission I will muster the royal guards and we will drag the dog out of his lair and bring him to you in chains.:"

"A pleasant picture, Dom Agostinho," the king responded with a thin smile appearing on his lips, "but it is not something that would amuse my dear cousins, the King and Queen of Spain. While I commend you on your bravado and your willingness to defend the honour of my court I think we must act otherwise. If what I have been told is true, a new representative of their majesties will soon be in our court. When they have arrived and they have been properly introduced to my court then we will discuss with them how to best evict the Count of Cordoba from his lair. Until then I will be tolerant of his behaviour."

"But your Majesty," the hawkish man began to protest in reply.

"Silence Dom Agostinho," the king shouted down the man, glaring at him sternly as he did. "I have made my decision and you and all else will obey. For now Dom Rodolfo will command the royal guard and oversee their deployment. He will place men to watch the Spanish residence to ensure that the Count does not attempt to flee in the night. If he does, Dom Rodolfo may arrest him and bring the man before me. If he does not, then I will speak to the new Spanish ambassador and only then will I decide what to do next. Is that clear?"

Immediately all about the king bowed in submission, declaring as one that the king's words were clear and they would be obeyed.

Don Hugo had watched the boy run from him. He had shouted after the boy but he hadn't pursued him. He was a Count not a servant. He didn't chase after people. He had others do that for him. Instead of chasing after the boy Don Hugo had called out for a guard. Nobody had responded. He had called out several times before he had stopped calling. Not a single person had come in response to his calls. In anger and frustration Don Hugo walked over to the bell rope hanging behind his desk and he pulled it. He pulled it three times in quick succession. A faint ringing could be heard from somewhere far off in the residence. After a couple of minutes, Don Hugo pulled the bell cord again. Nobody came.

"Where is everyone?" Don Hugo cried out in frustration, speaking to thin air since no one had come to attend him. "Where are my servants and guards?"

No one answered him.

In the end Don Hugo stormed out of his study and walked forcefully into the corridor beyond it. The corridor was empty. He looked to his left in the direction of his private chambers and he saw that no one was there. He then looked to the right towards the staircase that led down into the main reception hall of the residence. Biting his lip Don Hugo headed in that direction.

Nobody was there. There were no guards standing duty in the hall and no servants working anywhere that he looked. He called out for someone to attend him but no one came in response to his cries. With each passing moment Don Hugo became more and more frustrated.

"This makes no sense," Don Hugo muttered to himself. "Where is everyone?"

Don Hugo didn't look outside the residence. Instead he walked the halls and looked into the various rooms. There was disorder everywhere. That didn't make sense to him at all. When had things started to fall apart to a point where his residence looked like it had been vandalised. Surely Diego would have noticed the staff not doing their jobs. Surely he would have done something about it. Where was Diego, Don Hugo wondered in silence? Why hadn't he put a stop to what had gone on in the residence?