The Quality of Mercy

The Quality of Mercy
Faye Kellerman

A thrilling story set in Elizabethan London, from New York Times bestselling author Faye KellermanOne wrong move could lead to death…1593. Rebecca Lopez, daughter of Queen Elizabeth’s physician, enjoys a seemingly privileged life at Court. Yet she guards a dangerous secret. She is Jewish – and her forbidden faith could bring her downfall at any moment.One night, infuriated by the restrictions imposed upon her, she slips out of her household, disguised as a boy. There she crosses paths with a dashing and daring young man – a young man by the name of Will Shakespeare.As a dutiful Jewish daughter, Rebecca never considered falling in love with such an unsuitable man. But as she and Will become ensnared in a dangerous web of intrigue, secrets and murder, they must protect each other if they are to escape alive…

The Quality of Mercy

Faye Kellerman

Copyright (#u030dea56-f839-5cb7-82fc-d99598947c89)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in the United States by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 1989

This ebook edition published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019

Copyright © Plot Line, Inc. 1989

Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018

Cover photography © Shutterstock.com (http://Shutterstock.com)

Faye Kellerman asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © April 2019 ISBN: 9780008293543

Version: 2018-12-12

Dedication (#u030dea56-f839-5cb7-82fc-d99598947c89)

For Jonathan.

And for Barney Karpfinger: Diogenes,

stop looking, I found him.

Thanking the translators: Maribel Romero,

Phyllis Elliott, and Miriam Lewis.

And a special thanks to John and Mary Jane Hertz—

two people worthy of their titles.

Map (#u030dea56-f839-5cb7-82fc-d99598947c89)

Contents

Cover (#u02bb7b44-c93f-5725-be8e-4c9036ebffdd)

Title Page (#u9fcfcdde-9d03-5789-afb2-79b940226f43)

Copyright

Dedication

Map

Lisbon, 1540

Chapter 1

London, 1593

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13