Excerpt from The Judge Hunter by Christopher Buckley, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Balty's father, Alexandre, had been a prosperous if minor member of the French aristocracy, Gentleman Ordinary to the great King Henri IV. He was in charge of the King's Guard on that dreadful spring day in 1610 when his majesty was driven in an open carriage through the Tuileries. The guards lagged behind, preening for the ladies in the crowd. The fanatical Catholic François Ravaillac saw his opening and lunged, sinking his sword into the King. The King died quickly. Ravaillac's death was a more prolonged affair.

According to St. Michel family lore, never entirely reliable, Alexandre redeemed himself some years later when he plucked Henri's drowning son, King Louis XIII, from a pond after his horse threw him during an excited hare hunt. Thus he could claim the unique distinction of having got one king killed and another saved. A series of disastrous decisions had reduced him to his present station here in London, taking out patents for various inventions. One supposedly fixed leaky chimneys. It did not. Another was a device that rendered pond water fit for horses to drink. The horses died.

The proverbial apple did fall far from the tree. At twenty-four, Balthasar could claim no achievements, nor was there any indication of ones to come. The word "feckless" might have been coined to describe Balty. But his older sister Elizabeth, Pepys's wife, adored him and doted on him. For her, Balty could do no wrong. Pepys fumed that he could do no right. Pepys loved his wife, though fidelity was not chief among his qualities. And so it fell to Sam, again and again, to provide money and employment for his pointless, impecunious brother-in-law.

"As to Esther," Balty responded in a merry, conspiratorial tone, "we have news. We are with child."

This stung. Pepys and his wife had been trying for ten years to produce a child. Sam was more and more convinced that the hellish operation he endured to cut out his kidney stone had rendered him incapable. Elizabeth meanwhile was plagued by feminine cysts. God himself seemed against them.

"Well, Balty," Pepys said, forcing a wistful smile, "that is news. I am glad. Heartily glad. Bess will be very pleased to hear of it."

"That is, we might be with child." Balty threw up his hands to show his frustration at the impenetrable mysteries of conception. "I suppose we'll know at some point."

Pepys frowned. "Yes, I expect so. Now you really must excuse me. I've a great deal to do."

A clatter of hooves and carriage wheels came from the courtyard. Balty peered down. "A personage of significance arrives. Very lush carriage."

"Lord Downing."

Balty considered. "Downing ..."

"Sir George Downing." Balty made a disapproving face. "What, the one who lured his former comrades into a trap and got them butchered? Bloody Judas."

Pepys said sternly, "Have a care with your tongue, Balty. And for my position here."

"But surely you can't approve of such a man as that? It was monstrous, what he did. Perfidy of the lowest—"

"Yes, Balty. We all know what he did. For which service the King created him baronet. Those he lured were among the men who'd condemned the King's own father. Try to bear that in mind, amidst your deprecations."

"I find him despicable. Honteux."

Pepys agreed with his brother-in-law. Privately. He confined his own indignation about Downing—"perfidious rogue," "ungrateful villain"— to his diary.

"Downing is Envoy at The Hague. And the King's spymaster. He's a powerful man, Balty. I'd urge you to keep that in mind before you go emptying your spleen in public houses. His lordship's not someone you want for an enemy."

"I shouldn't want him for a friend." Balty sniffed. "Not after what he did to his."

"Well, what a pity," Pepys said with a touch of pique. "I was about to suggest the three of us take tea together. Now really, Balty, I must say good day to you."

Excerpted from The Judge Hunter by Christopher Buckley. Copyright © 2018 by Christopher Buckley. Excerpted by permission of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.