Simon Merrivale is an agent with British Intelligence.
Well, back in 1338 when the first recorded adventure takes place, there was no such entity, obviously, but since espionage and counter-espionage have been around since the dawn of civilization, having someone Merrivale involved in such activity is not unusual, no matter who calls the shots. Merrivale's exact title is King's Messenger, a representative of the English monarch who is also, apparently, tasked with a lot more than standard diplomacy.
He is 26 years old, though he is told by an elderly, wise woman that he looked older. To be fair to him, though, he was badly injured and on the run from a failed mission to Savoy to bribe the ruling Count there to declare war on neighboring France in conjunction with England's ongoing struggle. The machinations and political intrigue and bribery and extortion that we learn about is pretty intense and Merrivale still had time to fall in love with the bastard daughter of Jean of Bohemia. [If you are interested in risking getting lost in the allegiances and conflicts, this is a great read. I spend a good deal of time with a search engine.]
Merrivale had grown up "a gentleman's son, his father the lord of the manor" in the area of Dartmoor, north of Plymouth, England. Torrential unceasing rain flooded the land and the crops rotted and disease grew and all of his family succumbed as did most of the populace of the region. With nothing left to hold him, and wondering why he was one of the few to survive, he made his way to London and eventually to his current position as King's Messenger.
As we follow him after the intrigue in Savoy almost cost him his life and he struggles to be back to England and his liege - as we are told by him, "Death was the only thing that prevented a King's Messenger from carrying out his duty" - he will find that vicious lies had been told of him and that same liege was ready to remove his head from his shoulders. After that, things get really, really interesting.
Good Lines:
- Said by Merrivale of a man whose offer of a job he disdained, "Bishop Aubert is a rectum in human form".
- Said by a former enemy and possible ally of Merrivale, "There are times when even I can be trusted".
- Said by a noblewoman, "Knights are always contemptuous of money, until they want some".
- Said of the current King's mother, Queen Isabella, "she spends money like most people pass water".