What’s Widge's relationship with Simon Bass in The Shakespeare Stealer?

Widge is little more than Simon Bass's glorified servant. That's certainly how Simon sees the relationship. In his guise as Falconer, Bass gives the orders, and Widge follows them to the letter.
Technically and legally, Bass is the master and Widge his apprentice, as Bass bought his apprenticeship for the princely sum of £10 upon discovering Widge's skill at shorthand. But there's definitely more of a master/servant dynamic to their relationship than a master/apprentice one. After all, a master's supposed to teach certain skills to his apprentice. But Bass doesn't really teach Widge anything; he simply has him go off to the Globe and transcribe the dialogue of Hamlet. Bass is using Widge for underhand purposes, making him not just a servant but a co-conspirator in a criminal enterprise.