Courtier in the Royal House of Stuart

by Leslie Hatton

  ‘Travelling to where?’

  ‘Portsmouth and Chatham docks for sure, but there may be others.’

  Anne looked at me, and then down at her lap, thinking and fidgeting with a loose strand of cotton from her dress. I put my arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on mine, we both content and happy just being together, each lost in our own thoughts.

  ‘Is there any way we could meet on a regular basis… somewhere we could be on our own?’ she asked.

  ‘I have money, so I could rent a place somewhere, perhaps even buy one, but for now I think we should wait to see what happens, we will know soon enough what to do when things settle down. Who knows, your father may even decide that he likes me, I think your mother does.’

  I snapped a lilac flower head off the bush and handed it to her, she inhaled its perfume and laid it on the bench by her side.

  ‘I’m sorry I missed seeing you on your birthday in May Toby, but I was thinking about you I promise.’

  ‘And I missed yours too, and yet here we are, still together after ten years, both now twenty-two years old and still unmarried.’

  ‘But we are promised to each other, and I know it will happen one day,’ she said.

  We stayed there beneath the lilac bush talking and watching the river for almost two hours, until I noticed she was shivering. I then put my coat around her and we walked slowly back to Princess Mary’s quarters.

  ‘I think I should kiss you here before we go in,’ I said.

  ‘No. I want to make them all jealous, we will kiss in front of them all.’

  ***

  I returned to St James’s Palace after my spell in Westminster gardens with Anne to be told that the Duke of York was waiting for me in his office. I found him talking to two well-dressed gentlemen in long coats, smart shoes and white silk hose. When I entered the office he ended the conversation, they shook hands and then left, acknowledging me with a friendly nod as they went on their way.

  ‘Toby. On Monday morning I want you to make your way to Seething Lane, it’s near the Tower.’

  ‘I know where it is sir.’

  ‘Good. I want you to find the office of Sir William Batten. Introduce yourself as my administrator, he will be expecting you. He’s going to Chatham for a few days and I want you to go with him. Learn from him and find out exactly just what a Surveyor of Ships does, and then report back to me.’

  ‘Administrator?’ I asked.

  ‘Overseer might be a better title, but I don’t want him to think you are there to spy on him.’

  ‘Which is exactly what I will be doing. Now tell me just what is it I will be overseeing?’

  He smiled sideways at me. ‘Just be a little discreet. Batten is going to take an inventory of essential equipment, everything from gun carriages to cannonballs and all things in-between, including gunpowder… especially gunpowder. Eventually I want the same done for every ship in the Royal Navy, but I doubt even you could do that in a day,’ he joked. ‘You will be starting at Chatham which is a place you are familiar with, and while you are there, if you can find the time… do a proper check of Upnor Castle.’

  I was excited at the challenge facing me and couldn’t wait to get started. And with Seething Lane being not much more than a mile from Fleet Alley, I could kill two birds with one stone and visit Veronica on the way home.

  I travelled by water fairly early on Monday morning, arriving at Tower Wharf at around nine o’clock. I found Batten’s office, knocked and entered.

  There was a couple of clerks behind desks already working, scribbling in ledgers, also a woman sweeping the floor.

  ‘Is Sir William in?’ I enquired.

  ‘He usually comes in at about nine-thirty sir,’ said one of the clerks, ‘would you like to wait?’

  I sat in a corner thinking about the job and hoping it was a proper one, and not just a job created for my benefit. However, I need not have worried, at the end of a few days working and observing, I realised it was indeed good and important work… work that was endless… a job for life if I could stick to it. I also thought it was too big a task for just one person.

  At exactly nine-thirty Sir William Batten came bursting into his office like a whirlwind.

  ‘Ah… you must be the duke’s man.’

  ‘Yes sir,’ I said, ‘I am looking forward to working with you Sir William.’

  ‘Splendid… come through to my office.’

  For the next hour he talked. But not about the job in hand, or what was expected of me, he talked about himself, about his adventures as a captain of a whaler in the Arctic, his time in the Royal Navy and his skirmishes with Dutch privateers in the North Sea. It all sounded amazing but I wanted to know why I had been ordered here in the first place. He then changed the subject and talked about his governmental duties as a Member of Parliament for Rochester… referring to parliament as the mad house.

  I knew he was a family man with a wife and children. I estimated that he was probably in his fifties… and there was no question that he was prosperous and influential.

  He was large in stature with an untidy beard covering the lower part of his face, he had a large belly which hung over his belt and he was certainly a jovial and cheerful chap to his friends, but probably not so to his employees.

  ‘Ever been to sea Toby?’

  ‘A few times sir.’

  ‘Ever been to Chatham?’

  ‘I stayed there overnight at Hill House with the Duke of York when we came home to England just last month sir.’

  ‘Well you will be going there again the day after tomorrow, are you all right with that?’

  ‘Certainly sir, I look forward to the experience.’

  ‘Good. We will travel by carriage so I will expect you to be here early on Wednesday morning. Now I will tell you what is expected of you. Your job is to assist me and then report back to the duke. I want you to tell him just how hard I work, and that whatever he pays me is not enough.’

  He then laughed out loud… a booming loud laugh that I imagine could be heard down the street in the Tower.

  He then handed me a document containing lists of items. I glanced briefly through them and found them to be comprehensive and wide-ranging. Things I didn’t expect to see such as victuals for the galleys and relatively small items like rope, hemp and tar. But also larger more important items such as masts, sails, cannons, gun carriages, cannonballs and gunpowder. The main storage units for gunpowder are the Tower of London and a secure warehouse in Portsmouth.

  ‘You can leave the gunpowder to me,’ he suggested.

  I wondered why so I decided, where possible, I would take a special interest in the gunpowder.

  He ordered one of his assistants to make coffee, and then spent more time talking about his adventures.

  Eventually he seemed to become bored with talking, and I was able to leave his office clutching reams of documents… promising as I left to be on time on Wednesday morning.

  I would have liked to have walked to Fleet Alley, but as I was loaded up with Sir William’s papers, and still carrying a purse of gold coins, I decided to take a carriage.

  I was anxious to get back to St James’s Palace to study Sir William’s papers properly, and if possible to find some time to visit Anne at Westminster Palace. But my priority at that time was to see Veronica. I had not been to Fleet Alley since returning home to England and was feeling guilty for not going there sooner.

  It’s not often that customers use a carriage when visiting a brothel, so when mine stopped outside Madam Veronica’s house on Fleet Alley, not surprisingly there was a certain amount of interest… especially when I jumped out leaving the driver waiting outside.

  There were tears of course and lots of hugging from Veronica. Even George seemed pleased to see me, easing himself out of his chair to slap me on the back and shake my hand.<
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  There were only four of Veronica’s girls in the parlour and I could only recognise two of them, Christina and Helen. They were now older, no longer girls but beautiful young women.

  ‘Where is Elizabeth?’ I asked.

  ‘She is with a friend canvassing for business outside the Exchange.’

  ‘Tell her I’m sorry to have missed her, and that I will come back again soon.’

  ‘Come into the back room,’ said Veronica, ‘I want you for myself for a while… I have so much to ask you.’

  She sat me down, looked me straight in the eyes and took hold of my hands.

  ‘Now tell me Toby, what you have been up to?’

  I told her I was now a squire but a squire with as yet no land or property. I told her about my new job and that I was now working for James, Duke of York. I explained the reason I was here on this side of the city, and that I was now back living at St James’s Palace.

  She asked about my girlfriend and I promised to arrange a meeting… thinking and hoping that it would be possible.

  ‘I regret having to leave you so soon,’ I said, ‘and I promise to come back, but before I go, I wanted to give you this.’ I handed her the purse containing half my gold coins. ‘Save them or spend them. Just don’t let George see them, he will only want to take them down to the Swan or some other tavern and then you will never see them again.’

  ‘Where did you get all this money?’

  ‘It’s all legitimate, I earned it.’

  ‘I can’t take this from you, why don’t you invest it? Ask Thomas Hudson, he will advise you.’

  ‘I already have, and he said the same as you. He also said you would not take the money. But can you not think of it as payment for looking after me when I was orphaned, spend it or save it, at the moment I have no use for it?’

  ‘I will never spend it, but I will keep it safe for you until you do find a use for it.’

  Veronica had tears in her eyes as I climbed back onto my waiting carriage, and although I knew they were tears of pride, I could not help feeling wretched for not staying longer, knowing as I did the sacrifices she had made for me over years, loving and cherishing me, raising me as her own. It was at that moment that I made a promise to myself to make more effort in bringing her back into my life.

  ***

  Once again I went by water, but this day was much colder than the last, and there was an eerie mist on the river. As I stepped off the wherry at Tower Wharf I shivered, so pulling up the collar of my coat, I set off at a brisk walk to Sir William’s office on Seething Lane, arriving a few minutes before nine o’clock.

  A man in his thirties who I had not seen before handed me a steaming hot mug of coffee.

  ‘I am Arthur Crossley,’ he said looking at me and smiling. ‘I think I will be working with you for the next few days.’

  ‘And what will Sir William be doing while we are working?’

  ‘He likes to take care of the business side of things.’

  It was then Sir William entered the office slamming the door behind him. He was just as loud and flamboyant as ever, but he still managed to acknowledge me with a cheerful, ‘Good morning Master Toby.’

  He then dropped a large leather case on his desk and said, ‘Take care of that for me Arthur.’

  Our coach for Chatham turned out of Seething Lane at 10am with Sir William sitting next to me and Arthur sitting opposite. We crossed over London Bridge and turned left towards Greenwich, and later across country in the direction of Rochester and the Medway.

  Sir William was amusing, keeping us entertained most of the way by talking about his adventures, or telling jokes. But after an hour or so of continuous chatter, his voice became tedious and boring. When he did eventually go quiet it was because he had fallen asleep, breathing heavily at first and then snoring.

  Arthur smiled and began to mimic his boss by puffing out his cheeks and stroking an imaginary beard.

  We arrived at Hill House just after three in the afternoon, Sir William waking with a start.

  ‘I must have a piss,’ he announced.

  For the next two days I worked alongside Arthur, taking notice of what he did and what was expected of him. He seemed to be mainly just taking inventories and ticking items off lists, sometimes making notes in the margins. I could see no point in me doing the same, and I did not really think lists were what James wanted from me, and if at any time he did, I could quite easily copy Arthur’s work at a later date, and in half the time.

  I was more concerned on matters I thought would be of interest to my employer, such as the price of manufactured goods, provisions and labour costs, and most importantly, the bottom line cost to the treasury, rather than lists. I was more interested in areas where I thought there were shortages or where improvements could be made… renewals and repairs.

  I enjoyed working with Arthur, helping him count cannonballs, barrels of tar and a host of other inconsequential items. All of which may have been vital in the whole scheme of things, but to me were insignificant and certainly not what would have been of interest to James.

  During our lunch break on the third day, after just completing the check on our fourteenth ship, I apologised to Arthur for leaving him on his own, and set off on foot to Upnor Castle, telling him I had been ordered to prepare a report on the castle for the Duke of York.

  It took me only a few minutes to walk there, and I was pleased to find when I arrived that Captain Woods, the officer in charge, recognised me from my previous visit, and that he was more than happy to escort me round the castle, giving me valuable information that I might otherwise have missed.

  Upnor Castle looked formidable enough commanding a dog-leg in the Medway, but it was obvious to me that its weakness was in its inadequate firepower.

  ‘How did a bunch of dock workers manage to capture the castle from armed soldiers?’ I asked Captain Woods.

  He stifled a laugh before answering. ‘It was more like a handover than a takeover. They came over the curtain wall in this corner,’ he said pointing to his left. ‘They used a ladder… we helped them up and made them welcome. When Oliver Cromwell died two years ago, we all expected King Charles to return. And when we were told that he had named his son as protector in his place… I can tell you the whole country was in despair. Everybody thought the new leader to be a fool and parliament no better… we were all desperate for the return of the monarchy and helping the dock workers take over the castle was our small but effective contribution in getting him back.’

  ‘What else can you tell me about the castle?’

  ‘We are understaffed and low on arms and ammunition. If there was ever a serious attack on this castle, we would not stand a chance.’

  He then took an hour walking around with me, pointing out anything he thought might be of interest.

  ‘Thank you Captain Woods, when I make my report to the Duke of York, I will make sure that he is aware of your help.’

  ‘Thank you sir. Come again if you are ever in this area.’

  ***

  The following Monday I handed James my reports. Upnor Castle being first on top of the pile. I was still not too sure just what he wanted of me, and waited while he read part of the report out loud, repeating word for word just how I had inscribed.

  ‘You say the curtain wall is too small and that you think the fault is in the design?’

  ‘That’s my assessment sir, it’s not nearly high enough… a determined assailant could quite easily get over the wall using a ladder.’

  ‘Queen Elizabeth built the castle and it is too late to complain to her,’ he joked. ‘You go on to say that the castle is undermanned and that there is a shortage of armoury, in particular cannons, cannonballs and gunpowder. That’s a damning report Toby.’

  ‘It’s just as I see it sir.’

  ‘Well I can put in a few more canno
ns and increase manpower. But I can do nothing about the curtain wall. But I thank you Toby… this is exactly what I was looking for. Good work.’

  ***

  I knew that at some time in the future I would have to return to Chatham. There was so much work there and it was obvious, even to me, that we had only just scratched the surface. But next time I intended to go alone, and by horse, that way I could get there in half the time. After Chatham there was Portsmouth which no doubt would take even longer.

  While Princess Mary was so poorly and my Anne so sad, I decided to work in the docks at Deptford, knowing that I could return home to see her every day.

  Through my position as a courtier in the Royal Household, and also because I was the personal assistant of the Duke of York, I was now well-known in all official buildings and palaces in the city, which meant that whenever I made my way through the passages of Westminster Palace to Princess Mary’s rooms, my presence received little more than a passing glance from the security guards.

  I was pondering on whether or not to ask Anne if she would like to see the execution of Major General Thomas Harrison at Charing Cross. He was a nobleman who had been found guilty of regicide for supporting Cromwell during the civil war, and was to be the first of many due to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Fortunately, I realised in time that it was a stupid idea, and that Anne would take no pleasure in seeing a man murdered just for choosing the wrong side, especially while her mistress Princess Mary was so poorly. However, I did have some news that I knew would please her. Just yesterday on the 22nd of October, her friend Anne Hyde had given birth to a healthy baby boy who was to be called Charles Stuart in respect to the king.

  I found Anne in the same room, sitting in the same chair as she was the last time I called, but this time she was on her own… a closed book on her lap and looking blankly into space, her thoughts on something a million miles away.