The Shadow of Tyburn Tree rb-2

by Dennis Wheatley

  "And so, Sire," the British Minister concluded. "Since I have failed you as a diplomat I am come to offer myself to your Majesty as a soldier. Having been trained in arms as a young man I have some knowledge of artillery; and if my country is dilatory in honouring its obligations, I can at least prove my belief that she will yet do so by acting as if Britain was at war with Denmark, and dying in our united cause."

  Gustavus embraced him, vowing that no man could have done more, and that he accepted his offer with deep gratitude. After talking gloomily together for a little they then parted for the night. .

  Next morning Elliot, although still suffering from a fever, threw himself into the work of defence. There were several British ships in the harbour, and taking Roger to assist him, he mustered their crews and addressed them. He told the officers and men that Britain had pledged herself to assist Sweden in her war against an unjustified aggression, and asked them to join him in honouring their country's obligation by taking part in the defence of the city. To a man they agreed to do so, and as all the ships carried cannon there were many good gunners among them. Under his direction the British seamen cheerfully set about disembarking their pieces and manhandling them through the streets to the redoubts where they were most needed.

  Yet, after seeing the miserable, makeshift state of the defences, Hugh Elliot confessed to Roger that he saw small hope of their holding the city in the face of a determined assault. All that he had seen during the morning had made him so pessimistic of Gustavus's chances of successfully giving battle to the Danes, and escaping being made their prisoner on the fall of the city, that at mid-day, when they re­joined the King, he told him that he had determined on writing yet a third letter to Prince Charles in an eleventh-hour attempt to induce the enemy to negotiate.

  The letter was written and despatched to Uddevalla by a galloper early in the afternoon. After that they could only continue with their feverish preparations against attack and wait, with such fortitude as they could muster, for what the night might bring.

  In the middle of the night the messenger returned with a despatch which stated that, while the Danish forces would continue their pre­parations for a mass assault on Gothenborg, Prince Charles was pre­pared to give the British Minister an audience the following day.

  The relief of Gustavus and his entourage was immense. Yet they recognised that their lives and safety still hung in the balance, and the outcome of the interview was awaited with feverish impatience.

  Mr. Elliot departed for Uddevalla at dawn on the morning of the 7th, taking Roger with him to act as his confidential courier, but when Roger returned to Gothenborg late that night he could only report that negotiations were proceeding. Between six a.m. and one p.m. he had covered the sixty miles with Hugh Elliot in his carriage, and between four in the afternoon and ten at night he had done the return trip on horseback, so he again slept the sleep of exhaustion.

  At eight o'clock next morning he set out again, to see if he could secure more definite tidings which might lift the sense of doom from the anxious and breathless city; but when he reached Uddevalla Hugh Elliot had none to give him, so he slept there that night.

  On the morning of the gth there was a further conference, and after leaving it at mid-day the British Minister said to him with a wry . smile: "Half-a-loaf is better than no bread. I have succeeded in inducing the Danes to grant King Gustavus an eight-day armistice. You have well earned the right to inform him of these good tidings, for what they are worth, so ride on ahead and tell him. I feel desperately ill, so shall follow more slowly in my carriage to give him full particulars."

  Roger rode all out and reached Gothenborg by five in the after­noon. Gustavus received his news with the utmost thankfulness, and asked him how he might reward him for bringing it. Roger then told him how he had been forced to abandon his Star and ribbon in a dungeon at Schlusselburg; upon which the King promptly replied: "I will make you an Officer,of the Order, for no man has better deserved it!" and presented him with his own Star, mounted in diamonds.

  At ten o'clock Hugh Elliot arrived and gave the King details of his negotiations. On the carrying out of very modest stipulations the Danes were prepared to cease hostilities and evacuate their entire army to Norway.

  Gustavus was utterly .amazed and could scarcely find words to express his gratitude; but the diplomat warned him that nothing de­finite had been agreed, and that the Danes had only consented to aban­don the conflict on the confirmation of certain eventualities. Tired out but in a far more optimistic frame of mind, Gustavus and his suite sought their beds.

  Hugh Elliot and Roger were sharing a room in the English mer­chant's house, and when they reached it Roger said:

  "Tell me, Sir! How did you achieve this miracle?"

  The Minister sank upon the bed. His thin face was flushed and his eyes unnaturally bright, as he replied: "I can make no secret of it from you, since you are intimately involved. I could not find it in my­self to stand by and witness this great city, with all its people, become the spoil and plaything of a brutal invader. Upon my own responsibility I took a high tone with the Danes and threatened them with the destruction of their whole kingdom did they not instantly desist from their invasion of Sweden, and withdraw."

  "S'Death, you did!" gasped Roger. "And this still without orders from Whitehall?"

  "I said that I had received fresh despatches, though 'twas not the truth," Hugh Elliot admitted with a feeble smile. "I wrote in my third letter to Prince Charles as follows: 'At this very moment war is per­haps declared against Denmark by Prussia and England, but if your Highness will consent to what I propose, I will immediately despatch couriers, if possible, to stop the invasion of Holstein by a Prussian army and the sailing of our fleet'. 'Twas that alone which gave him pause. Since then I have elaborated this supreme bluff and half-persuaded them to believe that they would do better to accept a present humiliation and eat humble-pie before Gustavus, than find themselves the victims of the wrath of two mighty powers which have already taken up arms to destroy them."

  "You have all my admiration, yet I tremble for you," Roger exclaimed. "For if the bluff be called, what then? And how will you fare if our government at home repudiates the ultimatum that you have issued in its name?"

  "As to myself, I care not," the ill man replied. "But by the honour of England and the saving of this brave Swedish King I set great store. And 'tis in this, my friend, that you also are concerned. The armistice that I have gained for Gustavus extends only for eight days from midnight to-night. If the Danes do not receive definite con­firmation within a week that either a Prussian army is mobilising to invade Demark from the south, or that a British fleet is preparing to sail against them, they will know that I have lied, and the game will be up."

  He paused for a moment, racked by a fit of coughing, then went on: "In the matter of the Prussians we can do nothing. Before I left Copen­hagen Von Rhoda promised me that he would do his utmost to persuade King Frederick William to despatch troops to the Danish frontier. He will have the backing of Mr. Ewart, our Minister in Berlin, who played so great a part in founding the Triple Alliance, and of that good friend of ours, Prime Minister Von Hertzberg; but whether the King will agree to commit Prussia to war on Sweden's account no man can say. Therefore we must forget the Prussians and place our hopes only in what we may achieve ourselves. One final effort must be made to induce my Lord Carmarthen and Mr. Pitt to realise the imperative necessity of instantly publishing an order for the despatch of a fleet. You alone can tell them of our frightful situation at first hand. So at crack of dawn to-morrow you must go aboard the fastest British ship that is lying in the harbour here and get you off to England."

  "But..." Roger began.

  "I know!" The Minister waved his scarcely begun protest im­patiently aside. "You are flunking again of that wife of yours in Copen­hagen. Well, what of her? You told me yourself that you married her only because you were forced to it."

  "Even so," Roger obje
cted quickly. "I made my vows to her in an English church. She loves me, and I am determined to honour them to the best of my ability."

  "Who seeks to prevent you? Not I." "The diplomat shrugged wearily. "But she is safe and well cared for where she is. Surely you will not set her temporary inconvenience against a chance of saving ten thousand Swedish matrons and maids from being exposed to the licentious assaults of the brutal Danish soldiery?"

  Roger thought miserably of Natalia Andreovna. She was now an exile. He had brought her out of Russia, and without a moment's notice, deserted her in Denmark. He had not even given her an opportunity, as yet, to ask him those questions about his family and status, to which she had every right to expect an answer. He had promised that he would rejoin her within a week, and seventeen days had already elapsed since he had abandoned her in the middle of their honeymoon. Now he was called upon to leave her marooned among strangers, with no further news of him than that he had sailed for England on urgent business, and would get back to her somehow, sometime, when his services were no longer required. To her it would appear abomin­ably callous treatment, and few courses could be better calculated to disrupt the marriage that, once committed to it, he had determined to do his best to make a happy one.

  Yet, what else could he do, other than agree to Hugh Elliot's request that he should set out for England in the morning? So much hung upon it. The fate of nations was involved; the lives and happiness of scores of thousands of people, and, above all, the honour of his country.

  "So be it," he sighed. "I will write her another letter, explaining matters as well as I am able. May I rely upon you to ensure it being conveyed to her by a safe hand; and also to see that she does not lack for funds during my absence?"

  "Indeed, I will; and I shall consider Mistress Brook to be my per­sonal charge until your return. I, too, must pen a letter, for you to cany with you to my Lord Carmarthen. Let us set about it before I am quite overcome by this fever that assails me."

  There was a table in the middle of the room with quills, ink and paper on it; so they sat down opposite one another and commenced their respective tasks.

  As Roger began to write it struck him with grim humour that the excuse he had invented to cover his leaving Natalia had now become the truth; so there was little that he could say except that, Mr. Elliot still being without a trustworthy courier now required him to go to England. He sugared the bitter pill as best he could with en­dearments, perfectly truthful protestations that he was compelled to go entirely against his wish, and promised that he would rejoin her as fast as a ship could bring him back to Denmark.

  When they had done they sealed and exchanged their letters, doused the candles, and pulling off their neckbands flopped still dressed upon their beds.

  In the morning Roger took his leave of King Gustavus, who presented him with a miniature of himself set in brilliants, and assured him that he would always be an honoured guest at the Swedish court. Then he accompanied Hugh Elliot down to the docks.

  He had come ashore from the White Rosewearing his sword, but his pistols and all his other baggage had been left behind with Natalia in Copenhagen; so, on the way to the harbour, he bought a few toilet articles and a couple of changes of linen.

  Since speed was of the utmost importance Elliot chose for Roger's voyage a full-rigged ship, the Bonny Brideout of Leith. Her captain, Hamish McDougal, at first protested most strongly against his ship being commandeered, as he was already freighted with a cargo of goods for his home port. But the British Minister would take no denial, and the King's business taking precedence of all others Captain McDougal had to resign himself with such grace as he could muster to preparing to set sail for London.

  In spite of the marital complications in which Elliot had landed him, Roger had conceived a great admiration for the diplomat, and the desperate days they had been through together had made them firm friends, so they took leave of one another with reluctance and genuine affection.

  The bosun and his mates were sent ashore to collect the crew from the dockside dives, then they were despatched to recover the ship's cannon that had been landed three days before. A stock of fresh meat and vegetables was procured, and four hours after Roger had come on board the Bonny Brideput out to sea.

  In a ship carrying so much sail Roger expected to reach London in from three to four days, but it was not to be. On passing out of the Skager Rack that night she was met by an ominous calm which lasted for some hours, then at four o'clock in the morning a tempest of extraordinary violence suddenly broke upon her.

  For two days and nights Captain McDougal fought the storm with all the courage and tenacity for which his race are justly famous, but on the second night he lost his foremast, and after its upper part had been cut away, it was hurled back by a great wave end on against the ship's side, doing her considerable damage.

  Roger was a moderately good sailor but not good enough to stand up to really bad weather, and for hours on end he was terribly ill, so knew little of what was happening.

  On the third morning the storm eased somewhat and he came on deck. He knew that the foul weather must have delayed them but hoped that they might be running down the east coast of England and that after all these months he would be able to get a sight of his native land. To his disappointment he could see nothing but a waste of heaving grey-green waters, then, to his horror and dismay, Captain McDougal told him that they had been driven several hundred miles out of their course and were now somewhere off Norway.

  Worse was to follow. At mid-day the Captain managed to get an observation and, finding their position to be approximately 620 N., 3° E., decided to put into Bergen, to have urgent repairs done before proceeding further. In vain Roger stressed the urgency of his mission, cursed, pleaded and finally threatened. Captain McDougal refused to risk his ship and crew by remaining at sea a moment longer than he had to, and would not even consider the suggestion of making for a port in the north of Scotland. Early the following morning, Sunday the 14th of October, the Bonny Bridelimped into Bergen. Roger had hoped that he might find another ship there sailing in a day or two for a British port, but he was disappointed; and if he attempted the ghastly journey of three hundred miles over almost trackless mountains to Kristiania there was no guarantee that he would have better luck there; so he decided that it would be best to remain where he was for the five or six days which it was estimated the repairs would take.

  Muffled in his cloak against the cold, he spent most of his time watch­ing the shipwrights at work, in a fever of impatience for them to be done; but it took a full six working days to render the Bonny Bride sea-worthy, so it was not until Sunday the 21st that she put out from the bleak Norwegian port.

  The weather was now moderately good, so they made an average passage and entered the estuary of the Thames late on the night of the 24th. At dawn on Tuesday morning Roger landed at Gravesend and took the first coach to London. On arriving there he went straight to Downing Street and sent his name up to the Prime Minister.

  He was kept waiting for some twenty minutes, and during them he brooded miserably, as he had done almost uninterruptedly through his waking hours of the past ten days, on the possibly disastrous results of his belated arrival. The voyage that he had expected to make in four days had taken him fourteen. The armistice of eight days that Hugh Elliot had secured from the Danes had expired on the 17th and it was now the 25th. Unless some drastic measure had been taken since he left Gothenborg the city was by now probably in ruins and Gustavus killed, captured or a fugitive King who had lost his throne.

  It was Roger's first big failure; and although he knew that it had not occurred through any .lack of diligence or foresight on his part, that did not alleviate his feeling that he had badly let down those friends in Sweden who had relied upon him.

  At length a footman took him upstairs and showed him in to Mr. Pitt, who was still in his morning-robe drinking coffee. As was his custom Roger went straight to the point and, producing his letter
, said:

  " 'Tis from Mr. Hugh Elliot, Sir, and should have reached you ten days ago, but I was delayed by tempest. You will see that it is addressed to my Lord Carmarthen, but if I am not come too late, every moment may still be of vital importance, so I decided to bring it straight to you."

  "You were right in that," said Mr. Pitt kindly, after a swift look at Roger's face. "Sit down and pour yourself a cup of coffee while I read it."

  Roger did as he was bid, stealing an anxious glance now and then at the Prime Minister, whom he thought looked older and frailer than when he had last seen him. There also seemed to be a curious air of detached helplessness about his expression as he skimmed through the letter. Having finished it he tossed it aside as casually as if it had been a vulgar broadsheet, and remarked almost tonelessly: "I had news out of Denmark yesterday. The armistice has been prolonged for a further period of a month."

  "Thank God!" Roger exclaimed. "Then I am not, after all, come too latel"

  The Prime Minister shrugged his shoulders. "If it is of any comfort to you, Mr. Brook, you may rest assured that had you arrived ten days ago it could have made little difference."

  "You mean, Sir, that you had despatched a fleet already?"

  "Nay; and I have no intention of doing so."

  "What say you!" cried Roger, springing to his feet. "But Britain's word is pledged in this. And yon, of all men, cannot play the shuffling politician nowl You mustsend the aid that you have promised to King Gustavus."

  "You use strong words, Mr. Brook," the Prime Minister frowned.

  "No stronger than my feelings, Sirl" Roger rapped back. "And if excuse be needed 'tis that you have hitherto encouraged me to speak my mind to you."

  "Aye; that is true," Pitt agreed more gently. "And on that score 'tis I who should ask your pardon. Yet what you propose cannot be done. Mr. Elliot has acted with a courage that does him credit, yet he has gone beyond his instructions and I cannot publicly endorse his statements. Neither can I despatch a fleet; for I no longer have the power to do so."