by Smith, Skye
"So what is happening?"
"Every village and town is becoming an armed camp, whether Catholic or Protestant. All roads into a place are blocked by manned barricades. Roving gangs of young men from both sides make every road dangerous for travel. Did I say both sides, well that is too simple. There are many sides.
There are the rebel leaders who Spain has sent home to Ireland as provocateurs. There are the rebel leaders of the Gael clans. There are Norman-Irish leaders and Norse-Irish leaders who don't represent their folk so much as what remains of the Catholic Lords. There are English-Irish leaders and Scottish-Irish leaders who don't represent their folk so much as the king's Lords. Lastly, there are the leaders of the king's garrisons and castles who are taking bribes from all sides."
"Is anyone protecting the real folk, the farming folk whether they be Irish, English, or Scottish?"
"Of course not, and that is why there are so many roving gangs. You see, all the leaders are fighting for control of the forts and castles, so the farming villages have been left defenseless and are being pillaged from all sides. The whole of Ireland is just one looming disaster waiting to happen, or rather, waiting to be triggered. There will be a famine there this winter."
"So have you decided to join your family to my clan and come with us to Bermuda? Just make sure that you have an even number of converted ships so that you can raft them in pairs for the crossing."
"I am giving it serious thought,” Robert admitted. "When?"
"When the North winds stop blowing and the trade winds begin again. March perhaps, or April. Certainly before the tropical storm season. If we aren't ready by May then we must wait for the summer winds and go the northern route by way of Newfoundland and double back a bit to find Bermuda." Daniel wondered why he was telling this to a man who knew it as well as he did.
He tossed the purse of gold back to Robert, "You can pay me for the wine once you have finished converting the ships to Bermudan rigs."
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The Pistoleer - Pirates by Skye Smith Copyright 2013-14
Chapter 21 - Escaping the King's clutches in January 1642
Yesterday Daniel had walked alone through the slippery and mean streets of London to Warwick House to visit with his step-daughters, only to be told that the great House was never used in the colder months because it was impossible to keep it warm. A half gale was blowing the rain sideways so he had returned to Cheapside rather than walk to Westminster where apparently the Earl kept another, smaller manor leased from the Abbey.
Today was a much warmer day because there was no wind. This time he was escorted by Robert Blake as they walked towards the gate of that 'smaller' house, which was still as large as a London Coach Inn. From the gate there was a fine view of the backside of the Palace of Westminster across its wide grounds. There was another man, with a cloak as fine as Daniel's, already at the gate speaking with the gatekeep.
"But the Earl has already left for Westminster Palace,” the gatekeep told fine-cloak, "and he took her Grace and her two nieces to show them the House of Lords. They will be there by now."
"But I bring him a dire warning to stay well clear of Parliament today,” fine-cloak replied.
"Why, what is happening at Parliament?" Daniel rudely broke into the conversation out of worry for his daughters.
"Surely not another riot?" Blake added. "I thought Colonel Lunsford had been curbed and now Lord Byron is the commander of the Tower garrison?"
"Not a riot this time,” fine-cloak replied, "I wish it were. Nay, yesterday John Pym refused the Kings offer to become the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and in his rage at the refusal Charlie commanded the Attorney General, Edward Herbert, to indict Pym and the other leaders of the Reform Party for treason. I carry a letter from Lucy, Countess of Carlisle to Earl Warwick that warns him to stay clear of Westminster today." He pulled a sealed letter out from under his cloak.
"I will see that his Grace is handed it on his return,” the gatekeep said as he reached through the bars to take the letter.
"If he returns,” Blake said as he snatched the letter away, pulled his knife from his belt, and began to slit the wax seal.
"No sir, you mustn't! That is most private correspondence,” fine-cloak yelled out and tried to grab it back. As reward for his concerned loyalty, a dagger blade was pushed close enough to his throat to shave him. Daniel's hiss of, "freeze" made him go instantly still.
"This is a warning, for sure, but not for Warwick so much as for his son-in-law, Lord Edward Montagu. Oh, and it lists some others." Blake read out from the list, "John Pym, John Hampden, Arthur Haselrig, Denzil Holles, and William Strode." He motioned to Daniel to ease his blade from the man's throat. "You say you are the countess's man. Will the guards let you pass into the House of Lords."
"Yes, of course," the man replied. "I often carry messages to the Lords."
"Then you will come with us to Westminster Palace to deliver this letter to Warwick in the House of Lords,” Blake told him. "I should still be able to pass into the House of Commons so I will warn Pym and the others. Agreed."
As soon as fine-cloak had agreed, Daniel let go of him, sheathed his knife, and then dashed into the road and hauled down on a bridle of a trap horse to pull it to a stop.
"Ere, you," complained the trap driver, "I already have a fare." The words had no sooner left his mouth than he found himself staring down the barrel of a small pistol. The man with the pistol let go of the bridle and then walked to the rear of the trap and ordered his young gentleman fare to step down.
Now that Daniel had already caught them a ride, and seeing some men racing over from Warwick's stables to support the gatekeep, Blake decided it would be prudent to calm tempers with silver, so he fished out his purse. The men on the other side of the gate proved how good they were at catching the coins tossed to them.
Daniel called to the men on the other side of the gate, "Do any of you know the Providence Company's warehouse near to Queenhithe?"
To the man who grunted 'yes', he said, "You must ride there with all speed. Tell whoever is in charge to get some of the Earl's Trained Band to Westminster Palace as fast as possible, and armed for trouble. Do you understand?" The man nodded as soon as the gatekeep gave him a thumbs up.
Blake passed the man more of the coins through the bars. "Here take these coins to speed your way."
"Oye," their newly hired messenger called to the tall man at the trap, "Who shall I say the message is from?"
"Captain Daniel,” he replied. Meanwhile Blake hurried fine-cloak into the trap and then hopped in after him. The road was just wide enough for the trap to u-turn, and then it was away at a break neck clip that had strollers along the gentile boulevard yelling at them in anger to slow down.
At Westminster Palace, they followed fine-cloak through a side entrance used by messengers and servants and the like, and at a T in the hallways, he ran one way carrying the letter to the main hall of the House of Lords, while Blake and Daniel ran the other way towards the entrance to the House of Commons. With Blake in front and yelling pleasantries to the clerks who were taking attendance at the door, they were through before the clerks realized that MP Blake was no longer on their list.
Most of the members had yet to take their seats and instead were milling about in small groups and lost in urgent conversations. Blake saw their friend Henry Marten off to the left and so he pushed his way through the other members to reach him. "Henry, there is big trouble, are you carrying?" It was a rhetorical question because Henry always carried his small, wheellock pistol, when out and about in London. His small pistol was the mate to Daniel's, as they had both been bought at the same time.
"Of course. What is happening?" Henry replied without finishing his remark to the MPs he had been speaking with. Why would he continue with inane pleasantries when two Dutch trained pistoleers had just rushed up to him and were asking questions about his gun. It could only mean that the news they carried meant l
ife-or-death for someone.
Blake gave Henry a quick summary and the names of the men to be arrested, and then told Henry, "Find out who else in here is carrying, and have them block the main doors. We'll take Pym and the rest out the servants door." He had said all this in a loud enough voice for all around to hear.
A strong hand grabbed at Blake's arm and swung him around. "I am carrying,” Arthur Haselrig told him, "what can I do to help?"
"You are on the list of men to be arrested with Pym,” Blake told him. "Find Pym and guard him. On the way, if you see any of Hampden, Holles, or Strode, take them with you."
Meanwhile Daniel had seen Strode, the man he had once rescued from arrest at his home near to Plymouth. A half dozen strides took him to the man's side. "William, they've come to arrest you again. We must get you out of here. Do you know where Pym is?"
Strodes face crumpled in grief and fear. His dozen years in prison for defying Charlie had left him with a morbid fear of ever being imprisoned again. "Not again." He sucked up his courage, for he would not have this man, of all men, see his fear. "Come, Pym is already sitting down ... his illness you know."
By the time Daniel and Strode got to Pym's seat, Blake had already gathered all the rest on the arrest list. With the five threatened men in tow, and Daniel covering the rear, Blake led them through the small door off to the side of where the speaker sat, a door usually used only by pages and other messengers. He grabbed at a page and asked him where the closest door out to the grounds was.
"There is no door close by,” the page replied. There is our page's door near the front hall, to the side of the main front door, or there is a trades entrance at the back."
This was bad news. If there were only a front way and a back way, then both would be watched by now and everyone knew John Pym by sight. Blake shrugged at Daniel as if to ask which way? Daniel picked up a heavy bench and bashed it through a low slung colored glass window, and then used the wood of the bench's legs to clear out the shattered glass from the frame. When it was safe to do so without being cut by shattered glass, he stuck his head out and looked down to gauge the drop to the ground. Less than six feet.
"Robert, William, you two out first and then I will lower Mr. Pym down to you. Once his feet are on the ground, draw your pistols and keep him safe. Within a minute the five members and Blake were all through the window and standing on the grass. Three of them had pistols drawn. "Take them to Warwick's house across the grounds,” he called out to Blake. "I have to go and make sure that Teesa and Britta are safe. We will meet you at Warwick's house."
He didn't wait for an answer, but turned and ran back into the great meeting hall of the Commons to search out Henry to tell him of the escape route. He dodged and pushed his way through the growing number of alarmed members until he reached the front door where Henry and some others were using their bodies as a barricade. Into Henry's ear he whispered how Pym and the others had escaped through the side window, but were still at some risk of capture on the open ground between the palace and the road which led to Warwick's house.
Henry, always a man of decision, immediately ordered the others in the barricade to come with him, and they marched across the great hall towards the side door to catch up to Pym and hopefully keep him safe. Daniel did not follow. Instead he rushed the other way through them to gain the entrance hall and then pushed and shoved his way towards the main door of the other great hall where the Lords met.
The call had not yet been given to clear the House of Lords of visitors, so there were still many women about, and no one was sitting. Daniel slowed his pace so he would be more inconspicuous and then used his height to search for Susannah, Britta, or Teesa. They would be far more noticeable than Warwick, who would be dressed formally in black and surrounded by others dressed in black. He spotted the women, or rather, he spotted the ring of men around Britta, and pushed his way towards them.
By the time he reached the women, who were standing but a few yards from Warwick, he realized that there was already trouble in the House of Lords for Montagu. Some of the other Lords already had Montagu in hand, and Warwick was arguing with them. He stepped up beside Susannah and asked, "What's the problem? What can I do to help?"
Susannah turned away from the woman she was standing with and smiled with relief, "Oh thank God it is you captain. Some of the king's favourites are making trouble for dear Lord Mandeville. They say they are going to hold onto him until the king's guards arrive to arrest him. Please do something before my husband says something foolish and is taken as well." Then to the other woman, "You see Anne, there is nothing to fear. Daniel will save your Edward."
So the other woman must have been Montagu's wife, and one of Warwick's daughters by his first wife. With a nod to Teesa and Britta as he walked by them, Daniel stepped up beside Warwick and listened to a bit of what was being said. No matter how eloquently Warwick and Montagu spoke about the rules of order and the sanctity of a Lord within the House, the others were just nodding pleasantly. Delaying tactics if ever he had seen them. Delay until the king's guards arrived.
He stepped forward directly into the lord holding Montagu's right arm and ground his heel down onto the man's toes. The man did the natural thing of trying to pull his foot free of the pain, but his foot was not be freed, so instead he lost his balance and began to fall. Though he tried to regain his balance from his hold on Montagu's arm, he lost his grip when someone rapped the barrel of a pistol against his knuckles. He went down in a crash of chairs.
The man holding Montagu's other arm suddenly had the same pistol barrel stuck painfully up his right nostril and so he let go of Montagu without saying a word. The friends of the two struck lords looked on but froze still. These snap attacks were not the sort of behaviour they expected in the House of Lords where violence was always preceded by posturing and threats.
Daniel pushed Montagu towards Warwick and told the both of them to get the women out of here, then he turned and walked backwards in their wake with his pistol pointed towards the group of the king's favourites. It was slow going through the throng of onlookers, but the favourites seemed to be in no hurry to charge a gun that was being held so steadily.
Unfortunately the regular guards posted at the main door must have realized that something was very wrong. The drawn pistol would have been a likely clue. The sergeant ordered his two men to block the way of the party of men and women now making their way towards the door, and seemingly leading the man holding the pistol. His men decided that the order 'to block' would be safer executed with the women than with any of the men, and both leaped at the chance of 'blocking' the same women. The pretty one with the buxom cleavage to die for.
Daniel was still walking backwards. Behind him Britta screamed, but Daniel couldn't afford to look around with the king's favourites now bravely dogging him ... from a safe distance. He then heard some other screams but they were more like the howls of men than of women, so he continued to back towards the door. He almost tripped over a guard who was curled up on the floor holding his shin with both hands and sobbing in pain. There was another guard sat in a chair staring at the blood pumping out of a long cut across the back of his hand and wrist.
"Press down on it, lad,” Daniel told him, "until it stops bleeding. If it doesn't stop, then find a woman to stitch it together." He backed through the main door. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Teesa standing to one side holding a very ornately dressed guard at bay with a filleting knife that was already dripping with blood. He aimed his pistol at the guard and told Teesa, "Catch up to Britta. This one won't follow you if he wants to live."
A number of other lords, including two of Warwick’s partners in the Providence Company ... Fiennes and Greville, were just outside the door in the entrance hall, and as soon as Daniel was through the door, Warwick had them rush forward to block the door with their bodies. "Where is Hampden?" Warwick asked.
"By now hopefully his is sipping brandy at your Westminster house with Pym and the res
t. Follow me and we can use the same escape route." Daniel was herding the four women along as he was saying this. It was far easier and quicker to follow the admirably dressed women, as the throngs of ever more agitated men all parted to allow them through. The agitated men were all dressed like undertakers, so all parliamentarians.
The final crowd that the women had to navigate was the crowd of pages inspecting the broken stained glass window, but they quickly thinned when a call came down the corridor from their master. "The king has arrived and has entered the House of Commons. Fetch all the members and tell them to take their seats. His Majesty wishes to address them."
There was no time to lose, for wherever the king was, so were his lifeguard, and there would be a lot of them and they would be well armed. Daniel squeezed out through the smashed out window and dropped to the ground. Montagu, who was far younger than Warwick, then lifted and lowered each of the women down to him, and then with the help of a scurrying page, he pushed Warwick's bulk through the window and steadied him while Daniel took his great weight and lowered him to the ground.
Montagu was the last down onto the ground, and he soon caught up to his wife Anne who was right behind Susannah who was in the lead crossing Westminster's grounds towards her winter house. Behind them they could hear the shouts of men who must have been coming around from the front of the palace. A warning shot was fired, but none of the men or the women following Susannah turned to see. Their best tactic was to pretend they had not heard any of the "in the name of the King" calls.
From quick glances over his shoulder, Daniel realized that the men running towards them must be of the Yeomen of the Guard, the king's own lifeguard, for who else would wear such gaudy uniforms. There was another warning shot, but this time he was glancing backwards at the time and saw that it was from a pistol. None of the lifeguard carried muskets. They must be armed as light cavalry with a pistol and a sabre.