Cavalier Courtship

by Oliver, Marina

  Before making his attempt with the jug, he decided to search the rest of the room in case he found something more suitable, but there was only a chest, the lid of which was locked, and the fireplace, which was empty and cold, and did not offer up even fire irons. Feeling his way back to the bed, he sat down and clumsily wrapped the jug up in the filthy blanket which was the sole covering provided. Now came the riskiest moment of the enterprise. He hoped the blanket would muffle sufficiently any noise of the breaking jug. Taking the chair, which was the only substitute he could find for a hammer, he raised it behind him awkwardly and brought it down on to the bed. He had to make three attempts before he hit the jug, but a faint tinkle told him he had at last broken it. Sitting down, he fumbled with the blanket until his searching fingers came upon a piece of the jug. It was a fairly large piece, and he was able to feel the edge was sharp, to his immense relief.

  After these exertions he was aching all over the upper part of his body, and had to take a short rest, but anxiety to be free soon forced him to start the tedious and heartbreaking task of sawing at the cords round his wrist. It seemed like an hour or more before he felt the first strand give, but after that they broke more easily, and at length, with an extra effort, he was able to burst the final few with a jerk of his arms.

  Half unable to believe he had succeeded in freeing himself, he sat there massaging his arms and wrists until they felt more normal, then he began to plan the next step in his escape. He felt his way to the window, and looked out. To the right, a faint glow was in the sky, and he knew it was almost dawn. There was no time to be lost, and he must get away from this place as soon as possible.

  He realised he could not tackle the troopers at once, on his own, and must find help. His smuggler friends would, he was certain, give him the assistance he needed, and they were, by his reckoning, only three or four miles away. He must leave Caroline for two or three hours, and hope no harm came to her before he got back. He was optimistic, as it was likely the troopers would not be about for an hour or more, and from the snippets of conversation he had overheard as he was being brought to the inn, it seemed the Colonel had business in Hythe for most of that day. If that were so, he had time to rescue Caroline, though he would dearly like to settle accounts with the Colonel while he was about it.

  The window opened easily. Obviously the troopers had been confident he could not escape from his bonds and get out that way. He smiled grimly. He could, in the faint light, see the ground below, and that there were no obstacles in the way. The inn was old, with low ceilings, and the window was set low in the wall. If he hung by his hands, he could not have more than three or four feet to drop. But even had it been forty feet, he must still have made the attempt, for only he could prevent the fate the Colonel had promised Caroline earlier. He had no illusions that the Colonel's chivalry would save her. Only he could do so.

  He swung his legs over the windowsill, and turning round, lowered himself as quietly as possible until he was hanging by his fingers. He let go and almost immediately hit the ground, which was soft and muddy. Philip looked around him. There were bushes a few yards away, and he dashed for these. He did not dare take a horse from the stables, for fear the noise would waken the troopers, so he set off quickly along the Dymchurch road, keeping hidden as much as possible till he was out of sight of the inn.

  Alternately running and walking, he covered the four miles to the smuggler's cottage in just over forty minutes, and fell panting against the door, thumping it with his fist.

  There was already smoke coming from the chimney, and the door was soon opened. The man behind it looked surprised at so early a visitor.

  'Well, what is it?'

  'Jemmy, don't you recognise me?' asked Philip, still somewhat short of breath.

  'Why, Mr Martin, of course! But you look in a sorry state.'

  Philip realised for the first time how muddy he was and his clothes were torn after his fight the previous day. He looked ruefully down at himself.

  'Come on in,' went on Jemmy. 'Mary has just made some porridge and you look as though you need something warm inside you.'

  Philip went into the neat little cottage, to be welcomed kindly by Jemmy's wife, who was young and comely, and had three tiny children clinging to her skirts. He willingly accepted the bowl of porridge, but in between mouthfuls, told Jemmy the story of the chase and capture.

  'So you see, I must get weapons, for my own sword was taken away from me, and go back as soon as possible. I can't leave her in that brute's hands for longer than necessary. Will you help me, Jemmy? They are rather too many for me to tackle alone.'

  'Of course I will help you, and so, I wager, will Bob and Will,' Jemmy replied, referring to his brothers who lived near by.

  'Can you get horses and some sort of weapons? I care not what they are so long as they are effective!'

  'Leave that to me. I think clubs and swords be preferable to pistols, they're less noisy and less messy! Now bide here while I fetch Bob and Will, then we will make a plan of campaign. Why, it's like old times, when we fought together with the French.'

  He was struggling into his coat as he spoke, and then left the house, smiling encouragingly to Philip.

  Mary meanwhile had produced some bread which she cut into large manchets, and cold meat. She urged Philip to eat, and despite his anxiety he ate well. He had not fed for twelve hours, and they had been exciting, tiring ones. He had another hard day in front of him, too.

  *

  Within ten minutes Jemmy returned with his brothers, who were both known to Philip since they had often taken him across the Channel. They sat down, while Mary plied them all with food, for none of them had yet had time to breakfast.

  Philip had his plan ready, and he swiftly explained it to the men. They nodded in agreement, asked for details on a few points, and then Jemmy, armed with a club and a description of the Colonel, set off on his own sturdy pony towards the inn. He was to hide near by to watch for the Colonel leaving the inn to go to Hythe.

  Philip and the others bade Mary farewell, and went to get mounts for themselves.

  They borrowed two extra from a friend, for Philip and Caroline, and set off after Jemmy.

  They rode until they were less than half a mile from the inn, hidden from it by a slight rise in the ground, then they tethered the ponies in a large barn owned by a farmer who often joined in their smuggling activities, and who would ask no questions on finding the five ponies there, since Jemmy had already left his own mount there earlier. Leaving plenty of hay for the ponies, they set off towards the inn. They were able to keep under cover of bushes to within a hundred yards of the inn, and there they found Jemmy, lying down in the dewy grass.

  'The Colonel went out alone about ten minutes ago,' he informed them, 'but just after that four troopers rode up and stabled their horses. It looks as though they intend to stay a long time.'

  'Damnation!' exclaimed Philip, for the presence of these extra men upset his plan of attacking the inn at once, while there were only three troopers there. 'What the devil has happened? He ordered the ones that were injured to remain in Hythe till he went in this morning.'

  'One of them had a bandage round his head,' offered Jemmy, 'and another was limping badly.'

  'Then it seems he has sent for reinforcements. He could hardly have reached Hythe and sent them here himself.'

  'I expect they discovered your escape, and sent one of the men in to fetch the others,' suggested Bob, and after some more speculation they accepted this as the most likely solution.

  Philip began to make alternative plans.

  There were now six men to deal with, without the Colonel, and though he felt reasonably certain of being able to cope with them, he dared not risk failure, or one of them getting away to raise the alarm, for Jemmy had told him there was a large garrison of troops in Hythe.

  He decided to try and deal with them individually, until as many as possible were eliminated before the others became alarmed, and they be
gan to suggest ruses for separating the troopers. Bob finally produced the first feasible suggestion.

  'I'll go running to the door, and tell them there's a band o' smugglers landing cargo along the coast. They are bound to send one or two o' them to see, for the rewards are good for folk that can catch the smugglers.'

  The others laughed, and Philip agreed to try it. They planned their movements, and the three of them went along towards the coast to lie in ambush, while Bob approached the door of the inn.

  It was opened reluctantly by the old crone, and Bob demanded to see the troopers. 'I know you have some staying here, for I saw them arrive,' he said, when she demurred. Ignoring her protests, he pushed his way past her into the little parlour, where he found the troopers. He quickly noted there were indeed six of them, while he told his story.

  'There's a boat on the sands, and it's just landed from the south. I'm certain they're smugglers, for I could see barrels being lifted over the sides.'

  'In daylight?' asked one of the men.

  'Aye. 'Tis sometimes done, when they are in a hurry and think no one is around. Mayhap they do not know of the Hythe garrison.'

  'But I thought all the folk on the Marsh were smugglers, or at least protected them,' said another soldier, looking closely at Bob.

  'We God-fearing folk do not agree with going against the law o' the land,' said Bob piously, improvising rapidly. 'Besides,' a cunning look came into his eyes, 'some o' they farmers will not give an honest man work. They prefer to take on the smugglers. I been out o' work for nigh eight months, and I could do with some of the reward for catching the varmints.'

  The troopers laughed, and Bob breathed a sigh of relief. He had for a moment thought that his story would be questioned.

  'What say we go and look into this fellow's story?' asked one of the men.

  'You know the Colonel ordered us to stay and guard his little playmate upstairs,' answered another.

  'He won't be back till dark,' said the first.

  'It don't take six grown men to guard a slip of a girl. Let a couple of us go, at least just to see what's going on,' suggested a third.

  'There is also that devil who got away from us last night. We don't know where he is, so we have to watch for him too, in case he turns up with some crazy idea of rescuing the girl.'

  'She must be a hot piece if he's as mad as that for her,' sniggered the man with the bandage.

  'Oh, there's no harm in two of us going.'

  'They offer big rewards. And we haven't seen much of our pay lately.'

  'We'll share the reward if we catch them.'

  'You're sure to catch them,' put in Bob. 'And as I brought you word of them, I expect to get the biggest part o' any reward.'

  They laughed at him.

  'Equal shares for all of us,' said the one who appeared to be the leader.

  Bob shrugged. 'Oh, very well. But if you don't hasten, they'll most likely be gone, and there'll be no reward for any o' you.'

  There was some discussion on who should go with Bob, and it was decided two of the uninjured troopers should accompany him. They primed their pistols, and set off, with Bob leading.

  *

  Outside the inn, he went along the Dymchurch road, and after a few hundred yards turned off to the left towards the sea.

  There were sand dunes and a few scrubby bushes, and Philip and the others would be waiting hidden behind the thickest of these. Bob led the way past the bushes, then threw himself down to the side. As he did so, Philip leapt out and hit one of the troopers on the side of the head with the hilt of the sword Jemmy had found for him. The man dropped soundlessly to the ground, and Philip turned to see that Jemmy had dealt similarly with the other trooper. Luckily their pistols had not gone off, and the whole business had been carried through with the least possible noise.

  'Tie them up, and gag them,' said Philip, looking anxiously back towards the inn, but there was no one in sight, the inn itself was hidden except for the rooftop.

  Bob was helping his brothers tie up the troopers.

  'I was scared their pesky pistols would wing me,' he confessed somewhat shame facedly, to explain his dive into the sand.

  'You did well,' said Philip. 'Did you hear anything of value? How many of them are there?'

  'There were six o' them. They were guarding the girl, but they said the Colonel would not be back till after dark.'

  'We should be able to get rid of the others before then,' mused Philip. 'But I would like to leave that devil some reminder of this day.'

  'Get the girl out and then wait for him,' suggested Jemmy. 'We cannot set sail before midnight, so you will have plenty of time to deal with him.'

  'Well, let's put these two in a safe place and see what we can do with the others.'

  Picking up the troopers they made their way back to the barn where their horses were tethered, and threw the still unconscious men on the straw at the far end.

  'We'll arrange for old Jones, the farmer, to come and release them once you are set sail,' Jemmy said, when Philip asked how they could dispose of them safely.

  'He can pretend to come on them by chance, and there'll be nothing to point to any of us.'

  'Good. Now for the others.'

  This was more of a problem, since when their companions failed to return, the others would be very much on their guard.

  'Mayhap they'll send out one of the others to look for them,' Will said. 'We ought to get as close to the inn as possible, so we can take any chances that offer.'

  Philip agreed, and as no one could make any positive plan until they knew what was happening at the inn, they made their way back there, lying down as near as they could safely get to keep watch on the place.

  For a long time nothing happened. It was approaching midday, and Philip was anxious. Then suddenly they heard the sound of hooves on the road. Looking towards Hythe, they were dismayed to find a band of about twenty more troopers approaching.

  'Let us hope they go past,' whispered Philip, but his hopes were in vain. The troopers halted at the inn, and after tethering their horses in the now overcrowded stableyard, they all pushed into the small building.

  'I'll wager they are stopping for a drink,' said Jemmy, but without a great deal of conviction in his voice.

  'We must find out,' said Philip, desperately worried. 'They may take Caroline away with them. They are too many for us to tackle alone. We should have attacked while there were but four of them!'

  'They don't know me,' said Jemmy suddenly. 'I'll go there and pretend I'm on the way to Hythe, and see what I can find out.'

  Philip considered, then nodded.

  ' 'Tis the only way. We cannot plan any more till we know whether they are staying or going.

  Jemmy set off away from the inn, and when he was out of sight, he began to walk back, along the road, as if he had just come from Dymchurch. He went up to the door and inside. The others could only wait in great suspense. Jemmy found the tiny parlour crammed with troopers, some sitting on the few stools and benches, others sprawling over the tables, but most standing. The old crone and the lad who was employed to help serve the occasional wayfarers who patronised this poor place were scurrying round attending to the shouted commands of the men. There were two other civilians there, hidden almost from view as they crouched on the settle at the side of the fireplace, pushed up into one corner by the brawny trooper who occupied the rest of it. Jemmy recognised them as a local farmer and a notary from Hythe, and he made his way over to them.

  'What's this?' he asked, indicating the soldiers, 'an invasion?'

  He spoke loudly enough for the nearest troopers to overhear, and one of them turned to him with a laugh.

  'Not yet, my brave fellow,' he said. 'We are but on patrol, but it seems the dolts here have lost some of their men. We seem to be needed for a search party.'

  He indicated the centre of the room, where the captain of the troop was listening to another trooper, who had a bandage round his head.

&nbs
p; Jemmy wondered whether to try and lead them astray, but thought it would be too suspicious if he maintained he had seen the troopers on the road, yet the others failed to find them. At that moment the captain stood up, and banged on the table with his mug.

  'Well, lads, it appears that two of the men left here by Colonel Masters have disappeared, in somewhat mysterious circumstances. A man came in and claimed he had seen smugglers down on the beach, and they went with him to investigate. Also, one of the prisoners, having been left bound in an upstairs room, escaped during the night, or was rescued. We will, apart from the already injured of Colonel Masters's men, go out and search for them. The escaped prisoner is tall, dark, dressed in the Cavalier style, with a dark red coat and matching breeches. He must be brought in, dead or alive, if he is still in the area. Now, you three – '

  He began to issue directions to small groups of the men, and they went out in twos or threes, to fetch their horses and ride in various directions. Jemmy slipped out of the door into the passage, but as he reached the front door, he felt a hand on his shoulder, roughly dragging him back.

  'Hey, you. Who are you and what's your business?'

  He turned, to find one of the troopers regarding him suspiciously.

  'Let go! I am on my way to Hythe, and I'll thank you not to interfere with me!'