Caribee

by Christopher Nicole

  'Better quality than the Warners, and ever faithful to the throne,' Uncle Edward declared.

  'Too faithful, Mr Warner. Did not old Tom Jerningham raise these parts in support of Bloody Mary?'

  ‘In support of his rightful queen, my lord.'

  'Undoubtedly. But she was a papist. As was he.'

  'All of seventy years ago, my lord. Since then all loyal men have changed their opinions.'

  'Which were a worthless statement to His Majesty. I beseech you, Tom, take heed of my words. I know not why I trouble myself, and here I speak the truth. You have ever been a wayward soul. Had you but conducted yourself as a courtier when I gave you the chance, you might have had a title by now.' 'My lord ...'

  Warwick held up his hand. ‘I criticize in a carping spirit, Tom. The man in me honours your recalcitrance. The friend in me bemoans it. Shall I tell you why you are yet at liberty? It is just because you have nothing worth taking. Buckingham and his family have little interest in any criminal, even, be he not possessed of a thousand a year. Yet your name crops up at court, too often.'

  Then you risk yourself, my lord, in coming out here,' Edward Warner observed.

  'Saving that no one outside this room knows that I am here, Mr Warner, which is exactly why I made my visit in this manner. But I care little for myself, in this matter. For good or ill, Tom has been my friend for twenty years. I would he thought enough of me to take my advice.'

  'Which would ber" Tom demanded.

  Warwick sighed, and shuffled his feet once again, and glanced at Winthrop.

  'You'll remember John Carver, Tom?"

  ‘I remember his name. Did he not flee to Holland to avoid the hangman?’

  Winthrop nodded. 'Leyden. With many others of his belief.'

  'Puritans,' Edward Warner muttered.

  Their numbers grow, daily. And not all take themselves to Holland.'

  ‘I do believe you're one yourself, at heart, John,' Tom smiled.

  ‘I believe in liberty of conscience, Tom. And so do you. As for the other, the worship of God is too precious a possession to be submerged beneath acres of incense and stained glass, to be managed by men who think more of the burden on their table than the burden on their souls.'

  'Mr Winthrop,' Warwick said. ‘I did not come this distance for a religious dissertation, sir. Indeed, I shall pretend I heard not one of your words, and will be obliged if you would start again. But if I may give you a word of advice, as a friend, even Christ prescribed that a man should render unto Caesar what is his. So do you attend the church on a Sunday, and for the rest of the week believe what you will'

  Winthrop's turn to sigh. 'Yes, my lord. I did not mean to embarrass you. The fact is, Tom, Carver and his associates would leave Holland. They fear that they will become Hollanders themselves, and all appearances to the contrary, he is as loyal an Englishman as yourself. And besides, this dreadful war in Germany comes too close, with Spinola on the march. Carver has obtained a grant of lands in north America.'

  'Virginia,' Tom said, with contempt to equal his brother's.

  'Not so. Farther north.'

  The man's a fool. If Raleigh with all his experience could not make a success of the Virginia colony, where will Carver make a success of a less hospitable clime? And there is not the slightest chance of his discovering gold there.'

  'He does not seek gold,' Winthrop observed, patiently. 'Nor even wealth. He seeks a place a man may live, and be healthy, and worship God as he chooses, begging your pardon, my lord.'

  'And you'd invite me to ship with a Puritan? John, did I not know you so well I'd take offence'

  'He has need of fighting men,' Winthrop observed mildly. 'You'll have met John Smith?'

  'An adventurer'

  'A good man to have at your side, in a set to. But Smith has none of your experience, Tom. Now hear me out. My lord of Warwick feels that it would be a wise thing for you to leave England. Carver's band is the best available means at this moment and it is a settled matter. They have even procured a ship. They will not turn back now. But Carver is not your future, Tom. I will let you into a secret. I also seek a grant, and it will not long be delayed, now. There will have to be money spent on it, but it shall be done'

  'You, John? You'd give up all this?'

  'All what? A few farms? A certain solidity which all but stifles me?" He raised his hand. ‘I'll say no more, my lord. Suffice it is that I see my future home in America. But it will take me a few years yet to prepare, and I doubt you have that long, Tom. Go with Carver, but be ready to join me when I call for you. You'll have experience of the terrain, of the conditions, of the aboriginals. You'll be my right arm, Tom.'

  'You have the devil's own tongue,' Tom muttered, and glanced at Warwick.

  The nobleman shrugged. 'Mr Winthrop and I agree that it would be best for you to leave England, certainly, Tom, and I further agreed to allow him first application for your services. But you are right in your estimation of the northern part of the Americas. A barren, bitter place. I have talked with those who came back from Jamestown. Yet is that vast continent the place of the future. I have also obtained a grant.'

  'You, my lord?' Even Winthrop seemed surprised.

  'And why not? My colonists will at least not lack financial support.And my grant is for the lands surrounding the Oyapoc'

  ' 'Tis in Guyana,' Edward cried, before he could stop himself.

  The men turned to look under the table. Then Warwick burst out laughing. 'Why, so it is, boy. You know your geography. But yet far removed from the Orinoco and the Spanish sphere. You'll remember Harcourt? He planted a colony there a few years back.'

  'And it died also,' Winthrop observed.

  'For lack of support. Now, Tom, my men shall do nothing of that nature. Roger North will command. He may be young, but he is ambitious and I have confidence in him. The fleet fits down in Plymouth, and will load for the better part of this coming year. There you have the only reason I'd not go down on my knees and beg you to accompany them. A year may prove too long for you.'

  'But in any event, Guyana is an unlucky place,' Winthrop said. 'You'd do better in the north, Tom.'

  Tom Warner looked from one to the other, and then at his wife in the comer, and smiled, which nowadays was sufficiently rare. 'Gentlemen, you flatter me. What, two such brilliant men bidding for my services? To carry your swords for you? Mistake me not, I am flattered. Indeed, I thank you for your concern on my behalf, from the bottom of my heart. But sir, whatever the faults of my ancestors, whatever the faults of my own quick tongue, I have served this king too long and too truly for me to ever to believe that he would wish me harm. With due respect, my lord, I was quite unfitted for the Lieutenancy of the Tower. I knew it ere I had been in residence a year, and yet I would not give it up, partly out of gratitude for your own great interest, and partly out of my own stubbornness.' Tom ...' Warwick began.

  'You'll pardon me, my lord. There is another reason why I shall remain here, and hope to find better employment before long. 'Tis a secret to now reveal to you. I shall be a father this year, for the third time.'

  There was a moment's silence, and heads turned to regard Rebecca, who bent low over her sewing.

  'My most hearty congratulations, Tom,' Winthrop said.

  'You'll accept mine as well,' Warwick said. 'And I would beg your forgiveness, and yours, Rebecca, for all this careless talk which would seek to deprive you of your husband at such a time. Then I will redouble my efforts on your behalf at court, Tom. As you say, His Majesty will not forget one of his most faithful servants, when it is put to him properly. We'll have you a regiment of foot before the spring. Now I will take my leave.'

  'You'll not spend the night, my lord?’

  ‘It would be my pleasure, Tom, but I must be at court by noon tomorrow, which means that I must travel at least part of the distance tonight. You'll accompany me for a while, Mr Winthrop?'

  'Of course,' Winthrop agreed, with some regret. 'Again, my congratulations,
Tom. Perhaps you'll ride over to visit me, before too long.'

  Edward Warner heaved himself from his chair. ‘I'll see you to the door, gentlemen. Tis truly sorry I am not to have the pleasure of your company for a trifle longer.'

  The men left the room, save for Tom and Berwicke. Tom remained by the fire, shifting from foot to foot. ‘It had to be done,' he muttered.

  'And I have no grudge on that score, Mr Warner,' Rebecca said softly. ‘I would also say that my lord of Warwick and Mr Winthrop spoke a deal of good sense. There is no future for you here. Were you to decide to join Mr Carver's expedition, I would be more than happy.'

  'But...'

  'Your brother and Jane will see that I do not want, and I could join you, with the children, whenever the babe is strong enough to travel. Depend upon it, there will be more ships travelling west should the colony prove to be a success, and should it prove a failure, why, then, will you not be back in short order, in any event?"

  Tom smiled, and held out his hand for another glass of the mulled wine. 'You are a true wife, Rebecca, and would, I have no doubt, make a good pioneer. Nor did I for one moment suppose that you would oppose my departure. But truth to say, my sweet, I have no faith in these colonizing expeditions. God knows I value and trust John Winthrop above any other man, but he seeks room to practise his own religion, and his own views on government, which are more than a little republican, although he would never admit it. He is himself the most tolerant of men, but you may be sure he will populate his colony with those of a like mind to himself, and these will lack his toleration. So we shall exchange the rule of king and bishop for that of elder and pulpit thumper; the first pair is at least ordained and encouraged by God. As for Mr North and his patron, they too play a false game. 'Tis well known that Harcourt's colony failed because the place is not suitable for tobacco on any scale. Warwick dreams of El Dorado, although he has more sense than to admit it.'

  ‘It is there, Father,' Edward said. 'Mr Raleigh was convinced of it.'

  Tom glanced at his son. 'Eavesdropper. No doubt it is there. But gold brings a man no more happiness than does tyranny. Indeed, they are but different sides of the same coin. Now, were someone to propose an expedition to a place where there would be no religious persecution, no grasping after wealth, no political adventures, no laws, perhaps, but the sheer good of all, well, then I might be tempted.'

  Rebecca smiled. Then should you not apply for your own letters patent, Mr Warner, and lead your own expedition?'

  'Aye,' Tom said. 'Had I the slightest notion where to go. But every colony ever launched has seemed to depend upon the climate, the necessity to fight for existence, and more, to fight their fellow man, be he Indian or Spaniard, for survival. To begin with injustice were no way to found a paradise. I'll stick to my profession, and do the best I can with a regiment of foot.' He raised his finger as his wife would have spoken again. 'And there's an end to it, woman.'

  But with the spring, and no news from town, he became restless. Rebecca was now beginning to swell, and some of her good humour had departed. The best of mothers and of wives, she needed the stimulus of sex to be also the best of women; Tom now avoided her bedroom, and she was left to Mother Elizabeth, who was inclined to fuss. With spring, as well, Edward Warner and his sons were hard at work from dawn until dusk.

  'Farming,' Tom said, with a snort. ' Tis downright slavery. I've a mind ...'

  'You'll not go to town, Mr Warner,' Rebecca said. 'You'll not beg George Villiers.'

  Tom sighed, and nodded. ‘I'll not. But you'll agree that in this imperfect world a man is nothing without patronage'

  'And you have the best in the world, Mr Warner, if you would be patient.'

  'Now that is not a characteristic of the Warners, my sweet. If I stay here I'll be fit for nothing. Would you spare me for a week?'

  She picked up her sewing. ‘If I knew where you'd gone.'

  To Plymouth. I know Rich is down there, fussing over his fleet, I have no doubt at all 'tis his preoccupation with this venture that prevents him giving thought to my problems, nor do I in the least blame him for that. But perhaps were I to be more in his sight. . .'

  'A splendid conception, Mr Warner.' Rebecca put down her needlework and raised her head. ‘I'd have you know that you have not changed my mind, sir. Should my lord of Warwick have no cheer for you, or indeed, should he paint a more gloomy picture than when he visited here in the New Year, and should you in those circumstances decide to seek your fortune in a new land, be sure that you will have my blessing.'

  Tom laughed, and kissed her on the forehead. ‘I am neither seafarer nor colonist, sweetheart. My roots delve deep into this muddy soil, much as I despise it. I'll prove my point. I'll take Edward with me. He is as restless as I am, and the journey will do him good. With that millstone around my neck, be sure that I will return.'

  Here was adventure. Edward was supplied with a horse, true, hardly more than a pony, but none the less, for the first time he would not have to ride in the wagon with Mama and Philip. And they were going a very long way, from Suffolk and the fens up into the low hills of Hertfordshire, then across the great Chilterns on to the chalk downs of the south coast, on, ever on, soon leaving even civilization behind them as they rode across the moorland of the south west. The journey took upwards of a week, nearly all day spent in the saddle, and through a variety of showers of rain and sleet and hail, for the month was only April and it remained chilly, and stopping for the night at the roadside inns, where Father and Berwicke would gulp their ale and smoke their pipes, and Edward, granted the dignity of a full tankard, would quietly drink himself to sleep, and dream of tomorrow.

  He thought little of the country through which they travelled, for all that the land, just awakening from its winter sleep, was at its most beautiful. Green grass and green leaf sprouted everywhere, punctuated with brilliant wild flowers and occasionally a rose garden, all white and crimson and purple, adjoining inn and posting house; the copses were loud with birdsong, and the farms with the lowing of cattle. "What, leave this blessed land?" Tom shouted. 'A man must be criminal to envisage such a fate.' But Edward thought only of the sea, and there it was, six days after leaving home, a sight to drive the aches from his buttocks and bring him up in his stirrups with joy. The Channel, and beyond, the Atlantic, seething whitecaps before a westerly breeze, pounding on the great white cliffs towards which they rode. For all his short life he had waited for this moment.

  And of the ships. Never had he seen ships like these; three-masters seldom got up above London Bridge. But Plymouth seemed not houses built to accommodate a few vessels, but a town of vessels built to accommodate a few houses. Here was that seat of history of which he had dreamed for so long. Here Sir Francis Drake and his other heroes had played at bowls on the day the Armada had commenced its sweep up channel. Here ...

  'There is the boy in you,' Berwicke declared. There is more history in one stone of the Tower than in any ship ever built. And you did no more than scuff your shoes on those.'

  ‘I am going to be a sea captain,' Edward insisted.

  My lord of Warwick's fleet, five stout little ships, was moored alongside one of the innumerable docks which thrust their timbers into the calm water. The travellers stood on the quay and stared at the flagship, the Great St George, in wonder, while Mr North came ashore to greet them, and explain the hustle and bustle which went on all around them. 'Tis amazing, Captain Warner, what a list of necessaries there is, for we must not only be fitted with the requirements of war, cannon and cutlass, pistol and ball, but with everything that we may need for daily life as well, tools and nails, food and clothing, for a considerable period. We have no idea how long a time may elapse between our departure from here and the reaping of our first crop. Why, before we leave, we'll have a full cargo of goats on board each ship.'

  He was a handsome fellow, surprisingly young, to Tom's eyes, tall and straight, and affecting plain clothes, although he was a brother to Lord North.
/>   ‘I'd no idea a colonizing expedition was such a venture,' Tom confessed. 'How long have you been at it, now?"

  'Four months,' North replied. 'And it will be at least two more before we are ready. But come, we'll take a glass of wine and I'll show you our maps.'

  ‘I had hoped to find my lord of Warwick here,' Tom said.

  'He was, but he was recalled to London on urgent matters. I expect to see him back again any moment, though, so perhaps your journey will not be wasted. You'll accompany us, Mr Berwicke?'

  Edward stood on one leg.

  North smiled. 'You too, lad. But you'll find us men uncommon tiresome, I have no doubt.' He raised his voice. 'Mr Hilton.'

  The boy was not a great many years older than Edward himself, tall, with narrow shoulders, lank black hair and a rawboned, rakish face, pitted with the pox, and dominated by a thrusting nose and chin. It was not a handsome face, but there was strength in it, left the more obvious as he had not yet begun to sprout a beard. 'Aye, aye, Mr North.'

  'This is Master Anthony Hilton,' North explained. 'Captain Thomas Warner, Mr Ralph Berwicke.'

  'Captain Warner, sir.' Anthony Hilton saluted. ‘I have heard much of you, sir.'

  'He's a flatterer,' Tom said, but he was obviously delighted.

  tndeed not, sir,' Hilton declared. ‘I do wish you were accompanying us. 'Tis a fact we shall have need of fighting men.'

  "You've a large tongue in your head, Tony,' North observed. 'This is a peaceful venture, and there's an end to it. Now here is your charge. Master Edward Warner. You'll show him the vessel.'

  'Aye, aye, Mr North.' The gash of a mouth split into a smile. 'Welcome aboard, Master Warner.'

  ‘It is my pleasure, Mr Hilton.'

  The young man gazed at him for a moment, and then led the way up the gang plank, and jumped down on to the deck. 'Here we stand in the waist. 'Tis the main deck of the ship. Back there is the quarter deck, and farther aft, highest of all, the poop. Up there belongs to the admiral alone. Forward there's the forecastle, where the men have their quarters.'

  'She's so much bigger from here.' Edward gazed at the brass cannon which peered at the closed ports.