by Smith, Skye
Daniel scanned the pages and then pushed them back to Warwick, who rolled them up together and stuck them inside his tailored green jacket. In his brief scan, he hadn't seen even one word about any of the men who had actually done all the work and taken all the risks. The newssheets glorified Waller’s campaign, and they named the officers, but not the soldiers or their sergeants, and certainly not Burt Miner who had sealed the fate of castle after castle for Waller and his army.
The ship's captain himself knocked on the door. "The away boats are ready for you, sir."
"That was much quicker than I expected,” Warwick replied as he pushed past his captain. "Well done. Well done indeed."
The captain nodded his thanks to Daniel as they followed Warwick to the gunnels to climb down into the longboats. At least forty marines were waiting for him with oars at the ready. The trip to Fishbourne, which had seemed to take an eternity for Daniel while rowing the dinghy, took no time at all in the longboats with ten pairs of oars apiece. Once ashore, Warwick mounted the waiting horse, and Daniel led the way towards the north gate where the final acceptance of the surrender would be taking place. Behind them in the estuary, the two other navy ships were now maneuvering to drop their hooks. They were smaller, fatter, multipurpose ships leased from merchants. They too would be sending boats and marines to shore.
To reach the north gate, they had to pass near the west gate and follow the wall past the brick portion. There were still companies of men waiting impatiently for instructions. Their commanding officers were still gone, attending Waller at the surrender. The first brigade that Warwick and his marines reached were the young gentlemen cavalryers of Lieutenant-Colonel Roberts' command. When Daniel introduced Warwick to them as Admiral Rich, they bowed, actually bowed, rather than saluted.
The cavalryer officers made it clear that if the brick wall was not to be blown, then they wanted orders to redeploy to one of the gates that would be opened once the surrender was complete. Although they didn't speak the words, their reasoning was transparent. If there was any plundering, looting, and humping to be done, they wanted their fair share of it. Warwick told them curtly, "You will hold this position and not move from it until you are ordered to do so by your colonel. Is that clear?"
The next brigade of men they met were the rag tag local infantry who had volunteered to be first through the breech. Daniel's own company of hardened veterans and useful tradesmen were sitting to one side of them. These men did not bow to Warwick, but most politely touched the brims of their hoods. It was Jack who spoke for them.
"The only reason these men volunteered to be first through the breach is because they wanted to be first to reach their homes and families, to protect them. Now they want permission to be the first through the surrendered gate, and for the same reason."
It took Warwick a few moments to gather his thought, because the very sight of the man who was speaking to him was enough to make him want to look at the ground to hide an involuntary shudder, so disfigured was he. Eventually Warwick looked up and over to the bricked in gate and then at the Scots up on the battlement beside it, and then at the church bell at the base of the bricks. Daniel had already explained to him about the Scots, the curtain wall, and the petards. "Danny, be those your French Farts?” At a nod of confirmation he continued. "You men would have been cut to pieces by them Scots. You wouldn't have survived to reach your families."
One of the local men, a shop keeper by the look of him, spoke out, "Begging your pardon your worship, but we would have survived. We had an agreement with the Scots on the wall. They were to let us through the breech so long as we did not stay near the wall and join in the fight."
"The Scots agreed to that? And you trusted them?” Warwick replied in wonder.
"Why not? When we were prisoners they were our gaolers, and so we knew them. They may be foreign mercenaries and a tough lot, but they were raised in the Knoxian way of good God fearing families. More than once in the month they have been here, they have stopped the king's gentlemen from ravishing our women. Besides, if we raced off to protect our homes, then they would not have been so outnumbered while defending the breach."
Warwick glanced at Daniel and said, "I begin to see what you mean, Danny. Nothing is quite what it seems, and no allegiances are quite as fixed as they should be. Ask your own men to fall in behind my marines while I speak more to these townfolk.” Daniel's men were listening and it took no more than a nod to have them muster in behind the marines.
Warwick dismounted and walked amongst the townfolk. "It seems that you have a higher allegiance than to Colonel Waller or Parliament's cause. So be it. I don't blame you one bit, and I will not order you to keep your position here until the Colonel orders you different. May I suggest, however, that if you are going to move your company over towards the north gate, that you do so quietly, and by the handful at a time so that the cavalry over yonder do not take notice, or take offence. I have just ordered them to keep their position.” His words were met by smiles all around, and a few quite smart salutes.
As Warwick re-mounted and rode away from the townsfolk, the midshipmen had to quicken their pace to keep up with him. He told the junior officers quietly, "A lesson in command, lads. When your men are going to do something no matter what you say, then command them to do it no matter how much it irks you. By doing so you stand some chance of keeping your command. Order them otherwise at your own peril.” They were sage words from a man who had lived all of his life in command. In command of wealth, estates, companies, ships, colonies, and now as the Lord Admiral of the summer fleet of the kingdom.
They eventually found Colonel Waller and the king's Sheriff Ford and assorted senior officers in the closest large building to the north gate, or rather the closest building which still had its roof ... the King's Head Inn. The sheriff had surrendered without terms, but that did not mean that there was nothing to discuss and agree upon. There was the entire process of an orderly surrender, the laying down of arms, the handing over of treasuries and armouries, the guarantees of safety, the standing down of guards, and of course, the disposition of the horses.
The two commanders were meeting in the largest of the upstairs rooms, the one with windows facing the great town gate. Waller's lifeguard were stopping anyone from climbing the stairs. When Warwick first walked into the Inn, he was recognized as the Earl of Warwick and was welcomed by the lesser officers who were milling about on the ground floor. The moment that Waller learned of his arrival, he was ushered upstairs. Daniel was too lowly a captain to remain on the ground floor with the senior officers, never mind accompany Warwick upstairs. That he was not immediately asked to leave the Inn was likely due to his passing around the London scandal sheets which had proclaimed Waller the new William the Conqueror.
The news sheets allowed Daniel to move through the crowd of officers and intercept Warwick just as he was stepping up the first stair. He grabbed him by the arm and whispered, "So when will you tell them that the captured officers will be taken by ship to London?"
Warwick shushed him quickly, before replying in a normal voice. "I am an observer here, nothing more. This is Colonel Waller’s victory and he is well capable of arranging for an orderly transfer of power.” Waller’s officers around him all cheered, while Daniel shook his head at the use of the word orderly. When they had taken Winchester, Waller had allowed the plundering of the churches and the cathedral as a way of punishing the bishop, however that plundering had then spread to the shops and the large houses. This was completely against Waller's wishes, of course, but once underway it took him a long time, a lot of houses, before it was halted. Chichester was another city with a wealthy bishop who needed punishing.
With Warwick upstairs, and once the good humour caused by the scandal sheets had become stale, the other officers began to shun Daniel. Not that he cared for their company anyway. He was hungry so he helped himself to some of the fine food that had been put on for the officers, but the stares from the others quicken
ed his munching. They were making it quite obvious that he had no right to be here and he should leave. To them he was an upstart field-promoted officer and not of noble stock, nor even a gentleman. He grabbed up the last of the pork crackling and went back outside.
Outside the inn there were men milling about. A lot of men, and the crowd thickened as he looked towards the north gate of the city. At the gate there was a crush of men that looked very much like a mob, a mob about to lose their tempers. Daniel climbed up onto a cart so he could have a better view over the heads of the men crowding the road. It was obvious what was happening. Everyone wanted to be the first through the gates, in order to be the first to the spoils. Just outside the gate, shoving matches were flaring up between Waller's men and the local men of Chichester. Ragged men who had homes and families inside the walls, were shoving their way forward through the troopers who wanted to be first to the spoils.
He heard voices above him and he looked up to an open second story window. Waller and Warwick were staring out of the window, while Waller was explaining something and pointing towards the West and North gates. He was likely explaining his strategy that caused the surrender, and better still, had caused a surrender with such a small butchers bill. Daniel called up to them, "Colonel, do you want me to break up those shoving matches at the North Gate and open up the road to traffic again?"
Waller looked down at him, and then along towards the gate, and then down again before he replied, "A good plan, and it must be done soon before we have a street brawl on our hands. I fear that breaking them apart will be easier said than done. We may trigger the very brawl we fear."
"The marines are neutral in all of this,” Daniel called up, "so they have the best chance of opening the road.” Almost as an after thought he called to Warwick, "If that is acceptable to you, your grace?"
Warwick and Waller discussed it quickly and then Warwick called down to his marine lieutenant to place himself and his men at Captain Vanderus's disposal. The lieutenant hot stepped it to join Daniel on the cart so he could see for himself the extent of the problem. Although he saluted Warwick, he hissed his displeasure at Daniel. "You must be jesting. They'll simply stop shoving each other for the few moments it will take them to beat us into the dirt."
"We can but try. Call your men over and have them surround this cart. With my men in the lead and your men alongside and behind, we may be able to use this cart to separate companies of men and open the road. We'll decide what to do at the gate if we get that far.” Together they organized their men, and the cart, and then they stood on the cart and yelled out in all directions as the carter got his mare moving slowly but steadily along the road towards the North Gate.
"Clear the way,” Jack and his men were calling out in front of them, and the crush of men were doing just that. Not just because of the bulk of the horse and cart, but because Jack and his men did not look like the sort of men you would pick an argument with for no good reason. Not and keep your face.
"The colonel wants the road kept clear with the infantry on the west verge and the horse on the east,” the marine lieutenant was calling out. The young officer looked splendid in his dress uniform, and very official. Daniel stood beside him gesturing with the carter's old blunderbuss, just so everyone would be very clear about how any argument would be answered.
The marines on each side of the cart were politely but firmly widening the wake of the cart and telling the men on both sides, "Now don't you be fillin' in the road as soon as the cart is passed. Yer colonel wants the road kept clear.” Meanwhile the marines to the rear were purposefully walking slowly and keeping their eyes peeled for anyone trying to rush in after the cart. Those that did were met with less politeness; firm actions rather than firm words.
When they were almost to the gate, the mob became so thick that the crush was made worse by the horse and cart. Men began shoving in every direction and some men were falling down and were in danger of being trampled. With some of the marines pushing backwards on each side of the horses head, they backed horse and cart out of the crush to give more space so that men could regain their feet. They kept backing until they had space enough to turn the cart.
Once it was turned, Daniel asked the lieutenant to keep the cart and his marines moving from gate to inn and back again to keep the cavalry and the infantry separated and the road clear. The lieutenant agreed with the plan, so Daniel leaped down off the cart and joined Jack and the lads in the fray of the crush. One by one they worked at pushing men away from the edges of the crush, and told those men to push the crowd of onlookers further back. Eventually everyone in the centre of the crush had elbow room and everyone was on their feet.
There was still a crush right at the gate, and the men there were already pushing and shoving and throwing the occasional sneaky punch to the stomach or kick to the shins. Their tempers were already hot and they would be quick to fight back at any hands that tried to interfere. Daniel looked around and up and down the situation and then asked Jack to pull his own men back, and work at keeping an open space between this final crush and the circle of onlookers. Above the gate the Scottish guards seemed to be egging the fighters on, and laying wagers. He stared hard at the Scots and searched the faces until he spotted the man who was likely their sergeant, or at least the toughest bastard of the lot.
"Oye!” he yelled up to the sergeant. "What nasties have you got up there to ward off attackers? Anything as simple as hot water? If you have, then you have my permission to douse this lot in front of the gate. Douse 'em good and proper."
"Acch, I fear I can offer up only half heated oil or the ice water of the fire buckets!” the sergeant yelled down in reasonably clear English. "Which do yee choose?” The man gave a hoot of laughter at such fun. He and Daniel continued to exchange ideas and jests in purposefully loud voices.
Some of the men who were shoving, rather than punching, were beginning to pay attention to the jests coming down from the wall, and were nudging their mates to also pay attention. As the words 'hot oil' and 'boiling water' passed between them, more and more men were looking up. More and more men decided that they would rather be onlookers than fighters and backed away from the gate. In the end, all it took was two fire buckets of water to dampen the fight out of the rest of them. The water was so icy cold that men were actually screaming that it was scalding their skin.
While Jack and his men frog marched the last of the fighters over to their mates in the crowd of onlookers, the sergeant came down from his perch on the wall, and came through the small guard door in the great barred gates. In the way of Scottish soldiers he was wearing his woolen blanket wrapped about his waist and legs rather than draped over his shoulders like a cloak, as English soldiers usually did. This because the Scots all wore hooded fur capes to keep their upper body warm. This Scot was a big man, as tall as Daniel but with a girth to him, and his coarse beard made him look more Norse than Scot.
While they gripped each other's elbows in a warrior handshake, Daniel mentioned the Norse look. The man laughed a roar and told him, "We're not bloody lowlander Scots. We're western highlanders from the islands and fjords. We've got more Norse blood in us than Scot, and we're proud of it.” The highlander had left the guard door open behind him and every once in a while he pointed to a few of the townsmen who were trying to hold onto their places near the gate. Those chosen men would walk quickly to the guard door and disappear through it.
"You know those men?” Daniel asked.
"We know their families. They's locals.” the highlander replied. "Say, now I know you. Yer the bugger what put them bells up against the Deanery wall. They was filled with gunpowder, right?"
Daniel was so relieved that he hadn't been recognized as one of the men from the church tower who had been bombarding the Deanery, that he immediately admitted to the bells.
"Would it have worked?” the highlander asked. "Would it have blasted through that curtain wall?” He jerked his thumb and another four locals slipped through the
guard door.
"Aye, I've seen it work before. It knocks out the underpinnings and then the weight of the upper wall collapses the rest into rubble."
"Shite, I knew it. I had my men there ready to defend any breach. They'd 'ave given you a good fight."
"The way I heard it,” Daniel replied, "you were going to let the town's men in before you defended the breach."
"And why not? Those poor folk have been troubled enough by the king's gentlemen taking whatever they want. Why not give them a chance to defend what little they have left against this next lot of,” the highlander spat onto the cobbles, "effin' gentlemen. My men are professional soldiers. We don't make war on the lassies and their bairn. Aye, we join in any thieving, as is a soldier's right, but nothing more. Our mothers and churchmen taught us better than that."
Daniel smiled and praised the man's words, though in truth, he did not believe that any of these Scots would pass up a good humping. "So will you surrender the walls?” Daniel asked.
"Not much choice now, 'ave we? Our bloody officers 'll be sellin' us out as we speak. It'll be home for the Yule feasting for them, and thin gruel and a cold gaol for us. Can't blame your lot for lockin' us up though. They'd be fools to let my company loose so far from our homes."
"Do you have a better plan?"
"Aye, the original plan,” the highlander said as more local men slipped through the door. "We were recruited by the king to go and protect the plantations in Ireland, but then we were brought here instead. Them ships in the harbour, they could take us to Ireland, or back to the highlands, or even over to Holland. I hear the Dutch are recruiting again. Holland's got the best coin and the best aquavitae, yee kin."
"If it comes to bargaining a passage, I wouldn't mention Holland if I were you,” Daniel interrupted. Sage advice for it was Queen Henrietta who was doing the recruiting in Holland. "Asking for passage to Ireland may gain you your next contract. It'd certainly get you onto those ships and away, rather than festering in a gaol for the winter months. I'm the admiral's man. If you wish it, I will put in a good word for you."
