The Red Rose of Anjou - Plaidy Jean - Страница 36

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It was fine inspiring talk and the people rallied to him. It was a new role for him, one he had secretly longed for. He was going to be a leader and when they succeeded and the Duke of York was on the throne he would be likely to remember all that he owed to the man who had begun it all.

By Whitsuntide they were ready to march, for Jack Cade had gathered together some twenty thousand men. They set out and reached Blackheath on the first day of June. There they encamped and staked the ground as though they were at war and expecting an attack, a trick Cade had learned during his experiences in France. They waited there, ready to march on London.

Meanwhile the King, hearing that rebels from Kent were encamped at Blackheath and remembering the story he had often heard of his ancestor Richard the Second, who as a boy faced the rebels and dispersed them, dissolved Parliament in Leicester where it was at that time and came with all speed to London.

He was not a young boy as Richard had been; he hated

bloodshed. He did not want to have to ride out with an army to subdue these people, so on his arrival in London he sent a deputation to Blackheath to learn the grievances which had brought the men to London.

Jack was prepared. They had heard that the whole of Kent was to be destroyed and made into a forest as reprisals for the death of Suffolk. The common people had not chosen the ships which had been sent to intercept the Duke. They knew nothing of such matters and would not suffer for them. The King surrounded himself with low men of whom the people did not approve whereas lords of his blood were put away from his presence. They were referring to the Duke of York who had been sent out to Ireland and with whom Cade wished to be allied. People were not paid for stuff and purveyance taken into the King’s household. Chiefly of course the people of Kent were incensed by the heavy taxation which was laid upon them. They wanted reforms. They also wanted the King to avoid the progeny of all those in sympathy with the Duke of Suffolk and take about his person the true lord that is York lately exiled by Suffolk, the Dukes of Buckingham, Exeter and Norfolk. They wanted those who had murdered the Duke of Gloucester punished. The duchies of Normandy, Gascony, Guienne, Anjou and Maine had been lost through traitors. All extortions of the common people must be stopped.

Henry listened to these complaints with close attention. He could understand that the people were angry because they had been heavily taxed but the accusations against Suffolk and his friends angered him. The chief of these had been the Queen and he could see in this criticisms of her.

He gave orders that all loyal servants of the King and country should unite against the rebels.

Knowing that if the King’s army came against them they would be defeated. Cade gave orders that they retreat to Sevenoaks. There they encamped while the King’s army advanced.

Henry made the mistake of sending out a small detachment under the Stafford brothers—Sir Humphrey and William. The result was triumph for the rebels. Both Staffords were slain and the rest of the detachment retreated to Blackheath where the King had his men.

Cade was delighted. He was proving himself to be a born leader. His force was well ordered; what he had learned in France stood him in good stead; he was a brilliant soldier. From the slain Sir Humphrey he took his spurs, his splendid armour, his brigandine of small plates and rings fastened by leather, his salade helmet which rested entirely on his head and was not attached to the rest of the body armour. The top had a crest which swept in a long tail at the back. Arrayed in these Jack felt the nobleman whom he had always longed to be.

The fine armour and his success elated Jack to such an extent that he believed himself to be a great leader. He saw himself rising to power and becoming chief adviser to the new King who would of course be the Duke of York, raised to the throne by the courage and brilliance of Jack Cade.

‘We are kinsmen,’ he could hear the Duke saying. ‘You shall be my chancellor.’

To have been victorious in battle against the King’s forces was triumph indeed.

The King was most disturbed. This was indeed a rebellion. It was verging on civil war. His ministers did not like the mood of the people generally. What was happening in Kent today would be happening in the rest of the country tomorrow.

Perhaps they should placate the insurgents.

‘Forsooth, I agree,’ cried Henry. ‘There must be no more bloodshed. Let us parley with these men. Who is this man Mortimer?’

‘He is a kinsman of the Duke of York, so he says,’ was the answer. They were all of the opinion that the Duke of York from Ireland was behind this revolt. It was reasonable enough. The King was weak; the Queen was hated and there was no heir, and the Duke of York did have a claim to the throne.

Yes, they were of the opinion that this revolt should not be allowed to spread, so they would parley with the rebels.

The fact that the King was ready to do this inspired Jack with new confidence.

‘It is for us to make terms,’ he cried. ‘We will see what the response is to that.’

One of the most hated men was Lord Say, the Treasurer, whose duty it was to make the extortionate demands which had aroused the wrath of the people. That he did not keep the money for himself but raised it for the country’s needs was beside the point. He raised the money; he made the demands; he was to blame. Lord Say’s was a name which was reviled throughout the country.

‘We shall refuse to treat with the King until Lord Say is placed in custody,’ said Jack.

‘That is easy,’ said the King, ‘and we must do it. We must prevent further trouble at all cost. Say can be committed to the Tower for the time being. He need only remain there until this is over. It may be the safest place for him.’

So Lord Say went to the Tower; the King and his army returned to London, and after a day or so Henry was deluded into thinking that if he did not take the rebels seriously they would disperse and go back to their business in the country.

He himself left for Kenilworth.

No sooner had he left than Jack marched his army into the capital.

It was a great day for Jack when he rode into the City. There was no resistance at all. People came out of their houses and cheered him. Street vendors and apprentices were all there to give them a welcome. For them it was like a day of a fair—a holiday.

But Jack was serious. He saw himself at the height of power even beyond his own dreams. He struck his sword on the street cobbles and cried aloud: ‘Now is Mortimer lord of this city.’

He kept his men in order. There was to be no stealing from the houses, no raping of the girls and women. This was their own fair city of London and those who succeeded must not offend the Londoners. ‘We must have them on our side,’ he said, ‘working for us.’

It was true that up to this time the Londoners thought it was all something of a joke. They were not averse to seeing the King discountenanced because they knew that would upset the Queen far more than it did him. No, this was amusing, rather like a royal wedding or a coronation...not to be taken too seriously though.

They very soon saw it in a different light.

Jack and his men spent the night at Southwark after setting guards in the city to keep the peace. The next day however he came back into the city and took up his place at the Guildhall.

He then sent some of his men to the Tower with instructions to bring Lord Say to him.

The bewildered Treasurer was brought into the hall and when he saw who his judges were to be, he tried to explain that what had been done had been by order of those above him. Jack Cade would have none of this. He was determined to show these people that he was in command.

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