Within a few minutes they heard the horse or horses, which seemed to be coming up the path from the road, and took aim at the opening in the trees where it joined the clearing around the house. The moon was full and it was light enough to see a mounted figure emerge. The rider was alone, and over the songs of the frogs Adam could hear him quietly whistling.
‘Who’s there?’ he called. ‘Stand and be recognized.’
The rider laughed loudly. ‘Can you not recognize me by my excellent and tuneful whistling?’
Adam put down his flintlock and shouted to the men to do the same. ‘Charles, you clod. We might have shot you.’
‘That would have been unfortunate. I’m on your side.’ Charles dismounted unsteadily and led his horse forward.
‘Then why have you come under cover of darkness?’
‘I would have returned earlier but another, ah, pressing matter detained me. Still, here I am and at your service. Any room at the inn?’
‘Come inside and we’ll find a place for you.’
The two sentries were looking sheepish. ‘Try and count numbers next time but you did the right thing in coming to warn us,’ Adam reassured them. ‘Now back to your posts and stay alert. Our next visitor might not be so friendly.’
Ignoring Adam’s instructions, Mary had been watching from the doorway. ‘Good evening, Charles. Always a pleasure to see you although this is an unusual time to call on a lady.’
‘My apologies, madam,’ replied Charles, with his deepest bow and the most extravagant sweep of his hat that he could manage without falling over. ‘Circumstances conspired against an earlier arrival. I crave your pardon.’
‘Circumstances in a bottle or petticoats, I daresay. Or both. Now that we are awake, come inside and tell us your news.’
They sat round a small table on which Mary had lit candles. ‘The news everywhere is not good,’ began Charles, slurring his words only a little. ‘Walrond continues to insist on oaths of loyalty to the king from all landowners. His men are still calling on anyone who has not sworn and leaving them in no doubt about their duty. Have they been to you yet?’
‘Oddly enough, no. I’d swear the oath but Walrond must have overlooked me. Or perhaps I’m not important enough.’
‘The Gibbes brothers were important enough,’ said Thomas, ‘and signed happily. It meant nothing to them as it won’t to others.’
‘And what of Drax?’ asked Adam.
‘He’s refused to swear and so have Alleyne and Middleton. Walrond will announce tomorrow that they are to be banished and their estates sequestered. He’ll say the estates are to be sold for the public purse but I’ll wager he either takes them over himself or gives them to his friends. I don’t trust the man.’
‘If he does, he’ll end up with half the island. Those three have over two thousand acres between them.’
‘Drax has issued a warning that if his estate is stolen from him, he will persuade Cromwell to send a fleet and will come back with it to reclaim what is his. It reads like a declaration of war. Walrond has changed him from peaceful and moderate to bellicose and angry. Likewise Alleyne.’
‘Are there any other militias appearing?’
‘A few. Unlike the Gibbes, some landowners are refusing to sign. They’re at liberty for now but they’ve been taking precautions. It’s adding to the tension.’
‘Meanwhile,’ said Mary, ‘slaves and servants are running away from unguarded estates all over the island.’
‘And they’re getting bolder and more dangerous,’ agreed Adam, ‘yet Walrond seems reluctant to do anything about them. He’ll have to act soon.’
‘He will, and he knows it. Let’s hope it’s soon enough.’ Charles paused. ‘There is one bright light on the horizon. There is word from England. Lord Willoughby planned to set sail from Southampton at the end of March. If he did, he will be here soon.’
‘Do you think he can do anything about Walrond?’
‘If anyone can, he can. Having known him for twenty years I have great faith in his abilities, even if he did start off on the wrong side.’
Mary rose. ‘With that happy thought, gentlemen, I shall retire. Again. Adam will find you somewhere to rest your head, Charles. It must be heavy.’
‘Thank you, my dear. Until the morning.’
Next day, Charles went home to collect clothes and a few possessions. He was back at the Lytes’ house by mid-afternoon. ‘My estate is secure and my steward is in full charge. He will call me if he needs me. Until then I shall stay here,’ he announced, adding, ‘assuming you wish me to, of course.’
‘Thank you, Charles,’ replied Mary. ‘We do wish you to.’
‘I thought we should have a roll-call of every person on the estate each morning and evening, just to make sure everyone is accounted for. Thomas did the first one this morning. There’s one slave missing,’ said Adam.
‘And who’s that?’
‘The orphan boy, Daniel. He was here last night but this morning he’s disappeared. We’ve searched and there’s no sign of him. It looks as if he’s run off.’
‘I fear so,’ said Mary thoughtfully. ‘Let’s hope there are no more.’
Chapter 19
1650
THOMAS WAS ADAMANT. ‘I do not care what you think, Patrick, I have barely left the estate for weeks and I am coming with you.’
‘Mr Lyte might object.’
‘You will persuade him otherwise.’
‘The Gibbes are still thundering about the island looking for you. It’s a wonder they haven’t come here.’
In view of Adam’s failed attempt to buy him, Thomas found it rather surprising. Perhaps their brains had finally succumbed to the drink.
‘I doubt if they would recognize me now that I am well fed and well dressed. If they do, I will depend upon you to protect me. Have you got a musket?’
‘No, Thomas, slaves do not carry muskets. But I will speak to Mr Lyte. He might take pity on you.’
It took twenty men to manhandle eight hogsheads of muscovado up ramps on to four carts. Each cart was drawn by a pair of oxen and driven by one of the six slaves chosen for the job, with an assistant beside him to keep an eye on the barrels. They had been securely tied down with thick rope but as each one was worth over twenty pounds, a watchful eye was needed. Adam and a grateful Thomas rode in the fourth cart at the rear of the line. Thomas had the job of barrel-watcher.
It was the first time he had visited Bridgetown, which that morning was bustling. They approached the harbour along the coast road from the north, crossing an ancient bridge over the narrow river which emptied into the port, and entering the main square in which the Assembly House stood. The bridge was a crude construction, originally built by the native Indians who had once inhabited the island and reinforced with stout timbers.
Built of dressed pink coral stone, roofed with grey slate tiles and with tall latticed windows, the Assembly House was by far the most impressive building on the island. A flight of wide stone steps led up to the entrance where four armed guards stood watch. Governor Walrond was taking no chances.
Planters and merchants milled about in the square, exchanging news and concluding business. The Dutch merchants would be negotiating prices for the sugar they had agreed in advance to buy and the planters would be demanding lower charges for its transport to London or Amsterdam. As the little procession of carts followed the road around the harbour to a jetty at the southern end, two or three raised their hands in greeting to Adam.
The harbour was a natural semi-circle with a stone wall built around it and unlike Oistins harbour the water was deep enough for a frigate or trading ship to tie up at the jetty. That morning, a squat vessel was being loaded with hogsheads of sugar. Looking out into Carlisle Bay into which the harbour opened, Thomas saw three more ships waiting their turn to come in. Down in their holds, frightened men, both black and white, would be waiting to discover their fate. The lucky ones would work for Charles Carrington, Adam Lyte or another like them. The unlucky ones would end up at the Gibbes’s, or worse. Once they were ashore, the men would be replaced by hogsheads of sugar and barrels of rum and the ship would set off back across the Atlantic. Sugar, slaves and convicts were making planters and their suppliers very rich men.