Armada (24 page)

Robert cursed. The men had been on board too long, eating rations that, when they came, were never enough. On the cramped decks of the
Retribution
it was only a matter of time before the thin veil between health and pestilence was torn. Worse still, Plymouth and the entire south coast of England was now rife with rumours that the Spanish were poised to put to sea. They had overcome the setbacks of the previous year and had drawn their forces together from every port in the Spanish Empire to gather the largest and most powerful fleet ever assembled. The
Retribution
could not be stood down. There would be no leave for the crew.

‘We should lay to, Captain, and fire wet broom in the holds. That would smoke the cursed pestilence out.’

Robert shook his head. ‘Just try and keep them alive, Mister Powell. I’ll see to it that they get the best of the rations we have.’

‘Yes, Captain.’ Powell sighed, wiping his filth stained hands on the folds of his apron, and returned to the fo’c’sle.

Robert walked along the gunwale to one of the swivel mounted falcons. His hand traced around the mounting. It was the one part of his supplies that were not being consumed while the fleet lay in wait; shot and gunpowder, over fifty rounds per gun. The rations for the men, however, were in a diabolical state. To ensure supplies were not pilfered or squandered they were being issued to the fleet on a month to month basis, but their arrival was erratic at best and delays were commonplace. Robert, like every captain, feared that if the Spanish arrived off the English coast near the end of a ration cycle, the
Retribution
would go into battle with little or no food or fresh water.

Robert brought his hand to his chest to recite a prayer of hope. He clenched his hand into a fist and for a moment wished that he had a crucifix within his grip. He had been in Plymouth town the evening before and had witnessed first hand the palpable fear that stalked the populace. Their naked terror had steeled his determination for the fight ahead. Regardless of Spain’s quest to restore England to Catholicism, the Spanish were the enemy. Although their success would allow Robert to freely practise his faith and perhaps even regain his family’s title, they had no right to threaten the sovereignty of his country. Robert reached out to touch the cold barrel of the falcon.

The Spanish Armada had to be defeated at sea. It was England’s only chance. Robert had come to realize that fact, as had many of the commanders in the fleet. He had seen the local militia, the husbandmen and traders who had been conscripted to oppose any landing in Devon. Many of them were armed only with bows and their ranks were continually being depleted as men deserted to tend to their fields. It was a situation that doubtless was repeated along the entire length of the south coast. Robert dreaded to think how these men would fare against trained soldiers. Some six thousand soldiers, around half of England’s professional army, were in the Spanish Netherlands fighting the cause of the rebels. Six thousand more had been sent to secure England’s border with Scotland to guard against an attack that might be triggered by the Spanish invasion. If the Spanish landed all would be lost. Parma’s Army of Flanders could march an incredible ten miles a day and like wildfire on dry scrub they would sweep aside any local militia bands and descend upon London.

‘Captain.’ Seeley strode up to Robert. ‘Shaw has just returned from shore with good news. A Roman Catholic spy has been uncovered in the office of the Clerk of Ships.’

Robert’s lips tightened into a thin line. The crew of the
Retribution
were facing innumerable challenges and yet Seeley was still focused on the threat of Catholic spies. He had even widened his coterie of investigators on board to include the boatswain’s mate and the surgeon.

‘He might have some information as to the true identity of Young,’ Seeley continued. ‘Permission to go ashore to attend his interrogation.’

Robert tried to think of some reason to refuse Seeley permission but he could not. He nodded curtly and Seeley called for the coxswain to man the longboat.

‘Thomas, wait,’ Robert called. ‘I will accompany you.’

They descended into the longboat and shoved off. Robert sat alone in the bow. His decision to accompany Seeley had been made on impulse. He could think of no reason why someone in the office of the Clerk of Ships would know his secret but he reasoned it was better that he should witness anything that might be said. In any case he would have a better chance, however minute, of escaping on land.

The threat of invasion had whipped the population into a frenzy of anti-Catholicism. Fearing any uprising of English Catholics the Privy Council had already ordered the internment of known leading Catholics in Wisbech Castle in Cambridgeshire, and the populace, in terror of the Spanish Inquisition, were openly calling for their execution. The older people still remembered Bloody Mary. The Catholics had shown little mercy for Protestants when they were in power. Now that the tables were reversed the Catholics could expect little mercy.

The longboat reached the docks and Seeley led the way to the garrison. A guard directed them to the prison block. They crossed the inner courtyard to an iron-studded wooden door. It led into a guard room where two men were seated at a table.

‘I am Master Seeley and this is Captain Varian of the
Retribution
. You have a Roman Catholic prisoner here. We need to see him.’

One of the guards stood up slowly. He looked them up and down and then walked over to the inner door. Taking a ring of keys from his belt he unlocked it and motioned them through.

The corridor beyond was windowless and was lit by torches. A series of doors ran along one side. Only the furthest one was open and Robert followed Seeley towards it as the door to the guard room was locked behind them. A terrible scream pierced the still air, turning the blood in Robert’s veins to ice. They entered the room. It was a small airless space and was dominated by a single object in the middle of the room.

Three men stood around it, but Robert barely saw them. His eyes were fixed on the man stretched out on the rack. His ankles and wrists were bloodied and torn by the bonds that held him fast to the rollers at both ends. His limbs were grotesquely extended and his skin had been badly burned in numerous places. He had blacked out from the pain. The smell of faeces and sweat and seared flesh was overpowering. Robert looked at the sweat stained face of the prisoner and his stomach lurched. He knew him. He was one of the locals who had attended mass on the motte beside Saint Michael’s when Robert had first met Father Blackthorne there, the man who had come with his wife and young daughter. Robert backed away towards the door.

‘Who are you?’ one of the men spat.

Seeley told him.

‘I’m Browne, Sergeant at arms. If you’ve come for the interrogation you’re too late. The local agent, Tanner, and his men have already come and gone.’

‘Who is he?’ Seeley asked, unable to look away from the rack. He had only ever seen pictures of the device in Foxe’s
Book of Martyrs
.

‘His name’s Bailey. He’s a scribe in the Clerk’s office.’

‘What has he told you?’ Robert asked.

‘Plenty,’ the sergeant replied with a cold smile. ‘He’s a traitor alright, a stinking papist. He was found in the Ordnance office, somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be. They suspect he was looking for the artillery manifests for the fleet. When he was challenged he panicked and tried to flee. They searched him and found he was wearing a crucifix under his doublet. That’s when they brought him to us. He claims he’s not a spy, the lying bastard, just a recusant. He gave us the names of some other Roman Catholic families in the area, and the name of his papist priest, a Father Blackthorne. Tanner said he already knew that name and that the priest was dead. He’s out tracking down the other families now and we already have his wife and daughter locked up.’

‘Did he mention the name Young?’ Seeley asked

Browne thought for a second and then shook his head.

‘Sergeant, I need to know if this man knows another Roman Catholic named Young.’

Browne took a torch down from the wall and brought it over to the rack, twisting it slightly in his hand to ensure the flame was strong. He thrust it into Bailey’s side. Bailey surfaced from unconsciousness with an ear-piercing scream. He fought his bonds but he couldn’t move and the struggle increased the pain in his tortured joints. He shouted incoherently.

‘Shut up, you treacherous whoreson,’ Browne shouted. ‘This officer wants to ask you a question.’

Bailey continued to speak. He started begging for mercy, his head jerking from side to side.

‘Do you know a man named Young?’ Seeley shouted.

Bailey seemed not to hear and again Browne stabbed at him with the torch. His screams filled the room.

‘Do you know what name Young uses?’ Seeley shouted, appalled by what he saw, the torture sickening him. He steeled his nerve. Bailey was a Roman Catholic, a heretic, an abomination before God.

‘No,’ Bailey cried. ‘I don’t know, please!’

‘Give him another twist,’ Browne said and the two men took a grip on the handles.

They put their weight behind the lever. Bailey’s screams reached a higher pitch and Seeley watched in grim fascination as the pawl of the ratchet moved along the length of a tooth. There was a loud popping sound as something inside Bailey’s arm snapped and as the pawl slotted into place the room went quiet. Bailey had blacked-out again.

‘Get a bucket of water to wake him up,’ Browne ordered.

‘No,’ Robert said. ‘Enough. He doesn’t know the man you’re looking for, Thomas.’

Seeley’s eyes were on Bailey’s face. It was twisted in agony. He felt a twinge of pity and he angrily suppressed his leniency. God and righteousness were on his side. He had to be strong.

‘Get the water,’ he said to the sergeant.

Robert turned and left the room. He hammered on the guard room door and went out to the courtyard. He could barely breathe. He was sure Bailey knew nothing of his real identity but he felt nauseous with fear. He had witnessed the fate that surely awaited him if he was ever caught, and if he survived the torture, he would be burned at the stake, with men like Seeley igniting the pyre.

Robert walked unsteadily back towards the docks. The Spanish were coming. It was inevitable, but Robert also hoped it would be soon. He had enemies on two fronts. To his rear the authorities were hunting Robert Young while to his fore the Spanish sought to crush him and his countrymen. Only in battle would he attain the clarity of facing a single enemy.

Evardo slowly paced the main deck of the
Santa Clara
, his gaze ceaselessly ranging over the entire ship as he watched the crew at work. She was a fine galleon, not five years old and had been built in Cantabria, the birthplace of over half the fighting ships of the Armada. Designed for transatlantic trade voyages the galleon had a massive hold over which ran a single gun deck high above the water line.

The crew were swarming everywhere and the air was charged with excitement. The expedition’s banner had recently been consecrated and it hung from every masthead in the fleet, a flag adorned with the royal arms and depictions of the Virgin Mary and the Crucifixion superimposed on red diagonals. A general fleet muster had been held. Everything was ready. The mighty Armada waited only on a fair breeze to take them out of the mouth of the Tagus.

Evardo stopped pacing and looked to the quarterdeck as the sailing captain, Arnaldo Ramos Mendez, shouted an order to the men working in the rigging of the mainmast. He was a hard taskmaster but Evardo had already come to appreciate his skill and efficiency and the manner in which he commanded the eighty-six sailors on board. Evardo’s first impressions of the other three captains on board were equally positive but like all
comandante
s, his main concern was how his four direct subordinates would work together.

Upon assuming command Evardo had immediately determined the social rank of each. All four were near equals, which would foster cooperation, but more importantly Evardo’s lineage was superior to them all, thus legitimizing his command, not only for the four captains but for the entire crew.

The two military captains, each commanding a 100-strong company of soldiers, were new to the
Santa Clara
. Francisco Alvarado, the older of the two, was a veteran of the Dutch revolt and the brief war against Portugal. He was lean and wiry, a career soldier who spoke openly of his ambition to lead a command under Parma in the invasion of England. He was brash and flamboyant, but was known to be steadfast in battle.

Hernán de Córdoba, the second military captain, was a heavyset man with a shaven pate. He was deeply religious and had sworn a vow of temperance while in the service of God and his King. For the past three years he had led a company of soldiers on a galley in the waters surrounding Italy, fighting an almost continuous battle against the scourge of Muslim raiders on the trade routes of the Empire. He was obdurate and was an ardent believer in the strict military discipline that was the backbone of every Spanish company.

Two thirds of the soldiers on board the
Santa Clara
were raw recruits, levied from Spain and Portugal. The remainder were veterans and hailed from every corner of the Empire. They were richly attired, with no two men dressed alike. Their jerkins and breeches were of every hue, bright garish colours with elaborate braiding and embroidery, while almost every hat was festooned with plumes of feathers.

Evardo had impressed upon each of his captains the need for a shared sense of purpose, particularly between sailors and soldiers. Given their calibre he was also concerned about what his men might have heard of his defeat at Cadiz, and from the moment he had stepped on board five weeks before he had constantly been on guard for any remark that might be construed as disrespectful, knowing he had to stamp out any insubordination until he had a chance to prove himself.

He left the main deck and went below. The gun deck was cramped and he stepped over the long trails of the gun carriages as he made his way aft, his eyes looking left and right at each cannon. Because the gun deck was high above the water line, for stability the cannons were of medium calibres. Nevertheless the
Santa Clara
had a considerable arsenal under the command of the gunners’ captain, Diego Suárez. Like Mendez, Suárez had been with the
Santa Clara
since she had first been launched. He was a keen advocate of artillery warfare, a fledgling concept in the Spanish fleet, and since the
Santa Clara
had arrived in Lisbon he had successfully lobbied the fleet quartermasters for two additional
media culebrinas
, bringing the total numbers of guns on board to twenty-six.