Darnley; or, The Field of the Cloth of Gold

by G. P. R. James

The whole of the room, however, was cleanliness itself: the little bed that stood in the corner with its fine linen sheets, the small deal table, even the very sand upon the floor, all were as white as snow. "I am afraid, my coot lord," said the merchant, who never lost his respect for his guest, "that your lordship will be poorly lodged; but these three chambers along in front are what I keep always ready, in case of any of my captains arriving unexpectedly, and it is all clean and proper, I can assure you. I will now go and bring you a cushion for your head, and what the French call the coupe de bonne nuit, and will myself call your lordship to-morrow, before any one is up, that you may take your hiding-place without being seen."

The knight was somewhat surprised to find his host's recollection so clear, notwithstanding his potations; but he knew not what much habit in that kind will do, and still doubted whether his memory would be active enough to remind him that he was to call him when the next morning should really come.

However, he did Master Hans injustice; for without fail, at the hour of five, he presented himself at the knight's door; and soon after rousing Longpole, he conducted them both down to the warehouses, through whose deep obscurity they groped their way, amidst tuns, and bags, and piles, and bales, with no other light than such straggling rays as found their way through the chinks and crevices of the boards which covered the windows for the night.

At length an enormous butt presented itself, which appeared to be empty; for without any great effort the old merchant contrived to move it from its place. Behind this appeared a pile of untanned hides, which he set himself to put on one side as fast as possible, though for what purpose Sir Osborne did not well understand, as he beheld nothing behind them but the rough planks which formed the wall of the warehouse. As the pile diminished, a circumstance occurred which made all the parties hurry their movements, and despatch the hides as fast as possible. This was nothing else than a loud and reiterated knocking at the outer door, which at first induced Master Hans to raise his head and listen; but then, without saying a word, he set himself to work again harder than ever, and with the assistance of the knight and Longpole, soon cleared away all obstruction, and left the fair face of the boarded wall before them.

Kneeling down, the merchant now thrust his fingers under the planks, where the apparently rude workmanship of the builder had left a chink between them and the ground, then applied all his strength to a vigorous heave, and in a moment three of the planks at once slid up, being made to play in a groove, like the door of a lion's den, and discovered a small chamber beyond, lighted by a glazed aperture towards the sky.

"In, in, my coot lord!" cried the merchant; "don't you hear how they are knocking at the door? They will soon rouse my maid Julian, though she sleeps like a marmot. What they want I don't know."

Sir Osborne and Longpole were not tardy in taking possession of their hiding-place; and having themselves pulled down the sliding door by means of the cross-bars, which in the inside united the three planks together, they fastened it with a little bolt, whereby any one within could render his retreat as firm, and, to all appearance, as immoveable as the rest of the wall. They then heard the careful William Hans replace the hides, roll back the butt, and pace away; after which nothing met their ear but the unceasing knocking at the outer door, which seemed every minute to assume a fiercer character, and which was perfectly audible in their place of refuge.

The merchant appeared to treat the matter very carelessly, and not to make any reply till it suited his convenience; for during some minutes he let the knockers knock on. At length, however, that particular sound ceased, and from a sort of rush and clatter of several tongues, the knight concluded that the door had been at length opened. At the same time the voice of the Fleming made itself heard, in well-assumed tones of passion, abusing the intruders for waking him so early in the morning, bringing scandal upon his house, and taking away his character.

"Seize the old villain!" cried another voice; "we have certain information that they are here. Search every hole and corner; they must have arrived last night."

Such, and various other broken sentences, pronounced by the loud tongue of some man in office, reached the ears of Sir Osborne, convincing him, notwithstanding Henry's assurance that till noon of that day he should remain unpursued, that Wolsey, taking advantage of the king's absence at Richmond, had lost no time in issuing the warrant for his arrest.