In Dangerous Company: The Dorset Boy Book 4 Page 7

  After ten minutes Marty grinned and said, “let’s go spring the trap.”

  They walked forward. Marty started to whistle a shanty.

  They rounded the corner and the men behind the tree brought their guns to bear. Marty stopped and faced them. He appeared totally at ease and kept his carbine laid across his lap.

  An arrogant looking man in a dirty coat stood up and pointed his gun at him. Marty just waited. The man looked slightly confused by the lack of reaction and shouted something in, what Marty assumed, was the local language. He just shook his head and shrugged pointing to his ear to show he didn’t understand.

  The man shouted something at him and gesticulated with his gun. Marty was going to shrug again when Blaez lost patience and launched himself forward snarling.

  Marty didn’t hesitate as Blaez distracted the men with his charge. He brought his gun to his shoulder, shot the leader in the chest and kicked his horse forward. He held the carbine in his left hand with his reins and pulled one of his pistols.

  Tom had come up beside him and was firing his musket. John was on the other side and fired his. Two more men dropped and a third was screaming as Blaez ripped into his armpit.

  There was a boom from behind them and Marty spun in the saddle to see the body of an ambusher fall back into the treeline. He was surprised to see Mary stood in the landau with a smoking blunderbuss pistol in her hands.

  The remaining men from the barricade were running for their lives down the road when Antton stepped out of the trees to the side with a bloody knife in his hands.

  Marty rode back to the carriage and looked at Mary who was wide eyed and pale. He leant over and gently took the gun from her hands. She looked at him her mouth formed an O and she sat back onto the seat with a thump.

  Caroline put her arms around her and looked at Marty with a look of amazement on her face. Beth started to cry, and Mary leaned forward to pick her up and comfort her.

  Marty got Antton to check the body and he reported that whoever he was had taken the full load in the centre of the chest.

  “He must have been moving before we got behind them. There are another four back there.”

  “All dead?”

  “Yes.”

  “Get that tree moved and let’s get moving again.”

  He examined the blunderbuss which was, to all intents and purposes, a small hand cannon. It was made of brass, looked to be British made for the postal service and weighed a good six pounds. He just wondered where Mary had hidden it as he had never seen it before.

  As he always said an unloaded gun was just a club, he reloaded it with four normal pistol balls and gave it to Caroline.

  Mary seemed to have regained her composure by the time the road was clear, and the boys brought the bleeding survivor to him. Blaez had made a real mess of his armpit.

  “The Governor may want to question him so we will take him with us. Wrap his wound and put him in the carriage. Caroline,” he started to say but Caroline had already produced a pistol and laid it on her lap stopping him in mid-sentence.

  Caroline asked Mary where she had gotten the blunderbuss pistol from.

  “My brother got it for me before we left England. He works for the postal service and said that even I couldn’t miss with this,” she told her. “I will never forgive myself for not using it when you and the babe were kidnapped in Bombay so when he came out of the woods I just . . . .”

  “Where did you hide it?” Caroline asked.

  “I made a pouch for it under the baby’s cot but when we travel, I put it in this compartment on the side of my travel bag.” She opened a compartment on the side of the bag she carried the children’s spare nappies and clothes in and put the gun in. When it was closed you would never know it was there.

  They pulled up at the Governor’s residence just before dark and were met by a flustered Major Domo who had not expected visitors let alone someone of obvious importance with an escort and a prisoner.

  The Governor appeared. He was dressed in a smoking jacket and silk slippers and approached Marty.

  “Who the devil are you sir?” he asked agitated by the unexpected intrusion.

  Marty gave him his most urbane smile and replied.

  “Governor North I presume,” he said and held out his hand. “Martin Stockley, Baron Candor, at your service.”

  Caroline joined him at his side, and he continued.

  “My wife, Lady Caroline. Sorry to impose on you but we had a slight delay on the way up here. Some fellows tried to ambush us. That one over there is one of the survivors.”

  The Governor looked from him to Caroline, to the team and finally at their prisoner. He opened his mouth to say something when a lady appeared in the doorway and said.

  “Frederick! Why are you keeping our guests waiting out here?” She bustled over to Caroline and said. “Come in my dear and bring the children with you.” She looked at Mary who was still a little grey. “Oh, my dear you look as if you have had a terrible shock. Come in come in!” and she shepherded the women and children through the front door.

  Frederick looked bemused but pulled himself together and said.

  “Well I suppose you had better come in as well.” Turning to his Major Domo he ordered.

  “Get the guard to put that fellow in the cellar for the time being and make these men comfortable in the barracks. Then prepare rooms for Lord and Lady Candor and their family.” Turning back to Marty he said.

  “Well come on then,” he looked down at Blaez, “is that beast with you?”

  The ladies and children went to the drawing room and Marty and Frederick went to the library.

  “Now you better tell me everything including why you are here and why I got no warning.”

  Marty filled him in on why they were in India and their journey from Colombo.

  “I know van Gerwin sent a messenger to warn you we were coming. I can only assume he was ambushed by the same men who tried it on with us.”

  “Bigger fools them then.” Frederick observed. “Do you always travel so well . . . equipped?” he asked looking at the weapons laid out on the table where Marty had placed the visible ones.

  “In our line of work its best to be prepared,” smiled Marty which caused a speculative look to cross Frederick’s face.

  “We had better join the women. Martha will have organised the household to accommodate you by now. Best to stay out of the way when she is in organising mode or she tends to sweep you up in it.” The Governor said with a man to man knowing look. “You can leave your . . . things, there. Sandri will make sure they’re taken to your room.”

  They joined the ladies in time to have a glass of wine before they were called to dinner. Mary had recovered her composure due more to the motherliness of Lady North than anything else. The children were fast asleep with Blaez settled down near them.

  They ate a surprisingly well prepared five course meal, considering the short notice that the kitchen had been given. After dinner, the men sat in the library with Frederick. He smoked a cheroot while they drank port and discussed the politics of the region.

  “Sri Vikrama Rajasinha is the ‘King’ or ‘Raja’ and he is the titular head of the Buddhist religion here and is the only block to us taking total control of the island,” he explained. “We are in cahoots with the first Adigar, Pilimatalauwa, to provoke the King into an open act of aggression that we can use as an excuse to take over the Kingdom. It is a long game and may take a while to come to fruition.”

  “These minor acts of rebellion are a by-product of that?” Marty asked.

  “Yes, and we will have to move this household back to Colombo soon as it is getting too dangerous to keep it here,” the governor sighed.

  “What about the gem mines? Are they under our control or the King’s?” Marty asked.

  “Interesting point that,” Frederick replied thoughtfully. “The mines are in the highlands which are largely under the King’s rule, but the traders are all in the coastal regi
on under our control. Are you interested in gems?”

  “We are setting up our own merchant fleet under the auspices of the East India Company and will be exporting high value cargo’s by fast ship to Britain and importing wine and brandy to India on the return trips,” Marty told him. “We have appointed agents in Bombay and Madras to source spices, gems, silks and the like and are setting up distribution for the wines and spirits.”

  “Very wise,” Frederick agreed. “Would be interested in sending back the odd shipment myself,” he added, with a sideways look to Marty, who nodded. “The Europeans will pay premium prices for good wine and spirits, but I have to ask what a Lord of the Realm is doing getting involved in trade?” Marty laughed and told him the truth of their backgrounds. It gave Frederick something to think about.

  In the morning they interrogated their prisoner, but he would only say he was following the man Marty shot and that they were just there to rob European travellers. Frederick decided that they should hand him over to the local justice system as hanging him themselves would be inflammatory.

  They decided to spend a few days in Kandi and were shown the Temple of the Tooth which housed the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. It was a tradition that whoever held the tooth would rule the country, which explained the importance of Kandy in the political landscape. Marty joked that maybe they should steal the tooth. Frederick didn’t see the funny side of that comment and told him firmly that would send the whole island up in flames.

  They noticed that they were followed everywhere they went. The boys were on high alert and carried their weapons conspicuously. At one point a man approached them, shouting something in Tamil at Marty and then at the ladies. He shook his fists and was getting increasingly agitated. Tom intervened, stepping up to him. He towered over the man and kept walking forward forcing him backwards. He didn’t put a hand on a weapon nor raise a hand threateningly just walked forward. The man soon realised he was looking foolish as he ranted and walked backwards at the same time. When he tripped on a pile of cow shit and ended up on his backside, the incident ended.

  Over breakfast the next morning Frederick was interrupted by a messenger. He returned to the table with a troubled look.

  “We have had notice to leave Kandy,” he announced. “The Adigar has sent warning that there will be a spontaneous demonstration that will result in them storming the residence.”

  “How long have we got?” his wife asked perfectly calmly.

  “He says that the demonstration will start after prayers on Friday,” he replied.

  Martha rang a bell and the Major Domo came in.

  “Sandri, please tell the staff to start packing we are moving back to Colombo.”

  Sandri bowed and calmly left the room as if this happened every day.

  Seeing Marty and Caroline’s puzzled expressions she clarified.

  “We have a contingency plan in place for just this occasion. As the tension has increased, we have made sure we have pre-packed everything that isn’t in everyday use and the staff have packing cases and materials ready for the rest.

  “We also have carts and oxen ready for an evacuation. To be honest we have been expecting this for a couple of months now.”

  “We will join you then,” offered Marty. “Our weapons and men may be needed.”

  “They will certainly help,” Frederick admitted. “We only have a section of mounted sepoys as an escort.” He thought for a moment, “I think we should leave first thing tomorrow.”

  Dawn the next day saw the entire household fed and ready to leave. The courtyard of the house was full of four wheeled oxcarts, two carriages and eighteen riding horses. The gates were opened, and four sepoys led them out, followed by four oxcarts, then the two carriages and last two more oxcarts. Four more sepoys brought up the rear, they were armed with lances and carried muskets slung across their backs.

  Marty and his men ranged along either side and the sergeant of the sepoys rode beside the Governor’s carriage. Marty suddenly signalled and he and his men left the column of carts and headed towards the palace.

  They had made a fair amount of noise as they moved out and had a mile or more of the town to get through before they got to the open countryside. Word of their departure made its way rapidly to the palace and a mobilisation of fifty or so ‘demonstrators’ was organised. The mob made its way rapidly towards the outskirts of town to try and cut off their escape.

  They got about half a mile when they came upon a barricade of carts, wooden crates and boxes stacked across the road between two houses. Behind it were eight men armed with muskets. A volley was fired above the mob’s heads and they came to a stop. A man came to the front of the mob and waved a sword above his head as he harangued the crowd. There was another shot impossibly soon after the first volley and the man clutched his leg as he fell to the floor.

  The mob milled around not sure what to do, wasting precious minutes. Two shots were heard in the distance and the barricade suddenly caught fire. It was soaked in oil and went up with an impressive WOOSH! The men behind it retreated to horses they had tied up thirty yards behind them. A last volley of shots rang in the air as they galloped away and a cry of,

  “YEY, YEY, YEY, YEYAGH!” was heard.

  With the slow carts it would take them two days to get to Colombo and they made a very nervous camp that night. There were two guards on watch at all times positioned outside of the camp with their backs to the fire to preserve their night vision. Marty had one of his men and a sepoy share the watch for two hours and then they were replaced. That way everyone got some sleep by the time they left again at dawn.

  Marty rode beside the Landau and chatted to Caroline.

  “There was a lot of smoke coming from Kandy when you got back to us” she observed.

  “Yes, well I forgot most of their houses are wooden with stucco so our little fire may have gotten out of hand,” he replied wryly, “but it bought us the time we needed to get away.”

  Caroline laughed and said, “well Mary and her cannon don’t need any more excitement, so I guess it’s alright then.”

  They eventually made it into Colombo without any further excitement and rolled into the Governor’s residence to be met by his staff. Martha had them all installed, and a decent meal served by suppertime.

  The next day Marty discussed gems with Frederick, and he sent a message to a trader he knew quite well. The man was a Ceylonese. Short like all of them with a bustling manner, his name was Priah Mudaliar. He maintained he was the most successful dealer in gems on the island and produced a pouch with samples for Marty to look at.

  “I am afraid I am not the expert in gems,” Marty admitted. “I will ask my wife to join us if you don’t mind.”

  Caroline came to join them, and the trader was most solicitous but a little confused that a woman was being involved. She checked each gem against the daylight from the window and even used a small magnifying glass to check their clarity. Satisfied she leant back in her chair and said.

  “These stones are of good quality, but can you supply more of the same?”

  “How many would you like?” he replied thinking this woman would just want enough to make a necklace.

  “As many as you can get. We want to be your exclusive exporter. We will take all types as long as they are of the first quality and cut,” she stated calmly. “We will pay the asking price and you take your profit from that.”

  His eyes were alight with greed as he agreed.

  “These stupid British don’t know what the asking price is, I can skin them alive,” he thought. Then he looked at the young man.

  “I wouldn’t think you can rob us if I were you,” Marty said looking him in the eyes. “Our factor is well aware of the asking price for the gems and if you try and hike the price we will know.”

  He smiled and Priah’s blood ran cold.

  The Bethany left for Madras the next day.

  Chapter 10 Return to Duty

  They arrived back in Madras
and resumed life in their bungalow. There was a pile of mail waiting for them and one was from the Admiralty. It was from Lord Hood and was addressed to Lieutenant Stockley. After the usual preamble it basically told him to get back to England as soon as possible and to report to the Admiralty for further orders. It was dated November twenty-second, 1802 and had taken over four months to reach him as it was now mid-February 1803.

  Caroline was happy. She had been feeling homesick for a while now and they had set up all the business opportunities they wanted to. So, the house was packed in record time and they boarded The Bethany.

  They had a cargo of spices and gems on board so despite using most of the cargo space for accommodation they would still net a good profit from the voyage. Caroline had informed their Factor and Agent in Madras about the arrangement with Mudaliar in Ceylon and she had bought everything of quality he had in stock.

  Marty wrote to Arthur and General Lake thanking them for their hospitality in India and informing them of his recall. He made sure all the servants got an excellent leaving present except the two that were going home with them. Then he realised that his time here was done. He sent the letters ashore and commanded the captain to set sail. If all went well, they would be back in England in three months.

  They were at the end of the dry season, so the winds were from the Northeast and The Bethany flew Southwest under a billowing cloud of white sails. This was the first time that Caroline had experienced one of their clippers sailing to the best of her capabilities and she found it exhilarating. They were stood on the foredeck watching a pod of dolphins racing their bow wave with Bethany.

  Tom was standing by the foremast and John joined him. They stood and watched the happy couple for a while.

  “They be turning out alright considering,” John observed.

  “Considering what?” Tom asked quizzically.

  “Well ‘is background and her being older and that,” John replied.