Rags of Time by Michael Ward

Author:Michael Ward [Ward, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sharpe Books
Published: 2020-06-22T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

18th August 1640

The Tallant warehouse

A coin tumbled through the air, capturing the rays of afternoon sun. Tom caught it cleanly and opened his palm. A new gold crown. He fingered its image of King Charles.

‘Take a good look at it, Tom. It might be one of the last you ever see, if the King gets his way.’

His father picked another crown out of his purse and studied it carefully. ‘What a bloody mess we are in… a terrible, bloody mess.’

Tom had rarely seen his father so despondent. They faced each other, sitting in the warehouse pepper store in front of the open hatch. Three months had passed since Tom’s meeting with Henry Jermyn—a hot, stinking summer with the threat of plague heavy in the air. This week the weather had broken and now a cooling breeze was blowing off the river, ruffling his father’s hair.

‘To the current religious and political troubles, you can now add financial turmoil. A pox on this war with the Scots. They are massing on the border, the King is spoiling for a fight but he still has no money! Parliament would not fund him, so he closed it down and now His Majesty is closeted with the Earl of Strafford and his cronies, dreaming up madcap schemes to pay for his army.’

Sir Ralph jumped to his feet and paced the warehouse floor, too agitated to sit, the floorboards creaking under his heavy step.

‘First, the King seizes the bullion in the Royal Mint even though it belongs to his creditors, merchants like me who provided him with funds in the first place. Eventually he graciously agrees to only keep a third of it! When will we see that again? Then he discovers the Mint is also holding gold and silver for the King of Spain. So His Royal Highness decides he will also have that. Has he gone mad? Can you imagine the repercussions? Any English ship in Spanish waters would be fair game. I am told officers of the Mint begged Charles to reconsider, closely followed by a deputation of Merchant Adventurers. So the odious Strafford said the Government would drop the idea if the merchants “lend” the King £40,000. And they have!’

Sir Ralph was in full flood, striding up and down, a cloud of dust stirred by his feet, his words tumbling out in a torrent, getting louder with each step. Tom knew not to interrupt. Muffled voices elsewhere in the warehouse had stopped. The whole building awaited the explosion. Sir Ralph did not lose his temper very often, but when he did, it was spectacular.

‘Have you been to the Exchange today, Tom? The pepper market has collapsed. Why? Because the Chancellor of the Exchequer obtained a large amount of surplus stock from the East India Company on credit. He dumped it all on the market at a rock bottom price. It’s raised £70,000 for the army fund but destroyed the pepper trade. No merchants can get true value for their stock because

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