Robert Cecil and the lie that was the Gunpowder Plot!
Knyvett made haste to the King’s palace, at Whitehall and told the news both to the Earl of Salisbury, Lord Robert Cecil, and the Lord Chamberlain, the Earl of Suffolk, Thomas Howard. Then, the two men would see that Guido never saw his friends again.
Howard immediately woke the rest of the council who were staying at the Palace.
Guido was taken to a house opposite Whitehall, at the Knyvett House, but Doubleday wasn’t taken inside at first, instead he watched from the corner to see the candlelight flickering across the rooms in Whitehall.
The palace guards who surrounded Guido wished that Doubleday would open the door and give them access to a fire.
As the Lord Chamberlain, Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk, interviewed Whyneard and, as Cecil hoped, discovered Thomas Percy had rented a house in Westminster from Whyneard himself.
He went with Whyneard to the next room to interview Knyvett, leaving Cecil free to put the rest of his plan into action, which he did with skill and alacrity.
Knyvett sat on a stool, warming himself by the fire and immediately stood in deference to the Lord Chamberlain; the other two men pulled up the chairs that had been, up until then, decoratively lined on either side of the chimneybreast. Howard signalled to Knyvett that he should sit and indicated the same to Whyneard.
“You may report to me,” Howard breathed reassuringly as he made himself comfortable.
“I found Thomas Percy’s man, standing abroad, his clothes and boots on; at so dead of the night, I decided to arrest him. Then, I went and searched the house, where I had the guards open a small barrel that had been buried under some of the billets and coals, which was added to the thirty-six there.”
“Curious,” Howard sighed. He was clearly in the process of preparing gunpowder to blow up the palace.”
The audience listened, riveted by the tale as Kynvett explained excitedly, he had rehearsed his speech several times, so he knew chapter and verse. Cecil had made sure it would be dramatic and had drilled Knyvett.
“Then, you came directly to me, is that correct?” Howard asked.
“At first to the guardroom and thence to collect the keeper of the King’s wardrobe, John Whyneard,” Kynvett replied.
“We must await Lord Salisbury, the Secretary of State, Cecil will need a full report, and from thence we can go to the King and give him the good news,” cried Howard. “You have done well.”
Knyvett and Whyneard had done a very good job, but more so, Cecil had done extremely well; the fiction was holding up to the further scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Cecil told his network the good news that Guy Fawkes was captured which would spread rapidly. If the witnesses could be persuaded of what they had seen, all other details could be changed.
As Howard escorted Whyneard to the King who was staying at Whitehall, Cecil was encouraging Catesby and his sherry consortium to flee London.
By four in the morning, the Privy Councillors and witnesses had gathered in the King’s bedchamber, including Cecil, and as soon as the King’s Chamberlain entered, the Lord Chamberlain,
Lord Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk, told them all Knyvett’s news.
“All is well.” he announced, assuring King James that the traitor was bound, and that Edmund Doubleday had custody of the villain.
James considered the news, knowing that Guido alone would not have been able to pull off such a plan.
“Thank you Lord Knyvett; for discovering this plot particularly as its existence, that had been missed by so many.”
“Thank you, serving you is my only wish, Your Majesty.”
“Undoubtedly, your actions have saved many lives; not the least mine, and you will be rewarded. You did not find the props I had missing? ”
“Indeed not, I am sorry for that” replied Knyvett.
He thought this would be the least of James’s concerns; but he did not know James as well as he thought. A house opposite the King’s favourite palace of Whitehall did not guarantee understanding of this monarch.
“It is of little consequence now, and I will arrange for similar items held here at Whitehall to be transported to the Palace of Westminster. Are Waad and Popham here yet?”
The two men walked forward and bowed; greeting James with the pomp a king deserved, they wished him a long and peaceful reign for good measure.
“My Lords, it is your duty to find out who helped this man in his endeavours is that not so?” James asked.
“Indeed, Your Majesty,” Popham agreed.
“That is the least of our duties, Your Majesty,” Waad added, “a Mr. Doubleday has him in the house in the street opposite this very window. Beefeaters have been dispatched from the Tower to collect him, and then, take him directly to the dungeons there.”
“Very, well,” the King announced in a loud voice.
So all in the room could hear his fine words; “you must make him speak and if he will not otherwise confess.
“Your Majesty’s wishes will be followed;” so Waad said.
“We will make him sing like a canary bird,” Popham added.
“Very well, I will not detain you; there is an escort for your carriage waiting for you downstairs, ensure they make great speed to conduct you to your destination” The two men bowed and left immediately.
The rest of the inner circle gathered around James and started talking animatedly to the King, registering shock and indignation.
Cecil held back waiting for his messenger to call him away so that he could oversee the rest of his true plot, which was to wipe out the vestiges of the Catholic courtiers. The plan was working even more smoothly than he had envisaged.
Cecil arranged the arrest of those who had escaped from London; but those in the far-off corners of the land whose movements had been watched constantly by the Justices of the Peace; and as well as those who might compromise the subterfuge of the Gunpowder Plot.
As for the conspirators themselves, he had sent them himself to Holbeche House and Markham, helped by the sheriff, would ensure no one would survive.
A Story by Michael Fitzalan
About the Author
Michael Fitzalan lives in south London, where he was born. His Irish parents were doctors and they settled on the West Side of Clapham Common and had six children in quick succession. The youngest started writing thrillers at fifteen. He published his first fiction book, a romance, The Taint Gallery.
