They hold you and will always hold you as king, but they will tell you many things when they speak to you, which are necessary for you to hear; things which I have not been charged to tell you. However, most dear sir, please give me a response which will pacify them and so that they will know for certain that I have seen you, for they are holding my children hostage and will have them killed if I do not return."
The
king replied, "You will have a response without delay."
Then the
king took counsel and asked how best to deal with this request. The
king was advised to say that if they would come down to the
river Thames on Thursday morning, then he would certainly speak with them. When
Sir John Newton received this response, he delayed no longer. He took his leave of the
king and the lords and boarded his vessel once more, crossing the
Thames and returning to the mount, where there were over sixty thousand men, and delivering to them the response that the following morning they should send their spokesmen to the
Thames where the
king would come and speak with them. This reply pleased them immensely and they were content, passing the night as well as they might, for four out of every five of them fasted due to a lack of provisions, for they had none, which troubled them severely and rightly so.
SHF 2-216 syncAt that time the
earl of Buckingham was in
Wales, for he holds vast estates there through his
wife, who was the daughter of the
earl of Northampton and Hereford, but the word throughout
London was that he backed these people, and some said with absolute conviction that they had seen him, for there was a man among them from the county of
Kent who bore a very close resemblance to him.
The
earl of Cambridge and the barons of
England who were in
Plymouth preparing their vessels to travel to
Portugal, were kept informed of this rebellion and of the people who were starting to revolt. Consequently, they were fearful that their voyage would be disrupted, or that they would come under attack from the common people of
England from
Southampton,
Winchester and the county of
Arundel. And so they weighed anchor and left the harbour, with great difficulty and a contrary wind, and set out to sea and dropped anchor there to wait for wind. The
duke of Lancaster, who was in the borderlands of
Scotland between
Morlane,
Roxburgh and
Melrose, negotiating with the
Scots, was also fully informed of this rebellion and in fear of his own life, for he knew he that he was not well loved among the common people of
England; yet despite all these things, he continued to negotiate with the
Scots with great wisdom. The
earl of Douglas, the
earl of Moray, the
earl of Sutherland,
earl Thomas Erskine, and the
Scots who, for king and country, were conducting these negotiations, were well aware of the revolt in
England and of how people from all over were beginning to rebel against the noblemen. They said, "
England is in great peril and at risk of being utterly destroyed" And I can tell you that they took a harder line in their discussions with the
duke of Lancaster and his council.
pb 73 r