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SHARPE’S Justice
Richard Sharpe and the
Peace of the Congress of Vienna
Screenplay Written by Patrick Harbinson and Bernard Cornwell.
Novel Adapted by Paul Kaster
CHRISTMAS EVE
Chapter 9
KINGS CROWN INN
Before breakfast, Sharpe added Harper’s information to his notes. It seems that people in the other villages are willing to talk with Harper. But here at Keighley, people remain tight lipped.
Perhaps to find Matthew Truman, he can find the girl who was at the orphanage many years ago. She knew Matt and Sharpe. Maybe she can help him to find Matt and to ‘negotiate’.
As it is Christmas Eve, most people in the village are preparing for the holiday the next day. When he was a boy in the orphanage, Christmas was a sad and happy day. At least on Christmas, you might get some new clothes, even if they were handed down from someone older and bigger than you who no longer could wear them. And, for one day, you got to eat more.
“I wonder how many children are at the orphanage and how they will be treated. Although I don’t have much money, I can contribute to them having a decent meal for one day.”
Sharpe finds Ben Arnold. “How many children are at the orphanage?”
Arnold finds this a strange question. “I think they have fifteen or sixteen currently, why?”
Sharpe sums that to be about four chickens to feed the lot. “What would you charge me to tomorrow deliver four chickens cooking in a cauldron to feed the kids? Add some onions and vegetables if you have them to make it a stew. I don’t know if the church plans to feed them a Christmas dinner. If they don’t, I’ll send word to you to cook and deliver this before the evening meal. Can you do this?
“Aye, I’ll charge you eight shillings for the chickens and another four for the vegetables and to deliver it.”
“Sharpe considers the number, let’s call it ten shillings and I’ll buy you some of your own ale when I eat my meal. “
“Done.” Arnold remains leery that Sharpe is doing this for the kids. As fierce as Sharpe seems, he wouldn’t figure him to be soft.
The chickens will cost him less than a shilling each. Soft or not, Sharpe will still pay him a good profit for the kids’ meal.
For the rest of the day, he will go to Sir Percy’s to question him about the mills. Will Sir Percy’s story match Sir Willoughby’s? While he is gone, he’ll ask Pat to stay in Keithley to see what he can learn here.
“Pat, I’m going to see Sir Percy today. Do you mind staying in Keighley today?”
“No, after yesterday, my horse and my backside can use the rest. Anything particular you want to learn?
“What do people think about Matt Truman? Even better, how may I contact him?”
“I’ll see what I c’n learn. Enjoy your ride.”
THE ROAD TO HARDEN
Sharpe saddles his horse, throws the saddlebags onto the horse’s back and rides out of Keighley on the road to Harden.
It is a clear, cold day. But Sharpe doesn’t mind. It is only three miles to Harden.
With the map and notes from yesterday, he feels a sense of why he was assigned to come to Yorkshire. It is clear that Wickham has no sense of army work other than to look good in a uniform and upon a horse.
As he rides, he notes the terrain. It is not likely that he will have to fight an enemy regiment here. But the instincts he has honed for twenty years die hard. About a half mile outside of town, he must cross the Worth River. The river is not very wide or deep, but the channel it has cut requires a bridge to cross it for any wheeled vehicle. It is too deep to ford. He could with his horse. But it is too cold today. And, the bridge makes it unnecessary.
After another half mile, he sees another road that comes up from the south. He noted on the map that a road comes into this road from the main road to Halifax. Does that road have to cross the Worth? The Worth flows into the Aire. The Aire flows from Skipton to Shipley.
The mills attacked by the brigands do not cross the Aire. More of the mills that were attacked are south of the Worth. So, if the raids started from Keighley, they had to cross the Worth at bridges. Or, as the maps showed only some streams that run north and south from Halifax, the raids could have started from Halifax.
“But, why would the arc of the raids centre on Keighley?”
The next two miles pass quickly. He notes that the road is a firm wide road good for wagon traffic. It appears it is well used. But there are no deep ruts cut into the lanes. Men on horses could move quickly from Keighley to Shipley. But to be unobserved they would have to go when no one was using the road.
SIR PERCY’S ESTATE
In less than an hour, Sharpe arrives at Sir Percy’s estate. Sharpe notes the difference with Parfitt’s . The manor is much bigger and older. Smoke wafts from each of the chimneys in the main building as well as many of the outbuildings. The number of outbuildings is almost three times as many. And, the people he can see are busy and appear to be enjoying what they are doing. They work, but talk to each other and often laugh at what could be a joke one has told.
Before Sharpe arrives at the main door, a footman , dressed in a warm coat and hat, comes out to take the reins of his horse.
“Sir, may I ask who is calling?”
“Major Richard Sharpe, Scarsdale Yeomanry to see Sir Percival Stanwyck.”
“Does expect you?”
“No, but I would thank him for forty-five minutes of his time, if he is available. If not now, I can wait until later.”
“Thank you , sir. I will convey your message.”
Sharpe dismounts. He holds the reins while the footman goes inside. Quickly, he returns.
“Sir Percy does have a brief time now. He will see you. How may I assist you?”
“See to my horse until I return.” Sharpe takes the saddlebags and goes to the main door. Inside, a butler in a fine woolen jacket and lace shirt greets him.
“May I take your coat?”
“Thank you, no. I won’t stay long.”
“Then, please follow me, sir.”
Sharpe follows him down a hallway to Sir Percy’s den.
Sir Percy stands in front of the fireplace warming his hands.
“Major Sharpe. Do come in.”
“As it is Christmas Eve, do you visit with some dire news?”
“No, Sir Percy. No dire news. Only questions that may help me to identify and capture the brigands I am commissioned to secure before they may create more trouble.”
“And how may I help? Did not Captain Wickham “ he pronounces the name with a sneer. “give you a full report to your satisfaction?”
“Captain Wickham and Sir Willoughby gave me all the information that they have. I have learned not to trust only one source of information unless that source is VERY trusted.”
“Please sit. What do you seek?”
“Thank you sir, but if I may.” He points to a table at the edge of the room and in the light of the window while he retrieves the map and notes from his bags.
“Yes, show me what you have.”
Sharpe explains what the map shows and his observation of the pattern.
“These are all the mills that were attacked so far. Which of these mills are part of the fabric and grain trades?
Sir Percy points to the same five as Parfitt had.
Before Sharpe can ask, Sir Percy points to the remaining two as the steel and silver mills already marked.
And which of these operate today and who owns them.
Again Sir Percy confirms what Parfitt had told Sharpe on the running and shuttered mills and the owners.
“Did the owners of the fabric and grain mills offer to sell to any other owners?”
“I know of no offers other than to Parfitt.” Sir Percy cannot find it to call Parfitt Sir Willoughby unless he must.
“Sir Percy, from the maps and on my ride here, I notice that ALL the attacks have been west of the Aire and south of the Worth. Do you know of ANY group or groups in that area or south who would want to damage mills in this area?” Sharpe draws a circle on the map with his finger.
“No, I don’t. “
“Would any mill owners in another area wish to see these mills destroyed?”
“Other mill owners?” Sir Percy is concerned by this question. Until now, he understood that this was local machinebreakers led by Truman. “Do you suspect someone other than Matthew Truman?”
“No sir, I suspect no one else. However, I want to look at all the possible facts. Truman remains our prime culprit. But the facts on this map make it difficult to believe that Truman could alone attack ALL these mills in the times that they were attacked.”
Sir Percy raises an eyebrow in surprise. He knew that Sharpe was a ‘killing’ soldier. But what he has seen also indicates that Sharpe is smarter and astute than many soldiers Sir Percy has met.
Before he can question Sharpe more, the butler knocks on the door.
“My Lord, excuse me. You are scheduled to meet with the staff for the plans for tomorrow.”
“Ah yes, thank you.”
“Major Sharpe. I regret that I must go. This has been very enlightening. I hope that I have helped YOU.”
“Aye Sir Percy, you have. Thank you for your time. I’ll see myself out.” He collects his things while Sir Percy leaves. The butler stays in the room until Sharpe finishes, then escorts him to the door.
Sharpe thanks him and goes to his horse.
For the return to Keighley, Sharpe decides that he has time to explore that road that he saw on the way to Harden. It would be good to know the land between the Worth and Halifax. And, it is a nice day for a ride.
Forty minutes later, he comes to the road, he turns south. The road meanders through the fields. He can see the Worth to the west when the road ascends some of the rolling hills he now rides over.
After roughly eight hundred yards, a lane turns west. He decides to follow it. Shortly, maybe four hundred yards, he finds a one lane, wooden bridge across the Worth. Instead of crossing he follows the Worth to see if there are any other bridges or fords.
One thousand yards south of the wooden bridge he comes to the road from Halifax to Keighley that Harper and he had ridden before. He turns north, but not on the road. He follows the Worth. Again he finds no other bridges of fords until he comes to the wooden bridge.
Rather than ride the Halifax road and risk another ambush, he follows the Worth north It is slow going as he must ride through the edge of fields that have not yet frozen. The ground is soft. He notes again that anyone trying to get to the east of the Worth would not be able to go fast through these fields or go unnoticed, even on a moonlit night.
He must ride around two smaller streams that feed into the Worth, finds no other unusual terrain to change his opinion. IF the brigands came from Keighley, they have two roads to Shipley or Halifax. And both must cross the bridges over the Worth or swim.
Halifax is much further away, but according to the map, has many more roads and lanes with no water to cross.
He can be back to the inn within thirty minutes. Before dinner, he will have time to add to the map and notes and to wash. It has been a good day, so far.
KINGS CROWN INN
Sharpe sits down at a table with Harper. Harper usually sits before Sharpe and tries to engage the locals in conversation. The men avoid talking with him. After approaching a few tables, he has settled in to drinking his ale and flirting with the barmaid.
“So, Pat. With what we have learned, what do you think is going on here?”
Quietly, Patrick replies, “I think someone is stirring a pot of trouble. I don’t think it is this Matthew Truman. The people I talk with like Truman. He helps them and stands up for them with the mill managers. From what they tell me, he likes machines too much to break ‘em.”
“Who do they think is wreaking the machines and killin’ people?”
“No one has a good guess. Now iffin’ I were to guess, these trouble makers must have access to horses.”
“To horses?”
“Aye. They raid at night. Don’t seem to be known by anyone local. So they must come from far off. And, they get away before any of the Yeomanry can arrive. To smash some of the machines, they need to carry some gear. Can’t move fast on foot with tools.”
“Aye, can’t. We’ve tried.” Sharpe recalls running away from a French attack when they were digging parallel trenches at Badajoz. They dropped the tools to run. The French took the tools so that their company could not dig any more.
“I can still see the face of Sergeant Hakeswill as the men shoved their spades at him as they ran by.”
“Captain Rymer almost burst a blood vessel in his head yelling at the men to stop. “
“Yes, but at the end, he too ran.”
“Hmm, so who between Halifax and here has horses, knows how to ride ‘em, doesn’t like the mill owners, understands how to break machines and can come and go as they please without anyone stoppin’ ‘em?”
“Good questions. Don’t know, yet. But I will keep askin’ startin’ with this fine lass here.” Harper tugs on the barmaids apron to have her get him another ale.
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