CHAPTER XIV
HOW THE JESUITS WERE CAPTURED AT HENDLIP
THE position of Father Garnet after the capture of the rebels at Holbeach, and the flight of his colleague, Oswald Greenway, became one of great peril, for he knew full well that the Government would strain every nerve to seize him, and, if possible, convict him as an accessory, either before or after the fact, to the Plot. For some time he remained concealed at Coughton, but on December 6,[1] removed by night to Hendlip, nearly four miles north-east of Worcester, where his friend, Father Oldcorne, alias Hall, lay concealed. He removed thither in company with his faithful and devoted penitent, Anne Vaux, whose intimacy with him caused considerable scandal at the time of his trial, although there can be little doubt but that this connection was an innocent one, and such as often exists between fanatical, superstitious women and their presuming 'directors.' Before leaving Coughton, he sent a letter to Cecil, protesting his
- ↑ Most writers (Jardine included) state that he did not reach Hendlip till a fortnight later; but my authority is Garnet's own statement, made when examined in the Tower.
141
