Autumn 1624
Europe is deeply embroiled in what will become the Thirty Years' War.
A young Philip Lord, once favoured at King James' court, has vanished without a trace, under the shadow of treason.
Outside the besieged city of Breda, Captain Matthew Rider faces the brutal reality of wintering his cavalry in the siege lines, until he crosses paths with Filippo Schiavono, a young man whose courage and skill could change everything.
Kate, Lady Catherine de Bouqulement, arrives in London prepared to navigate the dangerous politics of King James' court to ensure troops are sent to her mistress, the exiled Queen of Bohemia.
Within Breda’s walls, a foundling named Jorrit unwittingly stumbles into a lethal conspiracy when Schiavono hires him, supposedly to help sell smuggled tobacco. But Schiavono’s plans go awry and they are compelled to flee the city, only to be captured at sea.
If Schiavono is unable to prove his loyalty and ruthlessness to a savage Dunkirker privateer captain, both he and Jorrit will face certain death.
Meanwhile, in London, Kate is forced to fight her own battle against those seeking to coerce her into their schemes and finds herself trapped in a terrifying and deadly power struggle.
Driven by violence, treachery, and the sea's merciless tides, their fates collide.
The Enigma of Philip Lord
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Sketch of Philip Lord by Ian Bristow.
Author's own commissioned art work. |
As the title of the series Lord’s Learning suggests, and despite the fact there are other characters who take centre stage for a while now and then in The Fugitive’s Sword, the main character of the book and the series is undoubtedly Philip Lord.
But none of the words that are written about him in The Fugitive’s Sword, are from his perspective. We only view him as others view him, not as he views himself. We understand his motives as others interpret them, we see his challenges through the eyes of others and we come to know him as we might anyone we meet in life - by how he comports himself in the world, by the words he speaks, and the deeds he commits. And, as with those we encounter in life, we form a judgement of him through that and not through any direct insight into his innermost thoughts.
It was a deliberate choice of mine, when writing about Philip Lord, that he should be someone known only from the outside. As Sherlock Holmes is only ever known through the eyes of Watson, Philip Lord is only revealed to the reader through the eyes of those who come to know him. But that does make it difficult to place a blunt authorial voice over a figure who is defined throughout the book exclusively by those he encounters.
We first meet him as a youth of fifteen who we quickly learn has been forced to flee England having been condemned for treason. At this point King James considers him as ‘a breath of fresh air’ with ‘youthful good looks and athleticism… arrogance and charm, an uncomplicated heart, and a young and eager mind that was quick-witted and open’. He is also distinctive in appearance with hair so pale it is white and eyes of a remarkably brilliant turquoise hue.
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Portrait of Philip Lord by Ian Bristow.
Author's own commissioned artwork. |
Cast out from England, his first need is to survive, and considering that there can be no going back to his old life, to forge a new one. So he joined the nearest army. The mercenary commander Matthew Rider is at first convinced he has a wealthy man’s runaway child on his hands, and is startled to find the boy is already well skilled in swordsmanship. The name the boy gives Matt is ‘Filippo Schiavono’ and it is by that name that he is known throughout the rest of the book. Matt takes a chance on the youngster, seeing potential in him to be not just an officer but a man like himself, leading a mercenary company.
But before he can become properly established in his new career, circumstances cast Schiavono adrift, pretty literally, and he has to prove himself to a brutal pirate. This time though he has someone else with him. He has become the master and protector of a boy named Jorrit, and in doing so he begins to learn what it is to have responsibility for another. But he also has a new motivation. The piratical captain has taken his sword and refuses to return it. Whether from stubborn pride or love of the sword itself is perhaps not clear, but Schiavono is determined to get it back. He becomes single minded in pursuit of that goal and is driven by it to achieve things he might never have attempted otherwise.There are other lessons he learns on that voyage, valuable life lessons as well as those of seamanship and command.
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| A naval encounter between Dutch and Spanish Ships by Cornelis Verbeeck. (c) Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons. |
And it is whilst with these piratical Dunkirkers that he has one fateful encounter which changes him more profoundly than the others, opening a door onto a whole new vista of emotional experience. The unwavering determination, which we have seen him bring to the pursuit of his sword, takes on a new dimension - a human one. This is something that will ultimately propel him far beyond the short span of months encompassed in The Fugitive’s Sword, because true love is the journey of a lifetime.
Eleanor Swift-Hook
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