Cradle
It is 1607, and King James I of England is courting favour with the Spanish king, Philip III, to avoid another war. However, King James’s son Henry is more adventurous and supports the establishment of a permanent colony in North America against the Spanish king’s wishes. The king’s spymaster, the dwarf hunchback Robert Cecil, conspires with the Spanish ambassador to destroy Henry’s plans.
Christian Hardy is an intelligence officer working for Prince Henry. He served the Crown under the reign of Queen Elizabeth and thwarted a Spanish-backed murder attempt against her by his arch-enemy, Realm, an Englishman working for the Spanish king. Hardy pitted his wits against Realm again when he uncovered the Gunpowder Plot.
The new intrigue begins in the dark alleys of London as the Spanish ambassador sends his assassins to kill Hardy before he can leave for America. Hardy survives this and further cloak-and-dagger encounters.
Hardy sails for America with the settlers, but is followed by Realm, whose task is to destroy the colony. They both employ the Native Americans to achieve their ends, but the struggle is a bloody one, and famine is never far away as they try to gain a foothold in the new lands. John Smith is President of the colony for a while, and his relationship with the natives, especially the chief’s daughter Pocahontas, is a help for the settlers, but the battle for survival becomes a personal vendetta between the two agents as they wrestle for supremacy.
Cradle is a gripping story set in the horrific, but true, conditions endured by the first English settlers in America. The outcome, though known, is never taken for granted, and the intrigue is set as much in the corridors of Westminster as in the pine forests of Virginia.
