Page 35 - Hotel Tunnel's 100 Years of History

convey the message of his pardon to Ulfeldt on his return journey.
However, fate had different plans. Sehested fell ill, causing his trip to Malmo to be delayed. And when the news of the government's pardon resolution later reached Malmo, it was too late: Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina had escaped both captivity and pardon through flight. Despi- te the fact that the Ulfeldt couple had been completely unaware of the death sentence passed on Ulfeldt on December 23rd, the circumstances afterwards had been such that their suspicions and fear of a harsher fate had gradually increased. Sehested's news from Stockholm had not been promising for a time, the surveillance of the couple after the Treaty of Copenhagen had become stricter, and suspicious statements were made in letters from individual friends. Even one of the foreign peace nego- tiators, the English envoy Algernon Sidney, who had taken up Ulfeldt's cause, advised Ulfeldt to flee, as he otherwise feared the worst. Finally, an event occurred that hastened the execution of his and his wife's plans to flee. In early July, Leonora Christina received a warning message
from an acquaintance that a ship arriving in Malmo would take her and Ulfeldt to Finland to be held in captivity for life. Indeed, two days later
a ship arrived in Malmo, whose name and captain's name matched the information she had received. When Leonora Christina sought further confirmation by questioning the captain about the ship's destination, the answer was that he was awaiting orders from the Governor General and that "his cargo would consist of only a few people". Leonora Christina's suspicion had now turned into certainty. There was no time to was-
te. Although Ulfeldt had not fully recovered from his long and severe illness, the couple decided to flee, and their plan was for Ulfeldt to go to Lübeck and Leonora Christina to Copenhagen, where she would pre- pare for his return to Denmark. It was, however, very difficult to under- take a flight, as Ulfeldt's house with its entrances and exits at Adel and Kyrkogatorna was guarded by 36 soldiers, who had received strict orders and, among other things, were prohibited from letting anyone enter the count. The main force of the guards was located in the garden, from where the exit was through a gate at Kyrkogatan, with about the same location as the current gate. The current gate at Kansligatan did not exist at that time.
"One day in early July, Leonora Christina received a warning message from a respected person that a ship arriving in Malmo would take her and Ulfeldt to Finland to be held in captivity for life. And indeed, two days later, a ship arrived in Malmo, whose name and captain's name matched the information she had received. When Leonora Christina further sought confirmation from the captain of the ship's destination,
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