The Roos affair

Ultimately, Lake's career was nearly ruined by his involvement in a bitter family quarrel. On 12 February 1616/17, Lake's eldest child, Anne, was married to William Cecil, 16th Baron de Ros, but the marriage did not last. During the marriage, Cecil had mortgaged some of his land to Lake and following the divorce Lake claimed this for his daughter. Cecil's grandfather, Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, contested the request and a vicious dispute ensued.

Lake's eldest son, Sir Arthur Lake, violently attacked Cecil. Lake's wife and daughter then threatened to accuse Cecil of having an affair with his grandfather's young second wife. This charge was entirely false but when Cecil fled to Rome, Anne Lake forged incriminating letters. Lady Exeter charged Lake, his wife, his son and his daughter with defamation of character. Anne was accused of "precontracts, adultery, incest, murder, poison" against her husband, Lord Roos. As part of the legal action, Lake and his wife submitted a bill to the Star Chamber, which was defended by Lord Roos who counter-sued with a bill submitted by his grandfather, the Earl of Exeter.

On 14 February 1617/18, the King expressed his annoyance with Lake because of Lady Roos' slanders against Frances, Countess of Exeter. On 22 February, Lady Roos was committed into the Bishop of London's custody, her maid to the custody of Edmund Doubleday, and Thomas Lake's attorney and Luke Hutton were imprisoned. Lady Roos was freed on 5 March.

King James chose to judge the case in person, adjudicating the trial in the Star Chamber in two morning sessions on 3 and 5 February 1619/20. The King found them all guilty, although he found Lake himself guilty of less serious crimes than the others. The King and the Lords in the Star Chamber passed sentence on 13 February 1619/20. Huge fines exceeding £10,000 were imposed upon the family and two days later Lake, his wife, and Lady Roos his daughter were consigned to the Tower. The fines were almost all due to the Crown and little compensation was offered to Lady Exeter. Lake also had to surrender his seal and public documents. One of his duties, while confined to the tower, was the chopping of wood.

On 21 April, Lake's son and secretary William was put in custody because he attempted to pass secret letters to Lady Roos and tried to escape when accosted and on 3 June Arthur Lake was placed in custody having published a slanderous pamphlet. But the misbehaviour was not confined to the Lakes: Parker, Clerk of the Star Chamber, was also incarcerated on 3 June for acting in bad faith in examining Lady Roos.

On 19 June, Lake was brought back to the Star Chamber and told that he must make a public confession that the sentence brought against him was just, and that he had inflicted an injury upon the Countess of Exeter. He pleaded not guilty; so too did his wife, even though their daughter had confessed that her slanders about incest with Lady Roos, poisoning, and requests for forgiveness for crimes were inventions written by Arthur Lake and copied by Hobbie, Lady Roos' maid, with her father and mother accomplices. The King considered this to be the height of contempt against his Royal Majesty but a month later he agreed to free Lake from prison and put him in the custody of his brother Arthur, Bishop of Bath and Wells. Lake's daughter was also freed. Lake did not leave the Tower immediately; he chose to stay there a while longer to arrange his private affairs.

On 28 January 1620/21, back in the Star Chamber Lake read out an acknowledgement of the slanders by which he had done damage to the Countess of Exeter. This acknowledgement or act of submission was devised by the Lord Chancellor, Chief Justices, and Attorney General. In this,

for the defence and support of Lady Roos his daughter, he acknowledged that the sentence handed down against him on the preceding 13 February, was just, because his fault was disgraceful, hateful, and scandalous to the said Countess. But he was misled by his great credulilty, indulgence, and ignorance. Furthermore he acknowledged that he had erred in incarcerating Luke Hutton on 22 February 1618 and George Williams out of self-interest, and professed that it grieved him to his heart to have defended such a disgraceful, hateful, and scandalous case.^[3] Begging the Countess' forgiveness, he sincerely petitioned the Lords to intercede with the King for favour and mercy.

Intriguingly, on 22 February, William Camden notes in his diary that: "Peacock of Cambridge, who had claimed he had employed magical tricks to sway the King's mind from sound judgement in the case of Thomas Lake, is put to torture in the Tower of London. Some pronounced him a madman, others an impostor."

On 10 March, Lake's wife was temporarily freed from the Tower "because of her ill health, under the condition that at the beginning of term she be returned unless she has made her submission". Lake finally kissed the royal hand on 15 May but his wife stubbornly refused to make her submission and remained in the Tower after his release. She was still there on 27 September when Lake was struck by a vehicle and broke his arm and on 16 November when she was to be brought to the Star Chamber to acknowledge her offence against the Countess of Exeter, "she wrote a letter to her derogatory to the kingdom's justice, and, quoting verses from Psalm 136, summoned the Countess to Divine Judgement," and hence was returned to the Tower. A month later on 14 December, she was freed from prison without public explanation.