About the middle of September Charles marched from Nottingham, intending to reach the west of England and unite his forces with those of the Marquis of Hertford. He conducted himself in a very different manner to the fiery Rupert, or Robber, as the people named him. He everywhere issued the most positive assurances of his love for his people, and his resolve to maintain their liberties; but these assurances were not well maintained by his actions betraying the fact that he was playing a part. He in one place invited the train-bands to attend his march as his bodyguard, but when they arrived, he expressed his doubts of their loyalty, forcibly seized their arms, and sent them away. In spite of his professions to respect his subjects' rights, he still levied money and supplies in the old arbitrary manner. On the 20th of September he was at Shrewsbury, where he assured the inhabitants that he would never suffer an army of Papists, and on the 23rd he wrote to the Earl of Newcastle, telling him that the rebellion had reached that height, that he must raise all the soldiers he could, without any regard to their religion. He received five thousand pounds in cash from the Catholics in Shropshire, sold a title of baron for six thousand pounds more, and began minting money from plate with great alacrity. And to put the finish to his insincerity, he despatched orders to Ireland to send him as many troops thence as they could, who were almost wholly Catholic. But the Earl of Essex was carefully watching the king's progress; he had sent him the Parliamentary proposals of accommodation, which he refused to receive from what he called a set of traitors. Essex reached Worcester, in his march to cut off the king's movement towards London, just as Prince Rupert and Colonel Sandys had had a skirmish in that town, from which Rupert was forced to fly. There Essex lay still for three weeks, till at length Charles, encouraged by his inaction, ventured to quit Shrewsbury on the 20th of October, and by a bold march by Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Kenilworth, actually shot past Essex's position on the road to London. The Parliamentary general, however, gave quick pursuit, and on the 22nd reached Kineton, in Warwickshire, just as the king encamped on Edge Hill, close above him.