 The Jesuit priest John Gerard described Keyes as " a grave and sober man , and of great wit and sufficiency " . Father Oswald Tesimond claimed that Keyes had " tasted persecution himself , having lost his goods because of it " while historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson 's image of him was of a " desperate man , ruined and indebted " . Tall , with a red beard , despite his relative poverty Catesby declared him " a trusty honest man " , and may have paid him for his services . Like fellow plotter Guy Fawkes , he was thought capable of looking after himself . Several conspirators expressed concerns about the safety of fellow Catholics who would be at Parliament on the day of the planned explosion ; Keyes was particularly worried about Lord Mordaunt , his wife 's employer . Thomas Percy was concerned for his patron , Henry Percy , 9th Earl of Northumberland , and the Lords Vaux , Montague , Monteagle and Stourton were also mentioned . Keyes 's suggestion to warn Lord Mordaunt was treated by Catesby with derision , when he answered that " he would not for the chamber full of diamonds acquaint him with the secret , for that he knew he could not keep it . " 
