Sarum - Edward Rutherfurd [475]
“Until tomorrow.”
The morning passed quietly. Only Mary Godfrey and a servant girl were in the house, and neither was aware of Edmund’s presence.
During the afternoon he slept again.
It was in the late afternoon that the soldiers came. They were led by Nathaniel.
“We are searching the area for Roundheads,” he told her cheerfully, as he stood in the hall. “Some were seen yesterday.”
Margaret looked at him steadily.
“What will they do with them when they catch them?”
“Hang them probably. But we haven’t found any yet.”
“I have seen none,” she said. “But your men should search the barn and outhouses.”
They did, thoroughly, for a quarter of an hour, and found nothing, while Nathaniel and his sister chatted quietly in the hall.
It was just as Nathaniel was turning to leave that little Samuel, coming down the stairs from his afternoon’s sleep, and seeing Nathaniel’s friendly face, ran forward with a happy cry and whispered as Nathaniel swept him up into his arms:
“Shall I tell you a secret?”
The two men stood opposite to each other in her bedchamber. Little Samuel, smiling with innocent pleasure, stood at Nathaniel’s side.
She had been forced to unlock the door since Nathaniel had calmly offered to break it down if she did not.
A strange contrast they made: the younger brother in his handsome tunic edged with lace; the elder, who had hurriedly dressed, hoping to escape, seeming shrunken from his former state, in his plain brown jacket and the ugly Dutch breeches, like long shorts cut off abruptly at the knee, which many Puritans favoured. His grey wooollen stockings, she noticed, were full of holes.
They looked at each other in silence. Then Nathaniel spoke.
“Well, brother Edmund, they have cut thy hair in an abominable fashion.”
Edmund tried to smile. His eyes looked hunted. Nathaniel turned to his sister.
“I remember, sister, that you told me, when some wished me to leave, that no brother of yours should be refused a place in this house.”
“I did,” she replied, “nor shall they.”
“Very well.”
And then, with that charming smile she knew so well, he turned back to Edmund.
“Forgive me if I do not stay to greet you, brother Edmund, but my men await me outside.” His eyes twinkled. “We are looking for Parliament men.”
He strode from the room.
Nathaniel. She loved him.
1645: JANUARY
But it was that winter little Samuel remembered best of all.
For that was when his sister Margaret, while both her fighting brothers were far away, put on armour, took up her sword and went into battle herself.
First, though, came his own dramatic part in the battle of the belfry.
The new city in the valley, unlike its predecessor on the hill, was never designed to be defended. Now, for the only time in its history, the military had actually made the city into a temporary fortress. Or rather, since there was no other area with an existing wall around it, the Royalists had tried to fortify the cathedral close. It had not worked. In a small skirmish near Christmas, a contingent of Ludlow’s Roundheads had easily fired the gates and taken the tiny garrison prisoner. Now they held it, using the high belfry as a watch tower.
It was generally expected that the Royalists would return, but no one knew when.
It was foolish of Margaret to go into the city that day; but without Nathaniel for company, she had grown tired of the farmhouse and decided to seek a change of air.
It was a crisp, cold day and she and Samuel had taken the cart into Salisbury. She had made a few purchases and stopped to talk to one or two acquaintances in the market place, while the little boy watched her with increasing boredom. There was an air of lassitude about the town that day. Finally, thinking to amuse him, she led him down the High Street towards the cathedral close. The gate of the close was open. By the belfry, she knew, there would be half a dozen soldiers lounging about, and the sight of armed men never failed to interest him.
It was as she expected. Three soldiers were leaning against the wall of the belfry near the door and they gave Samuel