Sarum - Edward Rutherfurd [476]
Margaret and Samuel made a slow tour of the choristers’ green. As it was now early evening, and the cold damp was beginning to make them shiver, they turned back towards the gate to go home.
It was just as they did so that suddenly, ahead of them, pandemonium broke loose.
To shouts from the gateway, a large figure on a horse burst into the close and rode to the belfry before reining, staring at its upper storeys and bellowing:
“Fools! Did I not tell you to keep watch?”
His voice echoed round the close and Margaret identified him immediately as the gallant young commander, Edmund Ludlow.
Seeing Margaret and the child approaching the gate, he now impatiently waved them back.
“Away from the gate,” he cried, “the Cavaliers are coming. They’re coming into the market place.”
They were indeed. A large party had moved down unannounced from Amesbury that day and already the advance guard had approached down Castle Street. The men in the belfry whose job it was to keep watch, had failed to do so.
Now all was activity. Men were running in and out of the belfry pulling on steel breastplates and helmets. Figures suddenly appeared high on the upper storeys of the tower where they should have been before, while all around people came out of their houses and, taking little notice of Ludlow’s irritated commands, formed a little crowd near the gate staring up the High Street.
So far there was nothing to be seen.
Margaret wondered what she should do. Alone, she might have been tempted to leave the close quickly by St Ann’s Gate and see if she could work her way out of the city. But glancing down at the five-year-old child at her side, she dismissed the idea – she could not risk his getting caught in crossfire in Salisbury’s streets.
But she could not stand outside in the cold either. They must take shelter for a while, preferably in a house as far away from the belfry as possible. She glanced about at the people in the street to see if there was a face she knew.
Ludlow had quickly gathered a small force of ten men whom he sent hurrying up the High Street. Now he was collecting more. It looked to Margaret like only a couple of dozen men, but they were preparing at any moment to march out of the close behind him. She heard someone say that there were reinforcements on Harnham Hill nearby.
Meanwhile, the little knot of people by the gate had grown larger. Many of them were good-humouredly laughing as they waited to see the soldiers leave. From the town there was still neither sight nor sound of the Cavaliers. Evidently the people of the close refused to take Ludlow and his little force very seriously.
It was just then that Margaret saw what she was looking for in the crowd – an elderly woman she knew slightly who had a small house on the east side of the close, between St Ann’s Gate and the bishop’s palace. That would be as safe as anywhere, she judged, and taking Samuel by the hand, she moved quickly towards her.
Fortunately, the woman was glad to see her. She not only agreed but seemed pleased at the prospect of company. She was even garrulous.
Margaret was relieved: so far so good.
When he was five there was no more exciting sight in the world for Samuel Shockley than a group of fully armed soldiers. He was so delighted by this new turn of events that he even forgot the cold. Ludlow’s troop had gathered itself into some kind of order, and since Margaret had now solved the problem of their immediate safety, she good-naturedly let go his hand and let him move a few feet to where he could get a better view of the proceedings.
Even so, he found that he could only see the commander himself and his horse because of the thickening crowd in front of him.
The people were kindly however, and happily it was not long before several hands helped him through to the front. How magnificent the soldiers were – every item of their dress seemed full