The Young Castellan: A Tale of the English Civil War

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER THIRTY.

  "AND ALL THROUGH MY NEGLECT."

  Seeing how completely prostrated his companion seemed to be, the officerturned to him as they reached the entrance to the private apartments andsaid, quietly--

  "Perhaps you will show me a room where I and my officers can have somerefreshment. We are starving. You can tell your servants that theyhave nothing to fear. I will see that they are not insulted; and thenperhaps you would prefer to be alone."

  "Thank you," faltered Roy, speaking in a strange, dazed way, as if hewere in a dream.

  "Come, be a man, sir," said the officer, rather sternly. "It is thefortune of war. A young soldier must not lose heart because he finds heis a prisoner. There, meet me at breakfast-time, and you and I willhave a chat together. But listen first before you go: do not attemptany foolish, reckless pranks in the way of trying to escape. I tell youhonestly, the castle will be so guarded and watched that it would bemadness.--By the way, where are Lady Royland's apartments?"

  Roy pointed to a door.

  "Tell her when you see her that there is nothing to fear. But MasterPawson told me that he would place guards over her."

  Roy drew a deep breath but said nothing, merely contented himself withpointing out the dining-room and library to his conqueror. Then hestopped at his own door.

  "Your room? Very well; take my advice, and have a few hours' sleep,"said the officer, opening the door, entering, and looking round by thelight of the dim lamp. "Where does that big window open upon?"

  "The garden,--the court-yard."

  "And that narrow slit?"

  "Upon the moat."

  "Hah! Good-night to you."

  He strode out, and Roy stood where he had been left, with his headthrobbing as if it would burst from the terrible thoughts that invadedit.

  Directly after he heard the tramp of heavy feet, a few words deliveredin an imperious tone, and there was the heavy _rap, rap_ of a couple ofmusket butts upon the oaken floor, telling him that guards had beenplaced at his door. His despair now knew no bounds, for he haddetermined to go straight to his mother's chamber, and ask her if MasterPawson's words were true. Now all communication was cut off, for he wasa prisoner.

  But his agony had reached its greatest height, and in a short time hegrew calmer; for light came into his darkened brain, and he told himselfhe was glad that he had not been able to go and insult his mother byasking such a question.

  "It is horrible!" he said to himself; "and I must have been mad to thinksuch a thing possible. Liar! traitor! wretch! How could I think therewas the faintest truth in anything he said!"

  Utterly exhausted, he took off his armour and laid it and his sword-beltand empty scabbard aside.

  "Done with now," he said, bitterly; and he sank upon the couch to tryand think whether he was to blame for not searching more for the passageleading out beyond the moat.

  "But I did try, and try hard," he muttered. "No; I could not foreseethat the man chosen by my father would betray us. It was my duty totrust him. It was not my fault."

  Through the remainder of that night he sat there thinking. Nowlistening to the tramp of the sentries at his door and overhead upon theramparts, starting from time to time as he heard them challenge, and theword passed on, till it died away; now thinking bitterly of the easewith which they had been beaten, and of the men who must have fallen intheir defence. Then, from utter exhaustion, his eyes would close, andconsciousness leave him for a few minutes as he sank back.

  But he never thoroughly went to sleep, the act of sinking back makinghim start into wakefulness, bitter and angry with himself for theselapses, and in every case springing up to pace the room.

  "Poor mother! What she must have suffered through it all, and Iscarcely gave her a thought. That wretch must have locked her in herroom or she would certainly have been seeing to the wounded."

  The clock chimed and struck, and chimed and struck again, with Roycounting the long lingering hours as they went on, for he was longingfor the day to appear, hopeless as the dawn would be. But he wanted tosee the general, to beg that he might go to Lady Royland; and the timewhen he would meet him seemed as if it would never come.

  But at last the faint light began to dawn through the window, and, hotand feverish, he threw it open, to look out across the court and overthe eastern ramparts at the coming signs of day, which grew brighter andclearer till the sentinels upon the terrace-like place, and thecrenellations, stood out of a purply black plainly marked against thesky.

  There were at least twenty men marching to and fro where at the most hehad had two; and he groaned in spirit for a time as he went over againthe occurrences of the past night. But far on high the sky began to bedappled with orange and golden clouds, which increased in brightnesstill the whole east was one glory of light, bringing with it hope; whilethe soft cool breeze he drank in gave him fresh courage and the strengthto act the part he had to play,--that of one too proud to be cast down,so that his men should speak of him ever after as his father's son.

  "Better than being in one of the dungeons," he thought, as he indulgedin a good bathe, and dressed himself simply; after which he carefullyhung up his armour, with the helmet above, and longed for his sword thatit might occupy its old place.

  "Better be lying rusting in the moat than resting in such hands as his,"he muttered.

  After spending some time at the window gazing across the court at thewindows of the long chamber used for the hospital, and at the opening tothe stabling down below, he fell to wondering as to how the poor fellowswho were wounded had passed the night; and this brought a shudder, andhe ran across to the little slit in the thickness of the wall to openthe tiny casement, and look down at the moat, peering to right and leftwith starting eyes in expectant dread of seeing some ghastly sign of thehorrible struggle that had taken place upon the tower platforms. Butthe lilies floated peacefully enough, and displayed their great whitecups, and the fish played about beneath the leaves, making rings in thesmooth patches where they rose--rings which spread and spread till theyslightly swayed the reeds and rushes at the edge.

  But he saw no dead white face gazing up at the sunlit heavens, and,search the waters as he would, there was not a sign to send a shudderthrough his frame.

  All at once there was the tramp of feet overhead, and he went back tothe other window, where he stood and looked across, and on the easternrampart saw the guard relieved, the sun burnishing the men's steel caps;and soon after, as he watched, wondering what the day would bring forth,he heard the sentries at his door relieved in turn.

  This ended, the echoes of the place were awakened by the blast of atrumpet, and the boy stood looking in wonder at the strength of theforce drawn up in the court, and saw fully half of them march towardsthe great gate-way. Then he heard the drawbridge lowered, and theheavy, hollow tramp of the men as they passed across. Soon after, theneighing of horses reached his ears, and then came the beating of hoofson the bridge, raising echoes from the walls at the other end, as atroop rode in and were drawn up on either side--sturdy-looking fellows,who sat their horses well, as Roy was fain to grant in spite of BenMartlet's disparaging remarks.

  He was still watching the troopers and their horses, when he heard amovement outside his door as if the sentries had presented arms; anddirectly after the general strode into the room, with his stern,thoughtful countenance lighting up as he encountered Roy's frank, boldeyes.

  "Good-morning," he said, holding out his hand.

  Roy flushed, but made no movement to take it.

  "As one gentleman to another, Roy Royland," he said, smiling. "We canbe enemies again when we have fighting to do. Come, we can be friendsnow."

  Roy felt drawn towards him, and he slowly raised his hand, which wasfirmly gripped and held for a few moments.

  "Ah, that's better!--Well, prisoner, how have you slept?"

  "I? Not at all," said Roy, bitterly.

  "That is a pity, too," said the general. "You ough
t to have slept. Youhad no guilty conscience to keep you awake. You only had the knowledgeof duty done."

  "And what about the poor fellows who fell fighting for us? Would notthat keep me awake?"

  "Ah, yes!" said the general, laying his hand on Roy's shoulder. "Thatis right. Well, as far as I have ascertained, not a man failed to crossthe moat after his plunge. There are some ugly wounds, no doubt, butthe doctor tells me that my men have suffered worse than yours, and hedoes not anticipate that any of your brave fellows will even have tostay in bed."

  "That is good news," said Roy in spite of himself, for he meant to bevery stern and distant.

  "Better than was given me, my boy. There, come along; breakfast iswaiting."

  Roy shrank back.

  "I would rather have some bread and water here," he said.

  "Indeed! But I'm not going to feed my prisoner upon bread and water. Ifind you have plenty here, and that plenty you shall share. Ah! I seeyou do not want to meet our friend Pawson."

  Roy started violently, and changed colour.

  "He will not be with us, sir. Master Pawson prefers to stay in his ownchamber, and I am quite willing."

  "My mother?" asked Roy, in agony.

  "Keeps to her room, boy. Her women are with her, and she knows that youare safe."

  "She knows that?" cried Roy.

  "Well, yes. I am what you would call a brutal rebel and traitor to myking; but I have a wife who knows what anxiety is about her husband andher son during this cruel war, and I took the liberty of asking aninterview last night, before going to rest, and telling Lady Royland howyou had behaved."

  "Thank you, General--General--"

  "Hepburn, my lad," and he caught the hand the boy held out. "And let metell you that you have a mother of whom any boy should be proud--yourfather a wife such as few men own. She passed the whole night tendingthe wounded and winning our doctor's esteem. But come; I am hungry, andso must you be too."

  Roy followed him without a word, feeling that, prisoner though he was,the salutes of the sentinels they passed were full of respect; and whenhe reached the dining-room, in which about twenty officers were gatheredwaiting their general's presence to begin, they rose like one man, andpressed forward to shake him by the hand, making the boy flush withmingled shame and pride, for had he taken the castle instead of losingit, his reception could not have been more warm.

  "Come," said the general, after their hasty meal was at an end, "you aremy prisoner, but I will not ask you to make promises not to escape. Youcan go about the castle; the men will let you pass anywhere within theportcullis. You will like to visit your wounded men, of course."

  "And the other prisoners?" said Roy.

  "I am going to parade them now; so come with me and see."

  The strong force pretty well filled the square court-yard, but left avacant place in the middle into which the general strode; and thengiving his orders, there was a pause, during which Roy's gaze turnedinvoluntarily towards the little turret at the corner of the gate tower;but no flag fluttered there, and he felt a pang as he gazed at the tallpole with the halyard against it swayed by the wind.

  But he had something else to take his attention directly as he glancedround the walls.

  There, standing at the window of the north-west tower, was the upperpart of the figure of Master Pawson, framed as it were in stone; and Royturned away in disgust as a hearty cheer arose, and he saw it was towelcome the brave fellows, who marched from their prison of the night,bandaged, bruised, and sadly damaged in their personal appearance, butwith heads erect and keeping step with Ben Martlet, who looked as if hewere flushed with victory instead of labouring under defeat.

  The men were drawn up in line in the middle of the narrow square, and asthey caught sight of Roy just by the general, their military mannersgave place to a touch of human nature, for Ben nodded eagerly to hisyoung captain, and wounded and sound all waved steel cap or hand, FarmerRaynes the latter in a left-handed way, for his right was in a sling;and then all burst into a cheer.

  Just then, behind the prisoners and over the heads of the line ofmounted men, whose horses' hoofs were trampling the flower-beds, Roycaught sight of something white in the open hospital window, and hisheart leaped as his mother waved her handkerchief to him, wafting awaywith it the last trace of the vile mist Master Pawson had raised aroundher by his assertion.

  Roy eagerly responded to the salutation, and then had his attentiontaken up by the action of the general, who walked along the little lineof prisoners, who, to a man, returned his stern scrutiny with a bold,defiant stare. Then turning to Ben, he said--

  "How many of these are disciplined soldiers, sergeant?"

  "All of 'em far as we could make 'em," replied Ben.

  "Yes. But how many were in the Royalist army?"

  "Three and me," said Ben.

  "You three men, two paces to the rear," said the general, sharply; andthe three troopers stepped back.

  "Nay, nay!" shouted Farmer Raynes, angrily. "Share and share alike. Wewere all in it; and I say if you shoot them, shoot us, too;" and hestepped back, the others after a momentary hesitation following hisexample.

  There was a murmur in the Parliamentary ranks as the men witnessed thislittle bit of heroism, and the general shouted his next order in a veryperemptory way.

  "Attention!" he cried, addressing the prisoners. "I do not shoot bravemen in cold blood, only cowards and traitors."

  "Then have that hound down from yon window, general," cried Ben,excitedly, pointing to where Master Pawson stood looking on, "and shoothim. Nay, it's insulting good soldiers to ask 'em to do it, sir. We'vean old stone gallows here on the ramparts; have him hung."

  A yell of execration burst from the prisoners, and the ex-secretarydisappeared.

  "Silence!" cried the general. "Attend there. You, sergeant, and youthree men, will you take service under the Parliament, and keep yourranks with the promise of early promotion?"

  "Shall I speak for you, comrades?" asked Ben.

  "Yes," they cried together.

  "Then not a man of us, sir. We're Sir Granby Royland's old troopers,and we say, God save the king!"

  The general made a sign, and the four men were surrounded and marched toone side in the direction from whence they had been brought; while atanother sign, the rest of the prisoners, with Farmer Raynes at theirhead, closed up in line.

  "What are you?" said the general, sternly, beginning with the sturdytenant of the estate.

  "Farmer."

  "And you?"

  "Butler."

  And so all along the line, each man making his response in anindependent, defiant tone.

  "Will you come and serve the Parliament?" said the general. "I wantstrong, brave men."

  He looked at Farmer Raynes as he spoke, but glanced afterwards at everyman in turn.

  "Then you must go and look for 'em somewhere else, squire. You won'tfind a man on Sir Granby Royland's estate."

  A murmur from the rank showed how the rest acquiesced.

  The general made a sign, and a squad of musketeers surrounded the men.

  "Go back to your homes, my lads; but remember, if you are found in armsagain, you will be shot. Escort these men beyond the moat."

  Farmer Raynes turned sharply to Roy.

  "Can't help ourselves, captain," he cried, loudly; "but shot or no,we're ready when you want us again.--Good-bye, Martlet, old comrade.--Take care of him, general, for he's as fine a soldier as ever stepped.--Now, my lads, three cheers for my lady, and then march."

  The prisoners burst into a hearty roar, and were then escorted throughthe gate-way and over the drawbridge beyond the strong picket stationedby the earthwork. Here they cheered loudly again.

  "Hallo! who are you?" said the general, sharply, as his eyes lit uponthe flowing white hair and beard of the tottering old gate-keeper, who,fully armed, and with his head erect, took a few paces forward fromwhere he had stood before unobserved.

  "Si
r Granby's oldest follower, and his father's afore him," said Jenk,in his feeble, quavering voice. "Do I go with Ben Martlet and t'othersto the prison?"

  "No," said the general, shortly; "stop and attend to your young master,and mind you don't get playing tricks with that sword."

  "But I'm a soldier as has sarved--"

  "Silence, Jenk!" said Roy, hastily stepping to his side. "You must notdesert me; I'm quite alone now."

  "Oh, very well, if it's like that, sir, I'll stop with you," quaveredthe old man; and he stepped stiffly behind his young master, unconsciousof the smiles and whispers which arose.

  Half an hour later the new garrison had settled down to its quarters;the three heavy guns from the battery had been brought in and planted inthe gate-way to sweep the approach, and Royland Castle was transformedinto a Parliamentary stronghold, protected by whose guns a little campwas formed just beyond the moat, and occupied by the cavalry of theforce.

  Ben and his three comrades were placed in a room opening on thecourt-yard, with leave to go anywhere about the quadrangle, with asentry placed over them--hardly a necessity, for they were all sufferingfrom wounds, of which, however, they made light when Roy went to them,setting him a capital example of keeping a good heart.

  Then, finding himself fully at liberty to go where he pleased, thesentries saluting and letting him pass, Roy made for the hospital-room,longing for and yet dreading the interview, fearing as he did to witnesshis mother's despair.

  To his surprise, as she eagerly caught his hands in hers, her face waswreathed in smiles, and she strove to comfort him.

  "Defeated, Roy; but even your enemies honour you for your bravedefence," she whispered.

  "Ours, mother; not mine only," he said. And then, feeling that he couldnot even allude to the traitor who carefully kept out of his way, hewent round to the men's beds with Lady Royland. The place was prettyfull now, but in spite of serious wounds the room looked cheerful, andthe men of both sides received them with smiles. There was only one sadface, and that was Sam Donny's, for he had taken to his bed again, "fromweakness," Lady Royland said.

  She passed on to the next bed, and Roy sat down by the poor fellow for afew minutes, to take his hand, gazing the while in his drawn andwrinkled face.

  "I'm very, very sorry, Sam," Roy said, gently. "Come, you must try andget right again."

  "Yes, captain," said the man loudly, with a groan. "I was to have beenout in a few days if I hadn't turned worse. This doctor don'tunderstand my case."

  "What is it?" said Roy, anxiously. "Has your wound broken out again?"

  "Nothing at all," whispered the man, with his eyes twinkling. "I'mnearly as right as you are, sir; and when you want me, here I am."

  "What?"

  "Hush! Don't look like that. I'm gammoning my lady, so as they shan'tsend me away like t'others. You've got a strong man here when you andBen Martlet wants to make a fight for it again. Oh-h-h!"

  He groaned as he saw one of the wounded Parliamentarians looking intheir direction, and Roy rose hurriedly and joined his mother, feelingas if he were playing false.

  They finished their round of the place, and then went out into thecorridor to talk.

  "Don't speak about our disaster, Roy," said Lady Royland, clinging tohis hand. "We must bear it, and your father cannot blame us for ourreverse. There, I shall be busy here, and we must be thankful that wehave fallen into the hands of General Hepburn, whose kindness andconsideration are far more than we could have expected. He has only onefault--he is an enemy."

  "Then you don't blame me for feeling as if I half liked him, mother?"

  "We can like the man, Roy, without liking his principles," said LadyRoyland, calmly. "Come and see me as often as you can; I shallgenerally be here, but I suppose you can come to my room sometimes."

  "I suppose so," said Roy. "I believe I am to keep mine."

  "Yes; General Hepburn told me you should; but, Roy, you will becareful."

  "What--about trying to retake the place?"

  "It is impossible, my boy. But I did not mean that; I meant aboutencountering that man--no, he is not a man," she cried, with an angryflash of her eyes. "He has taken possession of the library and thestate-room, for he made a bargain with our enemies that his reward fordelivering up the place was to be that he should retain the estateafterwards."

  "And they wanted the stronghold put down, and agreed," said Roy. "Yes;I pretty well know all, mother. Of course you have heard how he got themen in? All through my neglect?"

  "Yes, Roy! No, Roy, there was no neglect! We could not know of thatcommunication."

  "I did; but I could not find it. Oh, how that villain did cheat--"

  Roy got no further, for his mother's hand was laid upon his lips, andthey parted directly after, her last words being:

  "Don't think of it, Roy; our position is a happy one compared to his.Even the enemy look upon him with disgust."

  "And I was ready for a few moments to believe all he said," thought Roy,as he returned to the court-yard with a strong desire now in his mind,one which grew minute by minute. He only waited for a favourableopportunity to make his request.