Runaway Hill

by Oliver, Marina

  RUNAWAY HILL

  BY

  MARINA OLIVER

  Drusilla's family are urging her to accept an offer from another merchant's son, but she is reluctant, even more so when she meets the dashing Cavalier, Sir Randal Thornton, and he aids Drusilla during the Parliamentary siege of Reading.

  She realises how impossible it would be for her attraction to come to anything, especially as her brother is fighting for Parliament, and joined the protest against the King's Ship Money tax.

  Then the town of Reading and its inhabitants are in greater danger, and Drusilla longs to go back to her home in Devizes.

  Runaway Hill

  By Marina Oliver

  Copyright © 2011 Marina Oliver

  Smashwords Edition

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  Cover Design by Debbie Oliver

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form, including digital and electronic or mechanical, without the prior written consent of the Publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  First print edition published 1981 by Robert Hale

  See details of other books by Marina Oliver at http:/www.marina-oliver.net

  AUTHOR NOTE

  Roundway Down, north of Devizes, ends in a steep escarpment, and when the Parliamentary forces were forced to flee, and this steep slope was the only possible exit, the carnage as men and horses tumbled down it was great. The locals, contemptuously, gave it the name of Runaway Hill, which seemed a perfect title for this novel.

  RUNAWAY HILL

  BY MARINA OLIVER

  Chapter 1

  'Master Blagrave has called, Ma'am,' the young maid Meg announced, casting a speculative glance at her mistress's young sister-in-law, who sat dutifully embroidering a seat cover beside the fire. Drusilla Matthews did not disappoint Meg's expectations, for she looked up quickly, abandoning her needle, and began to speak hurriedly. Elizabeth smilingly shook her head, and as Drusilla subsided, pressing her rosy lips firmly together, and veiling her large brown eyes with a fringe of dark, thick, curling lashes, Mistress Matthews calmly bade Meg to show the gentleman in.

  'Why could you not deny him?' Drusilla burst out, as Meg closed the door behind her, and rose impetuously to her feet to pace quickly up and down the parlour where they sat, her dark curls bouncing against the spotless white collar fringed with lace that brightened her otherwise demure grey gown.

  'It would be futile, my dear, as well as impolite, for you may be sure he knows full well we are at home. And pray take care what you say before Meg, for her besetting fault is gossip, and one of her sisters works in Mistress Blagrave's house.'

  'Then the sooner my opinion of him reaches that house the better!' Drusilla snapped pettishly. 'Then we might be spared these importunate visits!'

  There was no time for more, since Meg reappeared, conducting a young man into the room. She lingered hopefully, watching to see what reception he found, but a frown from her mistress as Elizabeth rose to greet the visitor sent her swiftly from the room.

  Mr Blagrave was a man in his mid twenties, tall and broadly built, with powerful muscles, but showing already the effects of a wealthy background and good living in a highly coloured complexion and a tendency to corpulence. He bowed to Elizabeth, and responded politely to her greetings, then turned to look hungrily at Drusilla, who had moved across to the window and appeared to be dividing her attention between him and something of absorbing interest in the street outside.

  'Mistress Drusilla,' he breathed softly, and as he bowed to kiss her hand Drusilla cast an imploring look across at Elizabeth, who smiled brightly at her and begged Mr Blagrave to tell her how the members of his family did.

  'They could scarce have developed plague and smallpox since yesterday,' Drusilla muttered angrily to herself, and plumped down on to the settle again, seizing her needlework and affecting an absorption in it which she rarely showed.

  Mr Blagrave replied punctiliously to Elizabeth's polite queries, but with considerably less embellishment than usual, and it was soon clear to both ladies that he was big with news. Having satisfied the proprieties and asked after both their healths, he turned portentously to Elizabeth.

  'The fighting has begun!' he announced, with what Drusilla considered unnecessary relish. The news, however, was of sufficient interest to cause her to drop her needle and demand to be told more.

  'The King has thrown down the gauntlet! News has just reached Reading that he attacked Parliament's army near Warwick, at a place called Edge Hill.'

  'What happened? Who won?' Drusilla asked urgently.

  'You need not be afraid, Mistress Drusilla,' he said soothingly, and she fumed inwardly at his tone. 'My Lord Essex has halted the King's army easily enough. Why, you would not expect a rabble of soft courtiers and foreign adventurers to prevail over the might of Parliament, would you?' he laughed.

  'So the King has been defeated?' Elizabeth interposed swiftly. 'What will happen now, do you think?'

  'Doubtless he will try to regroup his forces in the north, and possibly make another attempt to reach London. But it will avail him nought, and the sooner he realises it and negotiates the matter sensibly with Parliament, the better for us all.'

  'The King was not captured, then?'

  'No, but I have heard few details as yet. I hurried to apprise you of the news the moment I heard it, for doubtless you are anxious, Mistress Matthews, with your husband away in London.'

  'What details have you?' Elizabeth asked.

  'Simply that the King was marching towards London, and Lord Essex had been sent to stop him. The two armies met at this place between Warwick and Banbury, and fought all day, with many men being killed. The Earl had the better of the fighting, and the Royalists were glad to withdraw by nightfall. They will surely be licking their wounds for weeks to come.'

  'So James will be home shortly, mayhap,' Elizabeth said, a smile playing on her lips.

  'Undoubtedly,' Mr Blagrave assured her. 'Have you heard from him of late?'

  'He sent me a message a week since. The deputation has been received by Parliament, and he expects to return soon. He opines that our grievances will be redressed now.'

  'Indeed I trust so! It was iniquitous to demand Ship Money from the people of Reading! What have we to do with ships! We submitted and paid over five hundred pounds in '35 and '36, and the King demanded yet more! It is good that the Mayor and Corporation have seen fit to deny those further demands, or there would soon be no free Englishmen left!'

  'But what will happen to the King?' Drusilla asked, uninterested in the complexities of the Ship Tax.

  'Eventually he must come to terms with his Parliament and agree to their just demands. Parliament have appointed a new Governor for the town, had you heard?'

  'No, for you are the first to bring us all the news,' Drusilla replied tartly. 'Who is it?'

  'Colonel Henry Marten. He is the man that tore up the King's commission of array at Longworth, and then raised a regiment of horse. A worthy man, though I am told he has too ready an eye for a pretty girl,' he added, throwing Drusilla an arch look. 'You will certainly meet with his favour, Mistress Drusilla!'

  Drusilla vouchsafed no reply apart from a darkling glance, and Mr Blagrave chuckled
smugly. To her relief he soon took his leave, saying he ought to return home to dispel any fears his mother might be entertaining if she heard any wild rumours of the fighting.

  *

  'Oh, he is abominable!' she exclaimed almost before the door was closed behind him, and Elizabeth quickly hushed her.

  'He might hear, Dru!'

  'Mayhap it would be to our advantage, for then we might be spared his visits!'

  'Why have you taken him in such aversion?'

  'How can anyone not dislike him! He is so pompous, and self-opinionated! He is for ever condescending to explain to me perfectly simple matters that I understand as well as he!'

  'I grant he is a serious young man, but that is no fault! I suspect he is over-anxious to please, for you must see he is greatly taken with you.'

  'Unfortunately! And as hints do not suffice to discourage him I shall be forced to be plainer to him if he does not cease these unwelcome attentions.'

  'I pray you will not be discourteous, my dear,' Elizabeth pleaded in some alarm, for she knew and dreaded the sparkle in Drusilla's eye.

  'He is discourteous in persisting when I have made it plain I dislike his attentions!' Drusilla returned with spirit.

  Elizabeth sighed. 'His family is one of the most important in Reading, my dear, and James cannot afford to offend them. Although he is a member of the Clothiers' Guild since his uncle died, his business could still be hurt if Jacob Blagrave were to influence his family against us.'

  'I have no intention of sacrificing myself for the sake of James and his business here!' Drusilla declared angrily. 'He is aware father would prefer him to come home to Devizes and join him in the business now Edward is dead. Indeed, it was only because James was the second son that father permitted him to come to Reading and join Uncle Robert.'

  'I know, and James is torn, believe me! He knows his father depends on him, having no more sons left, and yet he feels the business here and the transporting of cloth to London, which he is involved in also, will prove more profitable than the woollen business in Devizes.'

  'Especially if he can persuade me to permit myself to be used as a bribe to Jacob Blagrave!' Drusilla said bitterly, and then bent swiftly to kiss Elizabeth remorsefully, and say she would take a walk to cool her anger, for she had no wish to quarrel with Elizabeth.

  *

  Elizabeth watched her go ruefully. She was finding the charge of her wilful, pretty sister-in-law, only three years younger than herself, too great a burden during the absence of her husband in London.

  Drusilla had been sent to stay with her brother after she had caused a minor scandal in Devizes by refusing a very advantageous offer from a wealthy merchant in Chippenham and declaring publicly she had no intention of wedding a man old enough to be her father. That in itself would have been bad enough, for girls were expected to marry where their parents chose, but Drusilla had added to her iniquities by showing an obvious preference for the company of a totally unsuitable young man, Tom Copley, one of her father's own shepherds. In fact, Drusilla had no romantic feelings for this man, but was fascinated by his knowledge of animals and the countryside, and the tales he told her of the people who long ago lived on the downs. However, her determination to seek his company and wander with him over the nearby hills in total disregard of the town's opinion had resulted in this banishment to Reading, and her parents fondly hoped Elizabeth would succeed in finding a suitable and acceptable husband for their wayward daughter.

  It was high time Drusilla was married, Elizabeth mused, for she was by far too attractive for comfort. It was not only her beauty, the dark curling hair and huge, expressive brown eyes set in a softly rounded face, men were drawn to her liveliness and flocked about her. She was never serious for long, but quick to aid anyone in distress, and very determined in pursuit of any objective. At seventeen she needed a husband to control her, but already, after but a few weeks in Reading, she had wilfully rejected the offers of two very worthy men, and now seemed bent on repeating her wayward conduct when, as appeared almost certain, Jacob Blagrave made her an offer.

  Already Drusilla's apparent capriciousness, as well as her lively nature and barely concealed contempt for the proprieties, was causing talk in the mainly puritan merchant community, and Elizabeth was well aware this could adversely affect her reputation, but apart from the occasional remonstrance or warning she forbore to argue with Drusilla, knowing she would not prevail on her to conduct herself with greater decorum, and praying that James would return before disaster overtook them.

  Elizabeth had good reason for her cautious behaviour. Apart from some awe of her sister-in-law, she was again pregnant, and feeling ill and worried. Two earlier pregnancies had ended in miscarriages, and she dreaded a repetition, longing for her husband's comfort on her own account, apart from his authority over Drusilla.

  *

  Drusilla had seized a cloak and run out of the house. She found the town in a turmoil, with the citizens anxiously discussing the news of the battle, and she soon realised that Jacob Blagrave's account of it had been unfair to the Royalists. It did not seem, from what details she gleaned, that the Parliamentary army had been so successful as he had maintained. It was unclear which side had been victorious, and since Lord Essex was reported to be in Warwick, while the King was still at the site of the battle, several miles nearer to London, only the optimistic were able to assert with any conviction that Charles had been halted in his march towards the capital.

  Indeed, news soon came that Lord Essex had sent anxious letters to Parliament demanding help, and London was preparing fortifications. The King, losing the opportunity for a speedy march to London, went instead to Oxford, and from thence to Reading itself. News of his coming was brought by Meg, who burst unceremoniously into the kitchen one morning where Elizabeth was making pastry for a game pie, and gasped out the news.

  'Ma'am, Mistress Drusilla! The Governor, Colonel Marten, has gone! He's fled! They say the King is at the gates! Oh, Ma'am, what shall we do? The King's men will kill us all, or worse!'

  Elizabeth, startled, stood speechless while Joan, another maid, who was plucking a fowl, dropped it and put her hands to her mouth to stifle her exclamations of dismay. Drusilla merely laughed in genuine amusement.

  'Oh, Meg!' she exclaimed. 'Do not be so ridiculous! Since when has King Charles made war on defenceless women?'

  ' 'Tis what they're all saying, Mistress!' Meg declared, offended. 'What shall we do? Shall we flee, too, or barricade the house?'

  'You may go if you are afeard! For myself, I've a mind to see the King!' Drusilla declared, twirling round and sinking into a deep curtsey.

  'Oh, I couldn't leave you to his mercy,' Meg said, aghast. 'I've heard that the courtiers spare no woman!'

  'Pooh! They'll not be interested in us. Elizabeth, I'll go and see what the truth is,' she volunteered, untying her apron.

  'No, Drusilla!' Elizabeth exclaimed, infected with Meg's fears, but she was soon cajoled into permitting Drusilla, accompanied by one of the grooms, to go forth into the town and discover the truth of the rumours.

  It seemed these were correct, at least in that the King was expected. Walking down to the main branch of the river, Drusilla saw carpenters already at work repairing the drawbridge over the broken arch at Caversham Bridge, and was told by one of the Aldermen she met there that the King was expected on the following day.

  'He plans to treat with Parliament,' she was told. 'A pity he did not march straight to London when the chance was there.'

  'Would you have him fight the Londoners?' Drusilla asked in surprise. 'I thought the whole Corporation supported the Parliament?'

  'Not all of us, by any means. There are plenty who say no good will come of defying the King, for after all, he is King, and we cannot do without him!'

  Drusilla was making her way home when she met Mr Blagrave, who greeted her with a doleful face.

  'Mistress Drusilla, pray heed my warnings, and do not leave your house while the Kin
g is here.'

  Drusilla tossed her curls. 'Why, he is no monster to terrify children,' she returned gaily.

  Jacob shook his head. 'It is not the King so much as his followers I fear. Not on my own behalf, you understand,' he added quickly, 'but fear of what they might do to you.'

  'I think I can take care of myself, Mr Blagrave,' Drusilla said coolly.

  'Doubtless you do, my dear, but you must permit me to know better, and you must heed my advice. Soldiers are licentious creatures, such as you cannot know, and would have no respect for you.'

  'You must permit me to act as I deem fit,' Drusilla responded, hardly troubling to conceal her anger at his presumption. 'You have, after all, no authority over me.'

  'Not yet,' he replied, oblivious of her indignation, 'but it is my hope, my very earnest desire, that when your brother returns home I may have the right to guide you.'

  'You will never have such a right, Mr Blagrave!' Drusilla declared, almost trembling with fury. 'Now pray step aside, you block my path!'

  He smiled, unperturbed. 'Indeed I speak too freely, my dear, and you are right to be angry and chide me. I honour you for your discretion. When is your brother expected back?'

  Drusilla surveyed him contemptuously.

  'The sooner James returns to depress your expectations the better pleased shall I be,' she retorted, and without waiting to see the momentary expression of dismay on his face, pushed past him and almost ran back home.

  *

  She was so angry she told Elizabeth of her encounter as soon as she reached home. Normally she tried to avoid upsetting her sister-in-law, knowing the delicate state of Elizabeth's health, but this time she was too furious to make fun of the affair.

  'The impertinence! To give me advice! How dare he presume so!' she raged.

  'Indeed he spoke too freely,' Elizabeth agreed, 'but it would appear nonetheless good advice. We should take care not to venture out of the house if soldiers are to be quartered in the town.'