Runaway Hill

by Oliver, Marina

  Hoping for another glimpse of Sir Randal, Drusilla barely left the window all day, but he did not reappear. Sergeant Cox came back and was closeted with his men for some time, afterwards departing again towards the castle. At suppertime he announced the Matthews were to lose their uninvited guests.

  'We ride out tonight,' he told them. 'There is too little room in the town for all the cavalry, and it has been decided to remove us.'

  'But has not Waller surrounded the town?' Mr Matthews asked, puzzled. 'I have seen for myself his troops drawn up on the slopes of Roundway Hill, and I am told he has encircled the town, intending to attack.'

  Sergeant Cox nodded. 'Aye, he might attack, but it is impossible to circle the town completely because of the marshes and lack of sufficient men. I do not anticipate great difficulty for a compact group of horsemen to break through their lines. Not with Prince Maurice and men like my own Colonel at the head of them!' he added with considerable pride.

  The men retired after supper to make their preparations, and to get what rest they could, but there was no possibility of sleep for Drusilla. Outside in the Market Place, long before midnight, the cavalry began to assemble, but although she watched eagerly, in the uncertain light given by a few flares she could not distinguish Randal's features.

  One of the last to join the assembly was Sergeant Cox, who sent out his men and turned to express his gratitude to Mistress Matthews for all she had done. 'We do not often meet with such kindness from those we are forced to incommode,' he said ruefully. 'I'm truly grateful to Colonel Thornton for sending us here. I thought you were friends of his, and he has asked how you did, although it seems he has been too occupied with other matters to visit you. I'll certainly tell him how royally you have treated us.'

  *

  He was gone, and Drusilla turned away and went swiftly to her room to ponder what he had said, and escape the puzzled looks her mother was casting her. So Randal had been responsible for ensuring decent, sober men had been sent to their house! He must care for her a little. Why had she not guessed it had been his actions, for who else could have known of them and been so thoughtful?

  Briefly a flicker of hope rose in her breast, but it soon died as she thought of Mary Percy, and reminded herself he had made no attempt to see her. She did not believe military duties could have kept him busy every single moment, and if he had wished to he would have snatched at least a few minutes with her. No, he had simply acted generously, ensuring they had been as little troubled as possible. Mayhap he recalled the annoyances she had experienced in Reading, and wished to spare her a repetition of them, even though he did not care sufficiently to make an attempt to see her himself. It was courtesy on his part, and nothing more.

  The sounds of the cavalry died away, and Drusilla wondered where they were bound for. They were vastly outnumbered by Waller's men, so could hardly be planning to attack him from the rear. So far as she knew there were no other Royalists near at hand, although it was difficult to know what to believe, for the news they received was so vague, and often contradicted the following day, and they could not be going to fetch help. They must have determined on escaping to save the cavalry, since otherwise all would be taken, and leaving the Cornish infantry to their fate. Devizes would soon be overrun with Waller's men, James probably amongst them. It was only that which permitted Drusilla to look forward to the next few days with any degree of calm. He would surely protect them from the sort of outrages she had witnessed in Reading. However, it was not the contemplation of this possibility that caused the tears to flow that night before Drusilla, exhausted by her emotions, at last fell asleep.

  Chapter 9

  On the following day, the soldiers left in the town, between two and three thousand of them, were intensely busy. They continued to block all the ways into the town by digging ditches, or blocking the lanes with huge trunks of trees and anything else which could be obtained. Any other means of defence was pointless, since the small and inadequate earthworks round the edge of the town would not serve to halt a determined advance.

  It had earlier been discovered the Royalists were short of match, and Mistress Matthews was indignant when she was forced to give up all the bed cord in the house.

  'What in the world can they want with that?' she demanded of her husband when they sat at dinner.

  'They plan to beat it and boil it in resin to make match,' he replied wearily. 'They are stripping the roofs of lead for bullets, but I hear they have only two barrels of powder left, so it will be to no avail.'

  'Sergeant Cox told me they were expecting some powder to arrive,' Drusilla offered.

  'No, it has been captured, I hear, by Waller. He intercepted a force of Royalists early this morning,' her father said.

  'Why does not Waller attack?' Drusilla wondered. 'He has so many more men. From the attic windows I have seen the thousands drawn up on the slopes above Roundway, and yet all he does is fire on the town occasionally.'

  'No doubt he is afeard,' one of the maids contributed. 'My brother told me he was almost captured last night, when some of the King's men came across his supper, left uneaten in a farmhouse at Roundway!'

  'How could they get there?' Mistress Matthews asked, puzzled. 'Surely they cannot ride in and out at will?'

  'It would not be difficult, methinks,' Mr Matthews replied. 'Although Waller has so many more men he must spread them more thinly to try and surround the town, and they would not be difficult to evade, particularly in the darkness.'

  All that day the Parliamentary troops could be seen on the hillsides overlooking the town while the Royalists continued their limited preparations for defence. During the afternoon there was a lull while, with some of Waller's troops having cautiously penetrated to the outskirts of the town, he offered to intercede for the Royalists with Parliament if they surrendered.

  'Think you Lord Hopton will surrender?' Drusilla asked her father, as both of them watched from the highest windows of the house.

  'He must,' was his reply. 'There is no reason in holding out, for Waller must eventually succeed. Let us hope that before they conclude they do as little damage to our town as possible!'

  However, it seemed as though Hopton would not surrender. The bombardment began again later in the evening and continued until darkness, when the attackers withdrew to the hills to be secure from any sallies from the town, and the citizens speculated on what relief the Royalists could expect.

  *

  On Wednesday morning, Drusilla woke to the sound of heavy rain against her shutters, and the bombardment that morning was as a result a mild affair. As the rain eased later in the day another attack was launched, and some furious fighting ensued.

  Mistress Matthews, having at first been terrified, had now developed a curious fatalism, and having very sensibly concluded there was little any of them could do either to affect the outcome or determine the results to themselves, she set the maids and Drusilla on to sorting through the linen and setting aside that which needed mending.

  Drusilla was in one of the bedrooms at the back of the house when there was a terrified scream from Betty. Drusilla dropped the pile of sheets she was replacing in a press and ran to discover what had happened.

  Betty was clinging to the window frame, and pointing excitedly.

  As Drusilla ran across to her, she saw out of the window a small troop of horsemen gallop furiously out of the Brittox and across the Market Place, flourishing their swords as they went.

  ' 'Tis the rebels! They will be on us! Oh, Mistress, save me!' Betty moaned, and screamed again when another, larger troop went hurtling after the first.

  'Pull yourself together, Betty!' Drusilla advised. 'And you had best not permit my father to hear you call them rebels, for remember Mr James is with them!'

  'What will they do to us, Mistress Drusilla?' the girl asked.

  'Why, nought, I trust, once they have driven out the Royalists. I suppose we shall have to endure more soldiers quartered on us, but when my brother comes
, as he is certain to do, he will ensure we are treated courteously, so you need have no fears.'

  Betty did not seem reassured, but she forbore to scream again, and the two girls watched several more of the Parliamentary troops ride at full gallop through the town, fired on occasionally by a hidden musketeer. Then, after this brief surge of activity, an odd silence fell and no more soldiers were to be seen.

  Suppertime came, and it was discovered Ben was missing. As Mistress Matthews was making anxious enquiries, discovering from the other servants he had not been seen for at least two hours, the culprit slid in through the kitchen door, failing completely in his obvious desire to be unobtrusive.

  'Where have you been?' Mr Matthews demanded, and Ben had to confess that, against orders, he had crept out into the town to try and discover what was happening.

  'They are parleying!' he announced, and this news caused so much comment and speculation Ben was able to join the supper table and begin to eat before anyone could chastise him for his disobedience. Beyond saying he would be most severely punished if he again disobeyed orders, Mr Matthews ignored it.

  *

  No more firing was heard that night, but on the following morning it was clear to the townsfolk Waller did not intend to prevaricate any longer. His forces were drawn up in full strength on the slopes of Roundway Hill, and it was obvious even to those who had no military knowledge that he was preparing for a major attack.

  The Royalists in the town, heavily outnumbered, made preparations for a forlorn defence. The sound of cannon fire suddenly boomed from the north-east, behind the Parliamentary army, from the direction of the downs.

  Ben, too excited to heed Mr Matthews' orders, again went into the town to glean news. When he returned, even Mr Matthews was too astonished at what he had discovered to utter a reprimand.

  'The soldiers are saying it's relief from Oxford, that the cavalry went to fetch!' he announced.

  'From Oxford? Why, they must have ridden near a hundred miles!' Mr Matthews exclaimed.

  'It cannot be,' his wife protested. 'Almost a hundred miles in less than three days? They left on Tuesday, before daybreak, and would have had no sleep that night!'

  'Some of the leaders think it a trick to draw them out of the town,' Ben went on, 'though Hopton urges them to go.'

  'The Parliament men are moving away!' Betty ran down the stairs at that moment to report, and they all accompanied her back to the attics from where they could watch as Waller and his men marched away from the town, to draw up again facing across the downs on the summit of Roundway Hill.

  'Is it a ruse?' Mr Matthews wondered, but Drusilla was thinking only of Randal, who might at that moment be approaching by the same roads over which they had ridden so many weeks ago. If the rumour was correct, it seemed inevitable a battle would be fought, and her brother and her loved one would both be involved, but on opposing sides. She twisted her hands together in agony, and unable to listen calmly to the excited speculations of her parents and the servants, went to sit in her room where they would not witness the fear in her eyes.

  There was no more firing of cannon to be heard during the long afternoon, and Ben reported the Cornishmen had not moved out of the town, despite the disappearance of Waller from the ridge, for fear it was an ambush and they would find Waller lying in wait for them just beyond Roundway Hill.

  *

  Some time later the sound of cheering in the Market Place brought Drusilla to the window. She saw the Cornish infantry gathering, and having formed into companies, march out of the town along the Roundway road. It appeared from the shouts of triumph she heard that a victory had been won by Royalist cavalry from Oxford, and on receiving this intelligence, the more timid officers had finally agreed to leave the shelter of the town.

  After they had gone, the townsfolk poured on to the streets to discuss the events of the siege and this amazing battle which had taken place out of their sight on the downs. Drusilla came out, too, for after having kept close to the house since Sunday night she was anxious alike for air and news.

  A few Royalist cavalry had by now reached Devizes, some wounded, others carrying or giving assistance to those more seriously hurt. One soldier, relinquishing his injured comrade to the ministrations of a couple of motherly women who clucked sympathetically over his plight, leaned against his horse and stared about him. Drusilla, desperate for news, approached tentatively.

  'What happened?' she asked. 'We heard the Royalists won a magnificent victory.'

  He surveyed her for a moment before replying, then nodded.

  'Aye, and no thanks to the Cornishmen, who stayed safely in hiding till all was done for them!'

  'I think they feared a trap,' Drusilla explained, but he snorted in disbelief.

  'Poltroons!' he exclaimed.

  'But what happened? You came from Oxford?'

  'Aye. Prince Maurice and some of the officers rode in on Tuesday morning, when none of us knew what had become of them, only that there had been a crushing defeat at Lansdown.'

  'But Lansdown was a victory for us!' Drusilla cried, unconsciously ranging herself on the side of the Royalists.

  'So we know now, but some fools who ran away before the end of the battle did not halt until they reached Oxford, and it was their lying tales we heard! It was not until Prince Maurice himself arrived that we knew the truth.'

  'And you rode back here?'

  'Aye, less than two thousand of us. Sir John Byron and Lord Wilmot came, and Prince Maurice and some others, despite their long ride, insisted on coming back as volunteers. We had but cavalry, for 'twas too far to march infantry in time, and we expected help from the Cornish foot! Twice our strength, Waller had, and still we beat him! We came up over a hill to see him waiting for us, and then we charged! Oh, how we charged at them! We near split open Hazelrig's Lobsters, despite their armour. Have you seen any?' he demanded.

  Drusilla shook her head.

  'Covered in plate, they are, so tight they can hardly move! We dealt with them, and then with Waller on the other wing, and they turned and fled! Only the foot stood, and 'tis my belief that's only because they did not know where to go with the town to their backs! However, before we'd finished them off, my sergeant was hurt by a pike, and I brought him down here.'

  Drusilla was about to ask him if Sir Randal Thornton had been engaged in the fight when she felt an insistent tug on the sleeve of her gown. Looking round she saw George Copley, Tom's young brother, and he put his finger to his lips and beckoned her away. Leaving the soldier to tell his tale to the small crowd that had collected about him, she followed George behind a wagon.

  'What is it?' she asked, puzzled, for she had never seen him in the town before.

  'Tom, he said I was to come and fetch 'ee,' he whispered, looking all about him in fright that someone might overhear.

  'Fetch me? Where? Why?' she demanded.

  'To our cottage,' he replied, obviously considering such a query foolish. 'Tom said I was to tell 'ee James was there, hurt bad.'

  'James?' Drusilla exclaimed. 'Oh, how badly?'

  George shrugged. 'Tom says he'll most like live. Not like the other.'

  'What other?' she demanded, but George shook his head.

  'Tom said to come quick,' was all he would say.

  'I'll come, of course, but ought I not to bring my father as well? James will need to be carried home, and my father can arrange for that.'

  George shook his head impatiently.

  'Tom said I was to tell no one else, Mistress Drusilla! He said Master James shouldn't be moved awhile, but he was calling so wild like for 'ee, and so Tom said best fetch 'ee, but not to tell anyone else. 'Twere Master James, seemingly, that wanted it kept secret,' he added. 'He didn't like it when Tom said to fetch Master Matthews, said he weren't to be told, yet.'

  'I'll get my mare and you can ride pillion,' Drusilla decided swiftly, and turned to lead the way along the side road to the stables. As there was no time to change into a riding habit she
thought she could manage better without a saddle, and so after she had bridled the mare she led her quickly outside.

  Hitching up her skirts as she had done many times before, she scrambled on to the mare's back and George, delighted at this rare opportunity of riding, quickly climbed up behind her. They set off, avoiding the main streets, and making for the road that led to Netherstreet, below the shoulder of the hills, and close to Tom's cottage.

  *

  She had some difficulty in manoeuvring past the obstacles set up to hinder Waller's advance, but finally found a place where an upturned wagon had been pulled aside, obviously by the cavalry which had penetrated into the town on the previous day, and was soon trotting along the track away from the town, with attention to spare to question George.

  'There were a mighty battle on the downs,' he told her. 'Tom and I were on Beacon Hill with the sheep, and we saw both armies coming across from Roughridge and Roundway, to meet in the dip in the centre. First one charged, then the other, and then the first again. I never seen nought like it.'

  'What of James?' she asked.

  'Tom found him. When the battle were over, they tried to run away, most of 'em, and came right past us, making for Chippenham way. But the hill was steeper than they thought, and many of the horses fell, and rolled down the slopes, over and over and over. Some of 'em turned to the north, and got away, because 'tis flatter there, but those that turned towards Devizes were in worse case.'

  Drusilla shuddered, and nodded in agreement as she looked to her right where the steep slopes of the hills rose up to the downs. There were many ravines in the sides of the hills, and it was no place to take a horse, even if there were no need for haste.

  'What happened?' she asked, but could see part of the answer for herself in the terrible carnage of dead bodies and the corpses of horses strewn about the slopes.

  'Master James knows the land, and he tried to make for the old sheep road, where 'tis less steep,' George answered, 'but there were so many, all so frantic to get away, that he was caught in the rush and fell, and some horse rolled over him and broke his leg. He'll be fit again soon, Tom said, so don't fret, Mistress Drusilla,' he added, and Drusilla reflected that if James had to break his leg she'd as soon he did it where Tom could care for him, and set it again, as anywhere else. Tom, with that instinct often possessed by those who lived close to nature, could doctor any animal, and set both animal and human bones better than most surgeons.