Chapter Seven
Matthew tried to catch up with Hannah. ‘Grandfather. Grandfather!,’ she shouted. But as she got to the doorway of the farmhouse, the man near the door grabbed hold of her. Matthew quickened his pace to help her. He felt very scared but there was no way he was going to let anyone harm Hannah. As he got closer, however, his adrenalin flowing through his body, he could see the man holding her was big.
‘Calm down, Hannah,’ the man said, which Matthew realised meant he must know her. But Matthew was still uncertain, as he stopped in front of him a little out of breath. He could see the bearded man had a brown hat shaped like half a road cone with a leather-laced waistcoat over a white smock-like shirt with no collar, rolled up at the sleeves, which revealed his big arms. He also had the same brown baggy trousers that only went down to the knees as Hannah’s grandfather with leather boots underneath.
The man looked at Matthew with a little surprise but after that seemed to take no notice of him, as though he did not matter. ‘Hannah, it’s all right. Walter’s alive. But the Baron’s men took him away to the Castle,’ said the man. Hannah seemed to stop struggling and he let her go.
‘How long ago? Did they hurt him?’ asked Hannah who also seemed to pay Matthew no attention.
‘They came this morning. And no they didn’t, though they treated him a little roughly. But he was still healthily ranting at them when they left. They were looking for the boy,’ the man said looking at Matthew again. ‘I saw them just as they were taking Walter away. One of them was holding a strange piece of clothing and I realised then that the boy must have been here. I’d been coming to warn you that the soldiers were looking for him. They came to my farm and have been searching all the other houses.’
They must have found my jacket, thought Matthew. I knew I should have taken it.
‘What can we do to save him?’ asked Hannah anxiously.
‘Well, after I’d seen what happened to Walter, I went to meet some others also not happy with the Baron,’ said the man Matthew now believed to be Tobias. ‘We’ve been talking for a while about doing something about him – too much talking! But this is the last straw.
We plan to raid the Castle and release the prisoners there, including Walter. Then we can maybe form some kind of rebellion against the Baron from the safety of the forest. If we don’t do something about him now then soon we all be at the Castle with the Baron doing who knows what to us with his strange magic.’
‘You don’t think he’ll harm my grandfather?’ asked Hannah now more worried than before.
‘I’m sorry to say that he just might, bearing in mind that he’s looking for the boy, who was obviously here,’ said Tobias. ‘Look, the others should all be at or on their way to the place near the Castle where we agreed to meet. I only came back here to tell you what happened and see that you were safe. I’ll take you to a friend of mine who will guide you to a hideaway in the forest. If we’re successful, we’ll bring your grandfather there.’
‘No,’ said Hannah. ‘I’m coming with you to the Castle. I may not see my grandfather again and I won’t feel happy with myself unless I help try to save him.’
Matthew wondered if this was the right thing and thought he should try to persuade her to listen to Tobias. This experience or adventure as it had now become was getting a little too much for Matthew and all he wanted to do was return to his own world.
But Tobias said ‘I had a feeling you would want to come. You always do want to get involved in things. But it will be dangerous, Hannah, and there may well be some fighting, which with all due respect, as a female you are not exactly qualified to do.’
‘I can use a knife as well as any man!’ said Hannah taking out a long dagger from the side of her skirt. ‘I’m coming. That’s final.’
Tobias looked at her with what Matthew thought was a mixture of frustration and respect. ‘All right, but the boy here cannot come. The Baron obviously wants him for some reason and I don’t want to be the one who delivers him into his hands,’ he said.
There’s no way I’m going to be cosseted in some safe house while Hannah is in danger, thought Matthew who now realised that he could not return to his world without feeling guilty at leaving her in such a situation. He was about to say something but Hannah got there first. ‘No, Matthew is coming as well. I dreamt he saves us from the Baron and so his coming is necessary.’
Tobias looked at Matthew doubtfully, then shrugged his shoulders and said ‘Fine, but you must both do exactly as I tell you.’
‘Of course,’ said Hannah who then gave Matthew a wink.
Matthew was not sure whether he should be happy but he was. He had wanted just to return back to his world and was scared. But he was also fed up with being patronised – “Young man“; “the boy”; a part of him wanted to show them all there was more to him than this. Moreover Hannah, whom he realised he liked quite a lot, had again shown confidence in him, which he thought she had lost after the visit to Martha’s cottage. Maybe Martha was right after all when she said “someone” likes you, thought Matthew. Maybe, she was right about other things as well, he also thought.
Matthew then watched as Tobias went over to his horse, took some things from its saddle bag, then untied it, and whispered something in its ear. It galloped off. ‘He won’t be much use on the paths we’re going to take,’ Tobias said as he turned away from it to them. ‘Come on. We’ve a longish journey involving a lot of walking up hills.’ He then went into the woods with Hannah and Matthew tiredly following.
The Destiny of Matthew Page 7
