King Charles took his drawn sword and gently touched the man on each shoulder. 'Then go and have it bound, Sir Edward!'
Stammering his amazement and thanks, the new knight turned his horse and trotted to the back of the lines, to be greeted enthusiastically by his friends who had seen the King's gesture.
After this there was a lull, for the troops had drawn well ahead of the foot, and they needed to wait until well after midday for the infantry to catch up with them. But when they did, another fierce attack was launched and more ground gained. Despite rallies by the Parliamentarians, once when their few remaining horse attacked and once, in the early evening, when they left what was now the centre of their line, an earthwork named Castle Dore, and gained a couple of fields, the Royalists knew it was but a matter of time before Essex's forces were overwhelmed.
By now night was falling rapidly, and both sides halted. The Parliamentary line stretched from Golant towards Tywardreath, and they held the ancient earthwork at Castle Dore with about half a dozen regiments. Beyond it lay the road to Fowey, and the weary Royalists, as they ate and rolled themselves into their cloaks before they slept under the hedges, predicted a triumphant entry early on the following day.
The night was stormy, and the wind blew fiercely. But neither that nor the desultory firing from Castle Dore kept the weary Cavaliers awake. They had fought hard since early morning, and many had spent the previous night on guard in the attempt to contain the cavalry.
*
At Tremor, Kate heard from the man who had taken the message about her to Bodinnick that there was some fighting on the far side of the river, but little more news came. Nick and most of the men about the place had departed to Petroc's boat, held waiting in a cove on the coast, and she guessed they would sail round to the harbour entrance to block it in case any of the Parliamentarians tried to escape. Anxious, waiting for news, she spent a restless evening, and then retired to spend a night tossing sleeplessly, starting up at every sound, and emerging weary but unable to rest as soon as the sounds of the day penetrated to her room.
She met the Tremaines for breakfast in a small parlour, with windows that looked over the creek. The night had been stormy, and the normally placid water, she could see from high up, was disturbed by churning waves blown in from the river. They could not avoid the subject of the battle, wondering both what had become of the King, and Petroc with him, and how Nick had fared on Petroc's boat. This last question was soon answered when Nick himself walked into the room.
'Nick! Is all well?' Mr Tremaine asked anxiously, and as Nick gratefully took the tankard of ale held out to him by a beaming servant he nodded, then sat at the place hurriedly made for him, drawing up a stool to sit beside Kate.
He drank deeply. 'I was in sore need of that!' he commented, and then grinned round at them. 'We took the boat out of the anchorage, but the wind was so rough we would have been blown to Plymouth had we remained out at sea, so as soon as it was dark we contrived to slip inside the harbour. The garrison at Polruan had been warned and knew who we were, so did not fire on us. We waited until the town was asleep, or as quiet as it could be with troops entering all night, and then attacked my boat. They had thought themselves completely safe, and we were able to board her and overpower them before they knew we were near. Several of the crew leapt overboard and swam ashore, and we sent the rest off in a small boat, for we had no desire to burden ourselves with them.'
'Where are the boats now?' Mr Tremaine asked.
'Moored a little way up the creek, awaiting events.'
'Was there any indication of how the battle went?'
'It seemed desperate for the Parliamentarians. There was a great deal of movement in the town, and much bustle as soon as it grew light. One boat left the harbour, but as we were by then in the creek we decided it was not worth investigating. Probably a messenger sent to plead for ships from Plymouth. He will be blown there, but has no chance to return while this wind holds.'
'Is it safe for me to go home now?' Kate asked, anxious to be doing something.
'Yes. They are all in Fowey, and you may safely row across the creek now.'
Kate prepared to leave, and Nick offered to walk down to the boat with her, as he had to return to his boat in Polruan. She refused other offers of escort, pointing out that whoever came with her would have a long walk back round the head of the inlet. On the way Nick told her he had seen Jon dive into the water as they had boarded the boat.
'So he is in Fowey now, and safe, as far as any there are safe,' he said reassuringly.
They parted a few yards away from the boat, and Kate stood and watched him as he walked away. Then she moved towards the little boat which floated at the edge of the water where she had left it the previous day, carefully holding up her skirts to avoid the mud. She was right beside the boat before she looked inside it, and she stopped, catching back a scream. A man lay in the bottom of it, sprawled with outflung arms, one leg resting on the seat, and apparently oblivious of the small pool of water in the bottom which lapped against his body.
Kate cautiously bent down to move the kerchief which obscured his face, and received another shock.
'Jon!' she whispered, and swiftly clambered into the boat to bend over his recumbent body and lay her hand on his heart. There was still a movement, and as if conscious of her presence, his eyelids fluttered and he looked up at her.
'Jon, what is it? Are you hurt?'
He smiled and attempted to raise himself.
'Just exhausted,' he replied slowly. 'How do you come to be here?' He groaned, and raised his hand to his head. 'I must have knocked it, it hurts abominably!'
'You must rest, but not here,' Kate said, looking anxiously around. 'If I row us across the creek, can you climb up as far as my uncle's house?'
'I dare not go there,' Jon answered. 'They would take me and hand me over to the Royalists. I was attempting to make my way towards Plymouth.'
Again he groaned, and Kate realised he was incapable of much effort yet. Then she thought of the hut where Nick and his men had been imprisoned.
'Can you walk a little way to shelter?' she asked urgently.
Jon looked at her uncomprehendingly.
'To the hut where you imprisoned Nick,' she explained.
'I'm done for, Kate.'
'Nonsense. Just a little effort, and I will endeavour to find food and dry clothing. Then you can be on your way.'
She eventually persuaded him, and with her help he was able to clamber out of the boat and as far as the hut, sinking down exhausted when he reached it.
'Here, take my cloak,' Kate ordered. 'Strip off your wet clothes and wrap yourself in it. You will freeze with those clothes left on.'
When he had done so she spread them out to dry on bushes round about, and then told him she was going for some food.
'I will go to my Aunt Elizabeth at Polruan,' she decided. ' 'Tis too far to go to Bodinnick. Try to sleep while I am gone.'
Kate was able to find help at her aunt's house, and fortunately none of the family were present, so the tale she concocted satisfied the servants. Armed with a basket of food she returned to the hut, finding Jon asleep. Patiently she waited for several hours until he stretched and woke, and to her relief he was much more his usual self.
Thankfully he ate what she had brought and drank the wine, and then they began asking each other questions. Kate explained how she came to be there, and what had happened.
'I swam across from Fowey,' Jon told her. 'I could see it was pointless to remain there, and I thought there was a chance of escaping towards Plymouth. My plan of taking Lord Essex off had failed, and as he was gone there was nought to wait for.'
'He is gone?' she exclaimed.
'He left at dawn. He had been hoping to use my boat, but that was impossible once Nick had recaptured it. He went in some fishing boat, with Robartes, leaving Skippon orders to obtain the best terms he could from the King.'
'So he deserted his troops,' Kate said bi
tterly.
Jon looked at her sadly. 'Consider, Kate. As leader he had to look after himself, he could not let himself be captured, to become a hostage. The war is not yet finished. This is only one battle, and Essex will live to fight again.'
'Everyone seems to be a traitor,' Kate said slowly.
'You mean me also. Kate, can you not see that when a man believes in a cause, there are many ways of fighting for it? I am not sorry for what I have done, apart from losing you. I love you so much Kate.'
She looked at him sombrely. 'I thought I loved you, Jon, but I did not, or I would surely have been able to accept what you did. I cannot forget the false part you played. Or your deception of me.'
'Could we not forget and start again? Kate, for years I have longed for the day when you would become my wife. I delayed our marriage when I became involved in these matters, thinking it unfair on you. When you were hurt I forgot all those considerations, knowing only that I needed you. I still need you, Kate, and had misfortune not come our way, you would have been wed to me. Would you then have turned from me?'
'I cannot tell,' she answered slowly. 'If we had been married, it would have been different, but as we are not – '
'Kate, will you not give me your love? Let me prove I care most of all for you. I will abandon the Parliament if you wish it.'
She shook her head. 'I do not wish to force that. If a man believes in a cause, he must follow it. That I accept. I would not think the better of you were you to abandon that also, even for me.'
For some time he attempted to persuade her, but she was firm.
'You must go, Jon,' she said at last. 'You cannot hide here for much longer. Are you strong enough to walk? Your clothes are dry. Which way shall you go?'
Realising he had lost her, he sat for a moment with his head resting on his arms, and then he looked up.
'Will you do me one last favour, Kate? I would prefer to start from the far side of the creek, for here I shall have to pass Tremor, and will most likely be seen. Will you row me across?'
'Of course,' she readily agreed, thankful it was so easy. She waited while he dressed, then they went down towards the boat, and Kate rowed it across towards the Pont at the head of the creek, mooring it where she had first found it. They stepped out and climbed the path up the hill, until they came out of the trees, and then Kate stopped.
'Goodbye, Jon. Fare you well.'
He turned and faced her. 'Is there never to be any hope for me?'
She shook her head. 'I am sorry. There might have been at some other time, but this war has done some strange things to people.'
He stood for a moment, and then bent towards her, and kissed her briefly before turning and walking away. Kate watched, a lump in her throat, then, as he disappeared behind a bend in the lane, swung round to make her own way home. She walked slowly, her head bent, and started in surprise when a voice spoke beside her.
*
'A touching scene of farewell! Has he finally gone from your life?'
She looked up at Petroc who was on the path in front of her.
'How do you come to be here?' she asked.
'Looking for you, my love. You are not at Bodinnick, being for some reason at Tremor, but when I ride there I find you left early this morning. I rode back and from the head of the creek saw you in the boat, so I waited for you.'
'But the battle! The King!' Kate exclaimed.
'All is over, apart from the clearing up. Did you think me a deserter too?'
'No, never!' she protested. 'But tell me!'
'Skippon had been left in charge and asked for a parley. They are too weary to fight, and the King has only to settle terms. I asked if I might leave to come to you, and he was only too willing. He sent his congratulations.'
'For what?' she asked, puzzled, and Petroc laughed.
'My dear innocent! Do not protest you could not know! I told his Majesty I came to make you my wife. He quite understood we had waited a long time owing to the inconvenience of war, and ordered us to delay no more.'
Kate stared up at him, trembling a little.
'I – but you have not asked me!' she said lamely.
'I told you, which saves you the problem of having to consider the possible alternative of refusing me,' he said, laughing at her indignant expression. 'On, if I remember correctly, the fourth meeting we had. I would have told you on the first, had there not been other people about, and on the others I was either too busy, or unsure how deeply you loved Peyton. Then I knew you did not really care for him, but were accepting an arranged marriage and embroidering it with love, for Jon was pleasant enough compared with many bridegrooms. Am I not right?'
'I would have married Jon, and most like been content enough,' Kate replied slowly, 'but for this war, and the unexpected things men do.'
'In a crisis, men show their true character. Jon has proved to be weak and untrustworthy. Could you feel safe with him to protect you? And in any event, Kate, you are not made to be merely content! You are fit to experience supreme happiness, not mere contentment! The sort of joy that comes when two people who are made for each other recognise that fact, and take their happiness. Kate, I saw you that day in Saltash, when the foolish recruiting officer was there, and I knew from that moment you were the only girl for me. But I have had to wait until you saw it too, and I grow impatient! When will you marry me? This week or next?'
Kate laughed shakily. 'Am I not allowed to refuse?' she asked.
'Of course not!'
'You are too arrogant! You have interfered before in my marriage!'
'And for the sake of mine. Ours, my darling Kate. Well, how much do you need to be persuaded?'
Before she could answer he had come closer, and she found herself folded into a close embrace. He murmured endearments before stifling her feeble protests by kissing her, and Kate felt as though she were floating on air, unconscious of anything except the thrill of his closeness. When he finally released her she was breathless, and looked into his eyes, so close to hers, unable to tear her gaze away. He smiled, slowly, and then lifted his eyebrows slightly.
'Well? Now I can be certain of the answer I can risk putting the question! Kate, Mistress Anscombe, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife? I can offer you a pleasant home, sufficient income for your needs, and all my devotion, plus my heart.'
Kate gurgled. 'I think I prefer being told to that sort of proposal,' she said consideringly, and he gave a shout of laughter and hugged her to him.
'Do you love me, enough to marry me?' he asked eventually.
'I think I have done for a long time, but I was unwilling to admit it to myself,' she said a little shyly. 'I thought you were mocking me, and I suppose I was afraid to build too great hopes.'
'One thing you must learn, my love, is that I always mean what I say. And I intend to make you happy.'
A long time afterwards a snort from Petroc's horse, tired of standing waiting, brought them to a realisation of their surroundings and with a laugh Petroc suggested they make their way to Bodinnick.
'For enjoyable as such dalliance is, it cannot compare with the joy of installing you at Tremor in the bridal wing! The sooner we get back the sooner we can make the arrangements. And I warn you I will not suffer pretexts of time to prepare for an elaborate wedding! The earliest possible date is the only one I will accept!'
He swung himself into the saddle and leant down to pull Kate up to hold her closely in front of him. She nestled comfortably in his arms and peeped up at him between her long lashes.
'Am I not to be allowed to make any decisions?' she asked softly.
'Rest assured, my love, once you are mine I shall be able to refuse you nothing. But until then I shall fear every time I leave you that we are parting for ever. I cannot bear to wait in such uncertainty.'
She sighed, and slipped her arms about his neck. 'Nor I, Petroc. Then it must be as you say. As soon as possible.'
He kissed her and she was silent for a few moments as they rode
along. Then she spoke again.
'I can scarce believe I am not dreaming! I did not imagine such happiness existed.'
'It does for the fortunate few,' he told her. 'And we will ensure that for us, it remains. Nothing, I promise, shall be allowed to harm our happiness.'
THE END
###
Marina Oliver has written over 60 novels, and has converted most of them to Ebooks. Others have been or are being published as Ebooks by other publishers.
For the latest information please see Marina's web site:
http://www.marina-oliver.net.
You might enjoy another of my novels set in the Civil War, now available as an Ebook:
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!'
Strife Beyond Tamar Page 14
