by Evie Grace
The crowd shifted, allowing a constable through. He asked for one of them by name, and a woman of about thirty with long red hair pushed a pram containing an infant towards him.
‘What is it?’ she said.
‘I have to inform you that your husband has passed away as a consequence of the injuries he received earlier today. I’m sorry for your loss.’ The constable, who was no older than Catherine, was crying.
The woman fell to her knees, wailing and beating her chest as the others crowded in to share her grief and offer their condolences, because the dead man was apparently well known and much liked. Biting back tears, Catherine turned away to find Ma at her shoulder.
‘Oh, there you are,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t find you. Have you found him?’
‘He’s up there with the other men.’ She waved towards the window, but Matty had gone.
‘Pa’s trying to find one of the magistrates to speak to, and I’ve left John with Mr Lake. Will you come with me to view the body of Sir William?’
‘I have no desire to do so—’
‘You must come,’ Ma caught her hand. ‘I should be very afraid if he should rise from the dead and I was alone with him. Why, I wouldn’t know what to say or do in that situation.’
‘Who would?’ Catherine said. ‘It would be the rarest of miracles, and the unlikeliest.’
‘But you can’t deny the possibility.’
Catherine was unnerved by the gleam of anticipation in Ma’s eyes. She knew why she was so desperate to see the body – if Sir William did prove to be immortal, she would be in possession of the greatest and juiciest piece of gossip that anyone from Overshill had ever had, and she would be able to feast on it for ever.
‘I really don’t want to go.’ The less time she spent with Ma, the better, as far as she was concerned, but Ma was determined.
‘We might come across someone who can help get your young man out of there.’
She’d do anything to that end, Catherine thought, and she reluctantly accompanied her mother to the barn that stood at the side of the inn.
A young man emerged, his pale face stained with tears.
‘I shouldn’t go in there if I was you. It’s a shocking and pitiful sight to see our cousins’ and brothers’ broken bodies. Ladies, I beg you to reconsider.’
‘Ignore him.’ Ma pushed Catherine inside.
There were – she counted them – seven bodies lying on the ground, all with ghastly wounds. She retched at the stench of sweat, blood and other foul discharges that were soaking into the straw.
‘This is a terrible sight, but one that must be endured, so we can report back,’ Ma whispered. ‘That one must be Sir William.’ She pointed to the corpse that appeared like a giant compared with the rest. A woman was kneeling over the body, washing his face. ‘He is of such fine countenance.’
‘It can’t be him,’ Catherine said. ‘He’s shaven.’
‘Look at the marks on his hands from the nails – it has to be him.’ Ma gasped. ‘Drusilla, is that you?’
The woman bathing Sir William’s face looked up, distraught. She was so overcome with grief that she showed no trace of recognition. She turned back and kissed the corpse.
‘Give me a sign that you will soon return to us,’ she begged. ‘Give me a breath, anything, to show me that you are still living.’
Catherine gazed upon him. He was most definitely expired. There was a bullet wound in one shoulder and a bayonet wound starting from near his mouth and passing down his neck. His white smock was hanging behind him, steeped with blood and torn to shreds. Something flashed from the straw at his feet. She ducked down, picked it up and slipped it inside her dress.
‘What’s that?’ Ma asked quickly.
‘I thought I saw a coin, but it was nothing.’ Catherine lied without effort. It was a man’s gold ring with a jewel inset, and she didn’t see why Ma, Drusilla or anyone else should try to claim it. She felt guilty stooping so low as to steal from a dead man, but Sir William owed her and Matty some kind of debt for his actions. If anybody offered to pay for a relic or souvenir of the man, she wasn’t going to turn them down. The ring was insurance for their future.
‘There you are,’ she heard Pa say from the doorway. ‘Ugh! What a picture of wretchedness!’
‘What news do you have?’ Catherine said, taking in a deep breath of fresh air as she stepped back outside with him.
‘They won’t let anybody go, but the magistrate, out of the goodness of his heart and knowing your situation, has agreed that you can see Matty. We must go straight there before they change their minds. Margaret, you’ll have to wait downstairs with John and Mr Lake.’
Catherine took Pa’s arm and they pushed their way through the crowd of weeping women in the yard and up the steps to the landing, where another constable was guarding a door.
‘That’s where Lieutenant Bennett’s body lies. You need to come this way.’ He opened the door opposite.
‘Prepare yourself.’ Pa patted Catherine’s hand, but there was nothing that could have prepared her for the number of prisoners, young men in the main, who were crammed together in the stuffy, makeshift prison. Some were crying. Some were injured. One lay lifeless on the floor.
‘I’ll arrange for the body to be moved,’ the constable said. ‘Don’t be long, ma’am. I don’t want all and sundry thinking we’ve set a precedent, letting you up here.’
Someone swore.
‘How do they do it? Why do the Rooks always end up getting special favours?’
‘Jervis,’ Catherine said, turning to find him sitting on the floor in the corner. ‘Your father and Stephen are outside.’
‘Why haven’t they bin allowed in then?’ he demanded.
‘Hey, that’s enow,’ Pa said. ‘If I can do anything to help you, I will – for your father’s sake, not yours.’
‘My dearest Catherine.’ Matty came up to her and took her in his arms, wrapping her in his scent of woodsmoke and musk. ‘I never meant to put you through this.’
She looked up and stroked the tears from his face.
‘I should have carried you across the threshold by now.’
‘Why didn’t you come back to Overshill?’ she said softly. ‘That’s all you had to do.’
‘Sir William said if any of us wished to go home, we could, but if we deserted him, he’d follow us to the furthermost part of hell and invoke fire and brimstone from heaven upon us. He threatened me and then said he’d set out to harm you. I was scared witless.’ Matty paused. ‘You know that he killed a constable?’
Catherine said ‘It was the constable’s brother’, aware that Pa was listening intently to their conversation. She felt sick.
‘He shot him, wounded him with a sword, kicked him and ordered us to throw him into the ditch, which we did because none of us dared to cross him after that. Then we went to buy bread and cheese, and returned to the wood. At about seven in the morning, he gave the last sacrament. He told us he had come down to earth on a cloud, and on a cloud one day he would be removed from us. Neither bullets nor weapons could injure him or us, and if ten thousand soldiers came, they’d fall dead at his command. I didn’t believe anything he said any more, but I felt safer with him than away.
‘We went to see Mr Francis, because Sir William wanted to make peace with his old friend, but all he did was give him gin and water, and send him on his way.’
‘Oh, Matty, couldn’t you have escaped from him then?’ Catherine asked.
He shook his head.
‘After we left the osier bed and headed back to Bossenden Wood, I tried to give him the slip, but Jervis had his eye on me and told Sir William.’
‘I never,’ Jervis interrupted from the floor.
‘He set one of the men on me, gave me a good hiding.’ Matty raised the front of his shirt to reveal a livid bruise across his stomach. Catherine reached out and touched it with her fingertips.
‘It’s all right,’ he said bravely. ‘It doesn’t hurt much.�
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‘You have blood on your hands,’ she observed.
‘I tried to help the soldier.’ He turned his hands over to reveal his palms. ‘This is his blood.’
‘What happened in the woods exactly?’ Pa asked.
‘We ended up in the chestnut underwood, which Sir William thought would provide us with a little cover.’ He gave a wry laugh. ‘So much for that. It was barely up to our shoulders.’
‘Go on,’ Pa said when Matty hesitated.
‘Sir William promised us glory and conquest,’ he began again.
‘I was up for the fight. We all were,’ Jervis joined in.
‘Speak for yourself, brother,’ Matty said angrily.
‘I’ll do that. It’s every man for himself,’ Jervis said.
‘A gentlemen rode up to us and told Sir William, “Desist, do not lead these poor men to destruction,” but our leader called out, “Come on, my brave fellows, keep close.” One of the soldiers moved forwards – Sir William shot him. A private levelled his piece and shot Sir William by return.’ Matty voice quavered. ‘And then all hell broke loose. I tried to stop Jervis aiming his pistol at the man I now know as Catt, but it went off.’
‘That’s a lie,’ Jervis growled.
‘Well, I know which of you I’m more inclined to believe,’ Pa said.
‘There were guns firing in all directions.’ Matty dipped his head as though he was trying to fend off flying shot. ‘Sir William had told us that none of us would be harmed, but people were falling to the ground, wounded and screaming.’ He frowned. ‘We didn’t understand it. It was such a shock that when the major ordered us to stop fighting, we didn’t put up any resistance.’
‘So you didn’t hurt anyone?’ Catherine said.
‘No, I swear I didn’t. I wouldn’t. But I’m in a lot of trouble. I’m not sure I’m ever going to get back to Overshill.’
‘Why, when you haven’t done anything wrong?’
‘I believe I shall be implicated in the murders of Lieutenant Bennett and the man called Catt – the one who came to assist the soldiers in catching Sir William – as will my brother.’ Matty turned and looked towards Jervis. ‘We’ll both go down.’
‘Not if I have my way,’ Jervis hissed. ‘If I should hang for this, I’ll make damn sure that you do too.’
‘Let’s have no talk of hanging,’ Pa cut in.
‘There was a woodcutter in the clearing. I reckon he saw something. Maybe he could act as my witness,’ Matty said.
‘And mine as well,’ Jervis added.
‘I’ll find him,’ Catherine said.
‘We’ll see what we can do,’ Pa said.
‘You must go now,’ the constable interrupted. ‘I can’t allow you to stay here any longer.’
Pa took Catherine’s hand. ‘You heard what the man said. We must leave.’
‘Let me say goodbye.’ She darted forwards and kissed Matty on the lips, her heart breaking at the thought of leaving him behind. ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can.’
‘Goodnight, my love,’ he said faintly.
She turned and followed Pa through the inn and back onto the street.
‘I’m not coming home until I’ve found this woodcutter that Matty speaks of,’ she said.
‘Oh no, I’ll send Stephen and one of the lads.’
‘I have to go. How can I rest with him locked up here, wrongly accused?’ She stared into Pa’s eyes. ‘He didn’t do it, Pa.’
‘I know that, and tomorrow the rest of the world will know it too. The witness will be able to give a statement in favour of his innocence and he will be released. Come home now. George is waiting over there with the cart.’
Pa helped her into the back where Ma was lying on the hessian sacks with the smelling salts pressed to her nose. Of the three labourers who’d gone to Boughton with them, only Mr Lake had reappeared, bringing John with him. John slumped down beside Ma while Mr Lake sat opposite Catherine and nodded off with his chin on his chest.
‘Where’s Stephen?’ Catherine asked. ‘Shouldn’t we wait for him?’
‘He’s taken Sir William’s horse to the farm,’ George said. ‘It’s lame and useless as it is – he offered to take it off the innkeeper’s hands to save him the expense of stablin’ it. I hope you don’t mind, Thomas.’
‘No, that’s fine with me.’
‘Oh, I am quite overcome,’ Ma cried. Whether or not it had anything to do with the thought of Sir William’s horse taking advantage of the Rooks’ hospitality, Catherine wasn’t sure. ‘I can’t take any more.’
‘We’ve spoken to Matty and Jervis,’ Pa said, ignoring his wife’s woe.
‘Are they hurt?’ George asked as he took up the reins.
‘They have a few bruises, nothing serious.’
‘Thank God for small mercies. I’ll be able to give their ma the good news.’
‘It isn’t all good, I’m afraid. The coroner, Mr De La Saux, arrives tomorrow for the inquests. The prisoners will remain locked up while he decides which of them goes to trial. George, I’m obliged to warn you that Matty and Jervis may be implicated in the shooting of two men.’
‘Both of them? How can that be? I can believe it of one, but not the other.’ George flicked the whip across the horse’s rump to hurry it along. It kicked up its heels in annoyance, jolting the cart. ‘This will turn our lives upside down. How will I tell the missus?’
‘I don’t think there’s any need to reveal more than the bare bones to her as yet,’ Pa said. ‘The coroner has still to discover the truth of what went on up at Bossenden today.’
‘I shall never forgive Matty for this. He’s put our daughter through hell,’ Ma said, her words raising Catherine’s hackles.
‘I am not your daughter,’ she cut in, but Pa ignored her, saying, ‘That wasn’t his intention.’
‘He can’t possibly marry into our family after this – we can’t expect Squire Temple to favour a criminal for the tenancy of Wanstall Farm.’
‘He i’n’t a criminal, Margaret. We must be patient and not jump to conclusions.’
‘Oh, you infuriate me. You’re blinded by your loyalty to the Carters.’
‘Mind your tongue,’ Pa growled. ‘George, I promise that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure justice is done.’
‘What can you do, little man?’ Ma mocked. ‘You have no influence with anyone of any standing in the parish.’
‘Not wishin’ to come between husband and wife, I’d like to say that I’m very grateful to you for your faith in my boy, Tom,’ George shouted above the clippety clop of the horse’s hooves.
The travellers fell silent for the rest of the journey back to Overshill. When they returned to the farm, they found Stephen had tied Sir William’s horse up outside the stables. He held a knife in one hand and the horse’s foot was caught between his knees.
‘What news?’ he asked, looking up at the sound of the cart.
Pa gave him a brief explanation of Matty’s predicament.
‘I thought you’d go and find this witness. You can take Mr Lake here.’ He banged on the side of the cart and the labourer jerked awake.
‘Please, let me unsee what I’ve seen today,’ he groaned, rubbing at his eyes.
‘I need you and Stephen to search the woods,’ Pa said, helping him down. ‘When you find him, you have to persuade him to give evidence on Matty’s behalf. Arrange for him to meet me at the Red Lion in the morning.’
‘How do we know that we can trust this fellow?’ Stephen said.
‘Tell him I’ll pay him for his time.’ Pa turned and went indoors with Ma and John. Mr Lake took a drink and washed his face at the pump, giving Catherine the chance to have a quiet word with Stephen, who was tearing up some hessian into strips.
‘I need you to take me with you to find the woodcutter,’ she said.
He gazed at her.
‘Oh no, your pa wouldn’t like that. It isn’t safe for a woman—’
‘It isn’t safe for anyone out
there, but Sir William is dead and most of the people involved in the riot have been rounded up. I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.’
‘You’ll have to cover yourself,’ he said eventually.
‘I’ll fetch my cloak.’
‘A beer and some bread would be good. I haven’t eaten today.’
‘Of course.’
‘Are you sure about this? I don’t want you getting into trouble with your pa.’
‘I shall be in more of a pickle if I don’t get Matty away from the Red Lion,’ she said, glancing down at her belly.
‘Oh, I see how it is now.’ He forced a small smile. ‘All the more reason to solve my brother’s predicament.’
‘What about Jervis?’
‘What about him? I gave up on him a long time ago.’ Stephen stirred something in a bucket, a steaming porridge of bran. ‘Let me finish this and then we’ll go. We should aim to be back before dark.’
Catherine fetched her cloak and some food, then waited impatiently for Stephen to apply the poultice and wrap the horse’s foot.
‘How will that help?’ she asked.
‘It’ll draw out the poison. Within a few days, the horse will be sound. I’m hoping that Mr Francis will relinquish any claim he has on it when he knows that she’s hopping lame, and as Sir William is expired, it will naturally fall to me to take her on.’
‘That’s very – um, enterprising of you.’
‘The horse deserves a good home after today’s events. She’s been scared almost to death.’ He pulled a piece of string from his pocket and tied it around the hessian to hold it to the foot before leading her into the stable. ‘All she needs now is time to mend,’ he said, returning outside. ‘How are you?’
‘I don’t know.’ She handed him the bread and beer. ‘I haven’t had time to think.’
‘That’s probably for the best.’ He drained the tankard and tore at the crust before stuffing it into his mouth. ‘I’m sorry. Emily’s always nagging me about my manners, but I’m starving. And I can see that you’re in a hurry to leave before your pa can stop you.’
As they walked through the woods, it began to rain. Catherine noticed the handle of a knife sticking out from under Stephen’s waistcoat. He had come prepared.
