In Doublet and Hose: A Story for Girls
Page 18
CHAPTER XVIII
AN ADVENTURE
"I must see thee, my lord, alone," she cried in such tones that herfriend arose without a word and conducted her into his own withdrawingroom.
"How now, Francis? What mishap hath attended thy enterprise? Gramercy,girl! what is it? Thou art disheveled and as excited as though someuntoward accident had befallen thee. What said the queen? Say what hathhappened?"
"My lord," gasped the girl scarcely able to articulate, "once thou didstlove my father. For the sake of that love, I pray you, grant me aid toreach him."
"Child, what is it?" cried he in alarm "Tell me what hath occurred? HathElizabeth sent thee from her?"
"I have not seen the queen," said Francis trying to speak with calmness."After I had hidden myself as you bade me, the queen in company withHatton, Lord Burleigh, Sir Francis Walsingham and Lord Leicester enteredthe chamber. They discovered to her a plot to slay her, and to elevateMary of Scotland to the throne, furthered by Anthony Babington, andothers, among whom they named my father. My lord, I must go to him. Aidme I beseech you."
Lord Shrope's face turned white, and he withdrew himself from the girl'sclinging hands.
"A plot to slay the queen? The saints defend us! Girl, I cannot, I darenot aid thee. It would be as much as my life is worth."
"You must, my lord. I must reach my father. I must and will, my lord."
"If William Stafford be concerned in conspiracy against Elizabeth he mustabide the consequences. I will aid no traitor to the queen."
"My lord, he is no traitor," cried the girl in despair. "He did wish torelease Mary from bondage, for he had compassion on her misery as whohath not? But that he is party to the design to murder the queen, I deny.I know, my lord, I know."
"What do you know? Are you too engaged in conspiracies? I thought thee asinnocent as the daisy that grows in thy father's field."
"I am in no plots nor conspiracies, sir," declared Francis. "But we losetime in idle words. Give me thine aid to reach my father, I implorethee."
"Never, girl! And thou,--thou must be restrained of thy liberty, for Isee that thou knowest much of this matter."
He turned toward the door as he spoke, but Francis was before him.
"My lord," she said, and there was determination in her manner, "thoushalt not touch me, nor cause others to touch me. Heaven be my witnessthat I speak truth when I say that my father is innocent of design tomurder the queen. I must have means to reach him, and thou must give themto me."
"Must? Thou useth strange terms, girl! Not only will I not give thee aid,but I will take thee into custody."
He sprang toward her, but the girl turned upon him fiercely with uplifteddagger.
"Lay but one finger upon me, and I will slay thee," she said in a lowintense voice.
"Francis Stafford, this from you?"
"Ay, sir, from me. I would kill thee, or any who sought to hold me frommy father. The queen herself should not keep me from him."
"Seditious girl! those are words of treason."
"I care not," cried Francis recklessly. "I care not, my lord. And if thouwilt not give me aid thy life shall pay the forfeit."
"Dost threaten me, girl?"
"Ay! if you deny me. I will slay thee and take thy signet ring."
"If I aid thee, what then?"
"I will tell no word of it to any man," declared she earnestly. "No word,my lord. Thou shalt not be implicated in any manner, as indeed, whyshould you? I am determined to reach my father, and if to do so I mustkill thee, I will do so."
"I believe in thee, Francis. Thy love for him is great. For the sake ofthat love, and also for that which once I bore him, I will aid thee. Notbecause of thy threats, girl. They are but talk of an excited brain."
"Nay, my lord; you do me wrong. I would carry them out if it werenecessary, albeit I am glad to have gained the end without bloodshed."
"Here is my signet ring, Francis. By that token the boatmen will takethee to London. By that token also thou mayest obtain horses at my house.Go, girl! Even now thou mayest be too late. As for me, with that ring onthee, 'twill be my undoing, but--take it."
"Say that I stole it, my lord. Say that I forced it from thee," criedFrancis, receiving it from him joyfully.
"That thou forced it from me?" echoed Lord Shrope with a laugh. "Why,girl, I had rather be beheaded."
"Then will I leave it at thy house in London when I shall have obtained ahorse," said the girl dropping upon one knee by his side. "Forgive me, mylord, for my words," and she kissed his hand with fervor. "Thou hastalways been kind to me, but my father, sir. There is naught that I wouldnot do for him."
"Thou art forgiven. But hasten! Time is precious."
Without further parley Francis bounded from the room, and hurriedthrough the palace yard, out of the great gate and down to the steps thatled to the river.
Within the yard and at the landing-place there was a great deal ofconfusion. Servitors were running to and fro, courtiers were groupedtogether talking excitedly, while numerous officials and dignitaries weretaking boat for London. Among these latter the girl discerned the form ofWalsingham, the queen's secretary of state. Her heart sank at sight ofhim.
"He goes to send pursuivants for my father," was her thought, and herconclusion was correct. The secretary was indeed on his way to cause thearrest of the conspirators.
Seeing her among the followers of Walsingham, the watermen permitted herto enter one of the wherries and she found herself being carried toLondon more expeditiously than would otherwise have been the case. Therewas no indulgence on the part of the boatmen in song. Stern and silentthey bent to their oars, responding with all their mights to Walsingham's"Faster, my men, faster!"
It seemed to Francis that they no sooner reached London than the wholecity was ablaze with the news. Traffic was suspended, and citizensdiscussed in hushed accents the plot to kill the queen.
Francis made haste to Lord Shrope's house in Broad Street, and by meansof the ring, procured an excellent horse. Mounting him she urged theanimal to great speed and was soon outside the city.
"Heaven grant that I may reach my father before Walsingham's men," shemurmured. "I have gotten the start of them somehow. Let me make the mostof it."
Now the reason for her advantage was this: several of the conspirators,notably the six who had associated together to assassinate the queen,were in London awaiting their opportunity. Anthony Babington lodged atWalsingham's own house, lured there by the wily secretary under pretenseof taking him into his confidence; while Babington, to further his ownends, seemingly acquiesced in the minister's plans. It was a case ofduplicity against duplicity, craft matched against craft, with the oddson the side of Elizabeth's brainy secretary. For the reason that thechief conspirators were in London, Walsingham tarried there to apprehendthem before sending forth to arrest the other gentlemen concerned in theplot who lived somewhat remotely from the city. But the conspirators hadgotten wind of his intentions, and when he reached the city they hadfled.
All this the girl did not know until long afterward. Now she pushedforward with the utmost expedition, hoping to reach the Hall before thepursuivants started. The weather was warm, it being the last of July, andthe Hall was two days' journey from London by hard riding. Thereforewhatever distance she might gain in the first stage of the trip would beof incalculable advantage.
Toward the end of the day, her horse showing great signs of fatigue,Francis was of necessity forced to allow the animal to settle into awalk. As the steed slackened pace the girl relapsed into thought. Soabsorbed did she become that she was startled into something closely akinto fright when a man sprang from behind some trees, ran into the road,and seized her horse by the bridle.
At this time the woods and forests of England were infested byhighwaymen, gipsies, or Egyptians as they were called, and wanderingvagrants whose depredations had been the cause of severe legislation torid the country of its pests. It had not occurred to Francis that shemight be molested by a
ny of these, and she could not forbear a slightscream at the appearance of the man.
His clothing, though of rich material, was torn and ragged as though ithad been caught by thorns in the unfrequented paths of the forest. Hishead was bare of covering, his locks disheveled; his face and hands wereof an uneven dark color as though stained with some decoction unskilfullyapplied. His whole manner was so distraught that Francis trembledexcessively.
"Boy," cried the man wildly, "dismount, and give me thy horse."
At the first sound of his voice the girl started violently, leanedforward and scanned his face keenly.
"Anthony Babington," she cried as she recognized the unhappy man, "howcame you here?"
"You know me?" cried Babington in dismay. "Who in the fiend's name areyou that know me?"
"One that knows all of your nefarious purpose," said Francis accusingly,her girl nature imputing to this man her father's trouble. "Wretched man,knowest thou that the queen's men search for thee even now?"
"Ha!" cried Babington peering into her face, "'tis the page that was withStafford at Salisbury. Boy, where is thy master?"
"At Stafford Hall."
"And thou! Thou art not with him. Hast thou been at court?" Babingtonpeered suspiciously into her countenance.
"Yes;" answered the unsuspecting girl. "I have been at court, AnthonyBabington, where all thy deed is known. The whole palace, ay! the wholecity of London is in an uproar because of the discovery of thy intentionto kill the queen. I was present when the matter was discovered to thequeen. Death will be thy portion if thou art apprehended. Why stand youhere? If you would save yourself, fly!"
"Thou present when it was discovered? Then it is thou who hast betrayedus? Varlet! Base brawler of men's secrets! die, ere thou canst betrayothers."
His dagger flashed in the air as he spoke, but ere it could descendFrancis gave him a sharp, stinging cut across the face with her whip.With a cry of rage Babington let fall the poniard, and before he couldregain the weapon the girl dashed away. On she rode, never stopping untilat length the night fell, and she knew that she was far from the wretchedBabington.