Daughters of England

by Philippa Carr

  I pushed open the heavy door.

  Kirk was standing there, sword drawn, waiting.

  “Kate!” he cried.

  I heard the sword clatter on the stone floor, and I was in his arms.

  “Oh, Kate,” he said. “I hoped you’d come.”

  “It’s a miracle. I knew I’d find you here. I knew it, I knew.”

  “I wanted it to be you so much…I heard the steps on the stairs, and I was afraid it was someone else.”

  “Kirk, Kirk. What has happened?”

  “You know we lost?”

  I nodded.

  “We had no chance against them. It was all in vain.”

  “Tell me, please, quickly. How long have you been here?”

  “Since the battle ended.”

  “That is two days. You’re hungry.”

  “One doesn’t notice it so much.”

  “I shall get some food for you. Oh, Kirk, it’s wonderful that you are alive. I feared that you…like poor Luke…”

  I told him about Luke and he was very somber.

  “Tom Ricks came to tell me. They have captured him. He is now in jail.”

  “Poor Tom.”

  “Kirk, we’ve got to think. You will have to stay here until it is safe for you to leave. We shall look after you as we did before. I must get food for you quickly.”

  “Take care, Kate. The King’s men will be vengeful.”

  “Oh, why did you do this?”

  “I believe we shall never have a peaceful country under James.”

  “But it was all fruitless.”

  “I thought it might not be.”

  “This is not the time to discuss that. We have to think of what we shall do. Christobel and James will help, and Sebastian. We can trust them. No one else will know. We shall do it just as we did before. It was successful then, and will be so again. Oh, Kirk, Kirk. Thank God you are still alive. Now I will go. I shall ride over to Christobel. I’ll get food from her and James. That is safest. I dare say James will come over without her.”

  I left him then. I went back to the stables and saddled up my horse, then rode over to Featherston. They were amazed to see me, and when they heard that Kirk was alive they were overjoyed. Of course James would take food over right away, then we must all plan very carefully.

  “I think,” said James, “that he is in as great danger as he ever was with Titus Oates.”

  He went over to the Devil’s Tower immediately, while I stayed with Christobel.

  She was very emotional. She loved her brother dearly, and the last days had been deeply unhappy ones for her.

  “Oh, Kate,” she said. “Why did he do it? It was bad enough for Luke. But Kirk! He is usually so reasonable.”

  “He thought that England would never be happy with James and a change of Kings was what we needed. I think he is probably right. I remember Father’s saying that he had heard King Charles had remarked that James would not hold the crown for more than four years at most. You see, Kirk had the idea that it was better to change immediately…even for Monmouth.”

  “He made the wrong judgment, that was all. But he is alive and we will look after him, won’t we, Kate?”

  “We will,” I said fervently.

  I sat with her until James returned. He said that Kirk would have to stay in the Devil’s Tower for a while, until the situation cleared. They would not go on searching for the Monmouth rebels, as they called them, for long, James was sure. We would keep Kirk safe until then.

  Early next morning, Christobel’s son was born.

  Who has not heard of cruel Judge Jeffreys and his Bloody Assizes? They were upon us. He came to Winchester, to Dorchester and to Taunton, to pass sentence on those who had dared fight against the King, and left a trail of misery behind him.

  When we heard that Tom Ricks had been whipped through the streets on his way to the hangman’s noose we were stricken with horror. This was a man we had known, a bright, laughter-loving man who had enjoyed living. That he should come to such an end filled me with an angry melancholy.

  This man, who had been sent to judge what were called the enemies of the King, was cruel in the extreme: he was also dishonest, far more of a criminal than those whom he was judging.

  We heard, and we knew it was true for there was proof of his actions, that it was possible, if one could offer a big enough bribe, to save a loved one, and the evil judge was growing rich from his assizes. One of the most shocking stories of his conduct was being talked of, and from what I had heard of the man already I was ready to believe it.

  A young girl, whose father had been sentenced, went to the judge and begged for her father’s life. She was young and comely, and the wicked man made a bargain with her that, in return for her favors, he would spare her father’s life. The girl was ready to submit to anything that would save her beloved parent and agreed. When she had made her sacrifice, the cruel man apparently thought it rather amusing to lead her to his window, where he showed her her father hanging on a gibbet.

  That was Judge Jeffreys, the wicked, notoriously cruel judge, who had been given the task of bringing men to justice.

  All over the West Country men were being sent to the scaffold. They hung on gibbets throughout the country at many a crossroads. The axemen were busy, heads adorned many a bridge and some men were quartered and parts of their bodies displayed in prominent places as a warning to others.

  Men and women were given to people in favor at court to be sold into slavery; even more were transported to the plantations.

  Sorrowing relatives were everywhere. There was smoldering hatred for Jeffreys and his Bloody Assizes.

  And this was the man into whose hands Kirkwell would fall if he were captured.

  Christobel, James and I were determined to do everything in our power to prevent that. Sebastian, too, no less. He was more serious than I had ever known him.

  My father returned to Rosslyn Manor.

  He talked to me about the situation.

  “Monmouth was a fool,” he said. “He had too big an idea of his importance. He could never see things as they were, but only as he wanted them to be. None knew that better than the King, his father. It may be that that was why he set himself firmly against making him his heir.”

  “But he was not the heir.”

  “Indeed no. I’m convinced there was no marriage between the King and Lucy Walter. There was no need. Lucy was free enough with her favors. But Charles might have found the way if he had thought the boy would have made a good King. Charles was a great manipulator, under all that charm of manner and outward easygoing tolerance. That was why, in spite of the life he led, he was a good King. And now…this trouble. Luke killed.” A spasm crossed his face, and I had a glimpse of his true feelings. Luke was his son and I thought then that he would have been delighted if it had been possible to acknowledge him as his heir.

  Poor Luke, who had chosen an impossible dream and in a way it had led him to his death, for I feared his allegiance to Monmouth was partly because they were both in a similar situation.

  My father said: “The past is done. We have the future to think of. You are eighteen now, Kate. Is it not time that you considered marriage?”

  “Marriage with…?”

  “Sebastian, of course. Oh come, my dear, we have to be practical. You had this romantic feeling for Kirkwell Carew. He has gone…depend upon it. He died on Sedgemoor. That might be lucky for him. I would not care to think of what would happen to him if he fell into the hands of Jeffreys.”

  I shivered and for a few moments could not hide the horror which came over me.

  My father was watching me closely, and he said: “Poor misguided young fellow. The young do foolish things sometimes. Kate, I want you to be wise. I should be very happy if you told me that you and Sebastian were to be married.”

  “No…no…I could not.”

  “Listen, Kate. You like him. He is one of the pleasantest fellows in the world. He’d make you happy, I know he wo
uld. He has all the qualities it takes to make a good husband. I know you have this romantic feeling for Kirkwell Carew…but you’ll forget all that. You cannot go on mourning the dead forever. You have to try and forget him…and Luke. It was a pity they acted so recklessly, but it is done. You can’t stop living because of such sorrows. Say that you will accept Sebastian. Let us forget the miseries this rebellion has brought about. Let us try to make a little happiness.”

  “No,” I said. “No.”

  “But why? You like Sebastian. Kirkwell is gone…”

  “No,” I said. “No!”

  He fell silent.

  He said after a while: “In time you will see that it is best.”

  It was my turn to take food to Kirkwell. This always came from Christobel’s kitchen. To have taken it from Rosslyn Manor might have attracted attention and aroused suspicion. We knew we had to be very careful indeed.

  Christobel had taken some time to recover from the birth of her child. The shock of Luke’s death, and the anxieties we had suffered over Kirkwell had had some effect on her. James had been very worried, but now Christobel was much better and her delight in her son had done a great deal to help her recovery.

  The child—they had called him Luke after my brother—was a delight to us all. We marveled at him on every occasion and Christobel could not resist the temptation to show him off and boast of his beauty and the marvelous signs of intelligence he was already displaying.

  I always chose the mid-afternoon to go to Kirkwell. It was the time when the household was quiet and in any case no one ventured near the Devil’s Tower at that time; but there was the possibility that someone might notice that one of us was in a certain spot at the same time every afternoon.

  James had said that it was necessary to take the utmost care always.

  I had seen Kirk and spent about half an hour with him. I told him the news I had gleaned. The assizes were still going on and were now in Taunton. There was grumbling everywhere about the inhuman actions of the cruel judge, but none had the courage—or the foolhardiness—to speak openly against him.

  As I made my way back to Rosslyn Manor I met my father.

  “You have been taking a walk?”

  “Yes. It is a pleasant afternoon.”

  He looked over his shoulder.

  “I see,” he said thoughtfully.

  We walked towards the house in silence for a few moments, then he said: “Have you thought any more about Sebastian?”

  “No,” I said.

  “Was it because of Kirkwell Carew that you hesitated?”

  He was looking at me steadily. I thought of Kirkwell in the Devil’s Tower, his life in such danger. In the last days I had learned something. It was that I thought I should never be happy again if I lost him. I felt deeply the loss of my brother. I would say to myself, Luke would say that…and then I would realize that he would never be there again. To lose one who has been close to you haunts you forever. It was not so long ago that I had learned I had a brother, but our very relationship had brought us close. I knew I should go on mourning Luke for a long time. But Kirkwell…that would be for the rest of my life.

  I realized that I had not answered and that my father was looking at me intently.

  We went into the house and still I had not answered.

  I reached my room, sat down and stared ahead of me. Then it struck me suddenly.

  I thought: he saw me coming from the Devil’s Tower. He knows, I thought. He remembers that last time. If Kirk had escaped, where would he come? To me…to his sister. It had happened before.

  He thinks that, if it were not for Kirkwell, I would marry Sebastian. His plan would succeed.

  It suddenly occurred to me that Kirkwell was not only in danger from the King’s men, but from my father.

  My great fear was realized. The King’s men were here. They had been to Featherston Manor but were searching the area.

  They were in the great hall. I was frantic with anxiety. I went downstairs. I leaned over the banister and saw them with my father.

  I heard them say: “We have reason to believe that he escaped alive after the battle. If he did, it is likely that he would come to this part which he knew so well.”

  My father saw me. He called: “Kate. These gentlemen are here searching for one of the rebels.”

  I went into the hall. My father was looking at me. He must have seen the abject fear in my face and he knew that I was aware where Kirkwell was hiding and there could only be the one place where that was.

  “They are looking round the neighborhood and, of course, will look at the estate. I shall conduct them round myself.”

  The men greeted me with respect as Lord Rosslyn’s daughter.

  “Go to your room, Kate,” he said. “I will see you when this is over.”

  I gave him an appealing glance, but he did not seem to notice it.

  I went up to my room. I shut the door and sat, staring blankly at the window.

  It was over. Any moment now, my father would betray him. They would take him away to face such horror that I could scarcely bear to contemplate it. I would lose Kirkwell as I had lost Luke…I just could not bear to think of it.

  I was convinced that my father knew Kirkwell was in the Devil’s Tower. At any moment now my father would take them to the Devil’s Tower and they would find him. And my father would say that he was a fool, as Luke had been foolish. Men have to learn that, if they do foolish things, they must pay for them.

  Sebastian would not act foolishly. He was the husband my father wanted for me and he believed that, if Kirkwell was removed from the scene, there would be no more hindrance to prevent my marrying Sebastian.

  I think I had never in all my life endured such anguish as I did during that hour. I knew then how much Kirkwell’s loss would mean to me, and I thought of the cruel and humiliating death which would be inflicted on him. I knew I should never be happy again and I would blame myself for my carelessness in being the one who had betrayed him.

  For my father knew. Something in my manner had told him that Kirkwell was here, and where should he be but in the Devil’s Tower?

  I loved Kirkwell. I should have married him when he asked me. If I had been his wife, I should never have allowed him to leave me and go into battle. He would have listened to me. I should have made him do so.

  I did not know how long it was before I heard the sound of voices below. I ran to the window and saw my father coming towards the house with the King’s men.

  Kirkwell was not with them.

  I saw the men leave, and I dashed down to meet my father.

  He looked at me with a rather sardonic smile.

  “Well?” he said.

  I stared at him.

  “They did not find him.”

  Relief flooded over me. It was obvious, of course.

  “He is still safe…temporarily…in the Devil’s Tower.”

  “You knew?”

  He nodded. “And you knew I knew. You thought I would betray him, did you not?”

  I was silent.

  “It would have been a solution.”

  “What are you going to do now?”

  “He can’t stay there. That’s clear. It is not safe. Not completely so.”

  “But…”

  “Titus Oates and his minions were not so dangerous. These men are going to get Kirkwell Carew if they can.”

  “You did not tell them?”

  “Well, perhaps it was foolish of me. It would have settled matters, would it not?”

  “Then why…?”

  He thought for a moment. “Weak, wasn’t it? I thought, if I told them he was there, you would never forgive me.”

  Again he was smiling that sardonic smile.

  “That was one reason. The main one. The other…well, he’s not a bad young fellow, and Jeffreys is a devil.”

  I was crying weakly. I think it was happiness, if one could possibly be happy with so much danger all around. But he had done this for me
although it did not help his plans. I suddenly felt that he was my father indeed.

  I moved towards him and he put his arms round me.

  I clung to him.

  I said: “You love me…and I will always love you.”

  I think I babbled something else. He himself was a little incoherent.

  Then he put me from him and said in a cool voice: “Now listen. We must be practical. He can’t stay there. Those men are determined to find him. They are tired of country yokels. They want some of more standing. Those are the ones Jeffreys enjoys tormenting most. They may be coming back here. I kept them off the Devil’s Tower. Knowing the land as well as I do, I could keep them away from it. I might not be so fortunate again. They might question people and hear something of the Tower. Their suspicions would be aroused and they would wonder why I did not show it to them. So, you see, I have myself to think of. We must act quickly.”

  “You mean you will help us?”

  “And myself. Am I not involved now? We’ll get him away. He will have to leave the country. I can get him to France. He shall go tonight.”

  “You mean you will do this…?”

  “It is necessary, daughter. I must do it for you…for him…and for myself.”

  I went to the Devil’s Tower. Kirkwell rushed to me and embraced me, as he always did.

  He had no idea then of the great danger he had been in.

  “Kirkwell,” I said, “I have to talk to you. This is very important. The King’s men are looking for you. They have been here today. My father knows you are here. He has held them off. But he says that you are not safe here any longer and you must leave. He is arranging it. He is going to get you to France, where you will have to stay until it is safe for you to return to England.”

  Kirkwell was staring at me.

  “Your father…But he would be on the side of the King.”

  “We have to forget all that, Kirkwell. You are his neighbor, whom he has known all your life. How could he let you fall into the hands of that cruel judge? He is right, Kirkwell. You must get out. He says these men may come back, and if they found you, on my father’s land, he too would be in danger.”