Her Rebel Heart: A romance of the English Civil War

by Alison Stuart

  “I'm very busy, Luke. Is this important?”

  “Yes. I wanted to tell you I intend to raze that line of cottages.” He indicated four cottages a mere three hundred yards from the castle gate.

  Her jaw fell open. “You can't do that,” she protested. “People live there.”

  “When Farrington comes those cottages make perfect cover for him and whoever lives there now, most certainly won't be there for long.”

  She looked up at him, her blue eyes fierce with anger. “Luke, where will the people go?”

  “They can be rebuilt when this is over, but for now, Deliverance, they are coming down.” He turned back to the wall and gave a sign to Sergeant Hale to proceed with the demolition. The sound of axes crashing into wood pierced the still air. A child began to cry. Luke set his jaw. He could not afford sentimentality.

  “I have already told the villagers that they have three choices. They can stay where they are and face Farrington, they can come inside the castle walls or they can take themselves off to a safer place.”

  Deliverance looked at him. “What sort of choices are those?”

  “The only ones they have,” he said. “And the same applies to those within these walls, yourself and Penitence included.” He hunched his shoulders, straightening as he looked down into her angry face. “In fact, it would be preferable if you both left the castle.”

  Deliverance turned to him, her hands on her hip, her chin lifted in defiance. He knew that look and his heart sank.

  “And where do you think we would go?”

  He shrugged. “Surely you have some kindly relative in a quieter part of the country who would take you in? Frankly, Deliverance, I would prefer it if I didn't have you and your sister to worry about.”

  Rain ran down her face, failing to cool the anger that coloured her cheeks and the fire that burned in her eyes.

  “You are...insufferable,” Deliverance said. “We are not going anywhere and you know it!”

  “Suit yourself.” He shrugged. “But don't come bleating to me, two weeks after the gates shut, that you've had enough and want to get out.”

  He heard the hiss of indrawn breath and her mouth opened to let forth a response but it didn't come. She clamped her mouth shut and turned on her heel. He turned back to the wall to watch the destruction of the cottages.

  “That was a bit harsh,” Ned spoke at last, having maintained a judicial silence during the confrontation with Deliverance.

  Luke leaned on the wall and let out his breath. He hadn't been aware how braced he had been for that conversation with Deliverance. He had fought many battles but none had drained his energy so much as a conversation with Deliverance Felton.

  “I'm serious,” he said. “They have no idea what they are in for. I don't want to be responsible for them.”

  “I rather suspect it is the lady who feels responsible for you, rather than vice versa,” Ned said.

  “What do you mean?” Luke stiffened, guilt clutching at his sleeve. He wanted Deliverance away from this hellhole, because that is what this castle would become. He wanted to know she was safe and if he had to drive away with cruelty he would. It was the only way he could protect her, keep her safe from the horrors he knew were coming.

  Ned shrugged and swept a hand across the castle and lands beyond the wall. “Her father left her with task of defending her home and she feels that responsibility as well as the lives of everyone in it, you included.”

  Luke gave an unconvincing snort. Ned could be uncomfortably perceptive and despite his harsh words, he knew in his heart Deliverance could never walk away from Kinton Lacey. If she died in its defence, she would consider it her duty and honor to do so.

  “Do you have any word on Byton?” he asked, changing the subject. He turned to look in the general direction of their brother garrison. There had been no noise from the guns for at least twenty-four hours and the silence was ominous.

  His scouts had confirmed that Charles Farrington had command of the siege. Sir Richard hadn't wasted his big gun on such a small prize but he had a couple of the smaller siege cannons in place and these had proved quite effective on the inadequate preparations of the castle.

  Ned shook his head. “They've held out nearly two weeks but it can't go on much longer.”

  Luke gave his friend a sideways glance. “They've beaten the odds I would have given them.”

  The rain lifted by evening and a perversely serene twilight descended on the castle. Luke only left his position on the curtain wall to catch a snatched meal before returning to keep watch.

  The smouldering embers of the cottages he had razed that afternoon provided a strange comforting glow as darkness fell.

  Every nerve in his body was on edge, the soldier's instinct telling him to expect trouble. It came late in the afternoon when he heard the sound of several explosions coming from the direction of Byton.

  The soldier standing beside him, Truscott, one of the Kinton Lacey men, glanced at him.

  “Byton?”

  Luke nodded. “Farrington is slighting the castle.”

  Truscott frowned. “Slighting, sir? What’s that?”

  “He is destroying it to make sure it cannot be defended again.”

  Truscott’s eyes widened. “And that’s what he’ll do if he takes Kinton Lacey?”

  Luke nodded. “It’s what I’d do.”

  He heard a rustle of skirts and Deliverance joined him, greeting Truscott like an old friend. The man grinned, saluted and moved away, leaving Luke and Deliverance alone together. Deliverance leaned on the bulwark, looking out at the glowing remnants of the cottages.

  “I'm sorry about the cottages,” Luke said at last.

  She shook her head. “You were right. They can be rebuilt. My people have gone to relatives. You were right, the ground needed to be cleared.”

  ‘My people’. Luke recalled Ned’s words. He had been right. Deliverance took the responsibility for everyone in Kinton Lacey on her slender shoulders.

  She took a deep breath of air that smelled of smoke. “The guns at Byton have gone quiet. Do you think...do you think it is over?”

  He looked at her. “I will send a couple of scouts out in the morning, but I am sure it has fallen.”

  “There's no chance—” She stopped as he shook his head. “When do you suppose they will march on us?”

  “Tomorrow. I’ve no doubt the guns are already on the move.”

  She shivered and he resisted a sudden urge to put his arm around her and draw her in towards him. Too many eyes, and she wouldn't thank him.

  “I haven't asked how your arm is faring,” he said, changing the subject.

  “Healed well, thank you. I will have a nice scar to show my daughters.”

  He smiled. “Now there is a terrifying thought. A whole clan of small Deliverances.”

  She smiled in response. “Thank you.”

  Grateful for a change of subject, he continued. “Have you any desire for children?”

  “I have yet to meet anyone I would care to have children with,” she replied, “but I am grateful that I at least have that choice. So many women don't.”

  “Aye, my mother was married off at fifteen. She and my father hated each other on sight. It made for a happy childhood,” Luke said, unable to disguise the bitterness in his voice.

  “My parents were a love match,” Deliverance said. “My father was broken by her death. I think that was why he spent so much time in London with parliamentary duties. He couldn't bear to be home.”

  Luke nodded. “My father was rarely at home either and when he was–” He broke off, pushing the memories of his father's temper and their furious confrontations, to the back of his mind.

  “I am fortunate that Father let me have so much independence,” Deliverance said. “I would like to think it was because he cared, but I think it is probably because he didn't care. He even let James' tutor stay on to teach Penitence and me for several years after James' death.”

 
; “Oh, don't misjudge him, Deliverance. Your father cares very much about you and Penitence.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Luke broke a loose piece of stone off the wall and threw it down, listening for the faint splash as it hit the water that had pooled in the bottom of the ditch. “We had a very frank discussion before he sent me here.”

  Deliverance laughed. As she opened her mouth to respond, a shout went up from the sentry stationed on the far side of the village and a shot rang out. A lone horseman, a bundle over the pommel of his saddle, rode into plain view of the castle. He upended the bundle on to the ground, raised his hand in an impudent salute to the watchers on the wall and galloped away, the shots from the out posted sentries ringing around him.

  For a moment Luke and Deliverance stood frozen staring at the bundle on the ground that moaned and moved.

  “It's a person,” Deliverance cried.

  Luke moved first, shouting an order for the gate to be opened even as he took the stairs two by two. Deliverance followed close behind him.

  Ned, who had been on watch in the gatehouse, was ahead of him as they ran across the bridge and he reached the crumpled body first. He fell to his knees beside the figure, as the others joined him, panting from their exertion.

  Ned went down on his knees, pulling the swaddling from around the moaning figure.

  “It’s a woman,” Ned said and even in the gathering gloom, Luke could see that the bundle that had been treated with such disdain was a girl wrapped in a rough cloak.

  Ned lifted her up and as the cloak fell away, the girl's long red hair tumbling across Ned's knees.

  “Lay still, lass,” Ned said. “You're safe.”

  Luke caught his breath, recognising the pretty face.

  “It's the maid from Byton,” he said and hearing the word, the girl's eyes opened and fixed on Luke.

  “Get her inside,” Deliverance ordered.

  As Ned hefted the girl into his arms, Deliverance glanced at Luke and he saw that she too had recognised the girl.

  “What have they done to her?” Deliverance said in a low voice, adding. “What have they done to Byton?”

  Ned carried the girl in and laid her on one of the oak settles in the upper parlour. The men retired to the doorway while the women swung into action, peeling back the cloak. Penitence gasped and looked up at her sister, distress written in her beautiful blue eyes.

  Deliverance's lips tightened as she saw the girl's clothing was torn and stained and livid bruises had begun to colour her face and arms. If these were the bruises on show to the public what other injuries did this poor girl carry?

  She glanced across at Ned and Luke.

  “I think it best you leave us,” she said. “Wait in the library and I will report to you later.”

  Luke shook his head. “I need to question the girl.”

  Deliverance opened her mouth to argue but Meg entered the room, carrying a bowl of water. The maid held the bowl and dipping a cloth into the water; Penitence began to gently sponge the girl's battered and bruised face while Deliverance knelt down beside the girl and picked up her hand.

  “Can you hear me?”

  The girl's eyes flickered open and she gave a great, shuddering sigh, tears beginning to pour silently down her cheek.

  “Hush,” Penitence said. “You're at Kinton Lacey. You're safe now.”

  In two strides Luke had joined her. He leaned over Deliverance's shoulder. “Can you talk?” he asked.

  She nodded and recognition animated her face. “I remember you. You tried to warn 'em and the Colonel he wouldn't listen. I thought you had a nice face.” Fresh tears started in her eyes.

  “Your name?” Luke sounded cool and in command, compelling a response from the unhappy girl.

  Her lip trembled. “Lovedie. Lovedie Brown. I am...was...maid at Byton Castle.”

  Luke, hearing the past tense, glanced at Deliverance.

  “Has Byton fallen?” he asked.

  “He said...he said...to tell you... You would be next.” A note of hysteria rose in the girl's voice and she tried to sit up.

  Deliverance placed firm hands on her shoulders pushing her back down again.

  “Sir Richard Farrington?” Deliverance asked in a tight voice.

  The girl shook her head. “Not him. The other one.”

  “Charles?”

  The girl nodded.

  “And the garrison?” Luke asked.

  Lovedie pushed aside Deliverance's constraining hand and sat up. She looked around the anxious faces.

  She took a shuddering breath and spoke clearly. “We held out for as long as we could and then the Colonel, he said, we had to surrender. We'd no more food and the powder were all gone. He spoke with Farrington and came back and said he'd negotiated honourable terms. The garrison marched out unarmed to surrender.” Her lip trembled. “They took the Colonel, said they were taking him to Ludlow Castle and then, then...they tied the others together in pairs...”

  Her face contorted and her audience held their collective breath, dreading what was to come.

  “They slit their throats. Every man. They threw the bodies into the ditch.”

  Dropping the cloth she held, Penitence's hands flew to her mouth and she gave a stifled cry.

  “Charles Farrington,” Deliverance said in a low voice. A man who would kick a puppy to death would have no end to his cruelty.

  “A man who does not respect the rules of war,” Luke responded. “And the castle?”

  Her chin quivered. “They blew it up. My brother...” she sobbed burying her head in her hands.

  Luke squatted down and took the girl's hands in his own. This was war and he knew the atrocities women could suffer at the hands of a triumphant enemy. “And you, lass? Did they...? Did he...?”

  She looked at him and shook her head as she gleaned his meaning. “No...Not that.” She touched her face. “Farrington, he hit me a few times, just to teach me some manners, he said. Then he flung me over the saddle of one of his men with the message I've just given to you.”

  “So we're next?” Luke sounded grim.

  “That's what he said,” the girl replied.

  “Enough,” Deliverance snapped. “Pen, take Lovedie to our room and Meg, organise a pallet to be made up for her.”

  Penitence put her arm around the girl and led her from the room. Meg followed, carrying the basin.

  Luke crossed to stand by the window, looking out over the darkened castle, his shoulders tense and his back ramrod-straight. Ned sat down at the table and began tapping his fingers on the table.

  Deliverance addressed Luke's rigid back.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “The first thing I am going to do,” he said slowly. “Is verify the girl's story for myself.”

  “Don't be a fool, Luke.” Ned rose to his feet. “Byton is an hour's ride away and Farrington could be anywhere between us and Byton.”

  “Farrington will be back in Ludlow,” Luke said.

  “How do you know?” Deliverance asked.

  Luke turned to face the room and shrugged. “I'm guessing that Farrington's returned to Ludlow to report to his father, celebrate his success and gather reinforcements before he marches on us. Ned, send out a scout to report if he's left a guard on the castle. If he's just marched away we will go and see for ourselves at first light.”

  Ned rose to his feet and left the room.

  “It could be a trap,” Deliverance said.

  A thousand thoughts crossed her mind. If he were to be captured on this escapade, what would become of the castle? Of her? She could not imagine how she could sustain a siege without Luke Collyer. He had taught her to depend on him and that thought caused a rush of anger. Before Luke she had managed quite well. She had never been dependent on anyone else in her life and the thought frightened her more than the threat of Farrington.

  “Don't argue with me, Deliverance,” Luke said. “I'm not in the mood.”

  “No, you
're feeling guilty,” Deliverance said. “You're thinking that you should have gone to Byton's aid.”

  She could see from the anguished twist of his mouth that she was correct.

  “You wouldn't have achieved anything,” she said. “You said yourself Farrington's men outnumbered anything we have to throw at him and you were right. We had no choice but to stay here. Stay safe.”

  He scowled. “Safe? Deliverance we have less than a hundred men to hold this castle.”

  “Yes, but we have something Byton didn't have and that is ample supplies and a clean water supply and we're well prepared. We can hold out until help comes. If you're riding out into a trap we are losing the only other thing we need...you.”

  To her surprise he laughed. “I thought you would be pleased to see the back of me?”

  She sniffed. “You are quite good at what you do and I've grown rather accustomed to having you around.”

  He crossed over to where she stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. Beneath its warmth and weight, the gesture gave her a curious comfort.

  “You've read all the books, Deliverance. There is no science to shutting the door and letting Farrington knock away to his heart's content. I doubt your father will let Kinton Lacey go unrelieved for any length of time. Good night.” He pulled his hand away and turned for the door, walking with a slow heavy step as if he, not she, carried the world on his back.

  Deliverance touched the place where his hand had rested. She had to stop him, whatever it took.

  As he reached the door she blurted out, “Luke, you've heard Lovedie's story. What are you going to accomplish by riding out to Byton?”

  He stopped at the door and turned to look at her. “Peace of mind,” he said.

  Chapter 8

  The scout Ned sent out reported back that Byton castle appeared to be deserted. The man admitted that he hadn't gone right up to the ruins, and Luke decided to see for himself.

  They set out before first light and encountered no enemy on the road from Kinton Lacey. The acrid smell of smoke reached them even before the former stronghold of Byton loomed out of the dawn mist, grey and ominous. He remembered how he had last seen it, golden and soft in the summer sun, a family home not a fortress. Now the broken, jagged teeth of the walls reached to the sky from a mire of trampled gardens and destruction.