Time After Time

Tom shook Kate awake. The servants were rushing around.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know,” replied Tom.

Kate climbed to her feet. Her body ached. They had spent a cold and uncomfortable night with little sleep. Their beds were dirty, straw-filled mattresses, in a damp corner of the hall. She stopped Simon. “What’s going on?”

“Sir William has returned! Let us see how brave Norley and Holland are now.”

Tom and Kate walked over to the entrance with Pete stumbling after them. Outside the sun was blinding, but did nothing to reduce the early morning chill. A middle aged but grey man was throwing young Robert into the air and catching him. He put the boy down and chased little Agnes, she ran around in circles squealing in delight. Mabel stood to one side with her arms crossed. Another band of men had replaced yesterday’s visitors, though this group was far more chaotic. They wore tattered clothes, their weapons improvised, and many did not have horses. At their head were two well-dressed men.

Sir William left the children and embraced his wife. Mabel kept her arms by her side and her face grim.

“It is good to be back my dear. I have brought friends.” He indicated the two men at the head of the motley band. “May I introduce Sir Henry Lea.?”

The older of the men climbed from his horse and bowed as he kissed Mabel’s hand.

“We have met before my lady, though you won’t remember, you were a tiny four year old girl with a huge temper. I was a good friend of your father.”

Mabel took control of her anger with her husband, and smiled at the old man. “I remember you well Sir Henry, and all the little toys you used to bring. My father was fond of you.”

The other man, a towering figure with a sad face and a strong, silent manner approached.

“And this, I take it, is our saviour, the famous Sir Adam Banastre,” said Mabel.

The huge man nodded, turned away and surveyed the territory. He was uninterested in Lady Mabel or her opinions.

“You have had visitors,” said Banastre.

“Correct,” said Lady Mabel. “Your timing is most unfortunate. You have missed Lancaster, Holland and Norley by a matter of hours. If you had arrived earlier, the blacksmith’s house may still be standing.”

“What?” William was furious. “Why would they do such a thing? To send a message I suppose. Well, this will not stand. The tide is about to turn.”

“They have caused enough ruin for the people of this village. We don’t need you making us a target again,” said Mabel. “Now clear off and take the rest of this rabble with you.”

Mabel stormed into the house. Sir William turned to his guests and laughed.

“My wife is angry with me, but she will calm herself. We must respond to this latest Lancaster outrage. We must strengthen our hand.”

“The Radcliffe brothers,” said Banastre.

“What are you suggesting?” Sir Henry asked.

“We can send a few men to capture the brothers,” said Banastre. “They are staying at the Radcliffe Parsonage, and have lax security. If Lancaster seeks to rule by terror, we will fight by the same means. We must make it clear to the nobles of this region that taking Lancaster’s side is not the safe option.”

William noticed there were more visitors. He strode to Tom, Kate and Pete and introduced himself. Sir Henry joined them.

Kate re-told their story.

”One of our spies informed us yesterday of a young girl captured by Lancaster, “said Henry. “She was a foreign lass. He has given his men strict orders not to harm her. According to the guards, she speaks an unknown dialect. They have no idea where she came from.”

“Would it be possible to rescue the girl?” William asked.

“Impossible. I do not know what Lancaster’s interest is in her, but he is taking care nobody gets to her. I suspected she must be a Spanish Princess. She is valuable to him.”

“Interesting,” said Sir William. “Why would the Earl place such importance on your sister?”

“My father-in-law is a wealthy man,” said Kate. “If Lancaster has learned her identity he must hope for financial support.”

Sir William directed his answer to Tom rather than Kate. “In the next few days we will make a move against Lancaster and his lackeys. If the Earl has your sister, your best chance of finding her is to come with us. Your young wife is welcome to stay here, where I am confident she will be safe.”

“But you can’t...” Kate began. William ignored her protests and walked away leading Sir Henry into the house.

Kate turned to Tom and Pete. “Chauvinist pig.”

“What did he say?” Tom asked.

“He wants you two to go with him; he reckons it is your best chance of finding Sophie. I am not going to sit around here while you two dimwits go off on a suicide mission. You don’t even speak the language.”

“I need to try,” said Tom. “If we go home now we may not be able to return. Sophie is all I have left of mum. You are much more capable than we are, but there’s no feminism here. Women didn’t take part in these things.”

“Ever hear of Joan of Arc? She died a hundred years ago. What about Boudicca?”

“Don’t forget Wyggan,” said Pete. “I would stay here if I were you. You should thank your lucky stars.”

“Sorry Kate,” said Tom. “We don’t know whether Lancaster has Sophie. She might come here. If she does, you can keep her safe until we return. And if we don’t return...”

“You’ve never even ridden a horse before have you?” asked Kate.

It was a couple of hours later. The previous evening Lancaster’s men had consumed almost all the food for the rest of the month. Sir William and the other renegades had to content themselves with leftovers. Lady Mabel had retired to her room, and did not return to see their departure. Rain lashed the starving group soaking them to the skin as they mounted. After several attempts, Pete clambered onto the back of the most docile mount. He clung to the reins.

“Try to sit straight,” shouted Kate. “If you fall, I’ll catch you.”

Tom knew how to handle a horse. In better days, when his family could afford holidays, Tom’s parents had taken him riding.

“This is ridiculous,” said Kate. “You’re lambs to the slaughter. Stay here, we’ll make another plan.”

“I can’t sit around here any longer, I need to do something,” said Tom.

“Go and get yourself killed,” said Kate. “That’ll help Sophie won’t it?”

Kate watched in frustration as her friends disappeared into the distance. She remained standing alone long after the last horse had vanished. She wondered whether she would ever see them again. A hand touched her shoulder.

“Come inside,” said Mabel. “They aren’t worth it.”

“They’ll get themselves killed.”

“And us too if they’re not careful. I’m worried about Lizzie. Now Simon is gone again and the rest of her family struggling after the fire, she has little support. I don’t know how she will cope with that poor boy of hers. She is so fragile after the past year, and she is not much more than a child herself.”

“We aren’t supposed to be here,” said Kate, wondering all at once whether there was any need for secrecy. Mabel would think Kate insane if she told her the truth.

“I don’t know who you are or where you come from but I want you to know one thing...”

Mabel paused as if unsure whether to continue.

“I thought you might be with Lancaster. It was curious the way you arrived yesterday, hours before the rest of them. If you are, I want to be clear; I am not a threat to his power. My concern is to protect my children.”

“We’re not spies?” asked Kate, astonished but realising how odd their sudden appearance must have seemed. Not to mention how peculiar their behaviour must be to Mabel.

“Your story is full of holes. You claim to have travelled for years and yet you are so young. You say Thomas is your husband and yet you wear no wedding band. You are travelling incognito and appear to be from a wealthy background. I did consider you could be relatives of our foreign Queen. It is one of the few reasonable explanations. In all my years, I have never come across a more eccentric set of individuals. You remind me of a group of travelling players.”

“We aren’t spies and we aren’t travelling players. You’re right about one thing though; Tom and I aren’t married. I wish I could tell you the truth. I don’t know what we would have done without your help.”

“Come inside,” said Mabel smiling and guiding Kate towards the house. “We will both be ill if we remain outside in this deluge.”