Time After Time

Part 2

1315

When God saw that the world was so over proud,

He sent a dearth on earth, and made it full hard.

A bushel of wheat was at four shillings or more,

Of which men might have had a quarter before....

And then they turned pale who had laughed so loud,

And they became all docile who before were so proud.

A man’s heart might bleed for to hear the cry

Of poor men who called out, ‘Alas! For hunger I die ...!’

—Poem on the Evil Times of Edward II, c. 1321.

Lady Mabel Bradshaw sat combing her hair, gazing out of her window at the relentless downpour. The fields outside were turning into lakes. Ducks glided where grain had flourished. If the storm did not break, the road would soon become impassable. They would all starve, as had many of the people in Wigan and the other surrounding villages. Before long she would have to make the choice to leave, whether William returned or not. That damned fool of a husband was always stirring rebellion. He must be languishing in some jail cell.

She watched little Agnes hiding behind the bed curtain. Robert, only five years old himself, pretended to search for her. He looked under the bed, behind the thick wall hangings and in the large ornate storage chest, a wedding gift from her father. Finally, he crept to the curtain where his sister was giggling in delight. He roared at her.

“I’m the King’s lion, and I’m going to eat you up.”

Agnes screamed.

They have no conception of the danger facing us, thought Mabel. They are so used to their father disappearing for months at a time and returning with some gift. They looked happy enough now but it would be different at bedtime. Sir William Bradshaw, man of the people, saviour of the poor and hungry. But he did not see his children weeping night after night, asking for their father.

There was a knock at the door.

“Enter,” she called.

The door opened and young Lizzie, the housemaid, entered.

“It’s Simon Ma’am.” Simon was Lizzie’s husband and William’s right hand man. “He’s in the hall and would like to speak with you... if it please you Ma’am.”

This did not bode well. Simon returned but no William. Mabel thanked the girl and told her she would be down in a moment.

“Robert, look after your sister for me,” she said to the boy. If Simon had bad news, she wanted to tell the children in her own way. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

She left the children playing and descended the staircase to the great hall. The house was large by local standards. There were separate rooms leading off the hall for the kitchen, a small chapel and a garderobe. The hall was busy. The servants could do no work in the fields, so they were all inside cleaning, cooking, and trying to look busy. Simon was at the foot of the stairs, fumbling with his hat in the traditional manner of the bringer of bad tidings.

“Isn’t my husband with you?” Asked Mabel, immediately wishing she had let him speak. She was in charge here. Instead, she had revealed her worries to Simon and anyone else listening.

“No Ma-am,” he answered. “The last I saw of Sir William was a few days ago. We were riding in the hills near Burnley when he saw a figure dashing amongst the trees. He gave chase. Sir William is a fine rider Ma’am and I couldn’t keep up with him. Least not on old Brigit anyway, my old nag... she was a fine horse in her day but...”

“What happened?” Mabel demanded.

“I don’t know Ma-am,” he mumbled. “I couldn’t find Sir William. Not a sign of him and I searched high and low.”

Mabel swung between frustration with her husband and concern for his welfare.

“Ma’am, there’s something else,” said Simon, ringing his cap. “I was riding in the North last night beyond the Ribble. The river has burst its banks and flooded the road. I was looking for somewhere dry to spend the night when I heard a large group of men approaching, heading south. You cannot be too careful these days, with all this talk of cannibals and cut-throats roaming the land.”

“I hid deep in the woods but close enough to watch the road. The party was a large one Ma-am, an army. It was the Earl of Lancaster. They are heading this way. If I’m right they’ll be here before the afternoon is upon us.”

This was terrible news. Word may have already reached Lancaster that William was talking rebellion.

As a young man, William had run off to join the Knights Templar, fighting for the glory of Christendom. They had been the last of the Crusaders, finally driven out of another people’s land. William damned Lancaster for his treachery. He damned the Church for its corruption. He damned God for his failure to answer the prayers of the starving. Was this hypocrisy or the sign of a good man trying to make amends for the errors of his youth?

“Thank you Simon, you did well to let me know. We can now prepare a feast to welcome our guests.”

A feast, they did not have enough to feed themselves.

She noticed two peculiar young men and a girl, warming their hands by the hearth.

“Who are those strangers?”

“Sorry Ma’am,” said Simon. “I forgot with the telling of the news about Lancaster. Beg your pardon. My brother wife’s brother, Stephen, discovered these young people wandering lost out yonder. Robbers jumped them, took their horses and everything. They are foreigners, I suppose from their odd way of speaking. Stephen overheard the dark haired one say they are from Kansas. Never heard of the place myself, I reckon it must be in the East. The giant name is Toto, which sounds like a foreign name.”

Mabel approached the visitors. They were far taller than anyone else was in the room and much better fed. They wore the most peculiar clothes she had ever seen. The fashions of the day must have moved on since Mabel had visited the city. What were wealthy travellers doing visiting this remote outpost of the kingdom.

“I am so sorry I have not welcomed you,” said Mabel. “Nobody told me of your arrival.”

Kate attempted an awkward curtsey, based on her memory of Upstairs Downstairs. Tom and Pete bowed. Mabel looked baffled.

“Sorry to intrude Ma’am,” said Kate.

“There is no intrusion. I am sorry to hear of your misfortune. Outlaws plague us, you are lucky to be alive. I am Lady Mabel Bradshaw. My husband, Sir William, is away. But we are always pleased to welcome travellers, particularly those in distress.”

“Thank you Lady Mabel,” said Kate. “I am Kathryn de Scholes. This is my husband Thomas and his friend Piotr; both are from Poland, so I am acting as an interpreter. I have been abroad for many years, so please excuse my strange ways.”

“It is refreshing to have some contact with the wider world for a change. I look forward to hearing all the latest news.”

“Thieves took all our possessions,” said Kate. “My husband’s younger sister ran and hid during the robbery. If there is anything you can do to help us find her we would be forever in your debt.”

“You are correct to be concerned for your husband’s sister,” said Mabel. “These are difficult times, as I am sure you know. We will do all we can. I will have word sent out about the missing girl. In the meantime, please make yourself at home. We are expecting a visit this afternoon from the Earl of Lancaster, so I’ll be busy for the next few hours. I expect you will wish to change into something more appropriate. The servants to provide you with some clothes. I am afraid my husband and I do not get to London often, so we may be old fashioned for your tastes.”

“You are kind,” replied Kate. “These travelling clothes are popular in the East. They are excellent for long journeys, but we are conspicuous.”

Mabel excused herself, spoke to one of the servant girls and returned to her room.

“What did she say?” Pete asked. “My medieval French is a bit rusty.”

Kate translated her conversation with Mabel for them.

“You said I am your husband?” Tom asked.

“That’s not so terrible is it? I blurted it out. At least we know for sure where we are now. If this is the home of Mabel Bradshaw, we must be in the early 14th century.”

“How can you be so blasé?” Pete asked. “It’s not like we popped to Bolton. We travelled 600 years back in time! What if we cannot get home?”

“It’s like the King’s Demons episode,” said Tom, reaching for his asthma inhaler and taking a deep draft.

“You’ll need to be a bit more discrete with your twentieth century medicine,” said Kate.

The servants rushed around preparing food for the arrival of the Earl of Lancaster. Almost all the staff were gaunt. Many had deformities, marks of past diseases and the signs of generations of inbreeding. The rank whiff of body odour was overpowering whenever anyone passed nearby.

“Actually, it is a bit like Bolton,” said Pete.

“These people look like they haven’t eaten much in weeks, and now all this food is going to be eaten by the Earl’s men.”

A little boy pulled at Kate’s jeans and grinned.

“What’s your name?” Kate asked.

“James.”

“Hello James, I’m Kate.”

“Why are you dressed like a man?”

“Where we come from all women dress like this. Well, some women anyway, and usually in colours other than black.”

Kate remembered she still had an apple in her bag. She handed it to the boy. He snatched it from her hands and ate the whole thing in seconds.

“We’re looking for my friend’s sister. She is eleven and dressed like us. Can you look out for her and ask your friends to do the same?”

“She’s not here,” said James running away.

They watched James join a group of children playing by the fire. The children appeared to ignore him and drifted away leaving James sitting alone.

“What next?” Pete asked.

“If Sophie is here she will stick out like a sore thumb,” said Tom. “She’ll have a hard time explaining a Tansads T-shirt in the Middle-Ages but she’ll cope better than I would. When we went camping with dad last summer, Sophie built the fire. She caught and cooked fish. She knew exactly which berries were edible and which were poisonous.”

“Kate could speak to this Earl,” said Pete. “If he has loads of men they might help us find her.”

“I’m not sure about Lancaster,” said Kate. “He was ruthless. We would be in danger if he discovered we were from the future.”

“Excuse me Miss,” It was Mabel’s maid, Lizzie. “Lady Bradshaw says you may change in her room. There are also some of Sir William’s clothes for the young gentlemen in the Garderobe.”

Lizzie pointed to a door at the side of the hall.

Kate followed Lizzie up the stairs while the boys crossed the hall. Tom pushed open the door, and an overpowering stench hit him. The room beyond was small. Clothes hung along one wall and on the opposite side a wooden bench with round holes cut into it. Pete peered into one of the holes and recoiled in disgust.

“There’s no water underneath,” said Pete. “It’s revolting! Everything is lying on the floor. How do they live like this?”

They got undressed and changed into two identical costumes. Both had long sleeved white shirts and baggy knee length shorts which they pulled on first. Pete grabbed a green woolen tunic leaving a bright red one for Tom. These were like long dresses with belts to tie them at the waste.

“It’s itchy,” said Pete. “This will play havoc with my eczema.”

“Don’t forget your hat,” Tom threw Pete a green sock-like bag. Tom had a red version of the same hat, which he pulled on. It flopped to one side. “I didn’t notice any of the other lads out there in colours so lurid. You look like you escaped from Santa’s grotto.”

“They’re peasants,” said Pete. “We’re the elite. Only the most important citizens get to look this ridiculous. That has always been the case. Have you seen what they make them wear in the House of Lords? At least there is no chance of you being run-over, with your high-visibility frock and the lack of any cars for the next six hundred years. All we have to worry about are murderous outlaws and psychotic Earls, the lack of refrigeration, famine, plague, widespread cannibalism and open sewers running through the middle of every street. And no toilet roll. It’s wonderful to be back here in simpler times.”