Time After Time

They returned to the main hall and strolled over to the fire. Simon was drying himself off whilst regaling the servants with tales of his journeys to exotic locations. Wigan was the kind of place people did not leave. Many families had never been as far as Bolton in generations. Stories of strange folk and creatures in remote corners of Lancashire fascinated them. Terrified them. In the hills around Burnley, witches cast their sinister incantations. Dog headed men prowl the streets of Warrington at night. Mermaids entice sailors to their deaths in Liverpool.

“Alright lads?” The voice was Kate’s but when the boys turned, the girl standing behind them was very different to the Kate they knew. Gone was the usual black T-shirt and jeans. In their place was a stunning floor length rich blue dress, tied at the front with gold lace. A pristine white headscarf covered her hair, fastened with a gold lace headband.

“Blimey,” said Tom.

Pete stared, unable to speak for once. Kate did a curtsy.

They turned their attention to Simon. The children sat on the floor, entranced eyes fixed on Simon, whose voice rose to fill the room and fell to a whisper. He waved his arms and strolled back and forth in front of his captivated audience. An old man stroked his beard. He nodded as if Simon’s tale confirmed all his theories about foreigners. Kate translated in a whisper for Tom and Pete.

“We had crossed into Yorkshire,” said Simon. “Further into that county than any civilised man has ever travelled. There’s an old packhorse trail across the hills. We had passed through the village of Heptonstall when the trail dropped into a valley. As we reached the bottom, we discovered floodwaters covered the area. There was a small settlement on the banks of the river but most of the buildings were under water. In the gloom, we could make out the dark shapes of their roofs poking out of the murky depths of the river. The place had the scent of death. I was sure I heard a shifting in the waters, as if some vast creature was swimming nearby. I don’t mind admitting I had no desire to hang about. We had planned on crossing the river but it was impassable, so we decided to spend the night back in Heptonstall.”

“Sir William spotted a flicker of light on the edge of the settlement. A little higher, beyond the reach of the floodwaters. I would not have remained in such a god-forsaken place but Sir William didn’t wait for my opinion. He set off to investigate and I was duty bound to follow. When we got closer, we dismounted from our horses, tied them up and crept towards the light. We were near enough to make out the flames of a campfire between the trees. A terrible scream shattered the silence. Never again in my life do I wish to hear a sound so abhorrent. It sounded both human and animal at the same time. Terror gripped my frayed nerves. I shook, yet on pressed Sir William as if there were nothing to fear. His experiences in the East must have been awful for such horrors to seem commonplace. And a horror it was.”

“Sir William crouched and crawled through the mud, so I did likewise. We found a spot where the trees and bushes gave way to a small clearing and observed four men. One of whom was now pinned to the ground by the other three. The attackers were gaunt, dressed in rags and spoke in the peculiar manner common to the area. The man pinned to the floor was fat. He wore the opulent clothes of a wealthy merchant. Whatever induces such damned idiots to travel alone at night in this land? I will never comprehend.”

“The tallest of the outlaws was a bald headed roguish type with huge ears. He had a mouth full of twisted broken black teeth. He held a knife to the throat of the fat fool and took great delight in torturing the poor fellow. He described, in his near incomprehensible drawl, how they were going to slice him into pieces and eat him! I heaved, splattering my breakfast, half on Sir William’s shoes. The sound of my puking attracted their attention. In a flash, Sir William slung an arrow in his brow and shot the leader through the centre of his forehead. Before the creature had even fallen to the ground dead, Sir William leapt from the bushes. He stabbed another through the heart with his sword. As he turned to deal with the third, the man had disappeared into the night.”

“I helped Sir William lift the traveller to his feet. The man was now sobbing and a cascade of gratitude and promises fell from his lips. He said his name was Stephen of York and he owed us his life. Poverty and starvation would have overcome his eleven children without their father’s income. Not to mention the dozens of wards he helped through charitable activities. To listen to him speak it was as if York itself depended upon him. As if the city would have collapsed into anarchy had he perished. Stephen said he was travelling to Manchester to meet with a certain Adam Banastre. Now this got the attention of Sir William, for reasons I cannot go into right now. Walls have ears...” Simon tapped his bulbous nose with a finger.

“We took Stephen with us back to Heptonstall, where we all stayed the night. The escaped robber had made off with Stephen’s purse and so Sir William had to pay the innkeeper for the three of us. Stephen took Sir William’s address and promised he would more than repay the kindness, though I doubt Sir William expects to hear from him again.”

Throughout this monologue, the boy James had been clinging to Kate’s leg. When Simon spoke about the robbers threatening to eat the traveller, James rushed to Kate. He buried his face in her dress and shook with dread.

“Don’t worry,” said Kate. “Simon is exaggerating to make the story better. I’m sure it wasn’t so bad.”

“But my dad follows Sir William everywhere and nothing scares him.”

“Simon is your dad?”

The boy nodded.

“Your dad seems like a sensible man. You heard what he said; he wanted to stay away from the danger.

Simon was so lost in the telling of his story he did not seem to notice his son’s terror. Now he disappeared with his friends for a drink while James lay in Kate’s lap weeping.

Kate put her arm around James and gave him a hug. She did not know what else to say. What James had said was true, he understood a lot for his age. These were terrible times. None of them could be sure what would happen to Simon or to James, or the rest of the people living here.

Tom and Kate spent the next couple of hours exploring the house. They watched the staff prepare for the feast. A great table filled the centre of the hall and the servants brought extra chairs from other houses.

The old man who had been so fascinated by Simon’s story came rushing across the fields.

“They’re here!”