Page 156 of Feathers in the Wind
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A clean andperfumed Ned found Luke in the library where Toby had brought him a tray of something unidentifiable that the cook had described as ‘dinner’.
Ned sat down with a heartfelt sigh. “I think you owe me an explanation.”
“I do,” Luke agreed. “What do you suppose this is?” He held up a piece of unidentifiable vegetable matter.
“A turnip?” Ned suggested.
Luke wrinkled his nose and pushed the plate to one side. Tonight they would eat properly. “What do you want to know?”
“Jack Farrington?”
“Very well, that night we took Jack Farrington prisoner I had a long talk to him. He was already wavering in his loyalty to his family, so I just let him talk. By the end he had convinced himself to turn his cloak. I didn’t do anything.”
“And you didn't think to tell me?” Ned looked aggrieved.
“In fairness, Ned, events rather got ahead of us.”
Ned sat back with his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. “Not an easy decision for Jack. It wasn't just about Penitence then?”
Luke shook his head. “The contents of his breeches can rule a man, but I think his brother's handiwork at Byton genuinely appalled him. Jack Farrington is a man of conscience and honour, and while it is not an easy matter to turn against your own family, Charles's own actions forced him to it.”
“I suppose you would know,” Ned observed.
“Mercifully my brother is an honourable man,” Luke said.
The old pain turned like a knife in Luke’s heart as he thought about his own brother, Nick, but Nick was no Charles Farrington.
He groaned. In that talk with Jack, he deemed it prudent to confide a part of his own family story as a way of drawing Jack to the decision to turncoat. Jack would be incapable of keeping the story from Penitence and Penitence in her turn would tell Deliverance. The time had come to tell her the truth and he needed to get to Deliverance before her sister.
“But how did you know Jack would turn the pistol on his brother?” Ned asked
“I didn't. I just had to trust him to rise to the occasion.”
“If he hadn't?”
“Then you would have had to carry through the attack and hope they were sufficiently startled, or repelled by your smell, to let us get away without too many casualties.”
Ned shook his head. “You took a gamble.”
“A huge gamble,” Luke agreed. He gestured at the window with its broken glass, beyond which they could hear the departing royalists. “But it paid off. My guess is they are heading back to Ludlow to report to Sir Richard and lick their wounds.”
“The older Farrington will be back though.”
Luke shook his head. “Not while I'm holding his son.” He drew a deep breath. “We need to get Charles Farrington to Gloucester for trial.”
“A problem for the morning.” Ned rose to his feet and clapped his friend on the shoulder. “But for the time being, I think a celebration is called for.”
Luke nodded. “We'll kill some cattle and send out a patrol to see what our besiegers have left. I think there is still a cask of Sir John's wine that is unbroached.”
“Leave it to me.” Ned saluted and left the room.
Luke, suddenly exhausted, leaned back in Sir John's chair and studied the severe face that glared down at him from the wall.
“Well, Sir John,” he said aloud. “I think you can be proud of your daughter.”
Chapter 21
