Page 95 of Feathers in the Wind
She wanted to say, “Don’t leave me here by myself” but that sounded childish. She had volunteered for this adventure and she would see it through with the true courage of a Felton.
“Stay here and sell your eggs,” he said, “but I suggest you raise your price a little or they will be gone in five minutes. If you sell all your eggs before I’m back, meet me in the porch of that church.” Luke indicated the spire of St. Laurence. “And if I’m not there before the clock strikes twelve, leave without me.”
“Will an hour be long enough?” Deliverance looked around the crowded market square, noting the large number of soldiers in the blue uniform coats of Farrington’s men.
“It should be plenty of time.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Stay out of trouble, Mistress Felton.”
“Be careful,” she responded.
She watched him walk away, her gaze following him until he was lost in the bustling crowd.
Word had got around that her eggs were cheap and Deliverance sold them all within half an hour. She wandered around the market square pretending to be interested in the produce, all the while watching for anything that might interest Luke. She had been to Ludlow market many times in the peaceful years but now the familiar bustle of farmers and townsfolk had been padded out with armed troops who all looked better equipped than the rabble Farrington had set down in front of her gate.
She looked up at the clock. The hour of twelve approached, so she set off at a brisk pace to the church of St. Laurence, the beautiful medieval building, with a square tower that rose high above the roofs of the town. The presence of more soldiers surrounding the porch of the church and bristling with weapons and smart new uniforms, slowed her step. The church had evidently been appropriated for military purposes.
“Now then, goodwife, move along,” one of the soldiers said as she hesitated at the gate to the churchyard.
“I came here to pray,” Deliverance responded. “How dare ye turn a house of God into a ... What are you doing with it?”
“Gunpowder store,” the man said.
“Oh, that’s shameful,” Deliverance said, guiltily recalling the chapel at Kinton Lacey, presently lined with barrels of powder. “And what need ‘ave ye for such a large store? From what I ‘ear tell in the market, there’s only a handful of rebels in this county.”
“Aye, and it’s Sir Richard’s intention to blast ‘em to hell,” the man replied. “He’s ordered a siege gun to deal with the bastards.”
“A siege gun? And what’s so special about a siege gun?”
“Ah lady, ‘tis the length of two men with a mouth that a grown man can put his head in. God have mercy on the rebels, is all I can say.”
Deliverance’s guts clenched.God have mercy on them indeed.
“And when is this ‘ere gun to arrive?” Deliverance asked.
The man leaned back against the wall. “Why it came yesterday, lady. Ye’ll find it outside the town walls on the water meadow. Not seen it myself but they say ‘tis too big to bring into the town.”
“Well, ‘tis a sad day when a church becomes a harbinger of death,” Deliverance said.
She glanced down the street and a wave of relief washed over her at the sight of a familiar greasy hat that marked Luke’s progress through the crowd.
“Where have you been?” she asked as he joined her at the church gate.
He shrugged. “Here and there. Farrington’s brought in an entire regiment of reinforcements, well-armed and well-trained. It will be no raggle-taggle troops, afraid of the rain, that we will face when they come for us.”
“I have intelligence too,” Deliverance said, her heart racing at the thought of what lay ahead of them. “There’s a siege cannon in the water meadow.”
Luke’s eyebrows rose to meet his hairline. “A siege gun. How did you find that out?”
“Sometimes men will talk more easily to a woman,” she said with a smile.
Luke’s mouth tightened. “If you’re right, that one piece of information is far more worrying than anything I’ve managed to glean. You’ve done well.”
Deliverance flushed. She heard praise so rarely that when it came it was a nugget to be treasured.
He looked up at the town walls. “Anywhere we can get a sight of the gun?”
Deliverance nodded and led him across the town, through the narrow streets lined with half- timbered buildings. A gaggle of townsfolk lined the town wall, indicating the presence of the siege gun had excited some interest in the local populace.
They pushed their way through the crowd, ignoring the grumbles. Deliverance drew breath as she caught sight of the object of the attention. Below them on the far side of the river Teme, another crowd had gathered around to watch blue-coated soldiers drill with the massive gun and several smaller pieces. Luke whistled and Deliverance cast a sideways glance at him.
