Page 24 of By the Sword
‘Papers?’ The man demanded.
Obediently Kate produced the papers that the local magistrate had issued her before the start of her journey and Jonathan fished his out from inside his jacket. The officer scanned them.
‘Bookseller, eh?’ The officer said, looking up at Jonathan.
Jonathan returned the suspicious look with an air of innocent confidence.
‘A hard trade to make a living in these days, captain,’ he said as the officer returned the papers.
‘We have encountered a great many soldiers travelling north. Is there trouble brewing?’ Jonathan remarked.
‘Scotland,’ the man replied. ‘Word is Charles Stuart has landed there.’
‘Really?’ Jonathan raised an eyebrow and shook his head in apparent disbelief. ‘Is Fairfax going to invade Scotland?’
‘Nay, Fairfax would have no part of it. He’s resigned command. Cromwell’s now Commander-in-Chief,’ the soldier replied.
Jonathan’s face betrayed nothing. ‘Well, my friend, God speed your cause and may you deal swiftly with the scurvy Scots and their so-called King.’
The man nodded and, with a quick inclination of his head in Kate’s direction, turned his horse’s head and rode off to catch up with his men. Kate stared after the man, her heart hammering beneath her bodice.
‘Don’t look like that, Kate,’ Jonathan reproved. ‘You have a face that can be read like a book, and if I’m to be betrayed it will be your doing, not mine.’
Kate had not even been aware she had been holding her breath. She now expelled the air from her lungs. ‘How can you lie like that?’
‘Years of practice.’ Jonathan sounded terse and she suspected he was cross with her.
***
The encounter with the soldiers gave Jonathan cause for thought as they rode on. Kate rode beside him in silence and only when he glanced at her did he notice the downcast corners of her mouth. Was it possible she thought he was displeased with her?
She had no reason to think that. She had held her nerve but he was conscious of the danger he had placed her in and felt the need to make amends.
The spire of a sizeable town loomed on the horizon and a motley assortment of tents and stalls had been set up on the commons outside the town.
‘What town is this?’ Jonathan asked.
‘Selby,’ she replied. ‘It must be market day.’
Tom rode up beside them. ‘Can we stop for a little while, Mother?’
‘Why not?’ agreed Jonathan. ‘It seems an excellent place to find something for lunch.’ His stomach growled in response to the suggestion.
They found a place to leave the horses and Kate gave Ellen some coins along with an order to watch Tom like a hawk. Ellen in her turn told Dickon to stay away from the ale and he followed his aunt with a sulky caste to his face.
‘It’s not quite the fairs of my childhood,’ Kate said. ‘Then there were jugglers and dancing and music.’
‘For that, we can thank your friends in Whitehall,’ Jonathan remarked. ‘Would you care to take my arm, Mistress Ashley?’
As they strolled towards the centre of the activity, Kate said, ‘I owe you an apology for my behaviour this morning.’
‘What behaviour?’
‘I thought I might give you away.’
He sighed. ‘It’s a very dangerous game, with a hangman’s noose at the end if I forget the rules. No harm was done and contrary to what you might think, I gained considerable information from our encounter with the Roundhead. I now know the high command of the army is divided. Scotland will be invaded and Cromwell is taking his best troops with him.’
Kate shivered and looked up at the spire of the church looming above the roofs of the little town.
