Page 79 of By the Sword
She turned as he picked up his hat and gloves and bowed politely to her, before leaving her to contemplate whatever would come next.
‘What did he want?’
She turned and saw Tom standing at the door to the library. His hair fell over his eyes, barely concealing a deep frown of disapproval. He crossed to where she stood by the window, and Kate put her hand on his shoulder.
‘I don’t like that man,’ Tom said. ‘He has horrible eyes.’
Kate sighed. ‘You’re right, Tom. He is not a man we should trust. He must never know that Jonathan and the King were here.’
Tom looked up at her. His eyes held the ghost of his father in them. ‘I’d never tell him, Mother.’
‘Has he gone?’ Nell peered around the other door. She looked tired and strained. ‘Are we not to be searched again?’
‘Not for the present, Nell, but he is coming back and we are to have a troop of his horse billeted on us.’
‘Oh, sweet Mary.’ Nell crossed herself, one of the few times Kate had seen her demonstrate her faith. ‘What are we to do, Kate? We can’t leave Giles shut in a priest hole indefinitely.’
‘No,’ Kate agreed. ‘We’ll just have to take a risk, Nell. I’ve told him that the soldiers can have free run of the north wing. They should not bother us unduly over there and we can move Giles to your room when things are a little calmer.’
‘Lord Longley is here?’ Tom looked from one woman to the other and Kate cursed herself. The less Tom knew the better but she had inadvertently said too much and now he had to know the whole story.
‘We have him hidden in one of the priest holes. Tom–’
‘I won’t tell anyone. Not even if they torture me,’ Tom said with a frown of indignation. ‘But what about Ann? She is such a prattle tale. She could tell them about Lord Longley, without knowing it.’
Kate looked at Nell. They hadn’t thought about the child.
‘I’ll send her to the Knowles,’ Nell said. ‘Betty Knowles can look after her while the soldiers are here.’
‘Are you sure, Nell?’ Kate asked.
Nell’s mouth set in a hard, grim line. ‘It will break my heart, Kate, but then so would losing my husband.’
Later that night, when the house was quiet, the women extricated Giles from the priest hole. He looked at them with bright, feverish eyes. ‘I could not have borne another minute in there,’ he declared with a shudder.
‘Well, I hope there’ll be no need for you to go back,’ said Kate, ‘but it may be necessary. Prescott is billeting a troop of horse on us.’
Giles ran a hand through his hair. ‘Prescott will not rest until we are all behind bars. I’m only putting you in terrible danger, Kate,’ he said. ‘Do the right thing and hand me over.’
‘No.’ Kate and Nell chorused together.
‘I would no more turn you in than I would Jonathan,’ Kate said. ‘As long as Prescott and Price think I’m sympathetic and the troopers keep to the north wing, there’ll not be too much danger. As for the rest of the household, we have spun the tale that Nell is unwell and that Ellen is tending to her. That has justified us sending Ann to the Knowles’ farm. It means Nell stays with you and the only person who needs to attend to her is Ellen.’
The women managed to haul Giles up the stairs to Nell’s bedchamber where he was put to bed. He fell back on the pillows with a heartfelt sigh of relief and looked up at his wife.
‘Sweeting, I must speak with Kate alone for a few minutes.’
‘Surely there is nothing you have to say to Kate that I cannot be privy to?’
‘Please,’ Giles said. ‘It concerns Jonathan and is a matter for Kate’s ears alone.’
‘But–’ Nell looked from one to the other. ‘Oh, very well. Keep your secrets.’
She flounced from the room and Giles patted the edge of the bed. ‘Sit down.’
She obliged and he took her hand in his.
‘Kate, be very careful,’ he said. ‘Prescott is a dangerous man.’
