Page 84 of By the Sword
Chapter 28
The walls of the lower parlour closed in on Kate as the full import of the piece of paper she held in her hand hit her. She looked from the smug, self-satisfied face of Colonel Price, dressed for the occasion in buff coat and a sash with gold fringing, to the implacable, unreadable face of Major Prescott, who leaned against the fireplace idly stoking the logs.
‘The order is quite clear, my dear Mistress Ashley,’ Price repeated. ‘The Committee has ordered that you surrender to me the livestock and produce listed as compensation for the losses I incurred at the hands of Charles Stuart’s followers.’
‘These are our winter stores. We’ll starve. What gives the Committee the right to make this order? It was not me who took your stores and livestock.’ Kate tried to keep the panic out of her voice.
Price smirked. ‘Someone must pay for the ravishing of my home by Longley and Thornton. May I remind you, madam, that regardless of the present ownership this estate is still subject toconsiderable debts owing for the participation by its occupants in the late troubles.’
‘Surely those debts died with Sir Francis.’ Kate grew desperate. She turned to Prescott. ‘Major Prescott, surely this cannot be right?’
Stephen Prescott shrugged. ‘The charge is on the land, regardless of ownership. I am sorry, Mistress Ashley, the order is correct.’
He cast a look of distaste in the direction of the portly colonel and for a brief moment, Kate almost liked him.
‘I’m not the fool you take me for, Colonel. You think by this action you will beggar this estate into a position where we must sell?’ Kate glared at him. ‘In that, you are mistaken. I shall be writing to Master Freeman.’
‘It will avail you nothing, Mistress Ashley. Even Master Freeman lacks the power to overturn this order.’
Kate cast the man as cold and venal a look as she could muster, and with the two men following her, she swept from the room to issue the order to Jacob Howell. She could do nothing but watch as the hard-won sacks of grain were loaded onto carts and her sheep and cattle were driven away by ten of Prescott’s men.
‘What about the horses?’ Price demanded.
To Kate’s surprise, Prescott stood firm, barring the door to the stables. ‘I’m sorry, Price, but the order is satisfied without any necessity to take the horses. Unless you want to bring Whitehall down on your head, you would be advised not to provoke the situation any further.’
Price’s face turned scarlet, but the threat of London reminded him that the widow Ashley did indeed have some powerful friends. He drew his cloak around him and without acknowledging her presence mounted his horse. Prescott gave Kate a curt nod of the head and followed.
As the last of the soldiers rode off, Kate remained standing in the courtyard as the chill autumn wind whipped unheeded around her ankles. Jacob stood beside her in silent sympathy.
‘Mistress Ashley,’ he said, ‘it’s not all bad. I had some word of the Colonel’s intentions, so we managed to hide the best of the horses and some of the livestock in the quarry.’
She smiled sadly at him. ‘Thank you, Jacob, but I don’t think that will be enough to get us through the winter.’
‘What will you do, Mistress?’
She shivered as the wind gusted around them.
‘I don’t know, Jacob,’ she said and, gathering her skirts in her hand, she walked slowly back into the house.
Once inside her misery gave way to a wave of rare and sudden anger. Without knocking, she burst into Nell’s room. Nell sat by the fire, apparently alone.
‘Have they gone?’ she asked. ‘Kate? What’s wrong?’
‘Where’s Giles?’
‘In the priest hole,’ Nell said. ‘We saw Price and thought it prudent.’
Without waiting for her friend, Kate swept down to the study and opened the priest hole.
‘Out!’ She ordered.
Grimacing, Giles eased himself out. ‘Kate, what’s happened?’
‘You!’ Kate jabbed an accusing finger at him. ‘This is all your fault.’
Nell had followed Kate into the study and went to her husband’s assistance as he rose uncertainly to his feet.
‘What do you mean?’ he asked.
