Page 18 of Exile's Return
‘Now, now, children,’ Tobias said, in a tone that he probably thought of as soothing, but coming from a large man in a military uniform it caused both children to shrink back against Agnes. ‘Charvaley is your home. You belong there.’
‘But not with you!’ Lizzie declared. ‘Why isn’t Aunt Agnes coming with us? I’m not leaving without Aunt Agnes!’ She took a step forward, her hands on her hips, three feet of aristocratic outrage. ‘I know what you did. You betrayed our father.’
Agnes thought she saw Tobias flinch at the harsh but truthful words, and wondered how much more Elizabeth knew abouther father’s betrayal and death. Adults always underestimated children.
‘That is not the concern of children,’ Tobias said. ‘Mistress Fletcher, see that these children are packed and ready to leave in ten minutes. I will be waiting at the coach.’ At the door, he turned and looked at her. ‘And don’t think of trying to escape with them. Say your farewells and bring the children to me.’
‘Colonel…’ Leah Turner stepped forward. ‘I can see to the children.’
Tobias held up his hand. ‘Thank you, Mistress Turner, but I suggest you come with me. We will wait for them in the inn yard.’
‘Thank you,’ Agnes said, recognising that by leaving her alone with the children he was at least affording her an opportunity of a proper farewell. She supposed she should be grateful for that small kindness.
She waited until the door closed behind him and went down on her knees, her skirts billowing around her. The children fell into her arms.
‘Please don’t make us go with Cousin Tobias,’ Lizzie said, her voice muffled against her shoulder.
‘I have no choice, Lizzie. The colonel has promised he will take good care of you.’
‘I hate Cousin Tobias,’ Henry said with a vehemence that almost made Agnes laugh.
‘You don’t know him. He has your best interests at heart.’
Lizzie stood her ground, her eyes blazing. ‘He did betray Father, didn’t he? I heard Father telling you —’
Agnes straightened and fixed the child with a hard, uncompromising stare of disapproval. ‘Eavesdroppers hear no good of themselves, Lizzie. Shame on you! I do not know what part if any, Cousin Tobias played in your father’s arrest and it is not for you or me to judge him.’
Lizzie’s mouth tightened and her eyes narrowed. ‘Yes … but … ’
Agnes held up her hand. ‘It will not be spoken of again. What is past is done. You must be brave and strong. It would be what your father would expect of you. In a few days you will be back at Charvaley with the animals, and…’ She named all the members of staff who had known and loved the children all their lives. ‘Come on, let’s pack your box.’
There was little to pack. Apart from their clothes, the children had few possessions—an odd assortment of wooden animals, the leather ball that Agnes had bought from a street vendor, and Lizzie’s precious wooden doll. She tied the strings of their cloaks and settled hats on their heads. Handing the doll to Lizzie, she gave the children one last kiss and a hug.
‘Come children, Cousin Tobias is waiting for you. Be very good for him and for Mistress Turner. It is a long journey home.’
She threw open the door and ordered the soldier waiting outside to bring the box.
As the children emerged onto the open gallery that encircled the courtyard, Henry pulled back at the sight of the large, black coach. Agnes tightened her grip on their hands.
‘Remember your father. He was a very brave man and he would want you to be brave,’ Agnes whispered to Lizzie, wondering if she was trying to convince herself.
‘Good.’ Tobias all but rubbed his hands together as they descended the rickety stairs into the inn courtyard. ‘Come children, into the coach. I promise you a special treat if you are good for me.’
‘What?’ Henry demanded.
Tobias glanced at Agnes in mute appeal.
‘If you are very good, Cousin Tobias will stop at the baker on the corner and buy you one of those sugar mice.’
Tobias’s lips tightened. ‘Sugar mice?’ he muttered.
Agnes fixed him with a hard glare. ‘They are Henry’s favourite.’
Henry’s fingers tightened on Agnes’s and she recognized the jutting of his jaw, so like his father. Not even the promise of sugar mice would pry him away. Agnes went down on her knees, wrapping the small, sturdy body in her embrace, breathing in the scent of him, holding her to him. Captain Turner grabbed her arm, wrenching her away and thrusting her at one of the guards who held her tight as Henry was lifted by one of Tobias’s soldiers and carried away, screaming Agnes’s name. Another soldier had Lizzie firmly in his grip. Both children were unceremoniously dumped into the coach and the door slammed on them. Agnes had a brief impression of Lizzie taking her little brother in her arms as Tobias climbed in after them.
Lizzie’s face, wet with tears, appeared at the window of the coach. She appeared to be wrestling Henry, who screamed uncontrollably and would have thrown himself out of the coach had not Tobias caught him by the collar and dragged him back. Released from the grip of the soldier, Agnes fell to her knees. She covered her ears with her hands and doubled over on the filthy cobbles of the inn yard, her body wracked with sobs.
‘Agnes!’
