Page 20 of Twin Flames
‘You’re awake!’ said George. ‘You must have been sleeping deeply. You were miles away.’
He looked as if he hadn’t slept for days. His lustrous dark hair was peppered with grey, and his dark eyes were weary and framed by deep grooves. He didn’t look as debonair as the George she’d just left behind.
Living in Tudor times is brutal.
She reached up and touched his face as he leaned over her.
‘How long have you been in this dreadful place now?’ she asked.
‘You talk as though you just arrived, my darling. I’ve been counting the hours. This is my sixth day and your fourth. I bribed the guard to put you in here with me.’
‘Oh, yes. Thank goodness,’ she said.
It already seems an age since Queen Anne was beheaded, but it’s barely a week. I can’t believe so much has happened in such a short period. One minute I was on an urgent mission with the king, as one of his most trusted advisers and the next I was arrested for treason. The whole court’s gone mad,’ said George.
‘The days blur one into the other. Why do you think I wasn’t arrested at the same time as you?’ said Cara.
‘I don’t know. I’ve not been able to get any word from the outside from our kinfolk. My guess is the council thought to spare you for the sake of the children but then decided to persecute everyone who was connected to Anne. The new queen’s advisors will want to make a clean sweep of anything connected to the old order. It’s a tragic business. I overheard the guard saying the royal wedding will be in a few days.’
He clasped her hand in his and pulled her to her feet.
‘You’ll be happy to know we’ve hatched a plan to get us out of here,’ he whispered.
‘What is it? And who is we?’ asked Cara.
‘There’s a lad in here called Swifty who’s going to help us escape. We can trust him. His brother is a stable boy at Willow Manor.’
‘What a wonderful coincidence,’ said Cara. ‘But how dangerous is it to attempt to escape from here?’
‘We have little choice with the way things stand. Everything is dangerous but nothing more so than waiting here for the hangman to claim our necks.’
‘Yes, that’s true. I’d rather die trying to escape than sit here doing nothing, fearing the worst. I’m so worried they’ve already taken Thomas and May. If so, they will be terrified.’
‘The plan is for us to reach the children before the king’s men do, and then we’ll find a way to smuggle them out of Willow Manor to safety.’
George signalled for Swifty to join them. Swifty approached. ‘Here’s the lad now.’
‘Hello Swifty,’ said Cara.
‘Pleased to meet you, my lady.’ Swifty nodded his head.
‘I’m ready when you two are. Let’s go. Another moment in this foul stench is one too many,’ said Cara, scrunching up her nose and pulling a face.
Swifty shot a conspiratorial look at George who shrugged his shoulders.
‘I’m afraid the stench is going to get considerably worse before it’s improved.’
‘Why, what do you mean?’
George took Cara by the hand and led her towards the end of the cell next to the wall. The prison was still and silent except for the occasional cough or moan from the inmates; some wouldn’t make it through the night in these dismal conditions. It was around three o’clock in the morning, and many of the prisoners were new arrivals, sleeping off the effects of heavy liquor.
The far end of the cell was rarely used; it stank even more than the remainder of the prison, due to its proximity to the hole where the guards emptied the waste. In the dim light of a candle, he pointed to the opening. ‘We’re going to squeeze through the hole and make a run for it through the cellars below. We shouldn't have too far to go before we reach the exit —all going to plan. Swifty will lead the way because he’s escaped from Newgate before.’
‘Newgate? This is the infamous Newgate?’
‘Yes. Of course, this is Newgate. What do you mean? You knew that!’
‘Oh, ignore my ramblings. I’m still half asleep,’ she said, squeezing his arm. She must be more careful.
