Intrigued. Bertrice SmallЧитать онлайн книгу.
is perfectly correct. There is no proof that she killed that trooper, and no other witnesses than herself and this Sir Simon Bates. I expect he is still in a bit of a shock that a slip of a girl could be so brave, and remember, he did give her his weapon and encourage her to dispatch Bess’s murderer. He’ll say nothing, I assure you all. And now, Charlie”—she looked directly at her second son—“what are you about?”
“I have closed Queen’s Malvern up and I am taking my children to Glenkirk. Then I will declare for the king, Mama.” He stood before the fireplace, legs apart, his hands upon his hips in a gesture of defiance.
Jasmine sighed deeply. “Of course you will, Charlie. You are Henry Stuart’s son, and but for an accident of birth would have been England’s king. You have attempted to remain neutral in this strife. But you can no longer be undecided, and Cromwell’s ilk has forced your hand. I understand, my son. I am not happy about this turn of events, but I do understand. You can do nothing else now. But why take the children to Scotland?”
“Because left here, they would endanger Henry and his family. Cromwell’s people have not hesitated to use children as pawns. We cannot forget poor little Princess Elizabeth, imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle, who has only recently died because these godly Puritans did not properly care for the poor girl. Nay, Charlie’s children will be safer, and more than likely forgotten, at Glenkirk.”
“And when his in-laws come calling, which they will,” Henry asked, “what the hell are we to say to them?”
“You will lie, Henry,” his mother instructed him, “and say you do not know where your niece and nephews are. You will admit that Charlie came here, but you will say you know not where he was going, for he refused to tell you, fearing to endanger your family. It is a small lie, and a perfectly plausible explanation. The Earl of Welk has neither power nor the funds to pursue the matter. Common sense will tell him the children are safe in their father’s care. He may bluster and blow, but there is nothing he can do but accept that with his daughter’s murder, his grandchildren are gone until this nonsense is settled,” the Dowager Duchess of Glenkirk concluded firmly.
“He will come,” Henry said gloomily, “and you will deal with him, Mama, for you know I am very bad at lying.”
She laughed. “So was your father, my dear, but you will have to deal with Welk, for I shall more than likely not be here.”
“What?” Both the duke and the marquis spoke at once.
“England is a very dour place right now, my dears. My responsibility as a mother is not done until Autumn is properly wed. We will find no bridegroom here for her, but perhaps in France or Holland we will. Do not argue with me, my lads. Your sister turned nineteen yesterday and is no longer in the first flower of her youth. Her beauty and her wealth will, of course, find us the right man, but there is little time before she will be considered past her prime, and it will be harder to make a brilliant match,” the dowager duchess told them.
“We are going abroad?” Autumn smiled suddenly. “Oh, yes, Mama! That is the answer! Charlie said you would have the solution to my problem, and you have found it!” She hugged her mother happily.
“So,” Jasmine Leslie said, “you have been discussing this situation with your sister, Charlie.”
“Rather, Mama, she has been bemoaning the fact that she was about to turn nineteen, a fact we entirely overlooked, being on the road.”
“I told you,” Autumn said firmly, “that I would celebrate no more natal days until I was wed.”
Her family all laughed, but Autumn was adamant and shook her head at them.
“When will you leave?” Henry asked their mother.
“In a week or two, when my servants are rested from our flight from Scotland,” the dowager duchess answered. “It was not an easy trip, what with being stopped half-a-dozen times a day by Cromwell’s people and having the coach searched over and over. And remember, my servants are not young any longer.” She arose from the chair in which she had been sitting. “Come with me, Autumn. You look worn from your adventures and should rest before the evening meal.” With her daughter in tow, Jasmine left the Great Hall of Cadby.
“When her servants are rested,” Henry repeated. “She could barely stand when she got here several days ago. Patrick sent a troop of men-at-arms with her, and a damned good thing too. They managed to skirt around Edinburgh, but in the Borders they had a bit of a run-in with a troop of Roundheads. Her coach outran them, but it was quite a struggle. Her driver took a musketball in the shoulder, but he never faltered. Fergus More-Leslie is a tough bastard,” the marquis said admiringly. “And Adali! My God, Charlie, the man is close to eighty, but he took the reins from Fergus so he could bind up his wound, and he brought the coach through the worst of the attack. None of them are young anymore. Yet here they are, leaving home and hearth for a new adventure.”
“It has always been said that Mama is more like our great-grandmother than any of her children or other grandchildren,” Charlie noted. “Are the Glenkirk men still here?”
“Aye,” the marquis replied.
“Good! They can accompany me and the children to Scotland, then. We’ll take Mama’s coach for the children and their servant. I’ve just brought Biddy. I had to leave Clara and Mavis behind. Both have lads at Queen’s Malvern. Who knows how long my bairns will be at Glenkirk. I couldn’t be burdened with a household under the circumstances,” Charlie explained.
“Can this Biddy ride a horse?” the marquis asked.
“Aye. Why?” his brother inquired.
“Don’t take the coach, Charlie. You’ll make better time and have a better chance of getting through without difficulties a-horse. The coach is cumbersome. One of the Glenkirk men will take William with him, leaving the serving woman free to concentrate on her journey. Brie and Freddie have been riding since they were three. It will be tiring, but they will survive it, I’m certain,” his brother advised.
“Perhaps you’re right,” the Duke of Lundy replied, nodding thoughtfully. “Brie and Freddie will think it a game.”
“When will you go?” Henry asked.
“I’ll give the children two days to rest and then we must be on our way. I cannot take the chance that Welk will find us here, and I would be over the border as quickly as possible. The more distance I put between the children and England, the safer I will feel.”
Henry Lindley agreed, and while he loved his younger brother, he was not sorry to see him depart two days later. He and his wife had five children of their own who must be considered. And there were Cadby and its people to be protected as well. Unlike his father, who had been a charming and swashbuckling gentleman, life had taught Henry Lindley to be cautious, which was not a bad trait in this day and age.
The Dowager Duchess of Glenkirk bid her second son a tender farewell. “Try not to get yourself killed, Charlie,” she said. “God’s blood! You so resemble your father! Remember, you are all I have left of him, Charles Frederick Stuart. I am not of a mind to give you up yet.” She kissed him on both cheeks. “You can reach me by sending your messages to Belle Fleurs. Even if we are not there, they will know how to get in touch with me.” She kissed him again, and then turned her attention to her three Stuart grandchildren. “You must be in charge of your brothers, Sabrina. Obey your Uncle Patrick when you can, though he’s likely to let you run wild.” Jasmine kissed the little girl.
“Yes, Grandmama,” Lady Sabrina Stuart said, and she curtsied.
“And you, Frederick Henry Stuart, remember who you are. Obey your uncle and watch over your sister and baby brother,” she instructed.
“I will, Grandmama,” Freddie said, kissing her hand.
“Gracious! That was as elegantly done as any courtier, laddie,” she praised him, and then kissed both his cheeks.
“And now you, William Charles Stuart, obey your elders and try