CHAPTER XX

A Trying Experience

By the time we reached the vicinity of the outlying suburbs of London City another danger menaced. It was impossible for so large a company of horsemen to approach the metropolis unchallenged, and we were brought to a standstill at Ditton by the cry from two police officials--

'Halt, sirs! Halt! Are you for Queen Mary?'

Now, we were none of us for Queen Mary, and we were all honest folk and true, who hated and abhorred a lie; there was nothing for it therefore but that we should hold our peace and try to rush from the position by galloping past our questioners, who, when they found that they were baulked, fired their pistols after us, but fortunately without doing any of our party a mischief.

'We shall have to separate,' said Sir Hubert when, at last, we deemed it safe to slacken our pace and pull up our steeds for a brief confabulation. 'Every moment that we are together now increases our danger, for news of us will fly round in every direction, and any moment we may be apprehended and taken before the magistrates--that is, if they can get hold of us. Once in Court,' he added, gravely, 'our fate is certain--I, for one, will never declare fealty to the Papist Mary.'

'Nor I,' said I, in whispered words, but he heard them, and, turning to me, said earnestly, 'You are a woman, and I pray you do not get mixed up with political matters, which might endanger your dear head.'

I could not make any rejoinder, for Sir Hubert's friends now began to discuss several matters, in which they wanted his guidance before parting from him. A born leader of men was my Hubert, and there was no hesitancy in his firm voice as he gave out peremptory advice and commands.

I fancy that I see him now, sitting erect on his fine horse, with enthusiasm and earnest hope lighting up his countenance, as, after listening to all, he quietly settled every knotty point in as few words as possible. Betsy's objections to being parted from me took him a little longer to overrule than everything else, but he would allow no one except himself to remain with me. It was only for a few hours, he said, and the smaller my party the safer would be my position. And he picked out a worthy man to escort Betsy into London, and take her to London Bridge, where we were to join her. However, Betsy would not consent to the plan until I also bade her authoritatively to say no more, but obey in every particular. Then she left me, weeping and declaring that she should see my face no more, for we should both perish by the dangers of the way.

'And when you arrive in London,' she went on, in her inconsequent way, 'people will recognize that you have been with Lady Jane Grey, when she was queen, and then you will be burnt and beheaded as well for high treason, or whatever they call it, and I shall have all the misery of returning to Sussex alone, to acquaint your father with the fearful tidings!'

When our company was broken up into twos and threes, Sir Hubert and I rode on at a brisk pace, and did not draw rein until we reached the River Thames at Kingston, a very pretty little town.

The glory of the brilliant summer day was waning then; the sunset was obscured and clouded over by dark clouds; only its reflection lingered a little over the silvery waters of the Thames.

'We cannot reach London to-day,' said I, looking inquiringly at my companion.

I had been so happy riding along by his side that I had not realized that even the longest day comes to an end at last and night will follow. But he--he should have thought of that.

'No. Of course not. I have ascertained that Sir William Wood and Lady Caroline are staying with some friends at a house at Kingston. It is somewhere near the river. I thought that you would like to stay the night with Lady Caroline.'

'Oh, yes, I should,' I replied, cheerfully, for it was very pleasant to think of being with a gentlewoman again, after all the rough experiences I had been through.

'If only I could find the place!' exclaimed Sir Hubert. 'We shall attract observation if we go about on horseback seeking it. News will arrive here, if it has not already arrived, of what happened at Ditton, and we shall be arrested on suspicion.'

'What shall we do then?'

'Leave our horses at an inn, and take a walk along the riverside until we find the house where our friends are. I know it is a house by the river because I have been there.'

I made no objection to this, and we went to an inn, where they were pleased to take our horses, as also to serve us with light refreshment, of ale and bread and cheese for Sir Hubert and milk and cake for me, after hurriedly partaking of which we went out and walked down the street.

As we did so I noticed a little group of men standing near the river were regarding my companion with great curiosity, but concluded that this was due to the fine manly presence and dignified mien of Sir Hubert.

It was a little startling, however, to find that, while we were searching for the house we wanted, we occasionally encountered one or another of these individuals, apparently watching us with interest.

'Those men get upon my nerves,' I said at last. 'We meet them everywhere.'

Sir Hubert laughed.

'I have been thinking that the men of Kingston have a strange similarity of appearance,' he said. 'Can they possibly be the same men?'

I answered, 'Yes, I am sure of it. And I do not like to see them so frequently.'

'But who is this?' exclaimed Sir Hubert with delight.

It was Sir William Wood, who, coming suddenly round a corner, almost ran into my dear knight's arms.

'The very man I want!' cried he. 'You have been long in coming, Hubert, my friend!'

'And now that I am here, before we discuss anything, there is this lady, Mistress Margery Brown, to bring to a place of safety for the night. I hope Lady Caroline is at Kingston.'

'She is,' replied Lady Caroline's husband, shaking hands cordially with me, 'but I must tell you that we are hiding here. Our hostess, Lady Mary Peterson, dared not have us staying with her openly. Even now I have only ventured to leave the house by a subterranean passage from the cellars to yonder clump of willows by the river, and if you wish to remain over the night with us you will have to accompany me that way. But who are those men?' He asked the question with anxiety, pointing as he did so to two of the men who were following us about.

They stood near a thick hedge, which partly screened them from observation.

'Oh, those! I have an account to settle with them,' cried Sir Hubert angrily, at once giving chase to the rascals.

There was a spice of boyishness always about Sir William, and now, like a boy, he forgot all about me and ran off to aid Sir Hubert in the pursuit.

I was left alone, and neither Sir Hubert nor Sir William heard my pitiful little cry--

'Oh, do not leave me!'

By the light of the moon, which had now risen, I saw my escort disappear, with feelings of great misgiving, and sat down disconsolately upon a big boulder by the river side.

It was very lonely there. The water flowed placidly by, with scarcely a murmur. A corncrake in a field behind made mournful music, with monotonous persistence. A dog howled somewhere on the other side of the river. From the town behind us proceeded subdued sounds of horses' hoofs, men's voices, the clashing of steel and, presently, the ringing of the curfew bell.

What a long time my knights were in catching, or frightening, or punishing the spies, if the men were spies, and it seemed evident that they were. Supposing that they had run in the direction of their fellows, and the two knights following them were caught in a trap, overpowered by numbers and taken to prison for rebelling against Queen Mary, what could I do all by myself?

I was horribly frightened, and clasped my hands and strained my eyes in my endeavour to see one or other of my knights returning for me. But in vain. No one was visible. Should I go forward and look for them? No; better to remain where they had left me, lest I missed them altogether.

I sat still, leaning my head upon my hand, and tried to wait as patiently as I could. Would that dog never cease howling? What was that approaching on the river? A boat? It must be, for now the soft beating of oars upon the water was plainly to be heard.

Oh, why did not Sir Hubert, or at least Sir William, return? There were men in the boat--four men, two were rowing. Why, at a gesture from the one sitting in the stern of the boat, did the oarsmen stop rowing? Now they were approaching the bank where I sat. They must have seen me, and indeed my figure, silhouetted against the sky, must have been conspicuous.

They were getting out now--at least two of the men were--and coming towards me.

But what was this? Oh joy! The men whom I now saw more clearly were none other than my two good knights, returning to me in all haste.

Sir Hubert seized my trembling hands.

'You have been left too long, my love!' he said. 'But indeed we could not help it. What do you think? The men we ran after were no foes, after all. Far from it, they were friends. When we had knocked them down, and they found out who we were, mostly from Sir William, whom they had seen before, they informed us that they belonged to a small party of men that the Duke of Suffolk had sent out here to look for me. They had come down to Kingston by boat, and were hoping to meet with me and take me to London City by water.'

'Then that was why they stared so hard at us, and followed us about?' I said inquiringly.

'Exactly. They were not sure that it was I, until Sir William and I had knocked a little sense into them!'

'Shall you go with them?' I asked. 'And I, what shall I do?'

'Well, you mast come too. You want to be with Lady Jane. I think that I had better take you to her father, whom the queen has pardoned and set free. He will know best how to get you into the Tower, and to his daughter.'

'But it is night,' I said.

Sir Hubert was eager to go that very moment to the Duke, but, looking down upon me, he suddenly perceived my weariness and weakness.

'Poor Margery!' he said, with infinite tenderness, 'you are worn out! What shall we do with her, Sir William?'

'Leave her with me,' said Sir William at once. 'I will take her straight to Lady Caroline, and we will all three follow you to London to-morrow, probably by water, as that will attract the least observation.'

After a hurried discussion we agreed to this, and Sir Hubert, who I saw must have received some political information which greatly excited him, took a hasty, though affectionate, leave of me there, by the Thames, within sight of Kingston Bridge, which was so soon to be the scene of a very daring exploit. And we parted, little knowing what was to happen before we met again, he going to the boat to be rowed down to London City, I going with Sir William through the subterranean passage to the great house, where Lady Caroline received me as a sister, and assisted me to bed with her own hands.

I was so tired that I fell asleep the moment my head touched the pillow. But my dreams were troubled. For in them, over and over again, I saw Sir Hubert in a boat, pulling against the stream, and unable to get on, whilst I, standing on the river bank, besought him to make haste to Lady Jane, who in the Tower was in sore need of succour. And still he tried to go to her, but in vain; the boat heaved and tossed, but did not advance at all, in spite of every effort. And I wept in my sleep, because he could not go to Lady Jane.