Читать книгу A Queen of Nine Days - Margaret Wright Brown - Страница 5

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I had been carried off in such haste as left me no time to look back and see if my servants were equally well mounted, and for some time all I could do was to cling to my cavalier. I felt his heart beating as I did so and his warm breath fanning my cheeks. Moments seemed hours as they passed.

And now shouts and the sound of pursuing horsemen entering the fields in full career after us sounded in our ears, and, looking back, we saw a company of riders as well as foot-runners.

'Hold tight, madam; we take the fence. Hurrah! old Sultan has done it!' cried my knight, and we were over and speeding across a meadow long before any one else had reached the fence.

Presently I heard shooting, and, looking back, perceived that my knight's men, hampered by the wounded servants and unable to leap the fence, were obliged to turn and fight. This kept back the pursuers and gave us a better chance of escape.

My cavalier drew rein and looked back across the meadow. Alas, four horsemen, having separated themselves from the others, had just leaped the fence and were galloping after us.

'Sultan, good horse!' cried my knight encouragingly, and his steed answered with a low whinny, and galloped along as before. 'Cling to me, madam. Hold tight!'

Again I clung to him convulsively, not venturing to speak about my fears for my poor servants and our own perilous position.

Another higher and thicker fence was leaped, not quite so successfully this time, for poor Sultan was just done and, floundering, caught his hoof in a long hawthorn branch. Down he fell upon his knees, and I saw stars and thick darkness.

When I came to myself, I found I was being carried in the strong arms of the good knight. I said nothing, for indeed what could I say? What he was doing for me that day I should never forget, never in all my life. But I could not speak of it.

Presently I could see that we were passing through a plantation of young trees, on a path so narrow that my rescuer had much difficulty in carrying me through it. He was exceedingly careful lest I should receive a knock from some too prominent bough or tree-trunk, yet I noticed he bruised his own hands more than once in his endeavour to protect me. I thought I should never feel the same about those hands again; they had suffered for me. Once as he carried me on I tried to wipe off the blood that flowed from a scratch on his neck with my neckerchief, torn off for the purpose, much to his concern.

'Do not,' he said. 'It does not matter about me.'

But I persisted that it did, and bound his neck with the neckerchief, begging him to permit the liberty I was taking.

He looked at me then very kindly, saying, 'No one ever took so much trouble about me before,' and that seemed to me the most extraordinary shame that ever was.

When we were through the plantation we found a wooden shanty, or covered shed, in the field at the other side of the trees. The door of the place was not locked, and my knight set me down upon my feet and opened it. Then he led me in, and we found there was an old cart in it, full of cut grass.

'We must hide here a little while,' said my rescuer. 'Perhaps our pursuers will not come to this side of the trees.'

'I am afraid they will,' returned I, 'if they saw us entering the wood.'

'Then we must hide,' said he. 'Madam, can you get into the cart?'

'Easily,' I answered. 'My name,' I added shyly, for it was awkward for us not to know each other's names, 'is Margaret Brown.'

'Mistress Margaret Brown,' said he, pronouncing the words so beautifully that it seemed to me my cognomen had never sounded half so well before. Then he added, 'And mine is Hubert Blair.'

'Sir Hubert Blair?' said I thoughtfully, thinking what a very nice name it was and how well it seemed to suit the man.

'Yes,' answered he with a smile. 'But now, Mistress Brown, please to get into the cart and lie down. Then I will cover you with the cut grass which half fills it.'

'Will you hide yourself too?'

'Aye, aye.'

He assisted me into the cart and piled the grass over me, even putting a thin layer of it over my head. Then, perceiving a heap of grass in the corner of the shed, and, thinking he could conceal himself more quickly in it, he told me that he was going to do so, beseeching me, whatever happened, to make no sound, but to lie still where I was hidden.

'You may rely upon me,' I said. 'You, Sir Hubert, are the captain of this adventure, and I know how to obey.'

Sir Hubert then hid himself as well as he could in the heap of cut grass in the corner of the shed, and scarcely had he done so when the noise of men and horses was to be heard outside.

Presently a man pushed the door open and entered.

'What's in here?' he said aloud. 'A queer sort of a shed! Better call the others. But no, it seemeth empty, except for this grass. What have we here?'

He had approached the cart, and was peering in cautiously.

'Bad farming to leave so much stuff in a cart!' he went on, poking the grass a little with his stick, or weapon.

I trembled, and was fearful that my trembling would cause the grass to move. Indeed, he must have seen something of the sort, for he said in a low tone, 'Thou needst not fear. As sure as my name is Jack Fish, I will keep the other men out of this place.'

With that he went away, returning, however, in a moment to add, 'Thou hadst best keep here a little while longer before thou attemptest to go away. I am a true man. I will keep thy secret.'

With that he crossed over to the heap of grass in the corner of the shed, behind which Sir Hubert was hidden. Then, being of a playful humour, he began to poke the grass heap gently with his foot, blustering a little as he did so.

'Hullo!' said he, ''tis strange how men and grass become mixed in these days! Easy now, don't show thyself! I am a truthful man, and I want to say I have seen no one. Thou needst not fear.'

'Thanks. You are a good man.'

The words came out of the grass with weird effect.

'I'll get the others away from here directly; I really joined them to prevent their doing mischief. But do not stir for half an hour or so. Then keep well to the right and thou wilt regain the high road, and perchance find thy litter awaiting thee.'

Now Sir Hubert was so delighted to hear this, and so certain that the man was a friend, that he threw the grass off him and sat up, but was instantly almost smothered with the quantity of green stuff the other immediately threw over him.

The next instant another voice at the door inquired: 'Is any one hidden here, Jack Fish?'

''Twas a fancy of mine to search the shanty. However, I might have known those fugitives would not have ventured to stay here,' returned Master Fish.

'Well, there is no place to hide in here, unless it be the cart. Have you looked into that grass on it?'

'Aye, aye. I've poked about it rarely, but nothing bigger than a mouse ran out of it.'

'Well, come on then, if there is nothing here,' cried the other impatiently.

They left the shed, Jack Fish lingering a moment to close the door and to say noisily to those within and those without, 'All right! All right!'

We were still for the next ten minutes, which seemed an age; then Sir Hubert said:

'He was a good old fellow yon, and I liked his hint about your litter. It will be a fine thing indeed if we can find it on the high road when we get there.'

'Yes indeed,' I said, 'and my servants too, which last is a matter of more importance, for they are very dear to me.'

I had raised my head out of the grass, and was sitting up.

'Do you think I can get out of the cart now?' I asked.

'Not yet. Wait a little longer where you are. I will look round outside;' and shaking off the grass sticking to him on all sides, Sir Hubert proceeded to the door, at which he listened cautiously before attempting to open it.

The next moment he stepped back quickly to his place in the corner, saying, 'Some one is coming.'

Then he hid himself under the grass as before.

An old man entered, with a large two-pronged hay fork in his hand.

'They will have stolen my cart, I'll be bound!' he said aloud.

He looked suspiciously around, but gave a grunt of satisfaction upon seeing the cart.

Approaching it, he was about to plunge his fork into the grass, when Sir Hubert sprang up, caught hold of the tool and wrenched it from his grasp.

'Your pardon, master,' said the knight hastily to the man. 'But I have placed something in your cart which you might unwittingly have damaged had you plunged your fork into it.'

'Cannot a man do as he likes in his own shed?' cried the old countryman. 'And who art thou,' he demanded, 'and what business hast thou here?'

'I am Sir Hubert Blair, of Harpton Hall, in Sussex. I was travelling in these parts with but a few retainers, when I met with a lady and her servants set upon by roughs and in danger of their lives. I carried the lady on my own horse across the fields until a mischance happened to my horse in leaping the last fence before we came to the wood close by. He fell down on his knees, throwing us off; the lady fainted and I carried her through the wood, and then in here. She is in your cart.'

I sat up in the cart, smiling at the old farmer's astonishment.

'Well, well,' he said, leaning on his fork and looking hard at me. 'These are troublous times! Vagabonds roam the country, and we never know what they will be up to, and a knight and a lady hide in an old cart-shed. The King, God bless him, is young and not by any means strong, but it is to be hoped he and Parliament will do something to make the highways safer.'

'Did you see any signs of the ruffians as you came here?' asked Sir Hubert.

'Nay, not I. But then I was not looking for them. I was thinking of the new calf that came this morning. Do you not know, young sir, that what we are thinking of, that is what we see?'

'Aye, aye.'

Sir Hubert looked at me, and I knew he was reflecting that he could see little else for thinking of me and my unfortunate plight.

'It seems a sorry tale for a knight to be running away from low country rabble,' muttered the old farmer.

Sir Hubert coloured.

'I feel ashamed of myself,' he said. 'But it was for the lady's sake. How would it have been with her if I had been killed? I was obliged to think of her precious life.'

'Well, well. I'm thinking you must both be pretty hungry. Will you come with me to my house, where my wife shall give you food?'

This was too good an offer to be refused, and we thankfully accepted it, and accompanied the old man to his farmhouse.

It was but a poor place, yet we were as glad to find ourselves in it, with the door bolted to keep out vagrants, as if we were in a palace. And very thankful we were to the farmer's wife when she placed milk and meat before us. I felt almost ashamed of the wonderful appetite I had; but indeed I was very, very hungry when I sat down to the table.

Sir Hubert helped me to everything before he would touch food himself, and I felt a wonderful happiness when his big, strong hands—which had been bruised for me—were serving me. Sweet it was to be so tenderly cared for by him, with words and manner showing the most reverent esteem. I had never experienced aught like it before. At home I was treated by my father as a child and by my brothers as if I were one of themselves; the servants were more deferential, but then they were poor folk, not like this fine gentleman, who seemed to lift me higher than himself that he might look up to me with a sort of loving worship. It was very delightful and very, very beautiful. I felt ennobled.

Sir Hubert seemed to be extremely happy, and would like to have lingered talking over the meal, but the old man grew uneasy and fidgetty.

'It would well nigh ruin me,' he said, 'if those rascals who attacked you should come over here and find you on my premises. They might sack the house and possibly maltreat us too. My old woman is not very strong, and there's a young serving-lass also. Of course I don't mind for myself, but——'

'We will go,' I said, rising at once. 'You have been very kind, and we should be sorry to bring you into trouble.'

Then I stopped short. Where could we go? It was all very well to say we would depart, but we had not even Sir Hubert's horse to convey us away. The knight aroused himself to look the situation in the face. He seemed somewhat dazed, for the fact was, as he told me afterwards, he had been so extraordinarily happy sitting at the same table, ministering to my wants, and watching the colour return to my face and the light to my eyes, that he had forgotten all else.

'Supposing I leave the lady here a little whilst I go to try and find her coach?' he said to the farmer.

But the latter answered sharply, 'Nay, sir, nay. Thou art not going to leave her on our hands, just to bring the wrath of the country-side upon us——'

'If you go, Sir Knight, she must go too,' interrupted the old farmer's wife. 'It is bad enough for us to have to shelter you both when you are here to help to fight if the rascals come, but without you! Why, they might string us up to the rafters, and leave us hanging like dried herrings, as easy as anything. My old man has not any fight in him, bless you! When he thought there was a thief in the house the other night, he made me go first to look for him!'

'Well, well,' said the old man. 'I'm getting old, and am not much stronger than thee, Susannah. But thou canst scream rarely, and 'tis a weapon of a sort, which sometimes is unexpectedly powerful.'

Sir Hubert laughed. Then he turned to me, saying with rare tenderness, 'I could not leave you, Mistress Margaret, with these people. Will you come with me?'

I said I would, and indeed I felt as if I could go with him anywhere, anywhere in the world, and he a knight whom half a dozen hours before I had never seen.

'Come then,' he said, and after throwing some silver on the table to pay for our meal, he offered me his arm, and we went out together into the night, now fast coming on.

'The darkness is our friend,' said Sir Hubert, 'for it will hide us from our enemies.'

'Yes,' returned I, with great content, for I had no fear of darkness when he was by my side, holding me with his firm, strong arm.

And in my heart I prayed to our Father in heaven to protect us both and bring us in safety out of all danger.