"Is Lady Hammond in residence?" Alex inquired,
swinging off Bucephalus and handing the reins to Jed.
"
I should be grateful if she would
have charge of Mistress Courtney until morning." Reaching up, he took
Ginny by the waist and lifted her down in a thoroughly matter-of-fact fashion,
as if there were no unusual intimacy in the gesture.
"She will be delighted, I'm sure," the governor
said, looking even more bewildered. "Does Mistress Courtney accompany you
to Newport, then?"
"And beyond
,
"
Alex replied blandly, and Ginny had to turn away to hide her laughter.
"Allow me to escort you to my lady, mistress."
Giving up all hope of receiving further enlightenment, the governor bowed
courteously, indicating with an elaborate flourish of his broad, feathered hat
th
at she should precede him through an arched gateway
across the courtyard.
"I will pay my respects, also," Alex said with an
easy smile, following them.
They discovered the governor's wife surrounded by her ladies
in a long gallery in the castle's west wing. Ginny found herself subjected to a
distinctly shrewd appraisal as she made her curtsy. "And why does Mistress
Courtney accompany you, Colonel Marshall?" Lady Hammond demanded directly,
clearly not suffering from her husband's reticence.
"
A brigade on the move is no place for
a young gentlewo
m
an. If she has no family, you had
best leave her here with me."
Now what, Ginny thought. Clearly it was not a decision in
which she was considered entitled to participate. The opinion of young women as
to
th
eir fate was rarely sought, as she
knew from bitter experience, and the discussion between Alex and Lady Hammond
would continue above her head. It would be interesting, however, to see how he
dealt with what was such an obviously appropriate proposal.
"Mistress Courtney is a ward of Parliament, lady,"
Alex was saying smoothly.
"
Your offer is most kind, but I am
afraid I cannot accept it. She has been engaged very successfully in activities
to aid the rebels
th
ese last six
m
onths, and I cannot risk leaving her on the is
l
and. I am taking her to London where Cromwell may
decide her fate."
"Indeed." Lady Hammond regarded the tall young
woman thoughtfully. Her eyes were lowered de
m
urely,
as was right and proper in front of her elders, but t
h
ere was something about her carriage that implied such
respectful dec
o
ru
m
might not be habitual.
"
Well, the decisio
n
is yours, of course, Colonel. If she is such a threat
to Parl
i
ament's cause, perhaps she should be
held in one of th
e
chambers
n
e
ar the guardhouse until you have
completed your business
w
i
th my husband.
"
"I am confident, lady, that your supervision wi
l
l be more
th
an
adequate," Alex replied. "She should not, however, be p
e
rmitted to go outside unattended." So saying, he
bowed p
un
ctiliously to Lady Hammond, inclined
his head to Ginny with a murmured, "Mistress Courtney," and left the
gallery with the governor.
"So, child, you have been aiding the rebels," Lady
Ham
m
ond said. "You must tell us how.
We are well accustomed to intrigue within these walls, indeed we are plagued by
it, but hear little of wha
t
goes on elsewhere." She
gestured toward a low stool, seating herself on an armless chair, arranging her
copious skirts around her.
"
I
have done little, lady," Ginny demurred. She had nothing to lose by
recounting the truth of her adven
t
ures
up to the arrival of Colonel Marshall. The women in this room were all in an
ambiguous position, Royalist by i
n
clination,
Roundhead by circumstance, and even if one of the
m
was in
cl
ined to betray her, there was no
longer any secret to disclose; however, she could not help feeling relu
c
tant to reveal her harum-scarum existence in this
excessively proper company.
"
I
do not think Colonel Marshall would have made a prisoner of you, assumed
responsibility for you, were your activities insignificant," Lady Hammond
said,
a
t
ouch
of a
ce
rbity in her tone. "That
gentleman is not inclined to waste either time or energy. If I judge your story
-to be of sufficient interest, the governor will ask the king to grant you an
audience. He is in sore need of a little encouraging diversion after the
failure of his latest plot."
"
I
would be deeply honored, lady," Ginny said, meeting Lady Hammond's gaze
directly for the first time. Lady Hammond looked into the clear gray eyes and
nodded. As she had expected, mere was more to this young woman
than
was initially apparent. Perhaps Alexander Marshall
was also aware of that. It was impossible to imagine, of course, that a man of
such rigid principle and devotion to duty could be sidetracked by an unusually
spirited girl. That she was most unusual, Lady Hammond became absolutely
convinced as Ginny told her story to a rapt audience.
"His Majesty will be glad to hear that Edmund Verney and
Peter Ashley made
their
escape," Lady Hammond said
briskly as the tale came to an end.
"
We
will request an audience for you, after dinner
.
"
During dinner, Ginny had ample opportunity to observe
King Charles since he sat with his favored courtiers
and the Hammonds on a raised dais at the head of the two long tables that ran
down the grand hall on either side. A periwigged footman stood behind the
king's chair, his sole purpose, as far as Ginny could see, being to hold the
monarch's gloves while he ate. The meal was preceded by a lengthy reading of the
Liturgy, at the king
'
s insistence, Ginny
'
s neighbor whispered disconsolately to her. It
mattered not how hungry
they
were, or how late the meal if the
king had been out hunting, his devotion insisted that the religious exercise be
completed. Once they had sat down, conversation, in spite of the quantities of
good Rhenish wine, seemed subdued, and of Colonel Marshall and his
aide-de-camp, Diccon Maulfrey, there was no sign. But then it would hardly be
appropriate for the king's avowed enemies to break bread with him. Ginny could
not help wishing, as course followed course and the meal stretched into
infinity, that she also was dining in private, preferably in the sole company
of Alex. . . .
A polite question from her neighbor brought her out of
th
e somewhat uninhibited and rather more than pleasant
rev
e
rie inspired by this thought. Her
cheeks warmed slightly as she fought for composure and returned a vague
response, cons
c
ious of the elegance of her
interlocufor's gown compared with her own riding habit, which, while it was
both well c
ut
and serviceable, could hardly be
compared with the
ruch
ed silks and rich laces bedecking
those around her. The
apple-
green gown that she had worn for Alex
that morni
ng
—was it only this morning? —
w
as in her baggage traveling with the supplies at the
rear of the brigade. It had not occurred to her that she would require more
formal a
ttire
on this short visit to the court at
Carisbrooke. The men were as splendidly dressed as their ladies, their wide
sleeves slashed with silk, their coats laid with broad plate si
lv
er-
l
ace, their
hair, beneath broad cockaded hats, e
l
abora
te
ly curled to
their
lace-trimmed shoulders. And no one was more magnificent than King Charles.
Ginny found herself silently comparing the richness a
r
ound her with the simplicity of the Roundhead garb.
Al
ex, in the soldier's leather and linen, the auburn
hair cropped to his ears, bare-headed unless in armor, seemed so
mehow
worthier of respect, more dignified than these
peacocks who were behaving against all the evidence as if no
th
ing had happened to disturb the even tenor and
absolute permanenc
e
of their pleasure-seeking,
self-satisfied
li
ves. Throughout the land, chaos and
anarchy reigned, as
th
e king's followers rose again in his
cause, rose against an ar
m
y now well equipped and highly
disciplined. Scattered
and
without leadership, the Royalist
rebels had not a chance against such an opposition; yet around this dinner
table,
th
ose for whom they were prepared to
die acted as if nothing
exi
sted outside the quiet, orderly world
of the court.
Not until after dinner, when she was presented to King
Charles, did she realize this judgment had been, at least in some cases, overly
harsh.
It was with fast beating heart that Ginny accompanied the
governor into a richly furnished, round chamber in the east turret. It was King
Charles's private sanctum where he received only those to whom he chose to
grant special audience, and Ginny had been made fully aware by Lady Hammond of
the honor about to be done her, and to whom she owed gratitude for arranging
it. Charles was now forty-eight years old, and a bitter, disillusioned man
still believing in his divine right to rule his people as he saw fit, still
sorrowful rather than angry that his subjects chose to defy God and His laws by
challenging the authority of His representative. Had Ginny felt the slightest
doubt as to her fealty, once in the royal presence it would have disappeared
instantly. The king's deportment could only be described as majestic, and it
would have been impossible to approach him with less than the utmost respect
and reverence.
She sank to one knee in a deep curtsy when the governor
presented her as the daughter of John Redfern. It came as no surprise to Ginny
that the family tie would be viewed with more respect than her Courtney
connection. Her husband's hesitation to declare himself for the king in the
early years of the war had been conspicuous. Her father, on the other hand, had
been at the king's side from the beginning until his own death.
"Pray rise, Mistress Courtney." The king spoke in a
soft, pleasant voice, bending to take her hand and draw her to her feet.
"
Your father was a dear and true
friend. We miss him sorely."
"I also, sire," Ginny replied with simple truth.
"I understand you share our present fate
,
" King Charles went on with a whimsical
little
smile. "Prisoner of
Parliament."
"
Ward
of Parliament is how my position is described, sire
,
" Ginny replied.
"
But in truth I think the difference is purely semantic. My
freedom is curtailed in either instance."
"That is certainly true of ourself, is not, Hammond?" The king directed a sardonic smile at the luckless governor who knew not
how to answer him.
"
You may leave us to talk with
Mistress Courtney." The king dismissed Hammond with a ca
r
eless wave, then turned to Ginny
.
"
I do still
ha
ve
that
freedom, mistress —
the right to the company I cho
os
e. You have news of two of our friends, I
understand." He sat on a silk-covered chair and looked up at Ginny
expectantly.
Ginny, standing before him, told of her safe house, the pri
e
st's hole, the runs she had made with fugitives to the
m
ainland, and finally of the escape of
Edmund and Peter.
They
were beyond the headland when Colonel
Marshall appeared on the beach," she explained mendaciously
,
"
so he was unable to prevent their
flight. They should have landed safely at Buckler
'
s Hard before the Roundhead forces on the mainland could be
alerted." It was a pity she could not tell the truth that would present
Alex in a kindlier ligh
t
, but to
do
that she would have to reveal so much more.