Page 37 of The Uprising
They grazed on a light meal and Darcy enquired after George’s father before they got down to the serious business of the day.
‘May we trust these terms from the duke?’ asked Darcy.
‘It is a difficult situation. I can only say, the king commanded us to end the insurrection and to restore peace.’
‘I don’t know,’ said Darcy. ‘My gut is uneasy; something feels off.’
‘We find ourselves in a tight spot. This is bigger than both of us. It was out of your hands the second the rebels entered the castle. I fear for your safety should you continue to back them. Is it true you took the Pilgrim’s Oath?’ George lowered his voice to a whisper.
Darcy stared at George before dropping his eyes and staring at his plate. ‘Yes, does the king know of it?’
‘He heard you admitted the rebels to the castle of your own free will,’ replied George.
Later that morning, Darcy wrote a note to the duke, saying he and Robert would speak to the other leaders and he pledged to recommend they accept the offer of a general pardon.
‘Do you think you can influence them? The less you are seen to back them, the better; for your own, your family’s and this magnificent castle’s sake,’ said George.
‘I can’t promise,’ Darcy said. ‘The men are riled up and ready to march—they’ve been hurtling towards this moment and things have come to a head. And I confess, I have great sympathy for the cause. I’m not at all certain I will be able to divert them from marching, even if I use all of my powers of persuasion. Robert doesn’t trust the duke, and he was still for marching last we spoke.’
‘I urge you to tread with caution,’ said George.
‘Yes, but if we submit now, when we are in this powerful position, we stand to lose everything for which we have fought. We will not get another chance to turn the tides in favour of the true religion,’ said Lord Darcy.
Chapter 12
Rose Cottage, York - Present day
Cara came downstairs in the morning to find George sitting at the kitchen table, reading, as he scrolled on his phone. The rain sluiced against the glass, flooding the window panes. She straightened the blinds and peeked out and noticed the moody sky. ‘So much for summer.’
‘Um, it’s shocking,’ said George.
‘What are you so engrossed in?’
He looked up. ‘I’m reading about the Chartists and trying to understand who the bad guys were.’
‘What’s happening in Victoriana?’
George laid his phone on the table. ‘I’m as uninformed as you on that score. I don’t remember a thing since I told you about the riots and we made our plan for me to visit Turner. I’m guessing I haven’t been back again yet, but it could be that for some reason my memory hasn’t updated. I want to organise the funds for Willow Manor, so I need to see Turner, and I’m also concerned about the queen’s safety.’
Cara filled the kettle and switched it on, then turned to him and said, ‘I keep thinking what if either of us does something that has an unexpected knock-on-effect for the future, and I come home one day to find you’re not here.’
George looked at her over his black-rimmed glasses, which gave him an air of a studious professor. ‘Or I come home, and you’ve vanished. Have you considered that scenario?’
‘I know it’s just the same for you, but you already disappeared once, and I can’t shake the memory. I wake up in the night and it spins around my mind. Besides, you take it all in your stride.’
‘Oh darling, I worry too, but I try to shut those thoughts down as soon as they appear. I lost my former life, you know, which was rather an ordeal. I certainly don’t want to go through that nightmare again.’
‘But, if you hadn’t, we wouldn’t be together.’ Cara busied herself making tea.
‘We don’t know that; it would have sorted itself out, but let’s not get into all that again. It only upsets you.’ He gave her a stern look. His reading glasses now rested unevenly on the bridge of his nose and his hair stuck up in an unruly just-out-of-bed fashion.
‘Well, I’m sorry, but it’s bloody difficult. I thought I had mastered living in the moment, but lately I can barely sleep.’
‘I’ve told you to wake me when you can’t sleep,’ he said, his voice tender.
‘I don’t have the heart to disturb you. Your head hits the pillow, and you sleep so soundly; it would be unfair to bother you. Anyway, you’re a dreadful fidget when you can’t fall sleep, so I just cuddle into you instead.’
George smiled and patted the seat. ‘Come and sit down, darling.’
