Page 49 of The Uprising
‘It’s Swifty, my lord.’
George opened the door and saw the boy’s filthy face and torn clothing.
‘What a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you here. Come in, come in,’ he said, standing aside to usher the boy in.
‘You look cold. Are you hungry?’
‘Yes, my lord. They didn’t give me much to eat.’
‘Follow me down to the kitchen and let’s see what we can find.’
George boiled water for tea and hurriedly sliced some bread and cheese and put it in front of Swifty. He placed a blanket around his shoulders. ‘You look freezing, but you should warm up soon; it’s still hot down here from the ovens. Eat a few bites and then tell me how you got here, if you will.’
Swifty devoured the bread and cheese and slurped his tea, barely stopping for air.
‘Better?’ said George after a few minutes.
‘Yes, my lord. Thank you.’
‘Now tell me what’s going on. I know they kidnapped you, and the police were about to rescue you.’
‘The queen is in terrible danger, my lord.’
‘How so? And who are these men who were holding you?’
‘They’re a small extremist group who have broken away from the Chartists and are plotting to take matters into their own hands to overthrow the monarchy.’
‘Do you know their plans regarding the queen?’
Cara arrived in the doorway, holding a flickering candle, her long hair plaited, and a robe thrown over her nightgown. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Ah, there you are—just in time to hear the latest. This is Swifty,’ replied George. ‘He’s somehow escaped his kidnappers and has come to warn us about a plot against the monarchy.’
‘Hello, Swifty. I’ve heard a lot about you. You look older than I imagined.’
Swifty looked at her in surprise. ‘I think I know you,’ he said. ‘I feel as though I’ve met you before—it was the same when I met my lord.’ And then his words turned to mumbles, and he bowed his head, embarrassed.
‘It’s all right, Swifty,’ said Cara. ‘You look familiar to me, too.’
They both looked at George.
‘Perhaps you saw one another at the palace,’ he said, not missing a beat. He wasn’t going to get into trying to explain how they were fellow time travellers.
‘Let’s not worry about that now. We must secure the royal family’s safety, at once. Pray tell us all that you know, without delay,’ said George.
‘Yes, my lord. They are angry at the slow progress the Chartists have made with suffrage. They demand more than just equal votes and the six-point Charter.They say they want a new England where every man is equal, and they want rid of the queen and all she stands for.’
‘My goodness,’ said Cara, sitting down on a kitchen bench. ‘Do you know what they plan to do?’
‘They have been making a bomb and are going to break into Buckingham Palace and plant it in the queen’s rooms to kill her. I heard them plotting.’
‘When is this to happen, Swifty?’ asked George.
‘That’s just it. Tonight, I think. I came as soon as I could to warn you. They were distracted, and there was some kind of hold up with the bomb, so I slipped away. I’d been pretending to still be tied up until I saw a chance to break free.’
‘Do they know you heard them talking?’
‘I can’t be sure, but I don’t think so.’
