Page 53 of The Uprising
‘They say you have the sight,’ the queen whispered, her voice dropping even lower.
They huddled together, knowing that speaking of such things in a divided land on the brink of religious civil war could mean a death sentence for them both.
When Cara bid the queen farewell that evening and walked back to her lonely Clock Court apartment, Thomas and May dominated her thoughts. How she missed their adorable little faces. After comforting the queen about her dashed pregnancy hopes, her children seemed all the more precious. If it weren’t for Tudorville, she wouldn’t know what it was to love her children so deeply she would do anything to keep them safe.
Cara fell into a restless sleep. Images of George’s face loomed in her mind, and her head throbbed with the tension of incessant worry. After hours of drifting in and out of sleep, she opened her eyes, her heart racing, the taste of terror lingering in her parched throat as she stared up at the intricate carvings on the oak ceiling of the four-poster bed.
George is in danger. I must go and find him.
Chapter 16
Buckingham Palace, London, 1848 - Victoriana
Several moments passed as they listened for more movement behind the palace walls. Then George turned to Cara and pulled her into his arms and hugged her before releasing her reluctantly.
‘I must go after Swifty,’ he whispered.
‘Must you?’ replied Cara, her heart thumping.
‘They might blow up the palace.’
‘Yes, and you along with it. Can’t we go and seek help, first?’ said Cara.
‘By the time we get help, it could be too late. We can’t risk it. Don’t worry. I have the element of surprise on my side because they think Swifty is alone. Go around to the front of the palace and tell the guards what’s happening, and that I’ve gone in after the lad. Ask the guards to come in quietly. Oh, and tell them they have a bomb which they mean to use.’
‘Please be careful,’ she said.
‘I will, but make haste, my love. I’ll come and find you as soon as the queen is safe.’
Cara watched George pull himself up onto the wall and slide over the top. She heard a thud as his feet touched the hard ground on the other side. She scooped up the skirts of her gown and raced as fast as she could in her dainty slippers. The frosty night air rushed into her mouth as she ran and made her eyes and throat sting. She arrived at the front of the palace and waved at one of the sleepy guards on night duty, next to the entrance. It took a while for him to spot her, and she waved again impatiently. She didn’t risk calling out to him for fear of alerting the intruders that they were about to have company.
The guard approached the gates, and she told him what was going on. Fortunately, he recognised her from her years of service to the queen and let her enter the grounds through a discreet side gate.
‘So, you’re saying intruders have entered the palace from the back, and as we speak, your husband, Lord Cavendish, is on his way to warn the queen? Is that correct, my lady?’
‘Yes, that’s about it. Please hurry. Oh, and Swifty; one of your footmen, is also in there. They may have captured him again. I don’t know. They have a bomb and mean to blow up the royal family.’
The guard was slow to process her words.
‘You know we frequently receive dramatic threats like this, ma’am, especially with the recent riots. It’s probably nothing, but I’ll call for back up and check it out.’
‘Please,’ she said. ‘Please, the queen and my husband are in there. A bomb could go off at any moment, I tell you. This is an emergency. You must hurry!’
The guard studied her startled eyes and then beckoned her to follow him. Cara entered the palace doors behind him and he alerted his sleepy colleagues. After several minutes, men milled quietly about the grand entrance hall, and weaved in and out of the adjoining ground-floor rooms, searching for the intruders. Cara cast her eyes around, hoping to catch sight of George.
A policeman approached and asked her to repeat what she knew. As she was running through the details, the sound of a gunshot boomed around the hall, and she froze. After a few seconds she turned away from the policeman and began to move in a daze towards where she thought the sound had come from, but he raced after her and held her arm to restrain her.
‘You won’t be helping anyone by getting yourself killed. Please let us deal with this.’
He guided Cara away from the centre of the room and gestured for her to sit down on an upholstered, wooden-framed chair. ‘Please stay there, miss, and as soon as we have news you’ll be the first to know.’
Cara sat on the chair, shaking and terrified that George had been on the receiving end of the bullet.
Her lips moved as she prayed, her hands clasped together, and her nails sliced into the tips of her icy fingertips. The only pain that registered was in her heart.
Rose Cottage, York - Present day
Cara buzzed about the kitchen tidying up, and Eddie entered, carrying his bag.
