Page 59 of The Uprising
‘Thank you, Your Majesty. I am relieved we were able to intervene before anything dreadful happened, or we would never have forgiven ourselves,’ said Cara.
‘Now we’ve got all of that out of the way. I would like to formally express my gratitude and that of all of my family, to you both, for your bravery and service to the Crown. And with that in mind, is there something I may arrange for you that would go some way to adequately showing our appreciation?’
‘Why thank you, ma’am. It’s quite a coincidence that you should ask because there is something that Cara and I spoke of recently that would be of great assistance to us.’
‘Go on,’ she said, her hands resting neatly on her lap.
‘Well, I’ve been trying to open a vault at the Bank of England to store a valuable item, a painting to be precise, ma’am.’
‘Yes, that’s wise considering the current unrest. And how may I assist you?’
‘I haven’t been able to access the Bank of England because of the military quartered there.’
‘Ah, I see. We do have a royal vault and I’m certain we can organise something similar for you. I’ll have a word with my man, Cuthbert, and he’ll see to it. Reach out to him and he should be able to arrange it. Well, that’s simple enough. Is that all?’
‘Cara?’ said George.
‘I was thinking about Swifty, the footman. He was terribly courageous and suffered at the hands of the kidnappers for days.’
‘Indeed, and I haven’t forgotten him. My head of security made it very clear that without Swifty arriving to warn you, they may have succeeded in blowing up our private apartments. Thinking about how easily they entered the palace, sends shivers down my spine.’
‘We are all fortunate to have escaped this incident with our lives,’ said Cara.
‘Swifty will be promoted to the position of a higher-ranking footman and will accompany us on our next holiday as a special show of gratitude, so he is recognised accordingly for his heroic act. I always like to keep an eye out for those in my service who display that extra-special something.’
‘That sounds perfect. He’s got an extra-special something all right. Thank you, ma’am. I’m sure he’ll be honoured,’ said George.
‘And talking of the Isle of Wight, I would very much like you two to join us. I feel we all deserve a little holiday after this trying time. May I count on you?’
They accepted her kind offer and then the queen rang the bell for them to be escorted out in time for her to receive her next visitor.
Cara and George held hands as the carriage swept them down Windsor Castle’s steep drive and back out onto the pretty cobbled streets of the town.
‘We’re in high favour,’ said Cara.
‘We are indeed,’ said George, relieved to see Cara relaxed and cheerful.
As they trundled and bounced along in the carriage, he wondered whether he had managed to maintain high favour with Henry VIII. The very fate and future of Christendom had somehow unexpectedly fallen onto his sixteenth-century shoulders, and even worse, he didn’t remember a thing about it.
He adored nineteenth-century Cara, but he longed to see his future wife. They had work to do. And besides—he missed the other Cara, terribly. He was torn—it was as though he was in love with two women and destined to always have to live a double life.
Rose Cottage, York - Present day
Cara awoke to the gentle humming sound of the early morning and stretched luxuriously like a lazy cat. She turned to look at her still sleeping husband and wondered how George was getting on in Tudorville, and when the vortex would transport her back to 1536. As much as she loved being with him in the here and now, she was terrified their life would be wiped out with one wrong move in the past. The last thing she recalled was galloping along the Great North Road towards York to enlist Edward to help her to save George from the rebels.
George stirred and reached for her hand.
‘Good morning, darling,’ she murmured.
He leaned over to kiss her. ‘I couldn’t fall asleep last night. I kept thinking about whether my actions in Victoriana caused the plot against the queen. What if it’s all my fault? If I hadn’t recognised Swifty, he wouldn’t have been kidnapped and perhaps they wouldn’t have had the idea to blow up Buckingham Palace.’
‘It’s tough. I’m in a similar spin about Tudorville. On the one hand, I’m worried I haven’t done enough to stop you, and on the other, perhaps I’ve interfered too much. I worry you’re determined to stop the rebels from meeting the gallows. If I hadn’t told you about the doomed uprising and how the king reneges on his promise, and the rebels meet a bloody end, the odds are you wouldn’t even be considering how to divert the course of history. You wouldn’t know your friends were in immediate danger, would you? You’d think you’re helping them by convincing them to accept the king’s offer.’ Cara pulled a face as the various scenarios whizzed through her mind.
‘Gosh, you poor thing; it sounds like you’re having an awful time of it.’ George yawned and stretched. ‘I have an idea,’
‘Go on...I’m out of ideas at the moment. Whichever way I turn, we seem to be up against it,’ she said.
‘Let’s take a break. I’ll make us some coffee, and you relax for five minutes. Try and stop churning it over and over, will you, darling? That’s what I’m going to do,’ said George, climbing out of bed.
