Page 98 of The Uprising
Swifty manoeuvred his feet up the mud wall and scooted up to the top like a professional cat burglar. ‘There are ledges to rest your feet on as you climb,’ he whispered.
‘You two go,’ said George to Edward. ‘We’ll follow. If you see anyone just make a run for it towards the horses and get away if you can. Don’t wait for us.’
One-by-one they crawled up the mud wall, Swifty had already emerged and was helping Edward out onto the damp forest bed.
‘All clear,’ he whispered.
Cara was next and crawled onto her knees and then jumped up and gulped huge breaths of the cold fresh forest air. ‘Come on George,’ she whispered, as he appeared.
Swifty who had lived on the streets for years and was alert to every noise, put his finger to his lips and made a hissing sound. They all stopped as they heard a loud voice in the distance.
‘We can’t let him get away. He must still be in the area. Let’s continue searching.’
‘We’re out of time,’ whispered George. ‘Where are the horses?’
‘That way to the river,’ said Swifty. ‘Let’s go through the trees and we should come out in the clearing.’
They walked as fast as they could, trying to avoid crunching twigs and alerting their pursuers to their presence, deftly brushing through the tree branches.
Cara was soaked from the early morning dew on the leaves and reached for George’s hand as she saw him slowing. ‘You are badly hurt. You’re limping,’ she said.
‘That bastard gave me a beating or two; my leg’s a bit swollen,’ he said quietly.
And then they heard the neighing of one of the horses, and the bubbling flow of the river.
‘Here we are,’ said Cara, feeling hopeful for the first time since they entered the monk’s secret escape tunnel. ‘I feel as though we’ve reached the garden of Eden.’ She offered up a silent prayer as she jumped onto her horse. George climbed up behind her, with a helping hand from Edward.
George said, ‘Ride like the wind.’
Cara heard shouts and dug her heels into the horse’s flanks, not looking back. She was too afraid she would see her blue-eyed nemesis.
‘Hold on tight,’ she said, her hair flying behind her as George grasped her waist and moved his head to rest lightly on her shoulder. A warm glow of optimism permeated his chest, and he kissed Cara’s exposed neck as the wind ruffled his hair and he sank into the horse and leaned against her.
He was exhausted but free.
After a short time, George asked to swap over with Cara because he was in danger of falling asleep. When they set off again, he guided the horse carefully around the maze of tall boughs and across the leaf strewn forest floor.
Cara looked up and glimpsed the crisp blue sky through the web of emerald green tree tops, and thanked God for their lucky escape. ‘I think we’ll be out of the forest and on the road to Willow Manor, any minute,’ she whispered, as she nestled into George’s back.
‘I can’t wait to be at Willow Manor, again. Thank you for saving me from the abbey, my love. Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around, with the knight in shining armour rescuing the princess from the tower?’
‘Oh, that’s so old fashioned. Things are going to be very different in years to come,’ she said.
‘Are you predicting the future again, my darling?’
‘Something like that.’ She hugged him. ‘I’m just so grateful to have you back in my arms. I was terrified the rebels would drag you on their pilgrim’s march.’
‘It was all very strange, I must say, I am relieved to be out of that madness. I daresay the king won’t be pleased about me returning without a signed peace agreement, but I’ll have to hope Norfolk gets the job done.’
‘What happened exactly? I heard from the king that you hadn’t been in touch and they were concerned you were being used as some kind of pawn. And then, the queen warned me that Cromwell suspected you had gone over to the rebels and she heard him planting the seed of doubt in the king’s mind.’
‘What? That’s preposterous. As you know, I went there in good faith by order of the king, but I found I was too late to persuade Robert and Darcy away from the cause. They’d already taken the Pilgrims’ Oath and the rebels were holding Pontefract Castle as their command centre with Darcy’s blessing. I am afraid the king will not judge him kindly.’
‘Yes, we heard as much. I was scared you’d be named a traitor because of your friendship with them, and your allegiance to the north. That’s why I knew I must come and find you at any cost. The king’s loyalty flip flops faster than a jellied eel so we mustn’t leave our fate in his hands.’
George chuckled. ‘You do come out with the strangest expressions, my love. What on earth is a jellied eel? Damn,’ he winced.
‘You poor thing, you’re in a bad way.’
