The Rebel Captain's Royalist Bride (7 page)

Babette put a plate of porridge and some fresh bread in front of him. He touched her hand and, when she looked down at him, said, ‘I would speak with you later, mistress.’

‘As you wish, sir,’ she said, making a mental note to avoid him if she could. It would be much better for her if he left with her uncle and never returned.

* * *

After the men had eaten and left, Babette had helped her aunt to tidy the house and then gone out into the gardens. She tended the flowers and took a honeycomb from the hives, always careful to leave enough for the bees themselves.

‘Thank you kindly, dear friends,’ she said after she had filled her basin. ‘May the sun shine and the flowers bloom for you.’

Babette had learned her craft from an old beekeeper, who had warned her that she must always thank the bees and wish them well, lest they be offended and leave the hive.

‘Bees be very touchy folk, Mistress Babette. They gives generously, but expects respect.’

Despite herself, Babette found her thoughts returning again and again to the rebel captain. Why did he wish to speak to her later? What could he have to say that was so important he had warned her of his intention?

Did he suspect that she had been tending a Royalist fugitive? Why was Drew Melbourne so important that John feared the rebel soldiers were searching for them?

A little shiver went through her as she wondered if he were a spy for the King, but then she thrust the idea from her mind. She must pretend to know nothing of them, for if one slip of hers betrayed them she would not forgive herself.

* * *

She spent the rest of the day baking, sorting linen and polishing. Every so often she looked out of the window, wishing that she dared slip away to the woods to enquire how her brother and Drew were managing, but John had told her to wait for him. She did not want to lead soldiers to their hiding place and forced herself to wait for the night in patience.

John would come for food and she would tell him the good news—the rebels were to move on and he would be able to bring Drew to the house. Her aunt would welcome them and give them food to see them on their way. If they travelled on horseback, as she thought they must, her trunk would have to be sent on to the castle by wagon. However, she would pack a few things so that she would be ready to leave when John came.

* * *

It was almost dusk when Babette saw the men returning. For a moment she could not make out what was happening, for they had brought three horses, two cows and a calf with them, besides some sacks of grain—but something was not as it should be. There was an air of apprehension about them, something that made her tingle at the nape of her neck. She was about to go out to investigate when her uncle came hurrying into the kitchen.

‘Captain Colby has been wounded,’ he said. ‘I have sent someone for the doctor, but he is bleeding heavily. If his wound is not bound, I fear he may die before help can each him.’

Aunt Minnie gave a little scream. ‘Lord have mercy,’ she cried. ‘Who would do such a thing?’

‘We did not see, for we were fired on in the woods as we returned home. The first shot missed, but Colby went after whoever had fired, and another shot took him down. It was an attempt at cold, deliberate murder.’

Babette felt icy all over. Had John shot the rebel captain? Somehow she had not thought her brother a man to shoot another in ambush, to kill in cold blood. It would indeed be murder, and the idea that it could have been John made her shiver.

Her aunt seemed turned to stone, standing indecisively, a look of panic in her eyes. Babette cleared the table as the men brought the captain into the kitchen. He was unconscious, his face deathly pale, and she could see that he had lost a lot of blood.

‘Lay him here,’ she said in a tone of command. ‘Aunt Minnie, a bowl of water as cold as you can get it, please, and some linen. I need a clean cloth to bathe him with and then lengths of it to bind him.’

‘Yes, Babs,’ her aunt said meekly. She had never hidden the fact that the sight of blood made her faint and turned her head as she offered the bowl. ‘Angelina, go up to your room, please.’

‘No, I shall stay and help Babs,’ her cousin said. ‘Give me the bowl, Mother. You go up and prepare the bed for him.’

Suddenly their roles had been reversed, for her cousin’s tone was decisive and strong. Aunt Minnie, who looked on the verge of fainting, went without another word, and Angelina took her place. She held the bowl steadily and when the water was thick with blood she changed it without being asked.

Babette saw that the ball had penetrated only the first layer of flesh on Captain Colby’s shoulder. She could see it protruding through his skin and decided that it would be better to cut it out than wait for the doctor. Instructing her cousin to light a candle, she held one of the sharp butchery knives to the flame for long enough to purify it and then plunged it into cold water. Inserting the pointed tip into the flesh, she made one clean cut, thrust the knife under the lead ball and flipped it out. It shot out and bounced on the table before running off the edge. Captain Colby screamed, opened his eyes, swore and tried to sit up.

‘Forgive me,’ Babette said. ‘The ball is out and you will heal better with a clean wound.’

‘Witch,’ he muttered and fell back into a swoon.

Babette fetched a pot of healing balm from the medicine cupboard where her aunt kept her cures. It was some that Babette had made herself a couple of days earlier for Drew Melbourne in case he needed more. She applied a good scoop on to a pad of clean linen, pressed it to the wound and then asked her uncle to hold him up while she bound linen tightly over his chest and shoulder to hold it tight.

‘You have a fine skill at nursing,’ her uncle said, looking at her oddly. ‘Who taught you—and why did Captain Colby call you a witch?’

‘My mother taught me how to care for the sick. She nursed any who were ill at the castle—and it was in nursing a beggar who came to our door that she took a fever and died. Captain Colby was merely jesting, Uncle. He meant nothing by it.’

‘Such jests are dangerous, Babette,’ Sir Matthew said and looked at her coldly. ‘I know you are innocent, but few young women could deal as skilfully with a man’s injury—and folk are oft superstitious. It will go no further than this room, but should such rumours start you would not be safe here.’

Babette looked at him in shock and dismay. Why, he almost believed it himself! Yes, he did believe it. There was a wariness about him that she had never seen before and she knew he was suspicious of her art in healing—yet the salves were simple such as any woman with a little knowledge of herbs might make and she had used no incantations to make it.

Feeling slightly hurt that her uncle should even doubt her for a moment and puzzled that a man she had respected and thought intelligent should give way to foolish superstition over a jest, she realised that it would be as well if she were to leave his house soon.

Yet even as she longed to leave this house, which had seemed a place of peace and sanctuary until now, she knew she could not. Captain Colby would have died before the doctor could reach him. Her aunt was not good at nursing, though she did her best when one of the household was sick—and she would not permit Angelina to care for a man who was not a relative. Babette could not leave this house until he was strong and well again.

Somehow she would have to get a message to her brother and tell him that the rebel captain would not be leaving just yet.

* * *

In the morning, Sir Matthew told her that Captain Colby’s second-in-command had decided to split their forces.

‘Fourteen of the men will take the livestock and supplies they have bought and go on to the appointed meeting. Five will remain here to guard and escort their leader when he recovers—or carry news of his death if the worst happens.’

‘He will not die,’ Babette said more fiercely than she intended, for her uncle seemed to accept the inevitability of death too easily. Had it been left to him he would have prayed for his cousin and done no more.

The doctor had visited, praised Babette’s work, given her a recipe for fever, which she already knew, and left, saying that she could do as much for her patient as he, and to send for him only if the arm became infected and needed amputation.

Babette had smiled and thanked him, relieved that he at least had not questioned her skills, nor thought of her as a witch. She had noticed one or two of her uncle’s servants looking at her oddly, as he had a few times, though he continued to be polite and courteous to her when they met. Yet she had the feeling that he was uncomfortable with her in his house. He had become reserved, distant, and once she thought she saw fear in his eyes. Did he think that she might ill wish him?

* * *

Babette had visited Captain Colby three times in the night. For the first half of it he was burning up, tossing and turning, but at three in the morning he was cooler and no longer sweating. When she went in to see him at six that morning he opened his eyes and frowned at her.

‘What are you doing here, Mistress Babs?’

‘You were wounded badly, sir. I have been nursing you. Do you not remember? I had to cut out the ball. You screamed, opened your eyes and called me a witch.’

‘Did I?’ He smiled oddly. ‘It must have hurt like hell to bring me out of that faint. Forgive me, mistress. I did not mean to insult you—and I do thank you sincerely for your help. I have been wounded before and lain in agony for days before a surgeon cut out the ball and that led to days and weeks of fever. It would appear that your treatment has saved me a deal of pain and sickness.’

‘My uncle thinks me a witch because of it,’ Babette said. ‘I think he is a little afraid of me, though I have given him no cause.’

‘If I have caused you harm through a foolish jest...’ His forehead creased. ‘It was not intended to be taken seriously, merely a teasing thing between us... Forgive me. I shall speak to him as soon as I get up.’

‘You will not leave your bed today, sir. You lost a deal of blood before they got you home. Had I not acted as I did I think...’

‘You think they would have let me die before the physician came?’ He nodded. ‘Not every woman has your skills or your cool head, mistress. I thank my good fortune that you were here—and perhaps one day I may repay you for your care of me.’

‘If you can convince my uncle that I am not a witch and it was merely a jest, it will be enough,’ Babette replied with a smile. ‘I shall go now and fetch you some gruel...but I will bring you brandywine, too. My uncle keeps a small flask for such a purpose as this.’

Smiling at him, she left the room and went down to the kitchen, where her uncle and the servants had met her with strange looks. Somehow his fear of her had communicated itself to those who served him. How could he think that she was truly a witch—that she would harm the family who had shown her kindness and given her a home?

She hoped fervently that Captain Colby would soon be able to continue his journey so that she might return to the castle.

Chapter Five

A
s soon as she could get away, Babs took some food from the pantry and made her escape. She went alone and ran all the way to the hut where her brother and Drew Melbourne had taken shelter, her pulse racing. Would they still be here?

The hut looked deserted, but as she approached, a voice called to her from the bushes and she spun round, looking for whence it had come. The thorn bush rustled, and then her brother emerged, looking harassed.

‘Soldiers were searching here yesterday and this morning,’ he said. ‘I dare not leave Drew alone, though he is better than he was. Has your rebel troop gone?’

‘Some of them,’ Babette said. ‘Captain Colby was wounded yesterday evening as they passed through the woods. Most of his men took the goods they had purchased and went on to their headquarters, as arranged, but he is lying in bed at my uncle’s house and five of his men remain to guard him.’

‘Perhaps it was they who were searching,’ John said and frowned. ‘Who attacked him? Is there a Royalist force nearby? Could you get a message to them?’

‘My uncle said nothing of a Royalist force,’ Babette said and frowned. ‘He called the attack on Captain Colby a cowardly ambush from the trees—the man did not face them, but hid and took a shot without revealing himself.’

‘That is odd,’ John said. ‘It is not our way. We fight with fairness and honour. If a troop of his Majesty’s men were in the woods, they would have fallen on the enemy and killed as many as they could, but to ambush one man from hiding—that smacks of cowardice and ’tis murder, not war.’

‘It was not you?’

‘What kind of a man do you think I am?’ John looked offended, and his sister was quick to apologise.

‘I did not truly think it, but I knew you were here and...’ She frowned and shook her head. ‘It would seem Captain Colby has an enemy. Perhaps a man with whom he has quarrelled.’

‘It seems likely,’ John said. ‘With Drew still unable to travel I would not have risked it, especially when there were more than twenty of them. I saw them pass by, but Captain Colby was not harmed then.’

‘How strange.’ Babette was thoughtful as she went into the hut. She saw that Drew Melbourne was sitting in a raised position and fully conscious. He greeted her politely and thanked her for what she had done while he lay unconscious.

‘John tells me I may owe my life to you, Mistress Harvey.’

‘I did very little,’ she said. ‘I see you no longer need my fever mixture—but may I dress your arm for you again?’

‘Thank you, if you will.’

He tried to rise, but she begged him to stay where he was and knelt beside him, binding him swiftly with clean linen and more of her healing salve.

‘That feels much easier,’ he said. ‘I am in your debt, mistress. I must think of a way to thank you.’

‘I need nothing but news of your recovery,’ she said and rose. ‘I must go at once, for my uncle is suspicious and I would not bring danger to you. Jonas will come to tell you when the way is clear for you to come to the house.’

‘We have decided not to ask my uncle for help,’ John said. ‘I found a man of Royalist persuasion who offered to help us and purchased a horse from him. We shall leave as soon as Drew can ride.’

‘But you wanted me to return to the castle?’

‘I shall send the coach to fetch you once I am home,’ he said. ‘My uncle might betray us if he knew we had been hiding in the woods. Say nothing to arouse his suspicions further, Babs—and wait for me to send for you.’

‘Yes, if you wish. Excuse me, I must go.’

Leaving him, she walked swiftly through the woods and then ran through her uncle’s fields and the orchard, noticing that there were more plums ready to be picked. Shaking a tree, she caught some in her apron and filled her basket. It would serve as an excuse if she were questioned when she returned home.

She wished that she might have gone home at once with her brother, for she no longer felt welcome in her uncle’s house.

* * *

‘Are you healing well, sir?’ Sir Matthew said on entering the bedchamber where his cousin lay propped against a pile of feather pillows. ‘My niece has made you comfortable?’

‘Perfectly,’ James said and looked at him hard. ‘She is a good woman and skilled in simple healing ways. You must not misjudge her or take my jest seriously, sir. I but called her a witch in fun. I do not think it, believe me. She is honest and innocent.’

‘So every man may think when bewitched,’ Sir Matthew said and shook his head gravely. ‘I did you a disservice, Cousin, when I suggested that you might wed her. ’Tis the reason I did not wish for a match between her and my son—her mother was a witch and, though I had seen no sign of it before, I fear she has taken after her.’

James was shocked, for he saw that his cousin was serious. ‘No, how can you think it, sir? The girl is innocent and her healing is only meant to help, not harm.’

‘Aye, when she chooses. But witches may change and bring about fearful things when they are angered. Her mother ill wished a man and he died. I know it for a fact, for I witnessed it myself. I saw his face after she lay her spell upon him and I saw him wither and die over the next few months...he was naught but skin and bone at the end. And Lady Harvey ill wished him because he dared to lay his hands on her daughter. He swore to me that it was but an innocent kiss, but the witch though he meant to molest her child and so she put her curse upon him and he died.’ Sir Matthew made the sign of the cross over his breast and muttered something inaudible.

James felt cold all over. He did not believe in such spells, but he knew that many did and the power of suggestion could corrupt a man’s mind and twist it so that he believed—and perhaps in that way he might think himself to death.

He pushed himself into a sitting position against the pillows to give his speech more authority. ‘I do not think Mistress Babs a witch and I would be grateful if you will not repeat such things to anyone. She is the woman I would wed and I do not wish her reputation to be mired by this nonsense.’

‘Think it nonsense if you choose,’ Sir Matthew said, ‘but when you leave, take her with you if you will have her—for I shall not suffer her here a day more than I need. She is my wife’s niece and I do not wish her harm, but I cannot trust her.’

So saying he went from the room, leaving James to frown and worry at the foolishness and wicked harm some men did with their superstitions. His remark made when he was hardly in possession of his senses had only added to the suspicions already lodged in his cousin’s mind. He had tolerated the girl here, but the old story lingered in his mind to haunt him. Sir Matthew had been determined his son should not fall for Mistress Babs’s charms and now James knew why.

The man was a superstitious fool and there was no way James could leave Babs here at the mercy of a man like that. If anything should happen—the cows go sick or a man take a sudden illness—they might blame her and... A shudder went through him, for he knew what might happen to an innocent girl if such a rumour took hold. And all because he had laughed and called her a witch, because her smile made his heart leap.

When he left she must go with him. If she wished he would take her to her home, though if he had his way he would carry her off to his own house and keep her safe, away from superstitious minds and evil tongues.

* * *

Babette entered the kitchen with her plums, placing them in a bowl close to the sink in order to wash them later. Her aunt looked at her oddly, her normal friendly smile missing as she asked, ‘Where have you been, Niece?’

‘I went for a walk and then collected these on my way home. I saw they were ripe for picking and if we leave them they will not last long. Would you like me to stew them for supper tonight or bottle them?’

‘Leave them to me,’ her aunt said and looked uncomfortable. ‘Your uncle says he will eat nothing you have prepared. I am sorry, Babette—but he has told me to send you home as soon as you can be ready.’

‘I know that I am no longer welcome here, Aunt,’ Babette said, saddened by her uncle’s attitude. ‘All I did was save the captain’s life. Had I left it to the physician he would have died before he arrived because he was losing too much blood.’

‘I am grateful for what you did, as your uncle should be—but he is a superstitious man. He thinks...’ She lowered her voice. ‘He thinks you use witchcraft in your healing. I tried to tell him you use only simple herbs, but he does not believe me. He has always said your mother was a witch and now—’ Aunt Minnie stopped as Greta entered the kitchen and shook her head. ‘Take a tray to Captain Colby, Babette. He was asking for you earlier.’

Babette picked up the tray of food and drink and carried it up the stairs to the captain’s room. Her throat was tight with emotion and she felt like weeping. Aunt Minnie was her only relative other than her brother and cousin, and now her uncle had banned her from his house. She would have to return to the castle and she did not even know if she would be allowed to stay here until John sent for her. If not, she and Jonas would have to go alone.

She knocked at Captain Colby’s door and was bid enter. Carrying her tray in, she set it down on a table and poured some ale into a cup, taking it to the bed. She set it down on the chest beside him and went back to fetch food, but he caught at her arm, turning her. The touch of his hand made her stomach clench, and she tried to pull away, but he would not release her yet.

‘Will you not look at me, mistress?’

Babette glanced at him, blinking back the tears that stung behind her eyes. Before he came she had been happy here, but because of his foolish teasing her uncle now believed her a witch and she had lost her home. He had truly been her enemy, though perhaps not intentionally.

‘Something has upset you,’ he said, eyes narrowed as he looked at her. ‘What has your uncle said to you?’

Her throat was tight as she said, ‘I am no longer welcome here. He wants me gone as soon as...as soon as you are able to fend for yourself. Since you are so much better, he will probably bid me leave tomorrow.’

‘If he does, I shall leave with you.’ He swore angrily, saying as she flinched, ‘Forgive me, but the stupidity of credulous men who harbour such foolish ideas makes me furious. You are not a witch, Mistress Babs. You have done no harm to any and a great deal of good to me. It was my stupid tongue...and yet it was the reason he sought to promote a match between us. He already suspected you and wanted to keep his son safe from your influence. I think he thought you might bewitch the boy when he came home from college.’

‘I do not even care for my cousin...’ Babette wiped a tear from her cheek, tossing her head defiantly. ‘What have I done that he should think so ill of me? I have not flaunted myself, wearing only plain dresses and no jewellery—why should he think me so wicked? What have I done to deserve his distrust?’

‘I think it was rather your mother he thought a witch...until my foolish jest and the way you saved my life by your quick thinking. I am at fault and so I shall make reparation. I shall leave tomorrow and take you with me. My men and I will escort you to within a safe distance of your home.’

Babette felt tears sting her eyes. Once her pride would have rejected his offer instantly, but now she knew that she needed his protection and she was grateful for his offer. Yet even as she looked at him, her thoughts were of his own needs.

‘You must rest longer, sir. You lost much blood.’

‘And would have lost more were it not for your quick action. I cannot lie here and see you mistreated.’

Her uncle might send her away, and alone the journey would be hard and dangerous. She must allow him to help her, though it went ill with her pride.

‘You may not be fit enough to leave in the morning.’

‘I shall be fit enough to ride,’ he said and smiled. ‘I have been worse, yet still managed to do my duty. Do not concern yourself for me, Mistress Babs. Had I not made a stupid remark in jest you would not have been turned from your home.’

He spoke but the plain truth, and she needed his help.

She nodded, turning away from him before the tears could shame her. Leaving his chamber, she ran up the stairs intending to wash her face in cool water before returning to the kitchen. As she reached the door to her room, Angelina came running to her in tears.

‘You mustn’t go,’ she said. ‘I was lonely and bored before you came—and I shall be again. Please, take me with you. I want to come and stay with you, Babs. I love you.’

‘I wish that I might ask you to stay,’ Babette said. ‘With all my heart I wish you were my sister and not my cousin. Your father would not allow you to come with me, Angelina. He thinks I am... He thinks me a bad influence on you.’

‘He is wrong. Mother was always telling me to be more like you and praising you, but now she seems almost afraid to speak your name within his hearing. What have you done that was so terrible?’

‘I have done nothing save cut the ball from Captain Colby’s shoulder and given him a fever mixture to make him well. Please do not believe ill of me, Angie—no matter what people say of me. I promise you that I mean neither you nor your family harm. I love you and my aunt...’

‘But not my father?’ Angelina raised her head. ‘I do not love him, either. He is stern and cold and I want to laugh and run in the meadows with you—not sit here and read my Bible.’

‘You must obey your father and mother,’ Babette said. ‘If there were some way that you could come to me, I should welcome you—but only if it is allowed.’ She embraced her cousin impulsively and kissed her cheek. ‘Do not weep, dearest. One day a man will come and you will fall in love and then you may escape.’

‘I do not wish to marry a man of my father’s choosing. I want to come and live with you.’

Her cousin was in tears and, in comforting her, Babette lost the desire to weep. At least her cousin did not believe ill of her—and her aunt was unhappy at the situation. She might not believe that Babette was a witch, but she had to obey her husband.

Sir Matthew considered himself to be a just and fair man; he led a clean life, worked hard and worshipped God and expected his household to do the same—and for some reason he believed that Babette was a witch and in league with the Devil. Such a man could not harbour a servant of Satan in his house, though he had tried not to let his feelings show...perhaps because he feared her anger.