The Remembered

Chapter Eighteen

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'John, please take sume men with you,' Agnes pled. 'I know that you luv riding the 'orse and traveling alone, boot it is more dangerous now than it once was.'

'Agnes, me luv, I will be fine,' promised John. 'I 'ave a fine 'orse, I 'ave been on the road to Dover many times and I also 'ave no quarrel with anyone.'

John knew that these were desperate times and that Agnes' concerns had merit. England had not so long ago survived a period of more than one hundred years in war with the French. During the hostilities it appeared at times that England would rule all of France, but in the end she was only able to retain the area around Calais. Now new and more insidious flames were beginning to spread across England. The Houses of York and Lancaster were contending in a bloody struggle for the crown of England. Rewards for the victorious would be enormous. Punishment for the conquered would be death. For those of royal birth it was necessary to choose an allegiance and fight for survival. For those of lesser status it was best to stay out of the way and fight to survive.

The war had become known as the War of the Roses, referring to the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster, symbols of the opposing sides. The king of Lancaster, King Henry VI, was reportedly insane. The Duke of York, Richard, claimed the throne by virtue of his descending from Edward III.

John remained loyal to the King, but it still was not always easy to distinguish between the opposing sides.

'I 'ave more concern for you,' continued John. 'I do nay like leaving you 'ere alone.'

'I am less alone than you, me luv,' Agnes replied, 'I 'ave the servants and they are faithful.'

'Aye, me luv, boot if trouble combs to Stamford, the servants may decide it best to abandon you and go to their 'omes.'

'Nay, if trouble combs to Stamford,' said Agnes, 'I will 'ave them bring their families 'ere for safety.'

'You are a brave woman, me luv,' replied John, 'boot wuld it be wise to bring so many commoners 'ere?'

'Commoners need protection just the same as you and I,' Agnes retorted. 'And as for bravery, I do nay know 'ow brave I may be, boot I will be 'ere when you return,' she promised. 'Do please take your sword with you this time, me luv.'

'Aye, a sword will be on me side,' replied John. He then took Agnes into his arms and kissed her and said, 'I will be back within the fortnight.'

'You 'ad bet'er be,' said Agnes with a smile.

A servant entered the hall and told John that his horse was ready and John left the house and mounted his fine horse.

John and Agnes had been married just over four years and John knew that his marriage to Agnes was perhaps the best decision that he had ever made. It had been the desire of their fathers to join the two families together for business advantage, but arrangements had not been made prior to the death of John's father. When Agnes' father had approached John directly with the offer of his daughter's hand, John had accepted. John would have married Agnes regardless of familial ties, or business advantages, but he didn't let her father know that. John knew that it was to his benefit that Agnes' father was keen on the marriage, because he wasn't sure that his charms alone would have been sufficient to win Agnes' heart.

After they had married, they had left Stamford for several months and had traveled to Scotland. That time alone together had solidified their relationship. Upon their return to Stamford, John had requested leave for a time from the office of alderman so that he could spend more time with Agnes and also to merge the two family businesses.

John didn't take pleasure in leaving Agnes to go to Calais, but he felt that it was necessary. As he passed though some of the townes and villages on his way to Dover, he heard tale that the King's men were headed northward to meet the forces of the Duke of York. They reportedly were headed far north of Stamford, so John was not concerned.

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After leaving Margaret to care for Geva at Easton-on-the-hill, Richard began the long walk to Dover where he would catch a ship to Calais. The weather was mild and the roads were clear, but he was hearing rumors of internal strife and it concerned him. According to the rumors that he was hearing however, it sounded as though the conflict was in the north of England, and so he walked on.

The boat to Dover only sailed once each week and Richard missed the boat by four days, so he found a quiet place in the woods where he could wait for a few days. There were other travelers staying in the woods also, but Richard preferred the safety of keeping to himself, so he found a secluded place to camp. He passed the time thinking of Margaret. He wondered whether Geva was feeling better.

On the second night, as Richard was warming himself next to a small fire, a stranger with reddish hair and complexion walked into his camp and asked permission to sit.

'Aye, 'elp yourself,' replied Richard, pointing to a nearby log. Richard gazed with uneasiness into the darkness and let his hand feel his blade beneath his cloak. He knew that robbers often worked in pairs.

'Me name is Simon,' said the stranger and he waited expectedly for Richard to offer his name, but he didn't.

As Simon warmed himself by the fire, he told Richard that he was traveling alone and that he had come from Coventry. He asked Richard where he was from, but Richard answered with a vague reference to Boston. Simon said that he was a mason by trade and had heard that there was work in Calais, but Richard noticed that he wasn't carrying any tools. He also noted that the stranger kept looking around as though he was trying to determine whether Richard had any valuables or companions. Richard thought to himself that this is exactly the reason that he had not wanted to bring Margaret along.

Suddenly, Richard heard a twig crack behind him and he leapt to his feet, spinning around in time to see a person come into the light of the fire. Simon was also on his feet and the two strangers were coming at Richard. Richard's hand was already on his knife and with a sling of his cloak, Richard revealed the knife and stood ready to meet his attackers. They evidently hadn't counted on Richard wielding a knife so quickly and they rushed off together through the woods.

Richard stood shaking for a moment and then ran through the woods in the opposite direction. He wanted to put distance between himself and the two thieves. After running a short distance, he continued walking for a ways until he found a hollow formed by rocks and he lay down and tried to stay warm and get some sleep. He decided that it wouldn't be prudent to have a fire.

The next day, Richard boarded the boat bound for Calais. It wouldn't be a long voyage, perhaps two days, depending on the weather. The boat was fairly crowded and Richard found a corner where he could keep to himself and observe the other passengers. Most of the passengers were men, but Richard noted that a few men were accompanied by women. As Richard studied the passengers, he was taken aback when he noticed that the Simon and his companion were also on the same ship. Richard pulled his hood over his head, but was fairly certain that Simon had seen him. It relieved Richard that Simon and his companion went to the opposite end of the ship.

Soon the ship was underway and Richard relaxed enough to shut his eyes for a bit. When he did open his eyes, he saw a well dressed man walking on the opposite side of the ship. As Richard watched him, he could clearly make out evidence that this man was a man of importance and wealth. Then it made sense to Richard why it was that the thieves were also on the ship.

Richard shut his eyes again, but opened them immediately. 'I know that man,' he thought. 'That is John Darby,' and he studied him more closely. 'It must be nigh 23 years since we played together as lads,' Richard thought. 'Per'aps before we reach Calais, I will speak with 'im. 'e will nay recognize me after so long and now with me beard.' Their childhood friendship seemed to Richard to be separated both by years and by social and economic standing. It seemed that they came from two completely different worlds, strangers as it were.

The weather was mild that night and so Richard slept on deck, keeping one hand on his blade. The next morning he could see the coast of France and knew that he would be Calais soon. He was eager with anticipation. It had taken him almost a fortnight to reach Calais. He missed Margaret greatly and was starting to feel that perhaps he should have become a farmer. This life of uncertainty was almost too much for him, ''ow must it be for a woman?' he wondered. He cast his mind back to the sight of Margaret standing outside the cottage in Easton-on-the-hill with Geva and Ralf and their children nearby. Margaret was so lovely and such a strong woman. She would have been a wonderful mother. He longed to be with her again.

There were many passengers on the deck at the front of the boat now watching the shoreline grow closer. Richard saw John also standing on the deck and thought that he would follow him off the boat and speak with him. 'Per'aps,' Richard thought, ''e will know aboot work being dune on the church and can give me reference.'

The boat docked and passengers began to disembark. Richard followed a few people behind John. Just before John started down the walkway to the pier, Richard noticed that Simon had stepped up beside John with a knife and had cut loose John's pouch and handed it to his partner. 'So, this is 'ow they operate,' thought Richard. 'Pick oot their prey and wait until they are nearing land and then steal their pouch.' Richard quickly stepped in front of the thief and grabbed the pouch out of his hand. When he did, Simon started yelling, 'Thief, thief. Stop the thief.' Richard froze and looked around the boat, all eyes were upon him. Then he looked at the pouch in his hand. He dropped the pouch and tried to push his way to the walkway. When he did, he was seized upon by other passengers and held tightly. He heard John call out that his pouch had been stolen and someone retrieved the pouch and handed it to John. The ship's mates grabbed Richard and started to drag him back to the main part of the ship. Richard shouted, 'I did nay steal the pouch. I did nay steal the pouch.' As Richard fought to free himself, the ship's mates began punching him all the more and Richard was knocked to the ground. As he fell, he noticed that John was already on the pier and likely had not heard him. It was uncertain to Richard whether John had even seen him.

Richard was taken below deck and chained to await the orders of the ship's captain. Richard's head was spinning. It had all happened so quickly that it was like a dream. He rehearsed in his mind what had happened. It was so unjust, he thought. He had been attempting to help, and instead had been seized upon like a common thief. 'Whot am I to do now?' thought Richard.

It seemed like hours before the captain came below deck to interrogate Richard.

'Who are you?' asked the Captain, 'And where are you from?'

'I am Richard, me lord, from near to Stamford,' replied Richard.

'Whot are you doing 'ere on me ship?'

'I am luking for work in Calais, me lord.'

'Aye, and whot is your trade, thievery?'

'Nay, me lord, I am a glazier and am nay a thief,' replied Richard.

'Why did you steal Lord Darby's pouch?'

'Nay, me lord, I did nay steal Lord Darby's pouch. I retrieved it from the thief.'

'Do you make me for a fool, man?' shouted the captain.

'Nay, me lord. Speak with Lord Darby, 'e knows me. 'e knows that I wuld nay steal from 'im,' pled Richard.

'I will nay speak with Lord Darby, boot you will stay 'ere in this 'ole until I can deliver you to the authorities in Dover. You are just fortunate that you were nay captured on French soil. They 'ang thieves 'ere.'

With that the captain turned and climbed the steep stairway out of the lower deck of the ship and closed the hatch. As the hatch closed, darkness also closed in on Richard and he felt more alone than he had ever felt. He wondered whether he would ever see Margaret again. If he was jailed in Dover, or hung as a thief, would she believe that he had abandoned her? Would she believe that he had also abandoned Elizabeth? He felt very, very alone and he lowered his head and rested it on his arms which were crossed over his bent knees.