The Loves of Charles II Read Online Free PDF Page A

humble servant and her child would be better; and for company she would take with her French Gaston, who would pretend to be her valet husband; and Elinor Dykes and Thomas Lambert, servants of the household, should come with her.
    They would slip out of Oatlands Palace and none should know that they had gone. She would write a letter which should be sent back to the palace by another of her servants whom she would take with her for this purpose, informing certain members of her household whom she believed she could trust; she would give them permission to share the Princess’s clothes and some of her possessions among themselves, and warn them that they must give her three clear days before informing the Parliament that she and the Princess were missing. If they obeyed her, none would know of her flight until the fourth day; and by that time she should be safely on the water on her way to France.
    It had not seemed so difficult; but how could she have foreseen the weariness of a gently nurtured lady after tramping the roads for three days; how could she have guessed that the little Princess herself, not understanding the danger, would insist on telling those whom she met on the road that the clothes she wore were not the fine garments to which she was accustomed, that her name was not Pierre nor Peter; but that she was the Princess?
    Another day, thought Anne feverishly, and we shall be at sea. Only another day … but here we are in this attic, and the attic walls are like prison walls, for suspicion has been born in the mind of a groom.

    They were awakened by a clatter of hoofs in the courtyard. It was dark in the attic; but Anne, starting up, saw a patch of starry sky through the window.
    “Tom … Nell! Are you awake?”
    “Yes, my lady.”
    “Hush, Tom!”
    “Yes, Nan; we’re awake,” said Nell.
    “What was that noise?”
    “Only newcomers arriving, I doubt not.”
    “It’s late … very late.”
    “Can you not sleep?”
    “I am thinking of that groom.”
    “But he said he was loyal to His Majesty.”
    “How can we know whether he was speaking the truth?”
    “Do you think he suspected who the child is?”
    “I am not sure. But if she had awakened and called herself ‘Princess’ we should certainly have been betrayed.”
    They were silent for a while. Then Anne started up again. “Listen! Steps on the stairs!”
    “’Tis new arrivals at the inn,” said Tom.
    “But they are on the attic staircase. It leads only to us. I am sure they are there. It is the groom. He has betrayed us.”
    The next seconds seemed like minutes. Anne held the Princess close against her. Little Henrietta began to whimper in her sleep. Tom was on his feet; the footsteps had stopped and they knew that someone was standing on the other side of the door.
    Then there was a sudden nerve-shattering hammering against the wood.
    Tom threw his weight against it. “Who’s there?” he demanded.
    “It is your landlord.”
    “What do you want of us at this hour?”
    “Soldiers are here. They demand quarters. I have no room for them all.”
    “Open the door to him,” said Anne, and Tom obeyed.
    “Listen here,” said the landlord. “I’ve got to find room for the soldiers. I told them that the inn was full, but they wouldn’t have it. They demand shelter. Some of them have been drinking. Now there’s an outhouse you can have for the rest of the night. I often let it to passengers from the wagon. It would serve you well.”
    “Cannot the soldiers use the outhouse?” asked Tom.
    “I don’t want trouble at my inn. There’s a war raging in this country. In wartime we’re in the hands of the soldiery.”
    Anne said quickly: “Let us go to this outhouse. I doubt not that it will suit us well.”
    “Thank you. You are a wise woman. Come quickly. The soldiers are drinking in the parlor.”
    He held his candle aloft and, gathering the sleeping child in her armsAnne, with Tom leading and Nell and Gaston taking up the rear,