The Princess Who Rode on a Mule Read Online Free PDF Page A

abruptly ceased
lamenting, and dropped its muzzle to a green shoot that sprang up from the
ground.
    “I know
this beast!” exclaimed the youth, letting fall his hands. He had a
good-natured, ruddy face, and the Princess recognized him at once. He was one
of the men who had thrust her mule into the coach on the day she met Tom Browne.
But what was concealed beneath his cloak?
    “Do you
desire to go within the Tower, Mistress?” asked the youth.
    Hadley
nodded. “He is not the guard,” she thought. “And yet he might render me aid.”
She reached for her purse, intending to remove the coins that lay within, but
her fingers, as if of their own volition, drew out her handkerchief, and
unrolled it to reveal the tiny hawker’s bell.
    She did
not expect what followed. The youth’s blue eyes opened wide, and he took from
his cloak a large and gleaming bell of his own, and made it peal. The sound was
so deep and pure that even the mule lifted its head to listen, while Hadley
clasped her hands and trembled with joy. She closed her eyes for a moment.
    When
she opened them, she found herself surrounded by men. Four pairs of eyes were
fixed upon her face.
    “She is
a Lady at Court,” said the youth. “I have seen her with Steward. And that
infernal ass,” he added, giving the mule a dark look.
    “Bring
you word from Master Browne?” asked an older man, his gray brows bristling.
    “’Nay…aye…I
have come to see…the Steward,” said Hadley hesitantly. “Tom Browne…hath sent
for him…and he is to be released forthwith.”
    The older man
peered intently at Hadley’s flushed countenance and then at the small bell she
held with trembling fingers. “Take her within,” he said abruptly.
    ~~~~
    Hadley
was kept apart from the other prisoners and treated with greater courtesy. Her
captors built a fire in her chamber, set a chair in front of the hearth, and
spoke gently to her. They seemed to await Tom Browne. “One word from him, and
we shall be released,” Hadley thought, “or we shall be slain.”
    He was
not long in coming. Ere one hour had passed, Hadley saw a horse and rider
approach the Tower, and a few minutes thereafter, Master Browne entered her
chamber, accompanied by two other rebels. He was bearded now, and his tunic had
seen rough use, but his gray eyes were as clear and keen as she remembered.
    “Well
met,” he said, making a brief bow. “Delivered you my missive to the King?”
    Hadley
flushed and would have spoken, but he shook his head and smiled. “’Tis no
matter,” he said. “I took you for an honest lass, and indeed I think you be,
but I did not know, until a furlong had come between us, that the King’s
youngest daughter was wont to ride about the countryside astride a gray mule.
And now you are my captive. What is to be done, I wonder.”
    “His
voice is kind,” Hadley thought. “Yet he may deal harshly with us.”
    “Be not
alarmed. None shall harm you. But I would hear why you seek out this Steward,
whom some do call a murderer.”
    “’Tis a
false report! Lord Vardis yet lives! And he did attack Robin Cope without just
cause!”
    “I
believe it. His Lordship is a tyrant. He hath caused much suffering.”
    “Aye,
and there may be worse to come.”
    “Why
say you so?”
    “You
must ask Master Cope, for he knows more of the matter than I do.”
    “Steward
is like to a mountain and speaks as little.”
    “I pray
you…take me to him.”
    Tom
Browne gave a signal, and his companions left the chamber, reappearing in a few
minutes, with Robin between them. They held him fast by each arm, and
endeavored to support his weight, but as his feet were yet bound by iron, he
scarce could take a step without stumbling. Hadley let out a low cry.
    Robin
lifted his heavy head and looked at her. “Thou shouldst not have come,” he
said. To Tom Browne, he added, “My wife is a simpleton, and hath been so since
birth. She understands little and speaks no sense. ‘Twould be well if you