Hastings raised his head, his eyes cold with unexpressed anger, but his voice remained low. ‘The evidence against me is beyond denial. I made my choice, and will now accept the consequences. I have nothing more to say.’
Within the subsequent shuddering silence, the rustle of papers unfolding seemed like secret breathing. The great candles dipped their flames as outside the wind whined across the battlements. Buckingham passed the pages to his neighbour, John, Baron de Howard, who nodded. ‘And those whose names are not set down here? Those too menial to sign, those who have considered but not yet decided whether to join this travesty? What message do we send them? How do we stop this, before it escalates?’
‘With the arrest of the principal culprit. It will finish now.’
The duke now spoke slowly. ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘Baron Hastings, in my capacity as Lord Protector of the realm and High Constable of England, I hereby authorise your immediate arrest for high treason and by the law of this land I sentence you to immediate execution. There is neither doubt nor justification and your death will save much bloodshed. I cannot therefore countenance pleas for clemency.’ His voice softened. ‘I undertake to discharge your debts and safeguard your property for the Lady Katherine your wife, and for your heirs, taking them into my protection. May God have mercy on your soul.’
Andrew Cobham strolled wearily out into the main hall, bootless and his doublet unlaced. He regarded the newcomers with faint amusement. ‘When I requested your return here today,’ he said softly, ‘I do not remember suggesting you disrupt the entire household. Yes, Tyballis is safe, and is resting, and is grateful for your concern. No doubt she’ll want to speak to you all. But not yet.’ He looked down on the scarlet-faced child who was glaring across the firelight towards the foot of the stairs. ‘As for you, brat,’ he continued, ‘what the devil are you shouting about?’
Harry pointed one quivering finger, arm outstretched. ‘Him,’ he said with dramatic emphasis.
Andrew looked. On the lower step, Felicia stood, one arm cradling Ellen, the other arm around her husband. Behind and three steps higher into the long shadows, stood Luke. Andrew frowned and took a step towards them.
Ralph grabbed Harry’s collar, pulling the child from Casper’s grasp. ‘What are you talking about, you little bugger?’ he demanded. ‘Explain yourself.’
‘He’s wiv them,’ Harry announced, voice shrill. ‘He ain’t wiv us at all.’
Andrew took two further steps forwards, but stopped abruptly. Smashing through the adjacent window with a crash of splintering glass, a small rock hurtled, rebounded and landed at Andrew’s feet. A slight rustling outside turned to noises of scrambling boots amongst the undergrowth. Immediately a voice roared, ‘Come out, Feayton, come out and face us, you bastard. Come answer to the king for your treachery. And bring your murdering whore with you.’
Within the hall, everybody stopped. Andrew looked quickly from the stairs to the window, then shook his head and strode to the hearth. Elizabeth, already there, was gazing wide-eyed at the broken glass and the rock on the floor. Andrew beckoned to the others. ‘Here,’ he ordered, ‘come here and keep close together. Those watching outside cannot see you by the hearth, nor the movement of your shadows through the window. No missile can reach you, and you can use the fire as defence if required.’
Felicia and her family scurried across, Felicia whispering, ‘But my babies, Mister Cobham, they are still asleep in our bedchamber.’
Andrew said, ‘As long as they sleep, they are safer upstairs,’ He turned to Luke. ‘Stay quiet and stay here, child.’
His brother, bewildered and insulted, came to huddle by the fire as ordered, but glowered and poked at the spit-boy. ‘What did he mean, Drew, that horrid boy? Who is he, anyway? There’s enough noisy children already in this house. And what’s happening? Who threw that stone?’
‘For the moment,’ Andrew said, ‘it seems we are under attack, and I’m interested in nothing else. Wait here while I fetch Tyballis. We must keep together.’
She came barefoot, pattering in from the bedchamber and clutching Andrew’s heavy bedrobe around her. She had again buckled Throckmorton’s baldric across her shoulder, and the sword hung in its place at her side. Andrew brought her close to the fire, dragging another chair into the reflections of the flames. She sat there beside Elizabeth, staring in amazement at the broken window. Harry crouched at her knee and whispered, ‘You don’t know me, missus, but I knows you. You was in that house where I worked, and I seen you. I were the spit-boy. If you et my roast beef – then it were me as cooked it.’
Tyballis smiled wanly. ‘I was never given roast beef in that house,’ she said. ‘I had very little to eat at all.’
‘Hush,’ Felicia begged. ‘Tybbs, dear, it is exceedingly good to see you after all this time – but those men must still be outside. The door is not barricaded and they may burst in at any moment.’
‘It would be easier for us if they did,’ Andrew said quietly. ‘Besieged, we know neither how many there are, nor how they might strike next. If they dared face us, unless badly outnumbered, I’ve no doubt of the result.’
‘Outnumbered?’ squeaked Felicia. ‘We have only four men present, since poor Luke is a young man of peace and has no experience of weapons.’
Tyballis stood up in a hurry. ‘Four men?’ she objected. ‘What about Elizabeth and me? And you can butcher a chicken, Felicia, so you can stab a ruffian, too. As for Luke –’
‘You have a sword,’ Felicia objected.
Andrew held up one finger. ‘Quiet now. Casper, collect all serviceable knives from the kitchen, and there’s a wood axe by the back door. Ralph, you are already armed. Keep your metal ready.’
‘There’s Father’s old sword upstairs,’ Luke muttered. ‘It’s under my bed. Must I go and fetch it?’
‘Let it stay there,’ Andrew told him. ‘It’s bent and rusted, and you’ve no idea how to use it. Casper will give you a knife.’ He turned to the others. ‘We’re under siege, but this is no military exercise. It seems they have no gunpowder, only stones, so their principal weapon will be fire. Keep close and alert, away from windows and doors.’
‘They’ll burn us out?’ Felicia moaned.
‘Gyles is asleep,’ Jon interrupted, reaching for the sleeping baby in his wife’s arms. ‘I’ll carry my poor son back up to bed. The children must be protected. There may be hundreds of soldiers outside.’
Andrew raised an eyebrow. ‘Soldiers? What makes you say that?’
Jon looked at his boots. ‘That voice spoke of – treachery – to the king.’
‘As yet there is no king, and no monarch has sent soldiers to this house.’ Andrew frowned as he strode to the broken window and, keeping within the shadows, looked out. There was no movement, and no sound outside. He returned at once to the hearth and the people grouped around it. ‘There are a handful of ruffians at the most. Jon, you will stay down here. I will ensure your children’s protection.’