"But he will not be able to prove—"
"Oates does not need proof. He decides on his victim and he is so powerful that everyone bows to him. Once Sir George Wake-man is committed to the Tower and executed on a charge of treason, he will have the Queen in his grasp ... and then we might as well say it is not King Charles who rules this country but Titus Oates."
"The King will surely save the Queen?"
"Mayhap he would be glad to be rid of her. Mayhap he is more enamored of his countless mistresses than of her," said Christobel. "There are some who say he would welcome the opportunity to be free and to marry again ... a Protestant wife who would give him a son and settle this whole business of the succession."
"He is not a cruel man," said James. "I believe he is always markedly courteous to the Queen. He would not let this happen to her."
"Then why does he allow this man to behave as he does? He strikes terror into all the King's subjects. None can feel safe."
"The King is clever. He is afraid of trouble in the land and he realizes that to attempt to suppress Gates now could mean riots in the streets."
"How can he rule his kingdom if he is so much afraid of this man?"
"If the Queen were to be found guilty of treason and put to the axe ... I tremble to think what would happen," said Kirk-well. "How could a man like Gates rise to such eminence?"
"Be careful what you say," warned James. "But let us think what we must do. Let us not blind ourselves to the truth. You are in danger, Kirkwell ... unless the true murderer is found. You will be under suspicion, because of what happened to your father and mayhap because Jem Lee saw you threatening Napp. People like him tend to exaggerate. He heard you threaten to kill Napp."
"Where is Jem Lee now?"
"He is no longer working on my land. He was only a casual laborer. I did not have enough work to occupy him all the time and cannot afford to have a man with me if it is not profitable to do so."
"And he will not keep to himself what he saw in the courtyard that morning. Til swear."
Christobel looked fearfully at James. "What then?"
"Perhaps Kirkwell should be called away on business and no one is sure where."
"Would that not look like guilt?"
"I fear it might. But on the other hand it would not be good to be here when Gates's men come to look for a culprit. Depend upon it, they will not allow all this to pass. One of their men murdered!"
We all looked at James. He was older than we were, more knowledgeable and wise.
"Perhaps we should not hurry into some action which might be unwise." He looked at Kirkwell, his brow puckered. "It would not do to go away immediately ... but if Oates considers it worthwhile to send his men down here to look for a scapegoat, there will be no alternative."
"I do not want to run away and appear to be afraid of being accused of something I know nothing about."
"I understand that," said James. "But there are times when one must consider these matters carefully. It will not matter to these men whether you are guilty or not. They will come here to make an example of what happens to anyone who touches the servants of Titus Oates. You would be a good choice: You were seen to threaten Isaac Napp and you are the son of one of their victims. I fear that if they come they may settle on you. You would be the ideal choice from their px)int of view."
"You would have me run away? Leave my land?"
"I would have you save your life. But do nothing rash. Let us see what transpires. It may be that they will find the murderer here before Oates's men arrive. It may be that Oates will be too concerned with what is happening in London. Sir George Wake-man is more important than anyone here can possibly be. Mayhap Oates is too concerned with that to pay much attention to us at this time."
"What shall we do, then?' asked Christobel.
"For the moment ... wait."
I could see that Christobel was very frightened, and I shared her fear.
Enquiries were made about the death of Isaac Napp but there was no sign of any men from London.
It was not discovered who had killed him. He had not been much liked; he was a newcomer, and the truth was no one cared very much that he had come to an untimely end. Informers were men to be feared and people felt more comfortable when they were not around.
Scraps of news from London reached us, and it seemed possible that what was happening there might be the reason why no one had been sent to Somerset to find a scapegoat for the murder of Isaac Napp.
To the amazement of all. Lord Chief Justice Scroggs, fiercely anti-Catholic that he was, had not acted in the manner expected of him.
Sir George Wakeman was a wise and clever man. He was a man of great dignity and integrity, highly respected at court. The Queen's physician was also a zealous Roman Catholic. He was able to defend himself with great skill. The witnesses against him were Titus Gates and his accomplice Bedlow, and men such as they were no match for the wit and wisdom of a man like Sir George Wakeman.
Sir George exposed the two schemers for what they were in a manner which could not be doubted. Gates declared that he had recognized Sir George's signature on a document which was a receipt for money he had received from the plotters, but when he was presented with a number of different examples of handwriting and was asked to pick out Sir George's he had chosen one which was quite different from that of Sir George and which could never have been mistaken for his by anyone who had seen it before.
Moreover, the other accuser, Gates's confederate Bedlow, claimed an acquaintance with Sir George and declared he had become on intimate terms with him in his duty to discover how base he was.
Sir George replied that he had not seen Bedlow before this trial began and appealed to the court, asking them if they really believed he could have been on intimate terms with such a man.
Such a friendship would certainly seem incongruous and the Lord Chief Justice, in his summing up, stressed this. It was clearly due to him that Sir George was released.
This was the biggest blow that Gates had received since he first brought the Plot to the notice of the people. He was furious and vowed vengeance on Scroggs, which he attempted to carry out.
but when he had to face Scroggs in court he was completely outwitted by the Lord Chief Justice.
This was a major blow to Oates, and he must have known it. It was small wonder that, for the time being, he had no time to concern himself with what was happening in the remote countryside.
The Devil's Tower
Occasionally my father rode over to the Dower House. He liked to talk to Luke and to me. He was a strange man. Sometimes, when I was alone with him, I felt he was going to confide in me, tell me something about himself. Then he would become aloof and I would feel that I was merely a duty in his life, the result of an unfortunate mesalliance.
One day he visited the Dower House and I was alone there. He looked rather pleased to find me thus and I thought it would be one of those sessions when a certain intimacy seemed to creep into our relationship.
He looked at me rather searchingly as we sat together, and said: "You are growing up fast, Kate. You always seemed in advance of your years. When I am talking to you I feel I am not talking to a child but to a young woman."
I was pleased and showed it.
"You have not lived much with the young, Kate," he mused, and looked sad. "That might be a pity."
"I was very happy with my mother and Maggie ..."
"I know. And now?"
"It is not easy to forget. But I think I have ... a little."
"You are getting fond of the people here?"
"Oh, yes."
"Christobel has been a good friend, has she not?"