"Then why have them?" asked Christobel.
"That's not an easy question to answer. Sometimes they are resorted to in order to prevent something worse."
"And now you think ... ?"
"Monmouth for King," mused Kirk. "That is not ideal. He was a wild young man ... but sometimes wild young men become wise ones. We have the true heir to the throne who threatens to turn an inherently Protestant nation into a Catholic one, which is certain to provoke bloodshed; and on the other hand we have an ambitious young man, who has not proved he has the necessary qualities for government, but who is a Protestant. He is young. He can learn. King James never would."
"What a pity," said Christobel lightly, "that the management of these things cannot be arranged around this table. I am sure you could solve the country's problems far more efficiently than those in whose hands they lie."
Sebastian said: "I'll swear that, wherever the news of Monmouth's arrival in England has been received, men and women will be sitting round tables such as this and discussing this very subject and all of them will think they are as wise as we are."
One of the workers on the estate came hurrying in. It was Tom Ricks, whom I knew slightly.
"Begging your pardon, sir," he said, looking at James. "But Ijthought you'd be wanting to know right away, like. It's news from London. Gentleman just come in from Bridgwater. He says Lord Monmouth has taken Taunton. He has five thousand men now, rising to seven thousand. He's come into Bridgwater and they've crowned him King."
Luke had risen, his eyes gleaming.
"It has come. I knew it would. Down with the Papists! Long live King Monmouth! I am going to join Monmouth's army. I shall leave today for Bridgwater."
"I'll be with 'ee," said Tom Ricks, and as he went out a silence fell on us all.
"So," said James at length, "it has come to this. This means ... fighting."
"He is already proclaimed King," insisted Luke.
"That does not make him so," replied James quietly.
"We are going to make him so," said Luke earnestly. "It is wonderful. He has just arrived and already is called the King."
"Bridgwater is not the world," said James.
"We are going to make the whole of England follow Bridgwater."
"Luke, don't be too hasty. Have you thought of what this means?" James asked Luke.
"I am certain it is what I wish to do. While King James is on the throne there will be conflict throughout the country. Once we have a good Protestant King the people will settle down. They will no longer be afraid of Catholic customs. They will be happy and we shall all live our lives in peace. I shall go to Bridgwater at once. The new King will need all the men he can get."
Kirk was staring ahead of him, with a very serious expression on his face.
He said: "I am not sure of the Duke of Monmouth. He was very wild in his youth. Do you remember Sir John Coventry, whose nose he and his friends slit, and how they murdered the beadle who tried to keep order?"
"That was his wild youth," said Luke. "He is different now that he will have the responsibility of the crown."
"He has not acquired it yet," Sebastian pointed out. "A cheer and a hurrah in a little country town is not a loyal reception in London. Forget not, the King has a strong army at his command with men like John Churchill leading it. Unless they have rebelled against the crown, they will be for the King, and how do you think Monmouth and his little band will stand up to James's trained men?"
"Bridgwater calls him King," said Luke.
"Bridgwater, dear fellow, is a very small place in a very small county. Do not set too much store by Bridgwater."
"The question is, which is the right cause to join?" said Kirk-well. "Is it a choice between two evils? On the one hand there is a Protestant country cursed with a Catholic King: on the other a Protestant King as yet unfitted to rule. It is not a very good proposition."
"Do you think James is fit to rule?" demanded Luke.
"Alas, no. But I think England, being England, would be better with the Protestant. When are you leaving, Luke?"
"Tomorrow morning at dawn."
"I shall come with you," said Kirk.
It is known through the depth and breadth of the land what happened in the next few days, how the proud young Duke was humbled, how his arrogant belief in himself was not supported by his deeds. How he reveled in those few days of his glory and how quickly that glory melted away.
We were deeply concerned. We were very close to the fighting and the field on which in due course the fatal battle was fought.
Our arrogant, foolish Monmouth was like a boy with ambitions which he could not hope to fulfill. James had done some foolish things, but he was wiser than his would-be rival. He was a mature man; he was the hero of several naval battles: he had the Earl of Frensham and Sir John Churchill beside him, seasoned warriors, against the inexperienced Duke and, as the people were unkindly calling them, his pack of country yokels.
But for those days when he called himself King, Monmouth reveled in the glory for which he must have longed ever since he had discovered that he was the King's son. Leaving Bridgwater, he had marched to Bristol, expecting as easy a victory there as he had enjoyed in Taunton and Bridgwater. Alas for him, the King's men had heard of his approach and were ready to meet him in such force that he lost heart and hastily turned back to Bridgwater. Defiantly he issued a declaration, offering five thousand pounds for King James's head.
It was ludicrous.
Meanwhile we waited at home for news. It was of the utmost importance to us now. Luke, my brother, and Kirk were there.
James was grim. He said they had been rash to go. Even Sebastian showed concern. As for me, I was thinking constantly of Kirkwell. What if I never saw him again? I wished then that I had agreed to marry him. Perhaps, had we been betrothed, I might have persuaded him not to go. I longed for his return. It was because I loved him, far more than I had thought.
Christobel was no longer blissfully happy and was clearly distressed. James was worried. It was not good for the baby. He said that Luke was a good-hearted fellow, he knew, though he had this obsession about his birth which had made him side with Monmouth; but to rush in like that was rather foolish. What he could not understand was Kirk's going with Luke. He would have thought Kirk would have had the sense to wait a while ... to see how things went before he rushed in to serve a cause which might be of short duration. And, if it were, that would not have done a great deal of good to those who had supported it.
The King's forces were gathering around Bridgwater. The army was formidable and the great generals had decided to support the King against Monmouth. They knew Monmouth for the reckless man he was. Many of them believed that the law must be obeyed. Monmouth was not the true heir. Many tunes King Charles had denied that he had married Lucy Walter. If he had, why should he not have admitted it? For then he could have produced his son and heir, which every king and ever>' man of property desired to have.
But no, the King had said it many times. "I was never married to Lucy Walter. Let them bring forth a hundred black boxes, a thousand certificates to prove that I was ... I will continue to assure you, I was never married to Jemmy's mother."
The country did not want a Catholic King, but the people insisted that the law must be adhered to. Only the true heir could ascend the throne of England.
And so came the terrible tragedy of Sedgemoor. Poor Monmouth! What chance had he and his band, untrained laborers most of them? How were they to stand against an army trained and equipped with experienced soldiers, under the command of men such as Churchill and Frensham? Monmouth himself was not the bravest of men. He had shown that during his reckless days, when he had cringed before the King, begging his pardon when he was suspected of complicity in the Rye House Plot.