There were rumors about the child. It was said that there had been something suspicious about his birth. He was not the King's son. They had tricked the nation. The King's wife had given birth to a stillborn child and a healthy one had been substituted in a warming pan. All over the country people were talking of the Warming-Pan Baby.
Rumors said that the shipyards of Holland were working at full strength, and William of Orange was one of the foremost Protestants in Europe. His wife was James's daughter, next in line to the throne, if one did not count this newborn child, the Warming-Pan Baby.
After some months of speculation, when it came it seemed inevitable.
On the fifteenth of November, just over three years since Kirk-well had left England, William of Orange landed at Brixham near Torbay. There was no opposition. Weary of the ineffectual rule of James, and his determination to ignore the will of the people, many were deserting him. The defection of Churchill, with the army, was the fatal blow.
There was little resistance. The inevitable had happened, and, as King Charles had prophesied, his brother James's rule had not lasted four years.
My hopes were high. My father said: "Mayhap he has made a new life over there."
There was a certain wistful look on his face. He did not want me to be unhappy, but he longed to see me married to Sebastian.
It was mid-November. I was in my room thinking: Will he come? Is it possible that he has indeed made a new life over there? Shall I ever see him again?
Then I heard Amy's voice calling me.
I ran down.
He was there beside her.
He looked older, rather gaunt. He had changed, but he was still Kirkwell.
He looked at me and he smiled.
Then he said: "Kate ... you waited."
I was in his arms, touching his face to assure myself that he was real. I was exulting, overcome with emotion.
Then I said simply: "Yes, Kirk. I waited."