He fell and they kicked him; they trampled over him; vaguely he could hear their jeering voices. ‘Spy! Enemy! Friend of the minions― Bishop or not he must die―’
He believed he was praying but he was not sure. But he did know that he
was dying. They meant to kill him but not too quickly. They wanted first their sport. They were dragging him along the ground. His body was mangled and cut in places. Obscenity was in the air. Were they speaking of him? What did it matter what they did to him? He was slowly slipping away.
‘He’s finished,’ said a voice in the crowd.
‘What shall we do with him now― our fine Bishop?’
‘We’ll carve him up and send his head to the Queen― a gift from the loyal
people of London. Would we had the Despenser here.’
So they marched to the Tower carrying the bleeding head of the Bishop and
there they demanded that Prince John and the two Princesses be given into their care to be sent to join the Queen.
This was a token of London’s love for that lady.
―――――――
The messengers were brought to Isabella in the castle of Gloucester, one of them carried the head of Walter Stapledon.
Isabella stared at it and remembered how the owner of that head had refused to join her in Paris and had slipped away to report her deeds to the King. ‘His just reward,’ she said.
‘With the compliments of the people of London, my lady,’ said one of the
messengers.
‘Return to them and tell them that I love them even as they have shown they love me.’
The messenger bowed and left.
Another messenger was brought to her. He told her that the people of
London had released her children from the Tower and because they believed she would wish to have them with her, they had sent them to Gloucester.
‘My blessings on them,’ she cried. ‘Let my children be brought to me.’
She embraced them fiercely. It seemed so long since she had seen them: ten-year-old John, eight-year-old Eleanor and five year-old Joanna. They clung to her for they had been frightened by everything that had been happening. Their father had gone away suddenly and left them and there had been a great deal of shouting outside the Tower before people had burst in. Then they had been told that they were being taken to their mother.
‘It is my friends who have brought you here, my darlings,’ cried the Queen.
‘There. All is well now. You shall see your brother Edward, for he is here with me.’
‘When shall we see our father?’ asked John.
‘Of that we cannot be sure,’ answered their mother glibly. ‘Never mind, you are safe with me now.’
Joanna was ready to be happy but the two elder ones were uneasy, thinking
of their father. He had been strange when he and Hugh had gone away and he had told them to do all that Lady le Despenser told them to; and Lady le Despenser had been crying a great deal so they knew that something was wrong.
John had comforted the little girls and told them that it would be all right when they saw Edward, and they were going to see Edward now.
At the moment they could not help being overawed by their beautiful mother who had suddenly grown so fond of them though she had never taken much
notice of them before. All her attention had been for Edward. But they forgot that now. It was pleasant to be embraced by her and made much of and told how glad she was to have them with her.
They were presented to Roger de Mortimer and Sir John of Hainault, both of whom smiled affectionately at them and made as though they were delighted to see them. So they had suddenly become important which was very gratifying.
Delighted by the arrival of the children and the head of the Bishop of Exeter, Isabella was anxious to show the Londoners her appreciation.
She told Mortimer that she intended to appoint a new governor of the Tower and a Mayor of London and she believed he would approve of the choice.
‘You remember the two merchants who were so helpful when you escaped
from the Tower?’
‘Indeed I do. I don’t think we could have managed so well without them.’
‘Adam arranged it of course.’
‘Ah yes, a good friend Adam, but we do owe a good deal to de Bettoyne
and de Gisors.’
‘So thought I. That is why I have decided to appoint de Gisors Constable of the Tower and de Bettoyne Mayor of London.’
‘An excellent choice,’ smiled Mortimer.
‘It will show them that I remember those who serve me well,’ murmured
Isabella.
―――――――
Edward, accompanied by young Hugh, retired to the Castle of Bristol
leaving old Hugh and the Earl of Arundel to hold the City for him.
There was not a hope that Bristol would resist the invading forces of the
Queen. The people had no wish to. Like the rest of the country they were against the King.
So the Queen’s army was welcomed and the people came out to cheer the
troops as they marched through the streets with Roger de Mortimer at their head.
When he discovered that old Hugh was in the town he was delighted. Now
had the time come to settle old scores.
‘There must be no delay,’ he said. ‘Despenser and Arundel with him must be tried and sentenced immediately.’
The Queen agreed with him and the two men were brought before her and
the barons, at the head of whom were Mortimer and Sir John of Hainault, for she said that they must be judged according to their deeds.
Sir Hugh lifted his head high and met her gaze unflinchingly.
‘Ah, my lady,’ he said quietly, ‘God grant us an upright judge and a just
sentence. And if we cannot find it in this world, we may find it in another.’
Death was imminent, he knew, for he could not expect pity from either the
Queen or her lover. The fact that he was a man of sixty-four did not move them in the least. He was one of the Despensers loathed by the Queen and the
country. He had been avaricious, it was true, but he had tried to do what he thought was right for the country providing it did not interfere with his personal gain. He was not a good man, not a great man; he had committed sins; but there were many who prospered and were more deserving of death than he was.
This was what he wanted to tell his judges, but they were not interested in his defence. They had determined at the start of his brief trial to prove him guilty.
They did and he and Arundel were sentenced to the cruel death which it had become the custom to bestow on traitors. They believed right to the end that their nobility would save them from that barbarous end and beheading be
substituted. But this was not to be.
There should be no mercy for a Despenser and those who upheld them,
decreed the Queen and Mortimer.
So the two men were taken out and hanged, drawn and quartered.
The Queen was exultant. ‘There is one Despenser the less,’ she said.
‘And still one to suffer a similar fate,’ replied Mortimer grimly.
―――――――
Edward in Bristol Castle was almost mad with grief and fear.
Hugh from a window in the castle had heard the shouts of the people. He
had seen the body of his father dangling on a rope and he knew what tortures followed.
He felt sick with grief. He and his father had worked together all their lives; they had revelled in each other’s triumphs and commiserated with each other’s failures. And to think of that revered old man in the hands of his rough
executioners was more than his son could bear.
Edward tried to comfort him, but there was no comfort for Hugh.
What there was, was the awful realization that very soon they would come
for him and he knew well that a similar fate awaited him.
Edward clung to him in terror. ‘Hugh, they have done that to your father! Oh they are devils! They will burn in hell for this. Your dear, dear father―’
Hugh said quietly, ‘They will come here seeking me and you will see that