Behind the Walls by Nicola Pierce Read Free Book Online Page A

couldn’t help feeling sorry for the man. One eye was thickening up while his top lip was covered in blood. At the same time, the boy was shocked that Henry had been hurt. Not for one moment did he believe that the guard would actually shoot at them.
    Shouting outside indicated that the Catholic residents had finally arrived. Robert laughed. ‘Did they really think we’d allow them to take our weapons?’
    The guard sniffed. ‘Your weapons?’ He tried to laugh too but he couldn’t.
    Robert ran his fingers over the rifle. ‘Forgive me. Of course they’re not my weapons as such; they belong to Prince William – now.’
    Officer Linegar wasn’t done yet. ‘How much time do you think you have?’ he asked.
    Robert looked puzzled, so the guard explained, ‘James’s army is right outside the gates. Do you even know where William’s is?’
    Robert grinned. ‘As it happens I do.’ Gesturing to his friends, he proudly declared, ‘It’s right here!’

Chapter Six
    W hen Daniel woke up on the ninth of December, the day that was set for the massacre of Protestants throughout the land, he was relieved to discover that he had not been butchered in his sleep. Robert had told him there was no need to worry but it was impossible not to worry just a little bit.
    Robert was still asleep. He had spent most of the night on the wall, keeping watch. William Cairnes’s uncle, the lawyer, had taken charge. He doubled the numbers of guards, wanting to show the civilian population that they were safe thanks to their brave men and impenetrable city walls.
    Daniel had promised his mother that he’d fetch the day’s water before he went to the walls to do his shift. Horace greeted him as he reached the foot of the stairs, demanding that the boy spend a couple of minutes scratching behind his ears before he would allow him to pass. Daniel asked him quietly, ‘You would have barked if anybody tried to attack us, wouldn’t you, boy?’ Horace replied with a sloppy kiss. ‘Ugh!’ Daniel protested, ‘Your breath is horrible!’ Hesat down on a stool to put on his boots, aware that he did not feel quite himself. When could he be absolutely and definitely sure that he, his family and neighbours would not die today?
    Robert had assured him that an invasion would be noisy. There would have to be shouting, screaming and horses thundering over the paved stones. Dogs would bark manically no matter whose side they were on. Right now, all he could hear were the usual sounds. Birds were singing, though not too many on this cold December morning. One dog was barking morosely in the distance. Not even Horace could be bothered to feign interest in that. Cart wheels were rumbling somewhere but that just meant that supplies were being delivered to the market place. These ordinary sounds were a source of real comfort for Daniel. Really, he couldn’t imagine any of this coming to an end.
    He had a fleeting wish to own a gun, just in case. However, there was no gun in the Sherrard house; there weren’t enough to go around. Daniel was there to see the magazine unlocked and the disappointment on the lawyer Cairnes’s face. ‘Is that it?’
    Daniel, not knowing any better, was struck by how many guns were there. He whispered to Robert, ‘There must be over a hundred!’
    Robert knew enough to realise that there were a lot more Papist soldiers outside the walls than there were gunsto defend the city against them.
    A count was done. There were a hundred and fifty musket rifles. Mr Cairnes called for all able-bodied men to present themselves to him, those who were not already soldiers. Three hundred men placed themselves at their city’s beck and call. Daniel knew then that there weren’t enough rifles.
    Mr Sherrard was one of the three hundred, although he still had a living to make and a family to feed. Mr Cairnes took down all the names and made out a time-table. The watching from the walls would be split into shifts, with the three hundred new