Kings of the Boyne by Nicola Pierce Read Free Book Online Page B

suit, leaving the woman to say, ‘Hush, Marian. Nothing is wrong. They are just soldiers, that’s all.’
    This was all getting a bit much for Robert’s patience. If he owned a pocket watch, he would surely have checked it by now to see how much time had already been wasted. Clearing his throat, he asked, ‘Can I speak with your husband?’
    Daniel wished his brother did not sound quite so imperious. However, neither Sherrard was prepared for the woman’s solid reply: ‘No.’
    In particular, Robert was taken aback and repeated her answer, ‘No? But I … I … we need to speak to him at once.Can’t one of the children fetch him?’
    The woman caught a strand of her hair and pushed it beneath her hat before answering again, ‘No, they cannot.’
    Of course Robert took the reply personally and believed that he specifically was being thwarted in every way possible. He gulped in air and then spoke slowly as if he were addressing someone with little intelligence: ‘I must order you to summon your husband to us and I do so in the name of King William … and Queen Mary. Therefore any refusal to fetch him is treason.’
    He added the queen’s name, instinctively feeling that this misguided woman might be more considerate of Her Majesty over the king himself.
    Daniel flinched inwardly at the mention of treason. Traitors were hanged or shot. Surely Robert was not threatening to hurt this woman because she didn’t call her husband. What was his brother thinking?
    But there was something wrong. Daniel detected a flicker of something in the woman’s expression and noticed the mortification on her daughter’s face which propelled him to ask the obvious. ‘Excuse me but why can’t we talk to him?’
    It was the boy who answered. He had dark hair, a slimy nose and big brown eyes that looked older than his years, which were maybe eight or so. With a solemn look, heexplained, ‘Because he’s dead.’
    Ah.
    As embarrassed as he felt, Daniel was somewhat relieved for his brother’s sake. The woman was not disobeying him nor was she trying him for a fool. Indeed, he was not the least bit surprised at hearing the relief in Robert’s exclamation, ‘Well now. I see.’
    It all made sense. The husband was dead and so his widow was wearing his clothes and ploughing the field.
    ‘What did you want him for?’ The daughter Marian asked her question at the exact same time that Robert asked, ‘When did he die?’
    There was a pause and the two questions hung between them. Robert and Marian looked at the woman for guidance, and she naturally chose to repeat her daughter’s question, asking, ‘Well, what did you want with my husband?’
    Up to now both Sherrards had steadily avoided looking at the two large items they had come for. Daniel, for one, would have preferred to have found the horses idly grazing and of no use to anyone.
    The baby reached for the nearest horse and his sister obliged it by stepping forward so that the child could knock at the animal’s neck with its pudgy fist.
    The eight-year-old boy lodged an immediate complaint. ‘Georgie! That’s not a door! Mama, tell him!’
    But his mother only said, ‘Hush, Samuel!’
    Next, Georgie launched himself forward and planted a moist, sloppy kiss that left an oval-shaped blot on the horse’s coat. Daniel smiled along with the family, leaving Robert all alone to make his declaration.
    ‘Madam …’ he began.
    ‘Jean Watson,’ she replied.
    ‘Uh … I beg your pardon?’ said Robert.
    The woman took a breath, possibly to hide her impatience, before saying once more, ‘Jean Watson. My name is Mrs Jean Watson.’
    ‘Oh, right. Thank you!’ said Robert, obviously feeling that he was starting to get somewhere at last. ‘Well, Mrs Watson, as you might have heard, King William plans to confront James Stuart and his Jacobite army. In fact, that is where my brother and I are headed. However, the king has recently discovered that he needs more horses.’
    Daniel