A Cruel Fate (Quick Reads 2014) Read online

  Still, Jane wants to know his fate, to know for sure. The time has come for honesty. At last Martin feels able to tell her what he fears about the young man left in Bridewell. Jane describes Nat. Martin says nothing, but his silence gives an answer.

  Jane weeps. Martin by instinct reaches to comfort her. She is cold. He pulls her under the covers alongside himself. So he holds her against his thin shoulder, while she grieves for her brother’s suffering and her loss of him. Patiently Martin holds her in that chaste embrace until Jane is worn out and falls asleep. For a while longer Martin stays awake, taking his own comfort simply from the woman’s warm presence in his arms. Then he too slumbers.

  Chapter 16

  Martin’s Cruel Fate

  He wakes first.

  A soldier, trained to react fast, would be out of bed in an instant, pulling on his boots and his sword. Martin responds more slowly, but he can tell something has gone wrong. He has no weapons. He cannot defend himself.

  Whatever noise woke him signals danger. He leaves the bed where Jane still sleeps. He puts on the britches, stockings and shoes that he knows she means to give to him. He finds himself stronger from being fed and rested, yet he is still shaky on his feet.

  He can hear voices now. They are the wrong voices for normal life in a lodging house.

  He makes his way quietly from the room. Terror of what is to happen to him makes his heart bump painfully. He can tell the house is being searched. Doors are being banged. He hears protests. A stranger here, he cannot find a safe place to hide. He stands no chance.

  Somehow tongues have already wagged. Perhaps the burning of his clothes gave away that a prisoner was here. Perhaps somebody saw him, or saw Jane with the surgeon. How it happened does not matter. Marshal Smith’s men are in the house.

  Of course they find Martin. He has barely reached the downstairs, seeking a way out of the house. He is unable to resist.

  As they are dragging him out of doors, Jane comes running in distress. A day ago she had never met this man. Now he has relied on her for help. He is her responsibility. She screams at the soldiers to leave him alone.

  Jane knows that to be locked in that prison once was bad enough. For Martin Watts, to have to face returning to such an intolerable place must be unbearable. His look of despair is breaking her heart.

  The look on her face breaks his own. Someone cares for his fate.

  ********

  The soldiers have gained the wrong idea about these two. They allow Martin a strange courtesy of war. One says, ‘Say farewell to your wife, wretch!’ – and stands back to let him go to Jane.

  Martin does not hesitate. ‘Thanks,’ he replies dryly. ‘She thought I had run off with a dairy maid. It is a joy to her to know I am merely a guest, enjoying fine hospitality from Provost Marshal Smith.’

  Talking about books with Jane last night has given something back to him: ideas and imagination. As Jane hears him joke, she knows he has renewed his courage. It was an empty shell she found collapsed yesterday in the garden, but she is seeing the real man now.

  ********

  He winks. It is the first time in his life he has ever winked at a woman, but he carries it off bravely.

  ‘Come, wife!’ Martin smiles into her eyes, sharing the joke. For one shocked minute, Jane resists. Then her panic stills. He wraps Jane in his arms tenderly, as a married man really might on parting from his wife. Quickly he promises to find her brother if he can and to see what can be done for him. He thinks that is what Jane wants – and so she does, though another longing starts to affect her too.

  The soldiers are not rushing them. For one thing, the brutes are enjoying the idea that Martin Watts will die in prison, so these are the last ever moments together for the couple.

  ‘I never had a wife,’ murmurs Martin very privately to Jane, from close to. That answers the unasked question usefully, though it seems a strange moment for him to declare himself available. ‘But if I did, I should not want anyone sweeter or kinder.’

  It is his one chance in life to kiss a young woman, and he takes it. He takes it like a man who knows he may never have such a chance again. Jane Afton is a decent woman, but this poor fellow is about to lose everything, so she kisses him back, and does so most gladly – as he must be able to tell.

  ‘Be brave,’ she whispers urgently. ‘Keep in good heart.’

  ********

  Under one arm Jane is carrying a coat she brought to Oxford to give to Nat. When Martin releases her, she holds the coat open for him so he puts it on. The soldiers do not steal it, at least not while she is watching them.

  But then they come and take Martin. Their brief period of courtesy to the prisoner is over. They are violent and rough with him. He is shoved and dragged along the street within a close knot of armed soldiers. Jane runs after, but is kept from him.

  When they reach Saint George’s Tower, as he is about to be pushed inside, Martin manages to shake off his guards for a moment. Jane sees him turn back. He knows she is there. She sees him raise an arm to her. Then he is hauled inside and lost to her. She knows that may be her last sight of this man for ever.

  He has had a short glimpse of freedom but he has lost it. After all Martin has endured, it is the cruellest fate.

  Chapter 17

  Afterword

  Of the forty men who went out through the wall, only four are recaptured. One of them is Martin Watts.

  Martin is not put back into the black dungeon at Bridewell, which he knows would surely have killed him. Instead, he is returned to the room at Saint George’s Tower where he was first imprisoned. It has grown even more foul. All the men there are sick. Among them, by asking and searching, he finds and identifies Nat Afton.

  The boy is close to death, too sick by now even to know that Martin is there. He does not recognise his own coat, which Martin is wearing. Within a day, Jane’s brother dies, but at least he has someone beside him, seeing him into his safe release from misery.

  Martin hunches up in sorrow. He thrusts his hands deep into the pockets of Nat’s coat, thinking of Jane. Keep in good heart … Her words console him as much as any line of scripture.

  He is a different prisoner from the one who was here before. Give a man a goal and you give him hope. He has escaped once. Now he believes he has a reason to escape again. Now he believes it is possible. He will keep trying.

  ********

  Some of the prisoners at Oxford do regain their liberty.

  In May John Lilburne is exchanged for a royalist. He goes on to have a long life of campaigning for freedom, annoying all who are in authority.

  In June, Captain Wingate and Edmund Chillenden escape. Chillenden will become a leading figure in the Leveller movement, arguing for the rights of all men to be equal. Wingate and Chillenden publish stories of the prisoners’ terrible treatment in Oxford jail. Three hundred and fifty years later, their passionate words denouncing Provost Marshal Smith will still horrify readers.

  John Franklin, the Member of Parliament for Marlborough, is less lucky. His son, John Franklin Junior, has already died in Saint George’s Tower. The father is subjected to deliberate cruelties. Cavalier prisoners, low men who have been arrested for low crimes, are put in the same room with him, where they carouse drunkenly all night. Franklin is a sick man. In July he dies without ever being freed.

  Unknown numbers of nameless ordinary men perish in Oxford at the hands of Provost Marshal Smith. Yet in the end, there is such public outrage that Smith is brought to justice. Even the King can no longer pretend not to know what has happened in his name. Smith is removed. He is pilloried and punished.

  Even so, the hard system of having to wait for ransom or a prisoner exchange means that more of Parliament’s supporters will end their days in jail. Disease spreads quickly where many are penned together in poor conditions; it is even called jail fever. Only when the King is near defeat and Parliament’s army captures Oxford – a whole three years later – will all the prisoners who surviv
e be set free.

  ********

  Long before that, Jane Afton has learned of her brother’s death in prison. With Mrs Wingate’s help – and after money is given to Smith – Jane manages to obtain Nat’s body so she can give him a burial. There is nothing to keep her in Oxford, so she goes home.

  She has no reason to expect further news of anyone she met on her sad trip. She returns to her old life in Cirencester. She lives alone still, unable to bear the reproach of her sisters, who seem to blame her for not saving Nat. They cannot believe what Jane tells them about the prison and the prisoners’ dreadful suffering.

  So Jane keeps to herself. She works. She rents the same tiny cottage. One up, one down. Smaller than many stables. She lives quietly. And perhaps sometimes, on a dark evening alone by the firelight, she remembers the man she tried to help, and lets herself wonder a little.

  Until one day she wonders no longer. One day someone knocks on her door and she finds a gaunt, pale, shy man, with his body and soul scarred by suffering. He looks serious, though not gloomy. He looks pleased that somehow he has found her. She had told him where she lived and he remembered carefully. His arrival on her doorstep is not quite unexpected. Just as he believed he would escape again, Jane too had faith.

  He tips his head on one side, wanting to see if he is welcome. Jane cannot help it, she bursts into tears.

  ‘Come, wife,’ says Martin Watts, reminding her of their last meeting, as he holds open his arms to comfort her. ‘Keep in good heart!’

  She is not his wife, but she will be. It is a fortune of war. And for them both, this at least is a gentle fate.

  Books In The Series

  Amy’s Diary Maureen Lee

  Beyond the Bounty Tony Parsons

  Bloody Valentine James Patterson

  Blackout Emily Barr

  Chickenfeed Minette Walters

  Cleanskin Val McDermid

  The Cleverness of Ladies Alexander McCall Smith

  Clouded Vision Linwood Barclay

  A Cool Head Ian Rankin

  A Cruel Fate Lindsey Davis

  The Dare John Boyne

  Doctor Who: Code of the Krillitanes Justin Richards

  Doctor Who: Made of Steel Terrance Dicks

  Doctor Who: Magic of the Angels Jacqueline Rayner

  Doctor Who: Revenge of the Judoon Terrance Dicks

  Doctor Who: The Silurian Gift Mike Tucker

  Doctor Who: The Sontaran Games Jacqueline Rayner

  A Dreadful Murder Minette Walters

  A Dream Come True Maureen Lee

  The Escape Lynda La Plante

  Follow Me Sheila O’Flanagan

  Four Warned Jeffrey Archer

  Full House Maeve Binchy

  Get the Life You Really Want James Caan

  The Grey Man Andy McNab

  Hello Mum Bernardine Evaristo

  Hidden Barbara Taylor Bradford

  How to Change Your Life in 7 Steps John Bird

  Humble Pie Gordon Ramsay

  Jack and Jill Lucy Cavendish

  Kung Fu Trip Benjamin Zephaniah

  Last Night Another Soldier Andy McNab

  Life’s New Hurdles Colin Jackson

  Life’s Too Short Val McDermid, Editor

  Lily Adèle Geras

  The Little One Lynda La Plante

  Love is Blind Kathy Lette

  Men at Work Mike Gayle

  Money Magic Alvin Hall

  One Good Turn Chris Ryan

  The Perfect Holiday Cathy Kelly

  The Perfect Murder Peter James

  Quantum of Tweed: The Man with the Nissan Micra Conn Iggulden

  Raw Voices: True Stories of Hardship and Hope Vanessa Feltz

  Reading My Arse! Ricky Tomlinson

  Rules for Dating a Romantic Hero Harriet Evans

  A Sea Change Veronica Henry

  Star Sullivan Maeve Binchy

  Strangers on the 16:02 Priya Basil

  Survive the Worst and Aim for the Best Kerry Katona

  The 10 Keys to Success John Bird

  Tackling Life Charlie Oatway

  Today Everything Changes Andy McNab

  Traitors of the Tower Alison Weir

  Trouble on the Heath Terry Jones

  Twenty Tales from the War Zone John Simpson

  We Won the Lottery Danny Buckland

  Wrong Time, Wrong Place Simon Kernick

  Quick Reads are brilliant short new books written by bestselling writers to help people discover the joys of reading for pleasure.

  Find out more at www.quickreads.org.uk

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  World Book Day is on 6 March 2014

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  Hidden

  Barbara Taylor Bradford

  Drama, heartbreak and new beginnings.

  This is a gripping story from a master storyteller.

  On the surface, Claire Saunders has it all. She has a rewarding career in fashion and a talented concert pianist daughter. Her loving husband is one of the country’s most trusted diplomats.

  But every now and again, she has to plaster her face in heavy make-up and wears sunglasses. She thinks she’s hidden her secret from her best friends, but they know her too well.

  Can her friends get her out of harm’s way and protect her from a man who is as ruthless as he is charming and powerful? And along the way, can Claire learn to stop protecting the wrong people?

  Harper

  Blackout

  Emily Barr

  You wake up in a strange room,

  with no idea how you got there.

  You are abroad, in a city you have never visited before.

  You have no money, no passport, no phone.

  And there is no sign of your baby.

  What do you do?

  Headline Review

  Rules for Dating a Romantic Hero

  Harriet Evans

  Do you believe in happy endings?

  Laura Foster used to be a hopeless romantic. She was obsessed with meeting her own Prince Charming until she grew up and realised real life doesn’t work like that.

  Then she met Nick. A romantic hero straight from a fairytale, with a grand country estate and a family tree to match.

  They’ve been together four years now and Laura can’t imagine ever loving anyone the way she loves Nick.

  Now, though, Nick is keeping secrets from Laura.

  She’s starting to feel she might not be ‘good enough’ for his family.

  Can an ordinary girl like Laura make it work with one of the most eligible men in the country?

  Harper

  Four Warned

  Jeffrey Archer

  These four short stories from a master storyteller are packed full of twists and turns.

  In Stuck on You, Jeremy steals the perfect ring for his fiancée.

  Albert celebrates his 100th birthday, and is pleased to be sent The Queen’s Birthday Telegram.

  Why hasn’t his wife received hers?

  In Russia, businessman Richard plots to murder his wife.

  He thinks he’s found the answer when his hotel warns him: Don’t Drink the Water.

  Terrified for her life, Diana will do whatever it takes to stick to the warning given to drivers: Never Stop on the Motorway …

  Every reader will have their favourite story – some will make you laugh, others will bring you to tears. And every one of them will keep you spellbound.

&
nbsp; Pan Books

  A Cruel Fate

  Lindsey Davis

  As long as war exists, this story will matter.

  Martin Watts, a bookseller, is captured by the king’s men.

  Jane Afton’s brother Nat is taken too. They both suffer horrible treatment as prisoners-of-war.

  In Oxford Castle jailer William Smith tortures, beats, starves and deprives his helpless victims. Can Jane rescue her sick brother before he dies of neglect? Will Martin dare to escape?

  Based on real events in the English Civil War,

  Lindsey Davis retells the grim tale of Captain Smith’s abuse of power in Oxford prison – where many died in misery though a lucky few survived.

  Hodder and Stoughton

  The Escape

  Lynda La Plante

  Is a change of identity all it takes to leave prison?

  Colin Burrows is desperate. Recently sent to prison for burglary, he knows that his four-year sentence means he will miss the birth of his first child.

  Sharing a cell with Colin is Barry Marsden. Barry likes prison life. He has come from a difficult family and been in and out of foster homes all his life. In prison, he has three meals a day and has discovered a talent for drawing.

  He doesn’t want to leave.

  Sad to see his cellmate looking depressed, Barry hatches a plan to get Colin out of jail for the birth. It’s a plan so crazy that it might just work.

  Bestselling author Lynda La Plante’s exciting tale of one man’s escape from jail is based on a true story.

  Simon & Schuster

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