man? Where is he now?’
‘He’s still there in the cave. Please, please hear me out, Martha. He is Adam Carey, Sir Philip Carey’s son, Father’s best and closest friend... I could not leave him wounded in there to starve and die all alone. Could I, Martha?’
It spilled out of her then with confusion and anxiety, the tears that she attempted to wipe away spilled upon the hem of her gown, while her nurse and confident viewed her with alarm and anger sparking in her eyes. She shook Tamsin and declared, ‘You wicked, wicked girl! How could you put yourself in such danger? And Reuben! You say he helped you? The stupid boy!
‘ You have betrayed everyone here, and your father most of all! We shall have our enemies attacking us again ere long and Adam Carey will be the one able to help them. I am so ashamed of you! You shall tell your father now! You must do so!’
Tamsin wept, ‘I cannot, Martha. He was wounded and I-I had to save him, give him a chance to live.’ She hesitated wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. ‘He says he will not betray us. And I believe him.’
‘Pshaw! He says! And you help him?’ the look in her grey eyes pierced Tamsin’s heart like a knife. Martha let go of Tamsin at last and folded her arms across her bony chest. ‘So this is the story he spins you. And you believe him?’
Tamsin nodded. ‘I do. He will not betray us or my father.’
‘I see, and there is more? It is plain as a pikestaff that you care for him, so it is not just because of his family connection with your father’s friend that you wish to save him. You have never met any other young Royalist Cavaliers,’ she snorted. ‘But you cannot call him that. He is a Roundhead by choice and by nature. He will have their puritanical unforgiving nature. You cannot believe him.’
‘I do not care for him like that!’ Tamsin declared defiantly with a toss of her copper ringlets. ‘I do this only to save my father further heartache.’
‘Then you must forget him, Tamsin. Forget him because if he is for Cromwell then he is not for you. If he were an older man and not a family friend, would you want to save him then? He has ensnared you, foolish child, curdled your wits with his charms. He may choose to be a Roundhead but he was brought up as a gentleman amongst Royalists and can play act the Cavalier well enough if it suits his purpose.’
‘He is Adam Carey and why should it matter what side he is on? He is a human being who was wounded and needed my help. He is young, he should not die, Martha,’ Tamsin entreated.
‘And why not pray? Those were just lads some of them that were killed here in battle. Your cousin Jago was one of them in Oxford only last month.’
Martha was making it hard for her still. Deliberately it seemed to Tamsin. She had to persuade her not to tell her father what she had done for Adam. Had she made a fatal mistake in trying to get Martha’s help? Had she put Adam’s life in worse danger now through telling Martha about him?
But Tamsin was not about to give up. ‘We cannot let him stay here to be executed! And Father would have little choice but to order it. You would not let poor Father be put into such a terrible position, would you Martha?’ She was trying hard to coax her nurse to change her mind. ‘He is fond of Sir Philip, his dearest friend, how could he have his son put to death?’
Her impassioned plea touched her nurse’s heart it seemed at last and after a pause Martha declared firmly, ‘If he should swear on his father’s life that he will do no harm afterwards to your father and the men serving with him here on Tresco then - and only then - shall I help him.’ She shook her forefinger at Tamsin. ‘But, if he betrays you and your family then I shall see to it that he is punished even if it takes me my lifetime to do so.’
Tamsin threw her arms around her nurse and cried, ‘Thank you, thank you, Martha! I am sure he would not. He is as honourable as his
‘He’s still there in the cave. Please, please hear me out, Martha. He is Adam Carey, Sir Philip Carey’s son, Father’s best and closest friend... I could not leave him wounded in there to starve and die all alone. Could I, Martha?’
It spilled out of her then with confusion and anxiety, the tears that she attempted to wipe away spilled upon the hem of her gown, while her nurse and confident viewed her with alarm and anger sparking in her eyes. She shook Tamsin and declared, ‘You wicked, wicked girl! How could you put yourself in such danger? And Reuben! You say he helped you? The stupid boy!
‘ You have betrayed everyone here, and your father most of all! We shall have our enemies attacking us again ere long and Adam Carey will be the one able to help them. I am so ashamed of you! You shall tell your father now! You must do so!’
Tamsin wept, ‘I cannot, Martha. He was wounded and I-I had to save him, give him a chance to live.’ She hesitated wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. ‘He says he will not betray us. And I believe him.’
‘Pshaw! He says! And you help him?’ the look in her grey eyes pierced Tamsin’s heart like a knife. Martha let go of Tamsin at last and folded her arms across her bony chest. ‘So this is the story he spins you. And you believe him?’
Tamsin nodded. ‘I do. He will not betray us or my father.’
‘I see, and there is more? It is plain as a pikestaff that you care for him, so it is not just because of his family connection with your father’s friend that you wish to save him. You have never met any other young Royalist Cavaliers,’ she snorted. ‘But you cannot call him that. He is a Roundhead by choice and by nature. He will have their puritanical unforgiving nature. You cannot believe him.’
‘I do not care for him like that!’ Tamsin declared defiantly with a toss of her copper ringlets. ‘I do this only to save my father further heartache.’
‘Then you must forget him, Tamsin. Forget him because if he is for Cromwell then he is not for you. If he were an older man and not a family friend, would you want to save him then? He has ensnared you, foolish child, curdled your wits with his charms. He may choose to be a Roundhead but he was brought up as a gentleman amongst Royalists and can play act the Cavalier well enough if it suits his purpose.’
‘He is Adam Carey and why should it matter what side he is on? He is a human being who was wounded and needed my help. He is young, he should not die, Martha,’ Tamsin entreated.
‘And why not pray? Those were just lads some of them that were killed here in battle. Your cousin Jago was one of them in Oxford only last month.’
Martha was making it hard for her still. Deliberately it seemed to Tamsin. She had to persuade her not to tell her father what she had done for Adam. Had she made a fatal mistake in trying to get Martha’s help? Had she put Adam’s life in worse danger now through telling Martha about him?
But Tamsin was not about to give up. ‘We cannot let him stay here to be executed! And Father would have little choice but to order it. You would not let poor Father be put into such a terrible position, would you Martha?’ She was trying hard to coax her nurse to change her mind. ‘He is fond of Sir Philip, his dearest friend, how could he have his son put to death?’
Her impassioned plea touched her nurse’s heart it seemed at last and after a pause Martha declared firmly, ‘If he should swear on his father’s life that he will do no harm afterwards to your father and the men serving with him here on Tresco then - and only then - shall I help him.’ She shook her forefinger at Tamsin. ‘But, if he betrays you and your family then I shall see to it that he is punished even if it takes me my lifetime to do so.’
Tamsin threw her arms around her nurse and cried, ‘Thank you, thank you, Martha! I am sure he would not. He is as honourable as his
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