Chapter 35
Tatscombe Hall, Wealdshire. 1517
'Chris! Josie!' called Elizabeth. 'Come hither. You need hide in the trees no longer.'
The twins left the place where they had been waiting for Elizabeth and stepped out into the open. Waiting for them was not just Elizabeth, but Sarah as well. 'Sarah!' they both cried, and raced across the grass to greet her. Josie gave her a big hug — and Chris gave her an even-bigger hug. In fact, it went on for so long that Josie looked at her watch (and Elizabeth would have done likewise if she'd had one).
When Chris had come up for air, Josie asked where everyone was. 'Have they all gone out? We're in full view of the house here.'
'Simon is not at home — but more of that later. My mother and father are here, though. See, Father is waving at the window.'
The twins looked to where Elizabeth was pointing and couldn't believe their eyes. If it wasn't Henry VIII who was giving them a wave, it was certainly someone who shared his taste for clothes.
'Can you believe this?' asked Chris incredulously.
'No, I can't,' Josie laughed. 'You must tell as all that has happened, Elizabeth. I assume that all's well that end's well — to quote someone who won't be born for another few years.'
'Indeed, all is well. I had not intended to tell Father about you, but . . . it was difficult to leave you out.'
'That's okay,' said Chris cheerfully. 'I guess this means that we'll get to meet him.'
'Aye. He insists that we go to the parlour forthwith. While we walk I will tell thee all that has happened.'
Elizabeth related how her father had summoned her and her mother to the parlour to hear what Simon had to say. Her brother had not mentioned the events of the previous evening, but simply said that God had spoken to him and told him that he had to confess his sins and change his ways. Sir James had almost burst a blood vessel when he had heard how Simon had tried to sell the silver goblet and had been willing to let others take the blame. 'Thou art a wastrel!' he had bellowed. 'Thou art no son of mine. May a pestilence smite you down that you may die afore thou hast committed more evil acts.'
Simon had gone to such great lengths to assure his father that he was truly a reformed character, and wished to spend the rest of his life thanking God for sparing him, that Sir James had ordered him to go at once to the monastery at Kingsbourne and become a monk.
'Will that be a hard life for him?' Josie asked.
Elizabeth laughed. 'Harder than that to which he is accustomed. I know not how he will be able to wake in time for Lauds at dawn.'
'Lords at dawn?' queried Chris, 'Who are they when they're at home?'
Elizabeth was getting used to Chris's strange manner of speaking. 'Lauds is the first mass of the day. Then there is Prime, Tierce, Sext at noon, Nones, Vespers at sunset, Compline and, finally, Matins at midnight.'
Please don't let my brother make any silly comments about Sext at noon, Josie prayed.
'Cripes,' muttered Chris, 'With all that praying there ain't much time for kipping.'
'Nor for sleeping,' added Elizabeth, much to Chris's amusement.
'And how are you?' Chris asked Sarah. 'Glad that you're no longer under suspicion?'
'Aye, Chris, but I am worried about my brother, Caleb.'
'Of course! I'd forgotten about him. Sorry. We'll have to think of a way of trying to find him.'
'That is one of the things which Father wishes to discuss with you,' said Elizabeth. 'We must not tarry. He awaits us.'
If Sir James reminded the twins of Henry VIII, Lady Jane could easily have passed for one of his wives in her long, embroidered gown with its voluminous sleeves. Chris did very well not to giggle at Sir James's hose, for it wasn't often that he had seen a middle-aged man wearing tights which revealed every lump and bump between feet and thighs. I wouldn't be seen dead in those, he thought, and why's he wearing his cap indoors?
Sir James made no move towards the visitors, but simply stared at them as if they were naughty children who had been brought to his study to receive a reprimand. 'So these are my imps!' he roared. 'What have you to say for yourselves?'
Josie and Chris looked at Sir James. Then they looked at each other. And then they looked at Elizabeth and Sarah. When they saw that the two girls were about to explode with laughter, they looked back at Sir James. He did explode. He guffawed and chortled and chuckled and hooted so much that he had to stagger back to his chair. 'I must sit,' he gasped. 'I have not laughed so much in years. The priest was right when he said 'twas a jest.'
'I am sorry that we scared you, sir,' said Chris meekly. 'We meant you no harm.'
'No harm! Zounds! Thou hast done me no harm. On the contrary, thou hast done me some good. My eyes have been opened and I now see the true nature of those around me.' He held out his hand to Sarah. 'If thou hast forgiven me child, wouldst thou go to the kitchen and fetch a tray of sweetmeats for our imps?' He looked at the twins again. 'Imps on magic hobby horses,' he spluttered, and began to split his sides again. 'There has not been as much mirth in this house since Lady Jane found a mouse in her bed.'
For the first time since the teenagers had entered the parlour, Lady Jane spoke. 'You are a wicked man, sir. You must not shame me by telling our guests that tale, or I shall be forced to tell them about the time when you were in your cups after drinking strong ale and mounted your horse with your face to its tail.'
'A truce, dear wife, I beg of you. Say no more or our young friends will think we are both quite mad.'
When Sarah arrived with the cakes and pastries, Sir James bade everyone eat their fill. Between mouthfuls he told the twins that his son had left for the monastery at Kingsbourne. 'He told us that God had made him change his ways. I think it more likely that a pair of imps threatened him with divers penalties if he did not confess his sins.'
Josie gazed at the ceiling in mock innocence while Chris tried to dismiss the image of a policeman handing out speeding tickets on the seabed.
'Ho-ho. I am not so easily fooled. Thou canst tell me later what wicked japes thou didst employ to petrify my poor son.' Sir James's grin disappeared and he became serious. 'Now, we have an important mission to undertake. We must find young Caleb. Elizabeth tells me that you think you have seen him.'
Chris opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by a glare from Josie.
'Yes, Sir James, we think we spotted him near where some charcoal burners had been — didn't we Chris?'
'Uh . . . yes. That's right.' Chris had just realised why Josie had glared at him, and felt rather foolish that he had almost put his foot in it by mentioning the letter. 'I um . . . have a map on my . . . hobby horse . . . I will go and fetch it.'
Chris ran outside and took the map from his bike which was still parked amongst the trees. When he had spread it out on a table in the parlour, he wondered whether it would be any use as it showed many features which did not exist in 1517. In fact, when he realised that they had not told anyone that they came from the future, he wondered whether showing them the map at all was a wise move.
He explained that the green areas were woods and forests. He pointed out Blackfriars Wood, Tatscombe Hall and the River Ouse to the north, and said that he thought Caleb had run down into the river valley. When there was no response from anyone, he looked up at Sir James. There was total bewilderment on his face.
It wasn't the fact that the map was in glorious colour which was puzzling Sir James — but the scarcity of green areas. 'Where is The Great Wood?' he demanded to know.
Chris didn't know what to say. He couldn't say that The Great Wood had disappeared without letting it be known that the map was from the future. He gave Josie a please-help-me look.
'I think you'll have to tell him,' she sighed.
'Okay.' Chris took a deep breath. 'This map shows what the area will look like five hundred years from now. The Great Wood will have disappeared.'
'Disappeared!' repeated Sir James. 'How canst a forest disappear? This cannot be. I fear your map does not foretell the future accurately. How can any man know what will happen in years to come.'
'Sir James,' Josie said meekly, 'You will not believe what I am about to tell you — but it is God's truth. Chris and I come from the future. We found a way to travel through time. We live here.' She pointed to Swainshurst on the map. 'Blackfriars Wood and Stumblefrith Forest are all that remain of The Great Wood.'
There was a stunned silence in the room. Josie and Chris wondered if they should have said nothing. Could these people really accept what they were being told. How would the twins feel if someone turned up in their house and calmly said that he came from the twenty-fifth century?
When Sir James's eyebrows had finally returned to where they belonged, he tried to speak, but seemed to have difficulty finding the right words. He slumped into his chair and stared at the twins. 'I know not what to think. What you have said is far too fantastical to be true yet, I see in your eyes that are telling the truth.' He closed his eyes for a moment and then asked, almost inaudibly, 'What has become of the forest?'
Chris felt sorry for the old chap — he looked so devastated — and Chris knew that he was responsible. But he felt that he had to tell the truth. 'It was gradually cut down over the years,' he said, 'to make space for fields and roads and houses.'
Sir James shook his head in disbelief. He looked at his wife. 'A moment ago, my dear, I said that our young friends might think us mad. Now I think that all of humanity is mad.' He looked back at Chris. 'I will dream bad dreams from this day on but, 'tis no matter. I will talk with you later about these unbelievable things you have told me. Now let us plan how to find Caleb. The river is certainly a likely hiding place for the young rascal.'
Sir James found it hard to keep his mind on the subject of how to find Caleb. Everything in the world around him suddenly seemed threatened by what these curious strangers had told him. It was hard for him to believe that they could have come from the future. But when he looked at the map, he knew it must be true, for it was impossible that such a document could have been produced by printers in his own time.
Without much input from Sir James, it was decided that he and the men in his employment should not take part in the search for, if Caleb, saw them, he would think that they wished to arrest him. The search party would consist of Elizabeth, Sarah and the twins. As Sarah had never ridden, she would share Elizabeth's horse. The twins would take their mountain bikes.
Chris thought of an idea. 'Caleb does not know us and may be frightened if he sees us.'
'Indeed he may,' laughed Sir James, remembering his impish encounter.
'So we can get Elizabeth and Sarah to record their voices using my box. Josie and I can play the tape and Caleb, if he hears it, will think the girls are calling him.'
'I have heard of this box,' said Sir James. 'It lends weight to your story that you are from a time which has yet to come — although I still cannot believe this to be possible.'
As Chris prepared to fold the map, Sir James made a request. 'Pray, leave yon map with me. I wish to see more of what is to become of our land.'
'It's not quite as bad as you think — in our time, I mean,' said Chris. 'We may not have many trees but . . . we do have other things which . . .' He was trying to think of a list of advantages of twentieth-century life, but he wasn't sure if anything, apart from good hospitals, would actually sound like an advancement to Sir James.
'I see that my house still stands. Perhaps that will help me sleep at night — 'twill put me in a good humour to know that my children's children will live in this house which I love.'
It was two hours later that the party returned with a tired and grubby Caleb. They had set off to find the clearing where the charcoal burners had been working, but an idea had occurred to Sarah on the way. She wondered if Caleb had made his way to Aunt Alice's house and had sought sanctuary there.
'Her home is not far from the river,' she had said. 'I think we should go there first.'
'Good idea,' Chris had agreed. 'You lead the way and we'll follow.
If Caleb was over the moon when the friendly faces arrived at Aunt Alice's house, he was over the sun to hear that he was no longer suspected of theft, and over every star in the firmament when Elizabeth had told him that the letter from Robin had been found and returned to her. He was very wary of the two strangers, though, with their curious clothes and peculiar way of speaking but, seeing that his sister had such a high regard for them, he forced himself to be civil to them. Aunt Alice, on the other hand, treated the twins as if there was nothing at all unusual about them — until she spotted the bracelet, that is.
She placed a hand on the manacle and closed her eyes. 'I see a man,' she said. 'He is holding a bird — nay, two birds. This man is lost — he knows not what to do. He hath guilt in his eyes but love in his heart. One day, you may trust this man — but not yet. There is another. As through a mist, I see a girl. She hath long hair — black as night. The mist is going. A golden light shines all about her. She has the gift.'
While Aunt Alice was delivering what the twins assumed was a psychic message, they looked around to see how the others were reacting. Elizabeth was the only one showing any surprise, although not much. Caleb and Sarah showed no concern whatsoever. The twins were even more perplexed when Aunt Alice opened her eyes and, without any reference to either the bracelet or the message, asked if anyone would like some refreshment. It was as if receiving images and messages from inanimate objects was an everyday occurrence to her. The twins exchanged glances but said nothing. Neither of them had any idea of the identity of the man and girl she had spoken of.
Josie was fascinated by Aunt Alice's little house. She examined the bunches of herbs hanging up to dry and held them to her nose to appreciate the many different fragrances. She looked at the huge collection of pots and jars and wondered about the properties of their mysterious contents. She took in the low ceiling, the smoking fire with the cauldron suspended above it, the tiny windows, and the roughly-daubed walls. She felt she could have stayed there all day and was almost disappointed when Aunt Alice announced that they ought to take Caleb home before Sir James sent out another search party.
As soon as Sir James saw the party approaching the door, he rushed out to greet them. Caleb was more than a little surprised to receive a hug from his master — such a thing being unheard of.
'I am truly sorry,' Sir James said. 'Both you and your sister have been wronged.' He released Caleb and spread his arms wide to encompass all five teenagers. 'Tonight we will have a feast. We have much to celebrate.'
'What day is it?' Josie asked Chris as they made their way back to the time gate.
'Uh . . . I dunno. I'm completely confused. Saturday, isn't it?'
'Hmmm. Probably. But we've spent so much time in 1517 this weekend that it could easily be Tuesday.'
'At least there's no school on Monday. A whole week off! We can have a lie in tomorrow and then go to tonight's little rave-up on Monday.'
'We can go to tonight's rave-up on Monday? Weird, eh? Are you going to bring your stereo back with you? It might be cool to have some music.'
'That's a great idea. I should have left it there instead of bringing it back now. What music shall we take?'
'I think Dad has got some tapes of Tudor music. They might be appreciated a bit more than jungle music. Hey, what did you make of Aunt Alice? Bit of a weird old bird, wasn't she?'
'I tell you, she certainly had me going. I was gobsmacked when she touched your bracelet and started coming out with all that stuff about men with birds and girls with long, black hair.'
'I thought you liked girls with black hair,' Josie teased.
'I do, but I've got enough girls to think about.'
'That reminds me,' said Josie, 'We'll have to find out if Sir James will let Elizabeth see Robin again.'
Chris yawned. 'There's the time gate. Thank God for that. I'm knackered. I don't know what time it is at home, but I'm going straight to bed when we get there.'