The Midwife's Tale(28)

“What has happened?” asked Hannah.

“It appears the negotiations have broken down,” I said. “Quick. Get inside and bar the door. The rebels are attacking the city.”

* * *

For a few uneasy hours, Martha, Hannah, and I waited inside. We dared not venture out for news—if the rebels had breached the wall, ours would be among the first parishes to be overrun. I told Hannah to cook supper, joking that if the rebels came we might as well be well fed, but in truth I just wanted to keep her busy. My own mind dwelled on the horrible fate that awaited the city and my household if the rebels won the day. Would the city be burned or simply looted? I wondered if I would be able to protect Martha—her youth and beauty would inspire envy in many women, but if soldiers rampaged through the city, it could cost her dearly. I spent nearly an hour in prayer before a boy came to our street crying the news that the attack had been defeated and the city was saved. I gave thanks to the Lord and told Hannah to serve supper.

In the hours that followed, the news of what had happened gradually spread. As we’d feared, even as they negotiated with the King’s men, the rebels dug under our walls, and the explosion was the fruit of their efforts. Once they had blasted a hole in the wall, the question became who would control the breach. The rebel soldiers who clambered through the wall found themselves in the King’s Manor, on the same tennis courts and bowling greens where Edward and Phineas used to play. Blessedly, the King’s soldiers rushed to the breach and defeated the assault. Later, Edward told me that upward of forty rebels died in the attack and over two hundred more were captured.

After dinner, I retired to my chamber and reviewed the month’s rental receipts from some of my estates in Hereford. In the midst of this work, Hannah announced that my brother-in-law, Edward, was downstairs. I was surprised and more than a bit worried—a man of his stature did not often call upon others, preferring to do business on his own terms and in his own home. I closed my account book and descended to the parlor, a thousand possibilities racing through my head. Was the city in greater peril than it seemed? Had the Lord Mayor decided to surrender to the rebels? The loss of York would be a blow to the King’s cause, but the city would fare far better if it was handed over peacefully than taken by force.

Edward stood in the middle of the room, resplendent in a fine silk doublet. He gazed out the window at the city over which he wielded so much power. I wondered what he thought of the day’s events. I knew that his sympathies lay with the rebels, but he certainly would not want to see the city sacked. I did not envy his position between Scylla and Charybdis. When I entered the room, Edward turned and embraced me. We talked briefly of the attack before he changed the subject.

“Bridget, I need to speak to you in confidence.” I nodded. “Early this morning the Aldermen and Lord Mayor met at the Castle and tried Esther Cooper for murder.” I started to object, but he held up his hand. “There was nothing else to be done. The Lord Mayor and several Aldermen—Aldermen who are partial to the King, if you must know—demanded a trial. It was too vicious a crime to delay, particularly in the midst of a rebellion. I assure you that the proceedings were scrupulously fair.”

“And the verdict?” I asked, though I already knew. The politics of the moment meant that only one verdict was possible.

“I’m sure Will told you that the constable found a vial containing the same poison that killed Stephen in Esther’s cupboard. The evidence is clear. She is guilty, and she will die for her crime.” I felt anger rising within me, but I controlled the urge to lash out at Edward.

“How did she explain the ratsbane?”

“What do you mean?” His refusal to meet my gaze told me something was amiss.

“At her trial the constable must have testified about finding the ratsbane. It was the only evidence against her. How did she respond?”

He coughed softly and looked at his feet. He was as embarrassed as I’d ever seen him. “She did not appear at her trial. The evidence was so clear that the Lord Mayor deemed it unnecessary.”

At this I could no longer contain my fury. “Surely you are joking!” I shouted. “You establish a court with no legal basis, you leave Esther in gaol during her own trial, and then you sentence her to death?”

“What would you have had me do?” he protested. “And what difference would her presence have made? There was only one possible outcome.”

“And that excuses this charade?” I cried. “Edward, you know Esther. Surely you cannot believe she killed Stephen.”