The Witch Hunter's Tale(74)

I do not know how long I remained in Helen’s kitchen, or what she made of my sudden collapse. When I returned to her parlor, Helen and Martha were waiting for me as if nothing untoward had happened. Helen called for her maidservant, who returned a few minutes later with cups of wine. I dared not meet her eyes as I drank.

“I understand how you are feeling, Lady Bridget,” Helen said after a time. “But right now we should concern ourselves more with the future than with what is past. If we do not, Will and Tree will be caught up again.”

I glanced at her for a moment and nodded. “What do we need to do?”

“First we must secure ourselves,” she replied. “Under the best of circumstances, the constables would be desperate to find Will and Tree. With two guards dead, they will be rabid. And when Joseph Hodgson finds out his brother has escaped…” Her voice trailed off.

I finished her thought. “I can only imagine his fury.”

“Have the constables come to your house yet?” she asked.

“Aye. They saw your man Stephen. I said he was my cousin fallen ill with a fever. They seemed satisfied, but—”

“There is no telling how long the illusion will last,” Helen said. “If they realize someone was wounded, they will return all too soon. We will have to hide him as soon as possible.”

“I should like to hide Elizabeth as well,” I said.

Martha looked at me in surprise.

“I don’t want her out of my sight, but we have no choice,” I explained. “Joseph will have his revenge, and if he is willing to hang Tree as a witch, he would not hesitate to do the same to Elizabeth.”

“We can send both Stephen and Elizabeth to the tenement where I’ve hidden Will and Tree,” Helen said. “It will be crowded, but they will live.”

“It will not be so easy,” said Martha. “Joseph’s men are watching the house, and Stephen is weak.”

“And none but a blind man would miss Elizabeth,” I added. “Not with that hair.”

We sat in silence puzzling over the challenge before us. A solution came to me without warning.

“Elizabeth will not be pleased,” I said, “but if we can get Stephen back on his feet, I know how we can get them to safety.” I explained my plan, and Helen nodded in satisfaction.

“Stephen is stronger than you can imagine,” Helen said. “He will be walking before you would expect.”

“We can only hope that it’s soon enough,” I said.

“I’ll not tell you where Will and the boy are hidden,” Helen said. “It is safer that way. Stephen knows, and he can get there from your house.”

Martha and I wrapped ourselves in our threadbare cloaks and prepared to depart.

“Send word when they are safely away,” Helen said. “The next step will be to spirit them out of the city.”

“Thank you, Helen,” I said. “For everything you’ve done for me and mine.” I did not apologize for the hard words I’d spoken in the past, but I did not think I needed to.

She nodded and closed the door behind us.

“Hiding Elizabeth and Stephen Daniels will not bring peace,” Martha pointed out as we made our way toward Micklegate Bar. “It will simply give Joseph fewer options for revenge. If he cannot hang Tree or Will, and can no longer threaten Elizabeth, he will come for you.”

“For both of us,” I said. I thought for a moment. There seemed only one solution. “Once Elizabeth is safe, Hannah, you, and I will quit York for my estates in the south.”

It would be a hurried and ignominious departure, to be sure, and I hated the thought of abandoning the city I’d come to call my home. But we would be safe in Hereford, and for now that was my only concern.

Martha and I hurried north through the gate and into the city. The Town Watch were still searching carts and questioning all men and boys trying to leave, and I said a prayer that the Lord would keep Will and Tree safe when the time came for them to flee.

When we turned from Stonegate onto my street, Martha and I pulled our hoods low over our heads to hide our faces. From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the man who had been set to watch my house. He paid us no mind as we passed.

When we arrived at my door, I reached for the handle, but Martha stayed my hand. “Beggars would knock,” she pointed out.

Despite all that had happened that day, the look of surprise on Hannah’s face when she answered our knock brought a smile to my lips. Martha and I hurried into the house, and when I looked back at our sentry’s alleyway it remained empty.

“It seems that we escaped the guard’s notice,” I said. “Now let us see how Stephen fares, and make plans for his escape.”