“‘There is the castle of Middleham, Edward. It is no more than a league now to Jervaulx. We shall not pause here.’
I had expected my spirits to rise as we approached the place that held so many happy memories for me. Of that long summer when first I had met Alys, Roger and Ed, and we had formed the Order. Those cosy autumn evenings in the company of Duke Richard and his family. The innocent days of that final spring before the duke’s life was turned upside down – and with it, my own. Yet, to my surprise, Lord Francis’s words caused me no regret. Not only my friends’ mood, but my own, was subdued as we trotted along the road into the outskirts of the village.
Our despondency was echoed throughout the company. Song had often broken out from one group of riders or another to speed our way that day. Not now. We drew near the market square with its well-remembered stone cross in silence, bar the clatter of horses’ hooves. To either side, cottage doors opened as we passed, and townsfolk peered out or emerged to stand and watch us without a sound. Men and boys returning from the fields also lingered along our way, gazing up at us, expressionless. Above all, the immense outer wall of the castle loomed.
The main gateway was barricaded by the massive wooden drawbridge, hauled up from its usual place lying flat across the deep moat. The entrance no longer offered us its old welcome. This once-loved home turned a blank, unseeing face towards us. A breeze swept down from the hills beyond, chilling me.”
Two days to go …
Alex Marchant is author of two books telling the story of the real King Richard III for children aged 10+, The Order of the White Boar and The King’s Man, and a third in the sequence, King in Waiting, which continues the adventures of the young members of the Order in the following years. A fourth book, Sons of York, will be published 26 June 2022.
Alex is also editor of Grant Me the Carving of My Name and Right Trusty and Well Beloved…, two anthologies of short fiction inspired by King Richard, sold in support of Scoliosis Association UK (SAUK).
Alex has also published a standalone timeslip novel for readers aged 10+, Time out of Time, relating the adventures of Allie Turner through a doorway into history found under layers of old wallpaper at ancient Priory Farm.
Alex’s books can be found on Amazon at:
My Twitter handle and Matthew Wansford’s
Instagram: AlexMarchantAuthor
The Order of the White Boar 