Tale of the Soldier's Wife

2

2

Jean heard a crow squawk and looked up to see it fly past her and then stop to rest on a branch of the nearest tree.

She knew she was in a dream and she looked around in search of Joe. “Joe is late,” she whispered to herself. “He should be here by now.”

Jean looked around again and jumped. Steve was sitting with her on a rock. “We’re too early. Don’t worry, he’ll be here shortly,” Steve said in a reassuring tone.

Jean thought hard but she couldn’t remember why they were waiting for Joe. She looked closely at Steve and saw he was dressed in baggy breeches, a torn shirt, and shabby boots.

“We’ll miss him when he joins up,” Steve said in an accent that Jean recognized as an old English accent.

Suddenly, Jean remembered they were going to town for Joe to join King Henry the VIII’s army.

“Aye that we will, he was a right old laugh,” Jean said in reply to Steve, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. Poking her feet in the dirt, she added, “He might back out before we get to town.”

“Maybe,” Steve said, simply.

Jean looked around at the green rolling hills surrounding them with an odd oak tree a short distance away. They were in a valley with a dirt road running beside the small river that went through the valley. She heard a familiar whistle and she and Steve jerked their heads up at once.

“That’ll be him all right,” they both said in unison as they got off the rock and looked up the valley.

“Look at him! He’s as happy as a pig in s**t,” Steve said jovially. “You wouldn’t think he’s off to war.”

“I heard that!” shouted Joe. “There will be no war when those Yorkie’s see our army.”

“Our army?” Jean yelled incredulously. “And there’s me thinking it was King Henry’s army.”

The banter felt familiar to Jean, enjoyable even.

“You’ve had your hair cut,” Steve said, laughing and pointing his finger at Joe’s short hair.

“Aye, Ma says I can’t go looking like a girl.”

Jean played along. She was half-aware that this was only a dream and nothing more but it felt too real to do anything but live in the moment and become part of the adventure.

“He’s even got his Sunday best on,” Jean remarked to Steve. It was the first time she had seen Joe as a young man in her dreams and it was thoroughly exciting. Her subconscious told her she was an English farm girl and Jean gladly fell into character. In this dream, Joe wasn’t as tall as Steve but Jean knew the boys were the same age: nineteen, while she was eighteen and aching for an adventure.

“And I will have my Sunday best on for you two tomorrow,” Joe said with a wink.

“We’ll all have our Sunday best on tomorrow, won’t we, Jean?” Steve put his arm around her. “You will be Mrs. Jean Bateman this time tomorrow.”

“Oh, aye. Mrs. Bateman; that’s who I’ll be from tomorrow on.”

“And I’ll be your best man,” Joe said with a big grin, “and next week I will be Commander Joe Wiggins, off to war to sort those rebels out up in Yorkshire.”

The intended couple laughed heartily and Jean said, “Don’t be silly, Joe. Nobody’s ever made Commander on their first day, and I think you mean Corporal.

“Huh, shows how much he knows, anyway they may not even sign you up. Don’t you think you might be a wee bit too short?” Steve asked, teasingly.

“Let’s go find out, friends,” Joe said with utmost confidence. “I believe I’m as tall as the next man.”

“Oh, let’s do that,” Steve said, smiling and putting his arm around his friend and his would-be bride. “Come on, Jean girl, we are going to town to make a soldier out of our friend Joe.”

Calcot town was three miles down the valley, but in Jean’s dream it only took two short breaths and they were there amongst the crowd.

They could hear drums and the tin whistles of the soldiers as they marched up to the market square. There was a Sergeant in front with six soldiers behind him. Two of them were beating the drums furiously and the other four were trying to play some kind of tune on the whistles. They stopped abruptly and the Sergeant began to read out the writings on the scroll.

He read to them that the rebellious citizens of York had taken over the city of York and its castle, and that King Henry wanted it back and he was going to take it by force. King Henry also expected that the young men of England would march with him to take back the castle and hang the heads of those rebels on spikes outside the gates of the castle. The Sergeant declared at some point that every young man should be extremely proud to be asked to join the King’s army.

Jean didn’t make much out of the Sergeant’s reading for he spoke in a very thick accent. She didn’t mind though; for she was too busy looking around as she had never seen so many people in the town.

The Sergeant finished his speech by saying, “All those who think they are man enough to be soldiers in the King’s Army, come forward and sign up. Follow me to the Fox and Hounds Inn where I will take your names.”

The band started playing again and Jean could feel the excitement running through the crowd as they all cheered. The three of them marched behind the soldiers, with the younger kids running ahead and the older kids trying to march like the soldiers.

The next thing Jean knew, they were going home, walking back up the valley. “Well you’ve gone and done it now,” Steve said, patting Joe on the head. “You daft bat,” he shook his head, “you’re a Kings man now.”

“Well, I have to go up to Richmond next week and join Lord Rupert Davenport’s regiment, or I could go down to Marlborough and join up with Lord Seth Bedford’s regiment; they’re camped in a field in the village of Manton.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Jean said with interest, for she liked to hear about other towns and villages.

“Me neither,” Joe said, shrugging. “I asked the Sergeant and he said to take the west road and I could easily be there in a couple of days walk. Lord Davenport is going up the east coast and Lord Bedford is going up the west coast; they’re both recruiting men as they go. So, I’ve chosen Richmond because it’s closer. The sooner I get there, the better, just as the Sergeant said. The more training I get before we set off on the march, the better it will be for me.”

“I wish I was a boy, I’d join up with you.” Those were Jean’s true feelings, and she said it a little sadly.

“Don’t be daft,” Steve said as he tried not to laugh, “you’re just a girl.”

“Don’t you want to go with Joe on an adventure?” Jean asked, placing her hand on her hips. “Joe is going up to Richmond, that’s nearly London and then he’ll be going all the way up to York City to sort out those rebels. He’ll pass through village after village, town after town. None of us have ever been out of this valley.”

“I’m a farmer’s boy and I’d like to keep it that way. Besides, if I went off with Joe then I wouldn’t be able to marry you...” he smiled shyly, “and that’s what I want most in the world: for you to be my wife.”

Jean had to smile back. A thought popped into her mind and she voiced it, “But you could marry me, join up and I could come with you. Lots of soldiers take their wives with them.”

Steve only laughed dismissively.

By now, they had gotten to the road where Joe would leave them. “Friends, I’m off. I’ll leave you two to it and I’ll see you both tomorrow. Try not to do anything naughty; I’d keep that for tomorrow night if I were you two,” Joe said with a wave.

“Too late for that, I’ve already had my hand in the honeypot.”

Jean gave him a sharp poke in the ribs with her elbow. “Any more talk like that and I’ll wash your mouth out with a bar of soap.

“She’s sounding more like a mother than a wife to be,” Joe said with a laugh. “Perhaps you should come with me, Steve? It may be safer than marriage.”

Jean and Steve laughed heartily at the remark.

“I’ll see you in the morning. Now go.” Steve said, throwing a stone lightly at Joe. “And don’t be late.”

“He better not be late again or I’ll brain him, it’s our wedding.” Jean said sternly.

Jean was rocking sideways; she was riding in a wagon pulled by two horses and driven by Steve.

“We got plenty of time,” Steve said, as he went around the bend.

Sitting in plain sight was Joe, and Steve brought the horses to a halt.

“You are late, I thought you had seen sense, and decided to join the King’s men and had set out early for Richmond,” Joe said as he climbed up onto the wagon.

“That will be enough of that kind of talk unless you want a thick ear,” Jean said and wagged her finger at him. Jean was happy at the thought of getting married but at the same time, she was sad Joe was joining the army.

“I was talking to you, Jean, not him,” Joe said. “He wouldn’t run away to join up, not when he’s got his first wedding night to look forward too.” The three of them giggled as they rocked their way down the valley.

A few minutes of the wagon’s rocking and Joe sighed.

“I don’t know why you couldn’t get married at the village chapel, instead of dragging us all the way down to Brent,” Joe moaned.

“My mother is from Brent and she was married there. My grandma still lives there and will be expecting us.”

Jean’s head was rocking back and forth with the motion of the wagon and she smiled slightly as Steve said, “My mother won’t be there because my father’s ill and there’s no one to look after him and the kids.

“All the more reason to get married here, not in Brent,” Joe said.

Joe was about to complain some more when two women stepped out from behind some bushes and stood right in the middle of the road.

Steve stopped the horses abruptly and Joe demanded, “What in God’s name is going on?”

The older woman said, “We heard you were getting married, Steve Bateman, and we’re sure glad we didn’t miss you. You can chuck those two off the wagon and help me and poor Emily up.”

“Go to hell, woman!” Steve bellowed back at her just as her two sons came riding double out of the trees on an old horse.

“You got our Emily in the family way, so you can damn well marry her,” one of the boys said, with menace in his eyes.

Emily’s mother got hold of the reins of the horses and said, “Now tell that b***h to piss off, your duty is to our Emily.”

Steve was furious and he stared wildly at her. “I haven’t seen Emily for the last eight months, and so if she’s with child, it isn’t mine.”

Steve jumped down and yanked the woman’s hands off the reins. “Now get out of my way, woman.”

“Get your hands off our Ma,” the oldest son shouted, as both sons quickly dismounted the old horse, one after another.

Steve glared at Emily’s brothers. “You two don’t frighten me; one of you more than likely got your sister pregnant.”

“You can’t talk about our Emily like that,” the old woman said, raising her hand to hit Steve.

Steve fended off the blow quite easily and gave her a good push. “Get out of our way, I’m going to marry Jean and you lot can’t stop me.”

The old woman made to hit Steve again and again he countered and shoved her harder this time. She toppled over backward and there was a sickening crack as her head smashed into a stone lying innocently on the roadside.

There was a short moment of silence as everyone saw the stone turn red almost immediately and then multiple sounds erupted. Emily screamed wildly, her brothers groaned in pain, saying, “Mother, Mother!”

Jean’s hands went to her mouth as she silently mouthed, “Oh my God!”

The boys shook their mother in an attempt to wake her up but their attempts only bloodied their hands; the old woman didn’t budge.

Joe, who up until this moment had been still and silent, suddenly leaped into action and grabbed the reins.

“Hold tight,” he advised Jean and with a flick of the reins he had the horses moving. With a second flick, he had them going at a trot past the unpleasant scene.

“Steve, are you coming?” Joe shouted at Steve as they passed by.

It took a few seconds for Steve to regain his composure and realize he had to be out of there. Willing his feet into running, he chased after the wagon and jumped onto its back.

“Oh Steve, what are we going to do? That woman is dead,” Jean said, mortified.

“I only just pushed her!” Steve said defensively as he clambered over to get closer to his friends and he had to hold on tight; the horses were going at a steady gallop.

“She dead allright, accident or no,” Joe said matter-of-factly.

“And those sons of hers are sure going to kill you as sure as it’s Sunday tomorrow.”

“Steve, what are we going to do?” Jean asked as tears began to run down her pretty face.

“I don’t know, run I suppose.” Steve looked behind and his sharp eyes saw the brothers wave their fists angrily, then jump on their horse and give chase. “By God, they’re coming!”

“I think we should go with Joe up to Richmond,” Jean suggested in a fit of panic as they bounced along. “And the three of us can join up.”

“Don’t be daft, Jean. We’re not married yet and they won’t take you unless you’re with your husband.” Suddenly a plan popped into Steve’s head. “Right, this is what we’re going to do.” He took a deep breath. “There’s a junction up ahead, Joe you stop the wagon there and you and Jean go on to Brent while I go on to Richmond.”

“I reckon it’d be better if we stick together,” Joe said, looking over his shoulder. “Me and you might be able to take them.”

Steve looked at Joe like he had gone mad. “What?! You know how good they are in a fight, and they’re not afraid to use knives. No, just follow my plan; I’ll go up ahead to Richmond and join up under your name; I’m going to be Joe Wiggins. And if those brothers follow me and ask for Steve Bateman up there, then they won’t find me.”

Joe and Jean said nothing. It hit them at once that the plan could actually work for even if Emily’s brothers didn’t succeed in killing him, they’d make sure Steve was brought to justice and the normal practice was to hang murderers.

Steve looked at his friend and whispered, “Joe, I want you to do me a big favor.”

“Of course, anything, if you want to use my name to get away, you do it, what are friends...?”

“I want you to look after Jean until this war is over. I believe we’ll meet again.”

“Of course, I’ll look after her, but you can’t come back to the village, that family will want you hanged for murder.”

“I know I am a wanted man now, that’s why I want you to take Jean to Brent and marry her under my name.”

“What?!” Joe shouted and gave him a startled look. “Are you off your head?”

Jean said nothing. She was just as shocked as Joe, and she didn’t know if their horses would give in before the old horse the two brothers were riding. She wasn’t sure but they seemed to be gaining on them slightly and that was not a good thing. She was afraid of losing Steve on her wedding day, but now, his life was in grave danger so she listened to the two of them make plans, ready to agree to whatever they came up with.

“It can be done, Joe,” Steve said, trying to convince his friend. “Jean’s grandma is the only one in the church that knows Jean and she’s never seen me, so you marry Jean and get all the papers signed. And then you make your way down to Hampshire and join up under the name of Steve Bateman. Show them your marriage papers and tell them that you want to take your wife with you.”

Joe looked at Jean to see if she understood. She didn’t utter a word of protest; she simply bowed her head and cried, and Joe said, “Look here, you can’t ask me to marry Jean and pretend to be her husband? That would be torture for any man.”

“It wouldn’t be torture for you Joe because you’d be bedding my wife; I’ll be the one going through torture waiting to meet back up with you.”

Jean looked up, unsure if she had heard Steve correctly. Joe slowed the horses down and Steve called to her over the noise of their galloping feet.

“Jean girl, you know how much I love you and want to be with you, but right now I’m a wanted man. If I’m caught, I’ll be hung for sure. So I want you to be a wife to Joe just as you would to me, and when we meet up again the three of us will find a nice village to settle down, and then I can be your husband, Steve, and Joe can go back to being our friend.”

“And how in God’s name do you think that will work?” Jean asked with raised eyebrows.

“You both have my blessing to live as husband and wife until this war is over. I know if you join the march, Joe won’t be able to look after you all the time, and there’ll be men that’ll do anything to get you into bed. So, you do whatever you’ve got to do to survive, even if it means bedding half the army. All I ask is that you think of me when they make love to you and I promise I won’t think the worst of you. I’ll know you did it all only to be reunited with me.”

After a steep bend, Joe finally pulled the horses to a stop at a fork in the road. There was a sign with two arrows on the road. The arrow on the right was inscribed with the words, ‘Brent Town’, while the sign on the left simply said, ‘London’.

Steve quickly took the reins and watched as Joe and Jean jumped down.

“Run and hide in the woods until they pass,” Steve said urgently. “They’ll follow the wagon tracks. I love you, Jean!” He whipped the horses.

“I love you, Steve,” Jean said, almost choking with tears.

Joe shouted after Steve as he rode away. “Are you sure it’s all right for us to sleep together?”

“What are friends for?” came the echoing reply.

Joe firmly held Jean’s hand in a firm, protective grip and ran with her through the woods. Jean was out of breath and she closed her eyes as she fought for air. When she opened them, they were standing in front of an inn, still holding hands.