Page 25 of A Fire in Their Hearts

F OUR MEN HAVE ESCAPED BY pretending to be dead and being taken away by the gravediggers.

We no longer have any involvement in this and generally watch on from a distance that allows us to hear and see what’s happening but doesn’t implicate us in any way should the ploy be discovered.

For a while we weren’t certain if these prisoners were subsequently killed by the gravediggers, but then we received a message via one of the women who regularly brings food which confirmed that men are getting away alive.

Violet shivers, despite the fierce heat that’s beaten down upon us without mercy these last few weeks. I put a hand on her brow.

‘You’re hot.’

‘I feel cold.’

Even the strongest amongst us can’t avoid the fevers and diseases that increasingly race throughout the enclosure.

The air seems trapped within our high prison walls and it’s so fetid there’s almost a sense of evil about it, as if breathing will allow something unwholesome to enter one’s lungs.

Everyone is so desperately thin, our bodies covered in sores from lying on hard, dusty ground, and our voices are cracked like our lips.

‘Another attempt,’ says Calum, joining us to observe from our safe spot.

The gravediggers have arrived, and the gates are opened. This morning there is only one dead body. Loading more than two on the handcart would make it even more difficult for a person to pretend they’re not alive.

‘Do you know them?’ says Violet.

‘The one with the brown hair is Giles,’ Calum replies. ‘He refused to sign the Black Bond.’

‘The authorities are still offering it,’ says Samuel. ‘There are those who may yet accept.’

We watch as Giles is lifted by his friends, taken through the gates and laid gently on the cart. The same men come back and carry out the dead body, which they lay alongside. As they turn away there is a loud moan that freezes everyone to the spot in shock.

‘You miserable moaning traitor!’ shouts the corporal.

We look on in horror as he pulls out his sword and sticks it into the side of the second figure. The soldiers laugh and call out encouragement to stab the other one as well.

‘Dear God, no,’ whispers Violet.

The corporal pulls out the blade, hesitates as if he’s an actor entertaining an audience, then plunges the blade into Giles, who cries out in agony, pushing himself away and falling to the ground.

‘He’s alive! Kill the bastard! And those who carried him.’

Suddenly there’s mayhem as people scatter, rushing away from the gates while the wounded Covenanter crawls along the ground.

Shots are fired. One man falls. Another is hit but staggers on.

We run, although not before I catch a glimpse of a private thrusting his sword into the back of Giles crawling in the dirt in a bid for a freedom he could have had for uttering a few words and signing his name.

*?*?*

Four days after the failed escape attempt by Giles, Violet and I walk around the enclosure, discussing the strange tension in the air this morning. Since taking on her disguise we haven’t been able to show each other any affection and we hadn’t appreciated how difficult or unnatural this would be.

‘It’s odd that the soldiers seem so nervous,’ she says. ‘And look how many more there are than usual.’

We’re close to the gates and I see clearly what she means. ‘They’re about to enter.’

As we move away there’s the sound of the gates being opened behind us and large numbers of soldiers entering.

We don’t stop until we’re at the far wall, from where we watch a captain move slowly amongst the Covenanters, obviously asking questions before moving on.

He stops to speak to my father, who then comes over to us, his face almost lit with joy.

‘Father, what’s happening?’ I ask.

‘Samuel .?.?. Violet .?.?. God calls me along with four others, including the Reverend Kidd and Reverend King. It will be a privilege to be amongst such men in my journey to Heaven. I know you’ll take care of each other, as well as Hamish and Calum.

You’ll need to find a greater inner strength than you’ve ever known, but never doubt that our cause is right.

The soldiers have orders that five named individuals are to be taken to the Grassmarket. ’

‘Oh God!’ I almost collapse into my father’s embrace. ‘No .?.?. no.’

Calum runs over to us, tears pouring freely down his face. The four of us hug each other, a tiny group of utter despair.

‘How has it come to this?’ sobs Calum.

We pull away from each other to speak, and Father turns first to Violet.

‘Violet, you’ve always been like a daughter to me.’

‘And you a father.’

‘Calum .?.?. my dear son. We’ll meet again when there is no hunger, no fear or pain.’

Calum is so distraught he can’t reply. Violet takes him in her arms to comfort him, just as Father and I stare at each other.

‘I don’t want you to face this alone,’ I tell him, sounding hoarse and hopeless. ‘If there’s any chance that I can at least be with you, then I will come.’

‘You’ve proved your courage many times, Samuel, but this is not a sight for you to see. And I won’t be alone, not for one second.’

‘Samuel,’ says Violet, ‘they’re coming.’

Father embraces me then walks away, calling out with his clear, authoritative voice as though he’s stepped into a pulpit and is about to give a sermon. ‘I am the Reverend Colvil and the threat of death holds no fear for me.’

Soldiers bind his hands. It’s a scene being repeated around us.

Some people cry and shout out, but most are quiet, as if this fate is both expected and accepted.

The five condemned men appear serene, a couple of them making comments between themselves.

The captain in charge has been in here before and, without giving Violet the chance to stop me, I stride over to him.

A nearby soldier levels his musket, which I ignore.

‘Captain, if you are to hang my father this day, I ask that I can accompany him so that I may stand by the gallows and offer some comfort by my presence.’

‘Those are not my orders.’

I consider I’ve nothing to lose by making a guess. ‘But you don’t actually have orders saying you can’t allow it, and to have witnesses who can report back to those left here may be useful to you.’

‘What’s your name?’

‘Samuel Colvil. My father is the Reverend Colvil.’

The captain nods at the familiar name. ‘Private, help those men.’

‘Yes, sir.’ The private marches away, leaving the two of us alone.

‘I’ll allow five men to be witnesses. Your hands will be bound.’

‘I understand. I have one more request.’

‘You expect a lot for a rebel.’

‘My younger brother, Calum – the blond man over there – he will want to come. I ask you as a man who no doubt has some family yourself .?.?. please don’t let him. He wouldn’t recover from it. Don’t doubt his braveness, but there are some things—’

‘You may think us evil, Samuel Colvil, but we follow our orders as soldiers in the king’s army.

I know there are some who carry out those orders too .

.?. eagerly. But we are not all like that, and I dare say there are men amongst those you follow who are too eager, like those who murdered Archbishop Sharp. ’

I don’t disagree with his observation, yet can’t bring myself to say so. ‘Many say that we Covenanters are traitors. We’re not. We follow our beliefs and, certainly at the start of this war, we had no ill will towards the king.’

He nods. ‘Wars are brutal. Civil wars the most brutal of all. You can’t hurt kinsmen without hurting yourself. Such wounds will take a long time to heal. I doubt that we’ll see it happen in our lifetime.’

Perhaps his words should add to my grief, yet there is some comfort in finding common ground. ‘Thank you, Captain. You are a man of honour.’

‘Be quick in informing the other four men.’

With this instruction I rush to those Covenanters I believe will have the same wish as myself and we gather in a small group. Violet and Calum chase after me.

‘Samuel, what are you doing?’ says Violet.

‘The captain is allowing five men to accompany the condemned to the gallows. I will be by my father’s side at the end.’

‘I must go,’ says Calum, as I expected.

Violet and I both say ‘No’ at the same time. I then add, ‘Calum, those with connections to the others should be allowed to attend.’

He stares at me, saying nothing. My brother’s no fool.

He knows I’m protecting him, but it hurts just the same.

I’m in awe of the bravery of the men who are about to die and despite my size I feel small in their company as we’re taken out of our prison and escorted to the Grassmarket.

A large crowd has gathered near to the enormous scaffold, a structure of death which is in such regular use by the authorities that it’s a permanent feature within the city.

Soldiers move amongst us to separate the spectators from the others.

‘Father!’ I call out, unable to stop myself.

He calls back to me, his voice clear and loud. ‘I am not afraid, Samuel, for I go to a better place – where we are free of tyranny, of pain and hunger and grief. We will meet again there one day, son.’

It’s the five of us being left behind who make a noise as we’re pushed further away.

In the end we’re silenced by the calmness of the condemned.

The first of those brave, brave men walks up the steps to the platform, his head held high.

Even the guards hold back when it’s so obvious they aren’t needed to restrain him.

‘Where’s your God?’ shouts a man, but no one joins his mockery.

The Covenanter simply holds the crowd in his gaze and replies stoically, ‘My God waits for me and I’ll be with Him soon. Where is your God that you should stand down there in such dread?’