The Kings Daughters | Page 9

in this state of mind, Cissy was decidedly pleased to
see her father coming up from the other end of the lane.
"Oh, here's Father!" she said to Rose; and little Will ran on joyfully to
meet him.
"Well, my lad!" was Johnson's greeting to his boy. "So thou and Cissy

have got back? It's a right long way for such as thou."
Little Will suddenly remembered that he was exceedingly tired, and
said so.
"Thou'd better go to bed," said her father, as they came up with the girls.
"Well, Cis, who hast thou picked up?--I'm right thankful to you," he
added, looking at Rose, "for giving my little maid a helping hand. It's a
long way for such little ones, all the way from the Heath, and a heavy
load for little arms, and I'm main thankful. Will you come in a bit and
rest you?" he said to Rose.
But Rose declined, for she knew her mother would expect her to come
back at once. She kissed Cissy, and told her, whenever she had a load
to carry either way, to be sure she looked in at the Blue Bell, when
Rose would help her if she possibly could: and giving the jar to
Johnson, she bade him good-night, and turned back up the lane. Sir
Thomas had walked on, as Rose supposed: at any rate, he was not to be
seen. She went nearly a mile without seeing any one, until Margaret
Thurston's cottage came in sight. As Rose began to go a little more
slowly, she heard footsteps behind her, and the next minute she was
joined--to her surprise--by the priest.
"My daughter," he said, in a soft, kind voice, "I think thou art Rose
Allen?"
Rose dropped a courtesy, and said she was.
"I have been wishful to speak with some of thy father's household,"
said Sir Thomas, in the same gentle way: "so that I am fain to meet thee
forth this even. Tell me, my child, is there illness in the house or no?"
Rose breathed quickly: she guessed pretty well what was coming.
"No, Father," she answered; "we are all in good health, God be thanked
for that same."
"Truly. I am glad to hear thee so speak, my daughter, and in especial

that thou rememberest to thank God. But wherefore, then, being in
good health, have ye not come to give thanks to God in His own house,
these eight Sundays past? Ye have been regular aforetime, since ye
were back from the Bishop's Court. Surely it is not true--I do hope and
trust it is not true, that ye be slipping yet again into your past evil ways
of ill opinions and presumptuous sin?"
The reason why the Mounts had not been to church was because the
services were such as they could no longer join in. Queen Mary had
brought back the Popish mass, and all the images which King Edward
had done away with; so that to go to church was not to worship God
but to worship idols. And so terrible was the persecution Mary had
allowed to be set up, that the penalty for refusing to do this was to be
burnt to death for what she called heresy.
It was a terrible position for a young girl in which Rose Allen stood
that night. This man not only held her life in his hands, but also those
of her mother and her step-father. If he chose to inform against them,
the end of it might be death by fire. For one moment Rose was silent,
during which she cried silently but most earnestly to God for wisdom
and courage--wisdom to keep her from saying what might bring them
into needless danger, and courage to stand true and firm to God and His
truth.
"Might I be so bold as to pray you, Father," she said at last, "to ask at
my mother the cause of such absence from mass? You wot I am but a
young maid, and under direction of mine elders."
Sir Thomas Tye smiled to himself. He thought Rose a very cautious,
prudent girl, who did not want to bring herself into trouble.
"So be it, my daughter," said he in the same gentle way. "Doubtless it
was by direction of thine elders that then wert absent aforetime, ere ye
were had up to the Bishop."
He meant it as a question, by which he hoped to entangle poor Rose.
She was wise enough not to answer, but to let it pass as if he were
merely giving his own opinion, about which she did not wish to say

anything.
"Crafty girl!" thought Sir Thomas. Then he said aloud,--"The festival of
our Lady cometh on apace: ye will surely have some little present for