Kings of the Boyne by Nicola Pierce Page A

might have a change of heart and suddenly appear in the doorway. What would she make of him sitting at her table as if he was one of her family?
    â€˜So,’ said Daniel, ‘you said your neighbours told your mother not to go. How did they know?’
    Marian replied, ‘She went to all of them whose horses had been taken and tried to get them to come with her.’
    Daniel guessed what happened. ‘But nobody would go with her?’
    â€˜No,’ said Marian. ‘They told her to forget about it, that the horses were gone and that was that.’
    Marian couldn’t help looking proud as she continued,‘Mama told them she wasn’t scared and that she’d go to the king herself. Some of them laughed at her but they aren’t nice people.’
    Samuel nodded. ‘They never helped Mama when she was tired.’
    â€˜I see,’ said Daniel, feeling somewhat triumphant that Samuel was talking to him in a civil fashion.
    â€˜Anyway,’ said Marian, ‘Mama told us that she had to go to King William and make him listen to her.’
    Samuel butted in, ‘I wanted to go with her but she wouldn’t let me!’
    The boy sounded upset which propelled Daniel to say, ‘Well, that’s because you’re the man of house. You’re the oldest boy, aren’t you? So, you have to look after everyone here.’
    Samuel took a moment to see the truth in Daniel’s words and rewarded him with a smile, albeit one that was covered in bits of potato, as he declared, ‘Yes. I am! I’m in charge!’
    Typically, big sister Marian attempted to burst his bubble. ‘Samuel clung onto Mama to stop her from leaving. I did my best to hold them back but I had Georgie and they ran after her, crying all the way.’
    One of the others, a girl of about four, quietly stated, ‘Mama kicked the wood away.’
    Daniel looked to Marian for an explanation. She toldhim, ‘There is a stream behind us and the only way to cross it is to walk along the plank of wood. When Mother saw Samuel and the others coming after her she kicked the plank away.’
    â€˜She didn’t want us,’ said Samuel.
    â€˜Oh, but she does want you!’ said Daniel. He was surprised at how upset he felt on behalf of the children. ‘She didn’t want to leave you but she needs to keep you safe and make sure that you have enough food. She’ll be back before you know it.’
    â€˜When is she coming home?’ It was the little girl again.
    â€˜What’s your name?’ asked Daniel.
    â€˜Isabel Watson. I am four!’
    â€˜What a lovely name!’ gushed Daniel, stalling for time. ‘And who is that beside you?’
    Isabel checked who was sitting next to her before making any introductions. ‘That’s just Anna. She’s three.’
    There was just one more child to go. Daniel nodded at the littlest version of Marian who was too absorbed in her food to realise the attention she was receiving. Her potato was sliding around the bowl and it was proving quite a challenge to catch it with the spoon.
    Isabel obliged. ‘That’s Sarah but she can’t talk. She’s too small.’
    Daniel held up his fist to count out the names: ‘So, there’sMarian, Samuel, Isabel, Anna, Sarah and baby Georgie. Did I get it right?
    The thing about four-year-olds is once they want to know the answer to a question they are almost impossible to distract.
    Isabel proved this superbly by repeating her question, ‘When is Mama coming home?’
    Daniel looked at Marian to see if she knew the answer; however Marian was gazing at him waiting anxiously for his.
    Well, he was not going to lie to them. He made some quick calculations in his head. If William was, let’s say, three days ahead of them and the widow had only just started out, it might take her about five days to catch up with him. Although she might be faster since a massive army on the