Then one soldier grabbed at Henry’s arm and held it fast, and Matthew started running.

By the time he reached the stall, the pieman had come round to try to intervene, to no avail. At first it seemed that Matthew only meant to talk. He stood with outward calm and sought to set himself between the soldiers and his brother. But the soldier holding Henry would not let him go, and then the other took a swing at Matthew, and it came to blows.

What Lily saw next left her shaken. It was swift and it was brutal. Pushing Henry safely to the side, Matthew flashed over into someone she had never seen—a ruthless man. A man of violence. Neither soldier saw it coming. Both of them regretted it.

One stumbled past her with a bleeding face and one arm hanging strangely. His companion took a while to stand at all.

When he did, although a few red-coated soldiers had come to assist him, they found themselves confronting not just Matthew on his own, but a fierce gathering of Leithers—mostly Matthew’s fellow carters, but some mariners as well—who’d seen the fighting and were slowly filing in to form a line along his back.

Lily watched while Matthew squared his shoulders, and she watched his bloodied hands form once more into fists.

And when the soldiers turned away, although she let her breath out in relief, she could not help but think that Matthew’s face looked disappointed.

* * *

Archie showed his disappointment, too, at having been deprived of any chance to use his influence in setting things to rights.

“I could have saved him,” said Archie. “The players at the table might have changed, but they do like their silver just as well as in the former government.”

Barbara said he should be glad he got to keep his silver this time, and he grudgingly agreed. But Lily knew it galled him, losing the advantage over Matthew that he might have gained by paying to settle his troubles.

With Archie, so Matthew had told her, there’s always a price.

Walter pointed out, “He didn’t need saving. No point arresting a man when half the town was there to witness that your soldier struck him first, and that what followed was no more than self-defense. I’m told the soldiers had been ordered only to recruit men from their regiments to go to fight in Flanders, not to press our local lads into forced service. And besides,” he added, “Henry is not yet of age for them to take. So they were three times in the wrong, and could do naught else but let Matthew walk a free man.”

Simon drily said he doubted that the soldiers would have left the Shore alive if they’d done otherwise. “I hear the crowd was not a very friendly one.”

“Well,” Barbara said, “how many of our lads have they now pressed, when they’ve been telt to stop? And I did hear they killed two men who did resist them. I thank God for putting Matthew where he was so that he could save Henry.”