Lambert halted immediately before their commander and looked up at the officer high above him on the big horse, his hand ready-tightened on his sword ready to draw and sweep down in the killing blow. It was a big horse. The man was sixteen hands above Lambert, the general had to look upwards, his eyes screwed up against the evening sunlight.

‘Dismount!’ Lambert said easily, almost conversationally. There was a moment’s pause. Soldiers in both troops held their breath to see what the outcome would be. The officer looked down at the unarmed man before him, Lambert smiled up at him. Then the officer dropped his reins and jumped down from the saddle.

At once there was a roar of approval from Lambert’s men and the Parliament guards broke ranks and trotted towards Lambert’s regiment to be greeted with smiles and handshakes and laughter. Lambert shook hands with the officer, exchanged a few brief words and then strolled back to his horse, swung into the saddle and then turned to face the men.

‘Fall in,’ he said pleasantly as if for a routine parade. He nodded to his standard bearer. ‘Take my compliments to the Members of the House of Commons and advise them that I have the keys to the House and they must leave. They are no longer welcome. The country will be ruled by a Committee of Safety. We are going to have justice and freedom in this country. And it starts now.’

Lambert had not allowed for General George Monck, out of touch in Scotland, and jealous as a sick dog of his charismatic rival. As soon as he heard of the triumph at Whitehall he sent word to London that as commander of the Parliamentary army in Scotland he did not accept the Committee of Safety and that he was declaring war, and marching south to restore the banned MPs.

‘War?’ Hester demanded. ‘But why?’

‘He says he’s going to restore Parliament,’ John said, reading the latest news-sheet.

‘Then why did he not do it before?’ Hester asked. ‘Why did he not declare war on Cromwell?’

‘Because this is a man who thinks he can be Cromwell,’ John said astutely. ‘He thinks he can put himself at the head of the army and in a little while command Parliament as well.’

‘Shall we box up the rarities?’ Hester asked John wearily.

John thought for a moment. ‘Not yet,’ he said. ‘But we may have to. General Monck’s troops learned their discipline burning out royalists in Scotland.’

‘He’s for Parliament. He fought against Charles Stuart,’ she said. ‘Why can he not allow Lambert and the Committee of Safety to bring in their reforms? Why cannot people in this country be given a chance to have the government and the justice they deserve?’