I Escaped the Tower of London by Ellie Crowe & Scott Peters

Author:Ellie Crowe & Scott Peters
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Action & Adventure; Boys; Survival Stories; Young Adult
Publisher: Best Day Books for Young Readers
Published: 2021-08-12T04:00:00+00:00

Ben felt sick. What about the plan?

The Beefeater hauled him down the spiral staircase, accompanied by more guards. Lighted torches flickered against the walls. They led him down an unfamiliar maze of endless dark corridors.

Finally, they emerged onto a section of the Tower grounds Ben recognized. He stumbled, his knees weak with fear.

Wakefield Tower, ancient and dark, loomed ahead.

Wakefield Tower, where the torture chamber lay.

He took a deep, shuddering breath.

Inside, the Constable of the Tower, an imposing figure in a tall, black hat and thick black cloak with a white ruff, stood behind a desk. He didn’t look up as Ben was dragged in. Instead, he studied the paper in front of

him.

“You are Ben Forrester, employed to deliver the Tower’s coal?”

“Yes, sir,” Ben stammered.

The Constable dipped his quill pen in ink and made a note. “You were seen talking to the Earl of Devon outside the Pig and Whistle Tavern.”

Ben stared in shock. He’d been seen? By who?

“What did the Earl ask you to do?” the Constable demanded.

“N-nothing,” Ben stuttered.

“Answer the question or face torture.”

“The Earl just wanted to know the way to the next tavern,” Ben lied.

“Indeed?” The Constable of the Tower looked up. His eyes were cold as ice. “The Earl handed you a basket of oranges. Why?”

“He asked if I would like them.”

“Maybe you’d like to hang from a hook for a while, Ben Forrester, until you decide to tell the truth.”

Ben’s heart missed a beat.

“The Earl of Devon has been arrested,” the Constable said. “He is here in the Tower. We will find out why you were working for him. If you keep lying to us, things will go badly for you. But if you confess now, I will be lenient.”

Ben didn’t believe that for a minute. His mouth was dry as cotton. “I didn’t know he was the Earl of Devon.” At least that bit was true.

“What do you know of Sir Thomas Wyatt?” the Constable demanded.

“N-nothing,” Ben stammered. “Only what I heard from the newsboy.”

The warder tightened the ropes around Ben’s wrists until they bit into his skin. Ben’s arms were being twisted so hard he gasped.

“What did the Earl of Devon ask you to do?” the Constable demanded.

“Nothing.”

“Did Madame Elizabeth talk to you about the Wyatt Rebellion?”

“No.”

“Did Madame Elizabeth ask you to help her escape?”

“No.”

“What did Princess Elizabeth know of the Wyatt Rebellion?” The Constable’s angry voice suggested that he desperately wanted Ben to say the Princess was guilty—a rebel—plotting to destroy the Queen.

“I don’t know. I told you, I don’t know! I’m just a coal boy.” Ben’s mouth twisted as he tried not to cry. Somehow, he forced the trembling inside to harden into a dead calm.

“The boy’s lying,” snarled the hawk-nosed Beefeater. “We found him wearing her dress.” The man shoved Ben hard, sending him crashing to the ground.

Wrists bound and unable to catch himself, Ben’s jaw hit the floor with an awful crack. Blood filled his mouth as he bit his tongue, and shocks of pain jolted through him.

“Answer, or we’ll stretch you on the rack, Forrester,” the Beefeater roared.

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