"To the right," said the officer; and the whole party moved on upon the road to Atherston.
Chartley was in no mood for conversation; but with his head bent, and his heart full of bitter disappointment, he rode slowly forward with the soldiers, half inclined, at the turning of every road they passed, to put spurs to his horse, and see whether he could not distance his captors. But, as if judging that such an attempt was likely, wherever an opportunity presented itself, one of the soldiers rode forward to his right hand or his left; and he saw that several of the footmen, who were archers, kept their bows bent and their arrows on the string.
At length there was a sound of horse, coming at a quick pace behind; and a party of some two hundred men, all clad in glittering armour, and bearing a banner at their head, rode by at a rapid trot, going in the same direction as themselves, and only turning their heads to look at the small party as they passed by.
The officer, however, who rode by Chartley's side, instantly shouted loudly, "Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley!" and then spurred on. Chartley saw him speak to a gentleman at the head of the other troop, who seemed to wait and to listen with impatience; for his gestures were quick and sharp, and he soon rode on again. The officer immediately returned, and, ordering the archers to follow as speedily as they might, he said, "Now, my lord, we must gallop forward to Atherston."
He then put his troop at once into a more rapid pace, and rode after the body of horse which had gone on.
"Did Lord Stanley say aught regarding me?" asked Chartley, when they had nearly overtaken the others.
"Ay, my lord, he did," replied the officer, in a gruff tone. "He said your men opposed the passage of his force through Fazely this morning, but that he had driven them out, and let them go, for, friends or enemies, 'twas no matter, they were but a handful."
"'Twas by no orders of mine," answered Chartley. "Had I been there, it would not have happened."
"That you must explain yourself, my lord," answered the officer. "I only do my duty, and that with no good will."
At the pace they went, a very short space of time brought them to Atherston; and at the door of an old-fashioned inn, which then stood there, and in which Chartley had lodged for some weeks, Lord Stanley sprang to the ground, saluted by a number of gentlemen and soldiers, by whom the little town was already occupied. He spoke for a moment or two to one of them, and then entered the inn, saying aloud, "That will do--only set a guard;" and the gentleman whom he addressed immediately advanced to the spot where Chartley still sat upon his horse, saying, "Your lordship must follow me. I am sorry that I must place a guard over you."