Anne of the Fens Read Online Free

always interesting to talk with, though.
    â€œHow are the Punic Wars coming?” he asked me, motioning me to the short three-legged stool across the table from him.
    I had been reading one of Father’s favorite books, Raleigh’s History of the World. Father said it had taken Raleigh fifteen years in prison to write it, and I could spend a few months on it. I had not finished the pages Simon had assigned me and I wanted to distract him. I also wanted to talk to him about what Marianne had told me, though I knew I had to be careful how I did it.
    â€œPlease, Simon, Mother says if we do not pay the King’s tax we may be arrested. I think, then, we must pay it. What do you think?”
    â€œIt is an unlawful tax. The beetle-headed dwarf wants only to fund his war in Spain.” Simon always called King Charles a dwarf because he was so short, but over time his language had become more and more insulting.
    â€œCould you be arrested for calling the King a beetle-headed dwarf?”
    â€œPossibly. I trust you will not report me.” Simon looked away, slightly embarrassed. I did not usually comment on his foul language toward the King.
    â€œWhat if we are arrested?”
    â€œYour father, the Earl, and I all believe we must act on our principles. Many, many are refusing to pay, and he cannot arrest us all. It is all because of his silly dream to marry the daughter of the Spanish King. He wants revenge for the rejection he received.”
    â€œSuch a romantic story, like a fairy tale, King Charles crossing all of Europe in disguise to find and woo her.” I knew I was making Simon angrier. His face was turning dark.
    â€œPah. Please, Anne. Don’t be a silly, sentimental girl. Sometimes I think it is impossible to teach a girl.”
    I wanted to hit him but of course I could not.
    He went on, “What if the King had agreed to her conditions? What if he had become Catholic? England could have burst into civil war.”
    â€œIs it so bad to be Catholic?” Now I could raise the question in my mind.
    Simon stood up from the table and his voice was loud. “Anne, have you learned nothing from all my teaching, the Reverend Cotton’s teaching, your father’s teaching? What do you mean, is it so bad to be Catholic? You are a Puritan, pledged to purify the corrupt church. That should be the aim of everything we do. Is it so bad to be Catholic? God’s teeth.”
    He went on, even louder. “Don’t you remember our studies of the reign of Bloody Mary, before Elizabeth? How many Puritans did she kill?”
    â€œAt least three hundred.”
    â€œAnd how, may I ask?”
    â€œMany of them were burned alive, in wicker baskets hung over flames.”
    My neck hurt from looking up at him, and I moved my stool back further from the table.
    â€œI am not an idiot,” I said, trying to sound dignified. “I know what it is to be a Puritan. I know what you are afraid of, that Charles will go back to Catholicism and then Puritans will be burned alive again. I am asking you something different. What I want to know is how about the person who is a Catholic. Is every Catholic a bad person? I don’t think so.”
    â€œYou have found a person who is Catholic and whom you like!” He scowled down at me. “Who is it?”
    I blushed. Simon was so intelligent. I would have to be careful not to give Marianne away. I began to trace the grain of the wood in the oak table with my finger. I gathered my courage and looked up at him. “What if I have? Do you want to send her to the gallows? Is that how good Puritans act towards others? I certainly shall not tell you who it is.”
    He began to pace back and forth. “You are becoming impudent, young woman. Have you been listening to my conversations with your father?”
    â€œNo,” I said honestly.
    â€œI think we should try to convert Catholics and the King’s Church of Englanders also.