Lorna Doone

Stickles has been recalled back to London with his men. Eliza continues to help Serjeant Bloxham, who has taken over for Stickles, to write his reports. The Doones have surprisingly not attacked Plover’s Barrow again, as they are more concerned about fending off the King’s men, who they believe may attack at any moment. King Charles II dies. The news comes from over-eager townsperson who interrupts the Parson at Sunday service, telling him not to pray for the king, as they are not supposed to pray for the dead.

John is now the churchwarden, but he is discouraged that Lorna has not written to him since uprooting to London. There are wild rumors about fighting and about King James attending mass, then torturing Protestants. Annie has a baby and names him John after her older brother. News comes about rebellion and contradictory rumors about the Duke of Monmouth winning and being killed. The soldiers are called away from Plover’s Barrow, leaving it vulnerable to an attack from the Doones. People come to John for advice, and he intends to keep all the men in the neighboring lands out of the rebellion to avoid their needless deaths. Despite fully intending to stay out of the matter entirely, John is roped into the conflict when Annie returns home and tells him that Tom has fallen in with the rebels.

John agrees to go after Tom and try to bring him home if Annie will stay at the house and safeguard it from the Doones. Annie produces a document, signed by the Doones, promising not to attack Plover’s Barrows while John is away on an important errand. She had secured it by disguising herself as an old woman, going to the Counsellor, then revealing herself and asking him to help her in recompense for his stay at Plover’s Barrows and his theft of the necklace. Many of the Doones are part of the rebellion since the current government is set against them after the failed attack on Doone Glen.

John stops by to see Ruth on his way to search for Tom. She worries over the danger of his task and then suggests that he is waiting to declare a side until the winner is clear. When John says he is for the king, she admonishes him for not being willing to fight for him. They part on good terms, and she kisses him goodbye since it may be the last time she sees him.

After looking for Tom for several days, he goes to Bridgewater. The inn keeper wakes him in the middle of the night and tells him to fight in the battle for the rebellion. John declares that he is not going to fight and is on the king’s side anyway. He eventually goes in search of Tom, following the sounds of battle. The rebels are soundly defeated, and John stops to help the dying. Winnie appears and leads John away from the carnage.

When Winnie leads John to Tom, he first believes that Tom is dead. John tends to his wounds as best he can, and Tom insists on mounting Winnie as they “die together.” He rides away after bidding John to look after himself. John considers himself a fool for wading into the rebellion and battle, where he may get caught and hanged as a traitor. He decides to nap and wakes up to 20 foot soldiers. He challenges them to wrestle with him fairly instead of shooting. He defeats the first two at once and then mounts his horse and escapes. After this near-miss, John falls in with a group of king’s soldiers, and they share a pleasant evening of drinking until the other group of soldiers arrives. They debate John’s goodness and loyalty and brawl over it. A superior officer appears, arresting him and taking him to the hanging tree. Captain Stickles arrives and takes custody of John just before the execution. 

Stickles tells John to go to London to have a chance to defend himself instead of being hanged without trial. He meets with Lord Churchill and is given an order to appear for the Court of King’s Bench. London makes him long for Lorna, who only appears amongst the most fashionable. He learns that she is beloved at court and under the supervision of Earl Brandir of Loch Awe. John goes to a catholic church to see her. When Lorna sees him, she curtseys, and he feels encouraged. She sends him a note assuring him of her love. John intends to be buried with it, his ring, and one more object.

John goes to Earl Brandir’s house, and Gwenny Carfax looks notably displeased. John happily reunites with Lorna, who asks why he has not written to her. He explains that he had no address for her. He tells her that Ruth encouraged him to trust in her love. Lorna is pleased by Ruth and tells John to marry Ruth if she dies, since she is worthy of him. She determines that Gwenny has not sent her letters to John, despite Lorna’s instructions. Gwenny states that John is unworthy of Lorna. Lorna reminds John that he will have to take Gwenny with her if he marries her, and John assures her that he will tolerate Gwenny without complaint. Lorna tells him that only “worldly position” stands between them and that it is not worth consideration. Her time in London has taught her that she hates high society and only the Queen, Gwenny, and her guardian care for her there. She tells him that she will tell her uncle of his coming and that she intends to see him again. He is grateful in her reassurance.

John is so happy with Lorna’s continued love that he cannot think of anything else. The Ridds send food and news to him in London. The Colonel Kirke, the man who nearly hanged John, has hanged six Doones. Tom Faggus has returned home and recovered from his wounds, promising to focus on his family instead of pursuing glory and adventure.

Earl Brandir appreciates John for rescuing Lorna from the Doones, but he is unaware of their courtship due to his advanced deafness. He also believes that his son, Alan Brandir, who once tried to rescue Lorna and was killed by Carver, will soon return and marry Lorna. Lorna debates telling him the truth, but John tells her not to do so, as the grief would surely kill him. Thieves break into the earl’s house, and hold the earl at gunpoint, but he refuses to give up the key to the safe as the fortune is for his beloved Alan. John beats them and ties them up, then goes to fetch a constable. The burglars are Protestant rebels knowledgeable of the rebel forces. As such, people in London think well of John. The king greets him and misunderstands that John is Catholic, like him, since he remembers seeing John in the catholic chapel, which John refers to as the “royal chapel.” The king asks what he wants, and John answers that his mother’s dearest wish is for a coat of arms. When asked about his lifestyle, John explains he is a freeholder like his ancestors since the time of King Alfred. The king not only agrees to give him a coat of arms, but also knights him.

John works with the heralds to create a coat of arms and motto. The coat of arms is three cakes on a bar with a lion on a field of gold (for King Alfred’s gift), a black raven (for “plover”) on a red field, a two headed boar (for the two-headed pig once born on the farm), and gold wheat upon a green field. The heralds suggest “Ridd never be ridden” as the motto, which John accepts (508). He also receives discharge for the “nominal custody” and is free to return home. This is good news, as John is homesick. The Londoners consider him foolish because he decides not to “push” his fortune while he is the toast of the town. While John is in London, the Doones break their promise and carry off two maidens in addition to stealing livestock. Worse, Carver Doone has carried off a married woman against her will after throwing her young child on the floor. After finding the family had no wealth to steal, the Doones killed the boy.

The townsfolk want John to lead an attack against the Doones, though he wonders if that is right since the Doones have abided by the agreement to not attack the house while he was away. He agrees to lead a party if the Doones refuse to give up the kidnapped woman and hand over the man who killed her child. He goes and delivers the message himself, as everyone else is too fearful to do so. He goes unarmed, trusting that the Doones, as well-bred men, would not be so dishonorable as to attack an unarmed man bidding for peace.

Carver calls him an “ungrateful viper” and says that he has killed several Doones and stolen their Queen. He also points out that they gave him a pass to find Tom. These accusations make John question whether he is the real villain rather than Carver. Carver goes on to call John the worst, most dishonest man he has ever met, then calls for his men to fire upon John. John escapes and agrees to lead men against the Doones on the condition that the Counsellor be spared due to his lack of overt violence and kindness to Annie.

The men gather, bringing wives and children with them. John is so kind to the children that the wives give him control over their husbands and recruit new men to join the force. Tom joins, and Uncle Ben arrives, contributing strategy, his warehouse workers, and the miners. Simon Carfax is also in agreement. John, Tom, and Uncle Ben make a plan; Simon Carfax will go to the Counsellor and offer him intel on how to rob the shipment of gold from the mine, which is no longer a secret due to the recently acquired mining permit. Then, that group of Doones will be attacked at the same time as the remaining forces in Doone Glen.