In the Great Rebellion, however, when Sir Robert Harley’s Parliamentary duties necessitated his absence from Brampton Bryan, the Royalists in the neighbourhood of the Castle alleged that Lady Brilliana was sheltering rebels; and, after various threats and efforts to gain possession of the stronghold, a Royalist force under Sir William Vavasour laid siege to Brampton Bryan Castle on July 26th, 1643. There Lady Brilliana with her children and household, and several neighbours who had joined her in resisting the encroachments of the Royalists, were shut up for six weeks, during which time she, usually spoken of as “the Governess,” conducted the defence with both skill and courage. Shots were daily fired into the Castle and frequently poisoned bullets were used: one of these wounded the cook, who died from its effects; and two ladies among the besieged party were also wounded. Finding that Lady Brilliana was obdurate and would not surrender, Charles I sent her a personal letter by special messenger—Sir John Scudamore—whom Lady Brilliana received with calm dignity; but with unflinching endurance she determined to continue her defence. She replied to the King by a letter setting forth the attacks to which her husband’s property had been subjected, and humbly petitioned that all her goods should be restored to her. Sir John Scudamore hurried back with another Royal document, offering free pardon to Lady Brilliana and her supporters in the Castle, if she would surrender, and also granting free licence to all to depart from the Castle. But Lady Brilliana stood her ground when the Royal messenger arrived on September 1st. “By this time,” an “eye-witness” wrote later, “the fame of the noble lady was spread over most of the kingdom, with admiration and applause....” And this courageous determination was all the more pronounced as she was too unwell to receive Sir John on his return, having contracted a chill which terminated fatally about a month later. On September 9th, the defeat of the Royal troops elsewhere necessitated the withdrawal of Sir William Vavasour’s force from Brampton Bryan, and the siege was suddenly raised. The relief was too late. Strain of deprivation and anxiety had taken their toll and weakened the frame of the plucky heart that knew no surrender. “This honourable lady,” continued her historian, “of whom the world was not worthy, as she was a setting forward the work of God suddenly and unexpectedly fell sick of an apoplexy with a defluxion of the lungs.... Never was a holy life concluded with a more heavenly and happy ending.” Her body was encased in lead and carried to the top of the Castle to await burial in more peaceful days; but when the siege of Brampton Bryan was renewed, and the Castle taken, her coffin was desecrated in the search for plunder. Her three beloved children, who had been through the first attack with her, were taken prisoner at the end of the second siege in 1644. PART II GIRLHOOD CHAPTER II