# Of the Sorrow That Came After explained — When Charles the First Was King

> Chapter companion for When Charles the First Was King by J. S. Fletcher.

## What happens

After witnessing his father's murder on the road from York, Will Dale is comforted by Philip Lisle and Captain Ready. They help bring the body home, where Will's mother receives the tragic news. The community suspects Rupert Watson, who later confronts the family. Will swears to bring his father's killer to justice.

## Themes in this chapter

### Honor and Enmity

Will's vow to avenge his father and the community's ostracism of Rupert Watson highlight the themes of personal honor and deadly enmity.

### Family and Heritage

The murder shatters the Dale family, and Will's grief and sense of duty to his father's memory drive his actions.

### Fate and Providence

Jacob Trusty's belief that crime will eventually come home to the doer reflects a providential view of justice.

## Character check-ins

### Will Dale

Witnesses his father's murder and swears revenge on the killer, suspecting Rupert Watson.

### Philip Lisle

Arrives at the scene of the murder, comforts Will, and helps transport the body home.

### Captain Ready

Accompanies Philip Lisle, keeps watch over the body, and later testifies at the inquest.

### Jacob Trusty

Offers Will counsel and suggests Rupert Watson's absence from the funeral is suspicious.

### Rupert Watson

Suspect of the murder; later confronts Will's mother about rumors linking him to the crime.

### Lucy

Present at Dale's Field when the body is brought home, peeping from behind her mother's gown.

## Key lines

> I laid my hands on him, on his face, breast, arms, and suddenly felt them bathed in something that ran fast and warm from his heart.

Will touches his father's body and feels the warm blood still flowing from the wound.

_Emphasizes the visceral horror of the murder and Will's traumatic discovery._

> And in all the world my father had but one enemy, and that was Rupert Watson. It must have been his hand that had shot my father down; it could be none but his.

Will concludes that Rupert Watson is the only possible murderer, based on his father's single known enemy.

_Establishes the central suspicion driving the plot forward._

> I know not, lad—I know not. Let it be. ... Rest assured that whoever killed thy father will be sorry enow for it. For there was never crime done in this world, lad, that did not come home to the doer.

Jacob Trusty advises Will to be patient, believing that the murderer will eventually face consequences.

_Reflects the theme of fate and divine justice._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/when_charles_the_first_was_king_se/chapters/viii-of-the-sorrow-that-came-after
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/when_charles_the_first_was_king_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/when_charles_the_first_was_king_se/chapters