‘Yes, of course,’ I said obediently. Then, aware of my shaven head and the reason for it, I asked, ‘Mr Lawrence said you would be taking me out to learn to drive. When will that be?’
‘It will be when I’ve time and when I’m satisfied that you’re working hard enough,’ he replied sharply. ‘Not a moment before. Right now, I need you to polish all the bits and metal on all the harnesses in the tack room.’
I stared at him in astonishment. ‘But Ben and I already … ’
‘It needs doing again! His lordship is driving into the Bath tomorrow to fetch his granddaughter from a visit. The harness must look its very best.’
‘Very well,’ I said reluctantly. Lawrence had hired me for my skill with horses. The work I was doing, mucking out and tack cleaning, could be done by any labourer. I was wasted here.
I stomped off into the tack room, sorted out rags and cleaner and sat down to begin polishing the already-sparkling bits. I muttered to myself as I worked.
When Ben walked in some time later, I had only a scowl for him. ‘You done summat wrong?’ he asked concerned.
‘No, why?’ I snapped, hurling a dirty rag onto the floor and picking up a clean one.
‘’Cos that’s the only reason we ever has to polish clean metal all over again,’ said Ben.
‘I was stroking Belle.’ I scrubbed hard at a bit as I spoke.
Ben picked up a bridle and headed for the door. ‘It’ll sort itself out,’ he said. ‘Now careful not to rub a hole in that bit!’ He ducked out of the door before I could throw something at him.
The light was fading when I finished the last piece. I stood up and stretched my stiff, chilled body. As I bent down to begin tidying up and putting everything back, the door opened and Ben looked in. ‘Dinner time!’ he announced.
A week later, Steele told me cheerfully that I was to groom both Pitch and Velvet ready for their outing into Bath. Bridges stood just behind him with a look of deep disapproval on his face.
‘And you’ll be accompanying them to take charge of the horses while they’re there,’ Steele added. ‘Mr Lawrence’s orders. So you’ll need your livery.’
‘You make sure you behave impeccably,’ Bridges growled at me as Steele went off to supervise the chaise being brought out of the coach house. ‘Remember you have Rutherford’s reputation to guard!’
‘Yes sir,’ I replied respectfully, before rushing off to fetch brushes.
I groomed the two beautiful horses until they gleamed in the spring sunshine. I was proud that Pitch only tried to bite me once, and it was a half-hearted attempt. When their hooves had been oiled and their manes and tails combed, I left Ben and Joe to harness them and ran to scramble into my livery so that I would be ready before Lawrence and his lordship reached the yard. Mrs Simpkins, the seamstress, had adjusted my coat and gave me a nod of approval once I was dressed. I’d taken extra pains with washing myself last night. The new wig fitted me well, though it felt strange. I would need to get used to it.
I hurried back to the yard where Bridges was inspecting my work critically and running a brush over some imaginary dust on Velvet’s hide. There was barely time for a bite of breakfast and a gulp of ale before Ben whispered a warning that I needed to be out in the yard. I emerged, twitching my coat straight, to stand ready as Lawrence and his lordship arrived. His lordship was dressed in a puce coat over a salmon waistcoat, silk clocked stockings, quantities of lace at his throat and wrists, and a powdered full-bottom wig. It was very fine, but I didn’t admire his choice of colours.
To my mind, Lawrence was the smarter of the two though he was dressed far more modestly. His coat was brown with a beige waistcoat and breeches to match. He had only a very modest cravat, no embroidery and no jewellery. His wig was a neat tie-wig. Altogether his apparel was unostentatious and proclaimed the gentleman of business rather than leisure. He wore his well-fitting clothes with a quiet dignity and I found I admired him very much. Lawrence gave me a brief nod and a smile as he approached the carriage, signalling his approval of my new attire. His lordship didn’t spare me a glance at all. I might as well have been a mounting block or a broom.
‘Are we ready to go?’ he asked Lawrence, glancing up at the stable clock. ‘Let’s waste no time.’
Bridges came forward and assisted him into the chaise. The light chaise with the hood let down had been ordered today, as the weather was so fine. I stood at the horses’ heads, holding them steady, speaking soothingly to Pitch. I sincerely hoped he would not disgrace us with any bad behaviour today. Lawrence had driven the pair often since our return, but they were fresh today. He climbed into the driving seat, gathered the reins, and made contact with the horses’ mouths. Pitch’s ears went back flat and he flung his head up, fighting the bit. I talked to him softly, one hand on his nose, until his head dropped once more and his ears came forward.
When he was calm, I looked up and found Lawrence’s eyes were on me. ‘Ready to go?’ he asked. ‘He won’t stand still.’
‘I know,’ I said. With a last word to Pitch, I released him, stepped smartly out of his way and ran for my perch at the back of the chaise. The horses plunged and started off with a rush, jerking the carriage forward. I managed to catch hold of the rail and swing myself up, clinging on for dear life as the carriage swept under the archway and out of the yard. By the time the horses slowed for the sharp corner through the gate and headed up the steep carriageway through the park, I was safely on my perch behind his lordship as he surveyed his new half-wild team with remarkable calm.
‘Jolly good choice of horseflesh, John!’ he said as the horses pulled well together up the long hillside. ‘Nice steppers. Good, strong beasts! Fine-looking nags too. What I wouldn’t give to train them myself! It’s a deuced bore getting old. But thank God I’ve still got you to pick out my horses. I couldn’t abide travelling behind the kind of dull, safe slugs my groom would pick out for me.’
‘These two certainly aren’t slugs, my lord,’ Lawrence replied. ‘I told you how Pitch kicked the dashboard of the chaise to pieces at Hungerford. There’s a way to go before they’re entirely safe.’
‘Safety be damned! What’s life without the spice of danger?’ The old man chuckled and wheezed.
The two men fell to discussing business as we passed through the lodge gates and reached the downs, heading for Bath. I could follow little of it, though I understood what I’d already been told. Lawrence managed his lordship’s considerable estate and fortune for him, taking on all the day-to-day work and going out and about on errands. It was also clear that the old aristocrat still took a keen interest in all the details. I listened to Lawrence’s respectful tone as he responded to searching questions and strongly-worded advice. He was both tactful and patient.
My attention wandered from the irrelevant discussion in front of me to the beautiful views. The huge trees that graced the skyline in clumps were bursting into brilliant leaf. The new green of the hedgerows was almost luminous in the bright sunlight. The air was both fresh and mild, smelling of damp earth, growing things, and the promise of summer. I stood tall, feeling proud of my smart livery and the fine carriage. I was glad to be alive and to have fallen into such good circumstances. The days of destitution, the loss of my father, and the fear for my own life seemed to have receded into the distance. Though still deeply uncomfortable to think about, the memories no longer seemed so frighteningly all-pervasive and threatening from the safe haven of Deerhurst Park.
Lawrence was quiet as he negotiated the steep hill down from Lansdown into the city. Even the old lord fell silent, merely barking a word or two of advice here and there. It was a difficult hill to tackle with such a highly strung, half-wild pair and I had plenty of chance to appreciate Lawrence’s skill with the reins. I wondered how I would fare when it was my turn to learn. I could only hope I would start with more sedate horses.
The old gentleman interrupted my daydreams by breaking into speech suddenly as the hill levelled out and we approached the town.
‘This will be a deuced uncomfortable meeting, John.’
‘I’m sure you will overawe them with your high-handed manner, my lord.’
‘Ha! You think so, do you? Well, there are few brave enough to shout me down, it’s true, but all the same. Have I spoiled her, John? Is that it? I’ve been asking myself.’
The fierce old man in front of me seemed suddenly frail. I looked at the back of his head, at the powdered wig topping the lined face that was upturned almost pleadingly to the younger man’s.
Lawrence cast a swift glance towards him, cleared his throat and nodded slightly towards me.
‘Oh, ay, but ’tis only a boy, John. You’re deaf, aren’t you, boy?’ the old man said, struggling to turn and glance at me.
‘Yes, my lord,’ I replied, attempting to cultivate the wooden look that the other servants seemed to excel at.
‘Nonetheless, I think this discussion will keep until the port is on the table tonight. With respect, sir.’ Lawrence’s voice was firm.
‘Damned correct, aren’t you?’ demanded his lordship. ‘In my day, servants were so much furniture. Take my word for it, they know everything there is to know about us, whether we speak in front of them or not. Isn’t that so boy?’ he rapped out, turning to me again.
I was flustered by the sudden attack and blushed fiery red. ‘No, my lord!’ I blurted out, before I’d thought through the consequences of disagreeing with him.
Lawrence stepped in to protect me. ‘The boy is new, sir. Don’t terrify him! Besides, we’re in the city now, and I must concentrate if I’m to reach the house without mishap.’
He negotiated the narrow, cluttered streets, handling the difficult team with skill, checking Pitch from shying away from a sedan chair with scarcely a pause and frustrating his attempt to bolt over the bridge as we left the city by the South Gate. I looked around me at the other horses on the roads and thought there wasn’t another pair half as fine as ours. Pitch and Velvet were magnificent and drew admiring eyes as we drove. I stood tall, aware that they would be looking at me too and not wanting them to find fault.
We drew up outside a beautiful old manor house tucked away in a wood on the far side of the city, across the river. It was a quiet, verdant oasis, just a few minutes’ drive from the bustling city. When we pulled up outside, a butler threw open the front door, a footman emerged to let down the steps and to assist his lordship to descend, and a groom appeared to take charge of the carriage.
‘I’ll drive the carriage round to the stables myself and walk up from there,’ Lawrence told the groom. ‘This is a difficult team.’
He waited until his lordship had descended and then moved off at a smart walk, wheels crunching on the gravel, towards the stables. As soon as Lawrence reined in the horses in the yard, I jumped down and hurried to the horses’ heads. He smiled ruefully down at me as he hitched the reins. ‘We are likely to be an hour or so, so stall the horses and go and take some refreshment. But bear in mind his lordship won’t want to be kept waiting when he’s ready to leave.’
‘Very well, sir.’
Mr Lawrence jumped down from the carriage, and then came towards me unexpectedly. I looked up at him nervously, wondering if I’d done something wrong. He leaned towards me and added, ‘Don’t let Pitch disgrace us. And don’t you get into any fights, either! The reputation of our house is tarnished enough here as it is!’
‘I wouldn’t … !’ I began indignantly, then I realized he might be laughing at me, and bit my lip. ‘I’ll be a model of discretion,’ I promised soberly.
He strode off towards the house, leaving me in the unfamiliar position of directing stable staff I didn’t know on how to handle the horses in my charge. I suddenly missed Bridges, but managed to keep Pitch reasonably calm whilst the strange men unhitched him from the carriage. ‘You need to keep your distance from this one,’ I warned them all. ‘He’s still wild and not used to strangers.’
I led him off to a stall where I could tether him safely before unharnessing him. On the way, one clumsy young groom barged carelessly past Pitch. Tearing the leading rein momentarily out of my hand, Pitch nipped the groom swiftly on the shoulder.
‘No, Pitch!’ I said fiercely, regaining my hold on him. I turned to the groom. ‘Are you much hurt?’ I asked, concerned.
‘Damned animal’s a menace!’ complained the groom, his hand clutching his injury.
‘I’m sorry. He’s bitten me too,’ I said as I led him away. ‘Several times.’
I ensured both horses had hay and water before rubbing them down thoroughly. Only when I was completely satisfied that they were comfortable and looking as magnificent and cared-for as ever, did I leave them, in pursuit of my own refreshment. As I walked across the yard, I could see the chaise had been turned about and was ready for the horses to be harnessed again.
There was just time to drink some ale before the chaise was called. ‘Carriage for Lord Rutherford!’ a footman announced, emerging briefly in the room where I was sitting and then retreating hurriedly again.
‘Hurry!’ shouted the groom in charge. ‘Lawrence won’t trust us to bring the horses round; he’ll be here in person any minute!’ I got to my feet and rushed back out to the horses and began lifting on their collars and buckling on the harness again. A groom harnessed Velvet to the carriage while I struggled with Pitch, who had decided he didn’t want to go back into harness so soon and wilfully made my task much harder by throwing up his head, kicking out at me, and trying to bite me.
Two indoor servants emerged into the stable yard, struggling with a huge trunk between them. Lawrence appeared and watched as the trunk was strapped to the back of the chaise and I put the final touches to the harness. I’d learned the task well now and could perform it swiftly. Those difficult weeks at the posting house were standing me in good stead.
We collected a scowling Lord Rutherford from the front of the house. I watched as a golden-haired beauty in a pale blue brocade gown with white lace petticoats came floating down the steps on the arm of a besotted youth. She kissed him on the cheek and bid him a careless farewell. ‘Let me assist you into the carriage, Miss Lawrence,’ the youth begged, taking her hand as she climbed up beside Lord Rutherford.
I realized at once who she must be. Ben had told me about Miss Judith Lawrence, Lord Rutherford’s granddaughter, and so I looked at her curiously. She was a handsome girl; fair, with melting blue eyes and a vivid, determined face. Her figure was slender and graceful. A sneaking envy of her beautiful gown and her long, glowing hair caught me by surprise. I’d been so grateful for my present improved circumstances; I ought not to long for more. But it was hard not to compare my shaven head with her feminine good looks.
As I stood on my narrow perch behind her on the chaise all the way home up the steep, narrow roads that led to the downs, I watched the girl charm her grandfather out of his ill-humour. It had been obvious at the start of the journey that he was disappointed in her. She had misbehaved herself on this visit, I gathered. I’d overheard a few muttered comments about Miss Judith sneaking out of the house to meet a secret lover. But she was so sweet and affectionate towards her reproachful grandfather that he failed to remain angry for long. By the time we had passed through the Bath, his lordship had softened considerably and was smiling reluctantly at her playful talk. By the time we were up on the downs he was laughing.
‘Oh, grandpapa!’ she sighed as we drew near the turning to Deerhurst Park. ‘Much as I long to see my dear home once more, I fear it will all seem a little … dull after the diversions and liveliness of the city! Am I very naughty and spoiled to say so?’
‘Well, my dear. I’m sorry to hear it, certainly. But I have a little something for you, Judith, that I fancy will cheer you greatly.’
‘Oh!’ Miss Judith clapped her hands and bounced up and down on the seat, causing Pitch to startle and lay his ears flat. Lawrence regained control and then glanced across at her for the first time. Until now he had driven in silence, his eyes and attenti
on on his horses and on the road. ‘I must ask you, Judith, to bear in mind that this is a novice team.’
Miss Judith rolled her eyes at his profile and then simpered to her grandfather, tucking her arm in his. ‘Grandpapa, I’ll be good. Only tell me what you have for me?’
‘Ah, my dearest, you’ll have to wait! But I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.’
The sugar-sweet play between the two, so indulgent on his part, so false on hers, disgusted me. I shouldn’t judge her on so short an acquaintance, I knew. But I had another reason to resent her. Belle, the beautiful bay horse I adored, was to be hers. Jealousy wasn’t an emotion I was prone to, but in this instance it had me in its toils.
Miss Judith squealed with excitement when Belle was led out to be shown to her, making the usually beautifully-mannered mare startle. Then the girl ran and flung her arms around the horse’s neck, making Belle back up nervously.
I was leading Pitch into his loose box while this was going on but, with so much excitement nearby, I had to stop and talk him into behaving himself. Once he was bestowed, I rushed to scramble out of my costly livery and back into my ordinary breeches and shirt.
When I returned to rub Pitch down, I found Lawrence in the stable checking the stallion over. As I appeared, he straightened up, stroked the horse’s neck, and ran a hand over his shoulder.
‘Come on in, Charlie. You’re doing a good job with him,’ Lawrence said to me. ‘He’s calmer and more trusting by far. Are you spending a lot of time with him?’
‘Whenever I can … ’
I broke off and bent down to brush some mud off Pitch’s back leg, hiding my confusion.
‘I’m not stupid, Charlie,’ said Lawrence good-naturedly. ‘I realize what’s going on. But you are winning Bridges over, you know. He no longer speaks of you with such disgust and once even praised you to me!’
Runaway Page 9
