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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the delay, real life just got in the way!
Chapter 11

Sir William rode like the very devil was after him, and by dawn, he’d covered 7/8ths of the way – excellent time.

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Sam woke, with a crick in his neck and an ache in his back, but he stood, yawned and stretched, and went to check on the horses.

They were still tethered, but had access to the stream and were both drinking. He patted the neck fondly of the chestnut mare whispering endearments to her; she nuzzled his hand looking for a treat of an apple, which he produced from his pocket. Giving the black stallion an apple too, he left the horses and then he set about stoking up his small fire and thinking of his own breakfast.

Pleased to see one of his traps had been fruitful, he took out a small blade, skinned and gutted the rabbit expertly and placed the meat on a stick over the fire.

He had bought a bottle of wine in his saddlebag, but he wanted to keep a clear head, and the water was safe to drink – so he fetched some while he waited for his meal to cook.

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William had no way of knowing the time – all his belongings were still in Calais, and there wasn’t a sundial around, but he guessed around 8 am, it had been a good couple of hours since dawn, and the sun was still climbing in the sky.

Taking the pace a little easier as he rode through a village, William stopped, dismounted and bought bread – he tethered his horse by the bridge and the horse drank from the stream – squinting into the early morning sun across the fields, he could just about make out the edge of the Burleigh estate – he would be there in an hour.


****

Sam ate his half of the rabbit, and swilled his hands in the stream – he would begin to keep a look out now, - Sir William could be there anytime between a few hours to a complete day away yet…

*****


In Miss Rosenberg’s letter, she stated that Sam would meet him in the Southern side of the wood, so William roughly calculated which road to take by the direction of the rising sun, he knew if he kept the transept of the Norman church straight ahead of him, he would roughly be in the right area.


Sam sat, staring into the fire, lost in thought…

William got off his horse when the road ended, and began to lead the animal into the woods. They were up on a hill, and if he looked down, William could see the manicured lawns of the Burleigh estate.

He sniffed deeply, smelling wood-smoke. Looking about him he could see nothing at first, then he heard a horse whinny.

Tethering his horse to a tree, Sir William made his way over to the sound of the horse. And there, with his back to him was his friend and stable groom, Sam.

“Sam!”

Sam nearly jumped out of his skin, turned and surveyed his lord and master with a grin.

“Oh Sir – you made excellent time!” William strode over and they gave each other a backslapping hug.

“I have saved you a little food, it’s not much but-“

“I am too full of emotions for food! Tell me, what of my dear wife – please tell me she is well!”

“Sir, I have SO much to tell you, but rest assured her ladyship is recovering – thanks to young William and Miss Rosenberg!”

“Recovering?”

“Yes sire, we, that is young master William and Miss Rosenberg took a fancy that her ladyship was…was being poisoned! Sam said, and William stumbled back in surprise, he felt sick…hesitantly he asked quietly,

“And my children?”

“Don’t worry sire! They are in fine fettle my lord, why, there is a certain – I don’t now how to tell you – a certain maturity that has over-come young master William – he has been the life-saving of his beloved ma-ma – your dear lady wife, and the brainchild of this malarkey”

William raised his brows

“My seven year old thought of this plan?”

“Why yes, sire – he has been reading all manner of things, finding out what tricks Sir Jasper is up to! But we must hurry sire – For sir Jasper thinks I am away overnight getting the horses shoed for the races, we have no time to loose”

William checked the steed he rode up on, made sure he had access to a patch of lush grass and the stream to drink from, tied it securely. There should be no problem for the groom of Mr Charles Gunn to collect the steed back as arranged. Going back to Sam, who had put out the fire and had saddled the second horse, William said,

“We shall ride until dusk, we should be at Taunton by then – if the horses are tired then we can take a carriage” Sam agreed by nodding and they rode off.


At what they assumed to be lunchtime, a gnawing ache in their gut telling them both they were hungry, they stopped at a tavern, had a mug of ale apiece and some meat and cabbage.

“Tell me more of my son” William asked

“Well sire – he came out with all this legal stuff to Sir Jasper, just like he was a lawyer! Sir jasper turned puce, according to Miss Rosenberg – William had been summoned to a beating, and Miss Willow said young master William strode down the hall, like he had no care in the world!”

William stopped chewing for a few moments, and stared at Sam.

“Sir Jasper took to raising his hand to my son – I will KILL him for that alone!”

“And while you’re at it sire, you can get rid of that crone he’s going to marry – Miss D’Evarle – I swear if ever a woman was aptly named – she is, pure evil she is – she takes great delight when young William is going to be punished!”

William dropped the half veal knuckle on his plate and wiped his mouth and fingers

“I shall throw out Sir Jasper, and his whore for DARING to conspire to injure my family – how are the other staff?”

“He’s kept the bare minimum on sire, Miss Rosenberg, only because she keeps master William busy, the cook, and a scullery and an under-maid, and two footmen. The rest he has ‘let go’ for financial purposes”

“Don’t tell me, GAMBLING!”

Sam nodded; he too wiped his mouth and fingers.

“I should have been told about this weeks ago!”

“But sir, we didn’t know! It was only down to Master William’s ingenuity that we knew something was wrong – he found letters from you to your lady wife that didn’t make sense – it was as though she was writing to you – instead, the letters were being forged by Miss D’Evarle!”

William stood and said,

“I shall see them hang for this – come Sam, we must fly!”

Sam checked over both horses, found them to be just fine and they started off again, Sir William anxious to get home to his dear wife and children.

As predicted, they got to Taunton by dusk, and Sir William hired two fresh horses for them to continue their last fifty miles of their journey.

“Sam, if possible, I don’t want them to know I’m back, can I sneak in some way?”

“Sure of it sir, but I don’t think you need worry, Sir Jasper goes out every night gambling, sometimes he takes Miss D’Evarle, sometimes not, but she would be in their bedchamber by 8.30pm if all goes usual, so there shouldn’t be a problem”

“Right, I’ll stay by the keepers cottages, you take the horses back to the stable, and then if the coast is clear, stand at my wife’s bedroom window with a candle – I shall see it and come in directly – if they are in – then I shall make my way to the stable and you can help me in, have you got that Sam?”

“Sir!”

By nine-thirty that evening, they were home, at Blackmore Hall.

Sam took both horses to the stables while Sir William waited anxiously out by the keepers cottages.

“Sam!”

“Miss Rosenberg!” her face fell and she said,

“But where is Sir William?”

“Have no fear – he doesn’t want them to know he’s back! Where are they?”

“Both went out over an hour ago!” Willow said, smiling

“Good, pass me the candle, I have to signal to is lordship it is safe for him to come in!”

Sam took the candle, opened the curtain and stood at the window, held it up. Sir William who had been pacing back and forth uttering curses and threats as to what he was going to do to his half-brother glanced up and clearly saw the glow of the candle in the window, he grinned and raced across the lawns and into the house………





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