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Chapter 9

I think I shall move into this room with your mama, William, then I can keep an eye on things” Willow said

“Good – and I must go and see Sam again”

“Sam – why?”

“I need his help”


*********


Sam sat on an upturned feed-bucket, William on a bale of hay. Sam rubbed his chin thoughtfully

“What your askin’ Master William – tis a tall order…what makes you think the plan would work?”

“Because you are the best horseman in the world – my father told me so” Sam flashed a smile and said,

“Tis flattering that master William, don’t mean to say it’s true…”

“Sam…Sir Jasper wants my parents dead, then I’ll be next – then Blackmore Hall will be given away, lost to gambling debts – my grandfather cut him out of the will because of his gambling, he is jealous of my father and doesn’t only want his share, he wants my father’s share too”

The story seemed so plausible, and Sam could readily believe it, but he couldn’t go haring off cross-country on the say-so of a seven year old child…could he?”

“Saying…look, saying I did as ye’ asked…we don’t know where your father is in France – I could be on some wild goose-chase, n’ when I got back here, Sir Jasper would have me hanged for stealing two of his horses!”

William leant forward and said,

“I know where my father is – he is in Calais”

Sam looked surprised

“How do you know this, your father hasn’t contacted here for months?”

“I’ve read some of his missives – he has been writing to my mother for weeks and weeks now, the last one arrived just three days ago, but as she is ill, they don’t tell her – they are in a box with some more papers the Lawyer Mr Wolfram carries around with him”

William could see that Sam would need more information to completely convince him.

“When I’m supposed to be in bed, I sneak down and read them – the papers in his box – he doesn’t know – he drinks so much port wine and brandy after dinner he falls asleep – I even accidentally knocked the fire poker over once, but he didn’t wake up.”

“So why doesn’t your father come home as your mother can’t reply to his letters?”

“That’s it – either Sir Jasper, or Miss Drusilla must be forging letters to him – because what he writes doesn’t makes sense, in his last letter my father said,

‘My dearest, your description of the gardens now that they are I full bloom make me homesick, but fear not, God willing I shall be home in a few short months’ –

Sam, the gardens have only been in bloom this last fortnight – and mama has been sick now for five weeks – how could she possibly have put pen to paper – let alone leave her bedchamber, she has been too sick. My father is in France under the impression everything is fine here when the opposite is true, and by the time he does get home in a few months time, my mother will be dead from the poison, they will kill him, then me – if I’m not already dead too. Word MUST reach him – you are the only one I can trust not to betray what I’ve told you back to Sir Jasper”

Sam thought and said,

“I will do it for the love I have for your father, for I have no wish to be a servant under that tyrant, Sir Jasper…but how can I be away so long without raising suspicion?”

William smiled and said,

“I’ve thought of that!”

“Then pray, do tell!”

“You tell Sir Jasper that his two best horses need re-shoeing you know how he loves to race them – and even HE knows that a horse badly in need of shoeing won’t run fast. Next month is the Piltdown Races – tell him you want to take the horses to be shod where your predecessor, Jack used to take them for my father, promise him they will fly like the wind, like my father’s horses used to – they ALWAYS used to beat his horses and he used to get angry, remember – you were just a stable lad then”

Sam chuckled and nodded, not even giving it a thought as to how young William knew that…

“But what if he won’t have it, what if he just tells me to take them into the village as usual?”

“Oh, I should think the promise of the horses flying like the wind, and that he could bet his life savings on the races will be persuasion enough”

“Master William, you are a genius – but how do I get word to your father in Calais?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve copied the address down and Miss Willow will secretly send him a letter, telling him that you’ll be waiting for him – all this must be done in secret, he must return here with the total element of surprise, or vital evidence against Sir Jasper will be destroyed. The journey from Dover where he would land from France to here is too long to do on one horse, so this is where you come in,
My father can ride from Dover to the outskirts of the Burleigh estate, where he can meet you with the fresh horses – ordinarily my father would have borrowed a horse from Lord Athelborough to ride home here, but Lord Athelborough won’t help him because he knows once my father is back here, he won’t get his winnings from Sir Jasper” Sam nodded

“I understand…so the next thing is to get Miss Willow to send the letter – telling him all that’s happening here and that I shall meet him on the edge of the Burleigh Estate with fresh horses…so god help me Master William, I shall be there for your father, even if Sir Jasper denies me to take the horses further than the village to be shod!”

William beamed

“I knew I could rely on you Sam!”

**********

That evening, Willow put pen to paper and told Sir William just what was really happening at Blackmore Hall, and to make sure the letter went, Willow went down into the town to meet the mail coach herself.

When she got back, she was careful to keep to the back roads up to the Hall, as she arrived, she saw the Blackmore carriage being driven down the driveway and out through the gates.

When she got inside, Willow quickly made her way to Lady Elizabeth’s bedchamber.

She saw young William talking softly with his mother. He looked up and smiled when he saw Willow.

“Tis done master William, the missive to you father is on it’s way to France as we speak!”

“Did you hear that mama, father will be here soon, and everything will be alright”

The Lady Elizabeth could hardly keep her eyes open, but she gently squeezed her son’s hand and smiled, and soon was sleeping peacefully.

“As I was coming in, I saw the carriage leave - I think Sir Jasper must have gone out” Willow said

“They both have, I watched them go, I hid behind the curtains, they didn’t see me. I heard them talking in the hall, Drusilla said something about watching his gambling, and sir Jasper didn’t take kindly to it, he said she ought to mind her tongue, and they weren’t married yet, then she got angry, saying she wasn’t going to marry a pauper with no roof over his head”

“Miss Willow, will you please sit with my mama while I go to the study, there are more papers I need to read”

“Certainly, but please, take care”

“I will, I took the trouble to slip some brandywine in Sir Jasper’s port decanter, I know Mr Wolfram helps himself, he will get drunk quicker than expected!”

“Still my child, take care!”





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