‘Has anyone got a horse?’ he shouted to the bar in general. It was a forlorn hope, the Reverend realised. Horses were generally only owned by people of means but he thought there were mayhap one or two proud owners of a nag and even a cart dotted around the village.
‘Old Miller saved that bone setter from the knacker’s yard.’
‘It’ll take ‘em the rest o’ the bloody night to get to the pool on that old screw. It'd be quicker to walk.’
Reverend Shackleford fought the uncommon urge to swear. Percy looked as though he was about to collapse.
‘Father.’ Hope’s loud voice unexpectedly cut across the pub.
‘What the deuce are you doing here?’ the Reverend asked, forcing his way through the avid onlookers.
‘I have Lucifer outside,’ she continued breathlessly much to the excitement of bystanders. Everyone knew that the effort to get the Shackleford nag to do anything at all would at the very least be entertaining. And if the Reverend was intending to ride, well he’d definitely need a direct ear to the man upstairs…
‘I can’t ride that deuced animal,’ spluttered Augustus Shackleford, who was clearly of the same opinion.
‘Don’t be ridiculous father,’ Hope scoffed over her shoulder as she turned to go back outside. ‘I have the cart.’
The rest of the pub pushed and shoved their way through the door behind them, determined not to miss a second.
Without pausing, Hope climbed up onto the waiting cart before turning back to her father and Percy who were now looking at her as if she possessed two heads.
‘What are you waiting for?’ she yelled, gesturing urgently as Lucifer pawed the ground snorting.
‘Tare an’ hounds Hope my girl,’ the Reverend puffed approvingly as he clambered up onto the bench beside her, ‘a chip of the old block you are and no mistake.’
Once he was seated, he leaned down and shouted to Percy who was just about to climb up, ‘Take Freddy back to the vicarage Percy lad and get Agnes her salts. With a bit of luck she’ll have swooned by now.’
There was a wave of shudders and winces throughout the crowd with most of the onlookers muttering that the curate had definitely got the short end of the stick, but before Percy himself could argue, a villager quickly handed up an extra lantern to her father, just as Hope cracked the reins and the cart clattered off down the road, lamps bobbing wildly.
For the second time that day Hope found herself high tailing it towards Pear Tree cottage, but on this occasion she had an audience which had now swelled to include most of the village.
And three men who hung back under the eaves apart while silently observing the proceedings. Not only were the strangers possessed of horses, but they wasted no time before slipping away to fetch them.
Chapter Fourteen
Half an hour earlier...
Hope had been just about to retire to her room when the commotion began. Hearing her stepmother’s hysterics, she quickly ran down downstairs in time to see one of the villagers standing awkwardly in the doorway, wringing his hat whilst Agnes shrieked, ‘Anthony,’ at the top of her voice.
‘What’s happened?’ Hope spoke directly to the stranger on the doorstep recognising she would get no sense out of her stepmother who was now tottering around the hallway with a kerchief to her head.
‘The Revren wanted to know if the chilern have come ‘ome.’ Hope felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
‘No, they have not,’ she responded briskly. ‘Does my father have any idea as to where they could be?’
The man shook his head, clearly anxious to be gone. ‘Ol’ Bernard reckoned he seen ‘em ‘eading down Green Lane. Littleun said they was looking fer Prudence.’
‘Prudence was missing?’ Hope faltered.
‘Reckoned she was lookin’ fer some cull who’d ‘ad ‘is house nicked.’
Hope felt a sick feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. Her siblings were lost while heading to Pear Tree Cottage. Suddenly she knew what she had to do.
‘Go back to my father and inform him the children have not returned home,’ she ordered. The villager hastily doffed his cap and took to his heels. Slamming the door, she turned back to look for her stepmother. There was no sign of her in the hall, and hurrying into the parlour, she found her collapsed onto the chaise longue wailing.
Reasoning there was no time to waste and in truth Agnes was unlikely to put aside her histrionics any time soon, Hope shouted for Lily, their maid of all work and as soon as the girl appeared, instructed her to prepare her mistress some tea. Then grabbing her cloak, she put a taper to a lantern and hurried outside to the stables.
Leaving the lamp safely outside the stable door, she waited for her eyes to become used to the gloom. Fortunately, it was a clear night so with the moon behind her, it only took seconds to make out Lucifer in his stall. Putting on his tack was difficult in the semi darkness, but to her surprise the stallion remained still without trying to take a chunk out of her. Even more astonishing, he not only trotted willingly out into the yard, but allowed her to tether him to the cart. Shaking her head in disbelief, she quickly fetched another lamp to hang on the far side of the cart before climbing up. Picking up the reins, she reasoned that mayhap the horse was enjoying the adventure. Clearly, it was the most excitement he’d had in years.
