Hope (The Shackleford Sisters Book 4) by Beverley Watts

Author:Beverley Watts [Watts, Beverley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BaR Publishing
Published: 2022-03-17T00:00:00+00:00

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.

Once out of Blackmore village, Hope slowed the cart down a little to lessen the risk of losing their lamps and find themselves mired in a ditch somewhere.

‘We cannot take the cart off the road father,’ she said, ‘so if you think the goose wits are anywhere in the vicinity of Wistman’s pool, we’ll have to look for them on foot.

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