The Stick by David Beaty

Author:David Beaty [Beaty, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub

He slept badly that night. Jet lag and loneliness kept him wide awake until just before dawn. He dozed uneasily and woke to a bright morning.

The wind had dropped and the sky was blue. He heard the sound of Mrs Webb’s key in the door as he dried himself after his shower. He kept out of her way. She had been very fond of Harriet. And she liked to talk, given the chance. He couldn’t risk an emotional scene. So while the sound of the Hoover howled through the open windows, he went out into the garden and did some digging in the vegetable patch. At one o’clock when Mrs Webb had safely gone, he ate up the remains of the chicken casserole, and forced himself to reply to six more of the awful letters of sympathy.

At four-thirty, about the time he would normally feed Fandango, he set off to walk the mile to the field, cutting through the small wood at the back of Elmtrees, over a stile into a potato field and onto the farm track that led to Thresher’s Field.

The anonymous helper had already preceded him. A lady’s moped was propped against the wooden wall of the feed shed, a crimson helmet was hooked over one of the handlebars. The door was open, and a trail of hay led to the gate in the fence. Belinda was separating out the wafers of hay into the manger, while Fandango butted her impatiently with his head. She looked very slight and young and vulnerable beside the horse.

Catching the sound of his footsteps, she looked up suddenly. A procession of expressions crossed her face – surprise, guilt, apology, hope …

‘Oh, Captain Harker … Paul …’ She threw the rest of the hay into the manger, pushed past the horse and came up to the fence. ‘I hope you’re not angry. I don’t want to upset you. I hope I haven’t. But …’

‘I’m not angry, Belinda.’ He opened the gate and came into the field. ‘Why should I be? I simply came to see who was kind enough to be looking after the horse.’

He kept his voice very formal and reasonable and steady. ‘Madge … Mrs Truscott wondered …’

‘Didn’t she guess? I thought she would have.’

‘Apparently not.’

‘I almost rang her up and told her I was doing him. But I thought …’ She didn’t say what she thought. That Madge would tell her not to, most likely.

‘Anyway, I’m grateful, Belinda. Thank you. But now I can look after him myself.’

‘You mean, you don’t want me to do him any more?’

He nodded.

‘You’re sending me away? Telling me to get out of here?’

Her voice shook. ‘Like you did last time?’

‘That day,’ he said slowly, ‘it was quite unforgivable of me. I was upset. I’m very sorry.’

Tears filled her eyes at the memory of it, but she just said, I understand. That’s all right. I understand.’

He put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Do you? Do you really understand?’

‘Yes. Yes, I do.’ She lifted her face.

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