Bart gave his wheezing laugh. ‘I’m not frightened of anyone.’ He raised his clenched fists. ‘Not as long as I’ve got these.’
‘My husband’s as big as you,’ she said, but she shrank back from Bart.
Annoyed, Stan gave his friend a shove. ‘Keep back. You’ve no call to threaten her like that.’
‘No call! After what she’s done to me?’
Stan could feel anger rising in him. ‘Stay there and shut up, or I’ll damned well shut you up, Bart Fuller.’
For a moment the two men eyed one another, but Bart’s eyes fell first and he let his fists drop.
Stan turned back to Mattie, noticing how thin and frail she looked. ‘What’s happened to you? You don’t look at all well. Isn’t he treating you decently?’
‘I’ve had pneumonia. I nearly died.’
‘Serves you bloody right,’ Bart said, saw his friend’s annoyed glance and grunted.
‘What did you come here for?’ she asked.
Her voice wobbled as she spoke. Stan frowned, remembering rumours of how badly Bart had once beaten her. ‘You’ve no need to be afraid of me. I’m not going to hurt you.’
‘Then why are you here?’
‘I want to find out …’ He looked sideways. ‘Go for a walk round the garden, Bart. I want to talk to her on my own.’
‘But I—’
‘You can ask her afterwards.’
After a moment’s hesitation, Bart walked away. ‘Five minutes,’ he called as he left the walled garden.
‘There’s a bench over there. Come and sit down.’ When she didn’t move, Stan took her arm and pulled her across to it.
‘What did you come here for?’ she repeated.
‘To ask you why.’
She didn’t seem to understand.
‘We were engaged, we’d got the banns being called. Why did you go back on your word like that, run away?’
‘I never wanted to marry you.’
Silence, then he couldn’t help asking, ‘Why not? I’d have treated you well and I’m a good provider. You wouldn’t have wasted the money I earned like my wife did, so we’d have got along all right. I had it all worked out.’
‘I just … didn’t want to marry you.’
‘Why didn’t you say so when you were asked, then? Why lead me on?’
‘I wasn’t asked, I was told. And I was too frightened of him to say no.’
Stan cursed himself. ‘I should have done the asking myself, but he said he knew how to deal with you.’
‘Threats. That’s how he dealt with us. Threats and bullying and beatings. And I didn’t like being sold to you. He boasted that you’d paid money for me.’
‘But that was only to make things easier for you, to stop him making trouble. You know what an old miser he is.’
‘I can’t believe you came all this way to ask me that. Did you know I was married?’
He nodded.
‘How did you find me, anyway?’
‘Fanny Breedon saw you at the station the day you got married. She heard the name of the old lady who owns this house and that’s how I found you. I was coming to ask the old lady where you were, didn’t know you were staying here.’
Bart wandered up and down the path outside the walled garden, angry at his friend for being so soft with her. He pulled his watch out and looked at it. Two more minutes to go. He wasn’t giving Stan longer, because someone might come and Bart wanted uninterrupted time with Mattie to find out where her sisters were. He’d do what he had to in order to find out, thump her if necessary, whatever Stan said.
As he was walking along the path a little girl came skipping round the corner and bumped into him. She let out a little yelp of shock.
‘Watch where you’re going, you stupid brat.’ He gave her a quick clout over the ear.
She cried out and he shook her hard. ‘Shut up, you!’
The gate was flung open and Mattie ran out. ‘Sarah!’
He knew then how to get the information out of her. He scooped up the little girl in his arms. ‘Stay back, Mattie, or she gets hurt.’
Luke’s shoelace had broken and it took him a while to knot the ends together well enough to walk. His sister wasn’t in sight, but he didn’t feel like hurrying, so strolled on in the sunshine, looking at the big house.
His dad wasn’t happy about Mattie inheriting it, he could tell. And Luke wasn’t sure he wanted to live there, either. You didn’t dare move for fear of breaking something, and it was too far from all his friends. But that bathroom was smashing. He was going to have a bath there tonight. Wait till he showed the house to his pals!
He heard Sarah give a yell and it sounded as if she’d hurt herself, so he started running. But when he got to the corner he saw her struggling against a brute of a man.
He hesitated, but knew he’d have no chance against a fellow like that, so turned and ran back the way he’d come, praying that his dad was on his way home.
Stan pulled Mattie back and stepped forward. ‘Let the little girl go, Bart.’
‘Not till Mattie’s told me what I want to know. If she doesn’t, I’ll hurt the kid.’
The child started weeping loudly and he shook her again. ‘Will you … shut up!’
He saw Stan move towards him and anger took over, as it did sometimes. ‘You keep out of this or I will hurt her. It’s between me and Mattie, this is.’
Stan stopped and stood there.
‘What do you want to know?’ Mattie asked.
‘Where are they?’
‘Who?’
‘Your sisters, who else would I mean?’
‘I don’t know where they are.’
‘I don’t believe you.’ He punched the girl’s arm just to show he meant business.
Mattie took a hasty step forward. ‘I don’t know, honest I don’t. They ran away but they didn’t tell me where.’
‘They’d not have run away if you’d not put it into their minds. Where did you tell them to go?’ He shook the child hard.
‘It wasn’t up to me. Nell was going to marry Cliff and they were going wherever he could find a job. He knew better than to stay in Swindon with you around.’
‘And Renie?’
‘She went with them.’
‘Didn’t they want you?’ he jeered. ‘I don’t blame them. You’re a contrary bitch, a troublemaker, and I can’t see why any fellow would want to marry you. But you’ll not fool me. I know you’re lying. You’d never have let them two get out of touch. You’ve been like a mother to them. Tell me what I want to know or this one gets hurt!’
‘I can’t. I don’t know. Honest I don’t.’
He tightened his grip on the girl, the anger boiling up in his head, clouding his vision.
Luke sobbed in relief as he saw his father down the lane. ‘Dad, come quick. There’s a big horrible man. He’s got hold of our Sarah an’ he’s hurting her. There’s another man got hold of Mattie.’
‘
What
?’
‘We have to get help, Dad. There’s two of them and they’re really big.’
‘There isn’t time. You pick up some stones and get ready to throw them. Don’t let fly till you’re sure of hitting your target. I’m not leaving Mattie and Sarah in some brute’s power.’
They started running up the hill.
‘Stay on the grass,’ Jacob whispered. ‘Don’t make a noise. We want to take them by surprise. Where are they?’
‘Just outside that garden with the wall round it.’
They got to the corner of the wall and Jacob held up one hand. He peeped round and saw Sarah in a man’s grip. She was crying. Mattie was standing beside another man, looking terrified.
As he started creeping forward the man beside Mattie caught sight of him.
Jacob stopped dead, expecting the fellow holding her to yell a warning, but he didn’t. Instead he turned back to the man holding Sarah and said, ‘Let the little girl go, Bart. You shouldn’t hurt a child.’
‘Not till Mattie’s told me—’
Jacob took this as a sign that for some strange reason the man holding Mattie was on his side and covered the last two yards in a run. He dragged the brute holding his daughter backwards by the collar.
Letting out a yelp of surprise, the man let go of Sarah but made a quick recovery and turned on his attacker.
The other fellow pulled Mattie back, not letting go of her, and that distracted Jacob for a minute, which let the brute get a punch in that he only half-avoided.
For the next couple of minutes it was all Jacob could do to hold his own as his opponent tried every dirty trick he could think of to get the better of him.
* * *
‘He’s a good fighter, Bart is,’ Stan said. ‘You have to give him that. No, Mattie, stay back and look after the little girl. You’ll get hurt if you try to come between them.’
He let go of her and she put her arms round Sarah. ‘Can’t you stop him, Stan? What good does fighting ever do?’
‘You’ll not stop Bart now. He’s in one of his rages. Anyway, I like to see a good fight.’
‘You’re as bad as my stepfather.’
‘No, I’m damned well not!’ But he continued to watch the fight and she didn’t dare try to intervene, just held Sarah close.
From the corner of the garden, Luke watched in horror as the horrible man punched his dad, tried to kick his shins and then just missed gouging his eye. He wanted to help but wasn’t stupid enough to get close. He hefted a stone in his hand, waiting for the opportunity. He was a good shot, best cricketer in the village. He had to make this count first time, he knew.
When the two men drew slightly apart to catch their breath, it was the perfect opportunity. Luke raised his arm and let fly with a smooth stone. The years of ball games paid off and the stone flew straight and true to hit the stranger on the temple.
He dropped to the ground without even a groan. For a moment Luke’s father stood panting, wiping the sweat from his eyes with the one forearm, keeping an eye on the man on the ground as if expecting an attack from him.
But the stranger didn’t move.
A new fear clutched Luke’s belly. He hadn’t killed the man, had he?
The man next to Mattie raised his hands in a gesture of non-aggression as Jacob turned towards him. Jacob watched him carefully, not trusting him an inch. To his relief Mattie seized her opportunity to get further away, pulling Sarah with her.
Then everyone waited, watching one another warily.
‘I didn’t come here to fight,’ Stan said. ‘I’ve found out what I wanted to know.’ He thrust his hands deep into his pockets, watching Jacob warily.
‘What were you doing here? What did you want to find out?’
‘I wanted to ask Mattie something. I’ve asked her now. I told Bart not to attack anyone, but he sees red sometimes. Still, you were all right. You know how to handle yourself. Good fight, that. There’s not many can hold their own against him.’
As Bart stirred and groaned, Luke came up to join them with a big garden fork in his hand. He jerked this towards Stan. ‘If you touch my dad, I’ll stab you.’
‘Good lad! Always stick up for your own. But I’m not going to touch him. I’ve not touched anyone.’
Bart sat up warily, looking round, groaned and felt his temple, then got slowly to his feet, swaying.
Stan looked towards the house. ‘I’m surprised the old lady hasn’t come out to see what the trouble is.’
‘She’s dead,’ Luke said. ‘It’s Mattie’s house now.’
At this news Bart swung round. ‘What do you mean, “It’s Mattie’s house”?’
‘Miss Newington left it to her in the will. Mattie’s rich now and we all live here.’
‘I don’t believe you.’ Bart wiped away the blood that was streaming from a cut on his temple with a crumpled pocket handkerchief, but made no effort to attack anyone again.
‘It’s true.’ Jacob gave Mattie a quick hug and kept her by his side, still keeping an eye on the two intruders.
Stan began to laugh suddenly. ‘You’ve missed out there, Bart. You’d have had more than enough money for your old age if you’d not attacked your Mattie’s husband.’ He looked at her. ‘I’d have took you without the money. Remember that.’
‘I wed her before we knew she’d inherited,’ Jacob said.
The two men eyed one another, the hostility between them clear to everyone else.
Bart clapped one hand to his chest, groaning. ‘Bloody pain’s come back.’ He scowled at Mattie. ‘I don’t believe you about Renie and Nell. You must know where they are. Tell me!’
‘I don’t know. I swear it.’
‘Liar! But I’ll find them, see if I don’t.’
‘Even Cliff’s family don’t know where they’ve gone. We planned it that way to keep them safe.’ She didn’t add ‘from you’, but it was understood by all present.
After one more scowl in her direction, he started stumbling down the hill.
Stan followed him, turning after a few steps to look back at Mattie, and to her surprise what she saw in his face was longing and sadness.
She didn’t speak, though, and none of them moved until the two men had disappeared from sight.
‘Follow them and see where they go,’ Jacob ordered his son. ‘Don’t let them see you, though.’
‘Stan won’t hurt him,’ Mattie said. ‘He came to see me, not to thump anyone.’
‘What did he want to see you for?’
‘He cares about me,’ she said, unable to hide her surprise. ‘I never realised, thought he just wanted a wife for the convenience.’
‘Perhaps you should have married him.’
She shuddered. ‘I never could. He’s too much like my stepfather.’
‘They look alike, could have been father and son.’ Jacob bent down to his daughter. ‘You’re not hurt, are you, Sarah?’
‘Only a bit. I’m glad you punched that man, Dad, and I’m glad Luke hit him with a stone.’
‘We should have got someone to keep an eye on the house while we were at church,’ Jacob said, ‘and I would have if I’d known you’d be silly enough to go outside.’
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.’
‘That’s not what upsets me. It’s the thought of you being in danger that I can’t bear.’
Those words made her feel warm inside.
By the time they got into the house, Luke was running up the drive again.
Jacob stopped at the front door. ‘Well?’
‘They had a cab waiting. They got into it and drove away.’
‘Come inside, then. Cook and Horace will be back soon. They wanted to have a cup of tea with her friend after church.’