Moorcroft - the Possession: Book One of the Moorcroft Trilogy (8 page)

Upstairs on the landing Charles and Richard stood looking down but could see nothing out of the ordinary. John approached them tying his dressing gown around him.

“What on earth was that Godforsaken noise? It sounded like an animal in distress.”

Richard bridled. “The mare!”

He ran down the stairs, unbolted the back door and ran across the yard. Still in his slippers and dressing gown he made his way straight to the mare’s stall. The horses snorted as he rushed passed them. A sigh of relief passed his lips, she was fine. Again he looked around the yard as he secured the stables. By the time he got back to the hall Charles and his father were waiting.

“Is everything okay?” Charles asked.

Richard smiled. “Dancing Lady is fine, thank goodness. I checked the stables everything is okay in there.” He looked up the stairs. “Father has anyone checked on mother and the girls?”

His father nodded. “They are all fine, just a bit shook up and a little scared. What was that dreadful noise, does anyone know?”

Mr Howard, rather breathless, appeared behind Richard.

“I and the stable boy have had a good look around outside Sir, but nothing seems out of order. Perhaps it was a fox caught in a trap, the tenants have been complaining lately of losing some of their poultry.”

John was relieved to have the matter cleared up. “That must be it. Now let’s all get back to bed before the morning and work is upon us.”

Shaking his head, and feeling the aches in his old bones, John climbed the stairs. “What a night.”

Charlotte sighed and wiped away her tears as she watched them all return to their bedrooms. Her time would come, she wouldn’t always be alone, she would make sure of that.

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The summer passed like a whirlwind. Victoria visited Moorcroft whenever she could, eager to see Richard. Like Sarah and Charles they were often seen walking by the river arm in arm or riding across the fields. Dancing Lady finally dropped her foal, a handsome colt and Richard asked Victoria to name him, she chose the name Emperor. John was pleased with the colt and thought that Richard had become a fine horseman and left that side of the estate to him. He was getting tired and was glad of Charles’s help with the estate, although at times he thought he was a bit hard with the tenants. Emily kept her eye on her daughter, she seemed to have blossomed since her party, and she followed Charles around like a love sick puppy, much to his amusement. Emily had mentioned this affair several times to John and had told him to start saving for a forthcoming wedding. John told his wife to stop being silly, he still saw Sarah as his little girl.

Charles had taken Sarah many times to meet his parents who lived in Worcester. She got on well with them and had loved their home and the surrounding area. Although Emily admired and loved Charles Wesley she feared that one day he would take her daughter away. Victoria on the other hand was never away from Moorcroft and she and Sarah were constantly chatting and enjoyed going into town window shopping. Richard was kept busy with the horses and the estate and regularly held meetings with his father and Charles to discuss the monthly accounts. He often had rows with his father who was still too lenient with his tenants, their rent was essential for the upkeep of the farm and he knew Charles constantly had to tell the tenants to keep up good husbandry and to check the boundary fences and walls.

The following winter seemed very cold and long with high winds that rocked the trees, snow and hail soon followed making the ground soggy, followed by the hard frosts. The tenants complained the soil was sour and the crops would not be good and lambing would be poor. John, once a factory owner knew nothing of farming and feeling sorry for his tenants and unbeknown to his son, halved their rent. Mr Howard could see what was happening and heard rumours in the village, and sitting in the kitchen with Mrs Shaw he often voiced his concerns. Mrs Shaw felt the same but what could they do, it was obvious that John Gardener was not an astute business man, but a man with a sympathetic heart, which his tenants took advantage off.

Emily came in from the garden and kicked of her boots in the rear porch. She could hear Richard shouting and a door slam and Richard came rushing towards her.

“What on earth is the matter, Richard?”

He grabbed his coat. “Ask your husband. If he thinks he can run the farm better than me and Charles then let him get on with it. I’ve had it up to here; all he does is keep on undermining us. We tell the tenants one thing and he contradicts us. If he carries on like this we will have no estate to run, but will he listen? I’m going for a ride to clear my head before I do something I will later regret. I’m sorry Mother.”

With that he was out of the door heading for the stables. Emily sighed and hung up her coat. She was getting too old to referee these arguments. As she entered the hall she saw Charles leaving the study. He looked at her, shrugged his shoulders and shook his head and made his way to the dining room.

Emily stood holding the door knob of the study and took a deep breath before she entered. John was slumped in his chair, his head held in his hands, with a glass of whisky on the table by his side. He didn’t look up when she entered. She walked towards him and placed her hand on his shoulder. His gaunt look as he looked up shocked her.

He held her hand to his face. “I can’t carry on fighting with our son. He wants to modernise, update things. What’s wrong with the way we do thing’s, it’s been the same for years and we’ve always managed. Now he wants to sell one of the farms to pay for some fandangle equipment for the horses. For me that’s the beginning of the end.”

Emily sat opposite John and looked into his eyes. “John, my darling, don’t you think it’s time you let go of the reigns and let Richard and Charles run the estate? You said yourself what a good job they were doing. Leave them to it and retire, spend more time with me.”

John looked surprised. “But, Emily, this is my life. I enjoy meeting the other farmers and talking to them and their families, watching their children grow up. Without that what do I have left?”

“John, you can still visit the tenants, but leave the running to Richard. You know what a temper he has. One of these days one of you will have a heart attack and I’m afraid it might be you and what would I do then?”

John looked up to his wife and could see the worried look on her face. “Perhaps you’re right. You are a wise old dear. What would I do without you?”

“Hey, less of the old.” Together they laughed.

The atmosphere in the house became unbearable. John would walk out of a room when Richard entered and Richard would throw his arms in the air. Charles and the girls just looked embarrassed. Emily knew something had to be done and she decided to talk to Charles. Walking into the dining room with a tray of coffee she found Charles with his head down over a pile of papers.

“You look like you could do with a break.” He sat back with a sigh and greeted her.

“I’m trying to sort out these books, but I’m sorry to say your husband does not keep very good accounts.”

“Charles take a minute, I need to talk to you.”

They both sat at the table with a cup of coffee in their hands and looked at each other. Charles knew what was on her mind, but decided to let her start the conversation.

“Charles I need your advice. What am I going to do about this silly feud between John and Richard?”

“I thought that was what you wanted to talk about. Can I speak plainly?”

Emily nodded.

“Richard is hot headed, always has been as long as I’ve known him, but he has a good business head on him. He wants to bring things up to date on the estate and he’s asked me to look at the books and see how things stand. John, on the other hand, is living in the good old days. Things are plodding on nicely and probably would for another few years but things get worn out and need replacing, more efficient and new methods of farming are taking over.” Charles gave a big sigh.

Emily looked at him. “I feel a but coming on.”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I’ve gone over these figures three times and things are not looking good. John is too nice for his own good. He lets the tenants off with all kinds of things and its only just coming to light.”

“What kind of things are we talking about?”

“Well, for instance, Tom Clague from Upper Farm hasn’t paid his rent for four months. When I asked John about it he said his wife and his little girl were sick and he had to pay for medicines and his car had broken down and he needed to have it fixed so that he could get into town. Nice gesture, you might think, but I see his little girl skipping to school most mornings and I’ve seen his wife putting shopping in the back of that car in the village and she and the car looked fine to me. Then there’s Stan Bennet over at The Copse, he told John he got a bad price for his sheep at market and couldn’t make ends meet, that he had a wife and five kids to feed, so John let him pay half the rent for three months. I was talking to Jim from Lower Farm and he said Stan got a good price at market. John is too gullible he believes everything they tell him. Now Richard has heard people talking in the village about how generous Mr Gardener is to his tenants. When he found out what his father had been doing he was furious. That’s why I have ended up looking over the books.”

Emily looked down at her hands in her lap. “Is there anything we can do Charles?”

“I’ve told Richard to back off and to leave his dad to me, but you’ve seen what they’re like. I’ve talked to John and explained that this sort of thing can’t go on, but I don’t know if he’s taking it in. I just don’t know what else to do.”

“When you’ve sorted out the books come and see me, let me know how things stand and we’ll tackle them together. Things can’t go on like this.”

“Sure, if that’s what you want.”

When Emily had left the room Charles looked down at the accounts in front of him. He thought Richard was right, he had mentioned selling off one of the farms for immediate repairs, but to do that they needed John’s permission.

Emily stood in the hall for a few minutes trying to collect her thoughts. She now had a throbbing headache, she needed to lie down. Slowly she climbed the stairs and entered her bedroom. She closed the curtains and went into the bathroom for a glass of water and some tablets. She removed her outer clothing lay on top of the bed and pulled the heavy eiderdown over her and closed her eyes, she was soon asleep. Charlotte looked down at the older woman sleeping. She couldn’t remember much about her own mother, she never seemed to have much time for her, and in later years she was always walking around the house talking to her self ignoring everyone. This woman seemed nice enough, it was obvious that she cared for her children, perhaps they could be friends. Emily feeling the cold in her sleep pulled the covers tighter around her. Charlotte walked across the room and sat at the dressing table, she picked up the brush and ran it through her hair and admired herself in the mirror. She had good bone structure, high cheek bones and sparkling eyes, long black shiny hair, and a body that yearned for the feel of a man’s embrace, what more could a man want. She spotted Emily’s sapphire engagement ring and tried it on, admiring the sparkle she decided to keep it, the ring was pretty. She could hear Sarah talking to Victoria on the landing, she must go and listen, see what plans they had in store, and see if she could spoil them. A smile crossed her face as she left the room.

The girls were in Sarah’s room trying on dresses that they had bought that afternoon at the shops. Victoria had purchased a light blue wool dress that clung to her hips and showed off her shapely figure. She was standing in front of the mirror when Sarah came out of the bathroom. “That looks great on you. Just wait until Richard sees you in that. I feel an engagement party coming up.”

In the corner Charlotte bridled.

“Do you really think so? These last few weeks he seems to be preoccupied with the farm.”

Sarah took Victoria’s place in front of the mirror, turning from side to side admiring herself in her new suede skirt and boots. “Charles tells me that he and dad have been fighting over the estate. I don’t take much notice to be honest.”

Slipping the dress over her head Victoria looked at her friend.

“Richard has been very quiet lately. Whatever it is, it seems to be upsetting him. Do you think I should talk to him about it?”

Sarah looked at Victoria standing there in knickers and bra, she had a gorgeous figure.

Sarah smiled. “Just flaunt that in front of him and he won’t think about anything else.”

Victoria picked up a pillow from the bed and threw it across the room at her friend. Charlotte’s temper flared and she knocked the bedside lamp to the floor.

The girls whizzed round and looked.

Victoria went and picked it up and returned it to the table. “How on earth did that happen?”

Sarah’s breathing became laboured and she shivered as she felt the cold air rushing passed her. That woman was here again. She looked around the room but could see nothing, but she knew she was lurking somewhere in the shadows.

Richard handed over his horse to Eddie, the stable hand, and entered the house. After hanging up his coat he went straight to the dining room looking for Charles. As he entered Charles looked up from his paperwork and nodded. Richard studied his friend. He had known him from his college days and he was his best friend and arbitrator between himself and his father. “I need a drink, how about you?

Charles shook his head. “No thanks, I have to keep a clear head. These books are all over the place.”

Richard walked over to the table. “Charles, I want you to be straight with me. How are things looking?”

Charles looked up and shook his head. “Not so good, I’m afraid. You may be right. You might have to sell one of the farms. Have you any ideas about which one should go?”

Richard sat down opposite Charles and ran his hand through his hair. “Yes. Old Jed from Upper Farm has been hinting that he’s getting too old to run the farm and wants his son to take over, but his Bill doesn’t want to be a tenant, unlike his father he wants to own the farm outright. What do you think?”