“Mind your manners, Archie, what do you say?”
Archie snapped out of his trance and glanced up at Lord Brewcaster.
“Thank you, so much,” he whispered, too choked to say more.
Lord Brewcaster clamped a friendly hand on Archie’s shoulder. “I hope we will see you soon up at the Manor.”
“Have you moved in now?” Archie gasped. He hadn’t seen any new carriages, or any large procession of carts trundling furniture and the like through the village.
“My wife is still unpacking as we speak. I hope to see you back in the scullery, Betsy, if you still want the job?”
“Oh, yes sir. That would be wonderful!” Betsy gasped, all aflutter.
“Hopefully now, life in the village can start to get back to normal,” Lord Brewcaster announced, shrugging into his jacket.
“I don’t think I need to say how grateful we are for your generosity and kindness, my Lord,” Jack said hesitantly.
“No need for the formalities, Jack,” Lord Brewcaster announced, holding out his hand in a friendly gesture. “Not with me. Never with me.”
With that the new lord of the parish of Battleflat took his leave. Rather than riding around on a huge chestnut mount, peering down at the locals, he picked up a cane Archie hadn’t noticed sitting beside the kitchen door and began to walk down the track toward Battleflat Manor.
Archie moved to the gate at the end of his garden and watched the cane being swung around almost jauntily, as the man answered friendly calls of welcome, and hello as he went.
“Well, Archie my boy, it looks as though things around here are going to change after all, and not in any way for the bad.”
Archie merely nodded, feeling a strange kinship with the newest villager. The perfect opportunity arose, and Archie couldn’t resist it. Glancing cheekily up at his dad, he smiled secretively.
“Can I go and play with Edward rather than stay at home to visit? Plleaasseee?”
Jack glanced ruefully down at his eldest son. Although he didn’t agree with the risks Archie took, and had made no bones about telling him, he couldn’t begrudge the boy some free time to play. Especially given he had just earned the family an entire ten years’ worth of pay, and an entirely different future lay ahead of them as a result.
“Go on, have the afternoon off. But just this once, mind!” Jack warned. “Don’t think it is going to be a regular thing now.”
Archie merely grinned and sprinted back to the house, giving Edward the thumbs up briefly before disappearing inside.
Making the most of their afternoon together, Archie and Edward played chase, hide and seek, and hunted for frogs until, by dusk, both boys were fighting exhaustion.
Edward had finally managed to coax Archie back to the spinney, where Archie paused for several long moments, staring at the spot where Mr Harriman met his end.
“Last one to the highest branch is a stinky sausage,” Edward called. He had been issuing that challenge every time he wanted to race Archie for as long as either boy could remember.
Although now he was older, and wiser, Archie merely shook his head. But the opportunity to beat his friend was just too great and, with a grin, Archie began to climb the huge oak tree until he was seated beside Edward, their legs dangling many feet above the spinney floor.
The scenery was very different this time. The fields, once golden and bursting with life were now dark brown and barren. Even the oak tree had begun to answer the changing seasons, losing a lot of the lush leaves to leave the branches open and at the mercy of the brisk autumnal winds.
“It’s getting dark, we need to be getting back.” Edward’s voice was laden with reluctance.
“I know, but just a few minutes more.”
“It’s not that bad being back here, is it?” Edward glanced at his now quiet friend. The afternoon had been one of the best he and Archie had shared, and it bothered Edward to see Archie now quiet and almost withdrawn.
“It’s great about the schooling, isn’t it? Although my dad gave me a scolding for the risks we took, he is delighted that I can go to school.”
“It’s great news,” Archie sighed, “I can’t wait.”
“What do you think the tutor is going to be like?” Edward asked, knowing that if anyone knew, Archie would.
Archie shrugged. “If Mr – Lord Brewcaster, chooses him, I am sure he will be fine. As long as he teaches us to read and write, I will like him.”
“Cor, I can’t believe it is going to happen,” Edward sighed, swinging his legs backward and forward only to grab the branch moments later when a particularly strong gust of wind threatened to sweep him away.
“Archie! Edward!”
The boys turned to Jack who was walking toward the spinney, clearly looking for them to return home before dark.
“Come on, time to go,” Archie sighed, clambering down to stand on the ground. Although he still liked the spinney, and being back there again wasn’t as bad as he had thought it would be, he didn’t relish being there after dark.
Waiting only until Edward came to stand beside him, Archie pushed through the hedge and began to walk toward his father.
“Time to come in now, your teas are ready,” Jack said, studying the boys closely. Marjorie would have a fit at the new hole in Archie’s knees, and Edward was covered from head to toe in leaves, but Jack couldn’t find the heart to tell them off. For the first time in many weeks, Archie’s eyes were bright with happiness, and his cheeks were tinged pink with good health. It made Jack proud, and relieved, to have his son back.
It was darker than Archie realised, and although it only took a few minutes to walk down the track, it was already dark by the time they reached the outskirts of the village. In the distance to the right, the looming bulk of Battleflat Manor stood in resplendent glory.
Archie frowned, and studied the trees marking the edge of the garden more closely.
There! In the darkest part of the trees, was a flickering light. A light that from the way it was moving, was someone weaving in and out of the woods, heading toward the manor. Although, because of the lake the trees ran around, they weren’t walking a known through-route. The ground was too soft, and uneven to be used for anything, including being walked on.
His eyes locked on the light, he watched for several minutes as the light appeared, then disappeared several times, although from his distance, it was impossible to see anyone holding the lantern, and Archie was sure it was a lantern. But who would be walking through the woods, on uneven and dangerous ground, in the dark at a time of day when everyone was settling in their homes for the night?
“Archie!”
Archie jumped at the sound of his name and turned to look at his dad, waiting impatiently at the end of his road.
He took two steps forward. Curiosity drove him to glance toward the woods once more. Was the light going to the manor?
He kept his eyes on the woods until they were blocked from sight by the first houses, but didn’t see the light again.
“Coming!” Archie called dutifully and, with a quickened step, followed his dad.
Coming soon – The Ghost of Battleflat Manor.
Archie's Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery Page 20