Archie's War

by Margi McAllister

  Archie squatted down beside him. Star opened his eyes slowly, saw Archie, and scrambled to his paws.

  “What about a walk, then?” said Archie, and Star’s tail wagged furiously. “What about a run? Let’s hide you in the barrow and go to the wood!”

  Under the shelter of the beech trees in Little Keld Wood Archie picked up a stick to throw. Star watched, bright-eyed and excited.

  “Now, Star,” said Archie. “We’ll have the best time ever.”

  They walked for hours that day, they ran, they splashed in and out of the beck. Archie climbed a tree, called Star, and watched the dog looking for him, but he couldn’t bear to leave Star confused for long so he dropped down to be greeted like a long-lost best friend. Then he threw sticks into the beck, and when Star ran in to fetch them Archie ran in too, and rubbed water through the sooty smudges on Star’s coat. After Star had shaken himself dry he found some good soft mud to roll in so Archie had to wash him again, and then made sure that they stayed on the high dry ground. At last, when every last stick had been found and shaken and carried about, every squirrel chased up a tree and every rabbit put to flight, Archie whistled for Star. Star trotted to his side. He was content.

  Archie clipped the lead to Star’s collar and walked him back to the cottage, wheeling the barrow at the same time. It was all over now. If anyone recognized Star, it wouldn’t matter.

  At Gardener’s Cottage, nobody was home. When Star had had a drink Archie did his best to clean off the rest of the smudges with soap and did so well that only faint traces remained. After getting so wet the dog looked unusually clean, and his coat was soft as a puppy’s. White hairs drifted into the air when he moved. Archie sat down beside him.

  “We’ve got to be right big about this, Star,” he said. “We’ve got Master Ted back now, and you found him. You’re a good dog.” At the sound of Master Ted’s name and “good dog”, Star’s ears lifted. “He’s your master and you have to go back to him. He’s not well, and you can help make him better. You understand? You’re a grand dog. If it were up to me I’d never—” he swallowed hard, then went on “—I’d never part with you ever, not for all the world and everything in it. And I have to explain it all to Lady Hazelgrove and she’s going to kill me, but you don’t have to worry about that.”

  He was glad nobody was there. He wrapped both arms round Star, pressing his face against him. Then drew his sleeve across his eyes and fastened the lead again.

  “Come on, Star,” he said. “Let’s find him.”

  As it turned out, Archie hardly got a word in. He stood in the Great Hall with Star at his feet. Star’s tail was wagging, but Archie’s stomach felt the way it did on the drive to Kent in Lady Hazelgrove’s car. Then Lady Hazelgrove was there with Connel beside her and Star was straining at the lead.

  “Archie!” she cried. “Is this…”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  “But it can’t be!”

  “It is, my lady.”

  “Star!” she called, and Archie couldn’t have held on to the lead if he’d tried. Star hurled himself at Lady Hazelgrove, jumping for joy, wagging his tail and falling over at her feet. Connel looked down from her great height, tail wagging slowly in welcome as Star ran round in circles and finally crouched in front of her with his face between his paws and challenged her to a play fight. Lady Hazelgrove lifted Star in her arms and held him, lifting her face as he tried to lick her.

  “It’s really him, isn’t it!” she said. “It’s Ted’s Star!”

  “My lady, I’m very sorry,” faltered Archie. “I can explain. It’s not my dad’s fault, it’s…”

  “Archie, stop,” she said firmly. She put Star down, but she still watched him with a soft, kind smile, the way people smiled at little Flora. “Since Ted was found I’ve blamed myself every day because of Star. What was I going to tell Ted if he came round and asked for his dog? And here he is!” She put a finger to the corner of her eye. “Little Star. I’ve missed you. It’s quite wonderful, it really is.”

  “Please, my lady, I just couldn’t stand to see it done,” he said. “So…”

  “Quite right too.” She knelt to stroke Star and smooth his long ears. “So was it Star that you had with you at Fivewells?”

  “Yes, my lady, but Lady Dunkeld didn’t know. It was really Star that found Master Ted, my lady.”

  “And he can find him again,” she said, and stood up. “Thank you, Archie. With all my heart, thank you. Let’s take Star up at once. Star, shall we find Ted?”

  “Star, seek your master,” said Archie.

  Star bounced up the stairs with his ears flapping and flew along the landings. Outside Master Ted’s room he barked insistently.

  “Quiet, Star,” said Archie.

  “Let him bark,” said Lady Hazelgrove happily. “Ted needs to hear him. You’ve no idea how good it is to see him bounding along like that! He’s settled straight back in as if he’d never been away.”

  “Yes, my lady,” said Archie, but the words were dull in his mouth and heavy in his heart. He shouldn’t have given Star an order at all, not when Lady Hazelgrove was there. The door opened and Star hurled himself at the bed.

  “Down!” shouted the nurse. “My lady, I’m so sorry, a dog in the… Shoo! Bad dog!”

  “It’s all right, nurse,” said Lady Hazelgrove. “Let him be. This is Ted’s dog and if anyone can make Ted better, he can.”

  Star jumped on the bed, sniffed, and wondered why Ted didn’t wake up. There were strange sniffs around him, very clean and not quite right, and he was catching a whiff of something unpleasant that reminded him of the vet. Poor Ted, had they taken him to the vet? He still smelt like Ted, though, and tasted like him too.

  “I would prefer not to have the dog licking the patient’s face, my lady,” said the nurse sternly, but it was too late.

  “Ted,” said Lady Hazelgrove, “it’s Star. Your little dog, you remember? You’ll have to wake up now.”

  Archie took Master Ted’s right hand. The nurse tried to stop him but Lady Hazelgrove simply said “nurse” in a voice nobody would argue with. He placed the hand on Star’s head and stroked the stiff fingers down the dog’s back, head to tail. Star twisted round to have a lick.

  “It’s your Star, Master Ted,” he told him. “He wants you.” Then he left Master Ted’s hand on Star’s head.

  Taking Star back had been the right thing to do, the only thing to do. He’d only been looking after Star because they thought Master Ted had died. But taking him back had seemed impossible, and he couldn’t quite believe that he had found the strength to do it. He almost wished that he hadn’t. Now he looked down at Master Ted, still and silent with that scar on his head and his hand over Star, who looked as bright-eyed as any dog could, and he found he was smiling. Forgetting where he was and who she was, he turned and beamed up at Lady Hazelgrove, and she smiled back and put her hand on his shoulder. I can do it now, he thought. It won’t be easy, but I can walk away and leave Star here. He looked back at Master Ted and gasped.

  They all saw it at the same time. Master Ted’s fingers were moving. His eyes were still shut, his wrist did not move, but his fingers flexed, stretched, and curled into Star’s coat.

  Behind them the door opened. Archie didn’t turn, but the firm step told him that Lord Hazelgrove was here. For a moment he thought he’d have to explain about Star all over again.

  “Good gracious!” said Lord Hazelgrove. “I thought that dog was dead!”

  “Archie did something quite marvellous,” said Lady Hazelgrove. “And, look! Look at Ted!”

  “Good gracious!” he said again. Soon Master Ted’s hand lay unmoving on Star’s back.

  “But he did it!” said Lady Hazelgrove. “He moved! We all saw it!”

  “Let’s not get our hopes up too much,” said the nurse.

  All the way back to Gardener’s Co
ttage Archie relived that moment when Master Ted’s fingers had moved, and he smiled whenever he thought of it. But all the same, it was a lonely walk. That night he lay awake in a strange quiet with no Star to lie on his feet, or sigh in his sleep.

  “You crying?” asked Will.

  “Shut up,” said Archie.

  The next morning, work had to go on as normal. Archie took the vegetables to the kitchen and walked into a hubbub of chatter from the housemaids.

  “He must have meant Miss Julia…”

  “Or Caroline, maybe he meant Caroline…”

  “Why would he talk about her, he never sees her…”

  “He meant t’nurse, didn’t he?”

  “Who meant what?” asked Archie, handing over the basket.

  “Master Ted!” said Aggie, almost jumping with excitement. “He opened his eyes and said something. Mr Grant was there and he said it wasn’t very clear but it might have been ‘sister’, so I reckon he meant t’nurse.”

  “Maybe he’s lost his memory, poor soul,” said somebody else. “If he’s lost his memory he might think he’s a little lad again, and he wants his sister.”

  A wide grin spread across Archie’s face.

  “That’s daft,” he said. “He meant ‘Star’.”

  “Oh, yes, the little dog,” said a housemaid. “I wondered what had happened to him. We thought he’d died. That’s what we heard. He’s up there now like a blooming hearthrug.”

  All the way home the news shone inside Archie. Star had done it, he had called Master Ted back from that deep dark place of trenches and death. He was proud of his – of Master Ted’s dog. In his head, he said it again. Master Ted’s dog – and it seemed as if just thinking of the dog made him appear, because Star was galloping across the garden to him while Lady Hazelgrove followed with Connel. Archie dropped to his knees and soon Star was in his arms, wriggling as Archie ruffled his coat.

  “Hello, you!” said Archie, and for a moment it was as if nothing had changed, as if they were running about Little Keld Wood again. Star shook himself free, found a stick, dropped it at Archie’s feet and scampered back, watching for the throw.

  “Morning, my lady!” called Archie. “I hear Master Ted’s started to talk!”

  “Isn’t it splendid news?” she said. “Star, come here and stop pestering Archie. Poor Ted, he’ll have to learn things all over again.”

  Star brought back the stick and Archie threw it again. “Please may I go to see him, my lady?” He felt quite at ease with Her Ladyship these days. But a small, slow smile told him the answer before she said anything.

  “Not yet, Archie, he needs to keep quiet. And you know, he won’t want people seeing him when he’s still not quite right. I’ll tell him you asked after him.”

  “If you ever want Star taking for a walk, my lady, I’m most willing to,” he said.

  Lady Hazelgrove gave that little smile again, the sort of smile she would never use to a member of the family, only to staff. “I’ll take Star out with Connel, just as it used to be,” she said. “Dear Star, he’s easily confused – he has to learn all over again that he lives at the Hall. We’re most grateful to you, you know, for all you’ve done.”

  And that was that. There was nothing to do but give a nod of understanding, pat Star, and go back to whatever the day’s tasks were. He’d been shut out and put in his place. The gardener’s boy.

  Just once, he looked over his shoulder. Star was watching him. Then Lady Hazelgrove called, “Star, heel!” and he trotted reluctantly after her.

  All the rest of that day, Archie tried not to think about Star, and the more he tried, the harder it was. Days passed, and he was astonished to find that he’d been without Star for a whole week. Fivewells seemed like another world.

  On his afternoon off he wandered into the village and found that Sam the Boots had a free afternoon and was there too. They bought barley sugars and sat on the church wall together, eating the sweets and kicking their boot heels against the wall, and talked about Will running away to the army.

  “He said he sent a letter,” said Archie. “It never came. But things like that happen in war time. The doctor at Fivewells told me about the fog of war. Things get mixed up.”

  “When do you reckon this letter were meant to come?” asked Sam.

  Archie thought about it. “Dunno,” he said. “Maybe end of March, beginning of April, I reckon. About the time we heard about Master Ted.”

  “Our Harry were helping at post office then,” said Sam. “They didn’t let him do the telegrams, just the letters, with him being new. He asked me one day about Gardener’s Cottage, ’cause he was meant to take a letter there and he didn’t know where to find it. He said he gave it to one of the gardeners in the grounds to pass on to your dad. That big chap. Harry said he were a surly old beggar.”

  In Archie’s mind, pieces began to fit, to move and fall into place. He thought of Bertenshaw, angry at Dad for getting him sacked.

  “Reckon we should get home now,” said Sam.

  “It were Bertenshaw,” said Archie, staring ahead of him, and in his heart he felt a rage that he had never felt in all these months. The worry Ma and Dad had been through, the endless traipsing round the countryside looking for Will, all because Bertenshaw had stolen a letter. “He did it out of spite for our Dad.”

  “You reckon?” asked Sam. When Archie didn’t answer, he went on, “Mr Bertenshaw’s two lads got killed. Everyone said he didn’t care for them, but he’s gone to pieces since he heard about them. He was doing some work on the roads, but now he just does enough to buy drink. He’s always in the Fox and Geese.”

  Archie still said nothing. The rage was too strong. He wanted to do something, not talk or listen. His fists clenched and unclenched.

  Then he thought of all he had done these last weeks, and all he had learned. He had made journeys that would once have seemed impossible. He had found Will, and Master Ted, and made a sacrifice that still stunned him. And all that time, what had Bertenshaw done?

  “Archie, let’s get home,” said Sam, and Archie went with him. They kicked pebbles and fir cones all the way home, and were nearly back when two gunshots came from the grounds.

  “Someone’s having rabbit pie tonight,” said Sam. “Or pigeon. Pigeon pie. The air feels thundery today, reckon we might have a storm.”

  From the house came a terrible scream and a volley of barking from Star. Archie forgot everything and ran in at the front door of the Hall.

  He was halfway up the grand staircase before he realized that he shouldn’t be there at all, but he couldn’t stop. All he could do was run to Master Ted’s room, and behind him came the quick tap-tap of a lady’s shoes. From Master Ted’s room came another scream and a crash. Archie knocked and ran in without waiting for an answer.

  Star was scampering away from the door, his tail between his legs, and ran to Archie. The bed was empty, with the nurse kneeling beside it.

  “Captain Carr,” she was saying firmly, “are you listening to me?”

  Master Ted was curled underneath the bed, shaking. His knees were drawn up and his arm over his head to cover his ears.

  “Up you get, Captain!” said the nurse. “Pull yourself together!”

  Archie knelt beside Star to stroke and soothe him. The dog was trembling under his hand. Broken china lay in a pool of water on the floor.

  “Out you come,” said the nurse, but Master Ted didn’t seem to hear her and she caught sight of Archie. “Out, boy!”

  She could have been talking to him or to Star, but they both ignored her. With a swish of skirts, Lady Hazelwood came in.

  “What on earth is going on?” she demanded.

  “Just a few little gunshots outside, my lady,” said the nurse. “Captain Carr got very agitated. He was getting out of bed and shouting, and the dog got excited so he barked, which made i
t a lot worse, and Captain Carr was in such an overwrought state that he picked up the water jug and threw it across the room. I think he was aiming at the dog.”

  Archie held Star more tightly. Lady Hazelgrove swished across the room and sank down by the bed.

  “Ted, my dear,” she said. “What’s the matter?”

  Master Ted was shaking so much that his teeth were chattering. The whites of his eyes showed.

  “Calm down, Captain Carr!” ordered the nurse.

  “Please miss,” asked Archie, “are you an army nurse?”

  “Lady Hazelgrove!” exclaimed the nurse. “Do I have to put up with this boy?”

  Lady Hazelgrove wasn’t listening. She was still talking to Master Ted. Archie put down Star and lay on the floor beside the bed.

  “Hello, Master Ted,” he said gently. “It’s all over now. You’re not at the Front. This is your bedroom. Take a deep breath. Here’s your ma … your mother. You’d best come out slowly so you don’t hit your head on the bed.”

  Master Ted stayed where he was.

  “You don’t have to come out if you don’t want to,” he said. “It’s just, you’re lying on a hard floor there and it’s not very comfortable. But if you want to stay, I’ll stay too.”

  He twisted round to talk to Lady Hazelgrove. “Please, my lady, there were lots of men like this at Fivewells. They’d had too much war and it got right inside their brains, and Master Ted’s had a head wound as well. It’s not surprising he’s all – you know—” he searched for the right word, and found the one that Ma used for everything from a little sadness to raging misery and anger “—upset. There were men at Fivewells got upset like that, my lady.” He turned back to Master Ted.

  “There’s no guns any more, sir. Look, here’s your mother. And the nurse. And here’s your dog. Your Star. He’s scared. You mustn’t throw things at Star, sir.”

  At last, with a bit of help from Archie, Ted crawled out and sat on the bed. He was still shaking.