“He’s your dog, sir,” said Archie.
Stiffly and awkwardly, Ted picked up the stick and threw it. It didn’t go far, but it was a start.
“Well done, sir!” said Archie.
“It’s all I’m good for,” muttered Ted. “Throwing sticks for a dog, is that all I’ll do for the rest of my life? You needn’t think everything’s all right now just because I threw a stick. I still have nightmares. I still get into a lather about loud noises.”
“Not as much as you did, sir. You’re better than you were. And you’ll go on getting … you know … like you used to be.”
“No, Archie, I won’t!” he snapped. “You have no idea! Shall I tell you what it feels like? This war took my future away, any fool can see that. But that’s not the worst thing. The worst thing is that it’s taken my past and cut me off from it.”
Archie thought about this. “Do you mean losing memories, sir? Because I think they’re coming back.”
“But it’s as if they’re not my memories,” said Ted. “It’s as if they’re nothing to do with me. I can’t believe I was ever happy. And then they told me that Bettany’s gone. He was the best of us! Betters was twice the man I am. He had brains, he wanted to be a doctor and he would have been, too, if not for this mess. Why am I still here and he isn’t?”
Archie didn’t even know how to look at Ted because he knew that there were tears in his eyes. He watched Star and finally said, “Will you come with me, sir?”
He led the way to the ferny, stony hollow where the sunken garden was to be. Not much had been done to it.
“I don’t know if this would help, sir,” he said, “but when we thought you were dead we wanted to make this a garden to remember you. We’d call it after you so that everyone who came here would think of you, sir.”
Master Ted sat down on a boulder and rubbed his left leg, which seemed to be hurting.
“Is that right?” he said, and was silent for a long time. Then he said, “We could make it for Betters, couldn’t we? The Arthur Bettany Garden. We could bring his parents to see it. They might like that.”
It was what Archie had meant to suggest. But he said, “That’s a grand idea, sir” so that Ted would think that it was his idea alone. “You could help, sir.”
“We’ll talk to your father about it, Archie,” he said. “Where’s the dog gone?”
Star was having a wonderful time. He had found a ball, which was the best toy in the world. He took it to Archie, dropped it, and shuffled back, waiting for the throw.
Ted picked it up and turned it in his hand. “I’ve seen a ball like this before,” he said, frowning. “Is it a cricket ball?”
“Yes, sir. Aren’t you going to throw it?”
Ted threw half-heartedly. Archie could sense Star’s disappointment as he trotted over to retrieve it.
“You have to bowl it for him, sir,” he said, hoping that Ted’s body would remember what to do even if his mind didn’t. “You take a run at it.”
Ted ran awkwardly and slowly, but he ran with the ball in his hand. And as Archie watched, something changed. Ted was still slow and lame but he was running as if he meant it. His arm stretched and cartwheeled over and the ball flew from his hand. He stood watching Star and flexing his arm, a bit out of breath.
“What happened there, Archie?” he asked.
The grin felt too big for Archie’s face. “You bowled, sir, just like you used to. You were the best cricketer in the village.”
“I don’t remember cricket.”
“Your arm does, sir. You bowled overarm. Right proper.”
It was a start, but only a start. Archie wished that Ted would suddenly change and become the man he had been before the war. It wouldn’t ever be like that. But little by little, Ted came back to life.
There were still days when he said little, even if Archie and Lady Hazelgrove had persuaded him to go outside. In the grimmest and darkest times Lady Hazelgrove would ask Archie to take Star home with him, in case Ted screamed and panicked in the night and scared him. Ted still wanted to know why he was still alive when Bettany and so many of his friends were dead. But as summer turned to autumn, there were fewer long silences. His walking improved. He helped to build the new garden.
“He’s loads better, Star,” Archie told the dog. “I think we’re over the worst. We’re a good team, you and me.”
He’d never thought that Star was very bright. A year ago, before the war, he’d seen him as an excitable mop that got under everyone’s feet. Since then he’d seen how loyal Star was to Ted and to himself. Star had jumped in to protect him from Will when they were fighting. He might look like a mop, but he had the heart of a lion. Star had real sense, too, not intelligence the way humans have it, but understanding. He knew that more often than not it was Archie who fed and walked him. But he knew, too, that Ted still needed him.
There was an afternoon when Archie went home to Gardener’s Cottage and found Dad and Ted talking about cricket. Star ran to greet him. Dad had found an old clipping from the local newspaper with a picture of the Ashlings village team when they had won a local trophy.
“There’s not much cricketing weather left this year,” Dad was saying. “And not many men left to play it. We managed to get a team of old crocks together for the dawn to dusk match this year, but with my bad leg I didn’t even get to play in that.”
“Just as well I can’t remember it,” said Ted. “I’ll never be a sportsman again.”
“Hey up, Star,” said Archie quietly. “He’s off again. What are we going to do about him?”
With help from Mr Grant, Archie found out that there was a village match the following Saturday. He didn’t go to see it himself – there was too much work to be done – but Lord and Lady Hazelgrove and Ted went. Afterwards, Ted told Archie and Will about it.
“I really used to do that, didn’t I?” he said. “When I watched it I sort of knew about it. I knew what the batsman was going to do. I knew how the pads feel, and the feel of a bat, too. You need two hands to hold a bat.”
“You could do it with one, sir,” said Will. “You’ll get right strong in that arm now you’re helping int’ garden.” He and Archie were getting on better these days.
“No, I’ll never play cricket again and I’m too crocked to stay in the army,” said Ted. Presently he marched back to the house with Star following dutifully at his heels, and Archie knew that this would be one of Ted’s bad days.
“He really wants to play cricket,” said Archie, watching them go.
“Well, he should!” exclaimed Will, “He’s born to it. And he’s a Yorkshireman born and bred, and a Yorkshireman can play better with one arm better than anyone else with two.”
“We’ll prove it to him,” said Archie.
As the days grew shorter and colder, Will, Archie and Ted were on the lawn on every day that was dry enough. Ted began by bowling badly and batting even worse, but Star loved having so many stray balls to chase. He got to play outside, he had his friends and a ball. What could be better? Dad sometimes joined them and they let Jenn play, too. As she pointed out, she was a good cricketer and with so many men away they couldn’t afford to be stupid about not letting girls play. Sam the Boots and Aggie sometimes played, too.
In November there was a letter for Ted from his sister Caroline in Norway. Ted would love Norway, she said. The air was fresh and clean, and would be good for him. There would be nothing to remind him of the war. Soon it was December and there was talk of Ted going to Norway in the New Year.
Archie heard this news and slipped away for a while to tell himself what it meant. Well, he had been through so much already this year. He had already faced loss and sacrifice. Somehow he would handle yet another parting.
As the weather grew colder, a fire was lit in the hearth in Ted’s bedroom. Archie thought this was wonderful. So did Star, who
sprawled blissfully in front of it. They were there one day when Ted had go downstairs to take a telephone call, so Archie sat on the hearthrug with his arm round the dog.
“Look at this, Star,” he said. “That’s a grand fire, is that. I hear he’s off to Norway, and I reckon he shouldn’t go. It’s right cold in Norway and that can’t be good for him. But I suppose they know how to keep warm.” Star stretched and sighed with contentment. “Lady Caroline and her family, they’ll know how to look after themselves. I just hope they keep you warm, too. You look after him, mind. You bring him home soon.”
At least, he hoped so. It hurt Archie, not just that he would miss Star but that Star would miss him. Poor Star.
“We’ve been lucky,” he said. “Ever since I brought you back here I’ve been able to take you out. We’ve had fun. Reckon it couldn’t last for ever.” Then he added, “I’m sorry, Star,” because he knew this would be as hard for Star as it was for him.
Everybody at Ashlings was determined to defy the war by having a good Christmas. Paper garlands were made, kitchens were fragrant with warm spices, and a tall forest-smelling fir was loaded on to a cart and drawn across the estate to the Hall. Will, Archie and the staff planned and organized.
“What if it snows?” asked Dad.
“I hope it does,” said Archie.
“Aye, snow would be grand,” said Will.
“Daft pair,” said Dad.
On the twenty-second of December, thick flakes of snow fell on Ashlings, filling the air and tumbling to the lawns. As long as the light lasted Archie, Jenn and Ted threw snowballs for Star, who chased them, snatched up mouthfuls of snow, and galloped back wanting more. As twilight settled, Ted turned to go home to the Hall.
“Do you want me to come and dry him off?” asked Archie.
“I can manage that myself, thanks,” said Ted. “I’m getting pretty good at coping. Star, heel.”
“I’ll call as usual tomorrow, sir,” he said. Star followed Ted slowly, stopping to watch Archie.
The next morning, exactly a year since Master Ted’s first homecoming from the war, Archie went to the Hall as usual. Lady Hazelgrove herself was at the door to meet him and led the way up the stairs. In Ted’s room, the fire burned brightly in the hearth. Star scrambled up from the rug and ran to greet Archie with delight, putting his paws up and wagging his tail furiously.
“The snow settled beautifully,” said Lady Hazelgrove as Archie scratched under Star’s chin. “Do come to the window and look.”
Ted did as she said. Archie grinned and followed them.
“What on earth…?” he began, then he began to laugh, and Archie realized how long it was since Ted had laughed like that, a wholehearted, happy, man’s laugh. “They’re playing cricket in the snow!”
“It’s the Dawn to Dusk cricket match, sir,” said Archie. “You missed the one on the longest day, so we’re having another one on the shortest. Still dawn to dusk, sir, but shorter.”
It was an odd-looking match. There were no cricket whites because everyone was dressed up in winter clothes with boots, hats and mittens. The snow around them had been churned up, but now and again a batsman would send the ball flying far into a drift.
“There’s Father!” exclaimed Ted.
“He’s captain of the Hall team, sir,” said Archie. “And the vicar’s captain for village. Some of them are pretty crocked, sir. And my dad’s the umpire.”
“There’s Grant!” said Ted. “And Sam, and there are girls playing!”
“Our Will’s playing for the Hall, sir,” said Archie. “And so am I. I’m going in after Will and you’re in after me, sir.”
Ted turned to him with an expression he could not interpret. For a moment he thought the whole thing was about to go terribly, horribly wrong, and Ted would fly into one of his rages. But then he grinned like a happy schoolboy.
“What a simply marvellous idea!” he said.
“We’ve set up the Great Hall as a pavilion,” said Lady Hazelgrove. “People can come in and get warm. There will be hot drinks and mince pies, then a buffet lunch, and after dark we’ll all sing carols.”
Star put his paws on the sill and wagged his tail with happiness. Ted’s having a good day! What’s going on? They’ve got a ball! He gave a soft, gruff bark to tell Ted what to do.
“Where’s my coat?” demanded Ted. Archie found it and helped him into it. The left sleeve was pinned neatly across the front. Ted grinned at Lady Hazelgrove.
“I know it’s not all over,” he said. “I know I’ll still have bad times. But today won’t be one of them. Star! Up and at ’em!”
So Captain Edward Carr pitched in to the 1915 Ashlings Hall versus Ashlings Village Dawn to Dusk Midwinter Cricket Match. Everyone in the village seemed to have managed a bit of free time to come and watch, and in the Hall the staff looked down from upstairs windows and applauded. Ma arrived with Flora so wrapped up that she looked like a little round bear. Dad said that he didn’t know how to umpire any longer because Star and Lord Hazelgrove’s dogs were chasing down stray balls and snowballs and even Connel forgot to be dignified and leapt about in the snow like a leggy puppy. Ted was so determined to do well that he hit the ball flying over a hedge and one of the dogs found it and gave it to Lord Hazelgrove. Then somebody else hit it so hard that not even the dogs could find it and Lord Hazelgrove bowled with a snowball, and Dad announced a draw just before the whole thing turned into a snowball fight with cricket bats. As the light faded they all crowded into the hall, boots and hats steamed before the enormous fireplace, and there was punch and hot chocolate to drink. The maids handed round mince pies and shortbread, everyone sang carols, and Star stayed happily at Archie’s side.
“It’s almost like there wasn’t any war,” Archie said to Ma.
“If there weren’t no war, we wouldn’t be playing cricket in midwinter,” said Ma. “But it’s been a grand day.”
By Christmas Eve the snow had frozen. It crackled under their feet as Archie and his family went to the Hall in the pale sunset of late afternoon. There was more carol singing, and the vicar came to lead prayers for the soldiers away in the war and the families whose sons would not be coming home at Christmas. When most people had gone, Ted came to talk to Archie. Star ran a few circles round Archie, then sat down on his feet.
“A very happy Christmas to you, Archie,” said Ted.
“And to you to, sir,” said Archie.
“You know I’m off to Norway in January,” said Ted. “I’ll be staying with my sister Caroline for a while. Fresh air, beautiful scenery, all that. Then I’ll come home and find something useful to do.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“I couldn’t do all that Betters was going to do,” he went on, “but I want to help chaps who’ve had a hard time in the war. And their families. Don’t know how I’ll do it. Maybe visit in hospitals. Maybe do what you did, just listen and hang around and help them start living again. Thanks for everything, Archie.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
“Sorry I’ve behaved shockingly sometimes.”
“That’s all right. I know how it is,” said Archie, surprised at how grown-up he sounded. “All the very best then, sir.”
“And, Archie,” he said. “I have to think about Star. He’s had a confusing time lately, don’t you think? And he wouldn’t fit in with Caroline’s household. She’s very fond of cats, you know.”
At the idea that he might have to look after Star Archie felt a leap of hope, then felt bad about it. Star and Ted were together again, as it should be. As casually as he could, he asked,
“Do you want me to look after him while you’re away, sir?”
“I want you to – oh, you know. He’s your dog, Archie.”
It felt as if time had stopped. As if something miraculous had happened. But it couldn’t.
“Sir—”
he struggled to make sense. “Sir, you know I love Star. I’d love to have him. But he’s not a thing you can give away, sir. He’s yours, he just is. You’re his man and he’s your dog. You can’t change that.”
“It’s already changed.” Ted smiled a little sadly. “I’ve seen the way he greets you. And you’re secure for him, Archie. You’ll be staying here at Ashlings, working with your father. I don’t know where I’ll end up. I don’t even know where I’ll go and what I’ll do after Norway, and whether I could take him, and whether I’ll get – you know, ill again. It’s not fair to him. You’re the one he looks to now. He’s happy with you. Chuck him a pair of my smelly old socks now and again.”
Archie looked down. Star was gazing up at him, his tail wagging as if he expected something good to happen. But still, Archie’s eyes stung. He had to do the right thing.
“I can’t take him from you, sir,” he said. “Even when we thought you were dead, he was still Master Ted’s dog. He always will be.”
“Walk away and whistle,” said Ted. “He’ll follow you. Go on.”
Archie turned away, crammed his hat over his ears, turned up his collar, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and walked out at the front door of Ashlings Hall into starlight, folding his lips firmly, staying silent. He would not whistle. He turned left to walk to the cottage where Jenn and Flora would be hanging up stockings.
Ted stood at the door. Star looked up at him, waiting, hopeful, his eyes bright and his ears lifted.
“Seek him, Star,” said Ted. “Seek your master.” So Star jumped down the steps, ran out into the snow, and trotted home at Archie’s side.
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Archie's War Page 14