Delia was sitting up in bed, bright eyed and brushing her hair vigorously.
“About time, Philip. I’m absolutely ravenous. I want to eat breakfast, get dressed and get outside. I’m fed up with watching you parade Star around and I’ve had enough of being an invalid. I want to ride. It’s a gorgeous morning and I want to gallop up to the top field and look at the view. If you hurry you can come with me … don’t stand there staring. Now, go and have your breakfast too. We don’t want to waste a minute.”
She laid down the hairbrush and gestured for him to put the tray down.
“That’s great,” replied Philip, still in shock, as he placed the tray on her lap.
“I don’t suppose you’ve given Star any exercise while I’ve been languishing here,” Delia said between mouthfuls of cornflakes.
“Er … no. I haven’t even ridden Verity much. I just wanted to be in here with you … trying to get you better.”
“Commendable, I’m sure but that attitude is not going to win any prizes. We need to get some serious practice in … and I want to go down and hug Velvet too. It looks as if it won’t be long before her foal is born and I’m not going to miss that for anything.”
“Oh, Delly!” Philip almost shouted, grinning from ear to ear. “That’s brilliant. I can’t wait to tell everyone.”
“How many times have I told you not to call me Delly! My name is Delia,” she said grandly, a hint of a smile on her lips.
“Yes, Delly … anything you say,” he called back gaily as he dashed back downstairs to tell his grandparents.
“She wants to ride … she wants to ride,” he yelled with delight, crashing into the kitchen, a huge beam on his face.
“Oh, that’s absolutely marvellous!” cried Constance with tremendous relief.
“That’s fantastic news,” said Ralph who was seated at the table finishing his breakfast. “She needs to take it easy to begin with though. Delia will be weaker than she thinks, having been in bed for so long. She will need to build up her strength gradually.”
Delia came downstairs a little shakily half an hour later, determined to get outside and ride Star. Constance hugged her, Ralph grinned from ear to ear and Philip was beside himself with excitement as he took Delia’s arm to guide her through the kitchen door and outside to the yard. Delia shrugged him off.
“I am perfectly okay, thank you. I am not an invalid,” she repeated crossly, making them all smile at each other. Delia was recovering and recovering quickly.
As soon as she could, Constance put through a call to Italy. Susan, who always accompanied Charles abroad in case he required her secretarial skills, answered the telephone but within seconds Charles was on the line.
“Delia’s on the mend, Charles,” Constance said rapidly, not wanting him to think anything was wrong. “She’s up, dressed and has gone riding with Philip!”
“Oh, thank God!” he said with obvious deep relief. “Thank you so much, Constance. You don’t know what this means to me.”
“Oh, I do, Charles. I do,” she laughed gaily.
* * *
Delia continued to improve during the week Charles was in Italy. No mention was made of what had occurred to make Delia so ill and no-one pressed her to talk about it. Her conversation centered entirely on the animals at Tangles and in particular, Star and Velvet. She rode every day, growing stronger and stronger, usually with Philip, hacking in the countryside and in the schooling ring practising over the jumps but during the week, when Philip was at school, she went out on her own, streaking across the fields and through the woods, accompanied by Gruff doing his best to keep up. Dr. Arnold was pleased with her progress but felt it best she didn’t return to school until September although Thistledown sent quite a bit of work so she wouldn’t be too far behind.
Charles rang from Italy every couple of days for a progress report, pleased to hear from Constance or Ralph that his daughter was regaining her health but hurt more deeply than he would like to admit by her refusal to come to the telephone and tell him herself.
“Delia, your father wondered if you would like to join him in Italy for a few days … if you’re feeling up to it,” announced Constance during their Sunday lunch of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings, followed by one of her famous rhubarb tarts and custard. Delia was tucking in, her appetite fully recovered now she was out and about in the fresh air and having lots of exercise but she stopped eating immediately.
“I don’t think so,” she said quietly.
Constance and Ralph exchanged glances while Philip looked surprised. He would have thought she would have been keen to go. They had been to Italy before and she had thoroughly enjoyed it.
“Don’t you want to think about it?” asked Constance.
“No,” said Delia, almost in a whisper.
Before Constance could say another word, Delia stood up. “I’m sorry. I’m not hungry anymore. If you don’t mind, I’ll go for a walk.”
At the mention of the magic word Gruff shot out of his basket and followed Delia out of the house.
Philip looked at his grandparents glumly. “She’s not the same old Delly,” he complained. “She’s … different … harder …cold … distant. Oh, I don’t know. Just different. She doesn’t giggle anymore and the only time she really smiles is at one of the dogs or the horses.”
“Her whole life has been turned upside down,” replied Constance. “It’s up to us to keep things as normal as we can.”
“Well, we are, aren’t we? Delly and I are riding every day and we’re helping down at the stables. Delly is working just as hard as the grooms. Did you know she mucked out six loose boxes yesterday before the grooms were even up?”
Ralph smiled. “At this rate, I shall have to give her a job.”
Constance grimaced. “I hope she doesn’t wear herself out. You must keep an eye on her, Ralph. It’s great that she is not moping around in bed anymore but she’s still very young.”
“I know, old girl. I won’t let her do too much. I promise.”
“I wish she wouldn’t go off riding on her own so much,” grumbled Philip. “She was out for three hours yesterday and goodness knows where she went. She wouldn’t tell me.”
“I shouldn’t worry, Philip. She will have remained on Canleigh land and you know what a good rider she is … and then Gruff is always with her. If anything did go wrong he’d come back for us. As Dr. Arnold has said, we just have to give her time. She’ll come around, you’ll see and I wouldn’t be at all surprised that Velvet’s new foal will cheer her up no end. How much longer will it be, Ralph?”
“Next week I should think,” he replied.
Philip, having finished his lunch, walked over to the kitchen window to see if he could see where Delia had gone. He could just see her, streaking across the fields riding Star bareback with Gruff following on behind, heading in the direction of Canleigh church.
* * *
Delia reached the church in minutes, leaving Star and Gruff to wait outside the gate. She was trembling and felt sick but knew she had to do this. She had wanted to come for days but felt that once she saw the actual grave, she would have to acknowledge that her wonderful Granny was gone forever and she couldn’t pretend that she was off on one of her regular cruises or just out for the day. She was gone, gone, gone and Delia would never hear or see her again.
There must have been a wedding the day before as confetti lay on the path, near to the church door, and according to the notices near the gate, there was to be a christening during the morning service on Sunday. Happy, exciting events. Not grim, like Granny’s funeral must have been. Delia had never been to a funeral and in a way was glad she had been too ill to attend. She didn’t know how she would have got through it.
The grave was where she had thought it would be, next to the Grandfather Delia had never known but whom Anne had loved with all her heart. Delia’s pain was intense when she saw it, still covered with masses of flowers and wreaths, many wilting now and re
ady to be thrown away. She hadn’t brought anything and felt guilty. Granny’s roses would be in full bloom in her rose garden. She would bring a huge bunch next time.
Delia’s heart pounded as she approached the grave. She tried to read the inscriptions on the cards but her eyes misted over. She still couldn’t believe her Granny was here, underneath this great pile of earth and flowers. It didn’t seem possible. She would be at the Dower House, coming along soon to make her weekly visit to her husband’s grave where she would place her posy. Delia glanced at Grandfather’s grave. The dead tulips beneath his ornate headstone a reminder that they had been Granny’s last offering. Delia was surprised her father hadn’t removed them before he went to Italy. Unless, of course, he hadn’t bothered to visit the churchyard since the funeral.
Knowing how Granny disliked dead flowers, Delia removed them, took a fresher looking wreath from Granny’s grave and placed it on his. Granny would have been pleased. Delia could almost hear her say
“That was nice of you Delia, to remember your Grandfather, even though you didn’t know him. He was a wonderful man. You would have liked him very much.”
“I’ll do what you did, Granny,” Delia whispered, kneeling by the graves. “I’ll come every week and bring you both something from the garden. I won’t forget. I promise.”
She stood up and looked around the churchyard. She had always liked it here. It was so peaceful with only the sounds of the birds for company. There were a few old, mature trees; mainly Yew and Conifers and the scent of pine, mixed with the floral wreaths and hemlock growing amongst the gravestones, was strong. She breathed it in. It was a wonderful place to remain for eternity and one day she would be here too. Delia was a firm believer in the afterlife and knew she would be with her Granny again one day.
She turned to leave, returning to where the animals were waiting patiently for her. She shut the church gate behind her and then the grief hit her like a thunderbolt from the blue. Sinking down beside the old stone wall which surrounded the church she burst into tears and let them flow. Star nuzzled her shoulder, Gruff licked her hands and face but she cried as she had never cried before, thinking she would never stop.
* * *
Ralph was wrong. Velvet didn’t wait a week. The foal decided to make its entrance into the world the following weekend. Ralph, having checked her over before bedtime returned to the house and announced the birth looked imminent.
“Better get your gear together you two,” he said to the two teenagers. “Could be a long night tonight … and we’ll need plenty of sustenance,” he grinned at Constance, who leapt eagerly to her feet to prepare something.
“Oh great!” Delia cried. “I’m really looking forward to this.
“I hope you don’t faint,” teased Philip, receiving a sharp dig in his ribs.
Within half an hour Delia, Philip and Ralph were bowling down to the stables in the Landrover armed with sleeping bags, blankets, an enormous box full of beef sandwiches, chocolate cake and three flasks of coffee.
Delia loved this part of Tangles, reached by a windy country lane, flanked by vast paddocks divided by copper beech hedges. On the right of the lane, four brick constructed blocks stood side by side, each housing six loose boxes. One block was kept for visiting thoroughbreds owned by Ralph’s show jumping pupils and the rest housed rescued horses and ponies, many of whom, once they were fit and if docile enough, he used for patrons who just wanted to enjoy being on horseback with no ambitions in the show jumping ring. At right angles was another building which contained the office, tack room and feed store. Above were not exactly luxurious, but comfortable bedsits for the two grooms.
The indoor schooling arena; a large structure with a sawdust floor and a high, well-lit ceiling for ease of use during winter evenings stood on the opposite side of the lane with another block of stables where Ralph kept Thunderbolt, his prized hunter, and Verity, who had now been joined by Star. There was also an isolation area if a horse should become ill or needed to be separated from the others for any reason and a dedicated foaling box which was kept for the odd new arrival Ralph had to supervise.
Velvet was in the foaling box. Ralph led Philip and Delia into the adjacent empty stall where he had placed three camp beds earlier. Peep holes had been carved in the panelling between their stall and the foaling box so that Velvet could be observed but not disturbed more than necessary.
Delia and Philip watched how matters were progressing, while Ralph slept soundly beside them, knowing Philip, who had been present at a previous couple of births, would wake him as soon as anything occurred.
“Fancy something to eat?” whispered Philip. “It could be a long time yet.”
Delia shook her head, unable to tear her eyes away from the peep hole. She was far too excited to even think about food.
The low-powered lamp gave ample light for the mare to be seen pacing up and down restlessly for nearly two hours and then Philip nodded his head knowledgeably.
“I think it’s about to start,” he whispered when the horse lay down in the deep bed of straw and then rose to her feet again, repeating the action a number of times.
He woke Ralph who quickly took a good look through the peep hole and confirmed Philip’s statement.
“Yes, the waters have broken and here it comes,” he said, smiling at Delia’s intense scrutiny, not for a second taking her eyes away from the miracle she was witnessing. She gasped as the yellowish green caul appeared, inside of which was the foal’s forefeet.
“Stay here,” commanded Ralph, leaving the stall and entering the foaling box very quietly, softly talking to Velvet, giving her encouragement but staying well out of the way.
The nose and head of the foal emerged smoothly and a few minutes later, the shoulders. Ralph crept forward to support the foal and slit the caul with his fingers, pulling it clear of the foal’s nose and head and having made sure it was breathing, tugged it round to the mare’s head to be lovingly licked and nuzzled.
“Fancy a sandwich now?” chuckled Philip, amused by Delia’s incredulous expression. “You must be hungry. You haven’t eaten a thing yet and there’s nothing more to be done. Grandfather will finish off.”
Delia wanted to cry. It had all been so beautiful. Feeling a sudden rush of love and tenderness she wanted to dash in and throw her arms around the foal and tell Velvet what a clever girl she was.
“Wow,” she gasped. “That was simply fantastic. Can we go in and say hello?”
“No. Not today. Grandfather insists any newborns and their mothers have no visitors for the first day. He’ll do everything necessary. We won’t be allowed to go anywhere near them until the day after tomorrow.”
Delia sank her teeth into a sandwich eagerly. The excitement had made her ravenous and she silently blessed Constance for looking after them so well and couldn’t wait for the morning to arrive so she could tell her all about the momentous occurrence she had just witnessed. In fact, the entire Kershaw family and anyone else who ventured into earshot of Delia was driven to distraction for days as she marvelled about the wonderment of nature again and again.
As soon as Delia was allowed near the foal she was unable to keep away and every spare moment was taken up with handling and grooming the new arrival. It was Delia who first put the foaling slip on his head and led him outside to be gently brushed while Velvet stood reassuringly nearby ready for her turn. Delia did everything possible for the pure black gangly legged animal, establishing a firm bond between them from the start, over the moon when in turn the foal showed his idolatry by sticking close to her whenever she was around, pushing his nose against her in a gesture of affection.
A week later, following an evening practice session over the jumps, Delia, Philip and Ralph looked in on Velvet and her new son before the stables were shut up for the night. Velvet was munching happily from a hay net while the foal, happy to see visitors, especially Delia, nuzzled her when she entered the stall.
“What’s going to happen to him
?” asked Delia. “Are you going to sell him?”
She was so anxious about the foal’s future, praying the time span would be long enough for her to save the allowance her father gave her every month. She couldn’t imagine he would buy the foal for her as she already had Star and then there were the two old Shetlands, Samson and Delilah to keep, along with Dolly, whom Richard, although rarely riding her these days, didn’t want to part with.
Delia was becoming desperate and it showed on her face.
“I’m really not sure. It all depends on how he turns out. He’s got some nice long legs on him so might be good in the ring but whatever happens, he will be around for quite a while yet as he needs to stay with Velvet for now,” replied Ralph.
Ralph studied Delia’s crestfallen face. “This young man needs a name. Why don’t you choose it,” he said kindly, deciding to have a chat with Charles. Delia was devoted to the foal, as it was to her, and it was obvious the child would be heartbroken if it was sold on. If Charles didn’t agree for it to go to Canleigh when it was ready to leave Velvet, then it wouldn’t go anywhere. It could remain at Tangles where Delia could pander to its needs and train it up when the time came. Ralph was fond of Delia. She had suffered terribly in the past few weeks and there was no way he wanted to inflict more pain.
Delia had been studying the foal intently as she toyed with various names in her head. He was a spirited little thing, would need a very firm hand and was going to be extremely handsome. Without hesitation, she replied firmly. “Demon. I definitely think that suits him, don’t you?”
Ralph rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The child was right. The foal was already mischievous and flighty. He was going to be a handful, that was a certainty and if Delia was going to be responsible for him, she would need quite a bit of help, which he was more than willing to provide.
Rejection Runs Deep (The Canleigh Series, book 1: A chilling psychological family drama) Page 18