The Straw Halter

by Joan M. Moules

  She took several deep breaths and resolutely put thoughts of Daniel and the farm to the far recesses of her mind. It did no good to think of how it had been. For a long while she had hated Tom Shooter for what he had done, but she did so no longer. She didn’t hate Daniel but she was disappointed because he had believed so easily what he thought he saw.

  In her most generous moments she admitted to herself that it had looked bad. If it had been the other way round and there had been an undressed woman with Daniel in there would she have believed him to be innocent? In this ruthless mood she told herself she would not, so how could she have expected him to believe her? Especially with the ‘evidence’ that Tom Shooter had obviously planned so well. She had enjoyed more than three years of happiness and that was too good to last but at least she had the memory of it all and maybe one day …

  She tried to shake off these thoughts and concentrate on her work as she opened the kitchen door to go back to her duties. Meanwhile Richard reached the end of the lane that took him to the stables where his horse was, and back at Redwood Farm Daniel sat down to a lonely meal of bread and cheese. Both men were thinking about Betsy.

  Chapter 17

  Two months had gone by since Betsy had left and Daniel could feel himself getting lower and lower in spirits. The work of the farm kept him going because he had to make a living and he had livestock depending on him. Yet as the weeks went by he grew more and more morose.

  In the early days he had the hope that either she would return or he would find her, but now he had exhausted every avenue he could think of. The one thing he knew for sure in his heart was that she had not gone to Thomas Shooter. If only he had believed her in the first place, but it was far too late to dwell on what might have been.

  Daniel had always faced facts but these were the toughest ever. He refused to think that he might never see her again because if he did that then his life truly would not be worth living. Betsy had brought a happiness beyond anything he had known and he dared to believe it had been the same for her, so he clung to the hope that he would find her and that she would want to come home to Redwood Farm with him. One evening he took down the straw halter and sat with it on his lap. Dumbo rubbed round his legs and he reached down and stroked the cat who looked at him with huge sad eyes.

  ‘I know, Dumbo,’ he said, swallowing hard, ‘I miss her too. More than I could ever tell you.’

  Later, in bed with Betsy’s nightgown across his chest, he came to a decision. He would go and see Richard Choicely and tell him of Betsy’s belief that he was her father. The man had after all taken more than a natural interest in Betsy, and in spite of Daniel’s denials to his wife, he too was swayed by what Aunt Agnes had told her. He did not think she would have the power or imagination to make it up so it had to be the truth.

  If, as Daniel thought, Betsy had sought work at the market and found a place, it was likely to be not a hundred miles away and Richard Choicely would have access to most of the families who employed servants. He could ask about any new staff they had taken on and they would tell him, whereas Daniel knew that alone he did not stand a chance.

  He put his plan into action a few evenings later when he rode over to Chasebury Manor. Without going to find out, the butler said that Sir Richard was busy and could not see anyone. Daniel had deliberately shown up at Chasebury without an appointment because he had feared that this might happen. With a determination born of despair he told the butler that it was urgent and he only needed ten minutes of Sir Richard’s time. ‘Tell him it is Daniel Forrester of Redwood Farm, please. Sir Richard knows me.’

  The unsmiling butler returned to say that Sir Richard Choicely would see Mr Forrester.

  Richard offered him a drink. ‘I have no news of your wife,’ he said quietly, ‘or have you come to give me news?’

  ‘Not news, Sir Richard. I have none to tell. I do not know where my wife is. We had a misunderstanding over someone who worked for us. I lost my temper and she left. I have been trying to find her ever since.’

  ‘I told you I saw her at the fair.’

  ‘Yes. But she did not return and I have had no word from her.’ He lifted his tankard to his mouth and drank before he said, ‘When Betsy’s mother died last year her aunt told her she had a different father from her brothers and sisters.’

  Pausing, he looked to see what effect this was having on the other man, but Richard was studying his visitor calmly.

  Daniel continued in a low voice, ‘She told her she was the daughter of Sir Benjamin Choicely’s son.’

  The room was quiet as the men looked at each other. Richard said, ‘This was last year, you say. So that is not the reason she has gone missing?’

  ‘Not the reason, no, but she wanted to find out if it was true. She became a little obsessed with the thought,’ he kept his eyes fixed on his hosts face, ‘and she might have sought you out for work after she left. It is my last hope, Sir Richard that she might have come here.’

  ‘No, I have not seen Mistress Forrester since that day at the fair. I would have informed you. We agreed that, if you remember.’

  Daniel shifted his gaze from the other man’s face, ‘Yes I know. I’m sorry. I do not doubt your word Sir Richard. I am worried for her safety, you understand, and am following up every lead I have. Thank you for seeing me. Good day, sir.’

  He rose and Richard said, ‘Please sit down again, Mr Forrester, and let us talk about your wife being my brother’s daughter.’

  ‘Your – brother’s daughter?’ Daniel could not keep the surprise out of his voice.

  ‘Yes. Did you not know I had a brother?’ Without waiting for a reply Richard went on talking. ‘Ben was years older than me and the story you have been told is possibly true. I myself am trying to find out because there is a great family likeness on the maternal side.’

  Looking at the stunned expression on his guest’s face he added, ‘You thought it was me?’

  When Daniel did not answer he said, ‘Come, let me show you a portrait of my mother.’ He led the way to the gallery and stopped in front of the painting. ‘My mother when she was twenty-one,’ he said.

  Daniel gasped aloud. It could have been Betsy now.

  ‘My brother died before Betsy was born. A riding accident.’

  Daniel found his voice again. ‘I’m sorry.’

  Richard indicated another portrait a little further on. ‘This is Ben when he was sixteen. As you see, he took after the maternal side of our family for looks.’

  As they walked back from the gallery he said, ‘But none of this is helping to find Betsy now, is it? Or indeed proving she is my brother’s child, although from all I have learned lately I believe she is.’

  When he left an hour later Daniel knew he had a powerful friend in Sir Richard Choicely, who promised to ask about new kitchen staff taken on in many of the large homes of the district and beyond. He was still inwardly reeling from the revelation that there was an elder brother who, Sir Richard admitted, had been irresponsible and a rogue. Betsy’s likeness to Lady Choicely was remarkable, and her likeness to Benjamin Choicely, although not as marked because of hair and clothes and gender, was enough to convince Daniel that Aunt Agnes had told the truth about this.

  He dared to hope that he would soon have news of Betsy. ‘If only I knew where she was, Dumbo,’ he said to the cat, as he stroked the animal’s sleek black coat that evening. ‘I love her beyond everything else in this world.’ He went to the bookshelf and took down the Bible. The image of Betsy reading aloud from it was vibrant in his mind.

  It would soon be time for another fair and Daniel was tempted to send Jim with the animals for sale, yet there was always the chance that he would find Betsy again simply by being there.

  He recalled so clearly the first time he had set eyes on her, standing in a line with the others. He had been drawn to her immediately, although he had moved on and pretended to be interested in someone else. He had not gone to the fair with the intention of buying a wife. He
had gone to sell some of his livestock and had wandered over to that section by accident when his business with the cattle was concluded.

  He had not taken a wife before but when he saw Betsy the idea was born and from the moment he joined the men who were looking he knew she was the one he wanted. He looked at and briefly talked to others to suggest the idea that he was serious about this business. The truth was that once he had seen her it was as though he had been led to this section purposely. He longed, right from the start, to pick her up and carry her off, and when, just before he returned to ask her more questions, someone else was hovering he was petrified that he had missed his chance. When she answered him back he knew he had found a good one. He was captivated – a woman with such spirit and such beauty.

  He was ashamed of his behaviour in the cart returning to Redwood Farm. He hadn’t had a woman for some while and his basest instincts took over. Yet within hours he loved her for the woman she was and knew he would never want anybody else. The straw halter was his safeguard that no one could take her; she was his and he adored her.

  Yes, he would go to the fair himself. If she wasn’t there he might get word of her in the gossip that abounded at these gatherings. He had to find her again – he loved her more than he had ever loved anything or anyone in his life. Daniel began to make his preparations for the fair.

  Agnes, now determined to pretend to Richard Choicely that she was Betsy’s true mother and that her sister had only pretended to be so, trailed after him all over the fair.

  I’ll make him pay for his brother’s sins, she said to herself. No one treats me like Ben did and gets away with it for ever. Ben didn’t escape and neither will any member of that family. I’ve waited a long time for this but I’ll have some of their money and bring that little madam down too. It is my right. He belonged to me before that thieving sister of mine got her filthy hands on him and had his child.

  Agnes was a woman obsessed now with the grievance she had held inside through long years when she couldn’t do anything about it. Each time she had seen Betsy, looking so like Ben and his mother, she felt they were stamping on her again, even from their graves.

  So engrossed was she with her thoughts of revenge that she almost bumped into Daniel as he walked through the fairground looking to right and left in the hope of seeing his beloved wife.

  ‘Ah,’ she said, stopping him in his tracks, ‘You’ve not found her then. But I have, and you can tell Sir Richard that. I want half whatever she gets to keep her mouth shut about who her father was. Tell him that too.’

  Suddenly remembering her plan to say she was the mother, to add weight to her claim, she added sharply, ‘He’s marrying soon. His fiancée wouldn’t like the nasty stories I have to tell about his brother and the mother of his child I’m sure. Well, my lips will be sealed – for a price.’

  She poked him in the chest. ‘I know you’ve seen him and he’ll listen to you. Get the money for me and I’ll take you to her.’

  Realizing that Richard, her quarry, was out of sight she muttered something and strode off, pushing her way through the throng.

  Daniel ran after her and clutched at her skirt. ‘Just tell me where she is,’ but she shook his arm away and was gone. He followed but although he tried to keep her in sight, within seconds she was lost to him, swallowed up in the laughing and noisy crowd.

  Distraught, and not sure whether to believe Agnes he continued through the fair. It seemed as though everyone was here except the one he longed for. He had already been round by the cattle and worked his way through all the areas he thought might interest Betsy.

  If Agnes really did know where she was, and deep in his heart he doubted it, but if she did, then he would get it out of her if he had to camp on her doorstep day and night.

  Richard had come to the fair with his agent simply to do business and had not brought Lily with him. His plan was to go on to Clover Court when he left, to have a meal with the Aston-Jenkins family and spend the evening there.

  His business done he found himself wondering whether Betsy Forrester would be here. Possibly only if she were looking for work, he thought. If she had employment and somewhere to live he doubted that she would come.

  He did catch a glimpse of Daniel once, but before he could go through and speak to him the crowds closed in and he was lost to view. He liked the farmer and genuinely felt for him. He was kindly and, from what he could make out, he ran a good farm. Certainly he had a most beautiful wife, except of course that he didn’t have her any more because she was missing.

  Even so, she is still Daniel’s wife and almost certainly my niece, he thought. So many searching yet not finding her. He pondered on the reason for her absence and was sure he had not been told the whole story. A misunderstanding, the farmer had said. Forcing his thoughts to his own affairs he tried to picture his fiancée, but a dark-haired beauty with amazingly deep-blue eyes and a sort of bloom on her features, intruded, jostling for his attention and blocking out the image of his own beautiful and fair Lily.

  Adeep sigh whispered throughout his being and Richard did not know whether it was a desire for Betsy the farmer’s wife, or a yearning for the Beaumont family enchantment, which she had inherited and he had not.

  Chapter 18

  The next three-day fair Rosa and Bill were making for was in Applegate, on the borders of Sussex and Kent and just a few miles from Clover Court. As usual they travelled overnight and were well within the area the day before the fair began. Rosa walked along the lanes until she came to the back entrance of Clover Court, as before, and although she did not see Betsy she left word with Marie, the other kitchen-maid there, that she and Bill would be at the fair for two or three days, in the usual place and were looking forward to seeing Betsy.

  ‘We are going in one day – cook told us, but I don’t know which,’ Marie said, ‘I’ll tell her you will be there. I won’t forget, honest.’

  Rosa felt such relief that Betsy was still working at Clover Court and would have the opportunity to go to the fair. In her prayers she asked with fervour for Daniel to be there too.

  Bill said, ‘Reckon he will be my Rosa, ’tis a big fair and market and all the farmers’ll attend.’

  ‘But maybe not on the same day. Betsy will only be able to come once.’

  ‘If ’tis meant to be it’ll happen. If not and we see her Daniel we can point his trap the right way, then ’twill be up to them two.’

  Rosa hugged him. ‘Thought you said we shouldn’t meddle, Bill.’

  ‘We won’t be meddling. I’ve thought about what you said though, and no harm to telling him what a nice place Clover Court is. And how far it is from the fair,’ he added, smiling fondly at her.

  They were at the site early as usual and had the caravan in place at the back on the edge of the woods long before the fair was declared open. They sat on the steps of the van watching the others roll in. Then they went off to find work with the cattle. All the while they were with the animals Rosa was watching for Daniel and Betsy. She saw neither of them.

  Daniel went alone to the fair on the first day, leaving Jim in charge at the farm. He told his farm-hand they would go together the following day for the buying and selling.

  ‘I have other business at the fair this day,’ he said, as he handed Jim a bundle of food for him to eat during the time he was away.

  Daniel went to the hiring-section first, even though he knew Betsy would only stand in that line as a last resort. But if she was looking for work, and as far as he knew she had no money and would certainly have to find employment, that seemed the most likely place. He was concerned about how she was managing and torn between hoping she had already found a good place and wishing she would be at the fair looking for one.

  There were many people there, from maids with mops to shepherds with crooks, each carrying the symbol of their craft while prospective employers walked along the line to talk to and select the workers they needed. Betsy was not among them.

  Daniel m
oved on, past the stalls and booths where people were enjoying themselves after their business had been completed, and where there were many who came for the pleasures of the fair only. He paused by each food-stall, not to buy but to check whether Betsy was in charge. She was a good cook and he knew it would appeal to her to do this. If the women, hot from cooking sausages and pies, saw Daniel weave himself to the front of the crowd, round the stall and then work his way through to the back without buying, they had enough customers not to be bothered about one strange and worried-looking farmer.

  Back in the body of the fair he scrutinized each face as people jostled along, followed anyone ahead of him who had long dark tresses, until he was close enough to tell it wasn’t the one person he was seeking. His emotions were on a see-saw as snatches of voices reached him, a laugh with an echo of Betsy’s in it, a glimpse of someone the same sort of height and with a similar walk. Constantly he told himself what a fool he was to be roaming around like this when he should be working back at Redwood Farm, or buying and selling his stock here. Still that would be done tomorrow when he came in with Jim. Today he needed to look for Betsy. Life without her was bleak indeed. Even when they quarrelled, and he knew he had a stubborn temper, he also knew they would make up later in bed. When she let rip with her own volatile arguments, his excitement swelled until he thought he would burst. She stimulated him physically and intellectually, and without her now he felt only half-alive. Before Betsy, his farm and animals, with the occasional woman, had been enough. Since she had left, nothing but his beloved would ever be enough again. He wanted and needed nobody else.