River of Destiny. Barbara Erskine

was empty as she rode in and reined the mare to a standstill. She stood for a moment staring round. Wisps of hay blew round the horse’s hooves. From somewhere she could hear the contented grunting of pigs and the sharp grate of a hoof on cobbles but there was no sign of anyone there. The working horses were out in the fields with the men, bringing in cartloads of turnips to store for the winter. The dairy was neat and scrubbed, the huge pans of cream covered by muslin cloths, the churns waiting for the evening milking. Her gaze turned thoughtfully to the forge. There was no smoke coming from the chimney but the door was open and she heard sounds coming from inside. Clicking her tongue she urged the mare into a walk.

      ‘Is anyone there?’ she called.

      Dan appeared after a few moments. He had taken off his heavy apron, but his sleeves were rolled to the elbow. ‘My lady?’

      ‘There is something wrong with the shoe you put on,’ she called down. ‘I’d like you to look at it.’

      She saw his eyebrow move and smiled to herself. So, she had insulted his workmanship. Good. That would put him on his metal. ‘Help me down, Daniel.’

      He stepped forward and after a moment’s hesitation he held up his arms. She lifted her leg clear of the pummel and slid towards him, trusting him to catch her. Just for a moment she felt his strong hands on her waist and smelled his sweat as she fell towards him, then he released her and took a step backwards. ‘I’ll look at the horse, my lady.’

      He seemed angry as he led the mare to the wall and tied the rein. Then he bent, running his strong hand down the animal’s foreleg. Emily smiled to herself. ‘Could it be loose, do you think?’

      ‘No. It’s fine and solid.’

      ‘How strange. Perhaps it is one of the others.’

      ‘I don’t think so, my lady. I checked them all this morning. They were all right and she was sound.’

      ‘How odd.’ She stepped closer to him. ‘Could she be going lame, do you think?’

      ‘Dan!’ The voice came from close behind them. Lady Emily straightened and took a step back. Susan’s face was white as she stared at them. ‘I am sorry, my lady, I didn’t know you were here.’

      Dan winked at her, his hand gently stroking the horse’s nose. ‘Lady Emily is having trouble with Bella’s feet, Susan. I was just taking a look for her.’

      ‘Indeed.’ Susan gave Lady Emily a cold smile. ‘Please don’t let me interrupt, my lady. I can wait.’

      Emily stared at her, her eyes hard as flint, then she nodded. ‘I was wrong. I must have imagined it. If Daniel says the horse is all right, then of course it must be. Perhaps, if he could just help me up,’ she turned and smiled at him, ‘then I can be on my way. I am already late for luncheon.’

      ‘Dan!’ Susan caught at his hand as Bella turned out of the yard and disappeared with her rider. ‘You have to be careful. You know what she’s like.’ She looked up at him pleadingly, aware as never before of the contrast between her swollen body, her greasy hair covered by a stitched cap, and her rough strong hands, and the beautiful slim creature who had ridden out of the yard with her chestnut curls and elegant features beneath the riding hat and veil.

      Dan laughed and threw his arms round her, planting a kiss on the end of her nose. ‘Don’t you fret, missus,’ he said with a grin. ‘She’s doesn’t hold a candle to my Susan. Silly primping female who can’t control a horse properly and can’t even get herself with child.’

      ‘Maybe it’s the squire’s at fault.’ Susan followed him into the forge. ‘It took long enough for him to get Mistress Elizabeth with child. And then for it to kill her in the birthing, poor soul, and the baby dead too.’ They were both silent for a moment. The squire’s first wife had been highly popular in the village and on the farm. It was barely two years since they had all followed her coffin to the church, and only four months after that, to the shock of everyone for miles around, Henry Crosby had brought home a new wife after marrying her in London. Susan put down her basket. In it her husband’s lunch of bread and cheese was wrapped in a chequered cloth; with it were a couple of new season’s apples and a flagon of cider. He drew the cork with his teeth and took a swig. ‘That is good, Susan. Thank you.’

      Outside on the river the mist was drifting slowly in with the tide. Barely visible in the shadows beneath the trees the square sail of the Viking ship hung swollen with an imperceptible breeze.

      It was nearly dark when they tied up at last at the mooring below the barns and began to tidy the boat. They had sailed for a while in the end, so the sails had to be neatly furled and covered, the cabin left immaculate, the basket, empty now of food, lowered into the dinghy. The tide had turned again, exposing pebbles and green weed and dark shining mud at the edge of the water. The wind had dropped. Already the mist was coming back.

      ‘Hurry, Ken. Let’s get home.’ Zoë was conscious suddenly that her skin had started to prickle. She glanced round uncomfortably, aware of a chill off the water which hadn’t been there before, and the incredible loneliness of the silence around them as the night drew in. She watched in an agony of impatience as, remembering a book he wanted to take back with him, Ken ducked once more into the cabin and began to search through a locker.

      ‘I’ll only have to come back tomorrow if I don’t find the wretched thing now,’ he retorted as she protested. ‘It’ll get damp.’ He was rummaging amongst a heap of papers and charts and magazines. ‘I should clear all this out before winter. Zoë?’ He turned. She was still in the cockpit staring into the mist.

      ‘There is someone out there,’ she said as he climbed the steps out of the cabin and joined her. He was feeling in his pocket for the key to the doors.

      ‘Someone going up to the town quay.’ He frowned, trying another pocket. ‘They’ll have to hurry. The water is dropping fast.’

      ‘Listen.’ Zoë held up her hand. ‘You can hear the boat.’ Instead of being reassuring the sound was somehow disturbing.

      Ken paused. She was right. He could hear the rush of the tide against a bow, the creak of rigging. It sounded very close. The sudden thunder of canvas made them both reach for the rail, staring out into the mist. It had thickened until it was a dense wall hanging round them. ‘That was close; too close.’ Ken’s voice was indignant. ‘Are they crazy, sailing at that speed when the visibility is so low? They’ve broached, by the sound of it. Where the hell are they? I can’t see anything.’

      Nearby Leo’s boat was a faint shadow against the whiteness of the mist. Groping in the bag lying on the bottom boards ready to be thrown down into the dinghy with the basket, Ken found the torch and switched it on, shining it out across the water. All it showed was white swirling fog.

      ‘Listen,’ Zoë was whispering. ‘Oars.’

      The creak of wood on metal was unmistakable.

      ‘Ahoy!’ Ken shouted out across the water. ‘You’re too close to the bank! You’ll run aground.’ His voice was swallowed and dulled by the fog. They looked at each other. The sound of the oars had stopped. There was nothing to hear at all now save for the gentle gurgle of ripples against the hull of the Lady Grace. A breath of wind stirred the mist for a moment, lifting it, showing the river, empty of movement.

      ‘Where are they?’ Zoë gave an uncomfortable little laugh. ‘Did we imagine it?’ She waited for Ken to laugh too. He didn’t. He was still staring across the water. He had pulled the key to the cabin door out of his pocket and was standing holding it as if mesmerised. Zoë glanced down at the small dinghy, tugging at its painter alongside, suddenly terrified at the thought of climbing down into it and setting off across the narrow strip of water towards the landing stage. Only half an hour before there had appeared to be plenty of light to see what they were doing as they picked up the mooring; now they were enveloped in mist, and total darkness had crept up the river. She felt