Page 26 of The Armor of Light

Kit ran to Fan and buried his face in her dress, shaking. She put her arms around him and hugged him. ‘Never mind, never mind,’ she said. ‘It will stop hurting in a minute.’

He tried to be brave. ‘I think it’s getting better already.’

She released her embrace. ‘Come on, then,’ she said. ‘Let’s clean up.’

*

On Sunday afternoon he saw his mother.

When the Riddick family’s dinner had been cleared away the servants were free until bedtime. Ma was waiting for him at the back door of the manor, as usual. He threw himself into her arms and hugged her fervently, burying his head in her soft bosom. Then he held her hand as they walked through the village.

When they reached the house they sat at her spinning wheel, as in the old days, just the two of them. He passed her the ropes of scribbled wool and she eased them into the mechanism while turning the wheel. On the floor were spindles of finished yarn, and Kit said: ‘You’ve done a lot – Amos will be pleased with you.’

She said: ‘Tell me what you’ve been doing.’

As they worked, he told her everything that had happened in theweek: the jobs he had done, the food he had eaten, the times he had been happy and the times he had been scared. She got so cross about Will Riddick that he quickly started talking about Fan and how kind she was. He loved her, he said, and when they were grown up he was going to marry her.

Ma smiled. ‘We’ll see,’ she said. ‘You used to say you would marry me.’

‘That’s silly. You can’t marry your mother, everyone knows that.’

‘You didn’t know it when you were three years old.’

Talking to her on Sundays made him feel better about the rest of the week. He hated Will, but most of the people in the house were neither kind nor cruel, and Roger and Fan were on his side. He worshipped Roger.

He felt quite grown up already as he told Ma how he cleaned and polished, especially when she said: ‘Why, you’re a proper little worker!’

The afternoon flew by too fast. She usually had a little treat for him: a slice of ham, a mug of fresh milk, an orange. Today she gave him a piece of toast with honey.

The taste stayed in his mouth while they walked back in the evening. As they drew near to the manor house, and he realized he would not see his mother for another week, he began to cry. ‘Come on, now,’ she said. ‘You’re nearly seven. You must act like a little man, because that’s what you are.’

He did his best, but the tears kept coming.

At the back door he clung to her. She hugged him for a long moment, then she detached his arms, pushed him through the door, and closed it behind him.

*

Kit’s job on Monday morning was to clean and polish saddles and other riding tack. Some of it got dirty in use, and all of it had to be rubbed with dubbin to keep the leather supple and waterproof. Kitdid the work in the scullery while Fan swept carpets upstairs. The saddles were heavy and Kit had to carry them one by one across the stable yard.

He did not like horses. They scared him. He had never seen either of his parents on horseback.

The squire and his sons had nine beasts in the stable. Squire Riddick drove about in a cabriolet, a two-wheeled cart with a hood, drawn by a sturdy pony. Both Rector George and Mr Roger had their own horses, a big mare for the rector and a light-footed gelding for Roger. Will preferred big, fast hunters, and he had two, one a recent acquisition, a dark bay stallion called Steel. There were also four carthorses.

Kit had a bundle of leather straps in his hands when he stepped into the yard and saw Steel standing by the mounting block. An old groom called Nobby was holding the bridle to keep the beast still. It was a difficult task: the horse was restive, tossing its head as if to throw off the bridle. Its eyes were wide, its teeth bared and its ears pinned back. Its tail swished rapidly, and its front legs were splayed as if it was about to dart forward.

Kit headed across the yard, giving the beast a wide berth.

Will was on the block with one foot in a stirrup and the reins in his hand, about to mount, and Roger was watching. Roger said: ‘I’d lead him around the meadow at a slow walk for a few minutes, to calm him down. He’s in a bad mood.’

‘Nonsense,’ said Will. ‘He’s just high-spirited. He wants to be ridden hard for half an hour. That’ll calm him.’ He swung his leg over the back of the horse. ‘Open the gate, Nobby.’

As soon as Nobby let go of the bridle, Steel began to step nervously sideways. Will hauled on the reins, shouting: ‘Stand still, you devil.’ The horse ignored orders and stepped backwards.

Suddenly the horse was near Kit.

Roger shouted: ‘Look out, Kit!’

Kit froze in terror.