Sons and Daughters by Margaret Dickinson Read Free Book Online

the dinner party.’ But he didn’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings any more than they had already been wounded.
    ‘If everything’s under control, then, I’ll just nip down to the stables and check on Tobias,’ she added, referring to the lame horse.
    She left the house by the back door, wearing a long trench coat, wellingtons and her headscarf. She lifted her head to the breeze and tasted the salt air blowing in from the sea. It was surprisingly warm for early April and promised fine weather for Easter weekend. Charlotte would have loved a walk to the sea, but with Father’s unexpected dinner party, there was no time today. Perhaps tomorrow.
    Turning to the left, she crossed the path that ran down the side of the house and the farm buildings, walked past the greenhouse and entered the paddock, where Joe was watching Matty leading the horse in gentle circles.
    ‘Hello, Miss Charlotte.’ Joe touched his cap and Matty nodded to her.
    ‘How is he?’
    They stood side by side watching the horse.
    ‘Improving already we think, miss. What d’you say?’
    Slowly, Charlotte nodded. ‘Yes, he’s definitely not limping as much as he was this morning. But I think you should rest him for at least a week.’
    He grinned at her. ‘Better’n a vet, you are. It’s them healing hands you’ve got.’
    Charlotte laughed aloud, the sound carrying on the breeze so that the horse pricked up his ears and whinnied softly. Matty brought the animal to a standstill and Charlotte moved forward to pat the horse’s neck and feed him a carrot from her pocket. ‘Good boy,’ she soothed. ‘You’ll soon be better. What about Jacob and Lightning?’ Charlotte was referring to the other two shires.
    ‘They’re fine.’
    ‘Another day or so and I’ll take Tobias for a short walk, Matty. Then later on, maybe as far as the beach before we let him on the land again.’
    When there was little work on the farm for the horses – which wasn’t often throughout the farming year – Charlotte took them to the beach further north near the seaside resort where the sand was safer and firmer for the horses. In the warmer weather, they loved a paddle. It would have done the horse good now, she thought, and today would have been warm enough, but she daren’t risk the horse on the soft sand yet and it was too far away, anyway, and there was no time.
    She bent and ran her hand down the animal’s leg. Tobias whinnied again, but he did not flinch or move away from her touch. ‘There, boy, there.’
    She straightened up. ‘I’d best get back to the house. There’s a lot to do.’ She turned to Joe. ‘Peggy’s come to help. I expect you know?’
    Joe nodded, his mouth tight. He’d called into the farmhouse kitchen only minutes before and heard that Charlotte was to be kept out of sight that evening. His anger threatened to spill over and he literally bit down on his lower lip to stop the words coming out of his mouth. It was a disgrace. An absolute disgrace. A travesty. Charlotte was speaking again and he dragged his angry thoughts back to what she was saying.
    ‘But are you sure your father’s all right, Joe? Is he well enough to be left?’
    ‘Our Tommy’s there, Miss Charlotte. He’s to stay in all day. The little scamp’s been fightin’ again. He’s sporting a shiner of a black eye.’
    Charlotte glanced away, avoiding his gaze as Joe went on, ‘So I’ve told him he’s to stay at home and watch over his grandad. He’ll run and fetch me if there’s owt wrong.’
    Charlotte turned away, her heart thumping in fear lest Joe should say more about the ‘fight’. But, rationally, she knew there was no earthly reason why he should think she’d know anything about it.
    As she began to walk away, Joe called after her. ‘I’ll be up to see you in the morning, miss, if that’s convenient. There’re one or two matters I need your say-so on.’
    ‘That’ll be fine, Joe. About ten. See you then.’
    But before that, she thought as