The Silver Horse Read online

  Emilia opened her mouth to protest, but Luka gave her a warning glance and she closed it again. Dicky had some reason for his comment, rude as it was. After all, they were both very grubby after two days on the run, and the combined smell of bear, horse, dog and monkey was already rather overpowering in the small stable.

  Dicky had pumped them a bucket of water, and had a battered tin cup for them, not too dirty, and some bread and cold mutton which Emilia guessed was his own breakfast.

  ‘Blow the candle out when we’ve gone,’ he said. ‘Old Matthew will come looking if he sees candlelight, and besides, it’s dangerous with so much straw about.’

  Emilia and Luka nodded.

  Sebastien yawned, and then covered his mouth hastily with his hand. ‘I’d better get going,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to climb back up the Downs again, and it’s really late. Try and get some sleep, and I’ll come and get you when the coast is clear.’

  ‘All right. Thanks a lot,’ Emilia and Luka said, and he grinned and gave them a friendly wave before going out.

  ‘Don’t forget about the candle,’ Dicky said as he followed, pulling the door shut behind him.

  Emilia and Luka looked at each other.

  ‘Coldham was in the village?’ Emilia asked.

  Luka nodded. ‘Asking after us. He’s hot on our trail.’

  ‘They won’t tell him where we are, will they?’

  ‘I hope not. I think we should get going, though. As soon as it’s light enough to see, we’ll sneak out of here and get on the road. We’ll head to the New Forest, we’ve kin there.’

  ‘We can’t,’ Emilia said.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘The charm of the silver horse,’ she said. ‘That old woman, Sebastien’s grandmother – she’s got it. I didn’t have a chance to ask her for it.’

  Luka gave an impatient gesture. ‘It’s just an old charm, Emilia,’ he said. ‘It’s not going to help us get our family out of gaol. Only people can do that. And the Hearne family made it quite clear that they’re not going to help us. So we’ve got to get moving, try and find someone who can help us. Maybe the Wells family, down south, or the Smiths.’

  ‘We can’t go without the silver horse charm,’ Emilia said, feeling the now-familiar tightening of anxiety in her chest. ‘Baba said –’

  ‘But we don’t have time to be hanging around and hoping they’ll give us their charm,’ Luka said impatiently. ‘We only have till the end of the month to get them out. That’s when they go up before the magistrates, and you know they’re always quick about hanging once they’ve passed sentence.’

  Emilia’s chest tightened so much that she could not speak.

  Luka saw her face, and said roughly, ‘It’s all right. We’re going to get them out. I’ve got a plan of sorts already. You snuggle down now, and try and get some sleep. We’ve a long way to go tomorrow.’

  Emilia huddled her shawl about her and curled up in the straw, pressing her knees to her chest. Rollo lay down in the crook of her knees, sighing heavily. Luka spread one of the blankets over her, and said, ‘Don’t you worry, Emilia, we’ll get them out.’

  She nodded, and cradled her head on her arm. Luka blew out the candle, then she heard the rustle of the straw as he lay down himself. Then there was no sound but the snoring of the bear and Alida’s occasional snort or sigh.

  Emilia lifted her free hand and rubbed the gold coin that dangled from the chain about her wrist. As she rubbed, she wished with all her heart. She wished they would find a way to set her family free.

  Horse-trading

  EPSOM DOWNS, SURREY, ENGLAND

  14th August 1658

  The sound of the door being opened woke Luka from a deep sleep. At once he sat up, fumbling for his knife, his heart pounding. The stable was filled with a thin, grey light, enough for him to see dimly. His eyes flew to the door. Sebastien was just slipping in. Luka groaned aloud in relief and dropped his knife.

  ‘I thought you were the constables!’ he said. ‘You gave me such a fright.’

  Sebastien did not smile. He looked white and strained. ‘You’d better get up,’ he said. ‘You need to come back to the camp.’

  ‘Why? What’s wrong?’ Even as Luka spoke, he was gathering up their belongings. Emilia sat up sleepily, her hair all over her face. Rollo sat up too, and yawned mightily, showing all his teeth.

  ‘The man that’s after you, he showed up at the camp this morning with the local garrison,’ Sebastien said. ‘He wanted to know where you were, and when we said we didn’t know, the soldiers requisitioned all our horses, every single one of them.’

  ‘No!’ Emilia was shocked. ‘All those beautiful horses?’

  ‘Aye. Every one. And not a penny did they pay.’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Luka said helplessly. Even though he knew it was not really their fault, he could not help feeling guilty. Zizi looked at him anxiously, then cuddled her thin arms about his neck, crooning softly. Luka put up his hand and stroked her fur.

  Sebastien looked grim. ‘My father wants to see you, right away.’

  ‘But why? He’s not turning us in to the constables, is he?’ Emilia cried.

  ‘He wouldn’t do that.’

  ‘Not even to get his horses back?’ Luka demanded.

  Sebastien did not answer. He looked troubled.

  ‘We’re not going,’ Luka said. ‘Even if your father doesn’t intend to turn us in, that Coldham fellow is probably hanging around waiting for you to lead him straight to us. He didn’t follow you, did he?’ he asked in sudden alarm.

  ‘No, of course not,’ Sebastien said.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  Sebastien bit his lip.

  ‘Come on, Emilia, let’s get out of here!’ He swung the bag onto his shoulder and turned to face Sebastien. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘But we can’t take the risk. If we get locked up too, there’s no chance to help our family. All of us will hang, or be transported. I’m not going to let that happen.’

  ‘My father doesn’t want to turn you in to the constables!’ Sebastien cried. ‘He wants your horse, for the race today.’

  ‘He wants Alida?’ Emilia put her hand protectively on her mare’s withers. ‘But why?’

  ‘She looks fast,’ Sebastien said.

  ‘She is fast,’ Emilia boasted. ‘No other horse can catch her!’

  ‘Good,’ Sebastien said. ‘Because if we don’t have a horse to race today, there’s going to be trouble. Big trouble. There’s money riding on this race, and we can’t afford to forfeit.’

  ‘I’m sorry for that,’ Luka said, picking up Sweetheart’s chain. ‘But it’s too much of a risk.’

  ‘No. Wait.’ Emilia turned to Sebastien. ‘Will your father promise to help us if I bring him Alida? And will your grandmother give me her charm, the charm of the silver horse?’

  Sebastien’s brows drew together. ‘Her what?’

  ‘The charm she wears, the charm of the silver horse.’

  He shrugged, looking sullen. ‘I don’t know. She may. I can’t speak for her.’

  ‘If your father promises to help us, and if your grandmother gives me her charm, I’ll help you today,’ Emilia said. ‘Otherwise Luka and I walk out of here now, and do not come back.’

  Sebastien clenched his fists, his jaw thrust forward.

  ‘Alley-oop!’ Emilia cried, and at once Sweetheart reared up onto her hind paws, snarling, raking the air with her claws. Sebastien took a few quick steps back.

  ‘Don’t even think you could take Alida from me,’ Emilia said through her teeth. ‘We’d fight you if you tried, and we’ve got Sweetheart, and Rollo too.’ She said another word and Sweetheart came down ponderously onto all fours.

  Sebastien held up both hands. ‘Of course I wouldn’t steal her from you,’ he said, trying to joke. ‘I know all about your magic spells, remember?’

  ‘But Emilia, it’s too dangerous,’ Luka protested. ‘Coldham will be there, for sure, looking for us. He won’t give up that easily, you
know that.’

  Emilia frowned. ‘We have to get that charm,’ she said. ‘It’s important, I know it is, Luka. And if we help them out of a spot of trouble, they’ll be more willing to help us, surely?’

  ‘It’s your fault that the soldiers came,’ Sebastien cried.

  ‘No, it’s not,’ Luka said. ‘It’s his fault, Coldham’s fault. We didn’t ask him to chase after us . . .’

  ‘. . . and persecute us,’ Emilia flashed.

  ‘We’ve got to go, Milly. Forget the charm.’

  Emilia shook her head. ‘No. Baba told me to get it. I’ll go, and I’ll race Alida for them and win them their bets, and then I’ll come away with you. You stay here, with Zizi and Sweetheart and Rollo. Without them, I’m just another gypsy girl. Coldham won’t know who I am. Even better! I’ll wear Sebastien’s clothes and look like a boy. He’s looking for a girl in pink skirts, not a boy in breeches.’

  ‘And what am I supposed to wear?’ Sebastien cried indignantly.

  ‘Nothing,’ Emilia said. ‘You’ll stay here with Luka. You’re a . . . a . . .’ She did not know the word she wanted.

  ‘A hostage,’ Luka said.

  Emilia’s eyes lit up. ‘Aye, a hostage. In case I don’t come back.’

  ‘And what are you going to do then, kill me?’ Sebastien said sarcastically.

  ‘If your father turns Emilia over to Coldham, who wants to hang her, then I’ll see you into the hands of the constables too,’ Luka said, his voice hard. ‘We’ll see how he feels about having one of his kin facing the gallows!’

  Sebastien looked taken aback, then angry, but he began to strip off his clothes when Emilia told him to, wrapping one of the blankets around him against the chill. Ordering the boys to turn their backs, Emilia dressed quickly in his breeches and shirt and jacket, all of them much too big for her, then twisted her hair up into a rough knot that she jammed under his cap. She could not help feeling rather odd and vulnerable without her skirts. The breeches seemed to show far too much of her legs even though they were so baggy. She gritted her teeth, though, and pretended not to care. Sebastien, it was clear, did care. He looked both surly and affronted, but did not say anything more, sitting down in the straw with the blanket wrapped around him.

  Luka divided up the bread and mutton, then said, his voice coming unevenly, ‘Be careful, Emilia. Any sign of trouble, just get out of there, all right?’

  ‘All right,’ she said. ‘See you later.’

  ‘When should I start to worry?’

  She shrugged. ‘I don’t know. This afternoon? Dusk? I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  As she led Alida out into the courtyard, she heard Luka turn back to Sebastien and say, ‘I don’t suppose you have any cards on you, do you? It’s going to be a long day.’

  Outside, the fog still hung low over the buildings. Emilia looked about her cautiously, then when she was sure no one was watching, led Alida across the courtyard to the gate set in the wall. She led her through, then used a watering trough as a mounting block. Turning Alida’s head towards the Downs, she urged her forward. The fog was so thick, they could not go any faster than a walk, for the road was rough with stones and potholes. Emilia had plenty of time to marshal her arguments.

  She tried hard not to be afraid. No matter how many times she told herself that Coldham would have given up and gone away, a sharp twist of anxiety in her stomach needled her. Emilia breathed deeply and slowly, and rubbed the gold crown between her fingers for reassurance.

  They reached the steep path up to the Downs, and Emilia slipped off Alida’s back and led her. The chalk path was slippery with dew. Everything was still and quiet. No birds called, no dogs barked. The mist pressed close about them.

  Then, unexpectedly, Emilia stepped out of the mist and found herself on a broad spine of green land which rose before her out of a vast sea of cloud. The sky above was clear and blue, the mist below was white, and where it rose in soft, billowing peaks, it cast shadows of an intense and vivid blue. As far as Emilia could see, this landscape of clouds stretched, building palaces and temples in the sky, all gilded with the rising sun.

  Emilia stood and stared for a long moment, awed and humbled, her eyes unexpectedly hot with tears. Then Alida nudged her with her nose, and gave a soft enquiring whinny. Emilia vaulted back onto the mare’s back and kicked her into a canter, so that together they flew along the narrow isthmus of land as lightly and fluidly as if the mare had wings, and this airy construction of air and water was their natural element.

  All too soon they had crested one of the rolling undulations of the hill, and saw below them the rough circle of caravans around the ashes of the fire, and the men and women standing about, some weeping, some shouting, some sitting with their heads in their hands.

  As Alida galloped down the hill towards them, her pale mane and tail flying, her ears pricked forward, everyone turned to watch. Felipe lifted his face from his hands, then stood up and took a few eager steps forward. Janka, the old woman, clapped her hands together joyfully. Cosmo took his pipe from his mouth, and narrowed his eyes in quick calculation.

  Emilia brought her mare to her usual abrupt halt, Alida tossing her head and prancing as if aware of all the eyes upon her. Emilia looked at Felipe.

  ‘I am very sorry about your horses,’ she said. ‘May they pay for their shame.’

  Felipe nodded curtly.

  ‘Sebastien has said that you want my Alida, to run in the race for you,’ Emilia said. ‘You are my kin, and you are in trouble. I would be happy to do what I could to help you, except that we came to you in the time of our great trouble and you turned your faces from us.’

  Felipe frowned and looked away. Cosmo chewed on the end of his pipe, his hands in his belt, his eyes measuring the distance between him and Emilia. She had stopped Alida well away, however. She could wheel her mare about and escape before Cosmo, or any of the other gypsies, came within reaching distance of her.

  ‘It is dangerous for me to be here. Coldham and his soldiers could be close by, hiding under the cover of the mist. I could have slipped away and gone, and you would have had no chance of winning this race of yours. But I have come with my Alida, despite the danger, because you are my kin, and because I wish to make a bargain with you.’

  Felipe’s eyebrows shot up. He and Cosmo exchanged glances, and a smile creased Cosmo’s pockmarked skin. Emilia knew what they were thinking. They were horse-traders, used to making canny deals, and she was nothing but a little girl. All around the campfire there was a sigh as everyone relaxed and smiled.

  ‘First, before I run this race of yours, I want the little silver charm that your mother Janka wears,’ Emilia said.

  There was a murmur of surprise. Janka put her hand up to her neck and closed it about something that hung there, inside her shirt. Felipe looked at her and raised his brow.

  ‘What do you know of the horse charm?’ Janka demanded. ‘It’s ours, it belongs to our family, it’s our luck.’

  ‘Yet your luck has gone,’ Emilia answered. ‘And with it, your horses.’

  ‘Do you think the little charm will make your horse run faster?’ Felipe asked. From the tone of his voice, Emilia could tell that he was like Luka, and set more store by his own wits and strength than any power a small silver trinket could have.

  She turned her eyes to Janka. ‘Ever since the chain of charms was broken, the gypsies have suffered hard times, you know that.’

  Felipe snorted, but Cosmo was frowning and rubbing his thumb over the tattered rabbit’s foot he wore at his belt.

  ‘You want to keep my charm?’ Janka sounded furious. ‘Not just wear it for the race?’

  Emilia nodded. ‘At least until my family is free,’ she said pleadingly, and wished she could control her voice better. One must never show weakness when bargaining, she knew.

  ‘Absolutely not.’ Janka folded her arms.

  ‘Then I’ll be on my way,’ Emilia said, and wheeled her horse about.

  ‘Wait
, wait!’ Felipe cried. He turned to his mother. ‘It’s only a little thing, you have much better jewels. Give it to the wean, if she wants it so bad.’

  ‘It’s the charm of this family!’ Janka cried. ‘Given to me by your father after his mother died.’

  ‘We are all kin,’ Emilia said. ‘Our caravan is our family, and the world is our caravan.’

  The old woman scowled, and held on tight to her charm, but Felipe went to her and spoke softly in her ear. She shook her head obstinately, and he whispered some more. After a little while, she shrugged and said something crossly. He answered soothingly. Emilia’s heart lifted as she saw Janka shrug once more, then reluctantly pull something over her head and give it to her son. Felipe turned to Emilia and held it out on his hand.

  ‘So?’ he said. ‘You have the charm, we have the horse.’

  Emilia shook her head. ‘It’s not so simple,’ she said. ‘I also want your promise to help us free my family from Kingston gaol.’

  Felipe’s hand closed over the charm. ‘What sort of help?’

  Emilia did not like to say she did not know. So, her brain racing, she said, ‘We must get them out before the magistrates sit at the beginning of next month. Before then, we’ll try to get help from the rest of our kin. We’ll ask them – and you – to come to meet us in Kingston by the last day of the month, and we’ll tell you then what we need you to do.’

  Felipe and Cosmo glared at her, and then put their heads together, muttering furiously. Emilia waited, so tense that Alida fidgeted and danced, curving her neck. She could always sense what Emilia was feeling.

  Cosmo turned back to her. His face was hard and cold. ‘Who are you to try and bargain with us? You are nothing but a worthless girl. Your family is imprisoned, you have no money, you wear borrowed clothes. How dare you try and tell us what to do?’

  ‘Fine,’ Emilia said, and spurred Alida away.

  Alida, as always, moved as smoothly and lightly as the wind through a meadow of grass. Emilia was surprised. Her heart was so heavy, she felt sure it should have acted as weights upon her mare’s legs.