Hetty Feather (7 page)

'I wish we could, Hetty,' said Jem, looking
wretched. 'We could maybe have a circus when we're
married. Perhaps we could start a
farm
circus, and
you could train the pig to stand on a tub and get
the chickens to cluck in time and set all the goats
dancing,' he went on, trying to humour me. 'Here
now, Hetty. Eat your gingerbread.'

He was trying to distract me. I
did
have a very
sweet tooth so I set about eating my biscuit, though
it had cracked and crumbled rather when I wriggled
under the tent flap. I insisted on sharing it with Jem.
We ate every crumb until only the gold star was left.
Jem stuck that on my forehead.

Then the band struck up and the clowns capered
back into the ring. I fidgeted in my seat, breathless
with anticipation. I saw a gentleman throwing
daggers at a lady in sparkly drawers, a troupe of
seals barking for fish, and a man eating fire as
casually as we'd eaten our gingerbread, but I was
still restless and unsatisfied. But then, oh, then,
right at the end, the ringmaster cracked his whip
and announced: 'Now, ladies and gentlemen, girls
and boys. Tanglefield's Travelling Circus is proud
to present Madame Adeline and her troupe of rosin-
backed performing horses!'

I sat up straight as six sleek horses cantered
into the ring. I was used to Dobbin and Rowley,
the great shire horses in Father's care at the farm.
These dancing, prancing horses seemed an elvish
breed, so small and dainty. Two were spotted, two
piebald and two grey, all with their manes and tails
flowing, long and silky. Madame Adeline sat on the
first grey, which was almost pure white but with a
saucy black patch on one eye, so that he looked as
wicked as a pirate. He arched his neck and stepped
precisely in time with the music, clearly proud to
have Madame Adeline on his back. She looked so
beautiful in her pink spangles and short frilly skirt,
her flame-coloured hair piled on her head, a black
ribbon round her slim white neck.

She stood up on the back of the pirate horse,
straight and proud, arms high in the air, never
faltering. She smiled at our applause, and called
something to the other grey horse. He galloped
faster and faster. As he drew alongside Madame
Adeline leaped from one horse's back to the other,
landing with fairy lightness. She leaped on, from
one eager horse to another, she swung herself down
till her toes touched the sawdust, then up over the
side of the horse, she even stood on her hands while
he cantered.

I watched her open-mouthed, marvelling.
Madame Adeline jumped through a hoop and
landed lightly back on the pirate horse, as easily as
if she was skipping down the village lane. I clapped
until my hands were sore. She slowed to a trot, still
standing, waving at all of us. I waved back wildly,
desperate for her to see me.

'Hello, children,' she called.

I piped 'hello' back, standing up in my seat.

'Who would like to come and ride with me?'
she said.

I didn't wait for a second. I hurtled out of
my seat. Jem tried to catch hold of me by the
hem of my dress, but I whisked it away and
rushed frantically for the ring. There were
already children right at the front, hopping
eagerly over the little red wall into the circus ring.
Madame Adeline was laughing and pointing, picking
her rider.

'No, no, pick
me
!' I screamed, still running. I
tried to jump down the steep wooden steps, lost
my footing, and hurtled forward, tumbling head
over heels.

'Oh my, here's a little acrobat!' said
Madame Adeline as I lay with my face in the
sawdust, totally dazed.

I felt her strong hands lifting me up. I stood
there, trembling. She was even more beautiful close
up. Her hair was bright red, her face powdery white
though her cheeks were a delicate pink, and her lips
thrillingly dark and shiny. I looked up at her and fell
totally in love.

'Are you all right, little one?' she asked softly, as if
we were alone together, not watched by an audience
of hundreds.

'I am, oh yes, I definitely am,' I said, tossing my
hair out of my eyes.

'You have lovely red hair, just like mine!' she said,
laughing. 'What's your name, child?'

'I'm Hetty Feather, ma'am,' I whispered.

'How old are you, Hetty? You speak up very nicely,
yet you can't be more than . . . four?'

'I'm five and three-quarters, ma'am, just small
for my age,' I said.

'And you want to ride my horse with me,
little Hetty?'

'More than anything!'

She laughed again, her teeth white and
perfect, her lips gleaming. 'Then so be it, Little Star,'
she said, touching the gingerbread star still stuck to
my forehead.

She lifted me up up up and I found myself
sitting on the smooth hot back of her horse. She
swung herself up behind me, gave a little clucking
sound, and the horse started trotting slowly round
the ring.

I heard loud clapping all round the circus. Oh
my word, they were clapping me! I stopped clutching
the horse's beautiful white mane and waved one
hand in the air in acknowledgement. Madame
Adeline chuckled.

'You're a real showman! All right, Little Star,
let's perform a few tricks for your audience.'

She clucked again and our horse started cantering.
She held me tightly round the waist but I wasn't a
bit scared. I dug in with my knees and arched my
back to keep my balance. I heard Madame Adeline
laughing approvingly.

'Faster?' she murmured.

'Yes, faster, faster!' I said.

She clucked and our pirate horse gathered speed,
galloping now, overtaking all the other horses, round
and round and round, so fast that all the seats within
the tent seemed to be spinning. My breath bumped
from my body. I felt as if I was truly flying, though
all the time I was safe in Madame Adeline's grasp.
I wasn't sure if the roaring in my ears was my own
hot blood or the clapping of many hands.

At long last Madame Adeline shouted a command
to the horse and he slowed obediently.

'Now, your star turn!' Madame Adeline murmured
into my ear. 'Do you think you could stand up? I will
hold you very safely, I promise.'

'Yes! Yes!' I said, scrabbling clumsily onto my
knees.

'Steady! Just stretch upwards. I won't let you
go,' said Madame Adeline.

I stood right up – but then my foot slipped as the
horse cantered forward! I thought for a second I'd
go tumbling down onto the sawdust, but Madame
Adeline held me firm.

'There now, my Star,' she whispered. 'I told you I
would hold you safely.'

I stood still, trying to get my balance, swaying
to the left, the right, but after a half-circuit of
the ring I started to get the knack of standing
with my feet spread, my arms out, my back erect,
my whole body moving with the rhythm of the
horse. Madame Adeline still held me tight, but I'm
absolutely certain I was almost balancing myself.
The audience stood up in their seats and clapped,
roaring their approval.

Then Madame Adeline clucked to the horse to
slow right down. She slid off, taking me with her in
her arms. Then she set me down gently.

'Take your bow, Little Star,' she said.

We held hands and bowed low, while the clapping
sounded louder than twenty brass bands. Madame
Adeline bent and gave me a kiss.

'Well done, my precious child,' she said, and then
she patted me on the shoulder to send me back to
my seat.

'Oh, Hetty! Oh my Lord, Hetty!' Jem cried when
I found my way back to him. He thumped me on the
back. 'You were
brilliant,
Hetty.'

'No I wasn't, Jem,' I said modestly, though
I wanted to jump up and down and say,
YES, I
AM BRILLIANT!

People right along the rows of seats were turning
round, craning forward, calling to me, while my
neighbours patted me on the back and added their
praises. I scarcely paid attention to them. Madame
Adeline was standing on the pirate horse, circling
the ring, leaping lightly from one horse to another,
flying fairy-like across her steeds, waving and bowing
– and then she was
going,
trotting right out of the
ring, all five horses in step as they followed her.

'Oh! She's going!' I said, leaping to my feet again.
'It's over!'

'Wait, Hetty. The circus isn't over. Oh, look, it's
the clowns again,' said Jem, pulling me back down
beside him.

I didn't care for the clowns. I didn't want to
watch the tumbling boys. I didn't even wish to see
the great golden jungle lion baring its teeth and
snapping sullenly at its trainer. I only wanted to see
Madame Adeline and I fidgeted and fussed.

'Behave yourself, Hetty,' said Jem sternly, digging
me in the ribs. 'Sit quietly. You'll see Madame
Adeline again at the end.'

'Will I really?'

'If you are a good girl and sit as still as a mouse,'
said Jem.

I tried my best, though I behaved like a very
agitated
mouse, quivering and sniffing. At last the
band struck up and all the circus artistes trooped
back into the ring. Even great Elijah plodded out,
trunk waving in the air. My wondrous Madame
Adeline came trotting in on the pirate horse. She
waved and smiled at everyone, but her head was
turning, glancing this way and that. She was looking
for someone. Looking for
me?

I stood right up on my seat and waved both
arms in the air like a windmill, shouting, 'Madame
Adeline! Madame Adeline!' Jem had to hang onto
me hard by my dress hem.

'Goodbye, Little Star!' Madame Adeline called,
kissing her hand and waving just to me.

I waved and waved back. Then everyone paraded
out of the ring and the band stopped playing and
the audience stopped clapping. Everyone started
filing out. Jem pulled at me, but I clung to my
seat, not moving until all that was left of the show
was an empty tent and dirty sawdust. Then I burst
into tears.

'Whatever is the matter
now,
Hetty?' asked
Jem.

'I want the circus back!' I wept.

'You're the absolute limit! Aren't you ever
satisfied? You've
seen
the circus. In fact you've
been
the circus, doing your double act with
Madame Adeline.'

'I want to ride with her again. Oh, Jem, let us go
and find her.'

'Don't be so silly, Hetty. She'll be in one of the
wagons at the back of the tent, with those big bad
men who will catch us and whip us.'

'I don't care. I want to see Madame Adeline. I
have
to see her. She will want to see me. I am her
Little Star,' I bellowed, stamping my foot.

'You're a little whatsit,' said poor Jem, giving my
arm a shake. 'Why won't you ever see reason, Hetty?
I try so hard to please you but it's never
enough.'

I felt bad then, but not enough to modify my
behaviour. I pulled free from Jem when we got
outside the circus tent, ready to run right round it
to the back. I wasn't looking where I was going and
fell headlong over a long rope snaking across the
grass. I banged my head hard on a tent peg and it
hurt so much I burst into fresh floods of tears.

'It hurts, oh, it hurts!' I wailed.

'It serves you right,' said Jem crossly, but he
knelt down beside me and cuddled me close. It only
made me cry harder.

'Is that our Hetty screaming?' It was Nat, jostling
his way through the crowd. 'Did you get in to see the
circus?' he said, sounding awed. 'I tried with some
of the village lads, but we were all chased away.
You two are so lucky! So why is Hetty bawling? My
Lord, she's going to have something to cry for when
we get home! Mother is beside herself and Father
is furious. You're in for a right royal paddling, you
three.'

'What do you mean, you
three
?' said Jem.

I scrambled to my feet, scrubbing at my eyes and
runny nose with the hem of my dress.

'Yes, you're really for it now!' Nat chuckled
heartlessly. 'Mother's been searching for you for
hours. Seems she wanted Giddy for some trifle, and
then she couldn't find any of you. Eliza said you
might have gone to the circus but Rosie pointed
out you had no pennies. Mother's so demented she
feared you'd all been
stolen
by the circus men.'

'I wish they
would
steal me,' I said, sniffing. 'I
want to be with Madame Adeline.'

'Madame Addywho?' said Nat. 'Not the woman
in the parade showing off all her legs as bold as
brass? You should have heard what the lads said
about her!'

'Don't you
dare
talk about her in that way!' I
declared, flying at Nat, ready to reach up and pull
his hair.

Jem hauled me back and shook me hard, shocking
me into silence. 'Shut up, Hetty, or I shall slap you,'
he said. He turned to Nat. 'You said
three.
Is Gideon
missing too?'

'Yes, that's why Mother's in such a particular
fret,' said Nat. 'We all told her he'd be fine so long
as he was with you – but
isn't
he? Has he run off by
himself?'

'He was never with us,' said Jem. 'It was just
Hetty and me. Oh, Nat, Gideon is truly lost!'