Brothers at Arms (13 page)

“Is he always as bad as that?” Charlie said.

“I think he thought he was on his best behaviour today.”

“It’s not Sophie’s fault. She’s only a little girl, and I promised her when we came here, we wouldn’t be separated again.”

Joshua heard Charlie say that many times over the following weeks, usually when the tutor admonished his friend for his inability to control his sister.

Eventually, humiliated beyond his limits, Charlie said, “I’m sorry, Josh, I’m going to have to see your father and tell him we can’t stay here any more. I do not know where we will go now. Nobody else wants us.”

To see Charlie’s bubbly spirits suppressed brought tears to Joshua’s eyes. He did not want to lose his new friend, any more than Charlie wanted to leave. He was even prepared to have Sophie in the classroom during the lessons, if it meant they stayed at Linmore.

When she joined their afternoon pursuits, Joshua bowed to the inevitable. By now, she should have integrated with his cousins’ lessons, but he knew she had no notion of doing girlish things, and suspected her absence from the nursery did not bother the governess.

Sophie became their shadow, and followed them everywhere, even back into the classroom. For some reason, Dr Hawley seemed to have reached a compromise, and agreed she could sit in on their studies for one hour a day. He stipulated she should remain at the back of the room, and listen, without making a noise whilst they did their lessons in French.

At first, she sat, looking from one to another, squinting as she listened to the sounds. Then she left her chair and sat on the floor at the back of the room, facing the wall and talking to herself.

When the tutor stopped to listen, Sophie continued speaking the words verbatim, oblivious of her watchers, or the significance of her uttering.

The tutor nodded his approval and said in the softest tone, “With a little more practice, she will have excellent diction, Master Cobarne. You may commend your sister.”

On that day, Joshua relaxed and Charlie smiled again.

Lessons were fun with Charlie in the classroom. He had a question for every answer their tutor expected, and was soon entertaining Dr Hawley with tales of his father’s military exploits. There was no doubt, in Charlie’s mind: Major Fergus Cobarne was a hero of no mean achievement.

Joshua listened enthralled, and silently thanked his father for his forethought in giving him a new companion, and his only friend.

Apart from his father, Aunt Jane was the only person to show him affection, and he liked to pretend she was his mother. He thought his father wished it as well, because they were such good friends.

Anyone could see that, by the way they laughed and talked together. It was what made Charlie’s friendship special, because he made people laugh, and there had been little enough merriment in Joshua’s life.

August 1794

Life at Linmore was much more peaceful without Matthew to spoil things. Joshua could rise in the morning feeling free to enjoy the day. It was a time when he didn’t live in fear or have to constantly look over his shoulder to see if his brother was lurking around the corner waiting to pounce.

The summer was unlike any Joshua had known. The weather was kind with gloriously long hot days to spend with his special friend. Each one filled to the brim with exploration and adventure. So full he couldn’t recall half, yet without enough hours to fill. Sleep claimed him at night, often mid-sentence, and he awoke to pick up the thread of conversation where he left off.

The sense of freedom made his cup of joy run over; but as the weeks progressed he gradually realised that he had simply exchanged one tormentor for another. It started as a sneaking suspicion, which he recognised as a prickly feeling between his shoulder-blades whenever Sophie was near – as she often was.

Initially, his lessons with Charlie were in the classroom, but then the tutor told them of his plan to study the local flora, fauna and geology. That caused great excitement because Charlie had a fascination with fossils, and Joshua knew of a disused limestone quarry on the edge of the estate, which he could not wait to show his friend.

When morning lessons ended, irrespective of the weather, the two lads dashed outside into the fresh air, hoping to slip away without Sophie seeing them. That was the problem, because she was always lying in wait for them. No sooner did she see them, than she trilled,
Charlie… wait for me…

It was the strangest sound. The trouble was Charlie always waited, and excused his action with, “Sorry, Josh, I can’t leave her in case she does something silly.”

Of course she would – knowing he would do anything to avoid the situation occurring. It did not matter what they did or where they hid, Sophie would sense where they were. They knew from her crow of delight when she was coming closer. She had a better nose for tracking than the gun dogs, and they had to give up when they heard her warbling nearby.

Charlie was inordinately proud of his sister, even when she disturbed the trout they were trying to tickle in the stream. It spoiled everything.

“Why doesn’t she stay with the other girls?” Joshua asked.

“She doesn’t want to, that’s why,” Charlie said. “She prefers to be with us.”

“But she’s a girl.”

“No,” said Charlie; “Sophie isn’t like other girls.”

That much was obvious, but it never occurred to Joshua that girls might not like others of their kind. He thought his cousins, Lucy and Julia, were quite friendly. They probably would not mind having Sophie with them – so why should she object to their company?

It was the same when she persisted in watching him. She would fix him with her gaze, and not move.

“Why does she do that?” he asked.

Charlie sighed, and spoke slowly. “It’s because she likes you, silly. Believe me, Josh; it is better to have her as a friend.”

Joshua was not sure. It seemed unnatural. He could tell when her eyes were following him, because his skin crawled in the creepiest way. It was a bit like having a pet rat following you. It did not hurt, but set your teeth on edge.

He had only been polite, welcoming her to Linmore, and now she would not leave him alone. If he had known she would be like this, he would have remained silent.

One warm, summer afternoon they managed to slip away to a sheltered place Joshua knew by a bend in the River Linmore. He had gone alone in the past, to paddle near the riverbank, but with Charlie for company, he felt safe to wallow in the deeper water.

It was a magical place. Sunlight filtering through the silver-birch trees cast sparkling rays on the water. A gentle breeze cooled them as they floated around the pool. It was a joy to be free from interruption, but such perfection was too good to last.

Inevitably, Sophie tracked them down, and ran down the slope past the pile of abandoned clothes. She stopped several inches from the water’s edge, but her feet slipped on wet grass and she toppled over the edge into the water.

Even before she sank beneath the surface, Charlie grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and heaved her squawking onto the riverbank. Instead of crying, she chortled with glee.

“Stay there, while I get dressed,” Charlie ordered, as he hoisted himself out of the water and grabbed his clothes.

Unperturbed by her brother’s lack of attire, Sophie sat watching as Joshua trod water, waiting for him to climb out, but he made no such move.

“What are you still doing in there, Norbery?” said Charlie, pulling his shirt over his head. “We have to get her home and into some dry clothes, before she takes a chill.”

“You go on ahead,” Joshua said. “I’m not coming out with her there.”

“Oh, come on, Josh, you cowardly creature,” Charlie taunted. “You’re not afraid of Sophie, are you?”

No, but he was not going to expose himself in front of a girl either. He would rather freeze. To prove the point he sank further into the depths, which suddenly felt colder. Surely, Charlie did not expect him to explain the reasons. It was enough that Sophie made him feel uncomfortable.

It was disconcerting, the way she sneaked up on them. She did not say a word, but he knew she was there by the strange, spidery feeling touching the back of his leg. Charlie did not take any notice, but it curled Joshua’s toes, and made him feel sick.

Charlie might call it affection, but at going on eleven years old, Joshua could not think of anything worse than having a girl touch him like that. It was weird. No, it was worse, because she left dirty finger marks on the back of their fawn-coloured breeches, which made it look as if they had been sitting in something objectionable.

“For pity’s sake, Josh, she’s only a little girl. She does not know boys are different to them.”

Joshua stayed where he was. His legs were feeling cold now and he doubted if they would hold his weight.

“Oh, come on, Sophie, let’s go home,” said Charlie, grabbing her hand. “Let’s leave him to freeze.”

Joshua waited until they set off along the riverbank, before clambering out and making a dash for his clothes. As he dragged on his breeches, he looked up and saw Sophie peeping around a tree.

Most young girls would have run away squawking, but not Sophie. Her grin was beatific. Charlie was standing besides her, laughing at Joshua’s discomfiture.

“Norbery’s a chicken-hearted…”

“No, I’m not…” Mortified at being caught dishabille, Joshua hurled himself at his friend.

When the ensuing scrap ended in a draw, Charlie conceded, “I suppose she is a bit of a nuisance, but I don’t think of her as a girl – she’s just Sophie. All the same, you shouldn’t be afraid of her.”

It was not that. The other girls in the household knew better than to creep up on a chap when he was naked. Sophie did not.

After that when Sophie became too much of a pest, Charlie suggested using her as hostage in their battlefield games. She was happy to be tied to a tree while they slipped away to plan her rescue and sometimes only recalled her absence several hours later. Often they met her trudging home dragging the rope or sitting untied, happily crooning to herself, secure in the knowledge that they would come. And they did eventually…

Charlie never dreamed that his lessons at Linmore would include bare-knuckle boxing with a former pugilist. William Rufus, the second son of Aunt Norbery’s nurse, was a big man, with a battered face, and long reaching arms. Yet when he spoke, it was with a gentle country voice.

It was one of the most exciting things he could imagine, but not the absolute best. That was having Joshua as a friend. He was like the brother, whom Charlie’s ma and pa tried to give him, but their other baby boys died, and only Sophie survived. She was a skinny little thing for years, and he thanked God every day for saving his little sister.

When Uncle Tom took them out driving in his chaise, it was like having his pa back. There was nothing better than driving behind a pair of matched bays, unless it was with a team of four chestnuts, and Uncle Tom had promised to teach him to drive a team when he was older. He could not wait to start.

Charlie tried to tell Sophie there wasn’t room for her in the Linmore chaise, but she didn’t understand why, especially after Joshua’s cousin, Viscount Atcherly, let her sit on the floor of his curricle. So Uncle Tom agreed, and she was no trouble at all.

In Ireland, Charlie’s life was predictable. He ate the same food every day, did the same things and met the same people. Everything changed when he came to Linmore. Classroom lessons were a bit of a trial, but when they were over for the day, life was full of excitement.

Charlie knew Joshua was proficient in several sports he had yet to learn. Fencing was one. He already took boxing lessons with William Rufus; outside when it was dry, or in one of the empty rooms in the stable block when the weather was wet.

Of course, girls could not do those sorts of things, but Sophie came to watch them strip to the waist, and took great delight in tickling Joshua. He hated it, and Charlie knew he should tell her to stop being a pest, but it made him laugh. Josh would just have to get used to such things.

Sparring practice was great fun, particularly when William Rufus brought another lad as an opponent for Joshua. One day, whilst waiting for the other pair to finish, Charlie decided to ask about something that bothered him.

“Why is Joshua so timid, William Rufus? He needs to be toughened up, and I’m going to see that he does.”

The boxer looked down from his towering height.

“Are you really?” he said. “Well, let me tell you, young sir. You wouldn’t be so ready to sport your canvas if you’d endured what Joshua has put up with from that brother of his.”

“What do you mean?”

The pugilist walked away to the edge of the barn, and sat down on a wooden bench, leaving Charlie to follow – almost if he did not want to be overheard.

“Let’s just say that Matthew Norbery wouldn’t go out of his way to save Joshua’s life.”

“Oh, you mean the time by the lake with the pistol. It was his cousin, Nathan Stretton, who did that. Matthew would not have the nerve.”

“You might think that to look at him,” said William Rufus, “but he’s sly, and has come closer to putting period to Joshua’s existence than his cousin ever did.”

“What… you mean Matthew would really kill his brother – but why?” It seemed incredible.

The big man rubbed his nose. “That’s not for me to say, because it involves other folks as well. It wouldn’t be right, even if I could.”

That made Charlie more determined to find out, but when the man remained silent, he could only imagine it was something dreadful.

“Don’t you go asking Joshua what happened. All you need to know is that my job is to keep you two lads safe out of harm’s way.”

“I don’t need a nursemaid,” Charlie said, full of bravado.

“Whether you want anyone or not, Squire Norbery told me to stay within reach.” The pugilist lapsed into a brooding silence as Joshua approached.

Charlie’s imagination ran riot. He imagined Matthew Norbery was just stupid, but now it seemed he was dangerous.