“Marjorie, who is that headed our way?” Harriet asked, gesturing ahead of them to where a lone rider was out.
“I know not. Probably another rider from the ton, going about his business and calling on people. Pay him no mind when he passes,” Marjorie answered, reminding her sister that she need not distress herself for propriety.
But when the rider stopped and gestured for their carriage to halt, Marjorie cautiously slowed the horses. She frowned in confusion, then her blood ran cold when she recognized her helper from her stolen ride.
“Good day, ladies,” the man said brightly. Marjorie replied and looked away slightly, nudging Harriet until the girl mumbled her hello.
When he didn’t say anything else, Marjorie risked a look at him. The man was staring at her closely, his forwardness quickly becoming a bother.
“Have we been introduced?” he asked, looking only at Marjorie. “Yes, I think so! You were riding earlier today, when—”
“I’m sorry, sir, but you’ve confused me with someone else. I haven’t been riding today. Begging your pardon, but we must be on our way.” Marjorie flicked the reins once more and carried on, leaving the confused man to stare after them.
It was to her credit that Harriet didn’t ask any questions, but Marjorie knew it was also a sign of trouble. Her sister would have otherwise peppered her with questions about the handsome man, and her silence could only mean that Harriet suspected something.
Chapter 7
Evan woke early the next morning to see to Cavalier, avoiding his mother’s plans for breakfast together and slipping out before much of the household was even at their tasks. He met Donohue on the path, a wave of sympathy for the exhausted old man welling up in him when he saw the horseman’s haggard appearance.
“Tell me you have good news, Donohue?” Evan implored, turning and walking back in the direction the man had been heading.
“He seems no worse, My Lord, but is still not taking his food or water. We were able to put some drink in him gently by a small piece of pipe, but he only tolerated it a handful of times. Has the Marshall sent word yet?”
“No, nothing. But I should think it’s much too soon to hear from him. He said he had to do various experiments on the samples in order to determine what might have happened. But did you notice anything strange about the rest of the barn? Anyone lurking about, or anything moved where it should not be?”
Donohue paused in his walking and thought, his face reflecting his deep thought. “You know, My Lord, I did see a bag of feed that I did not remembering ordering. It came from a different farm, too. The usual stamp was not there on the bag.”
“Show me at once!” Evan answered, turning and heading back to the barn. “It may well be that Mr. Leeds needs to see this as well.”
They raced back to the barn and around the side to the granary where the animals’ feed was stored. Donohue searched the large space thoroughly but came up empty-handed. He stood, perplexed, as he thought it through.
“I’m sorry, but it was right here only a day or so ago. I remember the markings so clearly, the color of the brand. At the time, I only wondered if it was a bag sent from another farm as repayment for a loaned bag perhaps, or whether a new farmer had provided it to test our horses’ liking. I did not think anything of it. Wait,…” he stopped and looked frightened, turning to Evan with eyes wide, “what if it’s all been distributed? What if all of the horses have now eaten it?”
Evan, too, looked panic-stricken at the thought. “Find the stable hands, have them all meet out front at once! I’ll go in this direction!”
Within moments, Evan and Donohue stood before a circle of work-worn men of different ages. Some had been at the stables for quite some time already, others looked newly awakened and very confused. Donohue addressed them as they were more familiar with him issuing their work orders.
“We need to find a bag of feed that was recently in the granary. This bag was unfamiliar, and it did not have the same markings as the bags we usually purchase from Hennessy’s Farm. It’s very important that we know where it came from and which horses might have eaten it.”
Donohue waited for a pace while the hands looked from one to another. Evan grew impatient quickly, then realized the problem.
“No one has done anything wrong. We simply need to find the bag and learn from whence it came,” he explained in a calm voice, prompting one young lad to step forward.
“My Lord, it was given out yesterday, all of it,” he said in a shaky voice. “I’ve already taken the bag home to me ma to make a shirt for me father, but all of the feed was gone from it. I swear it!”
“That’s quite all right, young man. I know the bags are quite handy, it’s no trouble at all that you’ve taken it home. But do you think you could run fetch it for us? We’ll get you another one today, or better yet, I’ll send some cloth to your mother’s house. But we must have that bag.”
“Yes, My Lord!” the boy answered before turning and running from the stable yard.
“Does anyone know which horses might have been fed from that brand?” Evan continued, sighing with relief when a couple of hands went up.
“My Lord, it was only Cavalier and two other horses. I opened the bag myself,” another hand said in a shaky voice, lowering his gaze and expecting the worst.
“Chin up, man! I promise you’ve done nothing wrong! It only appears that the feed might have been—perhaps it had gone rancid or something,” Evan said, lying blatantly to soothe their fears. It wasn’t often that they had cause to speak to the Earl himself. “We only need to know which horses might have eaten it. Show us the way.”
The small group of men entered the barn and made their way down the long row of stalls. True to the hand’s word, Cavalier and the two horses on either side of his stall—the three farthest in the row—were doing poorly. Evan went pale. It wasn’t bad enough that his own favorite horse was ill, but the other two had already been promised to buyers. Deposits had even been made to hold them until they were old enough for sale.
“You there,” Evan called out, pointing to several of the hands, “and you and you. You are to sit with these horses until you are relieved. Watch over them and give them any water they will drink. Use the pipe if you have to, gently of course, just see to it we can get them to drink. I’m going to bring that bag to Mr. Leeds.”