When The Rain Falls

Chapter One

"Mother is going to kill you if she sees you like that," Alice said, her shadow looming over me as I dangled a piece of string in front of the cat.

The cat, christened Sooty by the stable hands because of his black fur, crouched low against the stable floor and watched the string. He wiggled a little to get his balance before pouncing, tearing the piece of string from my fingers. I looked up from the floor to where Alice stood. She stared at me, her blonde hair pulled back in a plait down her back.

"She'll only kill me if she finds out." I sat up and brushed the straw from my arms. "The only way she'll find out is if you tell her."

"I don't have to say a word. You are a mess. One look at you and Mother will know where you've been."

I sighed and stood up, brushing the remaining straw from my shirt and trousers. Sooty rolled around on the floor with the string, kicking it with his back legs and getting covered in straw. Alice raised an eyebrow at me as I tried to remove the smaller pieces of straw from my clothing, but it was an arduous task. She tutted and shook her head a little.

Despite being younger than me by just over a year, Alice often acted as though she were older. She had scolded me for having jam on my shirt, corrected my tie at a supper party with our grandparents, and had even threatened to cut my hair since she thought it was getting too long. Alice always knew where to find me, no matter how hard I tried, so it was impossible to hide from her and escape her judgemental gaze. Still, she was my sister and being annoying came with the territory.

"What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you had an etiquette lesson."

"Mrs Percival rearranged it for next week. I have a riding lesson instead. I came to see if Genesis was ready." Alice stepped forward and pulled a piece of straw from my shoulder before she readjusted my shirt as though I were a child. "Does Father know you are out here?"

"No, I told him I wanted to study in my room and he agreed."

"A poor decision on his part."

"Hm, probably. To his credit, I did study for a little while, but I wanted to see how our new mouser was getting on." I scooped Sooty up with one hand and held him up, the cat dropping the piece of string. "There hasn't been a single mouse spotted in a week."

"That's because ten or more cats are stalking the stables, Nate. Any mouse would be crazy to cross that threshold because of the number of strays you've taken in." Alice shook her head. "You cannot save every single stray animal or human you come across."

"But how can you say no to that face?"

I held Sooty up in front of Alice's face. The cat stared at her and gently raised his paw to lightly tap Alice on the cheek to demand attention. Alice obliged, lightly scratching Sooty behind the ears. Although she had her reservations about the number of cats that roamed the grounds, Alice still couldn't resist petting them when they asked. That and they helped to keep the mice at bay, which she had to be glad about.

My sister often chastised me for being a little too charitable when it came to animals and humans. The cats in the stables had all been strays, animals I had found in the woods who had been abandoned by their parents and were on the brink of death. With a little attention, each one had grown into a cat worthy of protecting the stables from intruders. The stable hands enjoyed having them around, and even Mother and Father could see the benefits of having them around. Alice just thought I needed to put my time and effort into other things.

Although I understood where Alice was coming from, I did not see why there would be any issue with giving animals, or other people, a second chance. I still found time to study and attended the expected social gatherings, but I enjoyed helping others and the expectations people had about me wouldn't change that. Besides, I did not see the harm in helping those who needed it.