When The Rain Falls

Chapter Eighteen

I dangled my head off the edge of my bed, all the blood rushing to my brain as I stared at the closed door. Heat filled the room and not even the open window was enough to ease it. My hair clung to the back of my neck and my shirt had started to stick to me in the summer heat that infiltrated every part of the room.

Try as I might, I just couldn't remember where I had heard of a horse named Abacus and who might have owned him. The name sounded familiar, and I knew someone had owned a horse by that name, but my memory refused to divulge the information I desperately needed. I had thought of asking Father because he would most likely know who owned a horse called Abacus, but I wasn't in the mood to speak with him.

Alice had no recollection of Abacus and decided almost immediately that I would be following a dead-end trail. She had taken it upon herself to take Rebecca back down to the stables the next morning, deciding that Rebecca might be more likely to open up to her than she would me. I could say nothing to the contrary, as it was an avenue we had yet to look down on and we both knew that Rebecca was wary of men. This left me with nothing to do.

I sat up, rubbing my hand on the back of my neck. Father would have wanted me to study, but there was too much going on in my mind for me to want to pick up one of the law books and take a peek at its contents. Sighing, I shuffled off my bed and moved over to the window seat. I pulled on my riding boots and changed my jacket, deciding that going for a ride was far better than sitting on my bed all day.

A sharp knock echoed through the room and I took a sharp intake of breath, half expecting Father to be on the other side. The door creaked open to reveal George, and I felt myself deflate a little.

"I am heading into the village. Do you need anything?" he asked.

"Not to my knowledge." I paused. "Could I come with you? I was going to go for a ride, anyway."

"That may not be the wisest of ideas, Master Nate. You are probably better off studying than coming with me, especially if you have the day free."

"Please? I don't think I'll be able to concentrate on those books and I should probably see how Joseph is getting on. He'll want to see Lightning, and Oliver said Lightning was a little down without him around."

George sighed, shaking his head a little. "Very well, but if you get into trouble with Mr Thorpe, it is your fault and not mine."

"Understood." I stood up from the window seat, a wide grin stretched across my face at the thought of getting out of the house for an hour or so. A trip to the village was the perfect cure for boredom and it would get me away from Father.

"Go and have the stable hands tack up Lightning, and I'll meet you down there."

George turned, and I listened to the sound of his footsteps as he walked down the hall, leaving my door partially open. I hurried after him, throwing myself down the stairs, although he had all but disappeared down one of the many servant staircases throughout the house. The trip to the village would give me the chance to speak with Joseph, find out if he remembered a horse called Abacus, and potentially track down the Marlow's old housekeeper. If I had a list, just one trip would allow me to cross several things off of it.

I stepped out of the front door and into the summer sun, recoiling a little at the intensity of the rays that blinded me at first. I would have given anything to spend a warm day down at the seaside, but Father thought such things to be a childish affair, so Alice and I hadn't been in several years. The dry grass crunched underfoot as I headed down to the stables, accosting one of the stable hands and asking them to tack Lightning up.

Inside the stable, there was no sign of Alice or Rebecca, but there was also no sign of Genesis, and I knew they must have taken her out of the stall. Whilst Lightning was being tacked up, I stood near Cobalt, who had already been tacked up, most likely by George, and stood ready for him. Out of all the horses in the stables, Cobalt was perhaps the most level-headed. Father's horse, Cromwell, was as temperamental as he was, and Lightning had his mad moments.