The Secret of Hollyfield House by Jude Bayton (first ebook reader TXT) 📕

“That was clever, Billy,” I said. “Were you scared the blacksmith would come and find you later?”

“I were at first, but I never saw him. Then she come an’ seen me in the woodshed after that day. She called me bad names, an’ I was frightened she might tell on me.”

“Miss Evergreen?” I prompted.

He nodded vigorously. “I never hurt her ever, but she said if I told about the blacksmith ticklin’ her, she’d tell Victor I hurt her. Said I’d get in lots of trouble an’ be sent to the madhouse and then she’d kill all the baby bunnies too.” His eyes grew teary, and he looked at his brother. “Don’t let her kill the bunnies, Dom. They're just little babies.”

“The bunnies are safe,” Dominic said quickly. “No one has hurt them, Billy.”

I had an idea. “Peggy Nash is looking after the bunnies, Billy. You know Peggy, don’t you?”

“My friend.” He smiled. “Gives me honey drops an’ I like ‘em.”

“Do you remember the last time you saw Peggy?” I continued.

He thought for a moment, and I knew it would be hard for Billy to parse time into real events, but it was worth a try.

“We was lookin’ at the bunnies.”

“She sounds like a nice friend. Were you looking at the bunnies with Peggy before the bully chased you, or was it after the bully chased you?”

“Oh, it were after. Peggy saw me an’ I was out of breath. I told Peggy the blacksmith’s a bad man an’ he chased me. She don’t like him neither. He calls her names too.” He looked at Dominic. “Did you bring me humbugs, Dom?”

Dominic gave me a swift look conveying the questioning needed to be at an end as he rummaged in his pocket and handed Billy a small twist of paper containing several of the flavoured sweets. As the boy sucked on the mints, he looked at the book I had brought him and told us how much he liked the pictures of the train.

I kept quiet for the remainder of our visit. I watched closely as Dominic calmly conversed with the boy showing such dedication towards him. What other man would be so kind?

At length, Dominic rose to go. I left the cell first to allow them privacy as they said their goodbyes. Neither of us spoke until we stepped back into the fresh air with the gaol behind us.

“I cannot believe Evergreen has been so cruel to your brother.” It burst out of me before I could censor my tone. I was angry with her for picking on a boy who was unable to defend himself or articulate his feelings.

“It is typical of her,” Dominic said in a monotone voice. “She has always been frightfully nasty to anyone she is jealous of.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Jealous? Evergreen jealous of your brother? That’s a ridiculous notion.” Dominic was not thinking straight. I caught back up with him. “I don’t understand your meaning.”

“’Tis simple.” He said as we moved aside to allow a woman with several children room to pass on the pavement. “Evergreen has always detested seeing another as the recipient of her father’s attention. She disliked Marabelle for the same reason. It incenses her that Victor acknowledges Billy, because in her eyes he is a simpleton and unworthy of that privilege.” He grasped my arm and guided me across the street towards where we would wait for the Ambleside coach.

“Yet you do not sound affected by her opinion, Dominic?” And he did not. There was no outrage, He was curiously quiet.

“I have long since stopped being shocked by the behaviour of women like Evergreen. Remember,” he added. “I was in London while she was the toast of the town. Nothing she does surprises me.”

“Even her affair with Jareth Flynn?”

This time he stopped, and I did the same. I looked hard at his face and saw a mixture of emotion pass through his eyes. Something shifted inside me. What was this about?

“It appears our blacksmith was a target for many bored and lonely women in Ambleside,” he said. “That Evergreen partook is no surprise to me. What bewilders me is that she would be so careless. It was a similar affair which brought her to Hollyfield in the first place. If Victor ever finds out about Flynn, he will no doubt send her away and she’ll lose her inheritance.” He began to walk again. “Come Jillian. I see our coach; we must hurry else we will miss it.”

THE CARRIAGE WAS FULL, AND NEITHER one of us had much to say as it rumbled through the countryside. When we arrived in Ambleside, Dominic invited me to eat lunch with him, and we made our way to a tearoom across from the pub.

We ordered cheese sandwiches and a pot of tea. The place was quiet, and we were seated out of earshot from the other patrons.

“Thank you for visiting my brother,” Dominic said earnestly. “The gaol is no place for a lady, and I know how abhorrent you found it.” He reached over the table and took my hand. “The way you questioned Billy was both compassionate and brilliant. You instinctively seemed to know the best approach. I am pleasantly shocked by how open and responsive he was to your gentle coaxing.” His eyes shone. “Well done, Jilly. Well done indeed.” He released my hand.

“Thank you,” I replied. “Billy is a bright boy—his brain just uses information differently than most. I kept that in mind while I spoke with him.”

The waitress brought over our plates of sandwiches. We thanked her, and she left us to it.

I continued, “Billy’s memory of being with Peggy confirms everything she told me about seeing him the day Jareth died. I think Jareth chased Billy away when he was caught with Evergreen. He must have gone back to the boathouse and that is when an altercation occurred. One which made him lose his watch and then ultimately, his life. Billy was nowhere near the boathouse; I