Page 5 of The Runner
Once she was ready to leave, her father offered to walk her to Willow Manor.
‘Thank you, but you stay here. It’s still daylight and it’ll be good to have a quiet walk to clear my head. You have lessons to prepare.’ She gave him a tight hug and stepped into the small yard, and exited the front gate. ‘I’ll visit on Sunday, all being well.’ She looked back again and saw him standing on the doorstep, watching her. She waved and blew him a kiss, before turning to wipe the tears from her eyes so he wouldn’t see her crying. What a fuss she was making.
There was something emotional about leaving home for the first time, even if she wasn’t going far, and planned to return soon. Caroline carried a basket on her arm and weaved her way through the narrow lanes, towards the outskirts of the village. She passed by the line of Willow trees along the riverbank—the lime green leaves skirted the sparkling water, and Caroline fell into deep thought as she walked, imagining what it would be like to live in a house as grand as Willow Manor.
When she was a child, she often played at being the lady of the manor. Her father indulged her make-believe games but teased her he didn’t know where she had got such ideas.
Butterflies flitted around her stomach as she approached the footpath that led out of the village and towards the Willow Manor estate which lay on the outskirts, but as she was about to step onto the footpath, she heard a familiar voice call her name.
Her spirits sank as she realised she wouldn’t be able to avoid him after all. Caroline had hoped to settle into her new position before meeting Ralph again to explain to him why she had left against his wishes and without his blessing.
‘Caroline, where are you going?’ he said, catching up with her.
‘I can’t tarry. I didn’t have a chance to tell you, but I accepted the position at Willow Manor, and I have to get over there now.’ She straightened her bag on her arm, and her cheeks flushed pink.
‘So, you were going to leave without telling me, like a thief in the night?’
Caroline’s patience for Ralph was already in short supply after their previous conversations concerning whether she should accept the post. She sighed, ‘Please don’t be so dramatic. I’m no thief, and it isn’t yet night, but I wish to get there before night falls, which is why I had to leave without stopping to see you.’
Ralph’s blue eyes darkened as they appraised her. ‘I wish you would listen to me and not take that position. If it’s security you crave, let us be wed now, and not wait any longer.’
She looked at him, her heart pounding, fearing he might be about to drop down on one knee and ask for her hand in marriage.
Please God, no. Let him see sense and realise we are not right for each other.
Caroline had tried to let him down gently, but he seemed ever more determined to keep pushing, even though she’d given no indication she wished to marry him. He was the kind of man who didn’t take no for an answer, and he wasn’t getting any easier to handle with age.
‘I’m sorry, Ralph. I can’t stay to talk now as Mistress Olivia is waiting for me at the big house, but we can talk again upon my next visit.’
Ralph stood in front of her, and his large muscular frame blocked her way. ‘Mistress Olivia,’ he sneered. ‘Why would you want to be a servant to a young girl when you could be mistress of your own farm?’
She sighed. She knew how to handle him, but she was growing weary of having to. His persistence was tiresome. He always had a wicked temper, which she had learned to snap him out of, but he wasn’t usually nasty to her.
‘Ralph, would you please move aside and allow me to pass?’ Caroline tilted her head to one side, hoping to charm him and quickly extract herself from the unsettling situation and be on her way.
‘You promise we’ll talk soon, and you’ll think about us getting married?’
‘I promise we’ll talk soon, but I already explained I have no wish to marry,’ she said, checking her lace cap was still in place. ‘It’s not you or your farm. I don’t wish to be anyone’s wife. You know that. Please don’t keep bringing it up. We will remain friends, Ralph, just as we have always been.’
He glowered at her, anger flashing in his eyes, and for a second she feared his temper might get the better of him and he would strike her as she’d seen him do to others, but then he seemed to contain himself and swiftly moved aside and beckoned for her to pass with a mock,deferentialbow, ‘My lady, please be on your way to the grand house.’
Caroline rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t be daft, Ralph. I’m just a servant who needs to make an honest living.’
Once he let her pass, she waved him a quick goodbye and hurried down the footpath, eager to get away from him before he changed his mind and came after her again.
She’d always stood up for him when he got into trouble, but the truth was she knew he was a bully and it was getting harder to ignore, and more difficult to excuse his behaviour now he was a grown man. He was becoming more demanding, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she rushed along the footpath, trying to make up the time she had lost so she wouldn’t disturb anyone by arriving late. Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea for her to return to the village on Sunday, after all. Caroline had a soft heart but a strong rebellious streak when people tried to tell her what to do. She decided it would be better all-round if she stayed out of Ralph’s way for a while; at least until he got used to the idea of her working at Willow Manor. She shuddered at the thought of being his wife. He was a handsome, well-built man, but the thought of him touching her filled her with dread.
No, she must not let that happen.
Willow Manor,York - Present day
Cara lay crumpledand disorientated in the dark space.
What on earth just happened?
She picked herself up slowly and stretched her limbs cautiously. Nothing broken. She crouched back down and fumbled on the ground for the torch and crawled about in the narrow space until her hand touched a smooth, firm object.
Bingo.
