slow pace slowed even more.
___
Hap cycled as fast as he could. Grasses caught in the spokes whenever he took his eye off the path so he had quickly trained himself to look only at the ten or so feet in front of him. He had checked his progress only once since leaving when he’d stopped and climbed atop a boulder. Then he’d been about a quarter of the way; now, as the late morning sun beat down on the left side of his face and neck, he knew he was more than halfway there.
___
Porkchop had been waiting outside the front of the barn for hours. She’d already cleaned and repaired the gutting trough, dumped the water from the cisterns into the waterproof crates, and chopped a few days’ worth of wood and kindling. She sat down on a tree stump by the barn door and oiled all the tools. They had an impressive array. She remembered back to the days when they first arrived and had discovered all these wonderful things.
The day had been sunny so far and hot, with only thin bands of cloud drifting across the sky, but she shivered. Looking up she saw the clouds thickening. She wondered if Marvellous had been wrong; that he wasn’t coming.
She took off her boots, one at a time, and oiled them. When they shone, she put them back on. As she was bent over, tying up the laces, she heard the Constable’s whistle. She sat up straight and tapped on the barn door to signal Santa.
Mixer had turned sleepy after his breakfast and Santa had carried him to the loft for a nap. She latched the gate at the top of the ladder and climbed back down.
"Did you really need to do that?" the Landlord winced when the Constable had put away his whistle.
"Yes sir. It’s the law that public officials announce themselves before setting foot onto private property."
The Landlord narrowed his eyes. He didn't like the way the Constable had said ‘private property.’
Josephine plodded down the road into the farm house yard. Porkchop stood by the barn door, her hands at her side. Behind the door, Santa stood waiting for her sister to call her. Porkchop took a deep breath then raised her hand in greeting and walked over to the mule cart.
"Good afternoon," said the Constable. "How are things? Everyone doing all right?"
As she was about to answer, the Landlord jumped down from the cart.
"Enough of the pleasantries. Girl, go round up your family. I have some news for you."
"News? What kind of news?"
"Good news. Go on now, go get your brothers and sisters."
He made a dismissive gesture with his hands, shooing her away.
"They’re all out at their chores. It’ll take a while to round them all up. Perhaps you’d like to tell me what the news is and I’ll tell them later."
"No, no. You go get them. Pierre will help, won’t you Pierre? I’ll wait."
Porkchop saw the Constable look at her, but she addressed the Landlord instead.
"If you insist. Santa!" Porkchop called loudly towards the barn.
Santa took a deep breath then emerged and joined them at the cart. She greeted the Constable warmly.
"Sir," she said to the Landlord.
"Which one are you?"
"Santa."
This could have been the one he’d seen from Honey Hill but it wasn’t the blonde he wanted. This one, despite being moderately attractive, was plumper, the kind of plump that would, soon enough, turn to fat.
While the Constable took care of Josephine, Porkchop explained to Santa why the Landlord was here.
"I’m sure he’s thirsty after the ride. Take him to the barn and fix him some tea. The Constable and I won’t be long."
When the Constable finished with Josephine Porkchop took another breath then took his arm and led him back towards the road. Loudly, so that the Landlord could hear her, she told him that Bull and Jones had gone off that way this morning.
The wind picked up and started whipping the trees back and forth.
That’s odd, Santa thought. Forest is never wrong.
She hurriedly gestured for the Landlord to follow her. He followed her across the yard.
"Who lives in the house?"
"Our grandfather. Sometimes others."
"One of your sisters?"
"Yes and sometimes a brother."
"Which sister?"
"Titania."
"Blonde?"
"No sir. Red hair."
"Is there another sister?"
"Jelly, she’s our youngest sister. She has dark hair."
The wind howled and Santa had to force open the door with both hands and hang onto it as she let the Landlord pass in front of her. The door shut with a bang.
He followed Santa into the barn and sat down at the table, flicking the long ends of his new jacket over the back of the bench. As Santa busied herself preparing his tea, the Landlord looked around the barn, taking in the racks and racks of plants in the far corner, the workshop and the potting area. Bundles of herbs hung everywhere. His eyes strayed up the ladder to the loft. A gate swung open at the top of it. Beyond that he could see hay bales and the odd bit of red or blue or brown coloured blankets.
They were hardy little bastards, he thought. A rumble of thunder made him and Santa look up. She was about to turn back to her task when she noticed the gate open at the top of the ladder.
For a moment she debated whether she should stop and find Mixer. She quickly put the thought out of her mind and poured the tea from the prepared jar into a white china cup and saucer, one of a few sets they’d found in the crates. The family had never used them; they were far too delicate. But Santa thought that this was as good a time as any to use them and had unpacked them after breakfast. On the sides of the saucer she placed two small blueberry biscuits. The family had been gorging on the berries ever since they’d started to ripen a week ago.
"Here you are," she said, setting it down in front of him. "I didn’t think you’d want a hot drink on a day like today."
The Landlord looked at the chipped dishes and snorted. He grabbed one of the biscuits and bit into it. His face was blank for a moment as he chewed but soon he smiled. It was good. He took a sip of the tea, then another. From a jar Santa refilled the small tea cup and when she went to put it away, he stopped her, putting a hand on her arm.
"Leave it."
Santa set the jar down in front of him.
"Would you excuse me?" she said to him. "I have a few things to do."
Santa surreptitiously surveyed the barn eyeing all of Mixer's usual hiding places but he wasn’t in any of them. She climbed the ladder but he wasn’t in the loft. She looked out the back door but could see only Jelly, Forest and Narrow moving up and down the fields in the distance. She stepped out to look around.
Inside the Landlord took out his flask and topped up the cup.
Out on the road, the rumble of thunder took the Constable off guard, too.
"It seemed like it was going to be such a nice day today," he said to Porkchop. He had to walk quickly to keep up with her.
Porkchop hadn’t said a word to him since the farm yard. She wasn’t surprised by the thunder; she was surprised that her brother hadn’t warned her. When she thought they’d walked far enough, she stopped. She turned to face him.
Marvellous opened her eyes and was momentarily confused by the ears of corn above her. Then she heard some of the children’s voices close by and remembered. She drew a strand of brown hair in front of her eyes. When Jelly, Forest and Narrow looked up as the thunder rolled by, Marvellous raced past their backs. She heard a noise as she came up to the outhouse and peeked inside the crescent moon that was cut out in the door. Inside, Pater sat, pants-less, leaning against one wall. His head and shoulders drooped to his chest. He snored.
Satisfied that he’d drunk the tea and would be asleep for a while, Marvellous entered the house and went straight to Titania’s bed. She caught her breath when she saw the sleeping girl as the Landlord saw her. Marvellous could see the scars and pock marks of the girl’s real skin below the surface. She shut the c
urtain and lay down in Pater’s cubby hole. She left the curtain ajar and waited.
___
Mixer emerged from one of the storage dugouts. It was half-full of yellow onions and he stood on top of one of the burlap sacks. He wobbled only slightly. He regarded the Landlord, seated at the table, his back to him, and threw out a mental order. He wasn't sure it would work but was pleased to see the Landlord immediately straighten in his seat, the tea cup paused halfway to his mouth. He set it down, stood up unsteadily and lumbered to the back of the barn. He lifted the wooden bar and lowered it across the back doors.
Mixer explored the Landlord's thoughts. His mind felt slow and it was thick with images of women. The picture he saw most often was the changed face of Titania, but there were also flashes of his mother. Some of the images showed a woman with brown hair and a pointy face. Her face looked familiar. The Landlord's inner voice sounded weak and pitiful. Mixer scowled.
The Landlord shook his head back and forth, like an animal trying to eject a biting insect from its hide. On his way back to the table he noticed Mixer standing in the hole in the floor.
"Hey!" he exclaimed. The Landlord saw a funny looking kid wearing a winter coat even though it had to be close to a hundred degrees outside. He laughed.
"Hey little fella, look at you dressed all snazzy. Which one are you? Are you the one what’s-her-face was looking for? Hey! You know anything about a blonde sister? Really pretty?"
A flash of lightning lit up the inside of the dim barn; a slow roll of thunder followed. The Landlord blinked once, slowly. Mixer was suddenly revolted with the man. How could he have thought that this