Читать книгу The Tarnished Necklace - Trish Inc. Duffin - Страница 15

Andrew pushed his horse until it could go no faster but still the ride into the small town seemed to take an age. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the doctor’s buggy outside the doctor’s residence. Alongside it was the wagon that he had glimpsed rushing down the road. Throwing the reins over the hitching post he burst through the doors and went on into the surgery. He threw those doors open to reveal the doctor bent over Damien. His face was a ghastly shade of white and sweat was pouring off it as the doctor was working on his leg. Ezra, Jasper and John were gathered around the bed with Jasper’s father Stanley to one side. The young men looked up in surprise, but Jasper gasped when he saw Andrew’s abrupt arrival. Like the others he was dishevelled and bloodied. His nose was swollen and disfigured with dried blood smearing his face.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed. He knew of Jasper’s affection for Maria and had witnessed the terse exchange at the church last month with Peter. He had just seen Jasper’s panicked run from where Peter had been beaten. The coincidence of timing, the state of these four young men and Jasper’s face spoke volumes. He may as well have had the word ‘guilty’ written on his face. With a roar of rage Andrew lunged across the narrow space and grabbed Jasper’s lapels before spinning him around and slamming him against the wall. “You scum! You piece of utter filth!” he yelled. Hands grabbed his arms and tried to pull him back but Andrew held on grimly. He glared into the young man’s face. “So help me, if Peter dies you will wish you had never lived,” and with disgust he threw this vile piece of humanity aside. Jasper stumbled to the side and on recovering his balance tried to head towards the door but his father yanked him back.

“Sit down son and tell me exactly what happened.”

All attention was off Damien, with the exception of the doctor who was focussed on one of the worst breaks he had ever seen. Jasper sat there, mouth tightly shut.

Andrew stared at him and then, with a look of utter disdain turned to Jasper’s father. His voice was hoarse and the words struggled to come out. “In my house...right now, Peter. He’s unconscious and so badly beaten I can barely recognise him...I saw your son...he did it, he and those contemptible friends of his...If he has killed him I am going to ensure your boy is charged with murder and swings from the gallows.”

The doctor turned away from his patient and looked over to Andrew. “How bad is he?” he asked.

Andrew looked directly at Jasper and his voice was thick with anger. “He’s badly hurt, unconscious with a large scalp wound, I suspect broken ribs, and his skin’s torn. He’s bleeding like a stuck pig and his body is doubtless going to be black and blue by tomorrow.”

Stanley turned to his son, his voice brittle. “That doesn’t quite match the story you told me.” He turned to Andrew. “With your permission may I take my son home and try to get to the bottom of this? If you want to bring in the law I won’t prevent you.”

Andrew quietly answered, all his rage spent. “Come to my house later and see the evidence for yourself.” He then coolly looked over at Ezra and John. “I will be speaking to your parents soon boys. You just better start praying you haven’t killed my neighbour.” He then turned back to the doctor. “Please come as soon as you can,” he beseeched.

The doctor looked up, torn with competing priorities. “Keep his head up a bit and make sure there is always someone with him. He may vomit or choke, watch out for that. I will leave once I have splinted this leg.”

With that Andrew turned sharply and left. His ride home was fast with the doctor’s advice ringing in his ears. On arrival he saw Grace, Alice and Joanne were still sitting on the porch and he gave them a very quick kiss before heading inside.

Peter was now semi-conscious and suffering the effects of shock and concussion. He was in acute pain, shaking with cold and clearly dazed. Andrew was relieved to see that he was alive. “I saw the doctor, he will be here shortly. He said to make sure someone is always with him in case he chokes or vomits,” his nose telling him that they had already discovered that. He sat down, suddenly weary. “I also know who was making that screaming that we heard earlier. When I got to the doctor’s young Damien Brown was there with what looks like a badly injured leg. His friends Ezra, John and Jasper were there. They all look like they had been in a fight.”

Susan put her hand to her heart. “What are you saying Andrew?” she asked before sitting down on a chair.

“I’m saying that those four are responsible for Peter’s injuries.” His voice was cold and bitter. Susan made him a cup of coffee and he quietly sat there looking over to the young man. Maria sat beside Peter, tucking blankets up around his chin. A fine tremor rippled through him and he moaned before lapsing back into unconsciousness. His head was bandaged well and his face cleaned up but it was still in a state. The bleeding was under control but, judging by the dark staining seeping through the bandages, it hadn’t completely stopped. Grace came in and climbed on Susan’s lap, big blue eyes focussed on the floor.

Susan frowned, “I’m just not making sense of any of this.” She looked over to her daughter who was also looking like she was in shock. “Maria, do you have any idea why this happened?”

Maria shook her head. Why would they have had a fight? A seed of suspicion came into her mind but she discarded it. Surely the fight couldn’t have been over her? She thought back to the tender kisses they had exchanged only minutes before this brutality. Surely Jasper hadn’t been watching her? She had sent that note though, telling him she didn’t hold any affection for him. The only answer to this question was lying beside her and in no condition to talk.

For the next while the house was quiet as Susan prepared dinner. Maria remained firmly beside the patient. Andrew went and chopped wood, partly out of necessity, partly out of intense frustration. His task was interrupted by the arrival of Doctor Jackson and Stanley Peterson. The two men went into the house and the girls were sent out. The doctor carefully unwrapped the bandages and meticulously checked Peter from head to toe. He was beginning to come to again but was dazed, confused and in considerable pain. He couldn’t answer simple questions and certainly wasn’t able to explain what happened.

The three men sat to one side. Stanley was quite upset over the seriousness of Peter’s injuries and his son’s apparent involvement in it. Jasper had been quite evasive in his explanations, the other two boys were equally unwilling to give a satisfactory answer. One thing was fairly evident though, they knew more than they let on. The doctor gave his opinion. The cuts and bruising would obviously heal. His collar bone was possibly broken, but with strapping that shouldn’t pose too much of a problem other than inconvenience. The blood loss was considerable but it wasn’t life threatening. He had several broken ribs which were causing excruciating pain, made worse every time he dry retched. What was of most concern was the head injury. Realistically it was going to be a slow healing process with the expectation of swinging moods, severe headaches, extreme fatigue and possible long term clumsiness. The list was long and quite depressing.

As the diagnosis was being given Peter was again was caught in the terrible grip of vomiting, his ribs screaming in protest. The most immediate concern was the effects of severe pain and shock. Little could be done about that other that keeping him warm and reassured. The doctor felt helpless, knowing there was nothing he could do to offer pain relief, other than willow bark infusions, hot mustard, honey for the open wounds and strapping for the collar bone and ribs. What was apparent was that Peter was not going to be able to do any more harvesting. They were in the middle of the harvest and the fields were filled with crops still to be reaped. Andrew always struggled to get his farm tended to, there was no way he was going to be able to cover Peter’s farm as well.

Stanley got around that little problem easily. “My son will be doing that. I may just be a store owner Andrew, but I know that you are in a right pickle if that harvest doesn’t come in. Jasper will be here tomorrow morning and do ten hour days, even if it is chopping wood. I will personally bring him down and make sure he does a full day’s work before I pick him up in the evening. Also I will stop by Ezra and John’s place tonight to talk to their parents. With their co-operation you will have the three of them working on your land until your harvest is in.” He looked over to Peter and thought for a second. “I think it would be best if the boys meet you in the fields and stay there, I don’t want them coming to the house. You have all gone through enough stress.”

Andrew looked Stanley in the eye and expressed his gratitude. It was hard to be so practical when faced with such serious injuries, but it was a fact. If the harvest didn’t come in, then his family would be seriously affected. The men shook hands and left. Andrew turned back to his wife and daughters. The next few weeks were going to be tough. He crouched down on the floor and suggested the family gather around and pray, which they did.