Corner of the Housetop: Buried Secrets (47 page)

"It should be all right to let Blueberry out as long as she's still calm," Jonathan commented. When he noticed Derek his eyes narrowed.

The mare eyed the approaching people wearily and trotted to the far side of the yard. She continued to watch them, periodically looking at Derek as though asking him why he hadn't gone with her.

"Bring out Blue, but keep him on a lead," Jonathan ordered.

Derek nodded and walked into the stable. "Ready to meet your new girlfriend?" he asked, taking the rope from the hook and walking towards the stall. "You better be nice because she's kinda shy." He opened the gate and led the horse out carefully, rubbing his neck.

They walked out to the yard. Blueberry lifted his nose in the air and turned towards the mare almost immediately.

"This way, boy," Derek corrected, pulling him towards Jonathan and the others.

"He seems very calm, too," Mr. Todd commented, reaching out and patting Blueberry's head. His strokes were firm and confident, but not rough.

"Usually is," Gabriel answered.

"He was caught in a barn fire a couple weeks ago," Mrs. Worthington said pointedly, "but he seems to have recovered from the trauma well."

"Poor guy."

"Yes," Mrs. Worthington agreed, glaring at Derek.

"It should be all right to take the lead off. She's interested, even if she isn't coming over." Jonathan seemed eager to keep the topic on the mare and take care of whatever business they had. He glanced towards the main house periodically.

"Playing hard to get, is she?" Mr. Todd chuckled. "Good girl."

Unclipping the lead, Derek let go of Blueberry and watched him gallop towards the mare. Obviously not liking his quick approach, she started at a light gallop of her own until the two were circling the yard side-by-side.

"They're all right," Mr. Todd said approvingly. "We should leave them to get to know each other."

Nodding, Derek looped the lead over the post, then climbed the fence and dropped on the other side. A wave of dizziness hit him and he had to steady himself by grabbing the top rung. It passed in a few seconds, but left him feeling sleepy and nauseous. When he became aware of the conversation around him, Mrs. Worthington was saying, "Something elegant."

"But not too long," Gabriel replied in a whiny voice. "Lady's name was too long."

Mrs. Worthington seemed put out, but Jonathan nodded his agreement.

Oh, names
, Derek thought, rubbing his forehead. Recalling his earlier thought, he said, "What about Kylie Mae?"

Mr. Todd looked thoughtful over it.

"Kylie Mae," Gabriel said, trying the sound of the name.

Beside them, however, Jonathan and his mother were having much less favorable reactions: Jonathan was pale and his usually unreadable eyes were narrowed with visible anger; Mrs. Worthington seemed to swell and her face grew first very white, then terribly red.

"Where did you hear that name?" she hissed ferociously, casting an accusing glare at Jonathan.

Startled by the reaction, Derek stammered, "I— I read it."

"Liar!" Whatever the woman was thinking, she must have forgotten their guest: Mr. Todd jumped at her hawkish screech.

He was angry at himself as soon as he said it, but the answer had slipped out in his daze and it was no good pretending now. "On a painting," Derek explained. "In the attic."

"You can't
read
!"

Ignoring his mother's protests, Jonathan turned to her with a furious expression. "You kept that painting?" His voice was shaking. "You told me you burned it!"

"It's none of your business what I do with my own things!"

"It wasn't yours. It was Father's!" Now Jonathan was yelling, too.

Gabriel watched the two with confusion and something akin to fear while Mr. Todd stared at the ground, obviously embarrassed for himself and them that he was witnessing this familial exchange.

"Your father is dead, which makes it mine," she hissed spitefully.

"No, it makes it
mine
!" he corrected harshly. "And you knew I wanted to keep it!" Jonathan's fists clenched and flexed as if he longed to strangle her.

The two glared at each other for several seconds, neither able to speak. Just as Mrs. Worthington opened her mouth to retort, Beth appeared at the crest of the little knoll. She was running, her eyes wide and terrified.

"Master Worthington! Come quick!"

Mrs. Worthington turned, prepared to rage at anyone who moved or spoke. "What are you—"

"Catherine?" Jonathan grew more pale as he watched Beth nod, her expression and gestures frantic.

"Please come quick!"

Leaving Mrs. Worthington to gape wordlessly, Jonathan sprinted towards the house. "Saddle the horse! Send for the doctor!" he yelled back to no one in particular.

Gabriel stood uselessly, staring. Mrs. Worthington made angry choking noises as if she'd swallowed her tongue.

His own shock wearing off, Derek grabbed Blueberry's lead and started to climb over the fence. A firm hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"My horse will be faster," Mr. Todd stated as he jumped the fence easily, then ran to the stables.

Dropping the lead, Derek went to the gate, ready to open it for him when he came out. The minutes that passed while the man saddled his horse stretched to hours. Derek fidgeted and cast impatient looks towards the door then back towards the house. Mrs. Worthington was finally understanding what was happening and started down the little hill in a clumsy half-jog.

"Derek, what's—" As Gabriel started, Sky darted out of the stable door.

Derek opened the gate, then closed it after the horse passed. He turned, expecting the man to be gone. Instead, Sky was cantering impatiently a few feet away, Mr. Todd leaning down with his hand out to Derek as if to help him up.

"You know the way, right?" he demanded.

"Y-yes." Leaving Gabriel, Derek took Mr. Todd's hand and pulled himself onto the horse behind him. He'd never really ridden before, but this was not the time to be worried about that. Clinging to Mr. Todd, he said, "It's up the road towards town!"

At a slight twitch of Mr. Todd's heels, Sky bolted down the hill, cutting across the wide lawn and bursting onto the road. The distance that seemed to take forever to travel in the carriage on Sunday morning melted away beneath them.

The smooth, rhythmic shifting of sculpted muscle beneath him made Derek nervous and exhilarated. He was terrified of being thrown off, but his worry for Catherine pulsed through him, numbing him of any awareness except for the flying landscape. When he spotted a broad, twisted trees, he called, "Turn left after that tree, then it's only a half mile up that road!" As they turned, Derek leaned, clinging more tightly.

In minutes, they were there. Sky had barely stopped when Mr. Todd pushed Derek off and towards the door. Stumbling a little, Derek caught his footing and ran to the step. He beat on the door with his fist. "Doc Crawford! Doctor!"

Several seconds passed as he continued to pound, his fist growing sore. When the door opened, Dr. Crawford looked alarmed. "Derek? You should not even be out of—"

"It's Catherine! Something's happened and you need to come now!"

"Oh, my!" Dr. Crawford ran into the house and returned a moment later with his black medical bag. "Go ahead! I'll be there shortly after you!"

Climbing back onto the horse, Derek wrapped his arms around Mr. Todd, ready for the ride home. They raced back up the road and down the worn main street. Wind whipped at Derek's face and he ducked lower behind the man, closing his eyes: he'd refused to before in case he missed telling Mr. Todd where to turn.

They reached the house as quickly as they'd reached the doctor's and Mr. Todd jumped down as they approached the porch. "Tie her up!" he ordered, running up the porch, taking the steps two at a time.

His whole body shaking, Derek slid off Sky and brought her to the post at the bottom of the porch steps. As soon as he finished tying the reigns, Dr. Crawford appeared at the end of the drive. He, too, jumped off his horse, tossed the reigns to Derek, and dashed up the steps.

Tying the second horse was more difficult because his hands had begun to shake even worse. Derek swore under his breath and started the knot a third time. When it was secured, he ran up the steps and into the house. Gabriel, Mr. Todd, and Mrs. Worthington were gathered at the foot of the main staircase.

"Is she all right?" Derek asked breathlessly.

"Don't you dare demand things of me in that tone!" Mrs. Worthington answered.

Derek didn't bother hiding his glare. He snapped, "Maybe if you kept me informed of your own accord I wouldn't feel the need to make demands!"

The woman looked furious and surely would have struck him if Mr. Todd hadn't interrupted in firm but calm voice, "None of this arguing is helping. We are all worried and tense."

Quelled, if only for the moment, Mrs. Worthington sniffed and stomped up the hall to the sitting room.

Gabriel was still standing with his round fingers clutched around the banister. His eyes were red as though he'd been crying. Derek couldn't help but view him with some small measure of contempt, finally understanding how truly helpless and childlike the boy was.

Rubbing his eyes, Derek sat on the bottom stair and peered at the floor, wishing he could do something, or even that he knew something. Were they too late? Did it even matter, since she'd been dying for months? He felt sick and dizzy and he was positive it had nothing to do with his scant eating.

The minutes stretched to hours. Gabriel joined his mother in the sitting room. Mr. Todd paced, then took a seat in the dining room. Derek watched the man sit stiffly, not really seeing anything. Every fifteen minutes Beth would rush down the stairs for more water, but she was in too much of a hurry to give news.

Two hours had passed and a third was mostly gone and Derek still had not moved from the stairs. All was silent upstairs. He thought of pretending to go to his room, but he didn't dare interrupt in case things went wrong because of him. He waited, his arms and legs tense as though he was still on the racing horse, praying not to fall off.

When the clock struck five he began to pray. He wasn't sure he was doing it right because he couldn't make himself close his eyes or clasp his hands, but he thought in his mind every prayer he could think of, including the Lord's Prayer, just because he knew God had to listen to that one if none of the others.

When the clock struck six Derek looked around, noticing that Beth had not been by for water at all in the hour. Shuffling footsteps came from above. Several more minutes passed then the click and creak of a door opening reached Derek's ears. Unable to wait any longer, he stood and walked up the stairs.

Beth and Atty were in the hallway. Atty was sobbing silently, rubbing her face with her dirty apron as Beth tried to comfort her.

Derek was numb and he was sure he would fall over, but he didn't. His legs brought him to the closed door of Catherine's room on their own. He heard deep, anguished sobs from behind it and recalled the last time he'd heard Jonathan crying. What had he been crying about? Had he known even then that his beautiful wife was dying? When she asked him what was the matter did he feel like his heart was being ripped out because he knew but dared not tell her? Or had she known, too?

His dizziness suddenly overtaking him, Derek sunk to the floor and covered his face with his hands. He cried and felt helpless and childish.