The Amphiblets (7 page)

‘You bought this horse for me?’ gasped Will, stroking the white spot on the brown horse’s nose. ‘But I won’t be here for long.’

Peter said nothing apart from promising Will that they would go horse riding first thing tomorrow morning, but only if he wanted to.

‘Of course, I do!’ Will exclaimed, delighted. ‘I don’t know what to say, except – thank you! This has been one of the best days I’ve ever had.’

The child couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come. His first day with Peter had been brilliant. When it was bedtime, Will was exhausted. Peter arrived to say goodnight.

‘Peter, why can’t I remember how I got here?’ said Will.

‘You must have been tired.’

‘No. I usually wake a hundred times at night but last night I didn’t wake once and this morning I had a headache and I never have headaches.’

Peter shrugged. ‘I had no idea you were such a light sleeper. I’m surprised too that you never woke when I carried you to your room. I’m so pleased that you are here and sharing this lonely old house with me.’

‘I had a great day today. I only wish my brothers had been here too. I can’t wait to see them so I can tell them everything we’ve done. How long can I stay here for?’

‘For as long as you want,’ said Peter and then repeated quietly, ‘for as long as you like.’

‘Can I stay forever?’ whispered Will, smiling mischievously.

‘There is nothing that I would like better than for you to stay here with me,’ smiled Peter.

Will went to sleep excited by the prospect of learning to ride and spending the day with Peter. It had been a brilliant day. If only his brothers were here with him…

By the time Peter had knocked three times on Will’s bedroom door, the following morning, the boy was already dressed.

‘Come in!’ shouted Will, who was perched on the edge of his bed, putting on his socks.

Peter opened the door and strolled into the room. ‘Good morning, William. Did you sleep well?’

‘Yes, thanks. Did you?’

Peter raised an eyebrow in surprise. ‘As a matter of fact, I did.’ He opened the curtains, allowing light into the room. ‘It’s another nice day.’

‘Cool!’ said Will, putting both feet down and glancing curiously at Peter. ‘Do you always wear sunglasses and gloves?’

‘No. I don’t wear them in the bath and I won’t when we go swimming later,’ said Peter, waiting for Will’s reaction. He wasn’t disappointed.

‘Swimming! I love swimming!’ said Will, excitedly; his entire face lit up.

‘I’m sure you do.’ Peter paused, and tapped his fingers, as if he were trying to find the right words. ‘Um… later, we must talk. I need to explain some things to you. I’ve been putting it off but it’s not fair to you. We’ll have a chance when we stop off at the lake.’

‘Are we going straightaway?’ asked Will eagerly, his eyes pleading. He was sure that whatever Peter had to say it could wait.

‘I need some breakfast, don’t you?’ asked Peter, amused.

‘No!’

‘You might be able to go without food, but I certainly can’t, and besides, we’ll be gone for ages so I’d like you to eat something too. Robert has kindly packed us a picnic for today so we won’t have to rush back.’

‘Cool!’ said Will. ‘I’m going to phone my brothers afterwards and tell them everything that I’ve done today. They’re going to be
so
jealous!’

Peter’s expression was unreadable. He nodded slowly. ‘Going riding is a perfect way to get to know each other better. And in this heat it’ll be nice if we stop at Soapwater Lake, so you and I can both have a swim.’

‘Bet you can’t swim as fast as me!’ challenged Will, standing from his bed and leaving the room.

‘I bet I can,’ whispered Peter to himself.

Downstairs, they found Robert in the kitchen, on his knees stroking Shanks, who was thoroughly enjoying all the attention. He was lying on his back and having his tummy tickled, grunting and snorting. His tongue flopped like a flat pink slug from the side of his mouth. This was the first time Will had seen Shanks since yesterday’s frightening encounter. Peter and Robert had deliberately kept the dog away, giving the boy a chance to adjust to his new home.

‘You thoroughly spoil him,’ remarked Peter, smiling despite the fact he was aiming to sound stern. ‘He used to be a good guard dog until you started mollycoddling him.’

‘He’s still a good guard dog,’ insisted Robert, standing and brushing the fur off his trousers.

Shanks sat, waggled his tail, and stared at Robert with his big brown eyes, as if to say, ‘Stroke me more!’

‘Good morning, young William. Your breakfast is ready for you,’ said Robert, pointing to the table where a glass of orange juice and two pieces of toast were waiting.

‘Thanks,’ said Will, but made no effort to pass the animal, which he suspected might attack him at any moment. ‘Are you sure Shanks won’t bite me?’

‘Perfectly sure.’ Peter reassured the youngster by holding his shoulder gently. ‘Here, let me show you how tame he is.’

Peter bent over and began to stroke behind the dog’s ears.

‘He’s huge.’ Will took a step closer to the hairy beast.

‘He’s a St Bernard – one of the largest breeds,’ Peter told him. ‘I have a couple of cats too but I only ever see them in the evenings when they come for their food. They catch an awful lot of mice around here and generally eat them instead – unless they give them to me as presents.’

‘Urgh!’ said Will. ‘Cats give you a dead mouse for a present?
Yuk
! I hope they don’t ever give me one. That’s one present I wouldn’t like.’

Peter laughed. ‘Come and stroke Shanks – he wants to meet you. His tail is wagging which means he’s happy.’

Will nervously approached the big hairy dog, which had a wide, gaping mouth and teeth to match. Peter firmly held Will’s hand and guided it along the front of the dog’s snout, where it was sniffed by a cold, wet nose and licked by a wet, sloppy tongue.

‘Urgh!’ said Will, making a face, but secretly enjoying it.

‘See. He likes you,’ laughed Peter.

Will smiled and continued to stroke the dog, who wallowed in all the attention. His ears and belly were his favourite places to be scratched. After a few more minutes, Will was no longer scared. As Peter and Will both stood, they were rather surprised at how swiftly Shanks moved when he wanted to. He flipped from his back on to his feet, leaping at Will and resting his two front paws on the boy’s shoulders before anyone could stop him.

‘Oh my God!’ said Will, staggering backwards. ‘He’s bigger when he stands.’

‘Get down, Shanks!’ scolded Peter, supporting the boy. ‘You nearly knocked young William over.’

Will giggled. He liked the dog and he liked this home.

He couldn’t wait to tell his brothers everything he had been doing and all the things he had seen. There wasn’t another house for miles so Will was able to enjoy the freedom of being unobserved. There was no one to give him quizzical glances or remark on the strangeness of his eyes and webbed fingers.

Peter and Robert certainly accepted Will’s remarkable appearance, as if they were used to seeing someone like Will every day, which he knew was impossible because his condition was so rare.

After a quick breakfast, in which Will swallowed his food as fast as he could, they set off to the stables. The two horses, Pedlar and Hans, were already wearing their saddles and bridles by the time the two of them arrived.

‘I came here earlier,’ explained Peter, ‘so we didn’t have to waste much time.’ 

‘You must have woken early!’ Will felt sorry for Robert’s horse, as it would be alone.

‘Don’t worry about Yepsin,’ said Peter, as if reading his thoughts. ‘Robert will take him for a ride later.’

Peter helped Will into the saddle. The boy was shaking. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll lead Hans for now. Keep your back straight and hold on gently with your inner thighs.’ Peter made a grab for the reins before mounting his horse. ‘Come on, Shanks!’ he called, followed by a shrill whistle that made Will cover his ears.

The dog came bounding from the direction of the house towards them. Will was pleased to be higher than the dog. Shanks sniffed the area where Will had previously been standing and gave a bark. Peter led the way and Will sat uncomfortably in the saddle, wondering when he would feel as natural riding a horse as Peter obviously did.

Shanks ran alongside them quite comfortably and occasionally ran off when he spotted a rabbit’s fluffy white tail.

‘He’s never caught one yet!’ laughed Peter, watching the dog disappear into a hedge.

Will was pleased to hear this.

They continued strolling at a comfortable pace along the edge of a huge grassy field. Will declined the offer of trotting. He was sore enough already, without bouncing up and down. At the opposite end of the field, they made their way through a path between some bushes before cutting across another field and heading into the woods.

‘Soapwater Lake is in the centre of these woods. It’s a special area and quite a sunspot in hot weather,’ Peter told him.

‘Why is it called Soapwater Lake?’ asked Will.

‘Hundreds of years ago people used to come here searching for a plant that would foam and clean their bodies like soap. It was very popular.’

Will wasn’t sure if Peter was joking or not but it sounded very plausible. They continued to travel along another obscure path in the woods, bordered by thick bushes and long stringy plants.

‘I come here most days,’ said Peter. ‘I make it part of my routine.’

‘Do you ever see anyone else here?’

‘No. I own this entire area.’ Peter waved his hand over the landscape. ‘There are no public paths here so it is very secluded.’

‘Do you work?’ asked Will.

‘No,’ replied Peter.

‘But how can you afford all this if you don’t work?’

‘I inherited my wealth from my great-great-great grandfather, Sir Ivan Pondweed.’

‘What did he do?’

‘He was a magnificent painter. I have a few pieces of his original work back at the house, kept in an alarmed room to be safe from thieves. I’ll show them to you later.’

‘Cool!’ gasped Will. ‘I know Dad has some money problems but he doesn’t know that I know. I think he got some money from the convention to use for now.’

Peter said nothing.

Will glanced at the sky, largely hidden behind the tall trees. He felt a shiver along his arms; he was wearing only a T-shirt and the air had chilled considerably.

Beautiful bright flowers appeared in clumps throughout the woodland, making it a very colourful place, and the leaves above sparkled with many hues of greens as the sunlight shone on them. Soon they entered an open area surrounded by the woodland trees. There was nothing but blue sky and wispy white clouds above them.

‘Nice place,’ remarked Will, who had never seen a lake as clear as this in all his life. It was very different to the one that father took them to, which was filthy like their home. Giant lily pads rested on the surface and the occasional insect could be seen skimming over the pond, stirring the water gently. Retrieving a lengthy piece of rope from his bag, Peter attached it to the horse’s reins and secured it to a nearby tree. Pedlar was used to this but Hans was fretful.

‘There, there,’ soothed Peter, stroking the animal. ‘It’ll be okay. We won’t be long. You’ll soon be all right.’ He turned to Will, who was watching him in wonder. ‘Before we go for a swim I want to tell you something. I should have told you yesterday but I didn’t have the heart to. But at some point you will learn the truth and to be honest,’ said Peter, ‘honesty is the best policy.’

‘Okay,’ said Will, wrinkling his forehead in puzzlement. There was nothing to suggest there was anything wrong, but he sensed it. He had a strong suspicion that Peter was going to tell him something that he wouldn’t like, like he were going to be told off for something that he hadn’t done.

Will rested on the hard ground next to Peter, waiting for him to find the right words for what he needed to say. He had stared at him for a while and, seeing that he was struggling to speak, scooped some loose debris from the ground, crushed it in his hand and sprinkled it back on the earth.

‘What do you think about this place?’ asked Peter.

‘It’s great!’ Will sat cross-legged and tilted his head.

‘Would you like to live here permanently?’ Peter was gazing over the pond, with his arms resting on his bent knees.

‘Of course! So would my brothers. I know they would!’

Peter nodded; his lips were set in a thin line. ‘What if I told you that you could never see your brothers again?’

Will glared at Peter; his bright eyes hardened like cold stones. ‘I’d leave and find my own way home.’

Peter nodded once more. ‘What if I said you could never return home?’

‘I wouldn’t believe you!’

‘But what if I told you it wasn’t my decision.’

Will had had enough. He stood with his fists clenched. ‘What are you talking about? Spit it out!’

Peter raised his eyebrows. ‘Okay. I have no idea how to make this sound any better, so I’ll just spit it out, as you so gracefully put it. You were right when you said your father was in trouble financially. He came to me and asked for help. He had no idea of how to raise the money he required – a million pounds. So he decided he would sell one of his children. His decision – not mine! At the time he had no idea who he should sell. But for whatever reason he gave me you.’

Will stared at the ground in shock and fought back his tears. He wanted to pretend it was all nonsense but he couldn’t. Being here alone, without his brothers made sense now. This had never happened to him before. It was unusual and deep down he knew that something wasn’t right but he hadn’t wanted to believe anything was wrong.

Devastation, shock, bitterness and fear had all arrived to shatter his previously safe and comfortable world. He couldn’t think. He felt sick – and dizzy. His father had sold him – sold him like a farm animal or a loaf of bread.

He wished Peter was lying and that it couldn’t possibly be true. He suddenly didn’t care that his home was dirty or that the pond was filthy. All he wanted was to be with his brothers and Hugo. He didn’t dare acknowledge it but he also wanted to see his father face to face and ask him why he had sold him.

‘Oh, Will,’ said Peter, reaching for the boy, who stepped back from his touch.

‘It can’t be true!’ he whispered, his face set hard. ‘Dad wouldn’t ever do that to me! He wouldn’t!’

‘No, a real father would never sell his child,’ said Peter softly, touched by Will’s sense of loyalty to a man who had abused his love and trust.

‘What do you mean by that?’ snapped Will, his eyes fiery. He wiped the tears on the back of his hand and sniffed.

‘This will come as another blow to you but Professor Snipes is not your real father.’

‘Of course, he is.’

‘No. He took you from your mother when you were seven months old. I don’t know who your real father is.’

‘The Professor is my dad!’ screamed Will ‘He is!’ He stood in defiance as Peter approached him and gathered the boy in his arms. This was all too much for Will to contemplate. ‘He is my dad! He is my dad!’ Will was sobbing and thumping Peter’s chest hard with his fists. ‘Why are you saying all these horrible things to me? Take me home! I want to go home!’

‘I’ll make a deal with you,’ said Peter, consoling the child. ‘As soon as we go back to the house, we’ll phone your father so you can speak to him.’

‘Why didn’t he sell all three of us?’ cried Will.

‘I don’t know. I wanted all three of you, but your father refused my every offer.’

‘But he didn’t mind selling me,’ whispered Will, hurt. How could his father have sold him, without telling him, without saying goodbye? He’d been given to a complete stranger without any explanation. He hadn’t been allowed to say goodbye to his brothers.

‘Life is good here, Will,’ said Peter. ‘I’ve never had children and would treat you as my son.’

‘But I already have a father!’ argued Will. ‘He loves me. I know he does! He was desperate for money. He didn’t know what he was doing.’

‘And does believing that make you feel better?’

Will stared coldly at Peter. ‘Why couldn’t you have given Dad the money? You have plenty to spare.’

‘Because the Professor is not your father!’ said Peter, raising his voice. ‘I don’t give that kind of money away to people I hardly know.’

‘Yet my father was willing to give me away,’ said Will, staring at his feet. ‘My brothers will come and find me, you know.’

Peter smiled sadly. ‘No, they won’t.’

‘Yes, they will!’ growled Will. ‘They’ll miss me and Riley is clever. He’ll find out what happened and come to find me with Ed. Then we’ll be together again.’

‘They won’t be coming here to find you.’

‘They will!’

‘No, they won’t,’ said Peter, growing impatient with the cruelty of the whole situation. He began to wonder if he had done the best for the boy after all.

‘How do you know?’ cried Will.

‘I know because your father lied to them about where you are. He told them you are dead. And they will accept what he tells them, as you yourself would have believed him too.’

Will’s knees buckled. He dropped to the ground. Peter knelt beside him. Tears were streaming down Will’s face. His father, whom he had loved, had hated him - destroyed his life. His brothers had been lied to. Not only had Will been betrayed but his brothers had been too. His father had betrayed them all. Now he would never have the chance to say goodbye.

‘I hate him!’ cried Will. ‘I hate him so much!’

Peter reached forward and wrapped his strong arms around Will. The boy didn’t know it yet but there was another reason why he had wanted the Professor’s adopted children. Perhaps one day soon he could explain why. He had intended to be open today and explain everything to Will but he realised it was too soon for the child. Will needed time to adjust to this shattering news. Peter had always wanted a child and Will was the next best thing to having a family. He cuddled the boy tighter as he trembled beneath his touch, and comforted him as best he could under the horrendous circumstances. He would never lie to Will, for he was vulnerable and had been lied to all his life. But there were certain subjects that he needn’t discuss quite yet.

They didn’t go swimming in the lake that day. Will wanted to return to the house and he spent much of his time moving from one place to another in a dazed state. He could hardly remember the journey back nor how he reached his bedroom and cried into his pillow until his eyes were swollen and he felt twice as bad. The phone call had been forgotten for now. Will didn’t feel like talking to anyone and that included Peter and Robert. He refused the meals Robert made for him.

The next day wasn’t much better. Will still wasn’t feeling very hungry but due to the insistence of Robert and Peter he did manage to swallow a piece of toast with strawberry jam, despite taking him half an hour and a whole glass of orange juice to wash down every bite. Questions occupied his thoughts. The only person that could answer them was his father, who had sold him like a slave. And he didn’t want to talk to that man ever again.

Peter and Robert watched Will anxiously, wondering how he was feeling, but treated him with extreme care, since they had no idea how he would react. So unsure were they of what to say, they said nothing. When Will did speak the question was unexpected.

‘So you paid a million pounds for me, did you?’

‘Yes, I did,’ confirmed Peter slowly, tilting his head and placing his chin on top of his clasped hands, his elbows resting on the table. ‘Do you know what you could buy for a million pounds?’

‘No.’

‘A few years ago I paid a million pounds for this house and yesterday I paid the same for you.’

Will paused for thought before asking, ‘Why did you do it? You could have bought anything! Why me?’

‘I wanted you and your brothers. As I explained to you yesterday, I never had any children. I always wanted this house to be full of life and laughter. That’s the reason I wanted you and your brothers. But your father was adamant that your brothers would not be sold – not ever.’

Will felt a pang of hurt that his father had given him up so easily.

‘I can’t live here without them,’ said Will, coming close to tears. ‘I want to go back and see them and explain what happened. I want to tell them the truth!’

Peter took a deep breath. ‘You can’t go back, Will. Your father gave me strict instructions not to let you return. If he finds you anywhere near the establishment he will kill you – he told me that himself. He will kill you on sight, Will.’

‘But why would he do that?’ asked Will, his eyes full of pain.

‘He would do that to protect your brothers, Will. He wants nothing more to do with you. He made that very clear.’

‘You could be lying to me! If my father could lie to me then you could too. Why should I believe you?’

Peter shrugged. ‘We must trust each other until we know one another better. It’ll take time. There is much for you to learn while you are here, after your sheltered upbringing. I want to see you discover the world and teach you things and take you to places where you have never been before.’

Will smiled at this thought. Apart from the recent trip to his father’s convention he had never been anywhere else exciting. Still, this couldn’t prevent the dark cloud dampening his spirits.

‘So am I your slave – like Robert?’ asked Will.

When Peter laughed it was infectious and very soon Will found himself smiling, although he wasn’t sure why. 

Peter stopped laughing. ‘Robert isn’t a slave. He’s a paid employee who lives here for four days during the week. He loves working here but goes home every Thursday night and doesn’t return until Monday. I pay him very well. It would be hard for him to find another job that pays him so handsomely. I’ve never bought him, Will; he came here willingly. He’s my best friend.’

‘I certainly am,’ added Robert. ‘I’m not a slave to anyone, young William, and neither are you. You’ll not meet a more considerate and honest person than Peter. He’s one of a kind. My family has been working for the Pondweed family for many generations.’

‘The only thing I paid for was the chance to care after you.’

‘But my brothers?’ asked Will, a single tear fell from his eye. ‘I can’t bear never to see them again. I never got the chance to say goodbye.’

Peter rapped his fingers on the table. ‘I told Lionel that it wasn’t a good idea to separate you. I told him at the convention. He grew angry with me.’

‘Riley said he saw you and Dad arguing,’ said Will, ‘and now I know why.’ He smiled sadly.

‘What’s so funny?’ asked Peter.

‘Riley couldn’t stop wondering what it was that you had been arguing about, but now I know. I bet in his wildest dreams he hadn’t realised you were planning to buy one of us.’ Will suddenly rose and scraped back his chair. ‘You know what? I hate my dad.’ He turned and bolted from the room.

His feet thudded heavily on the stairs.

Peter glanced at Robert who made a face and said, ‘We knew this would be hard on him.’

Peter nodded. ‘He’s going through hell.’

‘He clearly loves his brothers.’

‘What am I going to do?’ asked Peter, resting his head in his hands. ‘I can’t stand it, knowing those two boys have been left there. Perhaps I should kidnap them and bring them here.’

‘Oh no, you don’t!’ said Robert, his face serious. ‘That idea will only bring you trouble. Though if you do want to kidnap them, wait a few weeks at least, so you are not the first one he will suspect.’

‘Good thinking,’ smiled Peter. ‘Yes, I’ll go and get them at a later date.’ He relaxed back in his chair. His mind was made up. The future was once again filled with hope.

Will was uncertain of his role in his new home. It was strange moving to a new place and being surrounded by different people, though Peter and Robert were so kind. Will had no idea why he was so sure, but he knew he could trust them both. This made him feel temporarily happy, but then the thought that his brothers believed he was dead overshadowed his happiness. What had the Professor told them? He missed his brothers so much and tried to recall their faces and the sounds of their voices. He also missed Hugo with whom he had always enjoyed playing games. Hugo was like another brother. Perhaps Peter would play games too. So far Peter hadn’t mentioned the fact that he was different to other humans and neither had Robert. Here in his new home he felt more confident and secure, if only the strangeness of this new environment would wear off soon.

That evening Will was feeling shivery and cold. He remained in bed for the rest of the afternoon. By three o’clock, he was burning with a fever and his skin was itchy. Peter came into the room and smiled. He wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

‘What’s happening to me?’ asked Will.

‘You’re going through changes,’ Peter reassured him and immediately planned to phone Lionel, to warn him that the other two boys could be manifesting the same symptoms. ‘Don’t worry. You’re going to be fine.’