Free The Gypsy Crown by Kate Forsyth

eyes. Every now and again she lifted her snout and uttered one of her heartfelt moans, perfectly expressing the children’s feelings. They too would have liked to have stretched out by a fire with a bowl of hot soup and a foaming mug of weak ale. But they had no soup, and no ale, and no fire, and nowhere safe to stop.
    â€˜Maybe we could stop and rest at the Cock Inn,’ Luka said.
    â€˜I have money,’ Emilia said, touching her purse which hung down inside her skirt. It was heavy with coins.
    â€˜Darling girl! Let’s do that then. I can’t walk any further.’
    The idea of stopping for a drink and perhaps a bite to eat at the inn gave them fresh energy and their step quickened. They could see the village of Sutton clearly now. It lay just ahead, a scatter of houses about the green. It was dusk and smoke was rising from the inn, smelling of home.
    A tall hedge rose up on one side, cutting out the light. They passed a set of iron gates, closed shut with a rusty chain, that led onto a weedy drive lined with rhododendrons that had grown so tall they gave the impression of a dark tunnel curving away. Above the hedge they could see the roof and chimneys of an old manor house. Through a gap in the hedge Emilia caught a brief glimpse of the front of the house. It was shaggy with ivy, and every curtain was drawn so that the house looked blind. Then the hedge closed over again and they could see nothing but trees.
    Suddenly they heard the sound of wheels coming fast down the highway. Luka and Emilia looked behind them in panic. A large black carriage drawn by four horses was just cresting the hill and beginning to rattle towards them.
    â€˜Here! Quick!’ Luka cried, and ran back towards the gap in the hedge, dragging on Sweetheart’s chain so she followed along behind him. Luka was able to slip through the gap easily enough, and Sweetheart pushed her way through, widening the gap so that Emilia was able to lead Alida through in her wake, Rollo close behind. The branches sprang back to hide them, and they crouched there in the gloom under the dripping trees, hardly daring to breathe.
    The carriage drew up, the horses whinnying and stamping, restless at the faint scent of bear that must linger in the laneway.
    â€˜What is it? Why have we stopped?’
    Luka and Emilia shrank back at the sound of the parson’s voice.
    â€˜I thought I saw something, sir,’ the coachman said. ‘Something moving in the shadows under the hedge, like it was trying to hide. You told me to keep a good lookout, sir, I thought you might like me to get down and have a look.’
    â€˜Very well, but be quick, I am on God’s business and he shall not suffer to be kept waiting,’ the parson said, leaning out the window. It sounded as though he was looming right over them. Luka had his hand on Sweetheart’s muzzle to keep her quiet, and she stood obediently still, looking puzzled.
    They heard the coachman jump down to the ground. ‘Easy, boys, easy,’ he said to the horses. ‘Settle down. They’re right spooked, sir. Something’s got them twitchy.’
    His boots crunched on the dirt of the road as he walked along the hedgerow, sweeping through the wet branches with his whip. They heard him rattle the gates, and prowl about a bit more, and then he came back.
    â€˜Gates locked up tight, sir. No sign of anyone about.’
    â€˜Nay, of course not. No one’s lived here since Henry Tudor cut off Sir Nicholas’s head. It’s been empty for years.’
    â€˜Maybe that’s why the horses are so twitchety. Ghosts about.’
    â€˜Nonsense,’ the pastor said coldly. ‘Drive on! Stop at the inn ahead and see if anyone has seen any sign of those two Egyptian children. They should be easy enough to remember, with their menagerie of wild beasts. A dog, a horse, a bear and a monkey! Godless folly and nonsense!’
    The coachman climbed back up onto his box and