Free Far From My Father's House by Elizabeth Gill

turned to him and said, ‘I’m sorry I was nasty to you.’
    Alistair smiled.
    ‘Clara fell off the horse,’ he said.

Six
    The autumn that Frank went off to university his mother died. She drove her car into a wall one afternoon when she was drunk. His father’s response was to drink even more and Frank declared to Annie that he was glad to get away. Madge was not glad. She cried on and off for days after he had gone.
    On Sunday afternoons Annie often walked over to meet Madge since she went there every day because Mr Harlington wanted her to. Sometimes Blake went with her and now that Mr Harlington had dispensed with help in the house except for Madge they ended up bringing in wood and coal, washing dishes, helping with anything which might make things comfortable but it was so neglected there, so dusty now, Mr Harlington contenting himself with drinking whisky during the afternoons by the fire and the two old aunts dozing that it was past help, Annie thought.
    Mr Harlington had one thing which encouraged Blake to go. He kept two horses in the stables, one for himself and one for Frank and when Blake talked enthusiastically about them Mr Harlington encouraged him to go there and ride them. There was a stable lad to feed them and muck out and Blake went to help sometimes until Jack told him he was not to go. There was a row about it which surprised Annie since Blake rarely put up a fight about anything but after the first Monday that Blake went there to help Jack stopped him in the big kitchen.
    ‘You’ve got enough to do here without helping the Harlingtons.’
    ‘All they’ve got is a stable lad.’
    ‘They’ve got a great deal that we’ve never had, including this place. They don’t need your help.’
    ‘I wanted to do it.’
    ‘Yes, well, I’m telling you you’re not. He doesn’t pay you for going there so what use is it?’
    ‘I feel sorry for him.’
    Jack glared at Blake just as Annie walked in.
    ‘You feel sorry for Joe Harlington? What’s he ever done for you except put you out of your house?’
    ‘I like the horses—’
    ‘I’m telling you, lad. You don’t set foot in Harlington’s yard again,’ and Jack turned and walked out, passing Annie without a word.
    ‘What was all that about?’ she asked.
    ‘I don’t know. Mr Harlington promised me I could ride his horse.’
    Annie whistled.
    ‘He’s a beauty too. Daddy will never give you the time off.’
    Blake said nothing. After dinner, a good time to approach him when he was full of meat, potatoes and crumble with custard, Annie followed her father out to the fields.
    ‘What do you want, miss?’ he growled, stopping when he saw her.
    ‘Mr Harlington has said that Blake can ride Black Boy. Don’t you think he’s entitled to a bit of time for himself?’
    ‘Blake doesn’t need you to fight his battles. I just don’t want that man taking advantage. He’s done Blake enough harm.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘I mean if they’d given the lad a bit of help for a year or so he could have kept that farm, but people like that, they never think about other folk.’
    ‘Blake doesn’t have a horse.’
    ‘I know that.’
    ‘Please.’
    ‘Ah, you’d turn stone to mush you would,’ her father said.
    *  *  *
    After that Annie and Blake went riding nearly every day. Frank came back at Christmas and they went out, the three of them. One evening when Frank had come over to the farm he and Annie were talking in the back kitchen, at first just about general things, then about Madge who was baby-sitting in the village and then Frank began complaining.
    ‘I’m perfectly capable of exercising the horses. I don’t know why my father wants Blake there.’
    ‘You aren’t here most of the time.’
    ‘There is a stable boy. We don’t need another.’
    ‘Blake’s not a stable boy.’
    ‘It’s the same thing. I don’t really care to go riding with the servants.’
    ‘That’s not very nice, Frank.’ Frank, she reflected, was a very