Well, here's the first new chapter of the 2019 update on this story...this chapter gave me a hella hard time in the writing, but I've got it up now and I've almost finished my second read-through of the book so I can remember what happens and what direction I was taking my version. Hope you enjoy, and if you waited all these years for this...this story's for you.
Chapter Sixteen
Bay
Thursday morning finds me dressing up. I pull on a pair of fitted dark jeans instead of the faded ones I usually wear and a navy blue button-up blouse with hand-stitching down the front panel. It's one of the only things I ever bought from Fathom and Sons. Dory Maud said she stitched it herself, but I figure the pretty design of twining vines was probably Elizabeth's work. I leave my hair down and throw on Mom's leather jacket and what I proudly refer to as my dress boots - the ones from Colborne and Hammond's that I saved up for months to buy. I pass dad in the kitchen on my way to the door.
"Going somewhere this morning, Bay?" he asks as he catches sight of my outfit.
"To meet Sean," I say, stopping at the edge of the kitchen table.
Dad raises an eyebrow.
"Not like that," I say, realizing I probably look like I'm dressed for a date. "It's the auction," I say, by way of explanation. Dad gives a little jolt, like I've just reminded him of something important and a pit opens up in my stomach. I try to convince myself that Dad has no reason to go to the Auction. We've already got a horse and there's no way we could afford one of Malvern's thoroughbreds. But I know there's one more reason Dad might go to the Auction today. I push it out of my mind. I don't want to think about it.
"Trying to impress a mainlander?" Dad jokes, but I know the joke is a cover for something.
I roll my eyes. "You think a mainlander would fall for an island girl in a pair of boots and a leather jacket?" I ask.
"I did," Dad says. Dad's gaze lingers on the jacket. "That's almost exactly what your mother was wearing," he says softly.
My mouth drops open. "You're from the mainland?" I ask. I've never heard Dad mention that before.
"I was...a long time ago," Dad says. "I came to Thisby when I was just sixteen, hoping to get a job with the horses. But I never could seem to get away from the fish." He chuckles, but it sounds sad. "Your mother was the first woman I met off the boat, standing tall and proud in the stirrups on her island pony, looking like some sort of goddess."
Dad is silent for a long moment. "You look just like her," he finally says and there is a catch in his voice.
"Thanks," I say, because I know that's a compliment.
"Bay…" Dad pauses again.
"Yes?" I ask.
"I…" he stops. "I love you," he finally says, as if that's probably not what he was going to say.
"I love you too, Dad," I say. And then the conversation is over and I walk outside to the barn.
I saddle Selkie this morning because Tempest is too wild to take into the middle of the Malvern Auction. I've got enough on my plate already without causing pandemonium at the Yard. I can't shake the feeling that I'm leaving something important behind when I trot Selkie out of the yard and down the road, but Tempest is a capall uisce. He can take care of himself.
I take Selkie on a leisurely ride over to the Malvern Yards. He enjoys himself, picking his feet up, pricking his ears. We haven't taken a joyride together in a while and I realize I miss my little island pony. I've only been making deliveries on him lately and we've become more business partners than friends. I tell him I'll make sure that changes after the races. He whinnies in agreement. When I get to the Yard, I tie Selkie to an inconspicuous fencepost, out of the way of the buyers and the grooms. Where there's no way anyone could mistake him as a horse for sale - not that they would compared to Malvern's sleek racers.
I find Sean Kendrick looking like death in a black suit. He only wears a suit to sell horses. I can't help but notice eyes track Sean everywhere he goes - Malvern, buyers, grooms, islanders, strangers. They all watch him like he's for sale instead of the horses. I don't like the looks Sean gets, but if he notices, he doesn't seem to care. I walk up to where he leans on a fence, watching the grooms show off the horses and smiling at the mainlanders who lap every word out of the grooms' mouths like it's gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Sean looks over at me when I walk up, then his eyes dart around me, making a quick assessment of the Yard. He decides he is dispensable for a moment and gestures for me to follow him. He leads me to a more secluded part of the Yard by the stable. I'm dying to ask him what's going on, but I keep my mouth shut because I know he won't explain until he's ready. Sean presses a piece of paper into my hand. I look at him questioningly and he indicates I should open it. I unfold the paper and realize Sean's handed me horse papers. I look at them for a moment. "What are these?" I ask dumbly, because I can't think of why Sean's handing me papers this morning. I'm not here to buy a horse.
"Those are why Malvern wants your capall uisce," he says.
I look back down at the papers. They're for a horse born ten years ago. A gray colt who was half-capaill, half island mare. By Diablo out of Fortune's Fancy. They named him Seraphim.
"Fancy was a Malvern mare," Sean says, though I can see Malvern's name on the paper clear as day. "From what I gathered from Malvern's paperwork, Diablo was a black capall Malvern named but never caught. Fancy did though."
"And the colt?" I ask, feeling my mouth go dry. "What happened to him?"
"Malvern lost the colt to the sea about a year later - right before I came to the Yard."
I stare at Sean for a long moment, not wanting to acknowledge what this means.
"Bay, that colt...that's Tempest," Sean spells it out for me.
I swallow a few times. And blink.
"There's no way," I finally say.
"It makes the most sense," Sean says. "Tempest is small for a capall, and calm. He's got island horse in him, I saw that the morning you caught him. That's why he wants Tempest and not just any capaill uisce."
"Why is that important? Malvern doesn't race" I say. The only reason anyone on Thisby keeps a capall uisce is to race and I can't imagine Malvern ever racing. He lets other men do it for him. Like Sean. Like Mutt. Does Malvern plan to enter another jockey in the races on Tempest?
"He doesn't want to ride him," Sean says. "He wants to breed him. Capaill uisce blood makes winners. Malvern gets more winners, he gets more buyers. More buyers, more money. More money, more Thisby."
I shiver at the thought of Malvern buying up more of Thisby. He already owns too much. "What about Corr then?" I demand. "Or that bay mare?"
Sean raises an eyebrow.
"Why doesn't Malvern just breed the capaill uisce he already has?"
"Because eleven times out of ten, the capall eats the island horse. Better odds with a half-capall. They'll eat the island horse six times out of ten."
"Eleven isn't an evenly divisible number," I grumble.
Sean shrugs. He made his point.
I sigh. "Alright, so we know why Malvern wants my horse."
"And why he's willing to pay so much for him."
I look back down at the papers in my hand, another jolt running through me. "Does this mean Malvern has a legitimate claim on Tempest?"
Sean shakes his head. "If a water horse goes back to the sea all claims on him are forfeit."
"Is that a law?" I ask.
"In blood," Sean says, referring to those laws that go deeper than pen and ink, deeper than us, deeper than Thisby herself.
"So his only chance is to buy Tempest from me," I conclude.
Sean nods.
I feel an odd weight lift off my chest. "So all I have to do is refuse to sell."
"In theory," Sean says.
He holds out his hand for the papers and I give them back. Sean folds them neatly and puts them in an inner pocket of his coat just as a sunny figure with an even sunnier smile walks up to us.
It's George Holly.
"Ho, Sean Kendrick!" he calls out. I wonder if he picked that up from Jonathan Carroll. Jonathan's the only person I know who says ho. "Hello, Bay," Holly says as he notices me. I'm surprised he remembers my name.
"Hi, Mr. Holly," I say. Despite the circumstances, Holly's infectious cheer lifts one corner of my mouth in a smile.
Holly looks over at Sean. "Not riding today, I see," he says, taking in Sean's suit.
"No, today I'm selling."
"Horses?" Holly asks.
"Me," Sean says with a smirk, but the light tone of his words doesn't reach his eyes. "I don't sell horses, Mr. Holly. I sell my reputation and Malvern sells horses."
"Who gets the better end of the deal, I wonder?" Holly murmurs.
Sean just shrugs, but I don't like the casual way he refers to himself as a commodity. Sean leaves the shadow of the stable and Holly and I follow, back out to the Yard, back under the gazes of the grooms and the fancy mainlanders.
"You know, you should wear a suit more often, Kendrick. It suits you," Holly grins at his own pun. "Don't you agree, Ms. Fisher?" he says, turning to me.
I take a long moment to sufficiently study Sean while Sean looks uncomfortable. "You know, Mr. Holly, I think you're right," I say, smiling back.
"There you go, Kendrick, advice from the opposite sex herself. I bet your Puck Connolly would say the same thing."
"Why would I care what Puck Connolly would say?" Sean shoots back, but I can tell that deep down he would.
"Because men usually care about what their women think," Holly says innocently. But Sean doesn't deny that Puck is 'his woman.' Before I have time to process that thought, Holly's off like a racehorse on another topic.
"So, Kendrick, who should I buy?" Holly asks, rubbing his hands together.
"Mettle and Finndebar," Sean says instantly. He's prepared for this conversation. This is familiar territory.
"Finndebar?" Holly asks.
"Broodmare," Sean says.
"I don't want a baby-maker, Kendrick," Holly says, then scowls as Malvern walks by with a pack of buyers following. I wonder if the frown is for the horse or Malvern.
"She's never dropped a loser," Sean says, raising an eyebrow at Holly's expression. "Something wrong, Mr. Holly?"
Holly sighs. "Malvern and I had a...disagreement. Something about an old flame. It's not my fault Malvern's more thorough with his horses than his ex-lovers."
I almost laugh out loud at the idea of Malvern loving anything other than a horse. Or any woman being taken enough with Malvern to love him. In fact, there's only one woman on all of Thisby I can think of who might tolerate Malvern and that's only because she can't see him. Which makes me think that Holly would be likeable whether she can see him or not. Oh, St. Columba, Annie and Holly! I have to hide a snicker behind my hand. Sean and Holly both look at me and I shake my head and clear my throat. "Just a tickle," I say, coughing theatrically.
Sean gives me a look that says he knows I'm lying, but Holly's smiling like we're both in on a joke. I clear my throat and put on a straight face again.
Holly looks thoughtful, then asks, "Why don't you breed that red stallion of yours with your broodmares and sell some of his fiery spirit?"
"Well, Mr. Holly." I steal the words out of Sean's mouth. "That's because eleven times out of ten, if you put a capaill uisce and an island horse together, you'll get a dead island horse." Though there's proof that that twelfth time works. Like Tempest, like some of the horses in Malvern's stables - the ones who love water or sound almost like they can scream.
"Pity," Holly sighs. "People are the same way." I wonder who he's thinking of - and which one of them is the capall and which the island horse. But Holly's attention is yet again on something else. I'm starting to think the man never thinks about the same thing twice. I follow his gaze to find Mutt Malvern talking to some buyers nearby. Sean's mouth pulls into a thin line, but he doesn't go rescue Mutt from whatever he's saying to the buyers.
Just then a shadow falls over us and I turn to find Benjamin Malvern standing behind us. Holly greets him cheerfully, far cry from his earlier scowl, like there's nothing between them. Sean's expression is neutral as always.
"Good morning, Mr. Holly," Malvern returns the greeting far less cheerfully. "I hear you tried to offer my foreman a job," Malvern says slyly. Holly offered Sean a job? I look over at Sean for confirmation, but his stone face isn't giving anything away.
Holly looks mildly surprised for a moment, but then he smiles. "I'd take him in a heartbeat, Mr. Malvern," he says. "But he's too loyal."
"Mmm, I imagine he is," Malvern agrees like Sean isn't listening to the whole conversation. "After all, I practically raised him."
"Well, I guess that explains why your horses know him so well," Holly says.
"And why he knows my horses so well," Malvern says. "Have you found a horse you want to buy, Mr. Holly?"
"I've been told to go for Mettle and Finndebar," Holly says.
"Well, if you've been told by Mr. Kendrick, then you can rest assured you'll be buying the best," Malvern smiles.
I feel anger settle in my chest as Malvern continues to talk about Sean like he's not standing right in front of him and Sean continues to let him. It's like Malvern thinks Sean is some kind of magic spirit that just shows up when you need to sell horses. As far as I know, Thisby doesn't have a spirit of horse selling. And even if she did, he certainly wouldn't look like Sean Kendrick in a suit.
But all shreds of their conversation are blown from my mind when I look up. My father stands in the middle of the Yard looking as out of place as sin in a church. He wears a pair of khakis and a button up shirt and vest. Clothes I've seen him wear maybe four times my whole life. For Thisby, he looks nice. Compared to the mainlanders, he looks plain as dirt and I realize that while Dad may have come from the mainland originally, he's as much a part of Thisby now as I am. He scans the Yard as if lost until Malvern catches sight of him and calls out "Callum Fisher!" Like they're not enemies. Like I'm not standing right beside him. Malvern smiles the wolfish smile he gets when he knows he's about to win.
Dad catches sight of Malvern and heads toward us. He keeps a straight face when he sees me, but I can see the surprise in his eyes. I see the slight falter in his step, then the steely resolve as he puts his foot down and walks up to Malvern.
"Mr. Fisher," Malvern greets him. "Meet Mr. Holly, one of my buyers. Mr. Holly, this is Callum Fisher one of the local fisherman." I take a step forward, but Sean puts a hand on my arm. Malvern gives me a glance. He saw me move. He lets his gaze linger on Sean's hand on my arm, but Sean's face is as impassive as ever and Malvern looks mildly frustrated that he can't read anything in Sean's expression.
"Fisher, eh?" Holly holds out a hand. "Any relation to Bay here?" Holly asks, gesturing at me.
"I'm her father," Dad says, giving Holly's hand a shake.
"Oh!" Holly sounds surprised. "Well, you've got a lovely daughter, Mr. Fisher."
"Thank you," Dad says stiffly. He's not used to having to be friendly to the mainlanders. I wonder if he dislikes the mainlanders because they remind him of the world he came from or of the man he used to be.
"I suppose it's really Bay who's about to be my next seller," Malvern interjects smoothly. "After all, it's her capail uisce up for sale."
"About that…" I start to interrupt, but Malvern continues as if I didn't open my mouth.
"She caught him thinking she'd ride in the races, but her father talked her into selling the stallion instead. He's a beautiful gray. Has island horse blood in him somewhere if I'm not mistaken." Sean's hand goes briefly to his pocket where he has Tempest's papers. "Have you seen him, Mr. Holly?" Malvern asks.
"Can't say that I have," Holly says, putting his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. He's more flustered than I've ever seen him and I don't blame him. Malvern is putting him in the middle of a very uncomfortable situation.
"Tempest is not for sale!" I burst out angrily.
Malvern continues like I didn't even speak. "Callum here is bringing me the grey to look over before I buy him. Would you like to view him, Holly?" Malvern asks. "Perhaps you can advise me on whether he's a good buy?"
Sean looks at Malvern sharply. Malvern snubbed him. As foreman, it's Sean's job to look over the horses Malvern buys, not a tourist. But I'm sure Malvern doesn't want Sean because I'm friends with Sean. Sean might say something to try and persuade Malvern not to buy my capaill uisce.
"Well, Mr. Malvern, I'm not sure I'm qualified to tell you much about a capaill uisce. Perhaps your son would be a better judge of that." Holly points at Mutt, who's moved into earshot now.
Malvern looks up and his eyes narrow. He scowls at whatever Mutt's saying to the buyer. "Mr. Holly, I'd only take Matthew to look at a capaill uisce if I wanted to wind up dead." Malvern says. "That boy barely knows how to keep one of the water horses running straight, much less how to ride one. In fact," Malvern continues. "I'll be surprised if he manages to make it through the race on the demon he's picked this year. He would've done better if he'd just stayed on the horse Kendrick put under him. Kendrick's the true expert on the capaill after all."
I feel like Malvern thrust us all into the middle of a very heated and constant argument between himself and Mutt. I can tell by the expression on Mutt's face that he heard every word his father just said. He isn't even trying to talk to the buyer anymore, but stares at our little group with absolute malice. I can't tell if the stare is for Malvern or Sean, but the look in his eyes is murderous.
I shiver because I understand. Mutt is the boy who grew up in Malvern's shadow, only ever amounting to second best no matter what he did, no matter who he bullied, no matter which strings he pulled. And then along comes Sean, this scrawny orphan with nothing but horse knowledge and, without even trying, takes Mutt's place in the Yard. I know how much that hurts. Although my father is never as cold as Malvern, I understand the need to try and get his attention. To get him to look my way, even if it's with displeasure.
"Now, about that horse, Mr. Fisher," Malvern says, rubbing his hands together casually, as if he didn't just condemn his own son in front of us. "Where is he?"
Dad's gaze lingers on me for several heartbeats. He's staring at me like he's never seen me before or like...he's actually seeing me for the first time. I'm rooted to the spot, breathless and suddenly speechless as I wait for him to answer.
"I...came to tell you that I couldn't bring him today, Malvern," Dad says, looking back at Malvern.
I freeze, blood rushing through my ears.
Malvern raises his eyebrows. "And why not?"
"The capaill uisce was limping this morning," Dad says. "I wanted to make sure he wasn't foundering before I brought him to you."
I know for a fact Tempest wasn't limping this morning. Did Dad just...lie to Benjamin Malvern?
"That's a shame, Fisher," Malvern says slowly, like he's deciding whether or not to believe Dad. "Let's hope he's just a little stiff. I'll take him off your hands even if he's lame," Malvern says. "But it will lower my price." He says the last bit almost like it's a threat.
"I'll keep that in mind," Dad says.
"Is Saturday still agreeable with you for the final arrangements?" Malvern says.
"Yes," Dad says.
"At the hotel then, Fisher," Malvern smiles. "Ten a.m."
"I'll be there," Dad says.
"Good man," Malvern claps Dad on the shoulder, then looks at the rest of us. "And now, I need to see to a few of my buyers. Mr. Holly, care to come negotiate the price on your chosen horses?"
"Of course," Holly says. He follows Malvern out into the Yard. Malvern doesn't even acknowledge Mutt as he walks by.
"Bay…" Dad trails off as Malvern walks away. "There's...something I think I need to show you," he says. "Let's get in the truck."
"I rode Selkie here," I say, pointing back towards where I've tethered my little pony.
"Go on," Sean waves a hand at me. "I'll take care of Selkie till you get back."
"Are you sure?" I say. Sean's got enough on his plate with the Auction going on.
"I got it," he says.
"Alright," I say, and turn to follow Dad.
I turn back. "Sean?"
"Hm?" he raises an eyebrow at me.
"Did you see-" I start.
"I saw him," he says.
"Just be-"
"Careful. I know. It's my middle name. I'll see you later, Bay." He turns and walks away, toward a group of buyers.
I almost laugh because Sean Careful Kendrick sounds ridiculous but I also feel like Sean brushed me off for some reason I can't figure and I'm worried about him. With a glance back at him, I follow Dad out of the Yard.