Upstate Races
Book One: Chapter 4
She stepped out into the backyard of the Webster house, her left hand coming to shield her eyes from the setting sun, moving slow and weary. The frown on her face would leave a field of wrinkles around her eyes and in later years she'd curse her poor spirits, but looking at the Webster land, what lay ahead of her once hopeful summer, she saw no reason to smile. Rays, painting the sky all kinds of red and orange, warmed her cheeks to a similar color. How long had she been denied such warmth! At least she could enjoy this simple comfort. On her hip rested the ever-present laundry basket and she moved it to the top of her head as her feet buried into the lush summer grass. Crushing beneath her, the scent of grass followed her only a few paces to the horse ring.
Inside stood her father, face split into a section of tan and a section of white where his hat normally covered. At that moment the worn hat rested atop Letty's head, her feet climbing all over the white fence that lined the ring. She was planning on watching for only a moment, Mama wanted Rose's things washed and hung to dry before dinner, but the sight of her father's smile was enough to draw her in. That and Jack laughing easily in Sammy's saddle.
With her father's guidance Jack had learned to ride quickly and in only a week's time he seemed to have taken to Sammy's unique gate. Just the day before he'd gone into town last minute for Mrs. Mooring, worrying both Mama and Annabelle until he returned safely. But he'd insisted at dinner that his lessons were much too important to give up now that he'd simply grasped the basics. He wanted to be comfortable in every aspect of keeping a horse and Annabelle beamed that her father had so willingly taken her place as teacher.
She moved to the ground, placing the basket on the grass next to her before slipping underneath the fence and settling cross-legged next to Letty. "He looks good up there, don't he." She sighed, not really expecting her baby sister to respond.
"She said you look good, Jack!" Letty called, drawing the attention of both men. They chuckled to themselves as Annabelle pinched Letty quickly and returned to her feet. She jumped the fence and picked up her bundle of wash just as hooves on the pathway announced Race and Roz's return, reminding Annabelle of what she had to accomplish before supper.
"The boys must be home." Her father said, stopping Sammy and letting Jack slide off. He handed over the reigns before walking towards his daughters. He hugged Letty to his side quickly before turning his eyes on his middle girl. She stood, eyes lowered and bare feet trying to hide in the grass so that he didn't scold her. But he sighed in concern, for Annabelle and for himself, before following his wife's advice. "Shouldn't you be getting that wash done..." He spoke sternly.
She'd been expecting such a tone, the soft corners of his gentle speech now foreign to her ears. Lately he'd gone to scolding her on every aspect of her life that did not properly reflect a healthy transformation into womanhood. "Yes, Pa. I'll get it done." She whispered.
Although it troubled him to see the spark wilting from his daughter, he trusted his wife knew how to deal with such things. "In time to help your mother I hope." And she was right; he did want a proper daughter ready to help her husband in his home. But something in the back of his mind asked if he was willing to sacrifice his daughter's smiles for such a thing.
She simply nodded in answer, both of their heads turning to watch Roz and Race appear on Macy and another mare named Jenny. The boys met up with Piper who had been rushing somewhere when they arrived, huddling into hushed conversation. They called to Jack, waving him to them from where he remained in the ring.
Oh, how she wanted to run and join them.
"He's improved greatly." Annabelle raised her eyes to her father's, not sure whether he spoke of Jack or Roz. "Come Letty, wash up for supper now." He nudged his youngest towards their simple home before turning back to Annabelle. In a brief moment of affection he grasped her lightly by her shoulders and placed a kiss on her forehead.
She watched him return to the ring, Jack bending to pick up some of the extras they'd used in the lesson that day. They spoke briefly, a smile spreading warmly across Jack's face and she wished she were a boy. The sun had browned his skin, the back of his neck the darkest just like Pa and Tom's, and she liked how his hands looked from the breaking soil all day.
During her confinement to the Webster household she'd overheard Fanny speaking to her mother of Jack, asking as carefully as possible about his return trip. Besides being annoyed at Fanny's sudden interest in Jack, it had turned her own mind, making her think of the babies on the way, her grandfather's departure and Roz's race. She worried about all three and tucked inside the grand house all day, dusting and cleaning until it reflected her down-turned pout, she could not distract herself.
It was only in the fancy sitting room that she thought of other things. Inside the dreadful mustard painted room Fanny had her etiquette lessons and upon her mother's pleading request, Mrs. Webster had agreed to let Annabelle sit in the back and observe. So while Fanny practiced eating with a stick straight back or serving tea for her future husband's guests, Annabelle devised numerous ways of harming the girl.
"Annabelle!" She blinked in Piper's direction, smiling her rare smile as he bounced towards her, Roz and Race not far behind. "Look at this." In his hands he held a yellow flyer, producing it proudly for her to read. His energy excited hers, overshadowing the voice inside her head that reminded her of her mother's wrath, and she reached to read what it said. Before she could take in everything, he began again. "This Sunday, the preliminaries are bein held at Tuck Cemetery"
"Sunday," she moaned, now holding the paper in her own hand. "We have church." She reminded Roz, handing it back to Piper and about to turn in defeat.
But her brother stopped her, as concerned as his father at Annabelle's sudden surrender to Mama's will. "Look," His finger pointed back to the paper, shoving it in her face so that she no choice but to look at it. "Nine-thirty. That gives us plenty time. We'll just tell Pa that we're going early. That way we can take Macy and Jenny, no suspicion as to why they'll be gone. Straight to Tuck's, the race will be over, thirty minutes tops, with all the hoopla after I win" He grinned cheekily, "We'll be back with plenty of time to walk with the wagon back here."
It seemed he'd worked everything out. Annabelle nodded, agreeing with the time allotted for their departure and return. Before she could say so, her mother's voice made her twitch. "Boys, are you washed for supper? Get them horses"
"Yes, Ma!" Called Roz, hiding the paper behind his back. Piper grabbed it, stuffing it into his fist as Mrs. Mooring narrowed her eyes in suspicion but she said nothing else and returned to the Webster kitchen. Roz and Race left to finish Macy and Jenny before supper, leaving Piper and Annabelle, slightly more optimistic about this coming Sunday.
Piper, without the constraints of church, assured her that he'd get there early to register for Roz. "That just leaves you two to get out of here on time. Do you think your folks will go for Jack and Race taggin' along?"
Annabelle shrugged. The boys hadn't accompanied them last weekend, much to Mama's chagrin. "She'll be glad we've converted 'em." And as long as they said they were sitting in the back with the other children, their disappearance wouldn't be questioned. She pulled out the paper again, going over in her mind the fastest route to the track and trying to suppress the fact that she'd be able to ride again. It made her hands shake while holding the paper.
"Better make sure you tell your mother in advance." Her father's voice floated in between Annabelle and Piper making the two jump apart in fright. She held the paper to her chest for a moment before blinking in shock and stuffing it into the pile of clothes. Her father smiled, glancing towards the Webster house briefly. "And make sure you're back in town by the time that final church bells ringin'." His final words were said with a harder tone, his large finger pointing at Annabelle to reinforce the fact.
The two nodded but Annabelle still kept the paper tucked in the basket until he'd disappeared behind the large oak in front of their house.
Piper wiped at underneath the brim of his hat. "Your Pa, he likes teasin' us like that." She shook her head silently, handing over the paper but wondering why her father had behaved so.
"Oo" She paced in front of him, annoyed by his relaxed stance and the ease with which he smoked his cigarette. "Why haven't they started yet?"
He shrugged, pulling on the brief knowledge of racetracks he'd observed back in New York, on one of the days when Race owed his some of his winnings. "Dunno, maybe they're having a problem with the gates?"
"Problem? What kind of problem?" She wrung her hands nervously and asked the man to her left the time. "Already quarter of ten. They're late."
"But we'll be fine" he promised, throwing the butt of his cigarette to the ground. "Why don't you go up there by the fence? I'll wait here for Piper and Race." She began, looking back towards him with the same worry on her face, "Save us a good space."
She nodded and slipped into the crowd while he tucked his hands into his pockets. As he expected, Race and Piper appeared a moment later, bouncing excitedly through the crowd and nodding affirmatively when he asked if Roz and Macy were all set. "Good," he motioned with his hand, "Annabelle's waitin for us ova here." The trio pushed through the crowd until they spotted the redhead leaning up against the fence eagerly but oblivious to the stares of the men surrounding her.
They were only a few feet away, a larger man with his many tickets in his hand, blocking Jack from reaching out and tapping Annabelle on the shoulder, when the man to her left made his move. He leaned his elbow on the fence, blocking her view of the starting blocks. "What brings a perty girl like you to the track?"
"My brother's racing." She answered briskly, straining to see around him.
This resulted in giving the man a better view of her ass and Jack's jaw tightened in anger when he noticed the man eye her eagerly. Annabelle noticed a moment later, slinking off of the fence and eyeing the man strangely. "Why ain't that nice. A sister out supporting her brother. Why don't you come with me," he slipped an arm around her shoulder and smiled vilely even as she shrunk away. "We'll be able to see much better in the seats that I've got."
Jack elbowed his way harshly, mumbling an apology as the fat man's papers scattered to the floor. Race and Piper were detained, helping the man pick them up as Annabelle peeled the man's arm from her shoulder. She looked around with wide eyes, searching for Jack or Race or Piper. When Jack's angered face appeared in the crowd she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Jack!" she called, waving him to her side and saying nothing when he slipped an arm around her waist. As he pulled her out of the stranger's grasp, he nodded a polite but distrustful hello to the man who responded with a quick tip of his hat before slinking back into the crowd. After they were positive the man would not return they separated slowly, Jack wanted to believe reluctantly, and before Annabelle could thank him from underneath her eyelashes, Race and Piper appeared.
A moment later the gun sounded and all four heads whipped to attention.
If they had been planning on hiding they're excitement upon return to church, they hadn't expected just how arduous a task that would be. In the end, it was impossible to stop from bouncing in the back pews, all five of them having slipped in for the last five minutes of the service. And upon greeting the rest of their family, it was obvious their beaming smiles weren't the result of a holy afternoon of worship.
Mr. Mooring was the first to speak, swooping Annabelle into the air as their excitement transferred to him. "Don't tell me!" He whooped, Roz straightening noticeably as his father clamped a hand on his shoulder. "I knew you could do it."
"Do what?" Mrs. Mooring looked to each face for some sort of explanation and Piper was the one to deliver.
"Oh, you should have seen it. He started off right behind the leader, trailed the whole way and then bam, broke to the front. No one was even close to catching him" He jumped on the back of the family wagon, twirling his hat in the air to recreate how loudly the crowd had cheered. "He finished a good 100 yards ahead of the next horse and everyone just rushed out to greet him. It was just like the professionals" While Race and Jack tackled Piper to the ground, Mrs. Mooring pushed herself in front of her only son.
She gripped his chin hard, despite the fact that he towered over her frame, and pulled his face close to hers. "What's this," she brushed under his left eye and nodded at Roz's wince. "Just as I thought, a black eye forming because of that awful horse racing. Pa, how can you encourage"
"No Mama" Annabelle interrupted, her excitement from the day's events clouding the better part of her brain that urged her to not get involved for obvious reasons. "He didn't get that from racing. It was earlier, while we were leaving. He slipped"
Mrs. Mooring released her son and turned instead on her daughter. "Annabelle, look at you, covered with the dirt of that awful track. How much shame do you wish to drag onto this family!" She threw her arms up in the air and Annabelle shrunk back in surprise. "That's it. You've defied me too many times. It's to the house for you." Annabelle scrambled after her mother and up into the front seat of the wagon, the older woman's grip on her arm deadly tight.
Mr. Mooring stepped forward with a much more sober expression on his face. He nodded at Roz to let his son know that they'd discuss his situation later and to not be discouraged. At that moment he had more pressing matters to attend to with Annabelle. With the mood dampened severely by the scowl on Mrs. Mooring's face and the defiant but tear-rimed Annabelle next to her, the rest of the company jumped on either horse or wagon and began the journey back to the Webster estate.
Jack rode in the back, in-between Race, Kloppman and Letty, with his eyes focused solely on the small form of Annabelle, sandwiched between her parents in the front seat. He wished he could slip an arm around her as he had done at the race, saving her for the second time that day.
AN: Holy Mackenzietwo updates, for two different storiesin the past two days! Can you stand the excitement?
*crowd grumbles* Okay, sorry
So, with Tuesday Morning all wrapped up, it looks like Upstate Races is going to be getting most of my attentionwell, whatever attention I have left after school, track and work. Whew
Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed in the last chapter. Miracle *searches the crowds* can you give me an email? We need to talk about your little cameo! Are you as excited as I am?
Love and cookies to all that reviewMmm, cookies.
