Oisín McGann - Ancient Appetites

Daisy crept through the stables, careful not to let Roberto see her following him. She waited until he had gone out of the side door before letting go of the secret door in the stone wall and hurrying past the stalls to the other end of the building. She reached the side door and opened it cautiously, peering out.

He was not going to get away from her this time. After hearing about Tatiana's velocycle ride, she had decided that she too would dress for adventure. She hitched up her trousers for the umpteenth time that evening, unable to get the braces tight enough. Wearing a man's clothes was an alien and exciting sensation. It solved the problem of trying to negotiate one of her cumbersome dresses through the narrow hidden passageways, and if she were spotted, a man would attract less attention walking around at this time of night than a woman alone. Assuming one of the trigger-happy sentries didn't shoot her, of course.

Making sure her long hair was still piled up under her flat cap, she ventured outside and was just in time to see her husband making his way down towards the end of the huge lawn, staying close to the hedge to avoid attracting attention. She had deliberately taken some of his less flamboyantly coloured clothes for this task and was able to meld into the darkness behind him with relative ease.

He was headed for the woods that bordered the south-east edge of the grounds. A lazy rain was beginning to fall, but there was still enough light from the sky to allow her to trail behind him at a distance. Roberto was normally a graceful mover but tonight he walked with a dogged purpose. Daisy almost had to run to keep up. They entered the woods along a path she did not know, the airy beech trees still allowing in enough of a glow from the moon to see where she was going, but it became harder to keep Roberto in sight in the fragmented light, as she had to watch where she put her feet to avoid tripping on the roots and undergrowth. The jacket she wore was not heavy enough and the rain was starting to soak through. It fell from the branches above her, no longer a light spray now, collecting instead in large drops that spattered on her head and shoulders and dripped down the back of her neck.

There should have been sentries somewhere in these woods, she knew. The gamekeepers were normally out on the lookout for the poachers who came looking for deer or pheasants that were bred on the Wildensterns' estate for hunting, but more armed guards had been posted around the perimeter since the attack on the cemetery. She wondered if Roberto had somehow found a way to divert them from this area.

They followed the narrow, snaking path for nearly fifteen minutes before coming to a road. Roberto stopped here and Daisy took up a position behind a tree to see what would happen next.

They were not waiting long. The sound of cantering hooves carried down the road towards them and a rider came into sight. Daisy recognized the stooped shape by the easy way in which he handled the horse. It was Hennessy, the head groom. He reined the horse in and climbed down. Roberto stepped out onto the road to greet him, shaking his hand as if he were an equal.

'I thought you might not make it,' he said to the older man.

'The guards were gone, like you said, sor,' Hennessy told him. 'Came out here ahead of you so as we wouldn't be seen together.'

'You always have my interests at heart,' Berto said gratefully, still gripping the other man's hand. 'Well, I suppose we'd better get on with it.'

He released his grip and reached into his pocket, taking out a wad of pound notes, which he thrust into Hennessy's hand.

'This ought to be enough,' he sighed. 'At least for now. God, it's a frightful business.'

'Life isnae always fair, sor,' Hennessy declared. 'We all have our crosses to bear.'

'Indeed,' Berto replied. 'You'd better go. I've sent the guards off – told them I wanted them to spy on the navvies, but I doubt they believed me. Probably thought I wanted to go off gallivanting with some woman, knowing the way they think. They'll return in a couple of hours, so if you can't be back by then, stay at your brother's for the night.'

'Aye, sir.' Hennessy nodded and made to get back on the horse.

Before he could, Roberto grabbed him roughly and spun him round. What Daisy saw next made her recoil in horror. Stifling a sob, she stumbled away from the tree, turned and ran frantically back along the path with tears streaming down her face.

Francie heaved in a breath and nodded to himself. It was time.

He had been standing there thinking about it long enough. It would be all too easy to stand there all night and wait for the perfect moment – that moment would be when he had the balls to go ahead and do it. Unbolting the door to the stall, he led Flash out. He had been speaking to the velocycle in a low voice for the last hour, calming it and putting it at ease so that it would make as little noise as possible when he walked it out of the stable. It worked. The engimal's motor made hardly a murmur as they crept carefully towards the side door and the lights of its eyes were dull and sleepy.

Francie's imagination taunted him with his fears. If anybody saw them – either the lads or Hennessy or any of the sentries – he was done for. He had to escape with Flash into the night without being seen by a soul, and meet his father by the broken oak on the crossroads in the woods. It was possible to get under the wall that circled the estate and, hopefully, past the sentries by following a stream through a culvert under the stonework. It was deep in the woods and overgrown with bushes and brambles, so he was sure it had long been forgotten about. Flash should just fit through.

When the theft was discovered, there would be no place to hide – they had to be out of the country by morning. But it was worth it all for the prize; his father would get enough money for this engimal to make them all rich. Francie had thought the oul' fella was mad for thinking of it, but things had changed now that Francie and the engimal had made friends.

Francie felt in his pocket for the envelope Shay had given him. He had given it serious consideration and had decided to disobey his father on this one. It was bad enough that they were stealing Nathaniel Wildenstern's pride and joy; there was no need to rub salt in the wound. The letter would be staying in his pocket until he had a quiet moment to get rid of it safely.

Francie stopped before the door just long enough to fit Flash's saddle and then lifted the latch. The door was well oiled and opened without a squeak. He peered out into the darkness. The sky was cloudy and there was a light rain falling, but he could see well enough. Flash tucked in its horns to get through the door, and together they made their way slowly along the hedge towards the woods.

As they reached the edge of the trees, Francie heard heavy breathing, what could almost have been sobbing, coming towards them. Looking around desperately, he pulled Flash towards some bushes and quickly but gently coaxed the machine to lie down behind them. His heart racing, he watched through the foliage until he saw a figure run past. It was the second man he had seen sneaking through the stable. Francie could swear the fellow was crying. There was no time to wonder what it was all about. If the man was out here without clearance and was spotted by the guards, they'd be all over this place like a rash. Francie had to get out of here as soon as he could.

Pulling Flash onto its feet, he looked into its face.

'Now listen up, lad,' he whispered. 'We're going to ride out of here now, but I need yeh to be quiet. D'yeh understand? And I need yeh to keep yer eyes dull, Flash. No lights, d'yeh get me?'

The engimal rubbed its head against his hand and he took that to mean it understood him. They would find out soon enough. Climbing into the saddle, he patted the velocycle's head and tapped his heels against its side. It rolled quietly through the wet undergrowth to the path and turned down it, its engine making no more sound than that of rustling grass, its eyes showing only the faintest flicker of light.