Chapter 3: A Gruesome Discovery

May 1825

Early in the next morning, right after breakfast, the three young people set out for a ride. After two hours under Richard’s tutoring in the previous afternoon, Ellen was doing better in the saddle already. Of course, Richard was aware that sitting in side saddle made it far more difficult to control a horse and made seating more precarious. He had focussed on teaching Ellen the proper use of the reins, and it was bearing fruit. Penny was sensing a difference in the way she was controlled and behaved much better. They extended their morning ride to the river banks, to accommodate Ellen’s wish to bring along some leftover food for the shepherdess Mildred as she always did, feeling a deep gratitude to the old woman. They could see the flock of sheep from afar, but as they came closer, Ellen suddenly straightened up.

“Oh, no!” she cried, urging her mare forward.

In mere minutes they reached the flock, and the first thing they saw was the bloody carcass of an ewe, cut open and butchered crudely. Reaching the site, Ellen dismounted in haste and rushed for the shepherd’s cart. Looking inside, she shrieked.

Richard and Eleanor had followed her, and what they saw made Richard flinch and Eleanor step back in horror. Inside the cart, half on the cot and half on the floor boards, lay the old woman, a grisly wound on the side of her head. Ellen was holding her hand, rubbing it and pleading with her.

“Please, Mildred, wake up! Please, say something! Who did this to you?”

Forcing himself to step closer — the old woman smelt bad — Richard felt for her pulse and sensed a fast heartbeat. He thought furiously. Now was the time for him to remain in control. He was a man after all and the son of his father.

“Eleanor, ride for High Matcham and fetch Father. Be careful on the way and stay away from bushes and trees. The man who did this might still lurk around. If somebody tries to stop you, ride him down, you hear! Tell Father to send for Dr. Fox and to bring help!”

Eleanor nodded shakily. “You are right, Richard. Stay with Ellen and be careful yourself!” With sudden determination, she led her horse to a tree stump and mounted. “I’ll hurry.”

“Listen, Ellen, she’s still breathing and her heart is beating. We better not move her, but try to comfort her. Has she anything to defend herself?”

Ellen visibly tried to control herself. “Her shepherd’s staff only. There’s also her knife somewhere.” Rummaging in a wooden box, she held up a well preserved butcher’s knife, the blade at least 10 inches long, and handed it to Richard.

“It’s not much, but better than nothing,” Richard nodded. “Where’s the staff?”

Looking outside, he found it in the grass near the cart. The blood stain close by showed where the old woman had been bashed on her head. He picked up the staff and whirled it a bit to get a feel for the weight and balance. John Little, Anthony Carter’s former coxswain and close confidante, had taught Richard how to use quarterstaff and sailor’s knife when he was a boy, and Richard felt well armed for the moment.

Whilst Ellen tended to the wounded woman, Richard kept a vigil around the cart, anxiously awaiting help from High Matcham. The half hour wait seemed like an eternity, but then he saw riders approach from the direction of the manor. He could see that Eleanor was not amongst them, and he was glad for it. He did not know how Ellen could stand the grisly sight of the headwound nor the stench emanating from the old, unkempt woman, and he was glad for the excuse to stay outside.

Finally, the riders with his father in the lead arrived and dismounted. Seeing his son keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings, he nodded with approval.

“What happened, Richard?”

“We stopped near the cart to bring food for the old woman, and then we saw the butchered ewe. Ellen looked into the cart and found the shepherdess. I think she was bludgeoned, and she has a bad head wound. Ellen is in there caring for her.

The elder Carter quickly walked over and looked into the cart.

“Good Lord!” he exclaimed. “Miss Trilby, we sent for the doctor before we left. He should be here shortly. If anybody can save the poor woman, it is he.

“Thank you from my heart, Sir Anthony,” Richard heard Ellen’s weak voice. “She is breathing, but it’s hard for her. Master Carter said he could feel her pulse, too.”

“So he wasn’t just hiding outside?” Richard heard his father ask.

“No, Sir Anthony,” Ellen protested. “He was right by my side, but we decided it was better to keep watch outside.”

“I cannot argue against that, my dear girl. Has she shown any sign of waking?”

“No, Sir Anthony. She isn’t moving a lot.”

“Is it possible that Mildred was butchering that sheep outside?”

“No, Sir Anthony!” Ellen sounded angry. “Whoever did that, knew nothing. The poor animal was still alive when he cut it open, the soulless ruffian!”

“We’ll catch him, and then, it’ll be the noose for him,” the squire said grimly. “Perhaps with a few dozen lashes before that. Pershing! Go and find Mister Waring! Ask him to bring his dogs. We’ll track down the miscreant.”

Pershing, one of the younger grooms, jumped onto his horse eagerly and left in a full gallopp, heading for the village. The rest of the men began to swarm out, looking for traces in the grass. They had come armed with muskets and cutlasses which they knew how to use. Richard knew that his father only employed former Navy ratings on his estate, mostly men who had sailed under him at one time or another. He called them his ‘landing party’, and they were fiercely loyal.

Richard had by now lost track of the time, but another group of riders was approaching now. Richard only knew one of them, Dr. Fox. He was a real fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, but had served as surgeon in the Navy before taking over the practice in Matcham. Richard also knew that Dr. Fox owned a collection of Italian art, mostly Renaissance paintings, of which he was inordinately proud. He was a frequent visitor at High Matcham.

“Good morning, Sir Anthony. What have we got?”

“An old shepherdess who was grazing her sheep along the river bank. My children found her this morning bleeding from a big wound to the head. A poacher or vagrant, most likely, because a sheep was butchered, too.”

Dr. Fox looked at the carcass. “A vagrant, more likely, Sir Anthony. No poacher would botch up a slaughter that badly. A dull knife, too, but let me look at the human victim first!”

Dr. Fox climbed into the cart, and Richard saw Ellen stumbling out. She looked shaken, which was a small wonder, and Richard stepped close to her.

“How are you holding up, Miss Trilby?”

She looked up with a tear-streaked face. “How could somebody be so cruel? Mildred is old and weak. There was no need to ... hurt her so badly.”

“Maybe he feared being recognised by her?”

“She would have given him food if he was hungry. That’s how she is. She took me in, too.”

Richard shrugged. “If she survives, we may find out.” He realised the impact of his words immediately. “I am ever so sorry for my tactless words!”

Ellen shrugged. “I know that she may die. The wound is bad.”

“Yes, but take heart! Dr. Fox knows how to fix wounds like that. He must’ve patched up hundreds of sailors in his time in the Navy.”

“Thank you for your words, Master Carter, and thank you for staying and protecting us.”

Richard smiled wryly. “Believe me, the ruffian who hurt the old woman cannot be as scary as my father and mother had I left you alone here.”

The retainers broke out in chuckles hearing that, and the squire nodded. “That’s not far from the truth.”

A couple of minutes later, Dr. Fox climbed from the cart.

“The woman is badly concussed and may not recover. I washed out the wound and stitched it closed and she never stirred.”

“Should we bring her to the manor?” Richard asked.

“I am afraid that transporting her that far may kill her. She should be moved as little as possible. We should lay her on her cot, but we must clean her up first and cover her in a clean shirt and blanket. The poor woman has no control of her bodily functions.”

The squire nodded at one of the retainers. “Ride to the manor and alert Harrison. We need two maids here, shirts and blankets, and wash rags.”

“I’ll stay with her and care for her,” Ellen said firmly. “I owe it to her.”

“You’re a good girl, Miss Trilby, but I refuse to leave you here alone. I’ll send out a covered wagon for you. You shouldn’t have to sleep in that cart.” He turned to his ‘landing party’. “I need two volunteers to watch over the women.”

Two men raised their hands, Edwards, a former Royal Marine, and bosun’s mate Oldroyd, both in their forties but sturdy and dependable. They were friends, too, having been shipmates under Sir Anthony.

“I can stay, too,” Richard offered spontaneously.

“No need for that, Richard, but you can bring food and other things and watch over the women during daytime. You can also join us in the hunt for the rascal who did this.”

Richard nodded in understanding, but he turned to Ellen.

“I shall by may father’s commands, but you may expect me to look after you frequently.”

“You are very kind, Master Carter. I hate to cause such an upheavel, but...”

“Miss Trilby, you caused nothing!” Richard said forcefully. “The miscreant who hurt old Mildred caused it, and we shall find him and bring him to justice!”

“I wish you a good hunt then, Master Carter. Be safe!”

“I am riding with my father and his party, so there’ll be no worry. Please, be careful yourself. Eleanor would be inconsolable if something happened to you,” he swallowed, “and so would I.”

There was a ghost of a smile in her face as she nodded. “I shall be watchful. It is a pity that Mildred could never afford a good sheepdog.”

“Yes, that’s true. A dog would have warned her and maybe even protected her. We’ll get her one once she’ll recover.”

Meanwhile, a neighbour, Mr. Waring, had arrived with his dogs. Assuming that the miscreant had sheep’s blood on him, the dogs were primed with that smell and took off. The rest of the party mounted their horses and followed. All afternoon and into the evening, the dogs criss-crossed around the river bank, but they never picked up a scent, and when the sun was about to set, they had to give up the hunt.

The party from High Matcham stopped at the shepherd’s cart on the way back and warned the men and Ellen to be watchful, for the miscreant was still at large. It was a thoroughly drained and worried Richard who returned, and not even an ample supper could restore his mood. After the meal, the elder Carters retired to his father’s study, and the two siblings were left alone. Eleanor was frightened and worried about her friend Ellen, and Richard shook off his foul mood.

“She has two stout men with her, and she should be safe.”

“Will you ride over tomorrow?”

“I shall. Father will give me a double-barrelled pistol for her, and I’ll show her the use and how to load it.”

“Thank you, Richard. You are a good brother. Why did you dislike Ellen then?”

“Did it show?”

Eleanor nodded. “You semed to resent her for some reason.”

“A bit of jealousy was involved, because she occupied you all the time. That, and seeing her in Emily’s dresses. It felt like she had taken Emily’s place.”

“It was just dresses, Richard. Emily is gone. She stopped being our sister to follow that man. Ellen has nothing to do with that.”

“Oh, I know that. I also felt insecure around her. She’s ... she’s so beautiful, and I know I must’nt dally with her, and looking at her hurt.”

“Yes, she is that beautiful, and you shouldn’t dally with her. Mother would be angry if you tried. Still, try to be nice to her. She lost so much when her mother died and her stepfather became a spineless drunk. She grew up much like we did, and then, for months, she lived in that cart with the old woman.”

“But I was nice to her, yesterday and today. I’ll be nicer still tomorrow, bringing food and protection. I thought she’d be aloof or scheming, but she’s not. She is a good girl, almost as good as you.”

“Flatterer! I know that I have a temper, but she puts up with my tantrums and gets through to me when I’m being a spoilt child. She also takes me seriously. There’s no condescencion because she’s older and prettier and knows more.”

“Yes, that’s something on which I must work, too. You’re growing up now, and you’re not a child anymore.”

Dimples showed around Eleanor’s mouth. “Gnothi seauton, my dear brother! But know that I love you anyway.”

After a hasty breakfast, Richard had his horse saddled, whilst a covered wagon was loaded with food, a mattress and beddings, but also a tarpaulin for the men keeping watch. Two volunteers drove the wagon, to spell the sentries. Richard then rode ahead, for the wagon would have to take a roundabout route to reach the site where the shepherd’s cart stood.

He was armed, too, carrying his own, fine pistol and his father’s old sword. Since returning from public school, his father had given Richard fencing lessons. They were of a style that no gentleman’s club would sanction, but which had served his father well in shipboard melees during the Great Wars and even in a much-noted duel. Richard was confident that the elusive vagrant would be ill advised to tangle with him.

When he arrived at the shepherd’s cart, the two sentries stepped out from the cover they had taken and greeted him.

“Good morning, you men! Your relief is on the way already. Is everybody accounted for?”