RIDE THE TIDE

Chapter 24- Davey’s Inheritance:

Davey arrived Tuesday morning about half past nine from Knaresborough. Akkers had him in the kitchen for a late breakfast and what gossip she could gather.

"Has she gone back, then?”

“Yeah, on Monday.”

“Poor gurl. I hope t’lass gets ‘er selve straightened out. Our Penny showed ‘er t’way.”

“What about Penny?”

“Seen right through all that posh, did Penny. Told ‘er so, she did. She wasn’t gonna let that gurl pull the wool over yer eyes, not our Penny.”

"Where is Penny?" Davey asked quietly.

"At laundry," Akkers answered, slightly worried.

Penny was ironing Tom’s shirts when Davey came through the laundry door, shutting it behind him. "What did you say to Lynne on Sunday?" he began without preamble.

"I just called her out on a flim flam," Penny replied. “I care too much about you, Davey, to see somebody try and fake you out. I knew she wasn’t real. Don’t ask me how. If you want to be mad at me, be mad.” She slammed the iron across the shirt sleeve.

Davey came around the ironing board, put his arms around her waist, and kissed her cheek.

“I think you may have saved my life, Penny.  If she and I see each other again, it will be on my terms."

Penny put the iron down and turned around to Davey. "I only wanted the best for you." Realizing he hadn’t moved back, she looked him in the eye and said, “Davey, I need a little space here.” He gave her a little smile and left the room. Penny resumed her ironing, thinking Davey

was pretty much of a mess.

Tom and Davey backed the bikes out of the garage and rode up the farm drive to the main road.  They would approach his property from the country lane. It was a grey and damp day but the country smelled good to Davey. He hadn’t been out on the farm land in a long time. As they left the country road and started up the overgrown drive to the old house, Davey stopped his bike. This was his first look and he wanted to take it in. The house was in bad repair. He could see the roof tiles missing and vines growing out of the holes in the roof line. He looked around; there was the lake with a mist hovering over it. A good stand of trees was along the back of the house and winding around the bottom of the hillside. An old, tumbled-down, stacked stone fence followed the trees. The grounds were overgrown with brush and grasses. Overgrown hedges marched down to the lake.

Tom parked his bike out in front of the house and wandered around the backside. He hadn’t heard Davey say anything and wondered what he was thinking. How can you look out over that lake and not have a thought?

Davey parked his bike out front and walked inside the house. “Eh up, there’s cow dung in me front parlour!”

“You have to watch where you walk in the house, Davey. I don’t know why they came in here to shit when there’s a perfectly good outhouse at the end of the back garden. Needs a roof, though.”

Davey picked his way into the kitchen area .“What’s this ,then?”

“It’s an antique Yorkshire cooker. You’re a fair hand in the kitchen. Should be able to clean that up. No fridge, of course, but a nice stone larder.”

“When was this place last lived in, do you know?”

“Stone age, I should think. Let’s go explore upstairs. I haven’t been up there. Watch your step.”

The old, wide stone staircase led them upstairs to an open passage that overlooked the front parlour. There were three doors that opened off the hallway and one at the end. They tried the first they came to and it fell off the hinges into the room.   Vines were hanging from the open window.  The room was empty except for a rusty iron bed. Davey continued down the hallway finding much the same. He called Tommy to come look, but Tom still hadn’t left the first room. Davey went back to see what was going on and found Tom against the wall obviously in pain.

“Tommy, what’s wrong? Did you hurt yourself in here.” Tom didn’t answer so he took him by the arm and led him out of the room to the end of the hallway. “What is it Tom?”

Tom shook his head. There were tears in his eyes. Davey led Tom down the staircase. Once he had him outside, Tom began to get himself under control. Davey wanted to know what it was he felt in that room.

“Sadness, Davey. Heart-searing sadness, and I couldn’t move. Something happened here. I can’t go back inside.”

Davey looked back at the house, thinking that he'd tear it down.  He had felt nothing, but then he didn’t have that sixth sense his bother possessed. “Are you okay now? Do you want to leave?”

Tom lit a cigarette and offered one to Davey. “I’m fine now. Wow, what an experience! Let’s walk down to the lake.”

On the way they talked about the cattle. "I don't care if they grazed around here," Dave said. "At least not for the foreseeable future." 

Tom turned back around looking into the mist, feeling as though he were being watched.

“Let’s get out of here, Davey, before I lose my mind.”

They rode over to the tree plantings where the surveyors had left stakes. "I'll give this bit of land to Peter," Davey said, but I like the plot where the house stands. Might build there some day." Tom gave him a strange look.

They turned on the main highway toward Pateley Bridge. The pub should be open. Tom couldn’t get the strangeness of the place out of his mind.  He had been there several times and not long ago with Penny. He'd felt nothing before today. Somewhere in the back of his mind a story was forming. He would find out what happened at that house and put it to rest.

As they leaned across the bar and ordered a pint, Tom asked the barman about the old Keller place. "You ever hear anything strange about it?"

From the end of the bar came, “Me Mum would know.”

Tom turned and he and Davey walked down to where the tall, slim young man, wearing an old canvas farm coat, stood with his black knit hat pulled down low. He stiffened as the two brothers came to either side of him.

“Well now, Johnny, that’s a fine job you’ve done on the stables. New stalls built, new display board in the tack room,” Tom said.

“Landlord, give this lad a pint,” Davey directed.

The pints arrived and again Tom asked Johnny about the old place. Johnny said his Mum was related somehow to the family that once owned it. Akkers, thought Tom.  That ought to be a piece of research.

When the brothers arrived back at the farm, Davey went to find his Mum. Tom leaned against the kitchen counter as Akkers was taking her steaming shepherd's pine out of the Aga.

“Johnny says you’re related to the old Keller place that Davey’s inherited. We rode out there this morning and I had a strange experience.  What happened there, Akkers?”

Akkers turned, dropping her oven mitt. Her blue eyes turned dark as she looked at Tommy. “Aye yer would, Tommy. Yer not t’go back there. The evil spirits have found yer.”

“What spirits, Akkers?”

“Tis evil, that place. I could’ve told yer when ye bought it up. Old John wouldn’t listen. I told him, I did. It was me Dad’s people, ye see. T’was after the first war. She wasn’t a Keller then.” Akkers sat down at the table with a far away look in her eyes. "Was me Dad’s grandda’s sister, married to a Barnes. Ada Barnes she was, and she got word he was killed in France, proper papers and all. So she married a William Keller and they had a bairn. Three years went by and he cum back, he weren’t dead.  Oh, it were awful. It were his mind. ‘e were gassed, you see.  It were the bairn ‘e killed. Drowned the wee bit in the lake.  Ada hid in the bedroom and ‘e cum looking for ‘er. William were in the house and there were a fight. ‘e killed William and then ‘e fell over dead. It were Ada you see found ‘em. Oh, it were awful.”

“What happened to Ada, Akkers?”

“’er mind went. She never left t’ house again and some say she killed Barnes tho' it were never proved, like. Ye stay away from there, Tommy. Now off wit yer! I need to get me sprouts on.”

Tom wondered why he had always been drawn to that place. Now he knew. Someday he would tell Ada’s story.

Tom and Penny were sprawled out on the sofa in the bungalow, listening to music. "I only have

a couple of days work left on the book," Tom commented.  "I'd like to take you around and show you more of the sites."

"That's a great idea, Tom, especially if we could go to the sea. I have a thing about never being too long away from saltwater."

"I'll take you to the North Sea, to Scarborough, and we can ride down through the coastal towns."

"What about shopping for the trip?"

"Well, you have a choice, you know, shop local or in London."

Penny gave him her crooked little smile. "London, of course."

Anna pulled her little car into the garage. She had been to Pateley Bridge to see Edna Barnes. There was an outing in the works and she was looking forward to a day out with Edna.  They planned a trip to Ripon and an afternoon at Fountains Abbey. Edna had made tea for Anna in her crooked little stone house, located on a narrow lane in Pateley. Her best china and biscuits were presented. It had been a long time since Anna had gone calling on her friend in Pateley Bridge and she shook her head, wondering at all the years they'd been so busy with their families and husbands that they had let the friendship drop. Now they were both widows, their children grown. It was good to have someone of one’s own age to go around with.

Akkers had left the kitchen clean and shinning as always, and a plate of ham rolls waited on the back of the Aga. Anna picked one up and walked to the passageway. There was music coming from the bungalow so she walked down the steps and peeked in. “Do you mind a visitor?”

“No, of course not,” Penny smiled. “We‘re just lying around doing nothing. How was your afternoon?”

“Very pleasant, thank you. We made plans to go to Fountains Abbey on Thursday if the weather holds.”

Tom smiled at his Mum. It was so good to see her getting out. After all of the years she spent tied to the farm and at his father’s side, she was now free to do as she wished.  He'd suggested to her that Johnny could take over her farm chores, but she wouldn’t hear of it. “Whatever would I

do?” she had said. It was the responsibility that had been lifted from her. Now it rested on Tom.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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