Young bloods

Arthur turned to her as O'Shea brushed past and hurried from the room. 'Sarah, where's my mother?'

'B-begging your pardon, sir, but she's taken the other children shopping.'

'Shopping?' Arthur almost wailed in despair. 'Where?'

'Davis Street, sir. She said not to expect them back until the afternoon.'

Arthur bit down on his lip, his mind racing along in a blind panic as he struggled to decide what he must do. The doctor was sent for, at least. He glanced at his father, taking in the waxy pallor of his skin and the laboured breathing. Then he turned back to the maid.

'Get some bedding down here. As soon as that's done, get down to Davis Street and try to find my mother. Tell her to get back here as soon as possible.Tell her the doctor has been sent for. Got that?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Then go!' Turning back to his father, Arthur started to unbutton his coat and eased it from his back before removing the silk neckcloth and loosening the topmost buttons of the shirt. All the time his father was limp as a rag doll and the only signs of life were the laboured sounds of his breathing and the flicker of a pulse beneath the skin of his neck. Arthur used the coat to cover his body and then moved over to the grate to light the fire.

Sarah returned with some blankets and pillows, and carefully lifted her master's head to insert the pillows on to the arm of the chaise longue. Then she laid the blanket over his body.

'Thank you.' Arthur managed a grateful smile. 'Now go and find my mother.'

She nodded and hurried away. The flames cracked and hissed in the grate as the fire took hold and Arthur fed some coals on to the flames before he slid the vent into place and turned back to his father. He checked for signs of life and then tucked the blanket about the still body before hurrying back into the hall and opening the door on to the street. Dr Henderson lived over two miles away and O'Shea could not possibly have reached the doctor's rooms yet so Arthur sat down beside his father to wait. The fire had warmed the room and some of the colour had returned to his father's face, but his breathing was still ragged and Arthur willed the doctor to arrive as swiftly as possible.

Finally, a full half-hour after O'Shea had departed, footsteps came scraping up the steps of the house and into the hall. Arthur jumped up from his father's side and ran to the door.

'In here!'

'Sorry, sir,' O'Shea gasped. 'Smashed the wheel of the carriage. On the kerb at Park Row. We had to run the rest of the way.'

O'Shea stood aside respectfully and let Dr Henderson by. The doctor was clutching a battered black bag and his face was bright red with the effort of racing to the side of his patient.

'Where is he? I see. Stand aside young man.'

He brushed past and set his bag down beside the chaise longue. He took Garrett's hand and felt for the pulse before he spared Arthur a glance.'Your man explained what he knew of the situation. Your father's a damned fool. Rest, I told him. Not bloody amateur athletics. He's lucky to be alive. Barely alive but alive none the less. Well, you've done your bit, young man. Now leave me to my ministrations.' For the first time he looked straight at Arthur and saw the dread and anxiety in the boy's face. His tone softened. 'You've done well. There's nothing more you can do now.Your father's in good hands and you can trust me to do what I can for him.' He gave Arthur a sly wink. 'Go and have a drink. Tell your cook I prescribe a cup of chocolate with a shot of rum in it for you.'

'Yes, sir.'Arthur took a last fearful look at his father, and left the room, shutting the door behind him. He ignored the kitchens and made for the formal drawing room instead, and sat in a chair at the window to watch for the return of his mother and the other children. He strained his ears to hear anything from the back parlour, but there was no sound at all.

The hours crawled past. Then it was noon and still no sign of his mother. Another hour passed and then at last he saw Sarah hurrying round the corner, followed closely by the others. Arthur stood up and walked slowly to the door, unsure of what to say, or how to react. He feared the worst but did not want to let the others read that in his face. So he swallowed his anxiety and tried to compose his expression as he heard their footsteps hurrying along the pavement and then clattering up the steps to the front door. His mother had overtaken Sarah. She rushed towards him, and grabbed his shoulders.

'Where is he?'

'In the parlour, Mother.' Arthur saw that her lips were trembling.

'Is he… still alive?'

'Yes. He was when the doctor arrived.'

'The doctor's here?'

Arthur nodded. 'I sent for him straight away.'

'Good boy.'

Gerald, A

'Yes, ma'am.'

She left them in the care of the maid and, with a short pause to collect her breath and compose herself, she entered the back parlour and closed the door behind her.

In the hall the three children and the maid stared after her in silence until Sarah coughed and made herself smile. 'Let's go and play. There's some nice games I know. We'll have some fun.'

'Sarah?' Gerald spoke quietly. 'Is Father going to die?'

'Die?' Sarah raised her eyebrows. 'Of course not, my dear! The doctor's here. He'll sort him out. He'll be right as rain before you know it. Now come on, who wants to play a game?'

Without waiting for an answer, she bustled them upstairs to the nursery and pulled out the first box she could find from the toy cupboard: a collection of tin soldiers depicting the sides involved in the war in the American colonies.

'Perfect!' she smiled. 'Now if we can find some marbles…'

As the four children stood waiting, the maid rummaged through the cupboard until she found a small felt bag filled with china marbles.

'Now all we need is a battlefield. This rug should do. Come on, Arthur, help me. If we stuff some shoes under it we can make some hills.'

'Why?'

'Why? Bless me, you can't not have hills. Wouldn't be like the real world at all!'

She cajoled them all to help her create a rough approximation of a valley lined with hills and then they began to set the troops up on either side.When all was ready Sarah sided with Gerald and Henry, and Arthur took his older sister, A

'You set up first.'

'Very well, Master Arthur.'

She, Gerald and Henry set up their forces along the far ridge, just as before, while Arthur and his sister waited patiently. Then, when the last of the colonists had been positioned Arthur started placing his own forces. Only this time, the redcoats were lined up behind the brow of the hill.

'Hey,' Sarah protested. 'That ain't fair!'

'Yes it is,' Arthur smiled at her. 'They're still on the battlefield. I'm just taking advantage of the topography. It's only fair, since you've obviously had some practice with marbles.'

Sarah frowned, and then nodded determinedly. 'As you will, Master Arthur. But we'll still win.'

'Really? Let's see then, shall we?'