Greenbriar Manor

Run Rabbit Run

Ingrim felt the leather on the saddle shine under the rag and polish.  His dad was thinking about getting him a horse after all. Every time he mentioned it to Brooklyn he looked sad. Maybe he wished his mother could buy him one too. He promised to let him ride the horse and spend time with it which made him happy. Mack was unsure about the prospect and often felt cold when he walked by the painting on the wall of Rabbit. Something made him wonder if something was happening here besides what he knew. He started feeling like the place was getting too small for him. He wished his dad had been around he would go stay with him this Christmas. Brooklyn was in a strange mood and so was Ingram. His mother had been acting strange since last week when Fern showed up all dirty and the linens had to be exchanged. 

LAST WEEK: 

Fern had been in the house beyond the thicket helping peel potatoes the night her mother came calling. She dropped a fork on the floor in shock as Brooklyn opened the door and let her in. Her mom had never had friends or left the apartment after dusk. She was not coughing but she looked paler than normal. She hoped the drive here had not taken a lot out of her. Those worries changed when she saw the way that Mari's mom and her laughed and ate together. They would stay here together tonight. Fran had been looking after her mom after all.  Mari was happy but on the edge of the night was a strange creeping feeling up her arms. Like cold chills. Something was different tonight. Mari's mother was acting giddy and also nervous. Maybe it was because they did not frequently have guests here.  Her mother had a green smudge on her cheek and when she went to wipe it off, she got a smell of almond deep in her nose. It reminded her of something, but she was not sure what. Soap maybe from the laundry bin in the house. Her mother wrapped up in a thick quilt and laid next to her in the loft. It was surprisingly warm for a Fall evening.  Fern wondered if she was going to stay on here longer than this weekend. She was surprised her mother had not asked about school or work. Brooklyn and Mari were homeschooled she had learned. Maybe she could do that also next year. She had never made friends easily either. 

Fran woke up at midnight  with something in her hand. At first she was unsure what she felt but she felt something cold against her palm. She thought the boys were joking with her so she opened her eyes slowly. In the palm of her hand sat a tiny porcelian horse with a broken leg and the piece of an old horse bridle. She remembered long ago, Vera talking about the horses. Sultan and Rabbit were her favorite she named several dogs after them. Another effort to connect to the past and the family history. Fran wondered what Daniel and Chessie had thought about the horses. One a writer and the other an avid outdoorsman. What stories had been told and lived her long ago. Where did this little horse come from. She heard the tinkle of that broken music box and she felt very afraid. Something about the way that Ingrim had been wanting a horse and that boy from down the hill had been sulking worried her. She didn't want Mack to worry he would be replaced by some fancy stallion. She needed answers and tomorrow she would go into town and ask about Rabbit and Sultan but right now she wanted to see if there were any of the old guard around to ask...

She looked up the number for the old stable hand Jacksen Mcgrady. He had to be in his 80s by now and may not even live at the address listed but she tried it just in case.  She called the number but it rang and rang. Finally, on the last ring a hoarse Irish brough answered, "Yes Deary?"  She told him she was the maid and that the young boy had found a photo of a horse and a saddle in the barn. He wheezed long and slow.  His voice became labored briefly as he spoke, "Ye be not concerned with the wee lad. Rabbit was but a fleeting fancy". A pouka was Sultan. There be not a man alive could tame that beast. Since the Greene's will not abide horses on the property. No good watershed nor feed for them on land in decades. A horse maam it needs freedom and that place is called Briar for a reason. The horses never race long and the children get too attached. Rabbit ran she did and they all were sorrowful. Never been a kinder soul on that sod than that horse and his boy. My nephew was there that horrible day she broke her leg and went lame. I can still hear that boy squallin like he lost his best friend when she missed the bank and slung him over."  "It's not my need to be tellin ye but bridle them foolish boy dreams no horse can be brought to that manor in its current condition. I hope ye understand what I been sayin. That boy maam he is sorely wrong. Been a long days night since Sultan danced into the brush and away in the night like the Pouka it always was...I'll be seeing you Deary as I guess if they determined to get a beast I better come see the place one last time." 

He hung up abruptly. She had chills. Who was that man and why had what she said bothered her so badly? What was going on here and what was a Pouka and why had the laundress never shown up. She had been calling their house for days and Brooklyn had mentioned seeing her in town a couple days ago. Everything seemed upside down. Something about this place was starting to feel quite cold. She pulled the covers up to her chin and tried not to think about horses or vanitys or petite four icing. Just as she drifted off to sleep she thought she heard a tiny laugh and black curls in the window glass just like the little girl she had seen long ago at Vera's. She was just sleepy. That was not here and she was grown. She knew Bridgette grew up here but she had been in Vermont all that time. Surely some things changed or left you after all the years of outrunning them. She hoped. Prayed for Mack and Ingrim's sake and Brooklyn and Mari and Fern. They all needed something to turn up good. She would sleep on it and wake up tomorrow looking for answers.  All it seemed like right now was outrunning ghosts.