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Chapter 16
Ralph packed away his instruments and walked with Amelia-Rose out into the car park.
"Which one is yours," said Amelia-Rose.
"It's that one over there." Ralph was pointing to an old Volvo estate on the edge of the car park. It looked muddy and battered.
As they walked on down the hill, they saw the hunt congregating on an outcrop.
"Come on said Ralph, let's go over and see what they've caught."
"I'd rather not," said Amelia-Rose.
"Squeamish are you," he gave his hawkish smile. "Come on, you are in the country now. There's a lot to find out and things here are a bit different to your city ways."
He linked arms with her and drew her towards the group. Two children, a girl and a smaller boy, were riding on two small horses near the edge of the group. They were talking excitedly in high-pitched voices about the final gallop. When they saw Amelia-Rose, they trotted over to say hello.
"You are the new lady in the cottage in the valley, aren't you?"
Amelia-Rose smiled and nodded.
"We were on the river this morning near your house and we saw a kestrel hawk really close to."
The girl had a broad Somerset accent and her smile was full of enthusiasm.
"It fell in our boat and then flew away before we could take it to the island for safety."
The young boy's face shone with memories of their adventure.
"And now we've just been on our first hunt," the girl said proudly. "We had to gallop very fast and I jumped a small ditch."
"I did too ...," the boy looked crossly at his sister as it she was implying he'd not done the same.
Amelia-Rose wasn't sure whether she agreed with hunting and didn't know what to say. But the enthusiasm of the children was infectious so she smiled ...
"It's been a good day for you then and the weather has been just great ..."
At a sign from a tall man on a very tall horse who was at the center of the group, the children cantered off.
"I didn't know what to say," said Amelia-Rose to Ralph. "I've never really agreed with hunting - it seems so barbaric."
Ralph pulled a face. He tightened his arm to hers.
"In the country you're either predator or prey. Take a look at your garden as you drink your hot chocolate in the morning and watch what those nice little sparrows and blackbirds are eating alive."
"I'd really rather not think about it," said Amelia-Rose. "Playing music is much more my style. I love the beauty not the barbarism in life."
"But many of the tunes that we were playing were hunting tunes." Ralph's smile was mischievous and he seemed to chide her with his words.
"I don't care," said Amelia-Rose defiantly. "Come on, let's go."
"Hang on a minute, I think there's more to see."
There was a sudden cheering in the middle of the group around the two children.
The crowd erupted and Amelia saw the little girl lifted up high above the crowd. She turned proudly to smile back at Amelia-Rose. Vivid across her forehead was the mark of a red cross. The boy followed and he too turned and gazed back at Amelia-Rose triumphantly. The cross on his brow was as scarlet as the jackets of the riders in the hunt.
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