Escape From the Country Read online

  “Who are you? What do you want?” He barked as he held his thumb, rubbing life back into it.

  “No one sir, just travellin’ frew. Wondered if ya got any work goin’ is all. Don’t need paying, just somewhere ta sleep and maybe bit of food na un then.” As he waited for Jack’s response, he hung his head staring at the ground daring not to antagonise his prospective employer any further. Jack realised immediately this was a man of a simple mind but seemed young enough and physically capable to get plenty of work out of him. Moreover, with the mention of work with no pay, he knew he couldn’t refuse.

  “You worked a farm before?” He asked.

  “Aye, few up and down. Ya know, odd jobs ‘ere un there. Been lugging stuff ‘bout mostly, but do most things ya frow at me.” He said, still staring at the floor, idly kicking at the dirt.

  “Alright, get started over there then. Them sheep need muckin’ out and fresh hay put in. You got any other clothes with ya, or just them trousers and shirt?” Jack asked as he stared at the man’s appearance. His trousers were thin from wear and his shirt, once white, was now a yellowy brown that was barely holding together.

  “No sir, just these is all.” Amazed the man hadn’t frozen to death and still confused where he’d come from, Jack told him to grab one of his coats from the farmhouse kitchen and get to work.

  “What’s your name boy?”

  “Joe sir.”

  Jack made a place for Joe in the barn not far from the farmhouse. He let him fill it with hay as makeshift bedding and told him if he took charge of the vegetable patch, he could have what he wanted from it, providing he yielded a good crop to sell. Even Jack knew it wasn’t a good deal for Joe, but he couldn’t give him more even if he wanted to. Besides, Joe wasn’t complaining he thought, so he cast the guilt from his mind. Joe went about his daily routine and proved himself to be a hard worker. Always up before dawn, feeding the animals first and then seeing to his vegetables until Jack surfaced to give him his daily tasks. As Joe was so quiet and unassuming, it had taken some weeks before Margaret had even noticed him. She was quite taken back by the sight of this young man toiling in the winter sun as she first cast her eyes on him. She looked in the mirror hanging on the kitchen wall and checked herself over. Happy with the way she looked, she strolled across the yard to Joe as he was fixing the chicken run Jack had given up on.

  “Hello gorgeous, you look like fun!” She said as she approached him. Joe turned towards her but quickly looked down at the floor. Disappointed with his reaction, she glared at the young man. “What’s your name?” She asked a commanding tone.

  “Joe miss.” He said in a quiet voice, only meeting Margaret 's eyes for an instant.

  “It’s Mrs and what are you doing here? I didn’t think my husband was hiring anymore.”

  “Just helping Mr Winshaw, Mrs Winshaw. Don’t want much in favour, just somewhere ta sleep is all.” Margaret found his manner amusing and knew she could have plenty of fun with him.

  “Somewhere to sleep? Where? Surely not in that dirty old barn?”

  “That’s the one Mrs Winshaw, that’ll keep me ok, don’t need much me.” He said, still working on the wooden frame, never daring to meet her menacing stare.

  “Oh, we can’t have that. You couldn’t possibly be comfortable in there. If you ever want to take a break and get a real rest, you come see me. I’ll show you a lovely spot in the house for you to lie down in for a while. Best left until Mr Winshaw goes out though, yeah?” She relished the chance to have some fun after being cooped up like one of Jack’s chickens for months after the drama she’d caused with Charles. As Joe squirmed, not knowing what to say, her enthusiasm grew.

  “Margaret! What are you doing?” Jack’s voice came booming over the yard.

  “Just meeting your new help. You didn’t tell me you hired someone.” She replied, as innocently as she could.

  “Needn’t concern you, that’s why. Ain’t you got lunch to make or something?” She gave a sigh, irritated by her position as a farmer’s wife.

  “What would you both like?” She asked wistfully, hoping for a chance to get to know Joe a little better.

  “Never you mind ‘bout him, just get on.” He said accusingly. She turned and walked back to the kitchen, thoughts running through her mind of all the fun she could have with this new interest of hers, made all the more exciting as Jack had pretty much banned her from him.

  The months rolled on as Margaret thoroughly enjoyed her new play thing. Joe had never experienced anyone show him an interest before, let alone a woman, especially one as attractive as Margaret. She was older than he was, but to him that didn’t make any difference. Even with his lack of experience with women and people in general for that matter, he knew what she was doing was wrong and could land him in very hot water. He tried in vain to keep away from her but it seemed everywhere he looked she was there. Usually it was a simple passing comment that made him sweat a little, hoping Jack didn’t overhear. On days that Jack was away delivering the eggs and milk to the local grocer’s, she would come up with more elaborate ways to seduce the poor young man.

  Joe was sharpening the sheers behind the barn one day, hoping Margaret wouldn’t spot him knowing Jack had just left.

  “There you are.” She said as she rounded the rear side of the barn. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere Joe, I need your help.” Even for Joe, it was obvious she had ulterior motives, but knew he had no choice but to engage her.

  “Of course, Mrs Winshaw, what can I do for ya?”

  “Oh drop the Mrs Winshaw bit would you!” She snapped at him, but then composed herself to her seductive demeanour. “It’s Margaret, come on, we’re friends aren’t we?”

  “Yes, Mrs Winshaw.” Margaret shook her head and chuckled to herself.

  “Anyway, my necklace here, I can’t seem to do it up. Be a dear and fasten it would you?” She took the necklace from a small jewellery box she held in her hand. Placing the box on Joe’s workbench, she carefully unwound the chain, moving closer to him. Anxious but mesmerised by her presence, he took the ends as she handed them to him. She turned around, pulling her hair across her shoulder, revealing her neck and shoulders. Joe hung the necklace around her neck and attempted to fasten the clasp. His hands as rugged as they were, made him clumsy and ill-equipped to handle such a delicate item. Gently, Margaret raised her hands to his. “That’s it, just get that to clasp through the catch like this.” As she took each end of the chain she fumbled, allowing the pendent to fall down her front between her breasts, the chain dangling out of her top. Turning round quickly with a devilish grin, she stared hard into his eyes. “Oops, silly me. Be a darling Joe and fetch that for me would you?” Panicking, he turned and ran out into the yard, terrified Jack might see him. Margaret stayed a moment laughing loudly for him to hear as she retrieved the necklace and placed it back in the box.

  The games Margaret played on Joe soon began to bore her as she never really got the reaction she wanted. As much as it excited her to make the poor man squirm, she craved the physical contact she never got from her husband. They'd never been close in an intimate sort of way. They'd tried for children but it was more forced on Margaret than consented. She accepted this as her role in life, but caused her to hold a great deal of resentment. Having her fun with Joe was her way of not only fulfilling her desires, but also getting back at her husband for mistreating her the way he did.

  That time in the week came around again when Jack would be away in the village selling the farm produce. To his continuing disappointment, this now made up a great deal of his weekly income. Margaret seized the opportunity and cornered Joe in the barn as he sharpened the tools that Jack needed later that day.

  “Hi Joe.” She said in a sultry voice, startling the young farm hand as he worked. He was more nervous and self-conscious than he'd ever been before now he worked for the Winshaws and was subjected to Margaret 's continuous torment. Flinching at her voice he accidently slipped and cut his thumb. “Oh
no, are you ok.” She asked trying to sound as sympathetic as possible.

  “Fine, Mrs Winshaw, it’s nothing.” She groaned at the sound of her title, Joe never bringing himself to call her by her actual name.

  “Come on, sit, let me take a look.” She led him to the pile of hay he used for a bed in the corner of the barn. Almost forcing him to sit down, she sat beside him as close as she could, caressing his finger. “Does it hurt?” She asked, as he tried to keep as far as possible from her, not made easy with her persistence.

  “No, Mrs Winshaw, just a scratch is all, I’ll be fine. Best be back to work now. Mr Winshaw ‘ll want ‘is tools later.”

  “Mr Winshaw, I mean Jack won’t be back for hours yet. You deserve a break considering how hard he works you. How about we have a bit of fun?” She crept nearer, her face getting ever closer to his. The situation was simply beyond Joe’s understanding. He stared at the floor, hoping she would grow bored and leave. He was used to being shouted and screamed at throughout his life, being used as a verbal and sometimes physical punching bag to alleviate other’s frustrations. He’d never enjoyed it, but now considered it a blessing compared to this baffling and awkward situation.

  “Come on, don’t you want to? You are a man after all, surely you want to? Come on, say something. Why are you so quiet? Say something or I’ll tell Jack you were mean to me.”

  “No, please. What do you want me to do?”

  “Nothing, I don’t want anything from you, just to sit and talk. Is that ok? I just want us to be friends, you know?”

  “Please Mrs Winshaw, I don’t think we should be doing this.”

  “Relax, we’re not doing anything wrong, we’re just getting to know each other a bit better. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Don’t think Mr Winshaw ‘ud like this. Think I’d better get on and see to the yard.”

  “I wouldn’t do that Joe. My husband doesn’t take kindly to people hurting his wife. Wouldn’t take much to convince him you’d attacked me with this would it?”

  “Please, Mrs Winshaw, stop.”

  “That’s better Joe. So, where were we?”

  After seducing Joe the first time, it became easier for Margaret to get her way. She simply threatened to tell Jack he’d forced himself upon her. Terrified, Joe thought of leaving the farm in the dead of night, but Margaret convinced him that Jack would find him and do unspeakable things to punish him. As the months rolled on, Margaret became more irritable and lost interest in Joe, with only the occasional roll in the hay. She wondered if she may have caught something from the rough sleeping man, as her health seemed to deteriorate. She became lethargic and often felt nauseous. Finally, it dawned on her, she was pregnant. She wasn’t far enough gone to show, not that Jack took much notice anyway, but she knew she was in trouble. She tried to gain Jack’s affections in a ploy to pass the child off as his own, but with the level of work he was committed to, she never gained the plausible instance she so desperately needed. With no one to confide in, she took solace in the man she’d persistently abused who happened to be the father of her unborn child. Watching Jack across the fields, she crept into the barn to find Joe.

  “Hi Joe.” She said softly, trying not to shock him as she did so many times before to her delight. “It’s ok, I’m not here to upset you, or, you know. I just want to talk.” The plain looking man paused from his work and stood back a step, looking in Margaret 's general direction, but couldn’t meet her gaze. “I’ve got something I need to tell you. I’ve got no one else to talk to and you’re the only one I have for company around here. I know I treat you badly and I’m sorry for that. I’ve never been a nice girl, I’ve always found it easier not to be. Men have always treated me the same way. They get what they want and then throw me out with the rest of the rubbish. I thought it would be nice to see it from the other side but it wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be and now, I’m paying for it.” Joe continued to stand in front of her, listening, but not making a sound or any reaction at all. “You could say something you know. All this, quiet and bashful nonsense can be quite annoying.” Letting out a sigh she carried on. “Fine. Well look, you need to know something. I’m pregnant and it doesn’t take a genius to work out it’s yours.” Joe’s face snapped up in awe, but quickly turned to dreaded fear as the colour visibly drained from it. Margaret could barely open her mouth to berate him for such a disrespectful look when Jack shouted from behind her.

  “What did you say?” He bellowed across the barn.

  “Jack, I thought you were working in the fields. Never mind this, I’m just playing with him, you know how bored I get and like to wind him up.” She said, as she physically shrank back from her furious husband.

  “Don’t give me that shit woman! I know you’ve been up to no good with him! I just couldn’t be bothered to deal with it. If I’d known you’d get yourself pregnant though!” He stood there unable to speak anymore. His fists clenched tighter as he frustratingly stepped back and forth, cursing and shouting.

  “I’m sorry, I really am.” Margaret pleaded as Joe backed up to the wall of the barn and stood staring at the floor.

  “Sorry? Really, that’s all you’ve got. That’s all you’ve ever got you whore!” He shouted as he walked across to a trunk in the corner. I’ll deal with you later, I need to sort that rat out first.

  “Please Jack, it wasn’t his fault, he didn’t want to do it.”

  “Shut up, what do you know. He’s vermin and there’s only one way to deal with vermin.” Jack said as he pulled a gun from the chest and pointed it at Joe. Breaking the barrels, he placed two shells inside. He held the gun low on his hip as he closed it. The menacing sound of the action snapping shut caused Margaret to freeze knowing she'd finally driven her husband quite mad. As his finger closed around the trigger she looked back at Joe, still standing against the wall, staring at the floor. An almighty boom went off as the gun fired, causing the barn and everything in it to shake. It was too late for Jack to move the gun as he saw his wife run in front of him, a vain attempt to stop the murder of a simple, honest man, coerced by a juvenile woman with a grudge to bear against the world. The smoke from the shot hung in the air as Margaret laid on the floor clutching her side. Blood soon started to spread across the floor, mixing with the hay and dirt to create a dark red pool. Jack stood back, in disbelief of what he had done. He looked up at Joe directly into his eyes. Strangely, it was at that point he realised that was the first time he'd ever looked Joe directly in the face. The moment only lasted a second as Joe turned and ran from the barn and across the field. Jack fell to his knees as he stared at his dying wife. As the red pool crawled across the ground, it met the smoking end of the gun that had caused Margaret's fateful end. Never taking his eyes off her face, he took the gun and placed the barrels in his mouth. Joe heard the shot from across the field causing him to stop at a large tree. Seeing a pile of yard equipment he picked up the rope and stared up at the great oak. Throwing one end over the lowest hanging branch, he hauled himself up and tied one end to the tree and the other around his neck. Without hesitating he threw himself forwards, the rope jerking him back before his feet touched the ground. A sickening snap could be heard as his neck broke from the fall, assuming anyone was around to hear it.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chris stood and helped Julie to a chair. He looked around the room to make sure there weren’t any more surprises in store for them. Looking up at the ceiling where Julie believed to have seen the man hanging from it, he tried to spot anything out of the ordinary. A low thud came from the back of his head as he tumbled to the floor and darkness surrounded him. Before passing out he caught a glimpse of Julie standing a few feet away, holding the empty wine bottle they’d drunk from the night before.

  He awoke in a dark musty room, tied to a pole of some sort. The ground beneath him was sandy and the only light came from a dull lamp at the edge of the room. He struggled to move but the cable ties were too tight, his head pounding as he straine
d against them.

  “Julie?” He cried out as loud as he could. The sound of his own voice causing his head to feel like it was going to explode. “What’s going on?”

  A hatch opened from the ceiling as someone descended the steps. His eyes squinted at the harsh light, causing his head to pound further.

  “Julie, is that you?” He said as she came close enough for him to make her out.

  She walked across to him slowly, as if she only had one thing on her mind, taking no notice of anything else. She knelt down and began to stroke his short-cropped hair whilst staring into his eyes with a vacant look about her. Trying to stay conscious, he looked back at her but couldn’t recognise the face staring back at him. He knew it was his wife, but she just didn’t look right. Blaming it on the head trauma and poor light he pushed it to one side and tried to reason with her.

  “Please Julie, I know things have been hard, but we can just leave I promise. Let’s just go back upstairs and leave this place.”

  Her grip tightened and her face became taught as she slammed his head back against the pole. Spots appeared in front of his eyes, the pain so overwhelming it took his breath away.

  Her head tilted to one side before she turned and walked away towards the other side of the room. It had dawned on him that he was in the cellar they'd after they’d first moved in.

  “What are you doing? Come on Julie, this is madness.” He exclaimed trying to get through to her. It was quickly becoming clear to him that the person he was trying to reason with wasn’t his wife. A dreaded feeling came across him as he thought of all the odd goings on he’d encountered since they'd been there. The accidents, the visions, they all meant the same thing. Whether he wanted to believe or not, whatever was causing all of this now had control of Julie. She turned and walked back towards him still holding that thousand-yard stare. Her right hand was low, as if she was carrying something, Chris unable to make it out in the dark room. Then, a glint of light reflected from it as she passed the lamp. He recognised their kitchen knife immediately and knew he was in trouble. Struggling to free himself she came closer, now brandishing the knife in front of him. Her pace slowed as he heard something from upstairs. There was a banging coming from somewhere that distracted her. She dropped the knife and turned back to the stairs that led up to the hallway. As she climbed back upstairs, Chris thrashed at the ground, trying to get a hold of the knife to free himself. The hatch slammed shut, leaving him alone in the dimly lit cellar.