The Secret Garden Chapter 15: Dinner by D.L. Copyright  © 2011 D.L. All Rights Reserved. Inspired by the classic children’s tale by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Entering the dining room, Rosie found her cousins and uncle waiting for her. Once everybody was seated, the staff served the meal.

Lord Headley began engaging his sons in conversation, enquiring about their achievements at university. Both boys liked to boast, and they soon started to try to outdo each other to demonstrate their superior knowledge. Their younger cousin found this to be most amusing, especially when they started to talk in Latin, but exceedingly badly.

Richard had acted as the company translator due to being fluent in the local dialects. His tutor had also taught him Latin and French. With his natural aptitude for languages, Richard had no problem absorbing the additional tongues.

As the pomposity of the boys increased, and their standard of Latin got worse, the youngest member of the family couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing at?” Albert asked sharply.

Richard quickly jotted something down on his board and held it aloft, still giggling, “Singularis: singular/alone/unique. Singultus: sobbing/gasping.”

“What does a wog know about Latin?” Horatio snidely replied.

“Horatio, how dare you address your cousin in such a fashion?” Lord Headley shouted.

“Oh, come on. We all know the little bastard’s mother was a dot-head,” Horatio countered in anger.

Before Samuel could respond to his son’s remarks, a loud crash distracted their attention. The chair that Rosie was sat on was now laying on the floor, the child having sprung to her feet. She was now stood with fists clenched, audibly snarling at the older boys.

“It would appear our petite Punjab has a peck of poke about him,” Horatio said in amusement. “Perhaps I should put you in your place. You’re looking at one of Oxford’s finest boxers.”

Rosie walked round the table and stood a few feet from her two cousins. Taking up a defensive Kalarippayattu stance, she smiled and beckoned her cousins to her.

“That is enough, both of you,” Lord Headley stated angrily. “Albert, Horatio, leave the boy alone. Richard, please return to your seat.”

“No,” Horatio replied getting to his feet. “If the wog wants a whipping, then I’ll quite happily give him one. Perhaps then he will realise who his superiors are.”

“Are you sure that is a good idea?” Albert asked. “He doesn’t look worried and I doubt he’ll know or follow Marquis of Queensberry rules.”

Horatio was already moving towards the younger boy and ignored his younger brother’s caution, intent on beating his annoying cousin into a pulp. Richard’s reactions were lightning fast and precise. The onlookers couldn’t work out exactly how the child was able to manage it, but Horatio found himself flying over his cousin’s head, landing on his back in a heap on the floor. Returning to her original stance Rosie grinned and beckoned Albert to have a go.

In turning to face Albert, Rosie had put her back towards Horatio, who although winded, was not defeated. Determined not to be shown-up or beaten by the younger child, the now angry Horatio sprang to his feet and lunged at his cousin, intending to wrestle her to the ground. Although Rosie had her back to her opponent, she was still conscious of the sounds of movement behind her, and using the reflection in the silverware on the table, she could see her cousin approach.

The child sprang sideways, dodging the arms of her cousin. Spinning and ricocheting off the wall to gain height, Rosie jumped and kicked her opponent as he passed, her foot connecting between Horatio’s shoulder blades sending him crashing into Albert. Both of the elder boys collapsed on the floor as Rosie gracefully landed and returned to her fighting stance.

Rosie, although putting on a show of confidence, had initially been worried about taking on the larger boys. She had learnt the techniques in order to recover from her original accident. The meditational aspects helped to centre her focus, and the physical disciplines aided her fitness. Rosie had witnessed several boxing matches staged by the military personnel, so knew what to expect. However, she had yet to recover peak condition since the jungle fever outbreak, and was out of practice.

Most of the stances and movements she normally performed at relatively low speeds, more as a form of dance than combat. However, muscle memory allowed her to react instinctively and swiftly to defend herself from the attempted blows. Rosie had deliberately made her opponents make the first moves, as she specialised more in the defensive aspects of the discipline.

Having successfully defended against two onslaughts, Rosie had the measure of Horatio and was satisfied that she could defend against him. In truth, the girl was enjoying the sparring, not having the opportunity to practice moves against a skilled fighter since before leaving India. Her mother didn’t approve of her fighting, but accepted that such skills could come in handy, especially if becoming a member of the weaker sex.

“Stop this now!” Lord Headley bellowed at the top of his voice, banging his fist onto the table.

Rosie, not wanting to disobey her uncle, immediately turned and returned to her seat as her two cousins got back to their feet.

“Sit down!” Samuel yelled at his two sons, who on seeing their father’s rage decided they best not irritate him any further.

“I will have no more of this racist nonsense,” Lord Headley stated. “You want to know who is superior to whom? Well it seems obvious to me that Richard has just bested you in every sense, both academically and physically. Don’t push your luck any further. I will gladly let him pummel your pompous posteriors if that is what it takes for you to see sense. He is family, whether you like it or not, and we stick by them through fair and foul.”

“Oh I can see clearly, Father. It is obvious you prefer your perfect pet Punjab to your own sons,” Horatio venomously intoned. “Go ahead and pamper Uncle Fredrick’s little bastard. You didn’t pay any attention to your brother or his son until you happened to inherit a profitable tea plantation. Trouble is you have to hold it in trust, so you have to pretend to like the boy so that he doesn’t pull the plug on your profit.”

“That isn’t true. Your grandfather did his best to isolate Fred, and while we were never as close as I would have liked, we did write to each other. Also, all the tea bought by this estate, and all the business ventures I’m involved in, are sourced from Fred’s company,” Lord Headley countered. “Furthermore, you would know all about illegitimate offspring, Horatio. I’m acquainted with your nocturnal activities with my staff. You are lucky Jenkins found Martha and managed to stop her from harming herself when she realised she was pregnant with your own little bastard. Thank god she survived the miscarriage.”

“Is that why they are no longer here? I had wondered where they were,” Albert enquired.

“Martha is staying with her sister while you’re here. Jenkins was caught stealing, but given his assistance in saving Martha’s life, I arranged for his deportation so he could start a new life rather than rot in jail or face the hangman’s noose,” Lord Headley declared.

“Well at least you won’t have to worry about Richard screwing the staff. I hear he’s a eunuch,” Horatio added. He then grabbed a large pastry from the dessert tray and headed out of the room, much to the annoyance of his father.

“That was the last straw,” Lord Headley affirmed. “Horatio is no longer welcome at this table or in this house. Parker, I believe we have a vacant cottage on the north side of the estate, see to it that my son is moved there as soon as possible. He can still use the gardens, but make it clear to him that any further trouble and he will be excluded from the grounds as well. If he is so keen on our tea plantation, perhaps he would like to work there, I am sure they could use an additional tea picker.”

The three remaining family members sat and ate in silence, neither of the younger members daring to speak for fear of enraging the elder man. The three had just stood to leave the room when an ear-piercing scream could be heard from the direction of the main staircase.