The Sleighmaker

The year was 1893 and the night before Christmas Eve. On the country estate of Lord and Lady Harrington tradition dictated it was also the night of the annual Christmas Ball, given in thanks to the considerable workforce it took to run such a large estate. This story is about one of those workers, Drummond.No-one ever knew his full name. He was only ever referred to as Drummond. He stood six foot six with hands the size of tractor seats which belied his profession as a master-crafstman of such skill and expertise that any Carriage, Buggy or Sleigh that carried his mark would have been one of the finest in England and much sought after.But now, a broken fence, a faulty drive belt on a threshing machine or a cracked chimney stack, were the new employers of his skills. But, Drummond was content in his new role and the solitude it afforded him.He avoided socialising within the community of the estate and was quite happy to be left alone and get on with the work assigned to him by Stephan, the Estate manager. As his oldest friend, Stephan was one of the few people to know of Drummonds daily struggle coping with a sad and tragic past. It was during spring the following year that Stephan introduced Drummond to a young stable lad called William, who'd been employed at the request of Lady Harrington. William was someone Stephan thought would be the perfect assistant to help ease Drummonds considerable workload for the forthcoming winter months.William was a young orphan boy, a stray, but who seemed to possess a rare and magical gift. Animals became calm in his presence and people felt at ease and happy whenever he was around. Even Drummond had to concede there was something special about this scrawny little lad and so, agreed to take him on as his apprentice, regardless of his previous dictum of always working alone. The other workers on the estate felt this to be an odd partnership and one sure to fail, given Drummonds morose disposition and reticence to social participation.But this happy little boy was about to prove them all wrong and have a very dramatic effect on his new teacher and mentor in the most surprising way. See more