Bonds of Earth, The (24 page)

R
UMOURS CIRCULATED THA
T
immediately after Piran Pyne's visit to Spurre Hall, Marcus Grimble was summoned and told his conduct had lost his employer so much money he could no longer afford to keep him. Furthermore, because the gamekeeper's latest actions were likely to result in serious criminal proceedings, his presence on the estate had become an embarrassment.

Grimble was advised to get as far away as he could, in the shortest possible time.

Taking his long-time employer's words to heart, Marcus Grimble removed himself further away than even the titled landowner had envisaged. Returning to his lonely cottage, the world he had known for much of his life gone forever, the disgraced gamekeeper put the barrel of a loaded shotgun into his mouth and pulled the trigger.

This news was contained in a letter received by Nessa in London at breakfast time, before she left the Kensington house to go to the ragged school. Her mother's letter also told of Alan's shooting and revealed that Morwenna was expecting a baby.

It had been two-and-a-half years since Nessa had seen her family and guilt had been building up inside her for some time at not paying them a visit. Her mother's letter helped her to arrive at a decision.

Reading the pertinent sections of the letter to those having breakfast with her, she said, ‘I feel I must go to Cornwall, Uncle, to see if there is anything I can do to be of help.'

‘Of course.' Looking across the table at Sally who had been listening wide-eyed to the contents of Nessa's letter, he added, ‘Sally has been here long enough to feel quite at home with us while you are away.'

Aware that for all Sally's apparent self-confidence, the Old Nichol girl had become extremely reliant upon her, Nessa said, ‘Oh, Sally will come with me. She was telling me only the other day that she has never been outside London and has never seen cows, sheep, or live pigs. It will be a wonderful experience for her.'

The young girl's undisguised delight was evident to all those about the breakfast table, but Cedric Couch said, doubtfully, ‘You have to return home at such a time, of course, but the thought of you both making such a journey without help troubles me. I will make some enquiries and see if I can learn of any responsible person who might also be travelling to Cornwall in the near future.'

Father Michael expressed similar concerns when Nessa informed him she would be absent from the school for some time and told him the reason – but he came up with a solution that delighted her, after asking, ‘How did you travel when you first came came to London from Cornwall?

‘By ship from Falmouth.'

‘A sailing-ship?'

‘Yes.'

‘You will find there is a much faster – and more comfortable – way to travel now. A steamer goes from here to Bristol once a week, calling at various ports along the way. You could take it as far as Plymouth then hire a carriage to carry you on to your home.'

‘It sounds excellent … but Uncle Cedric will still insist that I wait until he has found someone to accompany us.'

‘Then why don't
I
undertake the task?'

‘You? Why should you do that?'

‘Because I, too, have not seen my family for a number of years. My brother is vicar of a parish close to Bodmin and my father lives nearby. It is time I visited them again. Besides, I feel in need of a short rest from my work here and our other teachers can cope until my return.'

‘I can't argue with any of that, Michael, and I – and Uncle Cedric I am sure – would be delighted if you came to Cornwall with Sally and me – and the steamer sounds a very exciting adventure for all of us.'

‘You took your time getting back to the farm, Jenken.'

Goran made the observation when Jenken brought a horse back to the stable at Elworthy Farm after delivering piglets to miners; first at the mining community on Caradon hill, then the Wheal Hope. The piglets would be kept in sties in the yards and gardens of miners' houses, fed mainly on household scraps and ultimately provide a source of meat, or sold on to swell the families' incomes.

‘I was held up at Wheal Hope … and you'll never guess who was the cause.'

‘It's been a hard day and I'm a little slow on guessing at the moment. Tell me.'

‘Nessa … Nessa Pyne!'

His air of irritability and professed tiredness vanishing, Goran said, animatedly, ‘Nessa…? She's back? How long has she been here?'

Well satisfied with Goran's excited reaction to his news, Jenken replied, ‘She arrived home yesterday and brought a young girl from London with her – a very pretty young girl named Sally.'

Waving Jenken's description of the young girl aside impatiently, Goran said, ‘Never mind the young girl, tell me about Nessa. How is she looking? Why has she come home? Is she home for good?'

‘I don't know, but I doubt it. A young vicar came with her too, Father Michael. My ma was up at the mine and I gave her and the boys a ride back here in the cart. On the way Ma said this Father Michael is the one who started the school where Nessa is teaching in a poor part of London and who Nessa's always telling Annie about in her letters.'

Perturbed by news, Goran asked, ‘Why has he come to Cornwall? And when you say he's young … how young is he?'

‘I'm not very good at telling people's ages, I suppose he must be twenty-something. Ma seems to think Nessa's brought him home to see if Annie and Cap'n Pyne approve of him.'

‘You mean Nessa's going to
marry
him?'

All the excitement Goran had felt at the news of Nessa's return disappeared and although it had frequently crossed his mind that she must be meeting men in London, he had never considered the possibility she would meet someone she really wanted to
marry
!

Watching his employer closely, Jenken belatedly remembered how Goran invariably reacted on the occasions when Nessa's name came up in conversation. He had realized long ago that Goran had probably been in love with Nessa at the time she left Cornwall and still had strong feelings for her.

‘No one's said anything about it – but why else would he come all the way to Cornwall from London with her?'

Later that evening, when work was over and Goran returned to the farmhouse, he passed on the news of Nessa's return to his mother and she was delighted.

‘That will make Annie happy. She's been saying lately that with Alan being laid up and Morwenna expecting, she wished Nessa was around to talk to. As she's said more than once, it seems a very long time since she saw her. Because of Morwenna's news and what's happened to Alan I expect Nessa thought she ought to be home with her family.'

‘It seems she's brought a vicar with her, Ma – a
young
vicar. Jenken thinks she's probably brought him home with her to see whether Annie and Piran approve of him.'

‘You mean she's getting married to a vicar! Now that's a step up in the world for a miner's daughter, even if he is a captain. But Nessa can't have said anything to Annie about marriage, or she'd have told me.'

‘Well I can't think of any other reason why she should bring him all the way to Cornwall from London, can you?'

‘Not at the moment – but you can be sure I'll find out.'

T
HE NEXT DAY
, when Mabel went to Roach Farm she told Agnes news of Nessa's return to Cornwall, bringing a young vicar with her.

‘What's she doing with a vicar?' Agnes demanded, ‘and why has she brought him here?'

‘I think he started the school where Nessa's teaching, in a poor part of London. I know she's always said a great deal about him in her letters to Annie. Young Jenken told Goran he thinks she's brought him home to get Annie and Piran's approval for her to marry him.'

‘Has she, indeed? That's not going to please Goran.'

‘Oh, I don't know, he hasn't said much about her lately so I expect he's got over any feelings he might have had for her.'

Agnes said nothing further on the subject but when Mabel was leaving the farmhouse later that day, she said, ‘This vicar who's come to Cornwall with Nessa Pyne … do you think you can get word to him that I'd like to speak to him?'

Curious, Mabel asked, ‘Why?'

‘I'll tell you after I've spoken to him – if I think you need to know.'

When Mabel returned to Elworthy Farm she told Goran of Agnes's request and he was as puzzled as she was about the reason why she would want to see him.

‘Will you go up to the mine and ask him if he'll call on Agnes?'

‘Me? Wouldn't it be better if you asked Jenken, or Harriet?'

‘No, you used to get on very well with Nessa and I'm sure she'd like to see you again.'

Goran was not as certain as his mother about Nessa wanting to see him, but he knew he
would
like to see her – and the man she was marrying – so that evening, after cleaning up and putting on the clothes he kept for the occasional special Sunday when he accompanied his mother to church, he set off for Wheal Hope and the home of Captain Pyne.

It was with a feeling of sadness that Mabel watched him walking away from the farmhouse. In spite of what she had said to Agnes she knew in her heart that Goran
had
felt very deeply indeed about Nessa and, although he said little about it, she believed he still did.

Annie opened the door of the house when he knocked and was very surprised to see him, but she immediately turned and called, ‘Nessa…! You have a visitor.' To Goran she said, ‘Come in. Nessa and Sally are upstairs, going through one of Jennifer's books with her but Father Michael is in the sitting-room with Piran.'

Goran followed Annie into the cottage's living-room where Father Michael immediately rose from the armchair where he was seated as Annie announced the visitor.

‘So you're the young man whose ingenuity and resourcefulness saved the life of her father. I was hoping I would meet you while I was here. Nessa will be pleased to see you, she speaks of you often.'

Father Michael advanced towards Goran with his hand extended and a warm and apparently genuine smile of greeting on his face, but Goran's spirits sank. The priest was indeed young – and handsome. There was also a proprietary tone in his voice when he spoke about Nessa.

‘It's actually you I have come to see, Father. Agnes Roach who owns the lands I farm has asked my mother to arrange a meeting with you. She can't come here herself because she's crippled with arthritis, but would like you to go to Roach Farm to see her.'

Father Michael frowned. ‘I don't think I know this Agnes Roach, why does she want to see me?'

‘I know no more than I've told you, but Agnes is a very special woman and will have a good reason for wanting to speak to you.'

‘In that case, I will go and see her, of course. But where is this Roach Farm?'

‘I'll take you there, it's just beyond Goran's farm. Hello, Goran.'

At the sound of the voice Goran had swung around and he saw Nessa standing in the doorway to the room. The sight of her left him totally lost for words for what seemed to him a long time, although it could have only been seconds.

‘Nessa … Hello!'

All the things he had imagined he would say to her if – or when – they met again had gone. She was as he remembered her, yet she
had
changed. She was taller, certainly, and there was an air of greater self-confidence and maturity than he could remember. She was also no longer pretty … she was
beautiful
!

‘Ma tells me you have both Elworthy and Roach Farms now and that you've made a huge success of both of them.'

‘They've done well, but I can't take all the credit. The dues from Wheal Hope have allowed me to do things that wouldn't otherwise have been possible. I … I've also followed your advice on learning two new words from the dictionary every day … well, most days, anyway.'

It was a foolish, almost inconsequential thing to say, he realized, but Nessa seemed delighted. ‘I wish all my pupils were as diligent! But it's lovely to see you looking so well, Goran.'

‘And you too.' There was so much he knew he wanted to say, but he felt tongue-tied and, anyway, there were others in the room. This was not the right time but looking at the handsome young priest once more he thought there might
never
be a right time.

Father Michael had been watching the meeting between Goran and Nessa with great interest. A keen and experienced observer of people, he realized there was a great deal of chemistry between the two of them – perhaps far more than either of them fully knew.

Speaking to Goran, he said, ‘When do you think would be a good time to call on this lady?'

‘Anytime, she doesn't go anywhere these days.'

‘Then I'll call on her tomorrow morning, if Nessa will take me there.'

‘Of course.'

Nessa made the reply to him, but her gaze had returned to Goran.

‘That should be fine. Why don't you come to Elworthy on the way back? I can show you some of the things I've done there and what I plan on doing in the future.'

‘That would be nice. I could also look in on Harriet Bolitho, I promised to pay her a visit some time.'

‘Good, I'll see you – see you both – tomorrow.' Declining Annie's invitation to stay and have something to drink with them, Goran pleaded falsely that he still had things to do at the farm before bedtime and left.

On the way back to Elworthy Farm he tried to analyse his feelings at meeting Nessa again after so long, but stopped short of admitting the truth to himself. Instead, he looked forward to seeing her again on the following day … but he wished he would be meeting with her alone, without having the handsome young priest with her. But he feared that Father Michael was now very much a part of her life. A life that had left Cornwall – and him – behind.