Replenish the Earth (12 page)

Downstairs she found Hannah at work in the kitchen and Hetty sitting at one end of the wooden table. The little girl stared solemnly at Sarah with wide blue eyes as she took a bite of a thick slice of bread. Like her mother she was dressed in dark clothes, with a mobcap hiding her curls and a voluminous bibbed pinafore over her dress. The two of them looked neat and alert, as if they hadn’t had a disturbed night.

‘Where's your manners, child?’ scolded Hannah. ‘Up and curtsey to the mistress!’

Sarah waved one hand dismissively. 'There’s no need for her to do that.’

But the child was already off her stool and bobbing a curtsey, after which she stood and waited for further instructions from her mother, her head on one side, her expression alert and interested.

‘She must learn her manners, Mistress Sarah,’ Hannah insisted. ‘Finish your breakfast now, child, then you can go and help Daniel and Petey - if the mistress doesn’t want you to do anything else, that is.’ She looked questioningly at Sarah.

‘No, no! Daniel is anxious to get some ground dug and seeds planted as soon as possible, and I can’t see him being very patient with Petey.’

Hannah pulled out a stool and gestured to it. ‘I didn’t expect for you to be up yet, Mistress Sarah, after such a night. If I’d known you were awake, I’d have brought you some hot water.’

‘No need. I washed in cold.’

Hannah's lips pressed into a firm line. ‘No call for that. The kettle's over the hob and there’s hot water always ready. 'Tis a fine, big kitchen, this. If you ring your bell when you wake from now on, I’ll bring you some hot water up. Mary's told me how things should be done and I don’t need telling twice!’

‘Thank you. I’ll remember in future,’ said Sarah meekly and was rewarded with an approving nod from her stern handmaiden.

‘Now, what do you eat for breakfast, mistress? I don’t know your habits yet, or I’d have had that ready too.’

‘The same as Hetty, a piece of bread and butter. And I’ll eat it in the kitchen. I want no time wasted on people carrying my meals to and fro, and no money wasted on fancy food for me, either. I’ve never been rich enough to afford to be choosy, so I’ll be quite happy to eat what you eat.’

She hesitated, then decided on absolute honesty. ‘I need all the money I can save to repair the house, Hannah - and as well, all the help I can get from you and Mary to clean and refurbish. The only time I’ll want you to wait on me is if anyone calls on me - any of the gentry, that is - and I have to offer them refreshments. Mr Jamieson thought Lord Tarnly might come, for my mother’s sake. She was his god-daughter, you see. I’ll show you how to set a tray for that later.’

Hannah inclined her head to signify assent, but she had no intention of feeding her mistress on the sort of slops that Petey was used to eating, any more than she intended to feed Petey like a lord.

She had assumed control of the kitchen that morning after seeing how Mary worked the previous evening. ‘If it’s all right with you, Mistress Sarah, I’ll see to the food from now on. I like cooking and I do b’lieve I can make the food go further than Mary would, for she’s careless with the leftovers. She says she’s agreeable to it.’

'Very well,’ agreed Sarah. ‘Mary can do the washing and rough work, and anything else that's needed. Oh, and I forgot to tell you that Mr Pursley is to pasture his new cows in the home park and will provide us with milk, butter and cheese in exchange, so that'll help out considerably. But I thought we might get some hens and then we’d have our own eggs too, wouldn’t we? And if you have any other ideas, please tell me!’

‘Well, there be rabbits and pigeons in the woods, and fish in the river. That Ted Haplin as lives on the Waste is a feckless creature, but he’d come up and catch them for us if you let him keep a few for himself.’

‘What a good idea! I’d never have thought of that! So I won’t have to buy much meat, then?’

'With all this land, Mistress Sarah, you shouldn't have to buy much of any sort of food, except for flour, once the garden gets going. Not if you don’t eat fancy. Though a side of bacon might come in useful till we get our own pigs.’

* * * *

In the afternoon William Pursley arrived with his new cows. The front door was open to let in some fresh air and help dispel the musty odour that still lingered in the house. Oblivious to the cold, Sarah was polishing the oak panelling in the hallway with some beeswax obtained from Daniel Macey, who still kept a hive or two. She was humming happily to herself, standing back from time to time to admire the sheen on the fine old wood.

William stayed for a moment in the doorway, watching her approvingly, before clearing his throat to signal his presence.   

‘Oh, Mr Pursley! I didn’t hear you come in! Isn't this wood beautiful?’ Sarah gave the panel a final rub.

‘It comes up nice,’ he admitted.

‘Did you want something?’ Her mind was still on her polishing.

‘I’ve brought the cows over. I thought - I thought maybe you'd like to see them.’

His pride in the new animals showed clearly in spite of his stiff bearing, so she said immediately, ‘Oh yes. I would indeed.’ 

They walked out of the house together. On the lawn at the front Rob Cox, the former cowman from Hay Nook Farm, was leaning on a tall staff, watching with an air of satisfaction the six animals grazing placidly there.

‘Rob lost his livelihood when we had to leave Haynook - and his cottage too,’ Will Pursley said in a low voice. ‘Some of the men got work elsewhere, but Rob has fallen foul of Sewell because of me, so he can’t find anything permanent.’

‘Mr Sewell seems to have a lot to answer for,’ she replied, equally quietly. ‘Is Rob coming to work for you again?’

‘Not all the time. I can’t afford it. But I give him a day's work whenever I can, and if you have any work about the grounds, you'll find him an honest man and a hard worker.’

The whole household had come out to see the new beasts by now. Petey stood, as always, on the periphery of the group, but he had caught the general excitement and was jigging up and down, making little noises in his throat. Hetty went over to stroke the cows’ noses and they nuzzled her gently.

Sarah approached the animals with caution. They were bigger than she’d expected and were swishing their tails restlessly, making sudden movements as they got used to this new place. Fine countrywoman I am, she thought wryly, afraid of a few cows. Even Petey doesn’t show any nervousness of them! She was relieved that no one seemed to notice her cautiousness. Or if they did, made no comment.

Hannah and Mary, having inspected the animals more closely, were discussing their finer points with William and the cowman.

‘Nice long teats, they've got. Milk'll come easy,’ said Mary knowledgeably.

Sarah blinked and averted her eyes, then resolutely brought them back again. She
must
learn not to flinch from such frank talk. ‘How often do you milk them?’ she asked, trying to join in the conversation.

‘Twice a day, o’ course,’ answered Mary, unable to hide her astonishment at such a question.

‘There'll be milk for you every day - just let me know how much you need,’ said William, coming back to stand by Sarah’s side. ‘Perhaps Hetty would like to come across the yard to fetch it in the mornings?’

The child nodded solemnly.

Sarah watched him slap a cow's flank to make it move out of his way! How happy he looked today!

He looked up, caught Sarah’s eyes on him and fairly beamed at her. ‘It’ll be nice to have more milk. My mother's a rare dairywoman, given the chance.’ He moved closer to the animals, with Sarah trailing uneasily behind him. ‘Look at that! Picture of health, they are. And that's how I mean to keep them. They’ve stood the journey well, haven’t they, Rob? Mind you keep those big gates shut from now on, Petey and Hetty! I didn’t want any of my animals going near the village cattle. I’ll get my own bull to service them.’

After a while, Hannah shooed Mary back into the house and Rob drove the cows towards the grassy stretch at the side. He was to put up a rough fence from fallen timber out of the woods, and to start on this straight away. The cows ambled along, pulling at the sparse spring grass on what had once been the lawn.

Sarah and William were left standing together on the steps in front of the house.

‘I thank you for this chance, Mistress Bedham,’ he said simply. ‘You won’t regret it, I promise you.’

She carried the memory of his happiness with her through the rest of the day, and remembered it as she drifted into sleep. He was a fine, honest man and hard-working too. You couldn’t help but admire him.

And,
added a little voice inside her head,
he’s good-looking as well, the sort of man any woman would be pleased to associate with.

It was annoying the way such thoughts were popping into her head lately. She really must stop thinking that way. It was all very well for girls to dream, but she was no longer young and should be more sensible.

Only who could control their dreams? Not her.

* * * *

Hannah didn’t forget her promise to send a message to Ted Haplin, asking him if he still had any pups left. He turned up at the Manor with flattering promptness, a black and white pup under each arm and a large white dog at his heels. He was a small man, with a thatch of greying hair and a very pointed nose that seemed always to be sniffing the air, questing after something. He had on a shapeless coat with large sagging pockets, worn over a miscellany of patched clothes.

‘Heard as you wanted a dog, mistress.’

‘Yes.’ Sarah stroked one of the pups’ noses timidly. Dogs were still an unknown quantity to her, except for the half-starved and vicious strays that had haunted the alleys in London. But these pups were plump, bright-eyed creatures. When one began to lick her finger tentatively, she smiled and gave its head a pat.

Ted seemed in no way overawed by his company. He eyed the house with great interest. ‘Hetty did say as how someone broke in last night and set a fire. Wouldn’t do that if you had a dog or two about the place. This be my Nan, mistress, best guard dog I ever had. I have no trouble finding homes for her pups, but I’d be honoured if you took these two. Come from the Manor in the first place, these dogs did. My granfer was give one by your grandmother.’ He set down the two wriggling creatures, which immediately began to explore their surroundings, tails up and noses busy on the floor.

Sarah stared at them, not knowing what to do.

Hannah pushed her daughter forward and little Hetty bobbed one of her curtseys. ‘Please, mistress, I can see to them for you. I like dogs.’ She scooped one of them up and cuddled it. It nuzzled her hand, chewing gently on one of her fingers.

Ted smiled, not a nice smile this time. ‘That gamekeeper of Mr Sewell’s tried to get hold of a pup this time. Offered me half a guinea for it, he did, but I wouldn’t let my Nan’s pups go to such as he. Tried to threaten me, too, when I said no. Well, we don’t threaten so easy on the Waste, mistress. We know how to look after our own. And my Nan’s got good, sharp teeth. That gamekeeper hasn’t come back again.’

Sarah smiled. ‘Very well, I’ll take these two and thank you for them. How much do you want for them, Mr Haplin?’

‘Don’t want no money from you, mistress. But I’ll maybe be back for one of their pups when my Nan gets too old for work. They’re both bitches, these are.’

‘But I can’t just take them . ’

‘You’re a Bedham, and I’m not charging a Bedham for one of my dogs.’

‘Well I - I thank you kindly.’

His expression changed to a sly grin. ‘I did hear tell, though, mistress, as how you wanted someone to catch a few rabbits for you. Pigeons an’ game birds too, mebbe? Fish, even?’

‘Yes. Hannah said you might be able to help us out.’ She was as frank with him as the others. ‘I couldn’t pay you in coin, for I’ve little to spare, but you could perhaps catch some animals for yourself in return for helping us?’ 

He chuckled. ‘Ah. I could do that, I s’pose. Seem funny, it will, though, as if I was your gamekeeper! But my Poll's partial to a nice rabbit stew or a bit of pigeon pie. An’ she do be afeared I’ll get took up for poaching if I nip a few creatures here and there. Not that I’d take anything from
your
woods, mistress, but Sewell’s different. His gamekeeper sets mantraps an’ I don’t hold with them. He put a few in your woods too.’

‘Mantraps! In my woods.’

‘Ah. Reckoned they’d soon be his woods, he did, mebbe. But word is you're not sellin’ to him.’ He cocked one eyebrow at her.

‘No. I’m staying here.’

He nodded. ‘That’ll set a few people’s minds at rest.’

It seemed amazing to her that she should have the power to help people - and wonderful, too.

He clicked his fingers to his dog. ‘Right then, mistress. Me and my Nan will catch your rabbits for you, and whatever else comes to hand. I’ll ask Hannah to let me know what she needs. Plenty for us all.’

‘And the mantraps? Could you do something about them?’

He tried - and failed - to feign innocence. ‘They seem to have got themselves damaged already. Proper shame, ain't it?’

‘A great shame,’ she agreed with a straight face.’ As she watched him saunter off down the driveway, the bitch trotting obediently at his heels, she chuckled, then turned to get better acquainted with her pups.

She really must take the time to write to Mr Jamieson and tell him she hadn’t changed her mind about living here. When she had a moment or two to spare. Not today.

And as for Mr Sewell, he would just have to get used to her presence at the Manor. Ever day she spent here made her more certain she’d made the right decision. She’d found the permanent home she had always longed for.

Chapter 7

The next week passed in a blur of activity for Sarah. She soon knew every nook and cranny of the big house, though she paid only a cursory visit to the cellar, which was damp and seemed to contain nothing but wine casks and a few piles of junk. That could be sorted out later.

The furniture at the Manor was mostly old-fashioned and made of oak, but it was sound beneath its dust. And in one or two rooms, the ones her grandmother had used, there were some relatively modern pieces, more delicate in design and made of mahogany or walnut. With her servants’ help, Sarah began to rearrange things, concentrating first on the small parlour which she intended to make into her own sanctum.