Whispers (43 page)

‘Bertie ain’t got up fer work again today,’ Phoebe informed Martha. ‘An’ whilst I know the young Master will make allowances fer him ’cos of all that’s happened, I can’t see the old ’un doin’ the same.’

Cook sucked in her breath and sighed. ‘Bless ’is soul, he ain’t been
sober
since the day Grace passed away,’ she said worriedly. ‘No doubt he’ll rousle ’isself round soon.’

Martha wasn’t so sure. Knowing how intently Bertie hated Master Fenton, she could see trouble ahead but felt powerless to prevent it. The only bright spot on the horizon at present was Jimmy, who had been her rock throughout that terrible time. Only the day before, he had promised that, as soon as the right opportunity arose, he would ask permission for them to be wed in the summer. It could not come quickly enough for Martha, but this led to yet another worry. What about her granny? Would she come with them? And where would they all live? She pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind; after all that had happened, anywhere would be preferable to living here – and she now had no wish to stay in the house a day longer than was necessary.

1 February

It has been a sad day indeed, for Master Leonard and Miss Melody left this morning for their other home, and now Master Fenton is once more in charge. This can only mean trouble for all of us . . .

The house seemed suddenly half-empty with the departure of the young Master and Mistress, for their staff had gone with them too.

‘I shall miss that Miss Prim,’ Phoebe sniffed as they sat at the kitchen table.

‘An’ I shall miss Polly too,’ said Martha.

‘Aye, well, it ain’t all doom an’ gloom. At least yer in charge o’ the kitchen again, Phoebe.’

‘Hmm.’ The young woman glanced around at the rows of gleaming pots and pans. ‘Funny thing was, I got to quite like Cook once I got used to her. She were as soft as butter ’neath all that shoutin’. But hadn’t you best get off to the mill, Hal Tolley? The Master won’t be as tolerant wi’ us as the young ’un was.’

‘I was asked to stay here to help load all the luggage onto the carriages,’ he pointed out.

‘So yer were, but they’ve been gone this half-hour since so get yerself away.’

Hal grinned as he rose and pecked his wife on the cheek – and then he was gone and they were left to try and get back into some sort of a routine.

‘Checked on Bertie yet today, ’ave yer, love?’ Phoebe now asked Martha.

The girl shook her head. ‘I’m really worried about him,’ she confided. ‘An’ I wonder if he ain’t losin’ his mind. I’m afraid of what he might do to the Master – ’specially now Master Leonard ain’t here to stop him. When I helped him across to his rooms last night he swore to me that he’d have his revenge on him, an’ I don’t know what to do.’

‘Ain’t nothin’ a slip of a girl like you
can
do,’ Phoebe said sensibly. ‘But happen he’ll come round. He’s still grievin’ fer Grace really bad. He’ll settle back down in time.’

But would he? Martha wondered.

As Jess gently closed the book, her throat was full. Poor Martha, she had suffered so much in her young life. She was almost at the end of the journal now and hoped that it would have a happy ending. God knows, the girl deserved it after all she had been through. At times, Jess had been sorely tempted to cheat and read the last page, but had so far managed to resist doing so. Each time she read an extract it seemed to bring her closer to Martha – so close that she could picture her now if she closed her eyes or even looked into a mirror.

She had not been up to the attic since coming out of hospital, but today she felt the need to and slowly headed in that direction. At the foot of the steep staircase she stared up, picturing herself tumbling the whole length of them. But who had pushed her? No matter what Simon said, she
knew
that someone had been there. She could still remember the feel of their hand on her back before she fell.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly started upward, and once at the top she headed straight for Martha’s room. Again the overpowering smell of roses met her and she clasped her hands in consternation.
Why
was Martha still here? And
what
was she trying to tell her? Eventually she went out, closed the door and made her way into the large storage attic where she peered aimlessly out of the window, which overlooked the drive and Blue Brick Cottage. What she saw made her frown: Simon’s Land Rover was parked at the end of the drive and she could see him talking to Laura. Of course, they were too far away for her to see their faces, but by the way Laura was waving her arms about, it looked like they were having a heated argument. After a few minutes she saw Simon climb into his vehicle and roar up the drive, so she hastily went back down the stairs to see what was wrong.

He was already in the kitchen by the time she got there, looking none too pleased with himself.

‘I thought you might be back early with the weather being as it is,’ she said, before adding, ‘Is everything all right? You’ve got a face like a slapped arse on you.’

‘Oh, I’m just having a bad day, that’s all,’ he retorted.

Jess waited for him to tell her that he had been speaking to Laura, and when he didn’t, she asked tentatively, ‘Didn’t I see you speaking to Laura at the end of the drive just now?’

‘What! Oh, er . . . yes. She was just asking how you were,’ he replied, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

‘Really? I’m surprised she hasn’t been up to see me. Beth never comes here either now, which is strange because until a few months ago she couldn’t keep away. I thought I might take a gentle wander down to see them when I feel up to it.’

‘I shouldn’t advise that,’ he said, a little too quickly. ‘You’ve got enough troubles of your own without having to listen to hers. I just want you to concentrate on getting well.’

Simon obviously wasn’t in the best of moods and Jess didn’t want to make things worse. It was hard enough just getting through each day at the moment without adding to her worries.

‘I think I might go up and have a lie-down for a while,’ she said now, not that keen on staying to look at Simon’s frowning face.

‘What? Oh, yes . . . right you are. It will do you good. I might go and pick the girls up from school in a while. It’s started to rain again and the wind out there is enough to cut you in two.’

Jess didn’t say a thing although she guessed that Mel would rather walk a marathon in a gale than have her dad pick her up. Things were no better between them – in fact, they had deteriorated to the point that Mel could barely bring herself to be civil to him.

Jess plodded painfully upstairs and was sound asleep before her head had scarcely had time to hit the pillow. Some time later, she awoke to the sound of someone crying. She slithered off the bed and padded along the landing towards Jo’s room, cursing softly. Just what the hell was happening to this family? If it wasn’t one of the girls crying it was the other – and they seemed to be lurching from one crisis to another.

‘What’s wrong
now
?’ she snapped, when she saw Jo huddled in a miserable heap on the bed.

‘It’s Dad and Mel . . . they’re arguing again,’ Jo whimpered. Jess’s
anger
dissolved as she placed a comforting arm about her daughter’s shoulders. None of what had happened was her fault after all.

‘Then I suggest we leave them to it.’ Tilting Jo’s chin she smiled at her younger daughter reassuringly. ‘It’s high time they sorted themselves out, don’t you agree? I’m sick and tired of the way they behave towards each other, and just for tonight they can bloody well get on with it. They can tear each other limb from limb, for all I care!’

Jo giggled. Her mum didn’t swear often, at least not in front of her and Mel, and when she did she always found it amusing. It was then they heard footsteps pounding up the stairs and seconds later Mel skimmed past the open bedroom door as if Lucifer himself were after her.

‘Right, now
she’s
gone off to sulk in her room and Dad will be sulking downstairs,’ Jess told Jo matter-of-factly. ‘So
I
am going to take full advantage of the peace and quiet and go for a nice long soak in the bath. And
you
, young lady, can listen to your CDs or watch telly, eh?’

Jo nodded vigorously as Jess planted a kiss on her cheek before heading off to the bathroom for the promised soak.

Half an hour later Jess was tucked back up in bed again with Martha’s journal on her lap and the bedroom nice and cosy. She was eager to find out what happened to Martha now and so she opened the journal with anticipation and settled down to read.

10 February

The house has not been the same since Master Leonard and Miss Melody left, and all of us are missing them sorely. The Master had Bertie into his study shortly after they left and told him in a voice that we could all hear that if he did not pull himself together and get back to work, he would be dismissed. Bertie slammed out of the Master’s study when the lecture was over and I could see the hatred burning in his eyes . . .

As Phoebe carried Granny’s tray back into the kitchen, Martha looked at it and asked, ‘Has she eaten anythin’, Phoebe?’

Phoebe shook her head as she poured the untouched soup into the swill bucket for the pig.

‘Not so much as a mouthful.’ The older woman sighed. Since Grace had died, Granny Reid seemed to have lost the will to live and just lay there in bed staring at the ceiling.

‘Perhaps the doctor will be able to prescribe a stronger tonic when he calls to see her tomorrow?’ Martha suggested hopefully.

‘Ah, the thing is . . . the Master came in ’ere earlier on an’ told me that the doctor won’t be callin’ again.’ Phoebe looked at Martha apologetically, as if it was her fault. ‘He reckons there ain’t no point, but between you an’ me I don’t think he wants to ’ave to carry on payin’ the bills.’

Martha opened her mouth to protest but the words were checked when Bertie suddenly appeared from the open cellar door at the end of the kitchen. He was in the process of taking all the crates of wine that had been delivered earlier in the afternoon down to the wine-racks below. ‘Would yer just look at this lot,’ he snorted in disgust. ‘I know I’ve been hittin’ the hard stuff more than I should, but this tells me the wicked old bastard is goin’ to be startin’ ’is tricks again – yer know? Drunken parties an’ what not.’

‘Now that the young Master an’ Mistress ’ave gone, yer could well be right,’ Phoebe agreed. ‘But there ain’t much we can do about it.’

Bertie grunted before hoisting another crate and disappeared back down into the cellar.

‘Try not to worry about yer Granny, love,’ Phoebe told Martha. ‘Grief takes different folks different ways, an’ yer do have Jimmy’s visit to look forward to. When is he comin’ to see the Master?’

‘Friday night,’ Martha told her, as she dried her hands on a piece of huckaback. ‘But I wish he could have asked Miss Melody permission fer us to wed instead of havin’ to ask
him
.’

‘Well, in all fairness they’d no sooner decided to go than they’d upped an’ gone, an’ the Master does know that Jimmy had asked permission to walk out wi’ you, so it won’t come as no surprise to him.’

‘I know that, but I feel nervous about it all the same,’ Martha muttered. But there was nothing to be done now but wait and see what the outcome of Jimmy’s visit would be.

14 February

I am to be married in June! Jimmy and I will live in a cottage within the grounds of Leathermill Farm and Granny will come with us . . .

‘What? Yer mean he’s
agreed
to it?’ Martha’s eyes stretched wide as she stared up at Jimmy, who was grinning from ear to ear.

‘Aye, he has that, and he even allowed me to suggest a date. I said the sixth o’ June. Will that suit yer?’

‘Oh,
yes
!’ Martha laughed for the first time since Grace had died as Jimmy lifted her off her feet and swung her about.

‘We’re goin’ to live in a little cottage in the grounds of Leathermill Farm. I’ve already cleared it wi’ Farmer Codd, an’ yer Granny can come too. What do yer think o’ that? You’ll not have far to come to work each day, will yer?’

Jimmy’s happiness was infectious but suddenly the smile slid from Martha’s face as she asked, ‘But what about Bertie?’

Jimmy shrugged. ‘There ain’t much we can do for him, I’m afraid,’ he admitted. ‘But at least you’ll still get to see him each day, an’ Phoebe and Hal will keep their eye on him.’

‘But he
hates
the Master so.’ Martha looked up into Jimmy’s eyes. ‘I’m fearful what he might do to him, given half a chance.’

‘Now he’s come off the booze he’ll be more sensible,’ Jimmy assured her, but deep down he too had concerns, for every time Bertie so much as looked at the Master his loathing for the man was writ there on his face for all to see. Even so, they had wedding plans to make, so for now their talk turned to happier things as they began to plan their future. One thing was for sure: now that Martha knew she would not have to sleep under this roof for much longer, she felt a lot happier.

16 February

Last night, as I went from room to room checking that all was well before retiring to bed, the Master came out of his study and waylaid me in the hallway. I was shaking so much that I could scarcely hold the lamp I was carrying. And yet he seemed reasonable and sober when he asked to speak to me and so I followed him into his study. What a terrible mistake that was . . .

‘So, did Jimmy tell you that I have given my permission for you to marry in June?’ Lifting a heavy cut glass tumbler full of whisky, the Master eyed Martha as she nodded slowly.

‘Yes, he did, and thank you kindly, sir.’

‘Hm, and how do you think you will enjoy being a married woman? Are you aware of all that being wedded entails?’

‘I er . . . yes, I think so, sir.’ The first flames of fear were beginning to flicker in Martha’s stomach as colour rose in her cheeks, and without
even
being conscious of what she was doing, she began to slowly back towards the door.

‘I just wonder if you do.’ The Master slammed his glass down, sending sprays of amber-coloured liquid all over the beautiful silk-fringed rugs Miss Melody had chosen, and then he began to slowly unbutton the fine satin waistcoat beneath his frockcoat as Martha looked on in horror.