Beyond the plough, p.24
Beyond the Plough, page 24
‘Oh, aye, and as smug as a cow belly-deep in clover. Said to tell you she thought it were a girl she was carrying.’
He remembered Siana’s strange, fey sense. She’d known Ashley would be a boy. Would she be right again and give him another daughter? He shrugged. ‘As long as the infant is born healthy. How were my girls?’
Jed hesitated for a second or two, then he smiled. ‘Mrs Matheson takes good care of them.’
‘Yes, she would.’ Francis folded his letter and put it in his pocket after committing the basics to memory. He intended to read it fully, later, in private.
Jed cleared his throat. ‘There is something you should consider, Dr Matheson.’
‘What is it, Jed? And do use my first name. This is not a place to stand on ceremony.’
‘If the ship you were sailing on went down, Mrs Matheson might have been informed of the fact by now. She might believe you have perished.’
‘It had occurred to me. I’ve sent a letter to both her and my brother informing them of my survival, and asking my brother to find some means of furnishing the commandant of Port Arthur prison with tangible proof. That is all I can do.’
‘Would it be of help if I told the commandant you are who you say you are?’
‘I doubt it. He is a cautious man, and my resemblance to the felon called Piper is too great. He wouldn’t take Elizabeth’s word for it.’
Jed nodded then glanced at Elizabeth, who was happily going through the contents of the trunk and had just exclaimed, ‘Look, Siana has sent me some embroidery to do. And there are pieces of fabric I can make a quilt with.’
She’d received a letter from Siana too, with news of Susannah. With the arrival of Jed and the unexpected gift of the trunk, both her appetite and mood improved.
Jed grinned comfortably at Francis, saying quietly, ‘Would there be a preacher man hereabouts? I’m of a mind to wed that woman.’
Elizabeth gazed up at him, her eyes shining, a wide smile on her face. It had been a long time since Francis had seen her so happy. Love seemed to have transformed her.
‘A preacher makes occasional visits to the town. Put yourself on the list at the blacksmith’s shop, for there will be other weddings and christenings to be officiated over on his next visit. In the meantime, you must seek permission from the authorities and have Elizabeth assigned to you. For as soon as I can, I’m returning to England.’
He gazed from one to the other and smiled. ‘There’s a bible in the desk. If you would care to exchange vows over it, it will be my pleasure to act as your witness. That’s what most people do here, and we can record the marriage in it.’
Jed gazed with some uncertainty at Elizabeth, who calmly nodded.
The next day, as Francis listened to the pair exchange their vows, he remembered his own vows to Siana. A stab of despair hit him when he thought that if his letter to Siana had gone astray, she and the children would be mourning his death.
16
September arrived, still bathed in sunshine, and voluptuously ripe.
Someone who looked closely might have discovered it to be too ripe. Apples with perfect skin housed maggots in their core. Chestnuts fell to the ground and split open. The haymaking was complete, but the hay had been stacked badly on the staddles, so mould was forming at the base of the ricks.
The Cheverton fields still hosted the corn crops. To a casual glance the wheat was ready for harvesting. But although the seed had fattened a little, the crop looked sparse to anyone with an experienced eye. An abundance of field mice were busy consuming more than their usual share.
Suffering from a fit a temper, Daniel called the overseer to the house. ‘Where are the field labourers?’
‘Can’t rightly say, sir.’
‘You can’t or you won’t?’ Daniel slapped his crop against his hand in a threatening gesture. ‘If it rains I shall lose the crop, and if I lose the crop you’ll be flogged. Tell them I’m off to the bank to withdraw their wages and if they don’t get on with their work, they won’t get any.’
Muttering resentfully to himself, the overseer, a solid-looking man nearing fifty years, moved off. ‘Flog me, would you? I’d break the crop over yon bleddy back, then piss on it, first, you young bastard.’
Damn them, Daniel thought. Most of the field labourers had worked on the estate for years. They should know better than himself how it was run. To make matters worse, he’d been forced to dismiss most of the house servants, for they’d been spying on him on behalf of Esmé. Well, he’d solved that problem, as he solved the problem of his wife. It was peaceful without her snooping around the house!
He thought he might take a ride over to Croxley Farm to ask Rudd Ponsonby’s advice. Then he might call on his godfather. At least the Reverend White would lend him a sympathetic ear.
His head ached badly today. And the sores from his neck were beginning to spread up into his scalp. He wondered if he should consult with the doctor again. But no, Noah Baines would only prescribe some foul-tasting elixir or another, the same as the high-priced fool in London had. It always made him feel lethargic, and dulled the pain only a little.
‘Did I feed Esmé today?’ he said out loud, and glared at the stable boy who stared at him with his mouth open. ‘What are you looking at, boy? Fetch my horse.’
Esmé had begged him to set her free the last time he’d visited her. Damn her, he thought, his conscience troubling him a little. If she hadn’t nagged so much he wouldn’t have locked her in the barred room in the first place.
Sweating slightly, for the day was warm and humid, he pulled out his handkerchief and mopped his forehead whilst the stable boy scurried to fetch his horse. Mounting, he headed out to the road. For a moment he hesitated, trying to remember what his plans were for the day. It wasn’t the trial; that was next month. Ah, yes, he was going to visit Croxley Farm, then his godfather.
Tomorrow he intended to visit his half-siblings, for he’d heard Siana had returned from Wales. She had given birth to another son, by all accounts, and she’d been widowed. He smiled at the thought. Perhaps now she would come home to where she belonged. He would welcome her children, and perhaps she would bear a son for him, too.
He began to feel better as he headed off towards Rudd Ponsonby’s. Once things were cleared up in his head, he always did.
The tenant farmer had several sons who worked side by side with him. Daniel liked Rudd, who always called him squire. Abbie Ponsonby and her girls were always respectful towards him, too. He’d taken a liking to Barbara, the eldest one, a tender little piece of about fourteen years. She was high-waisted with long legs and big, dark eyes, and her breasts were jutting little buds against her bodice. She’d blushed when she’d noticed him looking at them. He felt in his pocket. He’d brought the girl a brooch to wear, one of Esmé’s. It was silver, fashioned in the shape of a blue enamelled bow.
‘Rudd and the boys be ploughing the muck and clover in,’ Abbie told him, fussing around like a hen. ‘And the two young uns are off-colour today, but they be sleeping so they won’t be a bother.’ She turned to Barbara, all flustered. ‘Serve the squire some cake and tea and keep an ear out for the young uns while I fetches your father from the field.’
Daniel watched the girl bustle back and forth. She was growing out of her gown. Her breasts strained against it, and her limbs were tanned from the sun. He brought out the brooch for her to inspect, smiled at her. ‘See what I’ve brought for you, Barbara. Come over here and I’ll pin it to your gown.’
‘’Tis a right pretty bow,’ she said, coming to stand in front of him.
‘You’re a pretty girl.’ His mouth dried as he pinned it to her bodice, his knuckles brushed against her sweet, hard nubs. Sliding his arm around her waist, he gently drew her down onto his lap. ‘A nice gift like that deserves something in return.’
When she hung her head he fitted a finger under her chin and, lifting her face up, smiled at her. ‘What shall it be, Barbara? A kiss? Or will you allow me to tickle you?’
She gazed dumbly at him, her eyes slightly wary. ‘I ain’t tried kissin’ no boys, sir, though I be tickled sometimes by my brothers.’
‘Kissing is pleasant, you must try it,’ he urged, and gently kissed her. Her mouth was slightly open so he penetrated it with his tongue, delving into its depths, which were moist, but not unpleasantly so.
When he finished he gazed at her. ‘Did you liked being kissed?’
‘Kissin’ be right fancy, sir, but not as good as a tickle.’
‘Ah,’ he said, ‘like this?’ Slowly, he slid his palms up to her breasts and, cupping them, rubbed his thumbs over her nipples. They’d grown since he’d last seen her and nestled in his palms like a couple of plump, nesting robins.
Her face turned red and she mumbled, ‘Not ’zackly.’ The girl didn’t quite know what to do, so remained sitting there on his lap as he fondled them, with her face turned away. Her buttocks were firm against his thighs. When he spread his knees slightly, her thighs opened too, and her plump little venus opened against his nudging member. ‘Do you know what that is, Barbara?’
‘Yes, sir, I see’d a big un like that on a stallion, once,’ she said, and began to giggle. ‘It were nearly touching the ground. Something be wrong with the horse, though, fer it were all lathered up and squealin’ at the mares.’
He chuckled and whispered, ‘Would you like to touch mine?’
Just then Daniel heard Rudd and his wife talking as they came into the yard. There followed the clank of the pump handle.
The girl leaped from his lap like a scalded cat, saying breathlessly, ‘I think the kettle be boiling, sir.’
‘It is, indeed.’ So was he. The slut had known exactly what she’d been doing. Hastily, he placed his hat on his lap, keeping it there until his state became less conspicuous.
Rudd left his dirty boots outside the door, slipping into a pair of clogs his wife held out to him. Daniel stood, taking the work-roughened hand the man extended in a brief shake. Despite Rudd’s hasty wash, he smelled of cow dung and sweat, causing Daniel’s nostrils to pinch.
‘Good morning, squire,’ Rudd said as his glance went to his daughter, still red-faced and trying to stifle her giggles. ‘Where did the brooch come from, Barbara?’
‘Squire gave me it. It be a pretty thing, ain’t it?’
Daniel shrugged. ‘It’s a trinket I found in my pocket.’
‘Then I expect it belongs to your wife, sir. No offence meant, sir, but my Barbara had best give it back, for Mrs Ayres might miss it and accuse her of stealing it.’
‘Very well,’ Daniel said sulkily, holding his hand out for it. ‘I meant no harm.’
‘Of course you didn’t, sir.’ Daniel was steered into the best room, still furnished as his mother had left it. The house was spotlessly clean and smelled of polish. He took the winged chair, sitting with his legs slightly apart in the same stance his father had always adopted, his arms extended, his hands cupped over the knob on his cane.
‘Now, how can I be of assistance to you?’ Rudd said, turning a frown towards his daughter, who’d followed them in. ‘Go and help your mother with the tea things.’ When the girl hurried off, he added, ‘I’d be obliged if you didn’t bring the girl gifts, squire. Barbara be a foolish cheil at times, and I don’t want her gettin’ ideas above her station.’
‘It was nothing to make a fuss about. Don’t give it another moment’s thought. Actually, I’ve dropped in for this quarter’s rent,’ Daniel informed him, deciding not to ask this jumped-up labourer’s advice after all.
‘The rent’s not due until the corn’s been sold, and it’s usually paid to the agent. Wheat’s fetching a good price this year, I believe.’
A cry of alarm came from upstairs. Footsteps thudded down the stairs and Abbie poked her head inside the door, her face screwed up with worry. ‘The pair of them be running a high fever, our Rudd. And Eddie has broke out in a rash. I think the doctor be needed.’
‘Don’t get yourself all in a pucker, woman,’ Rudd soothed. ‘Barbara had a sore throat the day afore yesterday and it came to nuthin’. Still, if you be worried, send the girl on the donkey to fetch the sawbones. Tell her to take the short cut past the old cottage, and if she dawdles I’ll put the strap across her back when she gets home. I don’t know what’s got into that girl lately, but she allus seems to be in a daydream.’ Daniel was the recipient of a meaningful look. ‘I can’t spare any of the boys, we’ve got too much to do before the weather breaks. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss with me, sir?’
‘Come, man, surely the work can wait for half an hour or so. Let’s pass the time of day whilst your good woman feeds us.’ Perversely, Daniel relaxed back into his chair, wasting the man’s time as he consumed the refreshment he was offered. He was enjoying the power he had over the tenant as he watched the farmer champ at the bit.
Eventually, Daniel picked up his hat and smiled benevolently at them. ‘I’m on my way to visit my godfather, the Reverend White. I’ll give him your kind regards, shall I?’
Abbie dropped him a curtsy. ‘That be very nice of you, sir.’
After their unwanted guest had gone, Rudd gazed at Abbie. ‘There be something not quite right about Daniel Ayres. His eyes be shifty, and I don’t trust a man who can’t look at you straight. He ain’t like his father, that’s for sure. Edward Forbes might have been hard when his dander was raised, but he knew the land.’
Abbie shivered. ‘I heard tell that he has his wife locked up.’
Rudd laughed, squeezing her cushiony rump as she bustled past. ‘Now, don’t you go getting in a fret over gossip, else trouble will visit us. I’d be lockin’ you up if you was as skinny as that there woman of his. A man likes a nice warm handful to cuddle up to in bed.’
Abbie chuckled. ‘You keep your hands to yourself, Rudd Ponsonby, and your other bits. You know what the doctor said. No more cheils.’
‘He’ll think differently when he weds and has Peggy Hastings to whet his appetite, for she lost her youngster at birth and has the need inside her for another.’
‘She be a bonny girl, that one. Folks round here won’t forget how that Mrs Matheson helped her out, either. There’s a woman who doesn’t forget her roots. A pity she isn’t running Cheverton Estate for the little squire, for I reckon the labourers would heed her more than Daniel Ayres. They don’t like the way he looks at their wives and daughters.’
Suspicion brought worry to his eyes. ‘D’you reckon he was eyeing up our Barbara? She was blushing like a beetroot and giggling fit to bust.’ Rudd frowned. ‘When that maiden comes back you tell her I want to talk to her. I want to know ’zackly what that Forbes by-blow was up to with her.’
‘Thank goodness he was goin’ in a different direction,’ Abbie mused.
But Daniel had doubled back. Dismounted, he was waiting to intercept Barbara outside the old cottage.
Taking a hold of the donkey’s reins, he brought her to a stop and held a silver coin under her nose. ‘How would you like to earn a shilling for yourself, my dear? You’ll be able to buy some pretty ribbons for your hair at the market.’
Barbara’s eyes began to shine. ‘I be going to fetch the doctor, sir.’
‘It won’t take up much of your time.’ His hands spanned her waist. ‘I’ll give you the pretty brooch, as well. I know of a perfect place where you can hide it, in a hollow oak tree in the woods behind Croxley Farm.’
He took the brooch from his pocket and, laughing, held it out to her as he walked towards the cottage shell. ‘Come in here, there’s something I want to show you. A sweet little ferret which needs a burrow to hide itself in.’
‘I ain’t daft. I know what ’e be after. My dad said I’ve got to keep meself for when my true love comes along.’
‘Your dad won’t know. Besides, I am your true love. Why else would I bring you a gift? Come, Barbara. I’ll take you to the manor and give you a pretty gown afterwards.’
Unable to resist the lure of the gown and brooch, she followed him in, her hand closing around the trinket when they stopped.
Five minutes later she began to cry, a loud wailing noise that got on his nerves. ‘Shut up, will you.’
‘But you be hurtin’ me, sir.’
‘You stupid little slut,’ he shouted, placing his hand over her mouth. ‘It’s your own fault, you shouldn’t have led me on.’
The girl struggled and moaned against his hand as he finished his business, then sank her teeth into it. The little whore! Rage filled his body and his head began to throb with it. He wanted to cry out with the unrelenting pain squeezing at his head.
Incensed, he dragged her upright and punched her. She flew backward and hit the ground, her neck giving an ominous crack. The brooch fell from her hand.
Daniel stared at the girl. She was limp. The weight of her head made it hang at an unnatural angle over a stone, her eyes were staring, her mouth hung slackly open.
‘Oh God, she’s broken her neck,’ he muttered, adjusting his clothing. He stared at her a moment longer, wondering what he should do. Make it look like an accident, he thought.
He carried her out to the lane, placing her in the same position, her head over the same stone. Unconcerned, the donkey munched the grass at the side of the lane. Eventually, the animal would return home and someone would search for her. They would think she’d fallen from the donkey.
Mounting his horse, he turned its nose towards his godfather’s house. He hoped the reverend had some laudanum, for his head was aching so much he could hardly think straight. It would be best not to mention the still figure of the girl on the road.
By the time he reached the rectory, he’d convinced himself that there had been no fault on his side.
That same night, another of Abbie Ponsonby’s children died, from a convulsion brought on by scarlet fever.
Siana wasn’t pleased when Daniel turned up alone, and unannounced. He looked tired, she thought, and agitated. Walking from window to door, his fingers twined and twisted unceasingly, making her feel uneasy.
