Retribution

by Beverley Elphick

  The next day we woke to a newly-risen sun peeping through the rippled glass and picking out dust motes fluttering in a draught of cold air. Beth scampered out of bed looking for her woollen slippers and I flung a wrap around my shoulders. The day was crisp and had its own peculiar vitality as we scurried around lighting the great fire and laying the table for our breakfast. I had some oatcakes put by and though we could go into the house and have breakfast in the kitchens with Cilla and the housemaids, I wanted us to get into the habit of being alone together before the needs of the family took over.

  Chapter Twelve

  Christmas 1796

  Last week was the greatest snow in the East part of this County that ever was known, it being in several places twelve feet deep but in the West part was not shoe deep.

  Sussex Weekly Advertiser and Lewes Journal 1750/1806

  Beth took to calling our new home the shoe house, after the shoe that fell down the chimney, and we settled in very quickly; so much so, that Bonfire Night and Christmas came and went without us noticing much. We spent Christmas as before, decorating the main house with evergreen plants and mistletoe. I had a store of old man’s beard and wove it amongst the greenery. We also decorated the biggest of our own rooms, but not the other two. On Christmas Eve, we joined with all the servants as well as Cecilia, Freddie and Farmer Elwood to welcome the carol singers. I didn’t want to go to the church on Christmas Day. There were too many painful memories and it might remind Beth of Wilf’s shooting, which thankfully she seemed to have forgotten, or at least never mentioned. We stayed at home and watched over all the food being prepared for the Christmas festivities.

  We spent most of our family time with Freddie and Cecilia who was expecting another baby in the coming year. Her pregnancy was, as previously, full of nausea, and as well as looking after Freddie and Beth, I was able to help her endure the worst of it with some home-concocted drinks and herbal remedies. Occasionally I was able to help with women whose babies were due. It was all a case of managing time to meet everyone’s needs, including my own.

  Farmer Elwood was often from home now. He had many civic calls on his time as well as helping the new farm agent, Mr. Harvey, settle into his role - taking on the everyday tasks that Wilf had been so familiar with. I felt rather sorry for him at times as it was a big estate with lots of property as well as the animals and produce. Wilf and his father were both born into it which had helped them enormously.

  Cecilia told me that they didn’t expect the new family to be fully absorbed for at least a year, which put a lot of pressure on Farmer Elwood. Some good news was that Billy-alone had been taken on full-time and he was able to help things along with his wide knowledge of local families and who was likely to work hard if extra labour was required. Some families were shiftless and lazy and would put up a good act for the first day but then drop away. Billy knew all about them and would be able to guide Mr. Harvey. I was thrilled for him and hoped that this raising up from orphan parish lad who had run away from the workhouse, to farm labourer with special responsibility to help Mr. Harvey was what was needed to secure his future and perhaps, one day, make a marriage with Cilla. Their courtship was now official, as Billy had approached her father and secured his approval, though only after he got the job. Billy was such a good, kind boy and he still lived with and helped Miss Wardle with the piggies. Neither of us had forgotten how she took him in after being beaten by the Coad boys when he was searching the river for Becca’s makeshift cradle. His help in clearing me of the charge of murder would never leave me and I regarded him as my dearest friend, alongside Cecilia, despite our difference in age.

  There was still much unrest in the town and nearby villages as the price of grain was high, and though unscrupulous bakers had been discouraged from selling light bread by the threat of prosecution or violent reprisal, people still couldn’t afford to feed their families. Starvation was a constant threat to many, particularly those from Cliffe. As had happened before, in times of need, a local solution was undertaken by families who had the means and the goodwill. A parish soup kitchen was a great success and both Mrs. Makepiece and the Elwoods supported it with work or produce.

  I found myself too busy with the children, Cecilia’s pregnancy and generally making myself useful, to help with the business of feeding the hungry of Lewes and Cliffe as well as Malling. I did hear of many women who trudged from the outlying hamlets to join the queue, and though they might not have been of the parish, some of the kindly townspeople didn’t have the heart to turn them away. Messes of soup went to many districts, albeit unofficially, while those who were charged with overseeing the distribution had their backs turned.

  Poaching was on the increase again and some landowners came down hard on anyone caught stealing rabbits, hare or bigger game; the local court was full of men who had succumbed to the wrong side of the law. There was very little sympathy on the part of the local magistrates - often whose land it was they had poached from.

  ***

  Settling into my new role at South Farm proved harder than I expected, though I still had Mary-Jane to help me. Cecilia was fragile in her pregnancy and needed much care, especially as Farmer Elwood was constantly wanted on the farm or in Lewes and Brighthelmstone. His property didn’t look after itself and he had to contend with some rascally tenants who treated his houses neglectfully before running away, leaving overdue rents unpaid. He was a good man but his patience was greatly tried by having to take on the burden of work that Wilf had done so easily.

  Mr. Harvey, the new man, was a fine fellow but his wife caused some problems with her nagging demands. I tried to help and often mediated between the man and his wife which wasn’t a pleasant thing. There were three youngsters who were all promising children but the atmosphere of resentful bitterness did not help to promote harmony in the family. I suggested to Mr. Harvey that it might be an idea to put the eldest out to be a kitchen maid at one of the neighbouring properties and remove her from her mother’s influence. Mrs. Harvey clearly realised that this suggestion had been mine and I got the back end of her tongue when next I visited as she thought the daughter, Polly, ought to be her housemaid. Poor Polly, I thought, but with one thing and another then forgot all about it. Some months after they moved in, I met the unfortunate girl out in the fields when visiting the young lambs with Freddie and Beth.

  She approached me shyly. ‘Ma’am, can I ’ave a word?’

  ‘Aye, but you may call me Esther.’

  ‘Sorry, ma’am, Esther,’ she said. ‘I do wonder if you could try and get me ma to let me go? I will work anywhere you think best but not at ’ome. Me ma, she ain’t reasonable and she takes out her anger at pa on me.’

  ‘What about your brother and sister, Polly, how is she with they?’ I asked.

  ‘That’s the strange thing, she be all cheery with they, but not me.’

  ‘Why do you think that is? Is it because you are older?’

  ‘I dunno, she never was cheery with me as far back as I can remember. I think she blames me for ’aving to marry pa all ’em years back.’

  ‘I don’t know if I can do anything, Polly. Your ma don’t like me much and anything I suggest would probably go down badly on you.’

  ‘Aye, but if you asked the master,’ she persisted, ‘he could make it ’appen and she won’t be able to do nothink ’bout it, would she?’

  I laughed. This girl had a head on her shoulders and a nice manner, despite her mother. ‘I’ll think on it, Polly, and if I can find a way, I’ll speak up for you. But won’t your pa miss you?’

  ‘Aye, ’e will that, but it will remove another thorn from his side if ma weren’t constantly moaning ’bout me and he wantin’ to defend me.’

  Freddie and Beth had had enough of the lambs and it wasn’t warm enough to sit about outside, so we made our way back towards the house. The going was slow as Freddie’s little legs were not ready for long walks.
I picked him up and jogged him up and down on my back to screams of delight, with Beth racing around shrieking with laughter. It was wonderful being able to play with little ones all day long and most of the time I was content.

  Part of my duties were to get the children to bed at a reasonable hour. Cecilia wanted time to spend with her husband and the evenings were when she felt most capable, so I endeavoured to build a pattern into our lives that would work for her, but this left me with long evenings alone. I was still getting the periodicals from Mrs. Crabbe, but it didn’t take long to read them and take notes if needed. As the evenings grew lighter, I could take Flossy to visit Mrs. Makepiece and it was to her that I told Polly’s story, adding that I knew what it was like to work for someone who did nothing but find fault.

  ‘I am surprised at you, Esther, for not thinking of Miss Wardle,’ she said. ‘Since Billy-alone spends most of his time at South Farm now, she is struggling, and she is not getting any younger. If this girl, Polly, is handy and can see to the piggies as well, then it would suit everyone.’

  I thought on it before replying, ‘Farmer Elwood has a lot on his plate, I’m not sure he will want to interfere with his agent’s household arrangements. My earlier suggestion was not well received by the wife.

  ‘Nonsense,’ she scoffed, ‘he is the master. He will have so many issues, one more won’t make any difference, and this is such a little request. Get Cecilia to talk to him. Now, shall we take a drop of something in our tea, dear?’

  I turned it all over and decided to talk to Cecilia when she was feeling brighter, which occurred the very next day. Once I had explained about the poor girl’s predicament and her thoughts as to why she was put upon at home, Cecilia agreed that we might do something to help her and, indirectly, her pa.

  Cecilia was dandling Freddie on her knee as Beth crawled under my chair. We were up in the nursery and as the bright sunshine filtered in I couldn’t help thinking how easy and pleasant my life was nowadays despite the loss of Wilf and my work. But Polly’s predicament had brought back memories of our troubles at Coad Farm and the spiteful bullying attitude of the farmer’s wife. I really hoped Cecilia and Farmer Elwood could help her.

  ‘I’ll talk to John,’ Cecilia said. ‘I’ll wait until after he has had his brandy and is comfortable. I know he likes Mr. Harvey, so he will probably agree to do anything that makes his home life more palatable. Anyway, we have nothing to lose. If the woman is that much of a tartar then nothing we do will make her worse.’

  ‘She probably won’t want Polly taken,’ I warned, ‘because then she will have to do her own housework - the other girl is too young.’

  ‘Well, who does she think she is? Her husband is a working farm agent, isn’t he, not a gentleman? He’s just one step up from the labouring classes. She should be doing her own housework. I think she must be downright lazy.’

  ‘Aye, you are probably right,’ I said, and couldn’t help smiling at Cecilia’s emphatic definition of the labouring-class structure. ‘She might think she is better than she is, because her husband has got on.’

  ‘Well, we had better put her in her place before she gets too carried away with her self-regard and delusions. Leave it with me.’

  When I snuggled into bed later, I found myself giggling that once Cecilia made up her mind, Farmer Elwood would do what she wanted - he would do anything for his young wife, even if he grumbled at being ‘pushed around by women’.

  Polly started working for Miss Wardle within a month and could live in, but Billy continued to visit his piggies, so she did not have so very much to do in that line. Mr. Harvey didn’t look any happier when I saw him about the place but at least the poor girl was better off, and she had the occasional afternoon to visit her pa and the younger children. Every time I bumped into Mrs. Harvey, she would look at the ground and just mutter an acknowledgement. On occasion, I had to visit the cottage and it was a sorry looking place now. Gone were the bright clean windows and the pretty flowers; the whole place looked forlorn and dingy, as did the two youngest children. But they were not my problem; at least I had done my best by Polly.

  Chapter Thirteen

  1797

  Wednesday last as a woman was cleaning out an empty uninhabitable house in Lewen’s Mead

  In a coalhouse, she found a basket filled with sawdust and sand and in it the body of a female child, supposed to be about five or six months old, with its head and right arm cut off. The arm under it’s back and the head upon its breast. The head was perished and the toes rotted off.

  Sussex Weekly Advertiser and Lewes Journal 1750/1806

  Mrs. Makepiece had asked me to call upon a young woman whom she knows, and I set out with Flossy as my companion. Beth and Freddie were both fast asleep in the nursery with Mary-Jane keeping an eye on them. Cecilia and Farmer Elwood were having a leisurely meal together and knew that I had gone out to see this woman, Eliza, who was of good family but in straitened circumstances. We made our way to Cliffe and beyond the bridge. It was a long time since I had been down there, and I looked round curiously to see if the area had come up at all. It stank as much as I remembered, but then so do most towns. I couldn’t help thinking that if I had the management of this place I would do something about the muck in the road, particularly as there was a great tidal river full of water nearby to wash it all away!

  Eliza was but seven months gone and after I examined her I could pronounce that the baby had a good heartbeat and was positioned right for her time. Her home was sparse of comfort, but it was clean and well-kept, so I gave her some general advice about preparing for the little one’s arrival and what she might need. I rode away in good spirits, pleased that I had been able to help with settling her worries. She seemed very interested in my work, and I wondered if she might help me in the future. I think that was why Mrs. Makepiece wanted me to visit her.

  Since I had begun working for Cecilia, I had been able to save some money and it warmed my heart to think of my little store and begin to dream again that one day I might be able to branch out and have a place of my own with one or two beds for women who needed medical help before their babies were due.

  As usual, I constantly looked about me and though dusk hadn’t yet fallen, I was wary of anyone on the road I didn’t recognise. I could see there was a man yonder near a stand of trees which I usually trotted through as fast as I could. I slowed Flossy to a halt and wondered if I should turn back. I hadn’t heard much or seen aught of my aunt since the wedding and I wondered just how long I was going to feel threatened like this. Suddenly, I heard the clatter of hooves behind me and was relieved to see one of Farmer Elwood’s friends coming towards me. I pulled off the track to let him come alongside and greeting him loudly I asked to accompany him to the farm.

  ‘Aye, Miss Esther, were you spooked?’

  ‘Aye, it’s just I thought I saw someone lurking in the trees yonder and what with the unrest and hunger about it seems better to travel with a companion.’

  ‘Well, you’ll be safe with me, girl,’ he said, laughing.

  As we trotted through the trees, I looked about me but saw no-one and wondered if I had imagined it.

  On occasions, when Freddie was busy with Cecilia, I could take Beth to visit her grandpa. We always met at Mrs. Makepiece’s and frequently Mrs. Jenkins and Miss Wardle would also be there; so it was when we called one warm day in the late spring. It was beautiful weather and some of the leaves still had that freshly minted look, a busy little breeze causing them to flutter happily. Beth was excited to be riding with me on Flossy who desperately wanted to drop her head and munch the tasty grass. I kicked her into a trot just to keep her from trying to manage me! Once we had taken our cloaks off, my friends resumed the conversation that our arrival had interrupted and, as it was about people I knew and feared, I listened open-mouthed to what they had to tell me.

  Mrs. Coad, the farmer’s wife, was dead - she who threw
Becca out into the night to give birth to her husband’s child - and there was some interest in how and why she had died. The man who had taken over Dr. Grieve’s responsibilities as coroner had remarked to someone who knew Mrs. Jenkins that her death was due to falling down the stairs. His name escapes me, but he was not of the same ilk as Dr. Crabbe. He had become well-respected in the town and Mrs. Jenkins said that he was concerned that this was no accident but there was not enough evidence to prove otherwise. How people talk! According to Mrs. Jenkins, she was a healthy woman of no very great age, and the question she and others were asking was why would a healthy woman trip down the stairs that she used every day of her life when she had no obvious reason to fall?

  I asked if the gossiping would have been so great if there hadn’t already been one dreadful event relating to that family - Becca’s suicide. They all looked at me and said nothing.

  I also asked when the funeral was and where. Apparently, this ‘accident’ had occurred two days ago and once the coroner was satisfied with the cause, the funeral would take place very quickly as the spring temperatures were rising. I shuddered at the thought and lost my interest in the day. I didn’t stay longer than was strictly polite, and gathering Beth, we made our way home as soon as we could without appearing rude. I hated it that anything relating to that horrible family could throw me instantly back into such a painful sequence of events.