‘What happens to the cotton next?’ Rebecca asked, as they moved on from the scutcher.
‘Next it’s carded, and then turned into a single thread.’
‘Mercy me!’ said Betsy. She followed Rebecca and Joshua into an enormously long, low room full of more machinery. ‘All this, just to make a bit of cotton material to sew a dress!’
Joshua laughed. ‘By the time you buy your fabric at the drapers it’s been through any number of different processes,’ he agreed.
They moved onwards and upwards, climbing the stairs to the higher storeys. ‘Here the cotton is spun,’ he said, as they went into another enormously long, low room filled with machinery.
‘I never realized it would be so noisy,’ said Rebecca, finding it difficult to hear and make herself heard over the clacking of machines.
‘You get used to it,’ shrugged Joshua.
As if to underline his words, at that moment they walked past a man who was whistling. Although Rebecca found it hard to hear the sound over the noise of the machines, it was clear the man and his fellows were enjoying the tune.
‘I’m glad there are no ridiculous fines in our mill,’ said Rebecca, remembering that some mills fined men for whistling.
‘No. Hill, the manager, is a decent man. He appears to have run the mill very well over the last few months, from what I can see. I haven’t had a chance to check everything yet, but so far it all seems to be in good order.’ Joshua stood aside to let the two ladies pass back out onto the stairwell in front of him. ‘Now that you’ve seen the mill, I thought you might like to take some refreshment in the office.’
‘But we haven’t seen the weaving,’ said Rebecca.
‘We don’t do that here,’ said Joshua. ‘This is a spinning mill. We sell the yarn to other mill owners who do the weaving and dyeing needed to turn it into a finished piece of cloth.’
‘Ah! Very well. In that case, some refreshment would be most welcome.’
She smiled at Joshua, and was relieved and pleased to see him smile in reply: a real smile, not one that involved his mouth without his eyes. It seemed that, despite their disagreements, they could be friends - at least when talking about matters relating to their shared inheritance.
The office was a pleasant room, and was less functional than the rest of the mill. Wood panelling lined the walls and a thick carpet covered the floor. Opposite the door a barred window looked out onto the mill yard.
Rebecca looked at Joshua questioningly.
‘After all the trouble with the Luddites over the last few years it seemed sensible to take a few precautions,’ he said. ‘Extra locks were fitted on the doors, and all the windows were barred.’
Rebecca nodded. ‘It’s unfortunate, but it makes sense.’
Joshua went over to a finely-carved mahogany table that was set within reach of the large, heavy mahogany desk. On it was a silver tray and a variety of bottles and decanters.
‘Do you always keep ratafia and seed cake on hand?’ asked Rebecca with a humorous quirk of the mouth, as she saw that beside the masculine bottles of spirits, more feminine refreshments had been laid.
Joshua smiled. ‘No. There is seldom any call for them. Ladies are not in the habit of visiting the mill. But I’m glad you’ve come,’ he said, handing her a glass of the fruity ratafia, and kindly handing one to Betsy, who was hot and flustered from looking round the mill.
Rebecca was surprised but pleased. It seemed he had accustomed himself to the idea of her taking an interest in the mill.
‘I needed to see it for myself,’ she said.
She took a sip of ratafia and ate a piece of seed cake.
‘Is it what you expected?’ Joshua asked.
‘I’m not quite sure what I expected, but it is better than I’d feared,’ she said thoughtfully.
Joshua sat down behind the desk. ‘Your grandfather knew what it was like to be poor, having been poor himself, and he did not let the desire for profit turn him into a monster. There are none of the worse sort of conditions here. The mill is not kept as hot as some of the cotton mills, and there is better ventilation. Water is always on hand for anyone who is thirsty, and children are not taken on too young.’
‘However, I’m concerned about their living conditions,’ said Rebecca.
‘Those are not our concern.’
‘Nevertheless, I mean to make them my concern,’ said Rebecca.
‘I thought you might.’
‘You are coming to know me.’
‘Yes, I think I am.’
‘I know my grandfather was starting to look into ways of providing cheap but clean accommodation for the workers, but old age and infirmity unfortunately prevented him achieving anything. However, I mean to look into it.’
‘I can see that your mind is made up. In that case, I will not attempt to stop you. But everything can’t be done in a day,’ he said, becoming business-like again. ‘We will have to take things one step at a time.’
She finished her ratafia and put her glass down on the leather-topped desk.
‘And now I must be going,’ she said. ‘You have given me a lot to think about. But before I do, I have been charged by Louisa to invite you to dinner.’
‘And you, Rebecca?’ he asked, his eyes looking directly into her own. ‘Would you like me to come?’
His question took her aback. She hesitated, but then said simply, ‘Yes.’ The visit to the mill had dispelled much of the coldness between them and she hoped their present harmony could last.
His face softened.
How melting his eyes are, thought Rebecca.
She wished for a moment that she could have accepted his hand: that it had been offered because he loved her and not because he wanted to protect her reputation.
But what was she thinking? Such thoughts were ridiculous. He did not love her. And she did not love him, she reminded herself.
‘I would like to come,’ he said, ‘but unfortunately I have too much work to do here. I’m still going over the accounts for the last few months. Hill, the manager, seems to be honest and efficient, but I have to be sure.’
Rebecca hid her disappointment. ‘Of course. Well, I must not keep you.’
She stood up.
Joshua stood, too. ‘I’ll see you back to the carriage,’ he said.
They walked together back down the stairs to the ground floor, out across the yard and through the gates to the waiting carriage.
Joshua bent and kissed her hand. And then he bid her farewell and she climbed into the carriage, with Betsy close behind her.
Arriving back at the house, Rebecca repaired to her room to tidy herself before joining Louisa in the drawing-room. She started to slip her reticule from her wrist when she discovered it was not there.
‘Have you seen my reticule?’ Rebecca asked Susan, who was about to help her off with her bonnet.
‘Your reticule? Why, no, Miss Rebecca,’ said Susan, looking first of all at Rebecca’s bare wrist and then casting a glance around the room in case it had slipped off without her noticing.
Rebecca, too, cast her eyes around the room, but to no avail.
‘It hasn’t got caught up in your pelisse?’ asked Susan.
Rebecca removed her pelisse and shook it out. ‘No. What a nuisance. Where can it be?’ she asked, speaking more to herself than Susan.
‘Are you sure you took it with you?’ Susan asked practically.
‘Positive,’ said Rebecca. ‘I remember it distinctly.’
She frowned. She could not bear to think she had lost the reticule, particularly as it had originally belonged to her beloved mother.
‘Perhaps it slipped from your wrist on your way upstairs,’ suggested Susan.
‘Perhaps.’ Rebecca went out of her room and proceeded to search the staircase. But the search proved fruitless.
‘Rebecca . . . Oh! Rebecca!’ exclaimed Louisa, startled, as she came out of the drawing-room. ‘What are you doing?’
Rebecca gave a sigh. �
��It’s too vexing. I have lost my reticule and I can’t find it anywhere.’
‘Oh, my dear, what a nuisance,’ said Louisa sympathetically.
‘Maybe it fell off in the carriage,’ suggested Betsy, who was passing through the hall on her way to the kitchen. But a footman dispatched to search the carriage came back with the news that it was not to be found.
Rebecca was resigned. ‘There’s nothing for it. I’ll have to go back to the mill.’
‘But my dear, it’s dark,’ protested Louisa. ‘Why not leave it until tomorrow?’
Rebecca shook her head. ‘I don’t like to do that. The longer I leave it unlooked-for the less chance I have of finding it. I would hate it to be swept up and thrown out by accident. No, I’ll have to go back. It must have slipped from my wrist this afternoon. But don’t worry, I won’t be long.’
Louisa nodded, resigned to Rebecca’s leaving the house again.
Having made up her mind, Rebecca lost no time in dressing herself in her pelisse and bonnet once more. ‘I won’t be needing you, Betsy,’ she said to the elderly maid who had joined in the search. ‘I am simply going to the mill and then coming straight back.’
‘Of course Miss Rebecca will be needing you, Betsy,’ said Louisa, contradicting her. ‘You cannot possibly go back to the mill on your own, Rebecca. What would people think? In fact, you had better take Edward - Mr Sidders,’ she corrected herself, ‘with you as well. I am sure he will not mind.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ said Rebecca, feeling she had already kept Louisa from her visitor for long enough. However, realizing that Louisa would not let her go unchaperoned, she agreed to take Betsy with her and before long the two of them went out to the carriage again. It had been freshly supplied with stone hot water bottles for their feet, and thick travelling rugs were once again piled on the seat.
Before stepping into the carriage, Rebecca searched the pavement outside the house, but the search proved fruitless. She stepped into the carriage and put her hope in finding her reticule at the mill.
The carriage was soon on its way, and before long it stopped in front of the large building. The step was let down, and Rebecca was about to get out when to her surprise she heard a loud snore coming from the corner of the carriage. Looking round she saw that Betsy was fast asleep! She smiled, then, tucking the travelling rug snugly round the maid and making sure the hot water bottles were nestling against her, she stepped out of the carriage.
‘Don’t wake her,’ she said to Collins, the coachman. ‘I will not be long.’
‘Just as you say, Miss Rebecca,’ said Collins.
Collins began to walk the horses as Rebecca pulled her pelisse tightly around herself, for the day was cold, and went over to the gate. The gatekeeper recognized her and, with a cheery salute, he let her in. She explained her mission, and he promised to search the yard whilst Rebecca herself went inside.
She hurried across the yard, turning the corner of the mill in order to reach the entrance.
As she did so she saw a man some way in front of her, apparently painting the mill wall.
But why would the mill wall need painting, when it was made of brick? she wondered. He could not be renewing the paint on the large white letters that spelt out the name of Marsden mill, as they were on the front of the building and not the side.
She had an uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong. She hesitated, taking in the man by the light of the newly-risen moon. He was of medium height, dressed in ragged clothes, and wore a misshapen hat. One hand was raised in the act of painting and the other was holding the pot of paint. Rebecca was just about to ask him what he was doing, but at that moment he finished his work. He glanced over his shoulder, and there was something so furtive about the movement that Rebecca shrank back. He did not appear to see her - thankfully she was darkly dressed, and was hidden by the shadows - and with a last furtive glance round he loped away from her, disappearing round the far side of the mill.
Rebecca’s courage quickly returned and, once she was sure he had gone, she went over to the wall to see what he had been doing. She shivered. In large letters, daubed in red, still-dripping paint, were the words LONG LIVE NED LUDD.
Ned Ludd. Rebecca shivered again as she recognized the name of the supposed leader of the Luddites.
She looked anxiously towards the spot where the ragged man had disappeared. She knew now why she had shivered when she had seen him. On some level of awareness she had known he was up to no good. And she had been right. He must have been one of the Luddites - one of the men who had cast fear into the hearts of the populace in the industrial centres of the Midlands and the North of England over the last few years.
But how had he got in? There was a gateman guarding the only entrance to the mill yard.
One look at the railings that surrounded the mill, however, answered that question for her. Although there was only one way through the gates, any man who was reasonably active could climb over them, and if he chose his spot carefully he could do it out of sight.
Unsettled by the unpleasant incident she continued on her way. She had been planning to leave as soon as she found her reticule but now she knew she must find Joshua and tell him that the mill had been defaced. She could look for her reticule once she had done so.
As she approached the door a new worry assailed her. What if the door should be locked?
But she need not have been concerned. She turned the large handle and it opened. With one look over her shoulder she went into the mill.
In the dark, it did not seem the friendly place it had seemed in the day time. There was no one about and the entrance was only dimly lit. The gas in the wall sconces was turned right down. There was a ghostly stillness, broken only by the distant clack of the machines as they cleaned and carded the cotton.
Summoning her courage, Rebecca began to climb the stairs to the office. She would not feel easy in herself until she had told Joshua about the man with the red paint. Joshua would know what to do, whether they should ignore the incident, or whether they should take it as a warning that the mill may be attacked.
The mere thought of Joshua gave her courage a boost, and she went forward with renewed vigour.
At the top of the second flight of stairs she paused for a moment’s rest.
She was just about to go on again when she thought she smelled something. She sniffed. But no. There was nothing.
She began to climb the third flight of stairs, but barely had she reached the top when she caught the scent again, and this time it was strong enough for her to recognize.
Smoke!
It is probably a smell from one of the processes used in spinning the cotton, she told herself, but even as her mind gave her a reasonable explanation for the smell her instincts drove her actions, and picking up the hem of her skirt she began to run up the last flight of stairs.
As she did so she heard a distant thumping noise coming from above.
Her heart began to beat more quickly and she ran fleetly up the last few stairs. As she reached the top the thumping stopped but she could still smell the smoke, more strongly now. She hurried along the corridor, towards the office. She must find Joshua! She opened the office door but by the light of the moon, which was shining in at the window, she could see it was empty. She backed out, turning and wondering what she should do next, and then, to her horror, she caught sight of smoke curling from under the door at the very end of the corridor. A moment later she heard renewed thumping coming from the other side of it and her heart lurched. So that was the meaning of the noise! Someone was shut in!
Running towards the door she grasped the large brass knob and turned it. But to no avail. The door was locked.
Her eyes went to the keyhole.
No key.
‘Are you all right?’ she called. The thumping had stopped and she wanted to know if whoever was inside was still conscious.
‘Rebecca?’ came a man’s surprised voice.
‘Josh!’ Rebec
ca was horrified. ‘Are you all right? What’s happened?’
‘No . . . ’ He broke off coughing . . . ‘no time for that now. I’m locked in and I can’t put out the fire. There’s a spare set of . . . ’ He coughed again . . . ‘keys in the office, in the desk. The top drawer on the left hand side.’
‘I’ll get them.’
Rebecca flew down the corridor, going into the office and searching for the keys by the light of the moon. The top drawer . . . yes! Clutching the keys she ran back to the locked room and began trying them one by one. Her fingers were clumsy with haste and she dropped them with a clatter.
‘Which key?’ she asked as she picked them up, fumbling with the large bunch.
‘The . . . second . . . largest,’ called Josh, between coughing.
Rebecca found the right key by the dim light and put it in the lock. It turned. She twisted the door knob, and Joshua came stumbling out. He was coughing and choking despite the handkerchief he had held to his face and he stopped for a moment, doubled over, gasping in the cleaner air.
Rebecca put her arms protectively round him. She stroked his dark blond hair. It was pure instinct, and as she felt him relax against her she knew that his response was pure instinct, too. There was a deep, intuitive bond between them, that no amount of disagreements could destroy.
But she could not allow herself to prolong the moment, no matter how precious it was. Smoke was billowing out of the doorway and there was no telling how much Joshua had inhaled.
‘Come,’ she said, closing the door to prevent the fire and smoke spreading. ‘We have to get away from here. There’s too much smoke.’
The smoke was rapidly filling the corridor. She thought quickly, wondering where it would be best for them to go. Not down the stairs - the smoke was already in the stairwell, and Joshua needed clean air to breath. The office. Its heavy door would have kept out most of the smoke, and there was a window they could open if needed. She guided Joshua, still bent double, into the office, and shut the door behind them. She gave a deep sigh. The air in here was untainted. It would provide them with a brief haven until Joshua caught his breath.
One Snowy Night Page 12