Pengarron Land

by Pengarron Land (retail) (epub)

  Matthias sipped thoughtfully from the cup he’d been holding between mouth and saucer. He said, ‘She could hear about her mother’s death from another source if she’s been questioning others about it. I would say the sooner she knows the truth the better, and the sooner she could put it behind her too. Of course it will be very distressing but I see no reason why she should go to pieces, if that’s what you mean. No, Kerensa has deep strength of character to go with her gentleness and beauty.’

  ‘Thank you, Matthias. Do you know, I believe there’s more than a touch of the romantic lying hidden in you,’ the Reverend said fondly. He’d known the young man all his life, schooled him, and watched with approval the way he’d turned out. He had not been perturbed at Matthias’ keen interest in the rapidly expanding Methodist movement, not sharing the fierce opposition of the majority of Anglican clergymen to it. He smiled warmly at him. ‘I seem to have embarrassed you, Matthias.’

  ‘No, it’s all right,’ he said, smiling back boyishly for a moment. Serious again he went on, ‘I have a lot of thinking to do about Rosina. But I don’t envy you, Reverend, having to tell Kerensa about her mother.’

  Gloom descended in the parlour like a sudden heavy shower of rainfall. The Reverend slapped a hand down heavily on a large fly walking across a nearby book. It slipped through his fingers and flew to safety high on an enclosed bookcase.

  ‘No,’ he sighed, inwardly relieved at the fly’s escape. ‘It won’t be easy…’

  * * *

  On the same afternoon the two men were discussing Kerensa’s late mother, Alice Trenchard turned up at the Manor house. Knocking on the kitchen door she entered self-consciously to find Esther kneading dough, Ruth sewing at the end of the table, and Beatrice drunkenly asleep in her chair.

  ‘Alice!’ exclaimed Esther in surprise. ‘Come on in and sit yourself down. Her ladyship will be really pleased to see you, won’t she, Ruth?’

  ‘She will,’ said Ruth, putting down her work and pulling out a chair beside her. ‘Come and sit down here. I’ll go tell Polly you’re here in a minute.’

  Alice was thankful to sit down after her long walk. Pregnancy was not coming easily to her; her ankles were swollen, her back cramped. ‘Are you sure, Kerensa, I mean her ladyship, will be pleased to see me?’ she asked rather anxiously. ‘I’ve been wanting to come over ever since she came back from Tolwithrick, but didn’t know whether or not to… what with me marrying Clem. But I haven’t been able to rest for a minute since I heard what happened to her. How is she?’

  ‘It’s hard to say for sure, Alice,’ Esther replied. ‘One minute she seems her normal self, then off she goes to be alone and when she comes back it’s obvious she’s been crying her eyes out.’

  ‘As it was on the day, before… before what that dreadful man did. Polly said she was looking vexed,’ put in Ruth.

  ‘Do you know why that was, Ruth?’

  ‘No. None of us does. She had been to Perranbarvah. All we can think of is she didn’t like that man’s company on the way back.’

  ‘Poor girl,’ murmured Alice. ‘Anyway, what’s this Polly Berryman like? Do you all get on well with her?’

  ‘Of course, you don’t know Polly, do you?’ said Ruth. ‘She’s a good woman, is Polly. Been in service for years and has taught us a lot about what goes on in a big house. She stays with her ladyship as much as possible to stop her from moping, and has even given up her evening walks with Nathan since it happened.’

  ‘Nathan?’ Alice raised her eyebrows. ‘With a lady friend? This Polly must be worth having a look at, then.’

  ‘So you’ve showed up, ’ave ’ee?’ rasped Beatrice, waking from her slumbers.

  Alice turned round to greet the crone. ‘Hello, Beatrice, and how are you?’

  Beatrice coughed indiscriminately into the room and wiped the back of a hand across her chins to remove an outpouring of dribble. ‘I’m right enough,’ she answered, bending forward to peer closer at the girl. ‘Yourn ’ave to watch yerself though, maid, yourn all puffed up, jus’ like ’is lordship’s mother was when childbearin’. See it’s another babe conceived before the weddin’ ’n’ all.’

  Alice pulled a face but Beatrice promptly grunted herself back to sleep.

  ‘Well, I’ll go find Polly, then,’ Ruth said, rising from the table, ‘and tell her you’re here, Alice.’

  When Ruth had gone Alice looked all around to be sure no one else was about. ‘How are things between her ladyship and Sir Oliver, Esther?’ she asked, barely above a whisper.

  ‘He’s been very good to her, kindness itself at times, and hasn’t been staying away so much as he used to. We don’t think he’s been… um… bothering her either, if you take my meaning.’ Esther’s face coloured deeply at her last sentence.

  ‘I see. Is Sir Oliver here at the moment?’

  ‘No, gone over to Marazion to see Cap’n Solomon, I do believe.’

  ‘I heard what he did to Peter Blake. Clem went to market last week but didn’t find out how he is now. Have you heard anything?’

  ‘Last I heard, that sister of his had him moved to her house over Trevenner way. If you ask me,’ Esther said, putting lumps of dough on baking trays, ‘that man was lucky to get away with his life.’

  ‘You’re probably right,’ agreed Alice, massaging her aching back. ‘He always made me feel quite cold, for all his fine looks.’

  ‘Well, his looks aren’t so fine now.’

  ‘Of course he can never bring charges against Sir Oliver. If he did, what he did to her ladyship and poor old Dunstan would come out in the open and make an even bigger scandal. He’d be hated more than ever then.’

  Ruth returned shortly with Polly Berryman who warmly shook Alice’s hand. ‘It’s nice to meet you at last, Mrs Trenchard,’ she said pleasantly. ‘Her ladyship talks about you quite often. She’s in her sitting room at the moment. Would you like to come along with me now?’

  ‘I’m glad you’ve come,’ Polly said, as they made their way through the house. ‘I believe her ladyship misses you, and you may be able to cheer her a little.’

  ‘I’ll do my best,’ Alice promised, but she felt rather nervous about seeing Kerensa again.

  Polly opened the door to Kerensa’s sitting room. ‘Mrs Trenchard for you, my lady,’ she said, and withdrew at once.

  Kerensa was half-heartedly arranging flowers by a window. She stared at Alice with a wide-eyed look of disbelief for several moments, then letting flowers fall from her hands, rushed across the room and hugged Alice tightly, tears running freely down her face.

  ‘Alice! Oh, Alice, thank you for coming to see me.’

  Tears insisted on leaving Alice’s eyes too as she murmured, ‘I wasn’t sure if I should come or not, Kerensa. Now I wish I’d come sooner.’

  Stepping back, Kerensa took Alice’s hands. ‘If only you knew how good it is to see you again,’ she said, beginning to laugh through her tears. ‘Oh, I hope you can stay for ages and ages. Come and sit down and tell me everything you’ve been doing since I saw you last.’

  ‘Mother, Mrs Trenchard that is, said I was to stay as long as I like,’ Alice said, easing her thickening body down on a comfortable sofa, ‘if you were at home.’ Florrie Trenchard had in fact said ‘if you are received’.

  ‘And Clem. Will he mind how long you stay? I suppose he’s looking forward to the baby coming.’

  ‘Clem won’t mind as long as I’m back before he comes in from the fields. He doesn’t take much interest in the baby. A bit too early yet, I expect.’ A dark shadow slid across Alice’s face as she went on, ‘I’m sorry about what happened to you, and poor old Dunstan. I should have been here, Kerensa, I should…’

  ‘There was nothing you could have done, Alice.’ Kerensa reassured her, fighting back a shudder at the memory. ‘Jack was very brave, I’m so proud of him.’

  ‘So Clem told me. It was a good thing he came over to see Nathan that day, or only the Lord knows what might have happened.’

  �
�Yes, only the Lord knows,’ Kerensa said softly. ‘I’ll always be grateful to Clem. Oliver will be too, I’m sure.’

  ‘Sir Oliver actually wrote to Clem to thank him. Matthias Renfree read it out for him properly. Clem didn’t say anything about it, but Mother and Father Trenchard, and Gran Donald, were overwhelmed. I thought it was very good of him.’

  Kerensa smiled at her friend. ‘It sounds as though you’ve settled in well with the family. How’s Kenver and little Rosie?’

  ‘With the others fussing about me not being on my feet for long, I spend a lot of time sitting with my work and chatting to Kenver. Did you know he’s very good at poetry? Preacher Renfree comes in now and again to help him write it down, but paper’s scarce, of course.’

  ‘I’ll get you some from Oliver’s study for him, he’s got plenty in there. And Rosie?’

  ‘Well, she’s such a dear little maid, isn’t she? Likes to hold on to my hand, and talks about you and the Manor all the time. She was really excited when she knew I was coming up here today.’

  ‘You must bring her with you next time. We’ll show her all over the house and she can play in the gardens and see if there’s any injured animals in the hut.’ Kerensa’s face brightened as she talked, for a moment eliminating the trace of deep tragedy behind her eyes, before she became earnest. ‘You will visit me regularly Alice, promise me you will? It wouldn’t do for me to go to Trecath-en, but you can come here as often as you like.’

  ‘I’d like that, Kerensa,’ Alice said. ‘I promise to come as often as I can.’

  She gave an audible sigh of relief. ‘Good, that’s settled. I’ll not have you walking in your condition though. I’ll send Jack or Barney over in the trap for you and you can ride home later today.’ She sprang up happily and pulled the bell rope beside the mantelpiece. ‘I’ll ask Polly to fetch us some of Beatrice’s delicious cold fruit and spiced cordial,’ she said, smiling.

  ‘That sounds good,’ Alice said. ‘Do something for me, will you, Kerensa?’

  ‘Yes, of course, anything.’

  ‘Then keep smiling. It takes away the dark shadows under your eyes. And start eating again. I’ve never seen you so thin before, and with me putting on weight it looks even worse.’

  ‘Dear Alice,’ Kerensa laughed, ‘as blunt as ever.’

  When Polly left the refreshment tray she was pleased to see the two younger women chatting and laughing together. She closed the door after her with a satisfied smile.

  Taking her glass from Kerensa, Alice said meditatively, ‘Strange, isn’t it? I used to bring in the tea trays not so long ago. And last Christmas we would never have believed you would marry Sir Oliver and become a lady.’ She added, looking less sure of herself, ‘Or that I would marry the man you were going to.’

  Alice still felt on edge. Since she had left her employment at the Manor to marry Clem it had nagged at her as to what Kerensa really thought about it. She told herself often that Kerensa had no claim on Clem after she had married another man, but she knew Kerensa would dominate the greater part of Clem’s heart for the rest of their lives, and Alice believed love had a way of winning through in the end. The thought that Kerensa and Clem might end up together eventually and she would be left out in the cold was a distressing one. Like the feeling she could not shake off that she was an infiltrator in the Trenchard household.

  ‘You don’t mind too much – me marrying Clem?’

  ‘It felt strange at first, Alice,’ Kerensa admitted. ‘I know I had no right to, but I kept wondering what it would have been like if I had married Clem. I was very jealous of you. But now I’m pleased for you both… I think you will be good for Clem. I’m glad he’s settled down.’

  It was an uncomfortable and embarrassing topic for them both and they were relieved it was done with. A look of deep understanding passed between them that said there was no need for any more words. Alice was cheered inside. She felt certain that Kerensa would not take any course of action that could threaten her marriage.

  As Kerensa sat down, Alice took her hand. ‘How are you? I mean, how are you really feeling inside?’

  She looked dreamily into space then met Alice’s searching eyes. ‘I’ll be all right, Alice, don’t worry about me. It wouldn’t be half so bad if it wasn’t for Dunstan, of course. I miss him so much. If I hadn’t invited that man into the house, he would still be alive. But Oliver says I’m not to blame myself. How can we know what anyone else will do… I can’t help feeling it’s all my fault though. I will have to try and put it all behind me and look forward to the future.’

  ‘Will that be very difficult for you, Kerensa?’

  ‘I won’t let it be,’ she said defiantly. ‘Come on, drink up your cordial and then we’ll take a stroll round the gardens.’

  Alice relaxed back into the sofa’s plump cushions. It was good to see some of her friend’s old spirit returning to her again.

  * * *

  Alice’s visit did much to bring vitality back into Kerensa’s mournful soul and salve her aching heart. With Dunstan gone and so few people to call a friend in this new life, and practically no one to visit her in her new surroundings, it was like being given a lifeline to have Alice’s friendship back again. Now that Clem had someone else in his life to turn to, some of her guilt at hurting him lifted from her shoulders. With his child to look forward to, there was something for him to build a new life for. The Reverend Ivey was pleased to find her in a lighter mood than he had anticipated.

  They strolled in the warm sunshine, her arm wound around his, and he resting a fatherly hand over hers.

  ‘A truly lovely day, Kerensa,’ sighed the Reverend, as a light breeze playfully teased his wispy strands of hair. ‘I congratulate you on the beauty of your gardens.’

  ‘Oh, the credit must go to Jake and the other gardeners, not to me. I do admit though that I’m pleased with everything.’

  ‘You shouldn’t be so modest, my dear. I detect more than a touch here and there of yours.’

  ‘The wild flowers, you mean?’ Kerensa said, looking about. ‘I couldn’t bear to live without them growing close by. I was surrounded by wild flowers in and around the cove. Wild madder, thrift, sea kale.’

  ‘Not forgetting the chicory with its lovely blue petals.’

  ‘That usually opens only in the morning,’ she added. ‘And stinking iris and storksbill, and kidney vetch as golden as the gorse.’ Kerensa laughed gaily, and the Reverend thought it was a shame the information he had come to impart would no doubt distress her more than anything that had yet happened.

  ‘Of course,’ she chattered on, ‘many of those won’t grow very well here away from the coastline, but most of the roots and cuttings I’ve taken from the hedges and wayside will.’ Wanting to delay the subject of Kerensa’s mother for as long as possible, the Reverend spoke on many different topics. ‘Do you think you might have the opportunity to hear Mr John Wesley preach in this part of the country later in the summer?’

  ‘To be honest, Reverend, I haven’t give it much thought. Ruth and Esther are going to, they asked me about it ages ago.’ She stopped walking to sniff a lilac bloom. ‘Perhaps I will go to hear him. Jack could come with me, and Oliver probably wouldn’t mind.’

  ‘I’m sure he wouldn’t, my dear. You go. It will do you the world of good.’

  ‘I admire you for your liberal approach, Reverend.’

  ‘Oh, I see eye to eye with anyone if they preach the true word of God, Kerensa. It’s a pity more of my contemporaries couldn’t do the same.’

  Leaving the formal gardens they strolled round the back of the Manor house to the hut for injured animals.

  ‘There’s a lot of rabbits in here today,’ remarked the Reverend.

  Kerensa picked up a young one and checked the bandage on its foot. ‘This one was found in an illegal trap. Most of them that are found are too badly hurt to save. There’s been a lot caught this year in this cruel way – because we had such a dry spring and many more young rabbits h
ave thrived. A lot die if we have a cold wet May, you see.’

  ‘Really?’ said the Reverend, suitably impressed. ‘You’re such a little mother.’

  ‘Becoming a true mother is my greatest hope at the moment, Reverend,’ she said, snuggling the rabbit into the straw of its box.

  ‘I’m sure you will be, Kerensa. You’ve plenty of time yet. You’re very young.’ The Reverend passed her a jug of water and Kerensa refilled the animal’s supply. ‘If you’ll forgive a frank question, my dear,’ he said, ‘how are you getting used to living with Sir Oliver?’

  Kerensa pondered on this for a moment. ‘I really don’t know. I seem to know so little about him at times. At least I feel more comfortable than I did when we first married. I’m beginning to see through Oliver’s little games now.’

  ‘Little games?’ said the Reverend, frowning. ‘I don’t think I like the sound of that.’

  ‘It’s nothing to worry about, Reverend,’ she said, smiling as proof of her assertion. ‘I can’t explain it, it’s just one of his idio… idio…’

  ‘Idiosyncrasies?’

  ‘Yes, that’s the word. Oliver says Mrs Tregonning has them,’ she whispered, like a child telling tales.

  The Reverend looked at her fondly. ‘Shall we take a walk through the orchards next?’ he suggested. ‘I do enjoy the smell of apple blossom and there is still plenty left on the trees this year.’