Poor Law (The James Blakiston Series Book 2)

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Poor Law (The James Blakiston Series Book 2) Page 6

by R J Lynch


  ‘I had forgotten that Joe hires workers at the fair. Why was he in such a hurry to get back if he has someone to look after his livestock?’

  ‘He hired but the one man, though his father always had three, even when Tom was there. Tom thinks he drove the man too hard. And he ended his employment a few weeks back.’

  ‘I did not know that.’

  ‘You are the overseer. Should he not have told you?’

  ‘I have had other things on my mind.’

  ‘That added to the rumours, for there were those who said the man was sacked because he had dealings with Margaret he should not have had.’

  ‘Good God. Was this true?’

  ‘You would have to ask Joseph. Or the hired man, of course. Emmett Batey is his name. But a past like Margaret’s will make people talk even more than already they do.’

  ‘Her past?’

  ‘I do not know the whole story; only that Samuel was her son but not the son of her first husband. And Tom’s mother did not want his brother to marry her because she feared there would be more children and Joseph would not be the father of those. Joseph may have thought she was right.’

  ‘Then why did he marry her?’

  ‘It was not for love as your marriage to me will be, you may be sure of that.’ She pressed her lips against his cheek. ‘In fact, you were to blame.’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘In a way. Joseph was the oldest son and should have had New Hope Farm when his father died...’

  ‘As he did.’

  ‘...but would he have had it without a wife? You see! Your face gives you away. You do not like a farmer to be unmarried.’

  ‘It is true. I do not.’

  ‘And so Joseph took the wife who was available, not to have a wife but to keep a farm. In any case, Ned had to go there to see that all was well while Joseph was at the Garth. And now Ned will be free to return home to help Tom, and I have told Joseph that I will stay at New Hope for four weeks and no more.’ She turned again to look at Blakiston, her eyes shining, her hands waving. ‘Which, if our banns are to be called on Sunday, is all I will be able to do, because after three weeks we will be free to wed. Oh, James! Is your brother on shore? Will he be able to be your groom’s man?’

  ‘I shall write to him today and ask him.’

  ‘Oh, I do hope so. James, I want to have little Jameses.’

  ‘And little Kates?’

  ‘Your children, James. I want to have your children.’

  ‘Our children.’

  ‘Oh, James. You are the most wonderful man. I should like to squeeze you to pieces. I should like to eat you all up.’

  Blakiston hugged her. Then he said, ‘There is one thing I do not understand.’

  ‘Why do I have to go to New Hope Farm? Why did Joseph not simply leave little Samuel at the Garth?’

  ‘Exactly. Yes.’

  ‘Because he knew, if he insisted on taking the bairn with him, Lizzie or our Mam would send me with them, to look after the child.’ Her eyes were solemn. ‘He hoped he would get to keep me, James. Lizzie hoped so, too. She feels I would be better suited with a man of my own sort.’

  ‘The blackguard. I should horsewhip him.’

  Kate laughed. ‘Please don’t, James. For my sake.’

  Perhaps Blakiston might have behaved differently if he had not heard what he had, and had Joseph’s reaction to their arrival been other than it was. It seemed to Blakiston that the look Joseph cast on Kate was nakedly lascivious, which Blakiston was never going to appreciate. And then the farmer tried to brush him off.

  ‘Mister Blakiston,’ said Joseph. ‘I have no time to talk. I must be out on my land.’

  ‘Kate,’ said Blakiston. ‘Will you please take charge of Samuel? And take him for a walk, for your brother in law seems distracted by your presence. And you, Susannah Ward, find something in another room to occupy yourself.’

  When the two women had left, he addressed Joseph. ‘You must be out on your land. That is an interesting choice of words, for you have no land. It is not your land, it is Lord Ravenshead’s land, and I am Lord Ravenshead’s overseer and you would do well to remember that. You no longer have a wife, Laws, and it is my opinion that a farmer with a baby son and no wife will struggle to manage Lord Ravenshead’s land as I would have it managed. Perhaps I may end your tenancy of this farm. Perhaps I may do so today.’

  ‘But Master...’

  ‘Ah! Master! You remember who you are speaking to. I have some questions I wish to ask you, Laws, and I expect you to answer them. Inspecting what you choose to call your land can wait until I am satisfied. Is that clear?’

  ‘Yes, Master.’

  ‘I wish to understand what happened yesterday morning. I will hear your account from the beginning. Starting with why you were not here when your wife was done to death.’

  ‘Sir, I had gone to Carlisle.’

  ‘For what purpose?’

  ‘I was summoned there. On a fool’s errand.’

  ‘I think you had better explain.’

  ‘Master, I received a letter. My wife could read and she read it to me. It said I must be in Carlisle yesterday, that I must present myself at the Bull Hotel near the Castle walls, that I must arrive there no earlier than eight o’ the evening and no later than nine, and that I would be given something that would make me a rich man.’

  ‘And you travelled sixty miles on no better word than that?’

  ‘I did not want to go. But my wife said if I did not she would be furious with me. She called me an obstinate fool and said I was spurning the chance to be a rich man and make her a rich man’s wife.’

  ‘Sometimes a wife’s opinion is best ignored.’

  ‘That is easy for you to say, Master, for you are not married.’

  ‘In any case, you went. This letter. Who did your wife say it was from? In fact, where is the letter now?’

  ‘She said it was from Lord Worrall. Who I confess I never heard of. The letter will be somewhere hereabouts. She did not want me to take it with me to Carlisle but I insisted. I had it in mind to show it to the people at The Bull.’

  ‘And did you?’

  ‘There is no Bull, Master. Carlisle is a meagre little place of few people and all of them poor. They have five inns but none is called The Bull. I was sent there for no reason. Perhaps someone’s idea of a jest.’

  ‘I see. This letter – how did it arrive?’

  ‘I suppose the post boy brought it.’

  ‘You suppose? You did not see him?’

  ‘I would have been in my…in the fields. Margaret showed me the letter when I came in at midday for dinner. She also read it to me for she has that skill and I have not.’

  ‘Why you did not return from Carlisle till after sun-up?’

  ‘Master, the road is not good to travel at night. There are footpads and highwaymen and the road itself is poor.’

  ‘Susannah Ward, have I given you leave to come into this room?’

  ‘Sir, I have my work to do.’

  ‘Do it elsewhere.’

  The maid looked at him with anger in her eyes, but went. ‘She merely wanted to hear what you have to say,’ he said to Joseph. ‘Doubt not it would have been all over the parish by nightfall. Let us return to your wife’s death. What time was it when you reached home after you had been wherever you had been?’

  ‘Sir, it was about fifteen minutes after six of the clock.’

  ‘You arrived alone? You saw no sign of Susannah Ward?’

  ‘No, Master.’

  ‘What did you see?’

  Joseph’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Sir, I saw Margaret, dead.’

  ‘And what did you do?’

  ’Sir, I ran to my horse and rode to Chopwell Garth.’

  ‘You left your son here?’

  ‘Yes, Master.’

  ‘Alone?’

  ‘Yes, Master.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Master?’

  ‘Your son is scarce two years old. I a
m no father, but I know that a child of that age is unable to care for himself, so why, knowing that he was alone, did you leave him here?’

  ‘I do not know.’

  ‘You do not know. Your story does not hang together, man. Kate is here because you insisted your son must be with you, though in fact he is not your son, and not be left in the care of three women at Chopwell Garth; and yet you were content to leave him on his own with a murderer somewhere about. Before you set off for your brother’s farm, did you inspect your wife?’

  ‘Inspect, Master?’

  ‘How closely did you look at her? You made sure she was dead? Did you remove any of her clothing?’

  ‘No, Master.’

  ‘So you did not know that your wife had been beaten as well as strangled?’

  ‘I...no, sir.’

  ‘Really. Let me tell you something about bruises, Laws. For I have seen these bruises, and they were most interesting. When a bruise is new, it is red. After two or three days, it becomes purple. A few more days and it turns yellow. After two or three weeks, it disappears.’

  ‘Is that so, Master?’

  ‘It is. And what was interesting about your wife’s bruises is that some were purple and some were yellow. But none was red.’

  Joseph Laws stared at the ground in silence.

  ‘What that means, Laws, is that your wife was not beaten at the time she was killed. She had been beaten before. And more than once, for some of her bruises were older than others.’

  Still Joseph said nothing.

  ‘Tell me about your relations with your wife.’

  ‘Master?’

  ‘Were they normal? Did you have relations with her?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘And did she keep her clothes on at the time?’

  ‘No, sir.’

  ‘So you saw her naked?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Then you will have seen the bruises.’

  ‘She was a clumsy woman, Master. For ever walking into things. She would bang her body on the furniture.’

  ‘Would she, indeed. How long have you known that your wife was expecting a child?’

  ‘Why, almost since she fell for it. She told me as soon as she knew.’

  ‘And had you any reason to doubt that the child was yours?’

  The attack came so suddenly and with such force that Blakiston was unable to avoid it. Joseph Laws seized the black iron pot from a hook over the empty fire and smashed it with all his strength into the overseer’s knee. As Blakiston staggered, the pot was swung again, this time at his head. A direct hit, Blakiston would say later, would have killed him. The glancing blow Laws actually scored merely laid him out on the floor, unconscious.

  Chapter 9

  When Blakiston came to, he was lying on the floor with Kate hovering over him. Jeffrey Drabble stood in the background, turning his round hat in his hand. Of Susannah Ward there was no sign.

  Blakiston rolled onto his side and tried to stand. ‘Quick,’ said Kate. ‘Help him.’

  The constable came forward. Dropping his hat on the floor, he put his hand under Blakiston’s arm. ‘Begging your pardon, sir,’ he murmured as he did his best to bring him to the vertical.

  ‘We were going to lift you onto the settle,’ said Kate. ‘But it is so narrow and you thrashed around so much I was afraid you would fall off.’

  ‘I shall sit there now,’ said Blakiston. He rested his head in both hands. ‘Thank you, Drabble. The schoolmaster always said I had a hard head. Though I do not think this was what he had in mind. Now you had better tell me what happened. Where is Susannah Ward? Did Joseph Laws get away? And how did you get here, Constable?’

  ‘Susannah went for him,’ said Kate. ‘I told her to run, and to tell Jeffrey Drabble to run here. I expect she is making her way home more slowly.’

  ‘But that means that you were here alone, while I could not have protected you. Where is the baby?’

  ‘He is sleeping. And I did not believe Joseph Laws would come near, once he had run off like that.’

  ‘Well, at any rate you can no longer stay here to take care of Samuel while that madman is running around. I think we know now who murdered his wife. You will have to take the boy back to Chopwell Garth. But someone must remain. You, Drabble. I wish you to guard this house and sleep here each night.’

  ‘How long for, Master?’

  ‘Until I tell you to stop. Don’t worry about looking for Laws. He’d probably kill you, too. We’ll get the militia to find him.’

  ‘But, Master, I must work. If I don’t work, I won’t have money to eat.’

  ‘You will be working. You will work here. And the Estate will pay you.’

  ‘Oh. Thank you, Master. Master...’

  ‘What is it now?’

  ‘Sir, if I am to stay here at nights, can I ask Dick Jackson to stay here with me?’

  Blakiston’s eyes glittered. ‘Ah, yes. Dick Jackson. The man who went to war with Daniel Dobson and came home alone, but carrying Dobson’s money and his leather jerkin. Your cousin Dick Jackson. Dick Jackson of the mysterious past. Are you ready to tell me his secret?’

  ‘Secret, Master?’

  ‘His secret. I know there is one, Drabble, and I know that you know what it is. Why do you want him to stay here?’

  At that point, the door opened and Susannah Ward limped into the kitchen.

  ‘Perhaps we should ask the maid,’ said Blakiston. ‘She will be here too, I suppose? Susannah Ward, you are tired from your exertions?’

  ‘It is a long way, Master. I see you are recovered from your blow. What is it that you need to ask me?’

  ‘Joseph Laws killed his wife. I do not think we can be in any doubt about that now. He had been beating her for some time, and then he killed her. The picture is clear enough. He was willing to leave the boy here alone because it was never his boy. I suspect he did not believe the child she carried was his, either. And that will be why she died. Until he is captured we must take care. And so I have asked the constable to work here by day, and sleep here at night, and he has asked for Dick Jackson to work and stay here with him. I take it you raise no objection?’

  ‘Dick will not work here, Master,’ said Drabble, ‘for he is already hired as a day labourer by Job King. He would be here only at night.’

  ‘I see. You want more company in the evenings than Susannah Ward can provide. We would not pay Jackson to spend only his nights here.’

  ‘No, sir. But he could have his supper here? And his breakfast?’

  ‘I suppose he could. Well, Susannah Ward? What do you say to this?’

  ‘Where will Samuel be, Master?’

  ‘I have not thought about that. But not here.’

  ‘I will take him to Chopwell Garth,’ said Kate. ‘He belongs to our family. We will look after him.’

  ‘You won’t give him to the overseers of the poor?’

  Blakiston said, ‘How could they do that? What is the first thing the overseers want to know when someone goes to them for help? They ask if there are relatives with money. The parish will not pay if someone else can.’

  ‘And Tom is an overseer now,’ said Kate. ‘So he will know these things. Why do you look like that when I say Tom is become an overseer?’

  ‘I don’t look like anything,’ said Susannah.

  ‘Yes you do. When you said don’t give Samuel to the overseers you looked something fierce. And when I said Tom was an overseer now, I thought you were going to spit.’

  ‘You are a farmer’s sister. You never had any trouble with the Poor Law. You have no idea what it’s like.’

  ‘I am not a farmer’s sister. I am a farm labourer’s daughter. When my father was dying, the overseers came. Of course.’

  ‘Enjoy it, did you?’

  ‘It was horrible. But it is over.’

  ‘For some of us it is never over.’

  ‘Enough,’ said Blakiston. He stood, wincing when his damaged knee took the weight. ‘I have asked
you a question, Susannah Ward. Do you have any objection to Dick Jackson staying here with Jeffrey Drabble?’

  ‘But, Master, if there is no child to look after and no family, there is no need for a maid. I had better look for a new position.’

  ‘Not yet,’ said Blakiston, ‘for we need someone to carry out Margaret Laws’s work. You must feed the pigs and the chickens, and you must milk the cows. Look at the constable’s hands. Would you like something as rough as that on your own udders?’

  She placed her hands on her hips, her mouth screwing itself up to reply.

  ‘Then why should you think a cow will feel differently?’ Blakiston went on before she could get the words out. ‘And, if the two of them are to spend their nights here, someone will have to prepare breakfast and supper for them.’

  ‘I am to be a maid for labourers now!’

  ‘You have been so before, for there have been hired men at this farm most of the time you worked here. And when the harvest begins there will be the allowances to prepare for the men who come to do the work. But enough. I have things to do. Kate, bring the child and let us get the two of you on my horse. Oh – and, Drabble. Joseph Laws told me that the post boy came yesterday morning with a letter. I should like you to seek him out for me and ask him if that is true.’

  ‘It is,’ said Susannah Ward.

  ‘What?’

  ‘It is true. I was here. The post boy came. He brought a letter.’

  ‘Well, Drabble, you will speak to the post boy and confirm that that is so.’

  Susannah Ward looked as though she would speak, and as if what she said would be venomous, but she saw the expression on Blakiston’s face and kept her peace.

  When they reached Chopwell Garth, Blakiston declined the offer of roast beef with the rest of the family but accepted bread and cheese and a dish of tea. ‘I am due at the Rectory tonight,’ he explained, ‘and there will be too much to eat already, without being too full to sit down to the table in the first place. You are sombre, Tom.’

 

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