The sty was dark and I could barely make out Billy who was sweating profusely and covered in scratches and small wounds. He was wet, dirty and worryingly hot. I struggled out backwards and reported to the ladies that he was in need of a doctor. I volunteered the thought that he had been attacked.
‘Well, as long as he has nothing infectious,’ Miss Wardle, barked. ‘You’d best bring him into my kitchen while one of you fetches someone.’
I struggled back in and eventually managed to drag Billy out of the sty. He wasn’t objecting, he just seemed unable to understand what I was trying to do. I managed eventually and half carried, half dragged him to Miss Wardle’s house.
Luckily it was a good-sized place with a cooking range burning contentedly so I laid Billy on the floor in front of it. Miss Wardle produced some cloths and I gently tried to clean him without opening all the cuts. His clothes were so thin they had given him no protection at all and I was fearful that an infection was setting in. As I took the scraps of clothing from him I wondered briefly why I seemed to be drawn to undress sickly people who I barely knew. Gradually he responded to the warmth and dry towels and his shivering lessened.
‘What happened, Billy, where have you been?’
I couldn’t get any sense out of him at all and we sat there waiting for the physician. I cleaned some of the cuts with water and for one particularly deep one I pulled the skin together and bound it with thin cotton. Miss Wardle, tutted and worried all around us but was unable to help – I asked her for some clean water for Billy to drink.
She made a hot drink as well and we were all quite comfortable waiting.
‘Well, Esther, you seem to attract lost souls to you,’ Dr Grieve said as he strode into the kitchen his voice booming over us three women and Billy.
He raised the patient on his pitifully thin legs and inspected the damage before opening his bag and choosing medicants and bindings.
‘Who did this to you, lad?’ he asked.
Billy was still unable to answer and the physician finally gave up trying to get any information from him. Miss Wardle said that he could stay the night on her kitchen floor and she produced a blanket. I made him as comfortable as I could before Mrs Makepiece and I went back home much disturbed by Billy’s misfortune. Dr Grieve had said he wanted to see Billy as soon as he had recovered enough to travel. I promised to get him there and hoped he would be able to answer some questions.
The next day I hurried to Miss Wardle’s. I kept my shawl across my face so no one would question who I was and link me to Becca. Billy-alone was sitting at the kitchen table and looking a great deal better than he had last night. Next to him and propped against the table were two items, one I had never seen and the other made my heart soar. The first was a stave, sharpened cruelly to a point. The second was Becca’s cradle. I picked it up and smelled it, there was a faint baby smell – how could that be possible after such a time out in the open?
I rushed to hug him but was speedily repelled. ‘Get orff, mind me bruises…’
We thanked Miss Wardle for her care and she seemed quite softened by the time we left, making our way to the physician’s house as quickly as we could. Billy was concerned as to how he was going to pay the doctor.
‘Don’t let’s worry about it until he gives us a bill,’ I said glibly. ‘First we have to get you better.’
We had brought the stave and cradle with us and the doctor was mightily interested in them after he had redressed some of Billy’s hurts.
‘Tell me lad, how you came to be up near Coad Farm?’
Billy yawned, tired of this repeated questioning. ‘I went up to find the cradle.’
I had to explain how Becca had made the cradle in readiness for the birth and so she could float the baby down to find new parents much as in the story she heard Farmer Coad, in all his hypocrisy, read from the bible. The physician shook his head in wonderment and spent the next few minutes inspecting it minutely. I asked him to sniff the cradle and he would be able to smell baby. ‘I don’t think my sense of smell is that finely tuned Esther but I accept that this was indeed a cradle, if only for a short while.’ He turned to Billy.
‘Where did you find it boy?’
‘It was caught up in some reeds. I had to go into the river a long way down from Coad’s in case I missed it.’
‘Can you swim?’
‘No. Leastways, I think I can now, but I couldn’t then.’
‘So, you stepped into the shallows and waded upriver searching the reeds for this little basket. Then what happened?’
‘I was quite near Coad’s when I heard some lads laughing and messing about. Reckon they were the sons, they started throwing stones at me and I kept falling into the deeper water. I tried hiding in the reeds but they knew where I was and kept at me. One of them ran off and came back with sticks and a dog. The sticks were tied to their wrists with long cords so they couldn’t lose them.’
‘Did they know you Billy?’
‘Nah, I was just an easy target for a bit of fun, like.’
‘How long did this skirmish go on?’ asked the doctor, ‘You have a lot of cuts and bruises.’
‘I dunno, it seemed like most of the morning,’ Billy said. ‘I was losing ground and couldn’t keep meself up no more. If one of the fishermen hadn’t come down the river in his little boat I would have been a goner. He shouted at the lads and they ran off but not before losing this spear. It broke at the strap and fell into the water. He hauled me into his boat and we collected the spear and the cradle before coming back to the town.’
‘Did he know who the boys were?’
‘Oh, aye,’ he said. ‘They were the Coad brothers.’
‘Who was the fisherman Billy?’
‘Dunno ’is name but I knows where he lives.’
The physician looked grave and studied the spear closely before comparing it to the one that was already in his room. They were the same, except for the remnants of binding.
‘Well, lad, you’ll live, but you must keep clean and come back to see me if you feel at all feverish, by that I mean unnaturally hot, sick or sleepy.’
I spoke for Billy. ‘Thank you doctor. I will ask Mrs Makepiece if we can take care of Billy until he is all healed.’
As we left the doctor’s room he put a hand on my sleeve. ‘This changes things completely Esther, I hope you will be vindicated in your story. Don’t tell anyone about the stave and cradle until I have had time to speak to the constable. You are a very lucky girl to have such a good friend in Billy.’
We had started to leave when he called me back. ‘There was one other thing Esther. Coad maintains he gave you nothing to care for the child as his story is that you stole her. Is there anything that can link him to the money you say you have – how much was it?’
‘He said he was giving me fifty pounds but it was only thirty-five. I think he thought I couldn’t count.’
‘Even so, thirty-five pounds is a lot of money just to have in hand. Do you know if he might have been doing some business that day with anyone?’
‘No, but the bag was stamped with the bank’s name and his own brand.’
‘Thank you, that might help. Can you remember how the money was made up – notes, coins etc.?’
‘Aye, I can. I do not have that much money that I would get confused.’
I was able to tell him the exact denominations.
Chapter Twenty
Billy and I returned to Mrs Makepiece’s house where we found Miss Wardle. She had been taking a drop of the brandy and was a little pink in the face.
‘Billy,’ she said. ‘I wish you would come and look after my pigs and chickens with me. I am getting on in years and I know you would be able to do the work and Sally behaves much better for you than me. You could sleep in the outhouse, which I would make comfortable for you. It would be much better than living on the streets or in Sally’s sty and you would get your bed and board.’
I thought Billy would be pleased at this offer but he
hummed and haa-d before asking if he had to work all day, every day. Once he was reassured that his work would be in the mornings and evenings only, he agreed.
‘I’ll do it, ta Miss Wardle. I reckon old Sal will be made up with me being there, she’s a rare good piggy, perhaps we could keep some more of her piglets to fatten up and sell.’
‘That’s the thing Billy, we’ll make enough money to cover your wages and more.’
‘Wages, will I get wages an’ all?’ Billy smiled gratefully.
We were all very chirpy that evening despite Billy’s injuries – he stayed with us for the next few days until Miss Wardle was ready to welcome him to his new home – the first he had known since his family died. The outhouse would be a great improvement to the way he had been living.
The very next day he and I made our way to South Farm to tell the Elwoods all that had happened and for me to see and cuddle Beth. She had changed in just the few days that I had been gone and I wept a few little tears into her ear. Cecilia was delighted to be able to tell me that she had smiled her first real smile and spent most of her time cheerfully crowing and blowing bubbles.
Farmer Elwood came in whilst I was sitting with Cecilia and was very interested to hear about Billy’s battle with the Coad boys and the finding of the sharpened stave and cradle. I told him that the money Coad gave me was in a bank bag and I thought that the coroner was particularly interested in that and thought it of use to the case. I explained that it was upstairs with the belongings that I hadn’t taken to Mrs Makepiece’s and he bade me retrieve it. I sped to my room and pulled it from the box, returning to lay it on the kitchen table where we all peered at it as if it would speak. Farmer Elwood suggested that we put the bag and money in a safer place in case it was requested as evidence by the coroner himself or the constable. He took it to his office and it was locked up.
Billy-alone and I returned to Keere Street that evening after he had spent most of the time in the farm kitchen making Cilla laugh. I couldn’t resist commenting that Cilla seemed to like him and had all but fainted when she saw his poor battered self.
It was true and it cheered me that such a good cheeky lad was benefitting from his own generous actions. I would have been a lot poorer in spirit and fact without young Billy keeping me company throughout my troubles. For a moment I wished I could find someone like Billy to share my thoughts and feelings with but I knew that I was not a likely wife for anyone. My twisted leg and plain looks were not likely to find me a man. I sighed before remembering Beth and my many advantages in having good friends who cared for me. I thought myself lucky to be a free woman still despite the serious charges laid by Farmer Coad against me.
Chapter Twenty-One
White Gooseberry or Champagne Wine
Take cold soft water, four and a half gallons,
White gooseberries, five gallons.
Ferment. Now mix refined sugar, six pounds, honey, four pounds, white tartare, in fine powder, one oz. Put in orange and lemon peel, one oz dry or two ounces fresh and add white brandy, half a gallon. This will make nine gallons.
MacKenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts in All the Useful and Domestic Arts
The days shortened into winter and I waited. I waited for release from the accusations that hung over me. I had no idea whether I was on the edge of freedom or the drop of the gallows or perhaps even transportation to the colonies. I spent as much time as I was able with Beth at South Farm where the Elwoods had continued with Mary-Jane’s employment. She seemed to blossom in their kitchen; her own little tacker looked a lot cleaner and healthier too. She undertook much of the heavier work as well as feeding Beth. Cecilia had thrown off her weakness as if it were a cloak. She was cheerful and full of pleasure in having Beth in her household. I think, knowing that I was not Beth’s natural mother, made it easier for her to take on her care when I was in Lewes. I will admit to feeling a little jealous but put such thoughts aside as mean-spirited, but it caused my heart to ache no matter what my head said.
My time at Mrs Makepiece’s house also became easier. The townsfolk were not treating me as if I were a murderess. No one was overly friendly but neither did they cross the street when I walked by. I know I owed this to Becca’s pa who took every opportunity to accompany me about town on any little errands I was undertaking. Not long after my release from the town tower, a gang of boys had followed me – taunting and throwing stones and I had hurried back to Keere Street greatly upset and bruised where the stones had hit me. After that terrifying experience, I found I always had company when I had to go about. Mrs Makepiece, Becca’s pa and young Billy-alone all took turns to keep me company. Even Miss Wardle seemed to regard me as a personal friend despite my not being a pig or chicken.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cowslip White Wine
Take of cold soft water, eighteen gallons Malaga raisins,
thirty-five pounds,
White tartar, in fine powder, two ounces.
Ferment: Mix cowslip-flowers, sixteen pounds, Add white brandy one gallon, This will make eighteen gallons.
MacKenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts in All the Useful and Domestic Arts
Winter came early that year and there was much unrest with the price of basic foodstuffs and poor quality bread. The mood in the alehouses was mutinous with some shopkeepers boycotted for their light loaves and adulterated meal.
Bad weather came before Christmas and with it harsh biting winds that lifted the lying snow from one field to another. Many beasts died for want of feeding and I know Farmer Elwood was worried. His farm was larger than most and he was fortunate enough to be able to bring the sheep into calmer pastures where the shepherds could tend them without being frozen to the iron-hard ground.
I loved going to the farm, I learned so much about the cycles of growth and husbandry of the animals. I tried to help wherever I could and I think that my preserving and bottling added to the family table and store cupboards. My mother never let anything go to waste and I was able to teach Mrs Fisher a thing or two. She never quite thawed to me but I don’t think she actively tried to put me down any more. I don’t know what brought about her change of attitude; perhaps it was seeing so many good people defending me, including her mistress who she held in high esteem.
But I get in front of myself. I went to visit Billy-alone in his new home in November and what a cosy place it was. Miss Wardle had asked a jobbing carpenter to make a raised platform that was to serve as his bed. It was built down the length of one wall and was so long it quite dwarfed Billy. When I laughed at this great structure she pointed out that Billy wasn’t done growing by any means and she was planning for the future. She was such a practical person and had thought about the draughts from the stable door and had nailed heavy pigskin pieces to drop over the open window and the bottom of the wooden door. The window could be strung open in the good weather but provided protection against the worst of weathers. Billy had cast good fresh reeds on the floor to keep the room clean and warm. He had no shoes so it was more comfortable to stand on grasses rather than cold stone. There was a bowl and pitcher for water at the side of his bed that didn’t look as if it had been used recently so I deduced he was still averse to washing any more than was necessary. I did, however, suggest that he use the washing facilities when he came to the farm, particularly, if he wanted to impress young Cilla. He must have thought I was speaking sensibly because he looked a great deal cleaner after that conversation.
I was introduced to Sally the favourite pig and I thought her a lovely great creature. I tickled her back with a stiff brush that Billy kept especially for that purpose. She squirmed against my legs and nearly knocked me off my feet. I couldn’t help thinking that she was a great deal cleaner than many of the men and women I saw about town – and fatter. I don’t think Sally went short of food. There were a host of chickens scrabbling round underfoot and they too looked well fed and contented. I whispered to Billy that it must be good living at Miss Wardle’s.
‘Aye
,’ he said. ‘She’s a good sort, in a bad-tempered way. Mind you, I steers well clear of the owld man at the poor house – he don’t take kindly to me change in fortune. I found him a new lad, someone who can defend hisself and if all else fails can run fast. He should be grateful.’
I laughed at the faces he pulled as he said this.
‘Billy, have you heard any more about my case with the constable? I don’t know what to think, whether to be happy that I have been left alone or whether this is the calm before the storm. I spend so much time in anxiety that my low spirits might overwhelm me.’
‘No, I ain’t ’eard nuffink. I can ask Pot, if you like?’
‘I’d be obliged Billy. I would wish to have an idea if I am to be formally charged. At the moment I try to see every day as a bonus but, in truth, it is a hard position to maintain.’
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Bonfire Prayer
Remember, remember the Fifth of November
The Gunpowder, Treason and Plot
I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
’twas his intent
To blow up the King and the Parliament
Three score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow;
By God’s providence he was catch’d
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys make the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God Save the King
Traditional prayer still used by all the Lewes Bonfire Societies
And:
A penny loaf to feed old Pope,
A farthing cheese to choke him
A pint of beer to rinse it down,
A faggot of sticks to burn him
Burn him a tub of tar, burn him like a blazing star,
Three Round Towers Page 7