Monday's Child

by Linda Finlay

  ‘Time to clear away. You boys will then go with Pip to the workroom while I speak with the girls from Miss Lettu … I mean, Miss Green’s class in the front room,’ she announced.

  *

  Upstairs in her room, Mrs Daws sank down on the bed and held her throbbing head in her hands. What a day it had been. And Sarah returning home and mentioning the doctor’s dearest friend had been the last straw. Whilst it was reassuring to know the school would continue to be funded, and the good doctor’s work could carry on as he’d wished, it had finally sunk in that she wouldn’t be seeing Samuel ever again. Tears prickled at the back of her eyes and she shook her head. You’re made of sterner stuff than this, Daisy Daws, she told herself.

  Seeing Christian earlier had upset her equilibrium. In fact it had fair given her a turn. There she’d been, walking down to the compost heap with her peelings, when his face had suddenly appeared through the bushes, sneering at her like she was something old Marmalade would bring in. When she’d called out to him, he’d made a most ungentlemanly gesture and loped off.

  Such a lovely boy he’d been too, until his parents had sent him away to that posh school. He’d been so upset when they’d told him, crying into her apron until she’d reassured him she’d still be here when he came home for the holidays. Why, she’d even promised to bake his favourite treacle sponge for him. She’d had a real soft spot for the doctor’s nephew.

  She sighed into the darkness, remembering how he’d ignored her when he had returned. That school had given him ideas above his station, and he wouldn’t lower himself to communicate with a servant unless it was to snap his fingers. It had been his mother’s nurturing he’d needed, not fancy ideas planted in his brain by some high-faluting schoolmaster.

  Now, that Harry Higgins was such a lovely fellow and a good schoolmaster too. The way he looked after his widowed mother was a credit to him. Mind you, he’d recently begun using those funny long words. But only when Miss Sullivan was around. Perhaps he was trying to impress her. Now, there was a thought. She was a lovely girl, a bit naïve about the ways of the world, perhaps, but Harry would take care of that. A match between the two of them would be most acceptable.

  If only the doctor had married and had a family of his own. He’d have made a wonderful father. She’d told him once, but he’d laughed and said the children of Red Cliffs were his family.

  ‘Oh Samuel, I do miss you so,’ she sobbed.

  Christian needed some loving, and he was on his way to get it. He’d had one hell of a day and needed to forget his worries.

  He’d watched through the carriage window as Sarah Sulks made her way along the promenade before crossing the road that would lead up the hill towards Red Cliffs. He couldn’t believe the nice little girl he’d played with had turned into a conniving, thieving woman. How dare she try to con him out of his inheritance? Samuel Lawrence had been his uncle, and Red Cliffs was his birthright. He would move hell and high water to secure possession and couldn’t wait to take ownership, he thought, banging his fist against the door. Immediately the carriage drew to a stop. For heaven’s sake, he sighed. Was the driver an imbecile? He’d told him he wanted to be taken to the other side of the docks.

  As it wasn’t far, he decided to get out and walk. Striding angrily to his destination, he remembered his meeting with the bank manager and growled. How dare that Collings bloke have the audacity to tell him the bank had foreclosed on his house and he was required to move out immediately? Wasn’t it enough the bailiffs had already taken most of his furniture? Of course he’d been cross, but there’d been no need for Collings to have him physically removed from the bank. And to have Sarah Sulks witness the scene was embarrassing beyond words. At least he’d had the satisfaction of being able to tell her that he would one day gain possession of Red Cliffs. Although his statement had been slightly premature, he intended to make it happen. He’d already contested the will. Now all he had to do was pay a visit to Rosa and collect what was his. Life is on the up, Christian Lawrence, he told himself as he made his way up the steps and gave his customary three long and two short raps.

  ‘Blimey, look what the winds blown in,’ the woman chirped as she opened the door.

  ‘Lil, my darling. Your day has just got a whole lot better, for aren’t I your favourite man of all time?’

  ‘If you’ve got bucks to burn, then of course you are,’ she chortled.

  ‘I got bucks a plenty to spend on you, my darling Lil, so let me in and let the loving begin.’

  Following her inside, he patted his pockets in triumph. He could think of no better way of spending the money he’d lifted from the collection plate.

  ‘May I have a word with you in private please, April?’ Sarah whispered to the girl.

  ‘I ain’t done nothing wrong, have I?’ April asked, looking up from the tray she was carrying.

  ‘No, of course not. But you are a sensible young lady and I need to ask you something. Can you come with me whilst the others clear away?’

  As April followed her into the front room, Sarah closed the door firmly behind them.

  ‘Take a seat,’ she said, indicating one of the easy chairs, which had once been the height in luxury furnishing but now, with its moth-eaten covers, looked as awkward and uncomfortable as Sarah felt.

  ‘I don’t like leaving them by themselves with Mrs Daws not here to supervise,’ April said.

  ‘This won’t take long, April. You heard the conversation at the table?’

  April giggled. ‘Old Lettuce really got them going, didn’t she?’

  ‘That’s why I need to ascertain exactly what Miss Green has told them.’

  ‘Oh, I wasn’t there,’ the maid said quickly. ‘I was helping Mrs Daws with the vegetables. She makes a nice drop of stew, doesn’t she? And she’s promised to show me how to make those dumplings.’

  Sarah smiled at the girl’s enthusiasm. ‘The thing is, April, I need to know who is responsible for seeing to the girls when they start their … I mean, now some of them are getting older.’

  April frowned for a moment then chuckled. ‘Oh, you mean their monthlys?’ Sarah nodded, relieved she had understood. ‘Why, Mrs Daws, of course.’

  They were interrupted by a knock on the door and Edith and Ellen coming into the room.

  ‘Do you want us in here, miss?’ Edith asked.

  ‘Yes, I wish to speak to all the girls who were in Miss Green’s class this afternoon, please,’ Sarah told her.

  ‘Right, you lot, in you come,’ Edith bellowed behind her and the other ten apprehensively filed in. As they stood staring at her quizzically, Sarah was reminded of the day her godfather had first shown her the schoolroom.

  ‘Don’t look so worried, girls. We are just going to have a little chat. I’m afraid there aren’t enough chairs for you all, so perhaps you’d like to sit in a circle on the rug.’ She waited until they’d settled themselves, then smiled at each of them in turn, praying the right words would come.

  ‘We didn’t mean to giggle at the table, miss,’ Ellen ventured.

  ‘I haven’t brought you in here to tell you off, girls. When I heard you talking earlier, it made me realize I didn’t know what you were being taught in your lessons with Miss Green.’

  ‘Usually she gets us doing those boring stitches or tells us to beware of evil men who only want one thing, though she never tells us what that is no matter how many times we ask,’ Ellen sighed. ‘Do you know, miss?’

  Sarah tried to swallow the lump that had risen in her throat. ‘Why don’t you tell me what this afternoon’s lesson was about?’ she suggested.

  ‘Don’t you know, miss?’ Edith asked. ‘Old Lett … I mean, Miss Green said you’d told her we need to know about our morals.’

  Sarah frowned, trying to recall her earlier conversation with the schoolmistress. ‘I think she got the wrong end of the stick. I was talking about morale, which is something different,’ she told them. They stared blankly back at her.

  ‘You m
ean the teacher got it wrong?’

  ‘Don’t be daft, Maggie, teachers never get things wrong do they, miss?’ Ellen said.

  ‘Well, sometimes there can be a misunderstanding,’ Sarah said tactfully. ‘Now, who is going to tell me what you learnt this afternoon?’

  ‘She told us when we was ripe, blood would come out of our belly button,’ Edith said.

  ‘I don’t want no blood,’ Maisie whimpered, clutching at Monday’s hand.

  ‘There, there, don’t fret, that don’t happen to little girls like you,’ April said quietly, going over and sitting down beside them.

  ‘What else did Miss Green say, Edith?’ Sarah asked.

  ‘That’s the weird bit. She started talking about rabbits and how they jump on each other’s backs.’

  ‘Then she said when that happens to us we have to cross our legs or we’d have a baby,’ Ellen butted in. ‘But why would a rabbit jump on our back? It don’t make no sense.’

  Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘Look, girls, as I said, sometimes there can be a misunderstanding, and I think Miss Green has got things a bit crossed.’

  ‘You mean her legs, so she don’t have a baby?’ Maggie asked.

  ‘I just think Miss Green might have been a little confused about what we discussed. Anyway, I think that’s quite enough about the subject for one night,’ Sarah said.

  ‘If Miss Green’s got things wrong, does that mean you’ll be teaching us now, miss?’ Ellen asked.

  ‘Although I’m not a teacher, I shall be spending more time with you. Since I came to Red Cliffs most of my time has been taken up with sorting out the paperwork.’

  ‘Yuk,’ Edith said, pulling a face.

  ‘Yes, yuk indeed, Edith. However, if I hadn’t paid attention in my lessons I wouldn’t have been able to get things sorted out.’

  ‘Was you clever in class, miss? ’Cos Miss Green says I’m as thick as two short planks. I guess I must be ’cos I don’t even understand what she means,’ Ellen sighed.

  At this, Sarah had to bite her tongue. Whatever was that woman doing to these poor children? She’d speak to Master Higgins first thing in the morning. ‘No, Ellen, I wasn’t particularly clever but I wanted to be, so I made sure I concentrated during lessons.’ Seeing their serious expressions, she decided it was time to move on to a lighter subject. ‘Now, girls, I understand that St Nicholas’ holds a Christmas Fayre every year to raise funds.’ Immediately, the mood brightened, and they smiled.

  ‘We helps with the freshiments,’ a little voice piped up.

  ‘Refreshments, June,’ April corrected her. ‘The boys make things to sell, and we serve the tea and cakes,’ she told Sarah.

  ‘So I understand. How would you like to make some things to sell?’ Sarah asked them.

  They stared at her in disbelief.

  ‘Us? But we’re girls,’ Ellen cried.

  ‘What on earth could we make?’ Edith scoffed.

  ‘Girls are just as capable at making things as boys, Ellen. I thought that perhaps you older girls could make aprons while the younger ones make purses or peg bags.’

  ‘You think we could do that?’ Ellen gasped.

  ‘I do,’ Sarah replied firmly. ‘And I shall get Miss Green to show you how.’ At this, the room fell silent. The girls looked at her in disbelief. ‘Didn’t she teach you any new stitches this afternoon?’

  ‘Nah, she just talked about sex,’ Edith replied, raising her brows.

  ‘But I asked her to show you how to hem and overstitch.’

  ‘More chance of them rabbits jumping on our backs, I’m thinking,’ Edith muttered.

  ‘Well, girls, from now on we shall use the time after supper each evening to work on our projects.’

  ‘Miss goes home at four o’clock, sometimes earlier,’ Edith pointed out.

  ‘But I don’t, Edith. As I was saying before, now that the paperwork is more or less sorted, I will have more time. Time I would like to spend getting to know you all, and what better way than by making things for the Christmas Fayre.’

  ‘Gosh, miss, that would be real nice,’ Edith said, looking around at the others. A murmur of approval ran through the room, and Sarah smiled.

  ‘Now, if April agrees, I think we should all have a hot drink before we go to bed.’

  As a rousing cheer ran around the room, April nodded. ‘I’ll make the drinks, but you lot are washing up the cups.’ The girls rushed from the room, but April paused, looked at Sarah and shook her head. ‘That Lettuce Leaf is rotten through and through, if you ask me. I don’t know much about life, but sure as eggs is eggs, you don’t get babies by rabbits climbing on your back, do you, miss?’

  ‘You don’t, April,’ Sarah agreed.

  ‘Everyone knows the stork brings them,’ she chirped, bounding from the room.

  Sarah stared after her. The maid had been joking, hadn’t she?

  20

  Harry smiled as he handed his mother her bed-time drink.

  ‘You spoil me, son,’ she said, patting his hand. ‘You should be out courting some pretty young girl, not waiting on me.’

  ‘Nonsense, Mother. Now, drink your milk while it’s hot and then it’s up the wooden hill to bedlam.’

  Mrs Higgins smiled. ‘Your father always said that,’ she said, staring into the fire.

  Harry leaned forward and added a lump of coal, then poked the embers into a blaze. ‘There, that’s better. Dr Hawkins did say you needed to get more rest in order to regain your strength.’

  ‘Piffle. I’m as strong as I ever was,’ she protested.

  ‘Well, I’ve put the stone pig under your bed covers,’ he replied, knowing it was better not to argue with her. ‘Now, you enjoy your drink while I clear away our supper things.’

  ‘Leave them, Harry. It’ll give me something to do whilst you’re at work tomorrow morning. And don’t argue,’ she said, when he opened his mouth to protest. ‘Sit down and tell me how things are at Red Cliffs. It’s ages since we’ve had a proper catch-up. Are the children adapting to not having the good doctor around?’

  ‘You know what kids are like. They were upset, naturally, but Mrs Daws has kept a weather eye out. She’s even been baking them extra little treats, though how she does it on our budget, goodness only knows,’ he said, sinking into the easy chair on the other side of the fire.

  ‘She’s a treasure and no mistake,’ his mother agreed. ‘And how about the new lady?’

  ‘Miss Sullivan? She’s settled in well. She had a meeting with the solicitor today, and it seems our benefactor has agreed to continue funding the school.’

  ‘That’s a blessing. So you think Red Cliffs will be safe?’ she asked.

  Harry frowned. ‘I hope so. I’m not sure how much Miss Sullivan understands about the grants Red Cliffs has to apply for. She’d only just returned from the bank as I was leaving and seemed rather bemused. I told her I would go in early tomorrow and she could tell me everything then.’

  Mrs Higgins quietly studied her son for a few moments. ‘You like her, don’t you, Harry?’

  ‘Well, of course. She has the interests of the school at heart, and Samuel had a good regard for her.’

  His mother smiled. ‘As do you, Harry. It is high time you married and made me a grandmother, young man,’ she said, finishing her drink and getting stiffly to her feet. As Harry went to help her she shook her head. ‘No, don’t get up. I shall need to be more active if I’m to be anywhere near fit enough to play with my grandchildren.’

  ‘Really, Mother, you’re incorrigible,’ he exclaimed.

  ‘Think on what I’ve said, Harry. You’re a good man and would make someone a splendid husband. Of course, I might be a little biased,’ she laughed and gave him a wink.

  ‘Good night, Mother,’ he said firmly, before settling back in his seat and sipping the rest of his drink. Really his mother did have some extraordinary ideas.

  Yet, as he sat staring into the fire, where the coal was burning brightly, a picture of
Sarah seemed to emerge from the flames.

  Next morning, Harry left their little cottage on the outskirts of Cockington just as the sky was lightening to grey. Although it was November, the weather was mild, and he whistled as he made his way down the country lane towards Torquay.

  ‘Morning, Master ’iggins. ’Ow’s the new woman shaking down?’

  Harry smiled as the head of the farmer appeared above the hedge. Nothing was kept quiet for long in these parts.

  ‘Good morning, Jim. Miss Sullivan’s settling in well, thank you. How’s that leg of yours?’

  The man grunted and pointed to his sticks. ‘I be like a blessed cripple,’ he grunted. ‘No good to man or my beasts. I can just ’bout manage the milking, tho I haz to use one of ’em blinkin’ maid’s stools, mind.’ He raised his bushy brows and shook his head. ‘The wife does what she can, but she’s that busy, what with making her cheese and seeing to the ’ens, the yard’s in a right old state. Fair breaks my ’eart to see it.’

  ‘Being Saturday, the pupils only have morning lessons, so why don’t I bring them up to the farm after luncheon? They can tidy things up a bit, under your supervision, of course.’

  ‘That’s right kind of you, my boy, but I’m sure you’ve got better things to do,’ the man protested, but Harry knew it was his pride speaking.

  ‘You’d be doing me a favour, Jim. I’ve got a couple of lads still trying to atone for breaking a window and a few of the others could do with learning to do as they’re told. Besides, the exercise in the fresh air will do them good,’ Harry chuckled.

  ‘Well, if you be sure, I can’t deny it’d be an ’elp. I’ll get the wife to put back some of ’er eggs ’er ye.’

  ‘Mrs Daws would be very grateful. Talking of which, she wants to make vegetable soup for supper so I’d better go and check on the state of the garden. Then I have a meeting with Miss Sullivan, so I’ll see you later, Jim.’

  Harry continued down the lane, but for once it was thoughts of Sarah Sullivan that filled his mind rather than the morning’s lessons. He was eager to hear how she’d got on with the solicitor yesterday, for something told him she was going to need his help.