When we were close enough to hear she shouted, ‘You needn’t think you’re coming back. Not after letting us down like that.’
Ralph smiled his winning smile at her. ‘She just got a bit scared, it being her first day. She’s sorry for causing any trouble, aren’t you, Abi?’
I managed a nod.
Mistress Binch gabbled on. I caught the tail-end of the words, ‘… someone reliable. I’ve got a party of noblemen and his Lordship coming tomorrow, and only me to get things done.’
Ralph just waited until she seemed to have run out of things to say. He smiled long and slow. ‘Then you’ll be wanting the extra help, and she’s willing. She just needs to get used to you. It takes her time to get to see how you form the words, then she’ll have no trouble reading you.’
Mistress Binch took a big breath as though she was going to say a lot. ‘I don’t know–’
‘Now, where do you want it?’ Ralph interrupted, picking up one of the pails that was brimming with water and indicating with his head for me to take the other.
‘The scullery. Now wait a minute –’
Ralph was already moving towards the house. I followed, trying not to slop water over the edge. As we went up to the back door I caught sight of a figure at the window, a figure that retreated when it saw me look. Lady Katherine. I’d know her even from twenty paces, by the glint of her copper hair.
By the time we were indoors Ralph was conversing pleasantly with Mistress Binch, admiring two new loaves steaming on the griddle. Vegetables clagged with earth lay on the table, so I rolled up my sleeves. If I was going to stay, I’d better start and look useful. I took a basin and a brush and began to scrub. A few moments later Ralph tapped me on the arm to take his leave. He had a slice of warm bread in one hand, but we embraced and I saw Mistress Binch’s face soften a little before it returned to its customary ill-temper.
*
Mistress Binch kept me busy the rest of the day with cleaning and chopping, and with plucking two geese for the next day’s feast. There was so much to do I could hardly catch a breath. I scurried up and down corridors mopping and polishing, turning beds and beating drapes. So I did not set eyes on Lady Katherine until darkness fell.
After I’d set down the supper tray, Lady Katherine said, ‘Who was that with you today, carrying a pail into the house? Nobody told me we had taken on any other servants.’
‘My brother, milady.’ I was reluctant to say more about why he was there.
‘But he does not work here.’
‘No milady. He’s a farmer.’ I did not tell her he used to be a gentleman.
‘And where is that?’ She toyed with the spoon, did not eat.
‘In Wheathamstead village, milady, close by. We plough four acres.’
‘He’s very tall. And he has not your colouring.’
‘He’s got hair like my father. I take after Mother.’
‘So what had he come for?’
‘He came to see if I was settling in, m’lady, and he helped Mistress Binch bring in the water.’ I blenched at this white lie, but could think of nothing else to say.
She raised her eyebrows as if the answer surprised her. ‘Then he must be a kind young man to take the trouble. I’d like to meet him. Next time he calls, you will introduce us. Mistress Binch says we need more help on the estate with all our men away at the Wars, and I might be able to persuade Grice to take him on.’
‘Yes milady.’ She could go whistle. I wasn’t bringing Ralph in here. He thought little enough of the Royalists, and I could not imagine him even in the same room as Lady Katherine. He was never good with authority, always had to kick up against it. I turned away to fix the fire then, though I could sense her watching me still, by the hairs that prickled up on the back of my neck, as though she could read my thoughts.
*
That night I must have slept but it was still dark when I woke, my eyes searching desperately for any spark of light. My body seemed to hear things my ears did not. A glint of a star at the window drew me there and I put my face to the thick pane of glass. Along the drive there were horses approaching. Men with pikes, a trundle cart. Their black shapes flooded together then separated. I did not know if they were roundheads or cavaliers, but I did know I did not want to be alone.
I lit a taper with shaking fingers and hurried down to shake Lady Katherine, who struggled to sit up in bed, clutching the sheets, her eyes wide. There was still a candle burning on her table and the fire was a red glow in the hearth.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘Men, m’lady. Men and horses.’
She jumped out of bed and went to the window. ‘It’s my Lord. Quick, barricade the door.’
We dragged the large trunk across the entrance and locked the other door with a key. Lady Katherine obviously did not want me to go downstairs to open up to him, as a good servant should.
‘He’s hammering at the front door,’ she said, stock still, her hand pressed to the neck of her nightgown. In the half-light I could not tell if she was angry or afraid.
I started towards the door, but she grabbed me by my apron tail. ‘No.’
Through my feet I felt a faint vibration. ‘He’s knocking,’ I said. ‘But if I don’t go, I expect Mistress Binch will let them in.’
I could hear nothing, but saw my mistress startle and jump. ‘They’re in,’ she said. ‘They didn’t wait. Just like last time. They’ve broken a window. They’ve been fighting so long, so much blood and battle, nothing matters to them. They can’t be civilised men anymore.’
I saw her bite her lip then look to the door. ‘Help me,’ she said.
The house was full of odd vibrations, like footsteps, scuffling. Lady Katherine hurried to push against the trunk that held the door shut. I saw the door rattle and shiver in the jamb. The latch started to move up and down. Quick as a wink I grabbed the candle snuffer from the side table and pushed it into the hole under the tongue of the latch. Lady Katherine was surprisingly strong, she shoved on the trunk with all her might, and I held the snuffer pressed tight, our eyes locked silently on each other. Finally the movement of the door ceased.
Her green eyes flicked from side to side as she listened. ‘They’ve gone back downstairs,’ she mouthed. ‘My stepfather has called for liquor and Mistress Binch is fetching them wine from the cellar.’
I nodded. She put her hand to her lips, in a gesture that we should be quiet.
She pulled the bolster and pillows from her bed, laid them out on the floor. She pointed to it, and I understood that was to be my bed that night.
She climbed back onto hers, but did not lie down. She clung on to the sheets, listening to what was happening below. I stared up at the ceiling, where cobwebs wavered in the moonlight. I could not sleep for fear. My heart jangled in my chest, I was ready to leap and run.
Curse Ralph. It was his fault I was back in this bedlam house with its crazy mistress and thuggish lord, who’d break into his own house, and whose own family barred the door against him. I thought of the weapons stashed in the room below. If only I’d thought to pick up a knife.
Right until the dawn we tossed and turned. When the light was enough to see by, I stood and began to lay out her clothes. They smelt of the cinnamon and rose that she used to sweeten them. As I shook out her skirts on the foot of the bed she said, ‘The birds are singing. Mistress Binch will be in the kitchen soon. We’d better wait a while before we go down.’
‘Very good, milady.’
‘When they come home after fighting it’s best to leave them to become sober. My stepfather is no respecter of women, even at the best of times. To him I am simply my fortune, nothing more.’
‘What about your husband? Will he not look to you?’
‘That squab? No. He is barely a man. Thomas does whatever my stepfather tells him to do. Sir Simon cheated my mother out of her fortune, and now he’d cheat me by marrying me off to his nephew. He arranged our marriage when I was only fourteen. Do you know what day
he chose for our wedding? April Fool’s Day. What a jest.’
‘Does Thomas treat you badly?’ I thought of her words on the first night.
‘He does not mean to. But he is a milksop. Too frightened of my stepfather to do anything but bleat. Come, you may dress me now.’
*
We went down to the great chamber together. Milady’s eyes were dark-shadowed from lack of sleep, but she entered the room proudly with her head up and shoulders back. For the first time I felt sorry for her, entering this room where every man turned to stare.
A sea of eyes and beards met us. About fifteen cavaliers, in the King’s livery, but dirty, their swords lying about their feet. The smell of them all packed so close together was like an over-ripe cheese. They were scraping out their bowls and downing ale from a motley collection of tankards.
Lady Katherine dipped a curtsey to a pale young man with long drooping curls and he bade her sit beside him. That must be Thomas, her husband. The older man on his other side ignored her, his florid red face almost hidden by supping from his bowl. From his position at the head of the table I guessed he was Sir Simon. I couldn’t help a twinge of disappointment. They were ugly, coarse-looking men.
The other soldiers watched Lady Katherine a moment, and some laughed and made obscene gestures at me, before going back to their bowls of gruel. I hastened red-faced to the kitchen to find Mistress Binch boiling eggs in a big pan. She let out a stream of angry words, and thrust a basket of bread at me. I hurried to deliver it to the table.
From then on I was kept busy fetching and carrying and avoiding men’s paws until the men took to horse again with a great clatter. The great chamber was suddenly empty, but there was ale swabbed on the table and bread and mutton-grease trodden over the floor. So no need to wonder how my morning would be spent. I ruefully collected the trenchers and plates, the knives and spoons, and began the washing.
In the course of the morning I learnt from Mistress Binch that Sir Simon and the Cavaliers had taken the weapons from the store-room and gone on to meet with the mysterious Grice at Luton town. They were making plans to join the King if he had been able to gather a bigger army in Scotland and move it south against Cromwell’s New Model Army.
‘Why do you think Grice wanted a deaf girl, heh?’ Mistress Binch said. ‘Because the Fanshawes are for the King, and we don’t want you tittle-tattling back to the village about all the King’s affairs, that’s why.’
I ignored her and scrubbed harder at the plates.
*
Sir Thomas Fanshawe and Sir Simon, Lady Katherine’s stepfather, hadn’t been at all what I’d imagined gentlemen to be before I came to the Manor; I’d thought they would be quiet and dignified, not the uncouth ruffians I’d seen at the morning table. So I was nervous about serving them the evening meal.
When I went up to dress Lady Katherine she was fidgety whilst I plaited her hair into a knot at her nape and dressed her side-curls.
‘Do you ever wish you had a different life, Chaplin?’ she said.
‘No, milady.’
She watched me tie on her sleeves. ‘Liar. All servants wish they were born more highly.’
I pretended not to hear and finished her laces into a bow with a hard tug.
‘I hate this pomp and show.’ Lady Katherine brushed down her blue velvet skirt impatiently. ‘What is it for?’ Then, catching me staring she said, ‘My stepfather wants to show Aunt Ann that he has me under his thumb. That I am an obedient wife to his cowardly son. I hate them both. And now they allow me only one manservant of my stepfather’s choosing and a single maid. So I have Grice who is as dark and gloomy as the devil, and you, whom no-one else will have.’
I did not answer her, though plenty came to mind, but tied on the other sleeve.
‘Did you hear me? Don’t you care? I have just insulted you and you say nothing?’
‘It is not my place, milady. Besides, there is nothing to say.’
‘Tush.’ She sighed. ‘I did not mean it. I am just so tired of it all. I wish I was a servant, free to come and go where I please. I have seen only the inside of these walls for a whole year. Thank goodness they left me Blaze. I think I would go mad if I couldn’t ride, but I can only ride out at night or where I won’t be seen. If my stepfather found out about it he would put a stop to my riding unchaperoned, so I don’t tell him. But sometimes I long for a change,’ she said wistfully. ‘I’d give anything to ride out in the sunshine, go to market, see some real life.’
I spoke quietly, ‘If you would loan me a horse, I could chaperone you.’
‘You? Can you ride?’
‘My brother taught me.’
‘Ah, your brother.’ She stopped talking and seemed to think a moment, but then she threw her looking-glass down on the bed and said, ‘I still could not ride out to the town with you.’
I turned away stiffly. She obviously did not think me a good enough servant to be seen at her side.
A hand came on my arm to get my attention, ‘It’s a Parliament town. They know who I am and what my family stands for. There is no love for me there; it would not be safe. Thomas has told me what Parliament men would do to women like me.’
I frowned, and turned away not wanting to accept it.
*
That evening Sir Simon was first to arrive at the table. A closer look at him revealed a large-bellied man with a bulbous nose and small darting eyes. He led in Lady Ann Fanshawe, his brother’s wife, on his arm. She was finely-dressed in a black brocaded bodice and a kerchief clasped with a thistle shaped brooch. Pearl drop earrings dangled by her throat. The woman who sat down next to her never looked up from the table. She was wearing an nondescript shade of grey and had a servant’s look about her, so I guessed she must be Lady Ann’s companion.
Lady Ann peered at the banquet, pursing her mouth, though Mistress Binch had produced a meal to tempt the taste buds of a queen. Roast breast of goose in a pool of blackcurrant sauce, jugged hare in its savoury sage gravy, vegetables on their Staffordshire dishes. The smell of it all made my mouth water. Who would have thought it, to look at her skinny frame, that Mistress Binch could cook this way?
I tried not to stare at the guests as I refilled their drinking bowls and passed them their plates whilst Lady Katherine and her husband sat, looking everywhere but at each other. What an ill match, I thought. Sir Thomas Fanshawe almost seemed to fade away, he was so colourless.
I took my place near the door as Sir Simon mumbled the Grace into his beard. Sir Simon and Lady Ann helped themselves generously to the meal, but Lady Katherine and the servant took only small portions.
‘This house is nothing but a millstone around your neck, Simon,’ said Lady Ann, spearing a chunk of meat, ‘and hardly well-situated.’
‘But it’s in a fine position here, close by the river for trade, wouldn’t you say so, sir?’ Thomas said, looking to his uncle for support.
‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ Lady Ann said. ‘I meant you are in enemy country. Too close to St Albans where Cromwell has his cronies. Tell him, Simon.’
‘We are thinking of selling, Thomas,’ Sir Simon said. I watched their lips more intently then, for if he was saying that the house was to be sold, I would be a maid with no position again, and I’d only just arrived.
‘But the King may yet win, and then this house will serve us well,’ Thomas said.
‘Only if he can fund an army,’ Sir Simon said, ‘and he has drained us all – all of us fighting for the old regime. The King needs more mercenaries. We will have to sell property to raise cash.’
‘But if this house is to go, where shall I live?’ Thomas looked from his uncle to his aunt.
‘Baysford, Ponsbourne. We have property enough. Take your choice.’
Thomas looked uncomfortable. Two red spots of colour had risen on Lady Katherine’s cheeks. She put down her fork.
‘But this is my home,’ she said. ‘It was my mother’s house. Am I to have no say at all in the matter?’
Sir Simon took another drink from his bowl before turning lazily to her. ‘It is your husband’s house now. And you’ll go where Thomas goes, naturally.’
‘No. I won’t permit you to sell it.’
‘Permit?’ Sir Simon laughed. ‘You will do as he says; he is your lord and master.’
‘Thomas?’ Lady Katherine turned to him in appeal.
I watched the lacklustre Thomas squirm under the eye of his uncle. ‘Well, I –’
‘Of course, if there was a child to consider, then perhaps…’ Sir Simon let the words hang.
‘How dare you! There will be no heir.’ Lady Katherine stood and threw down her napkin on the floor. She looked as angry as a hornet. ‘I would not bring a child into this loveless house.’
Sir Simon was out of his seat in a moment and holding Katherine by the arm. ‘Fetch the rod, Thomas.’
‘But I –’
‘I said, fetch the rod. A wife must obey her husband; that is what the law says.’
Thomas took a riding switch from its hooks over the fireplace and held it out to his uncle.
‘No,’ Sir Simon said, putting his hands behind his back. ‘Not this time. You are man enough now, and she’s your wife. You must do your duty.’ Lady Katherine began to struggle to escape her step-father’s grip. My eyes must have been wide with horror because Sir Simon’s eyes turned to me. ‘You.’
I stepped away until my back pressed hard against the wall.
‘Come here.’
I had no choice but to obey.
‘Unlace her.’
He had to repeat it before I knew what he was saying. My hands shook as I unthreaded the laces at her back until the fine transparent lawn of her chemise was visible.
Sir Thomas was standing away, nervous, unwilling to lift his hand.
‘Strike, boy!’
Thomas brought the switch down tentatively on Lady Katherine’s back.
‘Harder. Do you want an obedient wife or not?’
Thomas hit her again. Lady Katherine did not flinch.
Sir Simon wrenched the stick from Thomas’s hands and cut it down on milady’s shoulders with an almighty blow. I felt it whistle past and saw the blood seep from underneath to stain her chemise.
Shadow on the Highway Page 4