The Passions of Bronwyn

  ‘She looks so sad,’ Wyn commented to Betty as she walked past them.

  ‘Embarrassed more like,’ replied Betty. ‘She thought she was so much better than us but now knows she isn’t.’

  ‘I don’t think it was like that,’ Wyn told her, ‘I think Miss Catherine really loved Frank. She’s not as snobby as the rest of her family. I think she genuinely liked me. We got on really well. I do feel sorry for her.’

  ‘You’re such a romantic idiot,’ Betty exclaimed, ‘she would never have given up her pampered life to live with a groom.’

  When they were in bed that night, instead of just pulling up her own night gown, Betty turned to Wyn and started kissing her. Wyn sat up shocked, ‘what are you doing?’ she exclaimed. Betty pulled her back onto the bed, ‘instead of us just doing it to ourselves, why don’t we try doing it to each other?’ she asked. ‘We can’t have a man, so this might be the next best thing. She kissed Wyn again. Wyn opened her mouth to let her slip her tongue in. Betty started exploring with her tongue and at the same time she started touching Wyn’s nipple. ‘Ooh,’ Wyn moaned, ‘that feels nice.’

  ‘Touch me as well,’ Betty whispered.

  Wyn took hold of one of Betty’s nipples and squeezed. Betty moaned and moved her hand further down Wyn’s body. Wyn moved around to give Betty better access. They were passionately kissing and touching each other by now. They both could feel the waves of pleasure starting to rise and just let it wash over them.

  ‘Oh that felt so good,’ Wyn told Betty ‘but is it really bad of us?’

  ‘Yes it did,’ replied Betty ‘and who cares if it’s bad, we can do it whenever we want and it makes us feel really nice. Who’s going to know?’

  The following day Wyn was in the kitchen as normal when Mrs Danvers the Housekeeper walked in.

  ‘Where’s Mrs Davis?’ she asked.

  ‘She’s in the herb garden,’ replied Wyn.

  ‘Can you tell her we need to discuss the menus for the Mayday Hunt. The family are expecting several guests that day and after all that has happened recently, we need to put on a good show,’ said Mrs Danvers.

  Wyn nodded and carried on peeling the potatoes for dinner. That sounds exciting she thought, I wonder how much of the hunt we will be able to see. She had seen a hunt before in Wales and knew how exciting it could get. She said to Betty, who had just walked into the kitchen, ‘we are going to have a hunt for Mayday. Don’t you think that is exciting?

  I’ve never seen one,’ said Betty. ‘You don’t get many of those in the east end of London.’ ‘You’ll love it,’ said Wyn. ‘It will give everyone something else to think about.’

  When Mrs Davis came back with the herbs she needed, Wyn told her what Mrs Danvers had said.

  ‘I’ll go and see her now,’ she said. ‘Carry on with the rest of the vegetables until I get back.’ William walked into the kitchen and Wyn told him about the hunt.

  ‘What will you have to do?’ she asked him.

  ‘Just look after the guests,’ he said. ‘The groom has most of the responsibility during a hunt so they better find a new one soon. We might get a chance to go off on our own.’ He winked at her and walked out of the kitchen. Wyn felt a shiver go down her body at the thought of being alone with him. Get a grip of yourself she thought, it won’t do to keep thinking like this.

  Later that day Wyn saw a lot of activity around the stables. Betty told her that Mr Charles was seeing possible grooms. ‘I’ve seen some very nice lads milling around.’ They slipped out of the kitchen and crept round the side of the house heading towards the corner of the stable block to try and see what was happening. They saw Mr Charles with a man of about twenty years old. He had curly blond hair and a rugged face. His body looked very fit and muscular. He wasn’t very tall but then most grooms weren’t. He mounted Mr Charles’s horse Nero who was a very large stallion with a lot of spirit and a mind of his own. He needed a lot of controlling. As the man mounted him, he took off towards the field at high speed.

  ‘Oh no!’ exclaimed Wyn, ‘he’s going to fall off.’

  Just as she said that the man got Nero under control and brought him back to Mr Charles. ‘Well done lad,’ Mr Charles said, ‘you did very well with him. You have the job if you want it.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said the man, ‘I’d like that.’

  ‘Right,’ Mr Charles said, ‘I’ll get William to show you where you sleep and anything else you need to know.’

  Wyn and Betty got back to the house just as William was bringing him inside.

  ‘This is Ned Broom,’ he said. ‘He’s the new groom.’

  Ned looked at them, ‘it’s nice to meet all of you,’ he said. He looked at Betty in such a way that her cheeks started turning a pink colour.

  Wyn nudged her and whispered, ‘he likes you.’

  ‘Don’t be daft,’ replied Betty, ‘he’s just got here and is getting his bearings.’

  ‘If you say so,’ replied Wyn with a smile. ‘This summer just got even better. We could all go around together. Four is safer than two.’

  Betty just looked at her and exclaimed, ‘you’re daft you are.’

  Mayday finally dawned. Wyn and Betty were so excited because they thought it was going to be such fun. There was going to be a fair, parade, dances, and lots of floral decorations. They had got up very early in the morning and had been out picking flowers to decorate the house with. They heard Mrs Davis shouting and ran to find out what had happened.

  ‘Where are the pies I made earlier?’ she asked. ‘I put them on the window ledge to cool and now they’ve gone. Someone around here is stealing food, This isn’t the first time it’s happened.’

  ‘We haven’t seen anything,’ Wyn and Betty told her.

  ‘I’m going to see Mrs Danvers,’ said Mrs Davis. ‘Something strange is happening here.’

  Wyn and Betty carried on with the decorations. They wove flowers into garlands and made posies for people to wear and bouquets to fill baskets which were hung on the doors of the house. There was going to be a parade in the village which would be led by a May Queen who was crowned with flowers and attended by several other girls all wearing white, with flowers in their hair, who danced and sang as they followed the May Queen. There were to be dances at the May Fair which would include Morris Dancing which was performed by groups of men dressed in green and white with flowers on their hat. Wyn was really looking forward to going as they had been told they could go for a couple of hours until they were needed again.

  When they had finished with the preparations they were free to go to the village. There was a Maypole decorated with flowers and long ribbons attached to the top. There were children holding on to the ribbons and dancing around the maypole. Wyn and Betty thought it looked wonderful.

  ‘Maybe we can have go later,’ said Wyn.

  ‘Don’t think so,’ replied Betty, ‘we have to go back to the house soon.’

  Wyn sighed and felt rather sad that they would miss most of the celebrations. There was going to be riding hobby horse races and archery tournaments. The day was to be concluded with a bonfire.

  A couple of hours later Wyn and Betty went back to the house. There were horses with riders dressed in their hunting finery just waiting to start. It was very noisy with the riders shouting to each other and the baying of the excited hounds. The horn was blown and then they were off. It was suddenly a lot quieter. William appeared at Wyn’s side and asked her if she had been near the stables lately as something strange was happening.

  ‘No,’ Wyn told him, ‘but it’s funny because food has been disappearing from the kitchen. Mrs Davis is very puzzled by it. There has been no sign of any strangers around.’

  ‘Well, it looks like someone has been sleeping in there,’ William told her. ‘I’m to have a look around and tell you not to wander around the stables on your own in case there is someone around.’

  Later they heard Mrs Davis calling them and they went into the kitchen.

  ‘Are all the veg
etables peeled?’ she asked ‘and have you cleaned the floors of the kitchen and scullery?’

  ‘Yes,’ Wyn replied.

  ‘Good,’ she said, ‘the hunt will be back soon and they will be hungry so we need to get started.’

  All the preparations were finally finished just as they heard the horn calling the hounds back. ‘It’s over,’ Mrs Davis said. ‘They will all be in soon, quick get this food up to the dining room.’

  The members of the hunt were being served with a cold buffet. Wyn and Betty spent the next twenty minutes taking the food up to the table. They had just finished when they heard a lot of shouting coming from the stables. William came running into the kitchen.

  ‘What’s happened?’ asked Wyn?

  ‘You won’t believe this, but Frank Cooper has just been found hanging from the stable rafters. He’s dead,’ he told them.

  ‘Oh my!’ exclaimed Mrs Davis, ‘I thought he had gone up north to his brothers.’

  ‘So did all of us,’ William replied. ‘It must have been him that was sleeping in the stables,’ ‘and stealing the food,’ interjected Mrs Davis.

  ‘Poor man,’ said Wyn, ‘that’s so sad. It must have been because of what happened with Miss Catherine. What happens now?’ she asked.

  ‘Mr Charles is sending for the Constable and I suppose he will investigate what happened,’ William told her.

  ‘Oh Lord,’ said Mrs Davis, ‘does this mean that what happened with Miss Catherine will have to come out? There will be such a scandal.’

  The next day there was a lot of activity around the stables with the Constable and two of his men looking around trying to find out exactly where Frank had been sleeping and if he had left any clue as to why he had hung himself. Suddenly one of the men came running out with a piece of paper in his hands. ‘I found this,’ he said. He handed it over to the Constable.

  ‘It’s a note from Frank Cooper,’ he told Mr Charles. ‘It says he couldn’t stay with his brother and he had no-where else to go, so he came back here but then he decided it was too hard to live anymore so he hung himself. His mind must have been very disturbed,’ concluded the Constable.

  Thank God they all thought, he didn’t say anything about Miss Catherine. Mr Charles just gave a huge sigh and said, ‘it’s such a shame, he was a good groom. I’ll make sure he has a decent funeral.’

  ‘If he was such a good groom why did you let him go?’ asked the Constable.

  ‘It was a difference of opinion that’s all,’ Mr Charles replied, ‘there was no need for him to do this. I would have given him a decent reference. He would have been able to get another position quite easily.’

  Come along,’ Mrs Davis said to Wyn and Betty, ‘we still have a house full of guests to cater for.

  ‘They don’t have to know what has happened here,’ said Mr Charles. ‘They have had a good day. Let’s keep it that way. Mr Carter, the Butler, is looking after them at the moment, giving them plenty to drink, so they will be quite happy.’ He turned to William, ‘shut the stable door until Frank has been removed. ‘Ned is looking after the horses in the paddock. We’ll wait until everyone has left before we sort this mess out,’ he told him.

  Once all the guests had left the, undertakers came and took Frank away. The funeral took place a few days later. Mr Charles had persuaded the vicar to bury Frank in the grave yard even though he had committed the sin of taking his own life. A small buffet was arranged for the rest of the staff in the staff dining room. Mr & Mrs Brompton both made a brief appearance and said a few words to them. Then it was over. It was never to be spoken of again although Wyn and Betty wondered if they had told Miss Catherine. We’ll never know Wyn thought. It is all so sad.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  At last they all had the same day off so Wyn, Betty, William and Ned decided to go into the village together as they had been told that once every summer a German band passed through the village and they would be playing outside the inn. The band was composed of a father and his six sons, the eldest of which played the cornet, the youngest beat the drum. They sat in a circle in green uniforms and played the kind of music none of them had ever heard before although it is was quite entertaining.

  ‘Well, that was different,’ remarked William when they had finished. There was also a man with a dancing bear. It danced with a long pole balanced across its front paws and then did exercises at the command of the man.

  ‘Poor thing,’ said Wyn, ‘look at the state of him.’

  His fur was mangy and the smell of him turned their stomachs.

  ‘He’s obviously very old,’ said Betty. ‘You should be ashamed,’ she said to the man.

  He just gave her an evil look and turned away.

  ‘Let’s see what the inn has to offer,’ suggested William. They all turned and went inside. The landlord brought them mugs of frothing beer. Wyn and Betty took very small sips of the beer as neither of them had ever tasted it before and they both pulled a face.

  ‘Yuk,’ said Betty as she tried taking another sip. ‘I suppose I’ll get used to it.’

  They sat quietly for a minute drinking until they heard shouting coming from outside. They were curious so went outside to have a look and saw a wagon full of household items. The man sitting on top of the wagon was a small, thin-legged old man. He was wearing an old velvet coat with a feather stuck in the band of his battered old hat and he had an old red and yellow neckerchief knotted round his neck. He set his stock out on the ground and rang a bell to get attention. He had all kinds of items for the home for sale from tea cloths to full dinner services. Wyn and Betty ran over to have a look.

  ‘I never realised life in the country was so exciting,’ Betty remarked.

  They jumped back as women and children started running towards the wagon to see what there was to buy. A fight broke out between two of the women over a set of jugs.

  ‘Now, now you two,’ the odd little man said. ‘There’s another set over here, you can both have one.’ The two women went off happy, each holding a set of jugs.

  Wyn and Betty walked back over to William and Ned laughing.

  ‘I’ve never seen anything like that,’ said Wyn.

  ‘Me neither,’ responded Betty. ‘What shall we do now?’ she asked.

  ‘There’s the small market town of Crampney nearby and it’s market day,’ said William, ‘let’s go and see what they’ve got there. It’s not too far to walk.’

  They all agreed and walked out of Ripplesdown along the road to Crampney. As it was market day, there were a lot of carts and wagons travelling along the road. They had to keep to the verge where the grass was quite high which made walking difficult.

  ‘Oh my!’ exclaimed Wyn after tripping again. ‘This is not easy walking.’

  ‘Come on,’ replied William smiling, ‘stop moaning and just walk.’

  ‘It’s alright for you,’ she replied ‘you haven’t got your best shoes on. I don’t want to spoil them.’

  The traffic on the road eased so they could walk in the road for a bit which made the going easier.

  In the distance they could see the spire of the church and knew they were getting closer to the town.

  ‘I think we’ll find an inn first,’ said William. ‘I could do with a bite to eat and a drink.’ They all readily agreed and walked into the town. They could see crowds of people walking down rows of stalls with all kinds of goods for sale. Wyn started feeling quite excited by everything she was seeing.

  ‘Come on,’ said William, ‘let’s find the inn first, I‘m really thirsty, then we’ll go explore. It looks like there is going to be a lot to see.’

  They sat down in the inn which was full of people. There was a lot of talking as most of the customers of the inn were there to sell their goods and prices were being argued about. They drank their beer which was very welcome as they were all very thirsty. As soon as they were finished they went outside into the sunshine.

  There were market stalls selling all kinds of goods from fruit and ve
getables to the meat stalls. The fish market was hidden from view although you could still smell where it was. Further up the hill were the pens for the livestock market. They were full of lambs, calves and pigs waiting to be sold. Wyn felt quite sorry for them. They walked all around the town. There were cottages with railings enclosing their front gardens which were full of flowers. There was the railway station and shops. It took them a long time to walk around. As they walked down the main street they saw a man on a penny farthing.

  ‘I don’t think I could ever ride on one of those do you?’ Wyn asked them.

  William was watching fascinated. ‘I want one,’ he said.

  ‘Me too,’ said Ned, ‘it looks like fun. I don’t know how he stays on it.’

  All too soon it was time to start making their way home. It was getting towards dusk and the sun was starting to set. It was quite a long walk back. They had bought some bread and cheese and decided to eat it by the side of a little brook sitting with their feet in the water. When all the bread and cheese had gone William said, ‘come on we’ve got to get back before it’s really dark.’ They started walking again but they were getting tired and slower.

  ‘We’ve got to rest,’ Wyn exclaimed, ‘I’m so tired.’

  ‘Alright,’ William agreed, ‘let’s just go over there and sit under the trees.’

  They all walked off the road into the field running alongside the road. It was a lot darker by now and they were finding it hard to see their way. William sat down next to Wyn. Ned and Betty had walked further away. William put his arm around Wyn and drew her towards him. She didn’t stop him when he raised her face to his and kissed her gently. She felt a shiver run down her back. William intensified the kiss, putting his tongue in her mouth. It felt a lot different from the kisses she and Betty shared but it was much nicer, although she liked what she and Betty did. She could feel the whiskers on his face scrapping against her cheek and there were wonderful sensations building in her body but she remembered Betty’s warning about getting into trouble. She pulled away from him.