Tom turned to me and with a look of disdain said,
“Oh, so that’s it. You’ve fallen for her lies, have you Jabez? I thought you’d know better.”
I didn’t expect to have to use it, but my hand gripped my billyclub below the bar. I spoke calmly, or as calmly as I could.
“We don’t want any trouble, do we Tom? You’re right I am middle-aged and even though I don’t like to admit it, as I get older I find running this place on my own gets harder and harder. Adie’s offered to help me and as there’s plenty of room, she can do that a lot better if she lives here. That’s all there is to it.”
I looked steadily at Tom, hoping he understood I was giving him the chance to back down. Unfortunately he wasn’t yet ready to take up my offer, because turning again to his audience, he said.
“And that’s what we’re supposed to believe, is it? She’s just going to help poor old Jabez run his pub.”
The anger inside me was rising but I knew, for Adie’s sake, I needed to keep it dampened. So ignoring his taunts, I tried again.
“I don’t suppose Adie’s got much that she can call her own, has she Tom? But I expect she’s got a few bits we can arrange to collect?”
Tom spat back.
“She’s got nothing of her own. She’s lucky we’ve let her keep the clothes on her back.”
I raised the billyclub and rested it deliberately on the bar; I thought this ends now or the club ends it for me. I said,
“Are you sure about that, Tom? Perhaps you should go home and discuss it with Elizabeth and if you find anything, clothes, nightwear, that sort of thing, then you could bring them back here tonight. Of course, if you want, I could go and see Elizabeth tomorrow when you’re at work and apart from picking up Adie’s belongings, we might talk about everything she’s told me about you. After all, I think it would be a shame to miss the chance to hear what Elizabeth has to say about Adie’s ‘lies’ as you call them, don’t you?”
I held the billyclub more firmly; I expected him to back down, but if Tom was going to react, it would be now.
Unfortunately he definitely wasn’t ready to retreat. Instead, he stepped towards Adie, who instinctively moved back. Ignoring her, he took hold of the chair she’d broken in her fall and wrenched from it an already mostly detached leg.
Turning, he let forth an almighty cry and simultaneously swept the chair leg along the full length of the bar, completely clearing it of all bottles, mugs and glasses. He then raised the chair leg high above his head and with a second emphasising cry, brought it down on the now cleared surface.
I moved back smartly when Tom swept the bar, but kept hold of the billyclub. When with surprising agility, he leapt on top of the bar, I swung the club and made contact with his legs just below his knees. They gave way, and with a cry of pain he landed at my feet. Without a second thought, I swung the club again and caught him a blow on the side of his head. He lay senseless.
For some minutes, I had seen nothing other than Tom but now, when he no longer posed any kind of threat, I surveyed the bar. With her back against the wall, Adie was holding the broom she used daily and presumably had intended to use to defend herself. To a man, my customers sat looking at me with various expressions of astonishment and I realised, as it was many years since I’d last used the club, it was a sight most of them had never seen.
But now I had a senseless man at my feet I needed to move, something I couldn’t do on my own. So first I spoke quietly to Adie.
“Adie put the broom down will you? And go out the back and bring me a jug of water. We need to bring Tom round.”
Hesitating for only a moment to gather her senses, she put down the broom and hurried into the back room. Whilst she was gone, I asked a couple of the men sat at the table to go and saddle one of the donkeys and bring it around the front.
Looking down I could see Tom was stirring, but looking up again I was too late to stop Adie leaning over the bar and pouring a full jug of water directly over Tom’s face. Cursing and spluttering, he struggled to get up, so I put my foot on his chest and said,
“Now we don’t want any more trouble, do we Tom? Let’s just take things slowly, shall we?”
He looked at me defiantly, but his body hadn’t yet regained the strength to match his eyes, so he gave up the struggle.
Turning to Adie, I said,
“Now he’s awake, can you go and get a cloth so he can dry himself?”
She lingered for a moment, smiling down at Tom and I felt him move beneath my foot. I looked sharply at her but she was already making her slow way to the kitchen.
John, who’d gone with his father to fetch the donkey, came back into the bar to tell me his dad was out the front with the tethered animal. John was a big lad, so with his help I had no problem raising a still groggy Tom and guiding him out to the donkey where, with the additional help of John’s father, we assisted him onto its back. Finally, before they left, I instructed them to make sure Tom got inside safely and not to just leave him at the door.
With that, they set off and it was only as they were about to turn onto the main road, I remembered to call after them that they should ask Elizabeth for anything she could let Adie have; I hoped she’d hold a different opinion from Tom.
When I went back into the bar, Adie had cleared up most of the mess and wiped up the water that hadn’t remained on Tom. Now smiling as though nothing had happened, she was serving my remaining customers with a round of drinks. They, for their part, were all talking to her at the same time and whilst it was difficult to identify what any individual was saying, it was clear they were all welcoming her to the pub.
I joined her behind the bar and helped her finish the round. Not quite sure of how they felt about my use of the billyclub, I told them,
“By the way lads, this round’s on the house; make up for the inconvenience of this evening’s little, er, incident.”
I think in the end there had been more entertainment than inconvenience, but I was pleased they had been so welcoming to Adie. Although there were only six of them, I knew their opinion of Adie was important because the next day everyone in the pans would know all about my new barmaid. In the meantime, as Adie was obviously fine holding the bar, I wandered back outside and waited the return of John and his father. As it turned out only John returned leading the donkey, so it was with some anxiety I asked him,
“Your dad’s not come back with you then John? Tom didn’t give you any problems, did he?”
“No, everything went fine. Dad’s gone home ’cos he’s got to be up early.”
John’s father, Harry, was the local blacksmith, had been for years but, since enclosure had swept through the county, the now much larger farms employed their own smiths and work for Harry had dropped significantly. So recently, he’d found some extra early morning work for him and John in town, clearing horse muck and other rubbish from shop fronts before they opened. There wasn’t enough work for two, so they took it in turns and the next day must have been Harry’s.
John told me what had happened when they got Tom home.
“I think Tom’s head still hurt because he went like a lamb and after we saw him inside, he threw himself on their bed and went straight to sleep.”
“How was Elizabeth?” I asked.
“Well, she wasn’t pleased when she heard what you’d done to Tom, but I don’t think she was surprised. She said that the last thing she told Tom was not to hurt the girl or get into a fight with you, so at least she was thankful when Dad told her both of you weren’t hurt. Anyway, she said I should give Adie this.”
He raised a small bag he was carrying. Pleased that Elizabeth clearly didn’t feel quite the same about Adie’s decision as Tom, I said,
“Let me take the jenny and while I put her in the stable, you go inside and give that bag to Adie. Tell her I said to give you a pitcher; you deserve it.”
He handed me the rein and then, bag in hand, headed into the pub. I stabled the jenny and joined him an
d the others. The rest of the evening went by uneventfully and after I shut the pub, Adie discovered that in the bag, along with her nightdress and a few items of clothing, Elizabeth had sent a hurriedly written note wishing her well and hoping they might see each other soon.
Adie was accepted quickly despite her age, and she took to her new role as if she’d been doing it for years. She soon came to know every customer and not only did she know their names, she also learnt what each one drank and what hours they worked, so their drink was always ready and waiting for them when they appeared. My customers who were the first to meet Adie, pump–primed the rest and as I had hoped, curiosity brought men in to see the new barmaid. But I hadn’t anticipated that because of Adie and her personal touch, my regulars became more regular, occasional customers became regulars and all of them started bringing in their wives now and again, just to prove the girl they’d been talking about was all they said she was but nothing more. Whilst the women could see Adie was young and attractive, they also saw she treated all of my customers, including the women, with equal friendliness and attention. As far as me and Adie were concerned, I think you could say that our shared secrets meant that any slight awkwardness between us soon disappeared.
As I’ve already mentioned, Tom Rider was an infrequent visitor to the pub, so his absence was unsurprising. More surprisingly, I heard from others from the pans that he hadn’t been seen for a couple of days after the incident. Because I was out of practice, I worried I may have hit him a little harder than needed, so I was pleased when I heard he had returned to work. But when he returned, they said he’d been quieter than ever and there had been no mention of that night and no explanation of the lump, which they told me was clearly visible, on his temple.
Adie’s only regret was that whilst she didn’t care whether or not she ever saw Tom Rider again, she had never seen Elizabeth since being dragged to the Boar by him. But she never showed her sadness to my customers, instead reserving it for when we were closed. I decided that I owed it to both of them to find a way of bringing them together.
Meanwhile, behind the bar, Adie sparkled. But while she shone, I still had a darker role to play and it was no surprise to me when Sam Baker visited me soon after Adie moved in, concerned that his operation should remain watertight. I was in the stable when he first arrived, so Adie was alone in the pub, and when I returned, Sam was standing talking quietly to her. She told me afterwards that although she hadn’t known who he was when he came in, there was something about Sam that made her pay him special attention.
All my other customers had either moved to the ends of the bar or were seated at a table. I thought I was standing outside his vision, but I had barely taken a step inside the bar when he spoke to me.
“Good evening, Jabez. I’ve just been getting acquainted with your new barmaid. Admonition isn’t it?”
He looked at Adie,
“People usually call me Adie.”
Disregarding her, Sam said,
“Well, Admonition tells me she’s living here now.”
When she moved in, I knew this day would come. I also knew it was important I handled the situation well if I wanted to avoid any serious consequences. Turning to Adie and trying to sound as relaxed as I could, I said,
“This is Sam Baker, Adie. I’ve told you all about him.”
Later, she told me that I’d only confirmed what she’d begun to suspect, but what I was really trying to do was show Sam that I trusted her and that he could as well. For the moment, he appeared to be satisfied.
“Alright then Jabez. We’ll talk about this later.” Then turning to Adie, he said, “Right then Admonition. How about another mug of ale?”
He pushed his empty mug towards her.
“As I said, most people call me Adie.”
“Alright then. Another pint of ale please, Adie. Most people do still call it ale, don’t they?”
She parried his sharp-edged smile with one of her own and it was becoming clear to me this girl feared little. Like me, Sam, who I’m sure was used to people being afraid of him, must have been surprised by her reaction to him because he took his ale and went and sat at a table on his own. For the rest of the evening, every time I looked in his direction he was looking at Adie, but I couldn’t fathom out what he was thinking.
Probably because of Sam’s presence, the pub cleared quite early, until he was the only one who remained. When the place was otherwise empty, Sam said,
“You can lock up now Jabez. Then we can discuss what’s to be done about young Admonition here.”
Going out the front, I locked and bolted the door. I’d been thinking about this inevitable conversation all evening, but only as I walked back into the bar did I decide what I should say. All evening I’d been watching Sam looking at Adie and I remembered how she had met his smile, so before he could say anything more, I answered him.
“There’s nothing to be done about Adie. I told her about the work I do for you before she moved in. She had to leave where she was living and she’s here because I make all the trips you require and still run a pub on my own.”
He then asked me,
“Why did she have to leave her old place? She was living with the Rider’s, wasn’t she?”
Clearly, he knew a little more than he’d let on, so I told him,
“That’s right. The Rider’s took her and her brother in when their house collapsed, killing the rest of their family. The reason she had to leave she told me in confidence and until she tells me otherwise, it will stay that way. Mind you, as I hold her secret, I think you’ll understand that she won’t break my confidence; I’ll keep her secret. She keeps mine.”
“And I’ll keep Jabez’ confidence because he’s always been kind to me. I don’t know why, but he’s never asked me for anything in return and I mean anything.” Her tone made sure Sam knew exactly what she meant, “So I’ll help him in any way I can.”
Sam’s face broke into a smile and for the first time it was genuine. Then with another first for me, he actually chuckled and said,
“Alright Adie, I believe you. In fact I think I believe you more than him.” He glanced in my direction. “You see I’ve been watching you all evening and seen how you get on with all of Jabez’ customers. I’ve been asking myself why, even though you’re young, all of ’em, and let me tell you there are some awkward cusses amongst ’em, why all of ’em seem to like you. I think I’ve worked it out; you’ve got an open and honest face. You treat them all the same and you always say what you believe to be the truth, unlike Jabez here who always tells them what they want to hear.”
Though I made to defend myself, Sam wouldn’t let me.
“Don’t deny it Jabez. You know it’s true. Anyway, apart from working in the bar, what else does he have you doing?”
Adie didn’t hesitate.
“Well, he won’t let me have anything to do with smuggling, if that’s what you want to know, but there are lots of other things I can do. You’ve seen me work in the bar, but when he comes back exhausted after he’s spent the night working for you,” she paused to make sure Sam understood the emphasis before adding, “I let him sleep while I take care of the donkeys and after I’ve seen to them I see to the bar.”
Sam turned to me and said,
“You didn’t tell me about this new arrangement and I’m not happy about that. I don’t expect any changes in any of my arrangements unless I agree them first.”
Apparently unafraid, Adie answered him for me.
“Yes, but if he had told you what he was going to do you never would’ve agreed, would you?”
Sam looked at her. He was clearly annoyed, but meeting his eye, she carried on.
“You need to understand that Jabez was just about done for, so no matter what you did to him, he would have had to stop making all these trips and then none of your salt would have been delivered, would it?”
I was astonished at her defiance, but she still hadn’t finished.
“And ano
ther thing, he was getting too tired to look after the donkeys properly, so they were suffering and soon would have broken down as well. But now I make sure they’re cared for, Jabez gets enough rest and because of that your salt gets delivered, so everyone should be happy.”
I held my breath. I was sure no one had ever spoken to Sam like that, but she just smiled defiantly. Sam turned to me. His smile was gone and in an unnaturally quiet voice, he said,
“I was going to say that I don’t expect any changes in any of my arrangements unless I agree to them first, but as this seems to be secure and to have some advantages, I’ll say no more about it. But let’s be sure, shall we Jabez? No one talks to me like that girl’s just done. She’s young and she doesn’t know me very well, so I’ll let it pass this time. I admit she is engaging, but if she speaks to me like that again, she’ll be very sorry; you both will. Is that clear?”
He looked at both of us. Adie still looked defiant, but to my great relief, she just nodded and I said,
“Yes Sam. She’ll be fine. Everything will be fine; another load tomorrow, is it?”
I didn’t like how I sounded, but this was a new experience for me; I had another to protect. Sam, who was heading for the back door and appeared to have lost interest already, just said,
“I’m not sure, but you’ll find out in the normal way.”
As he left, I was very glad to be able to shut the door behind him. I breathed a sigh of relief, but before I could speak Adie, who had followed me, said,
“Look, I know you think I said too much, but I don’t think he knew how far he’d pushed you. That’s the trouble with men like him. People are so afraid of ’em that they never get to hear the truth, so they make mistakes.”
She still echoed with defiance, which worried me, so I had to be sure she understood that he meant what he said.
“Yes, but Adie I’m not sure you understand exactly how dangerous that man is. Promise me you’ll never cross him again.”
Smiling, she said,
“Oh, I understand very well and you needn’t worry. I won’t cause you any trouble with Sam Baker.”
Admonition Page 16