Jake’s head spun. He hated taking insult after insult from this fat pig. The fact that Snellings found mirth in Simon’s death sent Jake over the edge. Simon had been a real nice boy, with a kind disposition. The floodgates opened, and years of loathing for this man flowed out like water over a dam.
“How dare you, you son of a bitch!” Jake yelled, poking Snellings in the chest with his forefinger. “Simon meant more to humanity that you ever will. How dare you laugh at his death, you fat pig! You feed your fat ugly face and take your fat bribes while you starve us, beat us, and sell us to the highest bidder. You are the ugliest, sorriest, most cowardly piece of filth that ever lived!”
Snellings stopped laughing, his face turning red with anger at the audacity of this little twerp standing in front of him. Abbot had always been a thorn in his side, standing up to him at every turn. He had been waiting to send Jake to the worst possible place as an apprentice. He reached out to grab Jake’s collar. “Why you dirty—” but he never finished his sentence.
As soon as Snellings touched his shirt front, Jake’s swung his arm hard, his closed fist connecting square with Snellings’ plump, smug face. Snellings let go of the boy’s shirt and flew backwards, landing with a sickening thud on the floor several feet away. A collective gasp rose up throughout the meal hall, as the orphans witnessed one of their own strike down the director of the orphanage. When Snellings didn’t rise up, they looked at Jake with a mixture of horror and hero worship on their faces.
Jake and Alvin stared at the prone, motionless figure of Snellings, blood running freely out of his now-crooked nose. It took Jake only a couple of seconds to realize what he had done, and that he and Alvin were now in mortal danger. He grabbed Alvin’s arm and pulled him hard, causing him to nearly fall over the director’s dead-looking body.
“We gotta get outta here, come on!” The two ran out of the room and into the hall, grabbed their Markham family hand-me-down coats off the hooks along the wall, and pushed their way out into the cold morning.
*****
Back in the copse, Jake put his hands over his face, his manic laughter abating. Stone sober, he moaned. “Oh, God. What does it matter? I just killed a man. They will hunt me down no matter where I try to hide.”
Pete piped up. “He ain’t dead, man. You broke his nose good, that’s all. He was out cold for about ten minutes. But after he woke up, he ranted and raved ‘bout killing you!”
Alvin sank down hard on the bench, and put his head in his hands. “What am I to do? You guys gonna let me get thrown to the fishes?”
Jake arose from his knees and brushed the dirt from his pant leg, extremely relieved to hear Snellings still lived. “Al, we aren’t gonna let him send you to the fish market. We’ll think of something, even if we have to hide you in horse poop all winter!”
They all started laughing, and sat down to eat and discuss their options. The best idea was for Mara to ask Calvin to hire Alvin, too.
“Well,” she said, “nothing ventured is nothing gained, so I will see what I can do.” With that, Pete and Luke shook Jake and Alvin’s hands for good luck, packed up the leftovers, and went back through the bushes as Alvin, Mara, and Jake walked to the stables.
Jake and Alvin gasped as they came through the trees and saw Mara’s house for the first time. It was a thing of beauty, constructed out of natural stone in the English Tudor style. Several additions and fireplaces broke the roof line giving it a distinctive look. It was terraced on two levels. The main house featured a large front door with three steps off the veranda to the cobbled driveway which ran from the front gates across the main house to the attached stables and carriage house on the other side. An angled breezeway ran from the kitchens in the back of the main house to the stables adding space for the servants to live, pantries for food staples, and an outdoor nook for the gardeners to plant small trees and flowers. The three large doors into the carriage house matched the style and forest green color of the front door. The second floor of the stables also added more room for the servants’ sleeping quarters. Standard brown Tudor planking trimmed the entire house, which added depth and character.
The main house had two stories, plus the attic. On the first floor was the family dining room, with a large rectangular table that could seat thirty, the parlor in the front to the left of the main door, the great room to the right side of the main door, and the study/library. Another breezeway in the back led to the kitchens and a large pantry used to store the china, silver, and serving trays needed for the dining room. On the second floor were six bedchambers. Lord and Lady Markham and each of the children had a separate sleeping space, leaving one room empty.
The west wing sat lower by a level so that the first floor of the main hall branched off between the parlor and the family dining room, and emptied out into the second floor of the west wing. The bottom floor of the wing contained the gigantic and resplendent ballroom; the upper consisted of six separate rooms set aside as guest quarters.
The complete grounds of the house took up a full city block, and the gardens were some of the most beautiful and best loved in the city. Many a lord and lady came to visit the Markhams’ home to enjoy a stroll in the gardens, taking in the lush green grass, the numerous and varied trees, and the plethora of color provided by the thousands of annuals and perennials that filled the flowerbeds.
Mara had to practically drag the boys away from staring at the main house to get them to go into the carriage house.
Calvin and Rory were working under the carriage on a wheel when they heard the same little ahem they had heard a few hours earlier. They walked around the coach and came up short when they saw two dirty, shivering boys standing behind Mara. One was very tall and so skinny he’d blow away if a strong wind came along. The other was a towhead who looked like invisible demons tortured him, the sorrow on his face was so pronounced.
“Calvin, Rory,” Mara swept her hand toward the boys, “meet Nathanial Abbot and Alvin Bitters. Boys, meet Calvin, our coachman and Rory, our head gardener.”
Calvin’s face exploded in surprise. Egads! Mara did have boys up her sleeves. Where in God’s name did these two come from? He’d never seen them before, and had no idea where Miss Mara could have found them. Her father would beat her within an inch of her life if he found out about her “friends.” He couldn’t wait to hear this story!
Rory finally regained his wits, and extended his hand to shake with Jake and Alvin. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Abbot, Mr. Bitters.”
Jake shook Rory’s hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Rory. The pleasure is all mine. Please call me Jake. All my friends do.”
Alvin spoke up, as he shook hands all around. “Just Alvin is fine, gentlemen. I be pleased, too.”
Calvin raised an eyebrow. Miss Mara was right. The tall, skinny one did speak with the refined dialect of a boy who could read and write and do numbers. His lack of a Cockney accent, so evident in Alvin’s speech, was quite noticeable.
While Calvin and Rory appraised the boys, Mara spoke up again. “Alvin is in need of a job, too, so if you could see it in your heart to hire two boys, I would greatly appreciate it.” And she smiled that sweet smile that could melt any heart except those belonging to her family members. Calvin capitulated immediately.
“Now scoot along, Miss Mara. This is man’s business, and you need to tend to woman’s business. Back to the house and a warm fire for you!”
Mara smiled again at the men and ran back to the house, praying they would hire the boys and save them from the fish hut.
After she left, Calvin and Rory turned toward the boys and motioned for them to sit on the tack boxes. Alvin nervously looked around the stables, but Jake looked Calvin right in the eye, trying to act confident and assured. He assumed these were characteristics Calvin would be looking for in a new hire. But inside, he felt even more nervous than Alvin, and tried to keep from hyperventilating by silently counting his breaths. One, two, three, four, in; one, two, three, four, out.
Calvin finally spoke up. “How on earth did the two of you meet Miss Mara? It’s not like she wanders the streets during the day looking for wayward children.”
Jake and Alvin looked at each other. Did they dare tell the truth, or should they concoct a lie? Jake finally decided to tell the truth and told Calvin and Rory pertinent details of the story. However, he did not mention Pete or Luke, or that he and Alvin were wearing clothes that Mara had pilfered for them from the attic. Rory listened to the story in amazement. “So the two of you have been crawling through the old north gate for months, and Mara has been feeding you bread and cheese from the house pantries?” They nodded. “Well, I’ll be! Never knew it, either. You young ‘uns are good at sneaking around, that I will grant ye!”
Jake smiled a crooked smile. “Comes with being an orphan, I guess. But we really want to stop sneaking around and have a real home and a real job and not be afraid every day and not have to worry about starving to death anymore, and have real clothes that fit and…and…and you can’t let them sell us to the fishery! It’s worse than the orphanage. We’ll die there.”
“How do I know I can I trust you two?” Calvin’s question was a serious one. He didn’t want to hire two young hoodlums.
Alvin finally spoke up. “Because Miss Mara is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I would go to the ends of the earth for her. I would never do anything to hurt her! And being a bad boy after she got us a job would definitely hurt her!” He spoke with such sincerity that Calvin had no choice but to believe him.
Rory pondered Alvin’s statement for a moment. “How old are you, boy?”
“Eleven. My birthday’s in January.”
“Well, you’re a mite young, but I can always use another hand to tend the grounds, and you seem to have a strong back and a willing spirit. If Mr. Calvin here is willin’ to take a chance on Jake, I am willin’ to take a chance on you.”
Alvin bounced up, grabbed Rory’s hand, and shook it vigorously. “I will not let you down, Mr. Rory! I will be the best gardener in London. You wait and see. I will be. I will be!” Rory had to laugh at the boy’s enthusiasm. He just hoped he still had it when it was hot and the weeds threatened to overtake the lawn.
Jake looked at Calvin, barely containing himself as he waited for his answer. Calvin looked back at Jake, enjoying the squirming. “How old you be?”
“Fourteen, sir. My birthday was in September.”
Calvin considered the boy again. Finally, he also stood up and held out his hand. “Welcome aboard, boy! I hope you don’t get your head kicked in by a horse, ‘cause I don’t want to face Miss Mara if you get hurt on my watch!”
Jake took the offered hand, and smiled the biggest smile he could. “I will not let you down, Mr. Calvin. I won’t let Miss Mara down, either. She’s the best thing that has ever happened to me, too.”
Jake and Alvin jumped with joy. Their Angel Mara had saved them once again.
*****
Mara went back to the house like she had been told, but she didn’t find a warm fire. Instead, she sat on the parlor window seat and leaned her head against the cold glass to watch the stables and wait for the boys to come out. She waited patiently for nearly an hour before the boys finally emerged.
She grabbed her cape and ran out of the house toward the boys. “Well?” she yelled as she ran. “What happened?” Jake picked her up in a big bear hug, and swung her around and around. “We are hired!” He put her down, and the three of them held each other in a ferocious group hug and laughed. They were saved and Mara had her friends out in the open, living on the estate. Life was good. Life was very good.
Chapter 5
The silly outing he had to attend at the palace put Lord Markham in his first foul mood. Then this letter had arrived from his dim-witted brother, setting his teeth on edge. He was the smart one in the family. He was the one who could turn a shilling into a pound. He was the one with all the business savvy. He was the one who kept that worthless brother of his and their family’s estate solvent. He was the one held in high esteem in the peerage. But his good-for-nothing brother, Cecil, had the good fortune to be born first. That never-do-well Cecil held the title of Viscount Rochdale. That ugly mouse of a wife of his was the viscountess instead of his own beautiful Maureen. Cecil’s irresponsible brat was the heir to the Rochdale title. And now, once again, the viscount held out his hand for yet another pile of pounds to keep the roof from caving in on the ancestral home in Waltham. Rochcliffe House was once again “about to fall in around our ears!” according to his foolish brother.
Lord Markham not only kept his own family of five well-heeled in London on the sweat of his toils, but kept the viscount family estate intact and supported the five Rochdales as well. The viscount knew Lord Markham would never see his beloved family estate go to rot, so he used it against him time and time again. Such was his lot in life, and it made him angry. However, due to his brother’s negligence and improper handling of the estate, Markham was able to wrestle this London house out of his brother many years ago, not long after he and Lady Maureen were engaged. His brother had a gambling debt that Markham had paid off, but the price was the deed to the Viscount Rochdale’s London home.
The butler, Termins, interrupted Markham’s thoughts. “Sir, the carriage awaits.” Markham stuffed the letter in his coat pocket and wished he could hit his irresponsible elder brother right between the eyes.
*****
The coach sat in front of the house, waiting for the family to emerge. Calvin did a last-minute inspection of every inch of the carriage and horses as Jake stood at the door of the coach to help the Markham women into the conveyance. Being his first time serving as a footman, he mumbled to himself the detailed instructions Calvin had given him. He certainly didn’t want to fail on his first ride! He had polished the dark blue wagon until it shone. He had wiped and cleaned and brushed the interior until the dark blue velvet looked new. He had also scrubbed the horses’ hooves, and combed their manes and tails. Jake now proudly surveyed the shining result of his hard labor. Lord Markham’s steed, Zeus, looked well-groomed and ready. Markham enjoyed riding his horse instead of being cooped up in the carriage with the family.
Jake felt the February cold through his coat, but he kept from stomping his feet or blowing on his hands, as he didn’t think that would be proper behavior on his first day out.
Lord Markham and Lady Maureen came out of the house first, followed by Bertram and Edwin. Expensive fur-collared coats, with fur muffs and hats to match, protected the family. They looked like they’d never felt the cold, no matter what the temperature.
Coming down the stairs, Edwin argued that he, at thirteen, was now old enough to ride horseback instead of in the carriage with the women and children. He pushed his brother Bertram as he emphasized the word children.
Lord Markham fondly tousled the top of Edwin’s head—or, more precisely, the top of his fur hat—and laughed while shaking his head. “Not yet, m’boy. Not yet! I will tell you when you are ready!”
Edwin shrugged his shoulders, then turned toward his brother. “Race you! Let’s grab the good seats before fatso up there does,” nodding toward to the door where their sister emerged. Bertram turned around and yelled at Mara. “Catch us if you can, lard ass!” and sprinted down the stairs.
“Bertram!” snapped his mother. “Watch your language! I will not have you using that word in my presence.”
“Sorry, Mother.” Bertram didn’t look contrite nor like he would stop.
What sickened Jake was the fact that Lady Maureen corrected her son’s use of the word “ass,” but did not chastise him for calling his sister “lard ass.” His own mother would have berated him severely for treating a member of the family so poorly in front of other people, and he wouldn’t have been able to sit properly for a week as a result of the spanking his father would have given him!
Mara trailed as usual, with her head down, trying to look small and insignificant. She wore a mousy brown-col
ored cape that made her look even larger than normal. Her mother dressed her in the worst clothes, as if intentionally trying to accentuate her size. Jake hated seeing Mara dressed so inappropriately and looking so downtrodden, since he knew she was by far a more beautiful and worthy human being than the rest of her family put together. He hated the way they treated her—as if she were of no consequence in their lives. And Jake wished he could do something about it. But his station in life wouldn’t allow him to rescue Mara from the bosom of her kin, and that tore him apart. He stared ahead and stewed in silence. At least the ugly emotion that welled inside of him warmed him up a bit.
Edwin came to a halt in front of Jake and looked at him appraisingly, as if he had never seen him before. However, since Jake looked after his horse as well as his father’s, the two crossed paths often. “Blimey! Isn’t that my old jacket? How’d you come by my jacket, you thief!”
Jake looked down at the jacket he wore. It was his favorite; Mara had given it to him last year, and had let out the sleeves twice to accommodate his growth. He enjoyed the soft wool material in a deep forest green with a deep collar and the bright buttons. He didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t stolen it, but he didn’t want to cause trouble for Mara.
“I didn’t steal it,” he said softly. “I thought it was mine to wear for occasions like this.”
“What do you mean, you thought it was yours to wear? You took it from my wardrobe, you crook. I will see you whipped for this!”
By now, the Markham servants were watching the drama unfold on the front drive. Gigi and Jessie came out of the breezeway door and watched from the little garden nook. Cecilia and Termins had been at the front door seeing the family off, and now stood in the shadows of the hall, peering out. Of course, Calvin and Rory knew Mara had given the jacket to Jake, as she had outfitted both Jake and Alvin with Edwin’s castoffs.
Mara: A Georgian Romance Page 3