by Linda Finlay
‘For God’s sake shut up, will yer, Edith? All I’ve ’eard since I come back is Sylvie this and Sylvie that,’ Kitty cried.
‘You’re just jealous ’cos I can sew and you can’t,’ Edith snorted.
‘That’s enough,’ Sarah snapped. ‘Eat up and be quiet, the pair of you.’
As Kitty and Edith stared at her in surprise, she stared quickly down at her plate. She’d been thinking about Lady Chorlton and was in no mood for their bickering. Ignoring the incredulous looks the girls were giving her, she resolved to contact Mr Fothergill first thing on Monday.
Despite her concerns, however, when she fell into bed that night it was dreams of Bertram that punctuated her sleep.
34
When Harry popped his head around the office door early the next morning, he found Sarah humming softly to herself.
‘Someone’s happy,’ he said, noticing the smile playing around her lips. ‘You know you should do that more often.’
‘Do what?’ she asked.
‘Sing like that. It makes your face look softer somehow,’ he said. Then he went hot, worried in case she took his words the wrong way. To his relief, her smile widened.
‘Why, thank you, Harry. Actually, it was a tune from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.’
‘Oh,’ he replied, taken aback. ‘That’s, er, nice.’
‘What music do you like, Harry?’ she asked, staring at him curiously.
‘Can’t say I’ve given it much thought,’ he shrugged. ‘Usually I’m thankful for a bit of peace and quiet after the hullabaloo of the classroom.’
Sarah gestured to the corner of the room where the piano Mrs Knight had bequeathed the school stood. ‘You know, Harry, it might be nice for the children to have a singalong at the weekends.’
‘Really?’ he muttered, wondering if Sarah was feeling all right.
‘Sally could play for them. She hasn’t had a chance to practise since coming here, has she?’
He shook his head. ‘We’ve been too busy to think of music, apart from that concert at Easter.’
‘Well, to work,’ she said briskly, reverting to the Sarah he knew. ‘I was ticking off some of the items on my list when you arrived. That’s always satisfying, don’t you think?’
‘I certainly do,’ he replied, relieved to be back on safe ground. Digging in his pocket he produced his list with a flourish. ‘The tool shed is now built, tick. The boys cleaned out the stable, tick. That reminds me, whilst you were out yesterday, Sergeant Watts called to check something with Kitty. Then he gave the all clear for us to go up to the farm.’
‘Was Kitty all right?’ she asked, remembering the girl’s surliness at supper.
‘She was fine. Said the sooner they caught the bast— er, that man, the better,’ he said.
‘I couldn’t agree more,’ Sarah replied. ‘That’s good news about the farm.’
‘Yes, and in fairness to Bess, I thought it better to check the place over sooner rather than later. If it’s all right with you, I’ll take the boys up there this afternoon. Solomon told me we need a big tree stump, so we’ll look for that as well.’
‘Whatever do you want a stump for?’ Sarah asked, staring at him in disbelief.
‘To put a steel plate on so we can hammer the bent tools back into shape, of course,’ he chuckled. ‘I tell you, Sarah, that lad’s knowledge is invaluable. We can take the cart in case we find a suitable one.’
‘I agree it would be a good idea to take the trap,’ she said, giving him a reproving look. ‘And when they return from helping the good ladies with the soup kitchen, I’ll set the girls to their sewing. Right, my list now,’ she said, glancing down at the paper in front of her. ‘I’ve brought the ledger up to date, tick. Pip can drop it off at the offices of Calculus and Arithmica tomorrow after he’s taken Edith to the Gaiety. I’m hoping that will give them plenty of time to get the accounts audited.’ Then she frowned. ‘I still can’t find that blooming licence so I’ll have to resume my search after church. Oh, and guess what?’
‘Someone’s popped their clogs and left us a fortune,’ he teased.
‘Harry, really,’ she cried. ‘Although under the circumstances, that would be a help. I heard yesterday that Lady Chorlton was ordered from her home.’
‘What? By whom?’ he asked, sinking into the chair opposite.
‘By her elder son. Apparently on reaching his majority he inherited his father’s estate, along with his money.’
‘Poor old Lady Chorlton,’ Harry whistled. ‘Samuel would turn in his grave, if he had one.’
‘I’ll ignore that tasteless comment, Harry,’ she retorted, back to her formal self. ‘After all the help Lady Chorlton has given us, the least we can do is try to reciprocate. I therefore intend contacting Mr Fothergill to offer our assistance.’
‘Good idea,’ Harry agreed.
Sarah sighed. ‘It’s a bitter blow for Red Cliffs, though. When she said she would have to cut back on her benefactions, she didn’t mention we wouldn’t be getting anything at all.’
He shrugged philosophically. ‘From what you said earlier, it sounds as if she didn’t know either. Don’t worry, Sarah, we’ll manage.’
‘I don’t know how you can stay so calm,’ she cried, staring at him in that way she had of making him feel like he didn’t understand things.
‘Look, Sarah, let’s just concentrate on getting everything ready for the inspection. Goodness knows, I’ve got enough to do if we want to secure that extra funding from the authorities.’
‘You’re right, of course, Harry,’ she said, tossing her list onto the desk and sitting back in her seat. ‘At least the weather’s warmer so we don’t need to have the fire lit,’ she added, nodding to the empty grate.
‘We’ll have to be careful the spirits don’t take up residence in the chimney, though,’ he joked.
‘You’ve been spending too much time with Miss O’Reilly,’ she groaned, although she was smiling inwardly at the sudden flush on his face. She’d recently come to realize that Harry and Sheena were a good match and was surprised to find it came as a relief.
‘Actually, I was going to speak to you about that,’ he said, determined to seize the opportunity of discussing what had been worrying him. ‘We, er, that is, I have asked her to walk out with me, Sarah.’ He paused and waited for her reaction. To his amazement, she smiled.
‘Whatever took you so long?’ she quipped.
‘You mean you don’t mind?’ he asked, relief flooding through him.
‘Why should I? Oh, I know we once thought we might … well, you know. But you and Miss O’Reilly are far better suited.’ When he quirked a brow she went on: ‘Well, you both enjoy using those funny long words, for a start,’ she told him.
‘I suppose it does save me from having to explain them to you,’ he grinned. ‘Right, if there’s nothing else, I’d better get on.’
‘And I’d better hunt down this blooming licence. What the …?’ She stopped as she heard a thud followed by Edith shrieking.
‘I ’ate you, Kitty Bawden. It’s your fault I look like this.’
Hurrying to the door, Harry pulled it open to see the two girls scrapping in the hallway.
‘Kitty, Edith, get yourselves in here, this minute,’ he ordered. ‘Now tell me what on earth is going on.’ The two girls stood staring down at the floor. ‘I asked you a question, so do me the courtesy of answering,’ he persisted.
‘I was makin’ another twurban to wear to the theatre and she snatched it and ripped it apart,’ Edith wailed, holding up two pieces of material, now frayed at the edges.
‘Theatre, theatre, theatre. That’s all you go on about these days,’ Kitty snapped.
‘Just because you can’t sew …’ Edith began, but Sarah interrupted.
‘That’s enough, girls. Give those to me, Edith, then go get yourselves ready for church.’ Sarah held out her hand and Edith reluctantly handed over the pieces of fabric. ‘You will both spend the afternoon in the classroom se
wing sheets with me.’
‘I ain’t …’ Kitty began.
‘I said that’s enough. Now go.’ As the door closed behind them, Sarah turned to Harry. ‘I’m worried about those two.’
‘Kitty’s been through a traumatic time,’ Harry reminded her.
‘And Edith has let this new job go to her head. I’m seriously thinking of stopping her from going to the theatre.’
‘She’d only resent you, Sarah. This is Edith’s first venture away from Red Cliffs so she’s feeling all grown up and finding her feet. She’s a good kid, really. I mean, she didn’t even want to celebrate her birthday when she found out what had happened to Kitty.’
‘But we’ve got to do something, Harry,’ Sarah said, getting up and going over to the window. ‘Goodness, the children are already lining up ready for church. We’d better get our skates on.’
‘Actually, I’ve got so much to do, I think I’ll skip the vicar’s sermon.’
‘Harry!’
‘You can say a prayer for me,’ he grinned, then looked serious again. ‘Going back to Kitty and Edith. It might be better to separate them for a while. Kitty’s let us know in no uncertain terms that she hates sewing so why don’t I take her up to the farm this afternoon?’
‘But I won’t be able to accompany her,’ Sarah frowned.
‘No, but Miss O’Reilly will,’ he winked. ‘She loves it up at the farm and is happy to give up her Sunday afternoon. Seriously, Sarah, we have to think what’s in the children’s best interests, don’t we?’
Harry whistled as made his way to the new shed, pleased to have cleared the air with Sarah. Although he’d once thought they were on the point of rekindling their relationship, Sheena’s arrival had changed everything. Almost immediately, he’d realized that Sheena was the woman for him. Of course, poor Bess couldn’t be expected to know that. He admired Sarah hugely but Sheena was good fun and, well, more womanly, he thought, smiling as an image of her swam before him.
Forcing his thoughts back to the present, he assessed the new building. It was open at the front to accommodate the lathe pole Solomon had cut from a long branch. Together they’d set it in the ground outside and angled it up into the roof. Next week they were going to build a wooden frame for the lathe along with the shave horse. They could then begin the woodturning lessons. His intention was to have wood sawn into basic shapes so the inspector could watch them being turned into rounded handles or shaped into axe handles. Satisfied everything was in order, he went into the classroom to set the next week’s lessons.
It wasn’t easy balancing the requirements of their different ages, but with time spent planning and not a little ingenuity he prided himself on giving them the best education possible. It was easier said than done, though, and, head bent over his papers, he let out a long sigh.
‘Tribulations on the Sabbath, Master Higgins?’ He looked up to see Sheena standing in the doorway and grinned. She was wearing a dress in the same cherry red as her hat and with her hair cascading in curls over her shoulder, had never looked more beautiful. His heart did a somersault.
‘Just setting the little darlings a history test,’ he replied. ‘Do you know Bunter said King Alfred couldn’t possibly have burned the cakes because baking was women’s work? Miss Sullivan would kill me if she heard such bigoted talk.’
‘She is right to insist the girls have the same opportunities as the boys. However, this woman has done some cooking so if you’re hungry there’s a pan of soup heating on the range,’ she told him.
‘Beauty and broth, what more can a man want?’ he asked, slapping his hand to his chest. ‘I certainly won’t say no to dinner à deux, Miss O’Reilly,’ he replied, waggling his brows suggestively.
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to make it dinner à quatre because Miss Sullivan and Mrs Daws are joining us,’ she chuckled. ‘Although, if you’re interested, Nanna has invited you to luncheon when you’re not so busy, to atone for her behaviour.’
‘And would that meet with your approval, fair lady?’
‘Any excuse to stop stitching endless lengths of sheeting meets with my approval, Master Higgins,’ she quipped.
With Harry leading the pony and cart and the excited boys alongside, the little group headed along the lane towards the farm. Seeing Kitty hanging back, Sheena waited.
‘What’s wrong, Kitty?’ Sheena asked. ‘I thought you’d be excited at the prospect of an afternoon away from sewing.’
‘I am, an’ being away from that Edith, an’ all,’ she muttered.
‘Oh? But I thought you two were friends?’ Sheena said, trying to keep her voice light.
‘Not no more, we ain’t. Said she wished she’d left me and me lice begging on the station steps.’
‘Edith doesn’t really mean that, Kitty.’
‘But I wish she ’ad, an’ all, miss. I ain’t no use at stitchin’, in fact I ain’t no good at nofink.’
Hearing the despair in the girl’s voice, Sheena reached out and pulled her close. ‘Now that simply isn’t true. Why, I’m relying on you to help me check over the dairy and farmhouse whilst the boys help Master Higgins in the fields.’
‘Are yer?’ Kitty replied, staring at Sheena in surprise.
‘To be sure I am, Kitty, for am I not an old scaredy-cat when it comes to empty buildings?’
‘Don’t you worry, miss, I’ll look out for yer,’ the girl replied, squaring her shoulders. ‘You should see some of the doss ’ouses I bin in. ’Ere we are, so you just stay close to me,’ she added, as the boys gave a yell and swarmed through the gates. They made their way up the drive, which was already overgrown with weeds, and stood looking around the yard.
‘It looks all darlict, sir,’ Brown cried, looking around.
‘You mean derelict,’ Harry corrected, letting the pony loose on the grass. ‘It doesn’t take long for things to go to pot when you don’t tend them. Now you can appreciate how hard Farmer Jim and Bess had to work to keep the farm going.’ He saw Solomon’s crestfallen gaze taking in the big barn where the pigs had slept, and clapped his hands.
‘Right, first of all I want you boys to tidy up the yard and weed the drive. Solomon, you come with me, we’ll take a look in the barns that thief used, then check the crops in the fields. We’ll keep an eye open for that stump while we’re at it.’
‘Miss and me is goin’ to make sure everything’s all right in the farm’ouse and dairy, ain’t we, miss?’ Kitty told him.
Harry looked askance at Sheena, who nodded.
‘To be sure, we want everything to be spick and span for when Bess returns,’ she assured him.
The house felt cold and dismal without the heat from the range, and a fine layer of dust had settled over all the surfaces. It was a far cry from the cosy home Bess had prided herself on keeping.
‘Right, Kitty, you grab a cloth and give everywhere a wipe over. I’ll lay a fire so the range will be ready to light when Bess comes back.’
‘Do you think she’ll want to live here again now Farmer Jim’s gone?’ Kitty asked.
Sheena stared at the girl in surprise for hadn’t she just voiced her own thoughts?
‘I’d just love to live somewhere like this,’ Kitty added, gazing around wistfully.
‘Well, it is a lovely home and Bess has left most of her things, so she must be intending to return at some stage. We’ll make it nice for her, shall we?’
Once the house was sparkling again they took themselves into the dairy. Sheena shivered, remembering the last time she’d been here. Having heard Bess and Alice discussing the arrangements between Harry and Sarah, she’d been so miserable, she’d scrubbed every surface to within an inch of its life.
‘Come along, Kitty,’ she urged, suddenly wanting to be outside. ‘Everything is fine in here. Let’s go and see how the others are doing.’
‘Good news and bad,’ Harry said, when they joined him. ‘We’ve found a suitable stump for the metalwork but the crops in the fields are choked with weeds. It’s
going to take a lot of work to get the fields back to how they were.’
‘But we got some veggies for Mrs Daws,’ Solomon grinned, pointing to a pile of potatoes, cabbages and leeks.
‘To be sure, that puts me in mind of my mammy’s colcannon,’ Sheena smiled.
‘Well, climb up into the cart and you can tell me about it on the way back,’ Harry invited. ‘You little lot, on your way.’
‘What about Kitty?’ Sheena began, but Harry pointed to where she and Solomon were deep in conversation.
‘Looks like she’s found a new friend,’ he smiled. ‘Now tell me about what this colcannon is?’ he invited, urging the pony on. Sheena sat back in the seat and did as he’d asked.
‘So it’s a bit like our bubble and squeak, then?’ he replied.
‘Only much more sophisticated,’ she teased.
‘You looked really happy when you were talking about your home. I know you came to Torbay to look after your grandmother but what prompted you to stay here?’ Harry asked.
Sheena’s heart lurched and she turned away from him.
‘To be sure, we’re back at the school already,’ she said. Then as they waited for Pip to open the gate, she jumped from the cart. ‘It’s been a lovely afternoon but Nanna will be waiting for me.’
Before Harry could reply, she’d taken off down the street as if the devil was after her.
35
When Sheena reappeared the next afternoon, Harry was engrossed in setting the stump on the cobbled floor of the stables. Looking up briefly, he gave a wave, then went back to his task. He was determined to have the tool shop up and running by the end of the day and wasn’t going to stop until the task was completed.
Once the steel plate had been secured on top of the stump to act as an anvil, he went through to the old school workshop, where Solomon was supervising the boys.
‘Right, Solomon, we know time is too short to train everyone so I’ve decided to draw up a plan of action.’
‘Good thinking,’ he agreed, then dropped his voice. ‘If you are going to give everyone their own task then Bunter, being large, would be best for hammering the bent tools back into shape.’