He was assured that they were both happy to have him with them, although Martha declined to come.
“Them horses always makes me cry!” she gurgled.
Jemima sat on the driving bench next the Earl with Selena in the body of the trap.
This meant that she could study the way the Earl’s hair curled into the nape of his neck.
The earlier rain had passed over, the sun had come out and the hedgerows were laden with white blossom.
As they drove Selena and Jemima discussed with the Earl which part of the gardens they should tackle next.
“I think it should be the brick-walled garden with the rose pergolas,” suggested Selena. “It’s soon going to be too late to do any more planting.”
“We shall be able to use the seedlings we’ve been raising,” agreed Jemima. “If we get Joe to work on laying out the brick paving for the round garden and by the time he has that all done, the begonias and nicotiana would be ready to bed out. Then in the autumn we can replant with perennials.”
The thrilling thought of still being at Wakefield by the autumn filled Selena with joy.
As she gazed at the Earl’s back, she realised with a start that he was the light that lit up her life and that, for the first time, she had met a man she actually wanted to kiss her.
How ironic it was that the Earl did not seem to be attracted to her.
They were friends but nothing more.
Now she felt a physical pain that this was the case.
Could she by any chance have possibly fallen in love with him?
“And there is the orchard to be organised,” added Jemima. “It will be wonderful to have it productive again. Think of the different varieties of fruit trees we can replant it with in the autumn.”
“What you have done so far is quite amazing,” said the Earl. “I think it must be enough to open the gardens to the public.”
There was silence for a moment as the pony trotted along the road.
“Is there enough for them to see?” queried Jemima slowly. “It’s not as though they could be allowed into the house as well.”
Selena shuddered to herself as she remembered the neglected interior of Wakefield Hall, all the flaking plaster, damaged panelling and lack of interesting furniture.
And then she remembered the pictures.
“Perhaps we could redecorate the entrance hall into reasonable condition?” she now proposed. “The portraits are impressive, the panelling isn’t too damaged and no one expects a great deal of furniture in a hall.”
“First rate idea,” exploded the Earl enthusiastically. “That should make the visit worthwhile. I will talk to Mrs. Cropper and see what can be done – an income, however small, would be wonderful.”
Jemima patted the Earl’s arm,
“You’ll manage, Alex. The Lord always provides.”
They came to a crossroads and the Earl guided the pony round to the left.
“This way we can avoid the centre of Stallden.”
It did not take long before they joined a queue of vehicles and pedestrians, all heading in the same direction.
The circus had been set up in a large field on the edge of Stallden and, as they approached, Selena could see the top of a large white tent and a shiver of excitement ran through her.
Then a loud commotion started.
Instead of everyone heading towards the field, there seemed to be numbers of folk coming away.
“It’s all off,” they shouted at the queue.
“What can they mean?” asked Selena.
“They’ve gone bust,” a man told them, stopping by the trap with a child on his shoulders and two more beside him. “Ringmaster has absconded with last night’s takings and after papering the town with their posters! You must have seen one – him in his top hat and all, and the clowns and bareback riders? My little ’uns were going to have such a treat!”
Three woebegone faces stared at Selena.
“What a shame,” she sympathised.
“There’s a big big cat with stripes there,” the older boy said, his eyes opening wide.
“And monkeys,” added his sister. “They chat away like us, except you can’t understand what they’re saying.”
“And an elephant!” breathed the boy on his father’s shoulders.
“Oh, how I would love to see them all,” said Selena with heartfelt sincerity. “I adore all animals.”
Jemima laughed.
“I know you do and they love you. Hector’s never so happy as when you’re playing with him and Martha says the chickens come to you in a way they never do for her!”
The Earl laughed too.
“Remember that day you rounded up the sheep that got out of the lower field? You seemed to have done it all your life.”
“My father said I should have been born a farmer,” confessed Selena, a trifle shame-faced. “If I was lost he always knew that I would be with his agent at the farms.”
More people were coming away from the tent.
“There doesn’t seem any place I can turn around in this crowd,” protested the Earl. “We’ll have to go on.”
“That’s what everyone is doing,” remarked Selena, standing up in the stationary trap.
Vehicle owners were arguing with each other and the air was filled with chatter and laughter as they gave up trying to turn round. The queue gradually moved into the next field in order to drive round the tent and out again.
There was a huddle of caravans in one corner. In a nearby field stood a collection of horses that no doubt drew the caravans when they took to the road.
The entrance to the big tent was open and inside they could see a group of circus performers in costume and all arguing.
Loud angry voices drifted out and nobody seemed to be in charge.
Then, to the left, was a large semi-circle of animal cages.
“Oh,” Selena cried passionately. “Please can we stop and have a look?”
The Earl turned round and smiled at her.
“I don’t see why not, as trying to make our way out with all these folk will take ages – we might as well spend the time more profitably.”
He drove the pony out of the long queue and came to a stop beside the cages. He climbed down, hitched it to a post and then helped Jemima and Selena out of the trap.
For once Selena ignored the thrill that ran through her as her hand lay in the Earl’s, because all her attention was concentrated on the menagerie.
In the first cage was the tiger that had excited the child. Long and lean with striking black stripes, it prowled up and down its cage, its amber eyes taking in everything.
Selena stood entranced.
“Hello,” she called out in a calm voice.
The tiger stopped its pacing and looked at her. She spoke to it again and moved closer and the tiger behind its bars pushed its head towards her in a yearning way.
She continued talking to the tiger, holding its gaze with her eyes and then stuck out her hand, intending to try and stroke its head.
Immediately she was pulled away from the cage by one of the circus workers.
“Don’t do that, miss, you’ll lose it,” he warned her.
“He seems so sad,” sighed Selena, looking back at the tiger, which had now settled down onto the floor of the cage still gazing at her.
“He’s not really savage, is he?”
“Not with me, miss, but then ’e knows me, see? So long as ’e’s kept fed and watered, ’e’s all right.”
“What has happened to the circus?” asked the Earl, coming up with Jemima to join them.
The man wrinkled his nose.
“It was a bad winter, business was very poor. Boss thought with spring we’d be in the pink but the crowds just ’aven’t come.”
He looked at the packed field behind him.
“This is the best crowd we’ve ’ad for many months. Typical, ain’t it?”
“Is it true your boss has left with the takings?”
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bsp; “True as I stand ’ere,” the man replied, sticking his hands into the pockets of his baggy trousers. “If only ’e’d ’eld on, maybe we’d’ve bin all right.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Dunno, it’s a big problem. We’ve only paid up for one night on this pitch. After that we’ve either got to stump up more dosh or move on.”
Selena started to walk along the circle of cages.
Monkeys swung on bars and chattered to her. Two hyenas restlessly circled their cage. A parakeet screeched and a hooded falcon balanced on its perch.
“Them’s are lemurs,” said the circus man pointing at two furry creatures lying along branches. “They comes from Madagascar – and this is an anteater.”
He passed on to the next cage that held a curious looking creature with a long nose and thick, scaly, low-slung body. Its tiny eyes looked up at Selena with little interest.
At the end of the line of cages there was a humpbacked camel and a small elephant.
“What is going to happen to all these creatures?” asked the Earl.
“Dunno, sir. If we ain’t got no money to feed ’em – might have to top ’em.”
“Kill them? Surely not! Who actually owns them?”
The man scratched his head.
“Was the boss but, as I just said, ’e’s gone with the wind. Suppose they rightly belongs to us now.”
A long-legged woman in pink tights, a close-fitting top and a frilly skirt that came no further than the top of her thighs, strode out of the tent towards them.
“George – ain’t no sense to be got out of that lot,” she announced.
“The missus,” he said to Selena. “She’s a bareback rider. That’s ’er ’orse over there.”
He pointed to the rear of the tent and Selena saw a large white horse with a red harness tethered to a pole.
“Marie the Magnificent ’erself is at your service,” boomed the long-legged rider.
“We’re George and Marie Matthews actually,” her husband explained. “What you think, doll? Shall we pack up and make a go of it somewhere else?”
She shrugged her shoulders in a helpless fashion before replying.
“Don’t think that’s on the cards. I haven’t ’eard of another setup within an ’undred miles of ’ere. ’Ow we goin’ to feed them animals? It’s alright for ’im, takin’ off like that, but who is goin’ to look after them now? Oooh, if only I ’ad that bastard within range of my fists!”
“Selena, I don’t think there’s much more we can do here,” the Earl admitted apologetically.
Selena stopped still and had a sudden amazing idea.
“Can we talk for a minute?” she asked, drawing the Earl and Jemima away from Mr. and Mrs. Matthews and to a space where they could talk without being overhead.
Then she expounded her idea.
The Earl looked pole-axed.
“Take that menagerie and its keeper back with us? Where would they go and what would we do with them?”
“Don’t you see?” implored Selena. “They would be an amazing attraction to get people to visit Wakefield Hall. You would be offering both gardens and a menagerie.
“Mr. Matthews would look after them and you have plenty of outbuildings they could use, although I suppose most of the time they spend in those cages.
“We might even be able to let them out from time to time,” she added, looking at them wistfully.
“Honestly, Selena,” interrupted Jemima, “I do think you’ve gone mad. Fancy having a tiger about the place!”
“But if I told the local newspapers and asked one of their reporters to come and view both the animals and the gardens, I am sure they would print a piece and then people would rush to visit. We might even place a story with The Times. Wakefield would be famous!”
“Selena, can’t you see it just wouldn’t do?” urged Jemima.
The Earl had been looking thoughtful.
“I think you might have something,” he said finally. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t see if it would work.”
Jemima gasped while Selena clapped her hands.
“Oh, Alex, that’s wonderful!”
“Let’s go and talk to Matthews.”
Marie and George Matthews appeared to be in the middle of a big argument
“But what’s the alternative, doll?” George was screaming at they came up.
Marie stamped her foot
“I will not see them animals you’ve cared for as though they were your own children sent to the rubbish bin!”
“We have a suggestion,” interrupted the Earl.
For a moment the couple did not seem to hear him.
“Do listen, please,” insisted Selena, “listen to what the Earl is going to say.”
“Earl?” questioned Marie, suddenly all attention.
“He is the Earl of Wakefield,” Selena asserted with a grand gesture.
The Earl flashed her an amused smile before proceeding to explain to Marie and George Matthews the plan for the menagerie.
They listened to him in silence, then looked at each other and frowned.
“You mean, bring all them animals to your place?” asked George.
The Earl nodded.
“So that the public can pay to come and see them?”
The Earl nodded again.
“What do we get out of it?”
“George!” exclaimed Marie.
“No, doll, listen. If it’s worth them takin’ us and the animals, it’s worth them lettin’ us in on the deal.”
“It won’t be just the animals,” interrupted Jemima. “There are lovely gardens and the ancestral Wakefield Hall that the entrance fee will cover as well.”
“And there’s food for the animals,” added Selena. “But, don’t you see, it will mean you will be able to keep the menagerie.”
Her eyes shone with passion.
“May I make a suggestion,” proposed the Earl in a conciliatory tone. “Suppose that I suggest a weekly wage and board and lodging for you and all the animals? If the public don’t come we shall have to call it a day, I’m afraid, because I will not be able to afford to keep all of you.”
“Oh, do, do, say yes,” exclaimed Selena, clasping her hands together.
“And I can bring my ’orse?” asked Marie.
“Perhaps you could perform your bareback riding, say once a day, when we are open?” suggested Selena.
“I’d love it. George, it’s a goer. Don’t shilly-shally, just say yes and we’ll do it!”
“What about the others?” George suddenly asked.
Marie tossed her dark head.
“They’re a bunch of do-nothings. Couldn’t agree to ’old a tea party. I’ve always said we’d be much better off without ’em. There’s nobody ’ere to match George with the animals and nobody else cares about ’em anyway.”
“You’re right, doll, you always are. Right, sir, you seem a straight sort of gov, we’ll come with you. You say there’ll be accommodation for us?”
“There is an empty cottage on the estate. It’s not in very good order at the moment, but we’ll get it into shape for you in no time.”
“No need to worry, sir, I mean, my Lord,” piped up Marie. “We ’ave our caravan and we’re used to it.”
“Right.” The Earl looked around. “Now how are we going to organise you all to travel to Wakefield?”
It took some time for the horses to be harnessed to the cages and the caravan. There were arguments between the Matthews and other members of the stranded circus.
Finally, however, everything was in order.
“Just a minute,” queried the Earl. “Who will drive each cage?”
“Bless you,” cried out George. “The ’orses know the way of it. I ride beside the train and see they don’t go astray and Marie drives the caravan.”
“I will lead the way in the trap, Matthews, and you all follow behind.”
It was, mused Selena, a very strange procession that started out. Looking
back towards the big white tent she wondered what was going to happen to it.
As they proceeded slowly along, George rode the white circus horse backwards and forwards beside the cages to keep them in line.
The camel and the elephant ambled along behind, a long rein fastening them to the last cage.
Marie had changed out of her pink tights and frilly skirt into a long plain skirt and shirt, her hair tied back with a piece of string.
“Pity,” commented the Earl as they all watched her climb into the caravan. “I rather liked those pink stockings she was wearing.”
“You mean, you liked her legs,” remarked Jemima a little cynically. “I hope you realise just what you’ve taken on.”
With a sudden start Selena realised that this whole enterprise was her idea.
What on earth had she been thinking about?
CHAPTER SEVEN
When the procession finally arrived at Wakefield, the noise the cages made coming into the stable yard was enough to bring all the staff running.
“Goodness me, my Lord!” exclaimed Mrs. Cropper in horror, as cage after cage clattered into the yard. “What have you come back with?”
Morland came out of the stables with a saddle over his arm and looked as though he could not believe his eyes.
“We haven’t had that many horses here since I just don’t know when,” he grumbled.
Sam appeared from the workshop and Joe came in from the garden with the two assistant lads, all looking on wide-eyed.
“That’s never a tiger,” gulped Joe in awe.
The tiger snarled and he started back several steps.
George dismounted.
“They’ll be a-needin’ to be fed and watered, sir. Is this where you want them to stay? Because after a journey they’re used to stayin’ put and remainin’ there.”
On the way the Earl had discussed with Jemima and Selena where the menagerie would best be housed.
“We think that the orchard would be perfect for the cages,” he suggested. “There are many trees offering shade.”
“And there’s plenty of green for the animals to look at,” added Selena. “If you follow me, I’ll take you there.”
“We’ll leave them cages where they are now for the moment till I sees this orchard of yours,” asserted George.
Love Came From Heaven Page 8