A Family For Christmas

by Linda Finlay

  Eliza sniffed. ‘It’s sort of sweet yet slightly pungent at the same time.’ She was going to say, a bit like the essence Fay had nearly got wrong, but thought better of it.

  ‘It’s extremely versatile. Mix it with other herbs, pour on boiling water, inhale the vapour and you have a remedy for colds, but mixed with vervain and taken as an infusion it will help headaches. Rosemary oil is good for rheumatism but can be used to lift fatigue and boost memory.’ Eliza blinked in amazement then watched as Fay picked another herb.

  ‘This is thyme,’ Fay said, holding out a leaf. ‘Mixed with aniseed it makes a good cough suppressant, with lavender it can help insomnia, yet with this sage,’ she said, snapping off another specimen, ‘it makes a good gargle for sore throats. It’s the synergy between them that’s powerful.’

  ‘The what?’

  ‘Synergy means the way they work together. It’s all about balance and harmony, and that’s why it’s important to get the quantities exactly right, especially when it comes to essential oils.’

  ‘There’s so much to learn,’ Eliza groaned, but her eyes were alight with interest. Fay chuckled.

  ‘People have been distilling plant materials to extract their powerful healing essences as far back as the shamans.’

  ‘The shamans?’

  ‘They were wise men from early civilization and they had the ability to heal using natural plants. Their knowledge has been passed down through the centuries.’

  ‘So how do you do this distilling then?’

  ‘First things first, girl. You need to learn about the plants themselves because oils are distilled from specific parts of them. In lavender the oils come from the flowers. Vascular plants such as flowering species and conifers contain special tissues for the circulation of fluids. Oh, forgive me, that’s way too much for you to take in at this stage,’ Fay muttered, as Eliza frowned.

  ‘It’s much more complicated than I realized.’

  ‘It is the complexity that makes it interesting. However, it’s the nose that’s most important. This earth is made up of all manner of aromas and it’s a matter of discerning what they are. It will be high summer before I can distil any plant material so the best thing you can do is spend your time exploring the garden and moorland, smell everything and anything to really get that nose of yours tuned in …’

  Fay was interrupted by the sound of the gate opening and Eliza’s heart flipped as she saw Duncan loping up the path.

  ‘Come to empty the earth closet for you, Fay,’ he announced and couldn’t understand why they dissolved into hysterics.

  15

  As the tears ran down their cheeks, Duncan stared from one to the other.

  ‘Pleased to see I have such an uplifting effect on you, ladies. A chap likes to spread happiness wherever he goes,’ he said, shaking his head.

  ‘Sorry, Duncan, it’s just that we were talking about …’ Eliza began, but Fay cut in.

  ‘Never mind that now. How did you get on in Dulvester?’

  ‘Sold all your remedies and here’s your money,’ he said, drawing out a bulging purse from his pocket. ‘As you rightly guessed, the riders at the Horn and Stirrup Cup were suffering from sore muscles along with the excess from the night before. They eagerly snapped up everything they could get their hands on. The promise of something to ease their throbbing heads made them generous with their payments, too.’

  ‘See, Eliza, horses for courses,’ Fay chuckled.

  ‘I sold the rest in the market,’ Duncan continued. ‘That idea you had of giving a discount to people returning their empty bottles and jars is proving popular. You have quite a following, Fay, and I was asked when you’ll have more supplies available.’

  ‘I suppose I could make some more now I have a helper,’ Fay said, taking the purse and weighing it in her hand with a delighted grin. ‘You were certainly right about Eliza’s olfactory senses.’

  ‘Talking of which, I brought some pies back with me. The smell of mutton’s been teasing my nose all the way back.’ Fay and Eliza exchanged glances and burst out laughing again. ‘While it’s good to see you getting on so well, can we please go inside and eat?’ he pleaded.

  The fresh air and exercise had made Eliza hungry as a horse and she finished before the others.

  ‘Goodness, little un, ’twas only a few weeks back you barely had the appetite of a sparrow,’ Duncan teased, but she could tell he was pleased.

  While Duncan and Fay discussed the latest happenings in Dulvester, Eliza pored over the receipt book. She found the pages relating to rosemary and thyme and studied them with renewed interest. Fay was obviously a clever woman, she thought, seeing all the different remedies for those two herbs alone. Suddenly she was filled with a longing to learn more but before she could say anything, Duncan got to his feet.

  ‘Right, I’ll get on and empty the closet.’

  ‘And Eliza can finish preparing the ground ready to dig in all that nutrient-rich excreta to make the plants grow,’ Fay said.

  Eliza wrinkled her nose and reluctantly set the book aside.

  ‘Don’t worry, little un, there’ll be wet days when you can stay indoors and try out those receipts,’ Duncan assured her.

  ‘Not if we haven’t anything grown to use, we won’t,’ Fay grunted. ‘It’s a means to an end, child. Sooner it’s done the sooner we’ll have something to distil.’

  Eliza nodded; after all, she wanted to learn how to make curatives and essences, didn’t she?

  The weather stayed dry for the rest of March and well into April. While Duncan carried out the necessary repairs to the roof, then ensured the enclosure was secure from wild animals, Eliza dug and Fay planted, making the most of the lengthening daylight hours. Each evening Fay carefully covered the ground with hessian to protect the new plants from frost and Eliza couldn’t help likening it to the woman tucking her babies up for the night.

  Although she’d much rather be exploring the moors and finding specimens for her box than planting potatoes, Eliza worked hard. Then they moved onto the herb and flower gardens, and as Fay began pointing out their various properties, Eliza’s excitement mounted.

  ‘You mean you can use flowers as well?’ she asked in amazement.

  Fay clicked her tongue. ‘Don’t you remember me showing you that lavender?’

  ‘Yes, of course, but it looked more like that herb bush,’ Eliza said, pointing to the rosemary. ‘And there aren’t any other flowers here that I can see.’

  ‘Only a few survive the winter this high up the moors where the climate is so harsh. That’s why at the end of each summer I harvest the seeds to plant out in spring. You just wait, Eliza. Come summer when they blossom and bloom you will have so many to choose from, you’ll be spoiled for choice,’ Fay announced.

  ‘I can’t wait,’ Eliza said, clapping her hands in delight.

  ‘Calm down, girl. Once this little lot’s planted, there’s the spring cleaning to be tackled and new mattresses to be stuffed. Don’t look like that,’ she berated as Eliza pouted. ‘Now it’s warmer and we won’t have to sleep virtually on top of the fire each night, Duncan’s promised to rig up a curtain that will give us both a bit of privacy.’

  Eliza’s heart soared. That must mean the woman wanted her to stay.

  ‘But what about the plants?’ she pointed out.

  Fay laughed. ‘They’ll still be busy growing while we’re working. On the moors, spring cleaning’s a celebration of winter passing as well as a necessary chore.’

  Duncan duly arrived early and began clearing the room of fu
rniture. Eliza watched in fascination as he clipped the top off a nearby holly bush, climbed up onto the roof and dropped a rope down the chimney. Heedless of his warning, Eliza ran inside to find the holly disappearing upwards and soot cascading down onto the hearth, sending clouds of inky dust billowing around the room. As the thick smog engulfed her, she ran coughing and spluttering out into the fresh air where Duncan and Fay started laughing.

  ‘Why ’tis the wee black bogey boy from down the pit,’ Duncan shouted from above. Stung by his words, she hurried back indoors, followed by Fay.

  ‘I’ll sweep and you wipe,’ the woman said, holding out a damp cloth.

  Methodically, they worked their way around the hobble. When that was done, Fay handed Eliza an enormous white feather.

  ‘Here, you can use this for dusting the cobwebs and top of the dresser.’

  ‘Surely it’s too beautiful to use,’ she commented, running her fingers along the plume.

  ‘It’s from the goose we had on Christmas Eve. I saved it specially,’ Fay explained with a shrug.

  ‘You had a whole goose?’ Eliza cried, thinking of the frugal meal she’d shared with her parents and siblings.

  ‘Well, I didn’t eat it by myself. Duncan had his fair share. You did as well, come to that,’ Fay said, making a start on the window.

  ‘Me?’

  ‘Oh, yes. I smeared so much of the grease on your front, Duncan thought I was basting you for another meal,’ she chuckled. As Eliza stared at her in horror Fay’s roar of laughter rocked the room. ‘Blimey, girl, he never saw you, if that is what’s worrying you. Now start high and work down. My poor stag looks like a new species with those black-tipped antlers.’

  Eliza grimaced at the head. Why on earth would Fay have such a monstrosity on her wall, she wondered, standing on a chair to reach it.

  ‘Don’t you glare at my pet, young lady, he safeguards all my secrets,’ Fay admonished.

  There was no accounting for taste, Eliza thought, as Duncan came in, dragging a mattress under each arm.

  ‘Just stuffed you a new one each. You’ll sleep like babies tonight with these singing lullabies beneath you,’ he said, throwing them down onto the swept floor.

  Finally, order was restored and they collapsed thankfully onto the chairs.

  ‘I reckon my little room has never looked so clean,’ Fay announced, staring around in satisfaction.

  Eliza smiled delightedly, then noticed Duncan watching her, a grin tugging his lips.

  ‘You look like you’ve been scoffing whortleberries, little un,’ he chortled.

  Still smarting from his earlier jibe, she ran her fingers over her mouth, then grimaced at the purple-black smears on them. After all the quips he’d made about her appearance, she wanted him to see her looking her best and without saying anything, ran outside to wash.

  As she stood sponging herself down with the icy water, she wondered why it mattered that Duncan should approve of how she looked. His teasing had never bothered her before but now it rankled. In the privacy of the shed, she brushed out her hair then changed into her spare clothes. Satisfied, she made her way inside, only to hear the sound of angry voices.

  ‘I insist on paying my way, Duncan, you know that,’ she heard Fay say as she hovered on the doorstep.

  ‘If I can’t help a friend without taking their money then it’s a pretty poor show,’ Duncan muttered.

  ‘But you got me a good price in Dulvester,’ Fay insisted.

  ‘Aye, and you’ll be needing the money, what with little un to look after. Put your purse away, Fay. You’ll not be able to do as much now and …’ His voice trailed off as he spotted Eliza.

  ‘Well, that looks better,’ Fay said, and Eliza could have sworn the woman looked relieved to see her.

  Duncan, however, was shrugging into his coat. ‘I’ll be helping out with the lambing so it’ll be a while till I next see you,’ he muttered, and with a tight grin he was gone.

  Why, he hadn’t even noticed she’d changed, she thought, staring after him.

  Fay looked quizzically at her. ‘I told you before, Eliza, Duncan’s a free spirit. While you were outside, he rigged up that curtain so at least we can each have some privacy now, eh?’

  As spring turned to summer and the flowers began to blossom and bloom so did Eliza. One morning she was tending the garden when she heard Fay call from where she sat sketching under the shade of the gorse. Going over, she noticed that, seemingly overnight, the bare bushes had burst into a riot of flowers, enclosing the garden in a fragrant gold curtain. In spite of their beauty, she knew that, underneath, the thorny needles were like steel giving protection against the rabbits and other wild creatures intent on raiding the vegetable plot.

  ‘Tell me what you smell, Eliza?’ Fay asked, crushing one of the yellow blossoms and holding it out.

  Eliza inhaled then wrinkled her nose. ‘Sort of sweet,’ she said.

  ‘And?’ the woman persisted.

  Eliza held the flower to her nose. ‘Spicy?’

  ‘I would go further and say it smells like sweet peas with the pungent tinge, befitting a wild flower. If you want to learn how to distil essence then you must always go deeper, Eliza. Get your nose right in, for there’s more to perfume than the first scent you encounter.’ She winced and put her hand to her head.

  ‘Are you all right, Fay?’ Eliza asked, noting the woman’s pallor.

  ‘Feel a bit hot and my eyes are playing up,’ she commented, throwing down her pad in disgust. ‘Why don’t you take yourself off over the moors and see what you can find for that box of yours?’ Then when Eliza hesitated: ‘Go on, away with you and leave me to rest.’

  Happy to be free from the seemingly endless gardening and weeding, she changed into her cotton skirt, snatched up her basket and took herself onto the moor. The black thorn trees were now smothered in creamy white May blossom, their heavy sweet scent hanging in the air. A swathe of bluebells spread out like a carpet beneath her feet as she bent and inhaled their sweet, dusky fragrance.

  Enjoying her freedom and the feel of the warm sun on her bare arms, she wandered on. The cries of cuckoo and blackbird mingling with the bleating of sheep reminded her of Duncan. She wondered how he was getting on with the lambing. She missed his gentle presence and it was only now she was stronger that she realized how much he had done for her and Fay.

  Ahead the river shimmered under the hot May sun and she could see a blaze of yellow-gold kingcups on the bank. Remembering she’d seen a receipt for them, she decided to pick some but as she drew nearer, she heard the sound of splashing. Her eyes widened in amazement for there was Duncan in all his glory diving and swimming like a fish in the crystal-clear waters.

  Seeing her approach, he waved.

  ‘Come on in, little un,’ he called but she shook her head and, kingcups forgotten, scuttled away.

  16

  Moments later, Eliza heard his footsteps pounding behind her but she didn’t turn round.

  ‘What’s up?’ he asked, catching up with her. Then he saw her crimson face and grinned.

  ‘Not used to skinny dipping, eh?’

  She shook her head. ‘Where I come from the rivers run red and orange from the copper mines,’ she muttered. ‘That water was so clear I could see, I mean I saw …’

  ‘We’re all the same – well, more or less,’ he conceded. ‘When I said come in for a dip, I only meant for you to refresh yourself. Still, I’m fully dressed, if a bit wet, so you can look at me without blushing.’

  She smiled feeling silly now that she’d run away.

&
nbsp; He returned her smile, saying, ‘I want to show you something interesting, little un. Although, you don’t look so little today, I must say,’ he said, standing back and appraising her. ‘Fay’s food must be doing you good for you’ve filled out nicely since I last saw you and you seem to be walking easier as well.’

  He’d noticed her at last, she thought, her heart singing. Then she realized he was speaking again.

  ‘Down there is the marsh where you’ll find meadowsweet and all manner of other flowers you’ve probably never seen before. Come on,’ he said, taking her hand and leading her towards the scrub.

  She could smell the heady meadowsweet before they even reached the marsh. The soggy ground was clothed in the white flowers and under the withies she saw a profusion of flowers she certainly couldn’t identify.

  ‘These here are gold ragwort, those silvery-mauve ones are water valerian, the purple, horehound, and pink brambles,’ Duncan said, pointing to each species in turn.

  ‘They’re beautiful,’ she gasped, her awkwardness forgotten. Reaching out she gathered up a bunch of the meadowsweet, then eagerly picked a specimen of each of the other brightly coloured flowers and placed them in her basket.

  ‘Careful now or you’ll take a tumble. Fay won’t thank me if you go back home smelling like a bog. How is she, by the way?’

  Eliza sighed and shook her head. ‘She was complaining about being hot and said her eyes hurt. I left her resting in the garden under the gorse bush.’ Conscious he’d referred to the hobble as her home, she grinned but Duncan was frowning.

  ‘Has she been out and about recently?’ he asked.

  ‘No, she’s been pottering about her garden. Why?’

  ‘Just checking. Has she made any more of her remedies or distilled any essences?’

  ‘No. I’ve been badgering her to, but she said it’s not the right time of year yet. As soon as I get back, I intend making her an infusion with these,’ she said, holding up the meadowsweet. ‘That should help, shouldn’t it?’