by Diane Allen
‘She’s just like her bloody father. Crafty and cunning, but you can never say no to her. That James will have to pay for his hour or two of pleasure, if I know Isabelle. He’ll rue the day he went behind her back – although I think he’ll be doing that already.’ Archie looked at Danny and Harriet. ‘Make sure she’s right with you this time, lass; take no rubbish from her.’
‘I won’t, Father. This time I know she needs me more than I need her.’ Harriet smiled.
Isabelle stood at Madge’s graveside. It had begun to rain and she looked up towards the falling raindrops pattering onto the spreading leaves of the sycamore trees that surrounded the churchyard. The weather matched her mood. She could have cried, too, shedding tears of hurt as she watched the coffin being lowered into the ground. How could her husband have deceived her so, with her own seamstress, whom she had trusted? Looking back, she should have known something was wrong: all the times James had returned home late, and the occasions when she had found them both together, looking coy and secretive. She should have known. Instead she had been oblivious to the people sniggering behind her back. All of them had known more than she did about what was going on under her own nose.
She looked up at Madge’s parents, who were heartbroken and at a loss to make sense of their daughter’s death and the scandal that had enveloped them. Their daughter found lying dead, next to James Fox on his new contraption of a motorcycle. The whole district was talking about it. Isabelle breathed in deeply; she wouldn’t give her condolences to the family, she would just walk away and leave them in their grief. Besides, if Madge wasn’t dead, she would have wished her so; nobody took anything off her, especially not her husband. She looked around her at the whispering mourners and made herself scarce, leaving them to gossip for as long as they liked. No doubt the rumours would give birth to more rumours, and this would just be the start, for the gossips. She must protect the good name of Atkinson’s above all else. James would have to learn who was really in charge of his life.
14
‘Are you there, Ethan?’ Rosie whispered quietly as she climbed the ladder up to Ethan’s sleeping quarters above the stable. The smell of newly harvested hay filled her nostrils. It was a reminder that summer was nearly over and that soon it would be autumn. She heard Ethan move as she peered into the darkness and rubbed her eyes to adjust to the light of the hay-loft.
‘Aye, I’m here. What are you doing, creeping up here at this time of night? I thought I told you to keep away until the two Paddies had gone home.’ Ethan turned on his side and looked towards where Rosie’s voice came from.
‘I had to come and see you. It couldn’t wait any longer,’ she whispered as she hoisted herself up on the wooden floorboards and made out the form of Ethan, who reached his hand out to light the stub of a candle in its candlestick.
‘What couldn’t wait?’ Even by the light of the candle, Ethan looked concerned and his voice whispered shakily.
‘I . . . I’m worried Ethan. I think I might be having your baby.’ Rosie felt her eyes filling with tears and she started to sob. She’d practised saying the words over and over again in her head as she tossed and turned in her bed, wondering what to do and how to tell Ethan of her predicament.
‘Stop it! Stop blubbing and keep your voice down. Else those Irishmen will hear and tell your father, and you don’t want him to know. Besides, you can’t be – we’ve only done it once and I was careful. That is, unless you’ve been with someone else.’ Ethan looked at Rosie in the flickering yellow candlelight and saw how upset she was. He knew she wouldn’t have been with anyone else, but didn’t want to admit it.
‘How could you say that? I’d never lift my skirts to someone else. Didn’t I tell you that I loved you? But I’ve hardly seen anything of you these last few weeks; it’s as if you have kept out of my way.’ Rosie sobbed. She’d thought Ethan would tell her that he loved her and that everything would be alright. Instead he was lying there, accusing her of being unfaithful, and his dark eyes looked straight through her.
‘I’ve been busy helping your father with the hay, and I thought it couldn’t be mine. Anyway, you might be wrong. It’s only a few weeks since we were down at the wash-dubs. How do you know already?’
‘Do I have to say? I don’t like talking about suchlike. But you should know – you are not daft. We both know what goes on.’ Rosie caught her breath and trembled as she tried to control her sobs.
‘Give it another week. You may be wrong. And it’ll give me time to think. We can’t do owt yet. But I know one thing: we are both going to get the hidings of our lives, if you are having a baby.’ Ethan ran his fingers through his hair and looked at Rosie in the candlelight. He wished he’d behaved himself that warm afternoon; he’d no intention of being cornered by the farmer’s daughter, not yet. There was too much of the world to see before he did that.
‘I won’t be wrong. I’m never late, if you know what I mean,’ mumbled Rosie as she wrung her hands, not daring to look into Ethan’s face. She sobbed and wished Ethan would show more concern.
‘Well, there’s always a first time, and this might be it. It’s no good worrying yet. Now get yourself back home, before you are missed and before those two over the yard hear you. We’ll sort things out, no matter what. I’m not going anywhere and you aren’t, so we will just have to take the consequences.’ Ethan smiled and finally hugged Rosie.
‘You do love me, though, don’t you, Ethan? You will stand by me?’ she said as she turned to make her way back down the ladder.
‘Aye, I’m upset that you even feel you need to ask me that. You should know what my answer is to both. Now get yourself to bed and stop worrying, it’ll be alright.’ Ethan kissed her on the cheek and watched as she climbed down the ladder and made her way quietly out of the stable, leaving him to blow out the candle and look into the dark of the night. It was a darkness that was nearly suffocating him with the news that he was about to be a father.
‘Have any of you seen Ethan? I’ve had to take the two Irishmen down into Settle myself, as there was no sight nor sound of him first thing this morning.’ Danny threw his cap down onto his chair and stood looking at Harriet and his father.
‘He’ll be bloody wandering off somewhere, making the most of the day.’ Archie looked up at his scowling son.
‘He’d better not be – not while I’m paying him. He can just get his backside home, wherever he is,’ said Danny.
‘I haven’t seen him at all this morning. Give Rosie a shout – she might have finished, she’s upstairs making the beds.’ Harriet raised her head from concentrating on kneading the bread, and wiped her hair with the back of her hand as she looked at her annoyed husband.
‘If anyone knows where he is, Rosie will. They are, I think, still as thick as thieves, regardless of his father giving Ethan a hiding earlier on in the year. Although, saying that, I haven’t seen him loitering about her of late. I suppose we should be thankful for that, and at least she’s not with him this time.’ Danny walked down the passageway and stood at the bottom of the stairs and yelled up to Rosie in the bedrooms above. ‘Rosie, have you seen Ethan today? He’s not about, and he was supposed to do a job for me this morning.’
Rosie stopped shaking the bolster into its slip as she heard her father shouting at her. Her stomach churned as she heard him say that Ethan was missing. Ethan might wander, but only after he had finished his jobs, and he would never have missed doing something that was expected of him. She knew instantly something was wrong. She breathed in deeply; she didn’t want her father to see the worry on her face as she walked to the top of the stairs.
‘No, I’ve not seen him, Father. I’ve been helping Mother all morning.’ She leaned over the banister and looked at the anger on her father’s face.
‘That bloody lad, he’s more bother than he’s worth,’ Danny muttered as he made his way back into the kitchen.
Rosie’s legs shook as she made her way back to her parents’ bedroom and the task in hand.
She felt sick as she sat on the edge of the bed and looked out of the window at the world outside. Where was Ethan? Was it just a coincidence that he was not to be found this morning, after she had spoken to him the previous day, or had he left knowing that she was carrying his child? He was leaving her, just like his grandfather had left his grandmother all those years ago. She didn’t know what to do, as she sat and shed a tear, thinking of the plight she might be in. Her father would surely not take kindly to the fact that she was pregnant, let alone that it was with the farm boy and that he had abandoned her, alone with her guilt. And then she thought of her mother’s plans being spoilt by her stupidity. Harriet had never stopped talking about reviving her seamstress skills, back in Atkinson’s fold, since Isabelle had visited; and Rosie had seen her mother filled with new life as she counted the days until she re-joined the family firm.
She sighed; her minute of weakness on the grassy bank that sultry evening was going to be her undoing. If Ethan had left her, she would have to face the consequences on her own, but until she was sure, she would say nothing to anybody. She breathed in deeply and controlled her sobs; her mother must not find her like this. She’d check Ethan’s home above the stable and then decide what to do. However, if he had gone, she’d keep her predicament to herself for as long as possible, for it would be for the best.
‘The ungrateful sod!’ Danny swore at the supper table and banged his cutlery down. ‘Buggering off without a “by your leave”. By, I should have listened to Isabelle.’ He scowled across at his father. ‘It was you who brought Ethan here, and now he’s buggered off to God knows where. I’ll go down to Windfell tomorrow and see if he’s trailed himself home.’
‘He’ll happen turn up. You know what he’s like.’ Archie seemed unperturbed by Ethan’s absence and carried on eating his supper.
‘Nay, he’ll not; he’s taken all his belongings with him, even the old straw mattress, and it is as if he was never with us. Are you sure he said nothing to you, our Rosie? You are looking a bit sheepish. You two have always been close.’ Danny shot a questioning glance at his rather quiet daughter, who looked white and upset.
‘No, he said nothing to me. I’m as shocked as you are.’ Rosie held back the tears as her father questioned her.
‘At least we’ve got hay-time over and done with. Plus, he couldn’t have slept above the stable this winter. I’d have had to find room for him here, or where the Irishmen have slept in the storeroom. I didn’t fancy having him sleeping under our roof. He’s such a wild one.’ Harriet rose from the table and looked at Rosie. ‘You’ll miss him no doubt – you look upset. He’s best gone, for perhaps you were both getting too close.’ She looked at her crestfallen daughter and then smiled. ‘I’ll have to make you a dress for the dances this coming winter, once I’m back at work. One to attract some lad from out of the village, seeing as you will be seventeen soon.’
‘Aye, one with brass. Not a black-haired gyppo, like Ethan. Make your father proud.’ Danny grinned at his daughter, teasing her.
‘I’m sorry, I have remembered that I need to feed Jip. I forgot earlier on.’ Rosie got up from the table; she had to hold back the tears until she got outside, for nobody must know her plight. She pushed her chair back and made her way quickly to the door.
‘Look what you’ve done now! Can’t you see she’s brokenhearted over Ethan not saying goodbye to her?’ Harriet shook her head over Danny’s lack of empathy.
‘It’s good riddance to bad rubbish.’ Danny said. ‘He’s best gone, if she was that fond of him.’
‘He’ll not be far. He’ll land back when he’s ready.’ Archie moved next to the fire. ‘He’s making the most of the last days of summer, if you ask me. And, as you say, he’d have said his farewells to Rosie, if nobody else, and you can tell she knew nowt.’
‘Aye, well, we will see. If he does turn up, I may not want him back, the trailing little bugger.’ Danny wished his father had never brought Ethan to Crummock in the first place.
Rosie sat up high on the hillock called the Knot and looked down on the farmhouse. Swallows and house martins were diving and swooping, catching the last flies and midges of the summer’s evening as the sun began to sink lower and lower in the sky. They too were going to take flight to warmer shores for the onset of winter. She hugged her knees close to her and rocked to console herself. Please let Ethan return, she thought to herself. Don’t let him be the gypsy that everyone has branded him to be. She loved him and thought he loved her. At least it had felt like that. How could she have been so wrong? Her heart would always be his, of that she was sure. As for their secret, well, that was what it would be kept as, for the next few months at least, until his return.
15
Danny rode up the path to Windfell, straight to the stables, and dismounted at once when he saw Jethro came out to meet him.
‘Mister Danny, it’s good to see you.’ Jethro took the horse’s reins and patted its neck. ‘Mistress Isabelle is at Skipton, if you were looking for her, but Mister James is at home.’
‘It’s you I’ve come to see really, Jethro.’ Danny looked at the well-built man and searched his face for any inkling that he knew why he was here. ‘It’s Ethan; he’s left us, and I wondered if perhaps he’d come home.’
‘Nay, he’s not here, we hardly see him nowadays. He breaks my Mazy’s heart many a day, never showing his face. He used to come regular, but he seems to be a law unto himself since he went to live at Crummock. I’ll make sure I send him straight back to you, if I see anything of him. He’s got wandering feet, has our Ethan, never knows when he’s well off. The silly bugger.’ Jethro sighed and looked at Danny. ‘He’s not done owt he shouldn’t, has he?’
‘Not that I know of, Jethro. But he has taken everything with him and it looks like he’s left for good.’ Danny looked as the old man’s face as it clouded over with worry.
‘I’ll have to tell our Mazy. She’ll be sick with anxiety. It’s a good job he’s our only one, because he hasn’t half given us some trouble over the years. I’m sorry that he’s not been decent enough to hand his notice in, and that he’s caused you this bother, Mister Danny.’ Jethro pulled on the horse’s reins as it raised its head, impatient to be off again or stabled with something to eat.
‘Well, I just hope he turns up. If he were my son, I’d be worried. Even though Ethan is big enough to look after himself, I’m sure you’d still like to know where he is.’ Danny patted the stableman’s back and looked at the worry on his face. ‘Can you stable my horse for an hour, Jethro? I’ll just have a catch-up with James, keep him company for a while.’
‘That I can, sir. Mister James will be glad of the company. I think his days are long, since the accident.’ Jethro led the horse to the stables. He hadn’t wanted to show how much the news of Ethan’s disappearance had upset him. But deep down he knew that his son would not have left the safety of a good job for no reason, so something had gone wrong.
‘Danny, it’s good to see you. You’ve dared to visit the black sheep of the family then? I thought everyone had washed their hands of me.’ James patted his brother-in-law on the back while trying to balance on his crutches.
‘Aye, well, I can’t say I’m suited with your escapade, but I’ve only heard part of the story, no doubt. It’s up to you to tell me the rest, if you want to.’ Danny made himself comfortable in the morning room of Windfell and looked out at the immaculate lawns, remembering the days when he strolled around them with Harriet on his arm.
‘I don’t know what to say, Danny. I’ve been a fool, and my head was turned by Madge’s beauty and attention. And now look where it has got us: her six foot under, and my marriage in tatters. I’m only telling you this because at this moment I need a friend, and a fellow man to talk to. Isabelle is making my life hell, which she has every right to do. Even though I tell her we were just good friends, she has guessed the truth about Madge and me.’ James sat down cautiously in a chair next to his brother-in-law and put his head in his
hands.
‘Well, mate, you’ve only yourself to blame – what else can I say?’ Danny felt for his distraught brother-in-law; he’d guessed that Isabelle would be making James’s life hell. He knew she could never live with infidelity in her marriage. ‘Our Isabelle has a hell of a tongue on her, and I’m glad I’m not in your shoes. But look on the bright side: at least she hasn’t thrown you out.’
‘Don’t think she hasn’t threatened it. But she couldn’t live with the scandal, of that I’m sure. The servants are very cold towards me, and as for our Jane, she either goes to work with her mother or hides in her room reading her precious Votes for Women newspaper, which is filling her head with nonsense. Thank God Luke is at school at Giggleswick. Even if I do worry about him, now that he’s joined the OTC. He’d be first in line if ever there was a war. But I’m wasting my time with my opinions at the moment.’
‘You are in a bad way, my old mate. But like I said, you do only have yourself to blame. Although I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t say most of us have been swayed by a bonny face from time to time. It’s just that we don’t get caught.’ Danny sat back in his chair and looked sympathetically at his usually laid-back brother-in-law.
‘Why do you say that? You’ve never been unfaithful to Harriet. I know you’ve had your ups and downs, but you always seem to love one another, regardless of how tough it gets.’ James peered at Danny, interested that he was confessing to having an eye for a good-looking woman.
‘No, I’ve never been tempted since I was wed, but I nearly didn’t get married because of a lass who was very similar to your Madge. She took my eye and my heart, if truth be told. She was everything that Harriet wasn’t. There was no talk of marriage and family; she just lived for the day.’ Danny sat back in his chair and recollected the time he had spent with Amy Brown.