The Bonbon Girl

by Linda Finlay

  As she cut, folded and pasted, it wasn’t long before her thoughts turned to home and Kitto. He must have received her necklace by now. Of course, there was no telling what her mamm would have told him, but she felt in her heart he would be wishing her well. Why, even at this very moment he could be searching for her. Though how would he know where to look? Then she remembered Mara saying something about her sending a card home when they’d moved away from The Lizard. She’d send him one from Bodmin, for if it was deemed safe for her to wear her own clothes then it would surely be safe to send a communication.

  The strident notes of the organ starting up brought her swiftly back to the present and she scooped all the cones she’d made into the wicker foraging basket Mara had loaned her. Everyone was being so kind, she thought as the three knocks heralding Titan’s arrival sounded on the window. Dragging on the dreaded cap, she opened the door, blinking in the glare of the afternoon sun.

  ‘Lovely out here, it is,’ Titan beamed as he took her basket and she stepped outside with him. ‘The missus is picnicking by the water with the little ‘uns.’ The thought of the giant having little anything made Colenso smile. ‘Good to see you looking happier. Thought when you’d finished at the Panam you might like to take a look round the fair. Don’t suppose you’ve seen much, having been cooped up like a chicken. Some of the fair will be moving on soon.’

  ‘I thought Mara said we’d be here a week,’ Colenso frowned, glancing over to the little round tent beside the graveyard.

  ‘You will. Mara’s is one of the most popular draws. People visit her year after year. Say her predictions always come true. Most of the villagers have been parted from their hard-earned dough though, so the big rides don’t hang around.’ He gave a devilish grin.

  ‘So why do the others stay?’

  ‘The locals have cricket matches and various other competitions arranged between local villages. The remaining stalls including the Panam will all move over to where Mara is.’

  ‘I’d love to look around later, as long as you think it’d be safe,’ Colenso murmured, automatically looking over her shoulder. When she could see no one following, she turned back to Titan. ‘Don’t you get tired of all the packing up and moving on?’ He gave a loud belly laugh that boomed above the sound of the organ and the noise already emanating from sideshows they were passing.

  ‘The missus and I get a rest when we haul up at Penzance at the end of the season. Take any available work to put food on the table.’

  ‘Do you stay in your van over the winter then?’

  ‘Yep, neither of us could imagine living in brick. Well, here you are, delivered safe and sound,’ he grinned, handing back her basket. ‘Afternoon, Jago,’ he called. The vendor waved, then turned back to the buxom woman he was serving. Sporting her Sunday best, she was clearly doing her utmost to charm him.

  ‘’Ow much can I get for a farthing?’ a tiny voice asked. Colenso looked down to see a grimy urchin, sporting tattered rags and staring at her hopefully.

  ‘Is that your pocket money?’ she asked. The boy looked uncomfortable.

  ‘Found this on the grass,’ he admitted, holding out a small coin. ‘I never ’ad no sweets afore.’ Seeing him glancing wistfully at the glistening rock, she gathered up a couple of the crooks and popped them in a cone. Delightedly, he snatched it from her and ran off, fearful she might change her mind.

  ‘Putting me out of business, are you?’ Jago grunted, shaking his head.

  ‘You can take it out of my wages,’ she said recklessly.

  ‘Expecting to be paid as well as looked out for, are we?’ he tutted, then changed the subject. ‘It’s good to see you looking happier. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, there’s a group of children over there clamouring to be served.’

  ‘Seems to me everything around here clamours,’ she replied as the church bells began pealing their daily competition against the organ.

  The afternoon passed in a flurry of activity, the tantalizing smell of lemon and mint mingling with the spicy gingerbread tempting her taste buds. Colenso sighed, eager for the time when she could learn the secrets of making the sweet confections. Whilst the livestock auction was taking place on the green, Jago went for a break, leaving her to refill the containers. Who would have believed they could get through so many, she thought, filling yet more cones with an array of assorted sweets. As she stepped outside the Panam to check everything looked enticing, a shot rang out making her jump. Heart beating wildly, she scurried back behind the stall.

  ‘’Tis only the rifle range over there, lover,’ the man from the Hammer Bell Striker called, gesturing behind him. ‘Got moved cos of all the noise,’ he groaned, raising his bushy brows.

  ‘Oh, er, thank you,’ she murmured, glad for once his attraction was quiet with no menfolk queueing to test their strength. The ringing of the bell when it was hit set her teeth on edge, although luckily it didn’t happen that often. The crack of rifles would be an entirely different matter though.

  The excited hullabaloo of the crowd returning signalled that the auction had ended, and to her relief she saw Jago approaching.

  ‘See it’s our turn for the rifle range,’ he sighed. ‘Oh well, they’ll be moving on soon.’ As customers began clustering around the Panam, Colenso turned her attention back to helping the children make their important choices. As they often asked what the sweets tasted like, she decided to sample every single one of the confections to give them an informed opinion. The glistening candy coats made her mouth water and during a lull she popped one of the striped bullseyes in her mouth. She was just savouring the tangy, lemon flavour when Titan appeared.

  ‘Not slacking again, Col? Have to dock those wages of yours,’ Jago teased as she went to move from behind the stall.

  ‘Blame me, Jago. I offered to show Col around before the rides start packing up,’ Titan said, taking her basket from her.

  As they wandered through the stalls, he swung it easily back and forth and Colenso couldn’t help comparing it to the way her father had let her carry her laden basket to the works.

  ‘I had no idea the fair was so big or so dangerous. I mean, how can she bear it?’ Colenso shuddered, stopping by a stall where a tall woman dressed as a red Indian squaw stood without flinching as knives were thrown onto the board around her.

  ‘Don’t worry, Blade’s being doing that for years,’ Titan laughed. ‘He’s a true showman and makes it look more terrifying than it is. Besides, Lottie would have his scrotum for supper if he ever hit her.’

  ‘Oh,’ she murmured, moving quickly on to the next stall, only to wish she hadn’t when she saw a lady with bright painted lips under which a mass of black facial hair hung. She was perched on a stall and smiling. The effect was decidedly weird.

  ‘Only a penny to find out if the lady’s beard is real,’ a man sporting a topper and red-striped jacket grinned, showing a mouthful of yellow stained teeth. So that really was a female? Colenso couldn’t resist taking another look. ‘Go on, stroke it, find out what it’ll feel like when you can grow one, boy,’ he invited, holding out the long beard. ‘Oh, hello Titan, didn’t see you there,’ he added his expression changing.

  ‘No, I’m hard to spot,’ Titan chuckled, taking hold of Colenso’s elbow and moving her on. ‘As you can see, some stalls are more tasteful than others. And more fragrant,’ he added, wrinkling his nose at the smell of frying offal. ‘You wouldn’t believe what some people buy.’ They walked on past the swing boats where Colenso had spent that awful time turning the handle for what seemed like hours, until finally Titan came to a halt.

  ‘How about a ride on these splendid fellows?’ he suggested, pointing to the dobbies. As memories of the previous year came flooding back, Colenso shook her head. ‘Perhaps another day, then,’ he said, mistaking her look. ‘Don’t worry, old nosey-nocks won’t come calling again. His legs won’t allow it,’ he grinned. Then seeing her puzzled look, he shrugged. ‘You learn a lot of useful moves in my job. Besides, Mara said she
feels the presence has moved away. Come on, it’s getting late and she’ll be wondering where you’ve got to.’

  While they’d been wandering round, the shadows had gathered over the fairground, and now light from the lamps cast pools of murky yellow over everything. Leaving the noise and hustle behind, they wandered back to the relative quiet of the site where the kumpania had lit their campfire. It had been quite an afternoon and Colenso was keen to be back in the security of Mara’s cosy van.

  ‘Want me to see you inside?’ Titan asked. She shook her head.

  ‘No, you get back to your family. Thank you for showing me around, Titan. It’s been most enlightening,’ she smiled.

  ‘My pleasure,’ he said, handing over her basket. ‘The little ’uns would love a couple of cones sometime,’ he grinned, then with a mock salute made his way past the kumpania to the other corner of the field where his van was.

  ✳

  It was the end of the week and, having packed up their things, they were on the road again. Although it was early, the air was already hot, the road dusty. Colenso sighed at the thought of the long trek ahead of them.

  ‘Don’t you ever get bored with all this walking?’ she asked. Mara, who’d been murmuring encouragement to Ears, looked up and frowned.

  ‘Bored? Whatever do you mean, child? How could you possibly get weary with all this to look at?’ she said, gesturing to the countryside around them. ‘Apart from anything else, you should be keeping your eyes peeled. It’s a fine time of year for foraging nature’s bounty. Ramsons, elderflowers, nettles, and if it rains we could even strike lucky for dryad’s saddles – that’s mushrooms to you.’

  ‘Funny name.’

  ‘Dryads are the wood nymphs who inhabit trees, and they say the mushrooms are the saddles they ride on. Don’t look like that,’ she said when Colenso rolled her eyes. ‘They’re found at the base of dead trees so it could be true, you know.’

  ‘Maybe but I wish we were heading that way,’ Colenso said, pointing to the sea to her left.

  ‘Ah, a mermaid born and bred, eh?’ Mara chuckled. ‘The local lads will have to watch out.’

  ‘Pardon?’ she asked, wondering what tangent the woman was going off on now.

  ‘Legend has it that a very beautiful lady periodically attended the church in Zennor. No one knew who she was or whence she came, but she had the sweetest of singing voices. A local man called Mathey Trewella, himself a fine singer, was beguiled by her beauty and followed her one day but never returned. ’Twas said she was a mermaid who’d enticed him to her abode deep below the sea.’

  ‘Really,’ Colenso burst out laughing. ‘Apart from the fact my father said I’m built like a bal maiden, my singing would wake the dead not entice anyone.’

  ‘True or not, the story put a smile on your face. Anyhow, just think, when we reach Bodmin you can transform back to a girl. Surely that’s enough to spur you on.’ Immediately, Colenso brightened. To be able to wear her thin skirt and blouse would be bliss after these coarse clothes especially as it seemed summer had arrived. She stared around at the primroses and dog violets in the hedgerows. Everything seemed to bloom later here in the north of the county compared with on The Lizard.

  ‘Them mauve beauties be good for the treatment of piles,’ Mara said, following her gaze. ‘Still, those periwinkles winking over there might be more appropriate for you. ’Tis said if a woman and man eat the leaves together love will blossom between them.’

  ‘Hmm,’ Colenso murmured sceptically. ‘But that reminds me, I’m going to send Kitto a card when we arrive,’ she told Mara. ‘What address will I give him?’

  ‘The Kumpania of Cornwall,’ the woman quipped. ‘Seriously though, you’d better give the address of the post office at Truro. We’ll be there for the June fair. Make sure you seal the envelope though. Don’t want it getting in the wrong hands.’

  ‘I can’t wait until we get to Bodmin,’ she cried, eager to write and tell Kitto where she was. She’d ask him to tell her what he’d been up to in his reply.

  ‘Well, you’ll have to hold your fire for another three days, my girl, for that’s how long it’ll take us.’

  ‘Oh,’ Colenso murmured, her heart sinking like a stone.

  Chapter 18

  As the sun rose higher, Colenso felt herself flagging. The trail of wagons, their owners and children alongside, were leaving the moor behind and descending towards a valley where, to her relief, the lane was shaded by trees that were coming into leaf. It still amazed her that these people carried all their worldly goods and the wherewithal to make a living, along with them. True, they didn’t have many but then, what worldly goods did she possess? It was a sobering thought to think she only had her clothes and the boy’s cast-offs she was wearing to her name.

  Suddenly through the bushes she saw an enormous round granite rock on the ground. It must be as high as their wagon, she thought, stepping closer and looking up at it.

  ‘Whatever is that?’ she asked.

  ‘Legend has it that stone was used by the giants Trecrobben and Comoron to play Boule,’ Mara replied delightedly.

  ‘Not another one of your myths,’ Colenso said, shaking her head.

  ‘I prefer the word legend and there are hundreds of them around these parts. Of course, nobody really knows how that boulder got there, but it’s fun to imagine a couple of big men playing with it,’ Mara laughed.

  ‘Well, I’m too hot and tired to even think of playing,’ Colenso sighed.

  ‘It’s not far to the river where we’ll be stopping to rest and have a cooling drink.’

  Sure enough, minutes later they came to a mill and above the creaking of its wheel Colenso could hear the brook chuckling. Ears picked up his pace, coming to a halt on the bank where Mara released him from the shafts. While he drank thirstily, the children kicked off their boots and jumped laughing and shrieking into the water. Colenso was tempted to do the same, but Mara was holding out the kettle for her to fill.

  ‘I’ll rack up the stove and we’ll have a nice brew afore we go foraging,’ she told her. ‘This is a good spot for chickweed and cuckoo flowers, then further on we might find some three-cornered leeks to go with them. Should have the makings of a good garlic soup and salad tonight,’ she said, rubbing her hands together delightedly.

  Later, refreshed from their rest, they went in search of the wild plants Mara had spoken about. The woman’s knowledge and enthusiasm for them reminded Colenso of Mammwynn and she couldn’t help feeling a pang for the grandmother she’d loved so much. And yet, almost without realizing it, she knew she was beginning to come to terms with her loss. The cycle of life, she thought, placing the fresh green ramson leaves carefully into Mara’s basket.

  With the basis for a good supper neatly stored in the tiny kitchen area, they rejoined the group and headed north where the country gave way to grime and dirt as they passed the iron foundry belching out plumes of black smoke. Trundling along the long straggling street, local people stopped to observe their progress. Some smiled but others glared.

  ‘Why are they staring at us like that?’ Colenso asked.

  ‘Probably making sure we’re not camping here. They don’t trust the folk of the fairs. Regrettably there are some who steal, or worse, which gives us all a bad name,’ Mara sighed.

  Having left the buildings behind, Mara hopped up on the cart and gestured to Colenso to do the same.

  ‘Nice and flat for quite a while now, so we can give our legs a break,’ she said, wiping the perspiration from her brow. To Colenso’s delight, they followed the line of the sand dunes for some miles and she revelled in the tang of the salty air and the cries of wheeling gulls. Then the vista changed as they reached the dirty, noisy towns of the tin- and copper-mining area.

  The smelters and factories were blanketing the sky with smoke and soot, while the constant hiss and clunk from stream-driven pumps in the engine houses reminded Colenso of the noise at the serpentine works.

  ‘Down we get again,’
Mara sighed, as they reached the hilly main street and Ears began to labour. It was lined with grand granite houses, but as Colenso peered down the side streets she saw they were crammed with smaller run-down terraced cottages. Beyond them, ragged children played barefoot among the spoil and slag heaps.

  ‘This is terrible,’ she shuddered.

  ‘I know, there’s no vegetation at all so there’ll be no foraging here,’ Mara said sadly. ‘Too much copper and arsenic in the ground.’

  That wasn’t what Colenso had meant, but they’d begun to leave the oppressive area behind them and she let the subject drop. When they reached the open moorland again, she raised her face and breathed deeply of the fresh air.

  ‘Bet you don’t think the countryside’s so bad now,’ Mara said, giving her a wry look. They continued the journey on foot, over undulating hills, past farm fields bordered by hedges, until they reached Blackwater where they set up camp for the night. After the hullabaloo of the previous days, Colenso revelled in the gentle company of the kumpania as they sat around the fire.

  ‘Looks like you enjoyed that,’ Mara said, gesturing to her empty dish.

  ‘It was delicious. I never knew you could make such wonderful meals with a few flowers and leaves.’

  ‘We’ll make a country girl of you yet,’ Mara grinned.

  ✳

  The next day followed much the same pattern as they trekked on through the countryside, passing yet more farms bordered by high hedges. The sun beat down relentlessly, and by the time they’d climbed the steep hill out of the valley at Zelah, Colenso could feel the perspiration dripping down her back. How she wished she could throw off that wretched cap and jacket.

  Finally, they reached their destination of Summercourt, a hamlet of terraced stone cottages built around a crossroads.

  ‘We’ll be coming back for the fair in October,’ Mara said, as they turned into a field beyond the alehouse, but Colenso was so hot and dusty it was all she could do to murmur an answer.