Realising Clem and Kane were hovering outside the parlour, being careful not to be seen, Jessica said without turning round, ‘Can someone fetch me a bowl of warm water and a cloth and leave it in the doorway?’
‘I’ll get it,’ Kane said quietly, knowing Jessica would prefer her father stayed close by.
‘Are you all right, Jessica?’ Clem whispered worriedly when Kane had gone to the kitchen.
‘Aye, I’m fine. If I can just get her out of these dirty clothes and cleaned up a bit she’ll feel more comfortable.’
‘Have you any idea who she is?’ Clem asked.
‘I’ve never seen her before,’ Jessica said, pulling strands of the woman’s hair aside and checking to see if she had lice. There were none and her scalp was clean so she had kept herself washed before arriving at the condition she was now in.
‘Ask her her name,’ Clem said.
Jessica smiled at the woman. ‘What’s your name? Can you tell me?’
The woman just stared back and Jessica realised that something in her head had switched off. She had found a safe haven and her brain was not registering any feelings or responses.
‘She’s gone quiet,’ Jessica told her concerned father.
‘Well, that’s a relief.’
Kane brought the water. With the woman in a stupor, Jessica was able to leave her to pick it up from the doorway. ‘Go fetch one of my dresses, will you, Father?’ she said softly.
‘Where do you keep them?’ Clem hissed back through his teeth.
‘In my room of course. You’ll find one hanging over the back of a chair.’ And Jessica had to smile at the irony that no matter how strong and tough her father was, he was almost helpless at doing anything as simple as fetching a dress. He brought it downstairs and carefully laid it in the doorway.
Jessica stripped the woman of her dirty dress. She could see no marks on her body that suggested she had been beaten as Jessica had suspected. The woman allowed herself to be washed clean of mud and dirt and have Jessica’s dress, a castoff from Olivia, put over her head. She made no attempt to put her arms through the sleeves or pull it down and Jessica had to do it for her. By the time she was fully clothed again, the woman had drifted from the stupor into a deep, exhausted sleep. Jessica put a cushion behind her head and, confident she would not wake for a while, tiptoed out of the room.
A moment later she was sitting on the settle in the kitchen, shaken and relieved with Clem’s arms round her. ‘It was like tending to one of Aunty Rosie’s little ones,’ she told him and Kane.
‘What on earth could have happened to her?’ Kane said, leaning his buttocks against the dresser and holding his chin in his hand while gazing down at Jessica. He was comparing the concern on her peach-skinned face to the looks of impertinence and fury he had seen on the day of his arrival home. There was great strength and stubbornness in all her expressions and a sort of primitive wildness. He liked it whichever way she looked.
‘Well, she wasn’t beaten. She’s obviously fled from something and the only marks on her seem to come from that,’ Jessica said gravely. ‘But whatever it is, she’s been literally terrified out of her mind.’
‘Jessica,’ Clem said soberly, ‘do you think she’s been… interfered with?’
‘I can’t tell for sure, but there are no bruises to suggest she was held down or anything.’
Clem kissed the top of her head. ‘You need a dish of tea, my cherub. I’ll have to go to the well for some more water. Kane, will you look after Jessica please?’
Kane nodded, thinking how perfect Clem’s endearing term was for her. ‘Even with your bad moods, what a wonderful cherubic face you have,’ he whispered to himself.
‘What was that?’ Jessica asked, eyeing him.
Kane straightened up, his head brushing a bundle of herbs hanging up to dry, and moved over to her. ‘Nothing. Are you sure you’re all right?’
Jessica made a sudden movement on the settle and knocked her back. Her face became contorted with pain.
Alarmed, Kane crouched at her feet and caught her hands. ‘What is it?’
‘My… my back…’
Kane put his big hands lightly above her elbows and moved in close until she was leaning against his chest. Jessica closed her eyes and pressed herself into his strength.
Kane quickly undid the laces down the back of her dress and pulled the sides apart. He gasped when he saw the ugly red and purple welt left by the woman’s terrified grip. He moved his body so Jessica’s head lay on his shoulder and he held her at the waist with one hand while using the other to gently massage round the edges of the angry discoloration on her back.
‘Does that help?’ he whispered against the tangle of golden curls.
‘Mmmm,’ Jessica replied and nestled her face in closer to him.
‘What the ruddy hell do you think you’re doing?’ Clem raged as he entered the kitchen and caught sight of his daughter with her back exposed in the young man’s arms.
Kane looked up rapidly. ‘She’s hurt, I wasn’t—’
‘I’ll break your bloody neck if you ever…’ Then Clem realised his mistake and set the bucket of water down. ‘I’m sorry, Kane, I had no call to jump to wrong conclusions.’
Jessica had lifted her head and Kane let her go. She realised that without the modesty of her tucker she was showing the top of her full bosom and she pulled up her dress to cover herself. Her and Kane’s eyes met and melted together. He stepped backwards, then respectfully turned his back.
‘I’ll make the tea,’ he said in a husky voice.
* * *
That evening the Trenchards gathered round their huge kitchen table to discuss what was to be done with the terrified stranger Jessica had found and brought home. The twins were there and Kenver Trenchard, Clem’s disabled brother, who had been resting that afternoon and missed the drama. Also there was Rosie Renfree, Clem and Kenver’s sister, who was married to the steward of the Pengarron home farm and horse stud, and Ricketty Jim. He worked regularly on the farm and as an able and intelligent man, his opinion was always asked for and greatly valued. The kitchen door was left open so the cool, refreshing air could filter in and mingle pleasantly with the lingering smell of pigeon pie.
‘I nearly came over this afternoon,’ Rosie said, glancing around to ascertain the state of the kitchen and pushing aside her one long plait of Trenchard fair hair. ‘But the baby’s teething and I didn’t like to bring her over bawling her little eyes out. I wish I had done now, you could have done with another woman about.’
‘We managed,’ Clem said, from the head of the table.
‘I’ll have a look at your back before I go, Jessie,’ Rosie said, looking unconvinced.
‘Jessica’s perfectly all right,’ Clem returned impatiently, stretching out a long leg and disturbing his dogs. After they had reshuffled their position at his feet, he continued, ‘Don’t you think I can cope with anything on my own?’
‘No, not really. You need another woman on this farm, haven’t I told you often enough?’
‘Well, we have another one now,’ Clem said tartly.
‘Aye, you have, but in no fit state to be of any help and needing plenty herself by the sound of it,’ Rosie retorted, ignoring her brother’s ill humour. ‘’Twas a good job Kane Pengarron was here, that’s all.’
Clem snatched up his pipe from the table and looked about moodily for his pouch of tobacco. ‘But he didn’t do anything, not really, did he, Jessica?’ his eyes alighting on his unusually quiet daughter.
Jessica became flushed as everyone looked at her. She’d been thinking about the few minutes she’d spent alone with the man in question in this very room. What had happened was too personal to recount, and unsettling every time she thought about it, which was often. ‘No… um… not really.’
‘But I don’t think that’s the point Rosie is making,’ Kenver said, from the specially adapted chair he always sat in. ‘Kane was here if you needed him, Clem, and he could have gone for
more help. I couldn’t have done much.’
‘You were a great help to Kerensa when she was in labour before she gave birth to Kelynen in this house,’ Clem said, always eager to bring up that fact.
‘You know what Uncle Ken means, Father,’ David broke in. ‘This is more than just a discussion on what to do with that poor woman asleep in Jessica’s bed. It highlights the need for Jessie to have some female help and company on the farm.’
‘Aye, I agree, it isn’t as if we can’t afford to employ some help for her,’ Philip added.
‘But Jim’s been helping her for years, he does most of the drudgery work,’ Clem said defensively.
‘It’s not the same thing. I’m afraid it’s time to grasp the nettle firmly, dear brother,’ Rosie said.
Clem went quiet and let the others chat among themselves. He knew they were right but in the two years since Alice’s death he had resisted all talk of bringing another woman into the house. He knew the extra work was not fair on Jessica but he couldn’t bear the thought of another woman trying to take Alice’s place in any way, no matter how small.
‘What do you think, Jim?’ Clem asked the farm’s casual helper.
Ricketty Jim, who got his name from his bent legs, gazed at each member of the family from his gentle dark brown eyes. ‘Well, I don’t mind doing as much work as you like to ease Jessica’s work load but I think the maid could do with some company of her own kind.’
‘Well, Father,’ Jessica challenged him across the table, ‘am I to go on being a skivvy by myself much longer?’
* * *
An hour later Clem was riding alongside Rosie to see her safely home.
‘I think everything’s been worked out most satisfactorily, don’t you?’ Rosie said under the darkening sky as they rode with their backs to the setting sun.
‘Aye,’ Clem said shortly.
‘You aren’t still sulking?’
‘No.’
‘Oh, I forget you’re a man of many words, Clem Trenchard.’
Clem rose in the saddle to make an unnecessary check that his dogs were running about close by. ‘Rosie, ’tis just hard for me to accept another woman into the family.’
‘I know that, Clem, and I understand. But no one’s suggesting you should replace Alice and I know how possessive you are over Jessica. But Alice wouldn’t want all the hard work and responsibility to stand on Jessica’s shoulders alone. It’s harder for Jessica than it was for me before I married Matthias, when there was Alice and the rest of us. Apart from there being two of us then, Jessica has to work while Miss Cordelia and Miss Olivia can spend much of their time in leisure.’
‘She’s not the daughter or niece of a wealthy pig-headed baronet!’ Clem snapped.
‘And that’s another thing.’
‘Oh, what now?’ Clem said in exasperation.
‘Jessica being often surrounded by bad-tempered males, you and Philip. And I don’t like the way Jessica speaks to you. Matthias and I wouldn’t allow one of our girls, or one of the boys for that matter, to speak to us like that and you don’t even check her.’
‘So what are you saying, that I should punish her every time she’s a bit outspoken? Jessica’s always been cheeky, she don’t mean anything by it. She needs a bit of space, like I do, that’s all. Well, ’tis agreed that when that young woman’s recovered, we’ll offer her work helping Jessica with the household chores.’
‘If you ask me, she needs more than that. She needs a woman’s hand to help her mature properly.’
‘And I suppose the next thing you’re going to say is that I should get married again,’ Clem muttered.
They had reached the clump of elm trees and Clem reined in and jumped down from his horse.
‘What are you looking for?’
‘Clues. I want to see if there’s anything lying about to give any clue about that young woman.’
‘You won’t see much in this light.’
‘I should have thought of it earlier but I can see well enough. She was lying at the bottom of the middle tree, Jessica said.’ Clem lowered himself and ran his hands about the roots of the tree. He peered closely at the ground and up at the branches but there was nothing there to help him. Then he took a scrap of cloth from the woman’s dress out of his pocket and held it under the dog’s noses, one a black retriever cross, the other two brown and white hunting dogs. They ran off in different directions and sniffed the area thoroughly but came up with the same result as their master.
‘’Twas a shame Ricketty Jim was helping the twins in the fields this afternoon,’ Clem said as they carried on their way, ‘or he probably would have seen something from his shack at the top of the valley. I hope that woman is all right, Rosie. Right in the head, I mean. She relies totally on Jessica at the moment. I hope she won’t do anything to hurt her.’
‘She was all right with me when I went into Jessica’s bedroom to see her. But when she caught sight of Philip she went into a panic. I think part of the trouble is that for some reason she’s afraid of men, Clem.’
Clem shuddered as they thudded dully up the grassy slope to reach the boundary gate between his and Pengarron property. ‘So she was probably raped then?’
‘No, you can rest assured she hasn’t been abused in that way.’
‘How do you know for sure? How can you tell?’
‘Oh, Clem, how do you think?’ Rosie sighed. ‘I had a look.’
‘She let you do that?’
‘She’s very docile when there’s only Jessica or me with her.’
‘Well, if she decides to stay, I hope she stays docile. To be honest, I hope she gets well again quickly and wants to go back to wherever she came from. I have a feeling she spells trouble.’
‘If she does go back to her own home, you’ll still have the problem of getting some female company for Jessica,’ Rosie said as they passed through the gateway and Clem relatched the gate.
They trotted on for a while, then she added, taking no pains to be casual, ‘You’ve always tried to give Jessica everything she needs. Well, I think she needs a mother’s influence and there’s only one person can provide her with that, Clem, and that’s you.’
Chapter 5
Sebastian Beswetherick led Sir Oliver Pengarron up the stairs to his grandfather’s bedchamber. Sebastian was chewing on a handful of liquorice cakes and Oliver declined the roly-poly young man’s offer to take one for himself from a small silver salver.
‘Grandpaps like to suck on these,’ Sebastian said through blackened teeth. ‘I’m just taking him up a dishful.’
‘Take care to leave some for him,’ Oliver said, taking the last of the stairs in one athletic leap. Turning round and putting his hands on the banisters, he bent to face Sebastian as he crammed three more of the little round black cakes into his mouth. ‘How is the grand old man today?’
‘Crotchety and bad-tempered one minute, full of high spirits the next. Just the same as he’s been since he became fully bedridden,’ Sebastian answered, his pinkish beady eyes gleaming over the silver tray. He cried out the next moment when Oliver pulled it firmly out of his hands.
‘I’ll take the liquorice, what’s left of it, in to your grandfather. It will save you the last few steps.’ Oliver smiled pleasantly but his dark eyes burned disapproval at Sebastian who was puffing loudly at the effort from climbing the stairs.
‘Well, um, thank you. I’ll go off and see if Luke is at home, although he never seems to find time for me these days now Kane is back.’
‘Luke and Kane are together today, at Ker-an-Mor Farm, fully occupied with going over the accounts with my steward. Kane is getting himself familiarised with the running of a busy and prosperous farm again. Then Luke is going to show him over the improvements we’ve had made to the roads in the parish and then to look over the charity day school we’ve founded for the parish children. Actually, Matthias Renfree, my farm steward, teaches part time at the school. You’re an intelligent fellow, so I’ve heard, Sebastian. Why don�
�t you ride over to Ker-an-Mor and offer him your services?’
‘Oh no!’ Sebastian looked most worried. ‘I, um, have just remembered I have something very important to do. Must be on my way. I’ll bid you a good morning, Sir Oliver.’
Oliver watched the young man waddle his richly dressed, cumbersome body down the stairs, rubbing his sweaty hands together now that he was deprived of his sweetmeats. ‘Off somewhere to waste more time, no doubt, probably in a brothel,’ Oliver muttered scornfully, knowing of Sebastian’s other appetite.
There was a manservant stationed outside Sir Martin’s bedchamber. He bowed and asked Oliver formally to wait outside with him.
‘Sir Martin is being attended to, m’lord,’ the servant explained.
‘The doctor is with him?’ Oliver asked.
‘His nurse and valet, m’lord. Sir Martin is on the chamber pot.’
‘I see,’ Oliver said, puffing out his cheeks to forestall a laugh. The manservant had spoken as if he was announcing dinner was ready.
‘Allow me to relieve you of your tray, m’lord.’ Oliver handed over the tray of liquorice and was informed, ‘Sir Martin is not allowed to eat these, m’lord.’
Ten minutes passed by and Oliver paced up and down the corridor, stopping to look out of the windows over the landscaped gardens of Tolwithrick House. He could see Kelynen playing on the immaculately mown lawns with Rex, her black retriever, and the four youngest brothers and sisters of Sebastian. On the terrace in front of the lawn was Kerensa, sitting with Sir Martin’s daughter-in-law, Lady Rachael, taking refreshment with her and a friend of his, retired sea captain Hezekiah Solomon. Lady Rachael was afraid of dogs and glanced often at where Kelynen was exercising Rex and Oliver hoped his daughter would remember to keep the big energetic dog out of the way.
Occasionally from the bedchamber he was waiting to enter an enormous bellow could be heard accompanied by much shouting and the occasional swear word. The manservant kept a straight face throughout.
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