The Girl from the Tanner's Yard

by Diane Allen

  ‘Now you are expecting too much too soon. I’ve not even said that I’m going to make my feelings known to Lucy yet.’ Adam looked out of the window and saw Lucy bringing the cow into the shed to be milked, as he replied to Ivy.

  ‘Oh, you will, now that you’ve faced up to them.’ Ivy watched as Adam stood up from the table. ‘Go on, do it now – put the poor girl out of her misery and make your life complete.’

  ‘You have a lot to answer for, Ivy Thwaite. If you’ve read this wrong, then I’m about to make an absolute fool of myself, and the whole of the Worth valley will know about it.’ Adam looked back at Ivy as he opened the door and made his way to the cowshed, where Lucy was starting to milk the cow.

  ‘I’d have brought her in for you. You’ve enough on, looking after my guest. Ivy can be quite demanding, and she’s a devil for speaking her mind and poking her nose into other people’s business.’ Adam ran his hand along the back of the docile milk-cow and looked down at Lucy, as she sat on the milk stool, busy at work. He felt awkward and didn’t quite know how to approach her, concerning the way he felt. He looked at the cow munching happily away on the hay, which she had been given to keep her occupied while Lucy milked her dry.

  ‘Yes, she certainly doesn’t hold back in her thoughts.’ Lucy stood up, her bucket full of creamy, frothy fresh milk as she placed it to one side and wiped her hand across her brow, moving a piece of stray hair out of her eyes.

  ‘Is she right, when it comes to us two? Do you feel something more for me than just your master – do you have feelings for me? Because damn it, Lucy, I know I shouldn’t, but I’ve been finding you more and more attractive by the day. But until Ivy decided to interfere with our lives, I had resolved to say nothing.’ Adam looked down at the blonde-haired milkmaid, whom he now knew himself to be in love with.

  Lucy stood silent for a moment and then decided to tell Adam the truth. ‘Yes, she’s right. I’ve tried not to show it, either. I know it to be wrong. My mother says I’ve to behave myself and look elsewhere, but I don’t want to. Every time you brush past me or look at me with those hazel eyes, I feel my heart miss a beat. I can’t help it. I’ll leave, if you want me to, because I know I’m not right for you.’ Lucy dropped her eyes from his gaze and felt tears beginning to well up in them.

  ‘You will do no such thing!’ Adam stepped forward and held her tightly in his arms. ‘I’ve wanted to do this for days now, but I didn’t realize you felt the same way.’ He looked down into Lucy’s eyes and tilted her chin up towards him, then kissed her tenderly and passionately.

  Lucy closed her eyes and felt her heart about to burst. She couldn’t believe that Adam felt the same way as she did, as he kissed her again and again and whispered loving words to her. It didn’t matter that they were in the cowshed, and that Ivy was waiting for her host to return. The words she had only dreamed of hearing were being said to her. She’d never wanted a young lad who only boasted and flirted with every glance. This was the man she had wanted. Lucy ran her hands through his dark, thick hair and whispered back words of love. She would never let him go now, no matter what folk thought or said.

  ‘Milking a cow takes a bit longer than it used to.’ Ivy grinned. ‘And it takes two pairs of hands. I’d take that bit of hay out of your hair, Adam, else I might think you’ve been up to something you shouldn’t.’

  Adam reached up for the piece of hay that was telling tales on him and Lucy, and shook his head at Ivy’s forthright words, as Lucy made herself scarce by taking the milk into the dairy.

  ‘I’m guessing you’ve both listened to old Ivy? About bloody time, if you ask me. Lord, how long would the pretence have gone on for, if I hadn’t visited?’ Ivy looked across at Lucy as she entered the kitchen. ‘So, you’ve won the heart of my dearest friend – you make sure you look after it. Because Adam wouldn’t be able to cope with it being broken again. And you, old devil, make sure you do right by Lucy. Not that you wouldn’t, because you are not that sort. Once you love somebody, you give them your heart and soul. I know that all too well, after you lost Mary.’

  ‘I never thought I’d love again. But you were right. Lucy has meant more to me with each day, and seemingly the feeling has been mutual.’ Adam reached for Lucy’s hand and they both stood and looked at one another.

  ‘I promise I’ll look after him. He is all I have ever wanted and, no matter what people say, I will always love him,’ Lucy whispered as Adam squeezed her hand tightly.

  ‘Well, this is lovely to see, I think. I take it that you’ve changed your mind about me, Lucy, now that I’m not a threat, but work for the good of people and don’t prey on people’s insecurities?’ Ivy smiled. ‘Well, I can see I’m no longer wanted here. I’d only get in the way, so it’s a good job I’m going home tomorrow. I’d hate to play gooseberry between you two love-birds,’ she said and looked at them both.

  ‘Don’t go because of us two. You are already leaving too soon, although I understand that you must feel lost without your husband by your side. I know I would. I hope we can prove to be good friends in the future.’ Lucy left Adam’s side and went and gave Ivy a tentative hug.

  ‘I’m sure we will. I’m just glad I have made you two see what was plain to anyone who saw you both together. Now it is up to you two where you go next. But I must return. I promised Hugh I would return at least by Sunday to help him at the workhouse, so I must be true to my word.’ Ivy laughed. ‘You make a very handsome couple. I can see a grand wedding in a short while, and I’m never wrong.’

  23

  Lucy had felt as if she could explode with the joy she was feeling. She had hugged her pillow and whispered Adam’s name to herself over and over again. He did love her, he’d told her so. And now she just had to hide her feelings from her parents, until she had summoned up the courage to tell them the truth. Her feet felt as light as air as she made her way down to the family kitchen, where Susie and her mother were still in their nightclothes and setting the breakfast table for the day.

  ‘Does that man really want you to work for him on a Saturday? I don’t know what he finds for you to do, up at that farm of his. But there’s plenty you could turn your hand to here,’ Dorothy moaned at her, as Lucy quickly buttoned on her boots and pinched a bit of bread from the bread-board to eat for her breakfast as she walked up to the farm.

  ‘I always work Saturdays. And besides, today Ivy is returning to Kendal, so I need to say my goodbyes to her,’ she said, with her mouth full of the first bite of bread.

  ‘“Ivy” is it now! First, it was “Miss Thwaite”, then it was “that bloody woman” and now it’s “Ivy”. You sound like best mates – I never saw that coming at the beginning of the week.’ Dorothy wet the end of a tea towel from the warming kettle and wiped Susie’s face free of the jam that she’d managed to smear on it, while eating her breakfast. ‘You are a mucky pup, Susie Bancroft, and you should still be in your own bed. No more of this crawling in between me and your father once you are awake – you are too old for that now.’ She glanced at Lucy, who was busy making sure her hair was in the right place before going out of the door.

  ‘I’d still have been asleep, if it wasn’t for our Lucy. She was pretending to kiss the pillow and whispering a name,’ Susie mumbled as she ate her breakfast.

  ‘Did she now? Well, you put the pillow over your ears next time and get back to sleep. And you, our Lucy, make less noise. Who was the fella she was trying to kiss?’ Dorothy asked Susie, then turned to Lucy and decided to question her. ‘I thought you reckoned nowt to Reggie Ellwood, and that he was just going to be friends?’ Dorothy pried.

  ‘It wasn’t Reggie, it was—’ Susie replied, but never got the chance to finish her sentence before Lucy stopped her in her tracks.

  ‘You be quiet, our Susie. I was doing no such thing and if I was, I must have been dreaming. Reggie is only a friend, and that’s the end of it. Now I’m going, else I’m going to be late, and Ivy is to catch the coach back to Kendal at ten.’ Lucy glared at her yo
unger sister as she made for the back door, hoping that Susie wouldn’t say any more about her behaviour when she had gone.

  ‘Aye, I suppose we will see you when you can fit your family in,’ Dorothy sighed.

  Lucy pulled the back door closed and set out to walk up the moorside lane to Black Moss. She scowled and groaned; she did have time for her family, it was just that life was better with Adam. He was, and had, everything she had ever dreamed of. And now that she knew how he felt about her, she was going to spend every minute that she could with him.

  ‘I’m sorry I’m leaving so soon. You must come and visit us at Kendal and, of course, you must keep in touch.’ Ivy looked over at Adam as he picked up her bag, after they had both sat and eaten breakfast. ‘Bring Lucy with you – you will both be made more than welcome by Hugh and me.’ Ivy looked across at Lucy, who stood next to the window and waited to clear the table after Adam’s guest had left them.

  ‘You will come with him, won’t you, Lucy? I’m so glad you two have realized the love that has grown between you. And if you decide to tie the knot and get married, I expect to be the first to be invited.’ Ivy smiled.

  ‘It’s a bit early for talk of that, I’m sure,’ Lucy replied quietly.

  ‘I’ll go and put your bag in the cart and wait while you two say goodbye to one another.’ Adam bowed his head and left the kitchen, with the two women standing together, embarrassed by Ivy’s assumption of marriage.

  ‘You get him wed. You are both made for one another, and don’t listen to what folk say. He’s a good man and he needs you.’ Ivy hugged Lucy and kissed her, before standing back and looking directly at her. ‘Before I go, I’ve something else to do for you, to ease your worries.’ She breathed in and looked at Lucy. ‘The babies your mother lost were never really formed, so they had no souls. I felt your worries when I held onto your hand the other day. Don’t despair that your father buried them where he did; it was not his fault. They do not have a place in heaven or in the afterlife, as they never actually lived.’ Ivy looked at the shock on Lucy’s face.

  ‘How do you know that? Who’s told you?’ Lucy gasped, feeling her eyes fill with tears.

  ‘I felt your sorrow and worry, and I sense things that other people don’t. It is as plain as the nose on your face, to those who have the gift. I’m only telling you this to put your mind at rest, and to prove that I’m not a fraud; that there are more things between heaven and earth that most people can’t relate to. My lips are sealed, and your secrets are safe with me.’ Ivy squeezed Lucy’s hand and wiped a tear away from her cheek. ‘Now you make your life with Adam, because that is where your path lies, of that I’m certain.’

  ‘I’m sorry I implied that you were a fraud. I know better now. Nobody else knows my secrets, so you must have hidden powers and depths that are special.’ Lucy wiped her eyes and looked at Ivy.

  ‘Not special, just blessed. Now, you enjoy your life, because it is going to be a full and good one.’ Ivy squeezed Lucy’s hand again, before leaving for the door and her journey back to Kendal. ‘Look after my Adam for me,’ she yelled as she stepped up into the donkey-cart next to him and Lucy watched from the doorway.

  ‘I will, of that you can be sure. Take care on your return journey,’ Lucy yelled back. She’d a lot to thank Ivy Thwaite for, she thought, as she went back into the house and looked around her. A shiver went down her spine. What else had Ivy been able to tell about her, simply by a touch? She must know that her love for Adam was true, else she wouldn’t entrust her with his love. She didn’t know how, but Ivy definitely knew things that no one else did, and that worried Lucy slightly. Would she, as promised, keep her secrets or would she tell Adam? And, if so, would Adam still want anything to do with her?

  Lucy still couldn’t believe that her life was going to be as she had always wanted, from first realizing that Adam was the man for her. Surely something would go wrong. It always did, no matter how hard she tried to follow her own path in life.

  ‘I tell you, Father, you are going to have to have words with our Lucy when she returns home this evening. She’s up to no good with that Adam Brooksbank. He’ll not give a damn about her. She’s just his maid – something he can use for his own pleasure. Susie’s been telling me that she heard Lucy saying his name over and over again last night. The lass needs to come to her senses, and be told that men like that simply use young lasses.’ Dorothy stood angrily next to her husband as he sat down, hoping for peace and quiet after a hard day’s work at the tannery. But she was in no mood for her husband to be laid-back about the love affair that she had now realized was developing between Lucy and her employer.

  ‘Aye, Mother, I think you are jumping to conclusions. Lucy’s only fantasizing – it’s what young lasses do. Besides, there’s many a worse man for her to set her cap at. At least he owns his own farm, although he’s perhaps a bit older than her. I think he’s a decent sort.’ Bill looked at the anger on his wife’s face and saw that his words had antagonized her even more.

  ‘He’ll be using her. It’ll be a different tale from you, when Lucy comes back home and tells you she’s having his baby, and that he wants nowt to do with her. Because, mark my words, that’s what will happen, Bill Bancroft. As soon as I saw him, I thought: Aye, you might think yourself a toff of a farmer, but keep yourself to yourself, when it comes to my lass.’ Dorothy folded her arms and swore under her breath when Bill didn’t reply. ‘You say something to Lucy tonight, as soon as she steps through the door. She won’t listen to me, but she will to you.’

  ‘For God’s sake, woman, can a man get no peace in this house? I’ve just finished work, I stink to high heaven and I’m bloody well hungry, and all you are bothered about is our bloody Lucy and a fella. I’ll have a swill, feed my belly and then I’ll talk to her. Now, hold your noise, and make sure the water for my wash is hot, and I’ll see what Lucy says after supper. I don’t mind the man; he seems alright to me. Are sure you are not against him because you’ve got your head set on her marrying somebody with more brass?’ Bill took his jerkin off and hung it at the back door, then watched as his wife filled the pot-sink with hot water from the kettle and placed a clean towel and a block of carbolic soap out for him to wash with.

  ‘Money’s nowt to do with it. Folk will talk. He’s been wed before, and she’s his maid. Lord only knows what they will be getting up to in that house, all on their own, every day.’ Dorothy watched her husband as he stripped to the waist and lathered the soap and water.

  ‘I’ll speak to her after supper. But until then, give me a bit of peace. Not that it’s likely in this house.’ Bill glared at his wife, as Bert started wailing and the noise of his two sons fighting with one another in their bedrooms could be heard from above. ‘Bloody young ’uns! I wish we’d never been blessed – they are nowt but bother,’ he groaned.

  ‘Now, just think on what you are saying. We are blessed, and Lord knows we’ve suffered enough losses. So step up and look after the ones we have, Bill Bancroft, else the devil must take you.’ Dorothy went and picked up the bawling baby and scowled at Bill. He was a devil for getting out of his fatherly commitments, but this time she needed his support.

  Lucy put her head on Adam’s shoulder and enjoyed every second of having his arms wrapped around her, as she kissed him goodnight in the doorway of Black Moss. ‘I wish I could be with you tomorrow, and that I never had to leave your side,’ she whispered as he kissed her gently.

  ‘It will soon be Monday. And besides, your family will need you. Your mother’s got her hands full, with all your siblings in that small house. I’m not going anywhere, and now that we know how we both feel about each other, there will no longer be any need to be coy about our feelings. Bless Ivy, for making us face the truth. We would still have been fooling one another, if she had not stepped in.’ Adam kissed Lucy’s forehead.

  ‘I know. And there was me, feeling jealous of her. I thought she was going to steal you from under my nose, and that I daren’t say anything about
how I felt.’ Lucy held Adam close and buried her head in the warm, comforting smell of his jacket. ‘I’d better go. It’s getting late, and I don’t want to make Mother and Father suspicious of my lateness in returning home.’

  ‘We will have to tell your parents how we feel shortly. It wouldn’t be fair not to do so. They might not approve, with me being married once before – and being your employer.’ Adam tilted Lucy’s head up and kissed her on the lips.

  ‘They will have to, because I know that I will always love you. I’ve known it for weeks, but have never dared say so. My parents will not come between us – we can’t let them. Not now, when we both know how we feel about one another.’ Lucy looked up into Adam’s eyes; she’d dreamed of this moment for so long, and she wasn’t ever going to let it slip away.

  ‘We will see. Let’s give ourselves a bit more time to make certain of one another’s feelings, then I will speak with them both. Make it clear that we are right for one another, and that my intentions are honourable. Now go, else they will be worrying about you.’ Adam released Lucy from his arms and watched as she blew him a kiss on leaving the farmyard. He knew that in his heart there was still a place for his late wife Mary, but Lucy had already filled the empty space that had been left upon her death. It would, as Ivy had predicted, be only a matter of time before he asked Lucy to become his wife.

  Lucy sat at the kitchen table and looked across at her mother. Something was wrong. Both her brothers had been banished from the room they sat in, and Bert and Susie were in their beds far sooner than usual, as the sun had not yet set. Her father looked at her from his chair near the fire and shook his head, as her mother spoke up.

  ‘Your father’s got something to say to you. And we want the truth, young lady, so don’t give us any flannel,’ Dorothy said sharply and looked at her daughter, as Lucy squirmed in her seat, waiting to find out what was to be asked of her.