In the days that followed, Garsthwaite buzzed with talk of victory over the Germans. People smiled more often and stopped to chat, their faces mirroring the hope they all felt for the future. It finally came on a cold, bright day in November, at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day. War was over, peace declared.
*
Everything was changed, yet in reality nothing changed. Lacey’s Modistes worked throughout the winter months sewing heavy coats and suits in tweed and flannel, some trimmed with fur for those who could afford such luxury. The new shop with its ready to wear garments did a roaring trade in the month before Christmas, the wealthier customers casting aside the parsimony war had induced and celebrating freedom from German oppression by splurging on new outfits. Those with little to spare always found something to suit their purse.
‘Spread the happiness,’ Lacey said to Joan, after selling, very cheaply, two dresses of her own design to a mother and daughter, both hard working but under paid women from the weaving shed.
‘You’re too soft by halves, Lacey Brearley,’ Joan chided, ‘but you do make people happy.
‘I’m a bit like Robin Hood,’ Lacey said, the words Nathan had spoken on their honeymoon in Scarborough springing to mind. ‘I charge them that have it full price, and set it against the few bob I knock off for them who deserve a treat. It’s swings an’ roundabouts, Joanie.’
34
Although a thick layer of snow blanketed the fields and an icy wind had blown across the moor for the past few days, Joshua Barraclough sat in a chair by the fire, his expression one of utter contentment. Arnold Beaumont had relinquished his claim; the fields were Joshua’s.
Edith set the table for tea; plates of home-cured ham accompanied by a thick mustard sauce, pickled eggs and boiled potatoes, and a rich, dark boiled fruit cake for afters.
‘That looks tasty,’ said Lacey, lifting Richard up on to a chair piled with cushions so that he could reach the table.
Edith flushed with pleasure. ‘Aye, we’ve never gone short o’ much, what with having us own eggs an’ a pig or two; although I can’t say I’ll ever get used to this margarine, it’s not a patch on butter.’ Disdainfully, she scraped the pale yellow substance onto slices of bread. The family sat down and tucked into the spread, talking nineteen to the dozen as they ate.
‘How are you feeling now you’ve got over the morning sickness, Molly?’ Lacey asked the sister-in-law she had grown to love and admire.
Molly, nursing Joseph on her knee, smiled at Lacey’s concern. ‘I’m gradely. I have a feeling this one might be a girl. It feels different to when I wa’ carrying David and Joseph.’
‘I hope it is,’ said Matt, his features alight with love and pride. ‘We’ve got two lads already; we’re due a little princess.’
David looked quizzically at his stepfather. ‘If the new baby’s going to be a princess, does that mean I’m a prince?’
Matt, who loved David as his own, laughed. ‘Aye, you’re a prince among men, an’ so’s our Joseph. I’m fair proud knowing I’ve got two lads to help me run Netherfold when I get too old to do it meself.’
‘Just like I am wi’ you, Matt; you’ve helped me keep this place going. I couldn’t a done it wi’out you.’ Not used to showing his emotions, Joshua’s cheeks reddened and he cleared his throat noisily.
Although Joshua had spoken from the heart, no barbed insinuation intended, Lacey immediately thought of Jimmy who, much to his father’s regret, had chosen to work in the Mill rather than on the smallholding. ‘What time does our Jimmy arrive on Tuesday?’ she asked.
‘His train gets into Huddersfield at three. We’re all going to meet him; your Dad an’ all.’ Edith’s face softened, her excitement at welcoming home her youngest son palpable.
‘If I get me work finished afore noon,’ growled Joshua.
Edith shot him a warm smile. She had been desolate when Joshua disowned Jimmy after his scandalous involvement in the Mill robbery. His refusal to visit Jimmy in prison had torn Edith apart. The rift had been partially healed when Jimmy was found to be nothing more than misguided, and his enlistment to fight for king and country had done much to restore Joshua’s pride in his younger son. Now, Jimmy soon to be welcomed back into the bosom of the family, Edith could give him the homecoming he deserved.
‘I’ll come too,’ Lacey said, ‘make it a real family welcome: Barracloughs united.’
‘Have you heard from Nathan, lass?’ Joshua’s eyes conveying sympathy, he smiled tenderly at his much loved daughter.
Lacey, knowing how much he understood her pain, smiled back. ‘Not since the letter telling me he was being moved to another camp, ready for repatriation. He says it could be weeks before he finally arrives back in England. I’ve waited so long; a bit longer won’t hurt.’
Edith’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Just to know both our boys are coming back makes me feel more than blessed.’
‘Me an’ all,’ Lacey said, quelling a frisson of fear. Nathan was still far away. Please God, don’t let there be a last minute catastrophe. She had, much to her horror, read a newspaper article reporting that the Germans had shot some Prisoners of War rather than set them free when the Armistice had been declared. She lifted Richard from the chair next to hers and sat him on her knee, hiding her face in his neck to stem her tears.
Sensing Lacey’s anxiety, Molly changed the subject. ‘I hope you’ve got your best bib an’ tucker pressed for tomorrow when you go to Felicity’s wedding. We can’t have you letting Lacey’s Modistes down.’
Lacey grimaced. ‘It’s a society wedding; I’ll have to look me best.’
‘You will,’ Edith said archly. ‘You’ve done well for yourself, our Lacey. You’re that respected in Garsthwaite I wouldn’t be surprised if you got an invitation to Buckingham Palace.’
Lacey laughed at Edith’s boast. ‘Jonas Brearley’s mansion will do me.’ She smiled mischievously. ‘Remember how it was when me and Nathan first got together; Ma Brearley couldn’t stand the sight of me and Jonas wasn’t too keen either. I bet when he first employed me in his weaving shed he never imagined I’d end up as his daughter-in-law.’
*
Yet again, Lacey stood in the drawing room at Fenay Hall but, unlike her first visit to the mansion five years ago when Nathan invited her to the Mill managers’ party, she felt completely at ease. Today nobody would belittle her; she had earned their respect. Mind you, she thought, taking a sip of champagne, it was damned hard work in the beginning but it’s all been worth it.
She watched with pride as Felicity and Stefan circled the drawing room greeting their wedding guests. He looks like a learned prince with his gold rimmed spectacles and bushy beard, and she looks like an ice queen, thought Lacey, her eyes on the shimmering moiré silk dress she had made.
Stefan had arrived in England shortly before Christmas, Felicity dashing to meet him in London. ‘You should tell your parents about him,’ Lacey had advised when Felicity told her of his arrival. ‘If you want to be truly happy, you can’t go on meeting him in secret.’
Felicity had taken Lacey’s advice, and to her amazement Constance and Jonas had issued a somewhat hesitant invitation for her to bring Stefan to the Hall.
‘If only to assess his suitability,’ Constance told Lacey on the day Felicity left for London. ‘She’s inclined to be headstrong and not the best judge of character, yet, knowing Felicity, our opinion will count for nothing.’
‘She’s not the flighty young girl we all thought we knew,’ responded Lacey, ‘she’s loved this man for more than three years. Circumstances being what they were, she hid her feelings but she never lost faith in him. Their love wouldn’t have stood the strain had it not been true. As it is, it’s as strong as ever. I’m sure you’ll approve of him.’
They did. Charmed by the quiet, serious young doctor who made their daughter deliriously happy, Constance and Jonas had acquiesced to Felicity’s request to marry as soon as possible. What better way to start the New Year 1919 t
han a wedding. Now here Lacey was, clasping a glass of champagne and enjoying the occasion, saddened by Nathan’s absence but delighted for Felicity.
It’s nothing short of marvellous how things have worked out, she mused, as she surveyed the happy scene. Felicity has her Stefan, I’ll soon have my Nathan back where he belongs and here I am surrounded by family and friends, completely at home in a house where once I was ostracized and scorned for being working class.
She gazed around the spacious drawing room, admiring the elegant, velvet covered chairs and sofas and the fine pieces of furniture, their rich patina gleaming under the light cast by two huge crystal chandeliers in the ornate ceiling.
I helped pay for some of this, she thought; every pick my loom made, every loose end I caught, every bobbin I changed, every piece I wove bought a tiny bit of this splendour. There was a time when I couldn’t have imagined such grandeur; now I’m part of it.
‘She looks beautiful, doesn’t she?’ Jonas, bursting with pride, gestured with his glass to where Felicity stood posing for a photograph with some of her guests.
‘She does, Jonas,’ Lacey agreed wholeheartedly, ‘Felicity is beautiful inside and out. It was a privilege to make her wedding dress.’
‘Aye, and you made a damned good job of it; you’ve come on rightly since the day you bullied me into giving the lasses at the mill decent closets.’ He laughed at the memory. Lacey laughed too.
‘Thanks for the compliment, and the closets.’
Jonas laughed again. ‘You don’t alter do you, lass? You say exactly what you’re thinking. That’s what I like about you.’
‘There’s no point in burying yourself in thoughts,’ Lacey replied. ‘If you think something needs doing then it usually does. I’ve only ever tried to do what I thought might improve my own and other people’s lives.’
‘And you’ve done that, lass. You’re a proper businesswoman these days. I’m sure Nathan’s as proud of you as I am. You kept your independence; not once did you come crying for a handout, as some do.’ He grimaced, Lacey knowing he referred to Alice. ‘You deserve all the credit you get. You’ve come a long way.’ Jonas patted Lacey’s shoulder fondly then moved off to greet a fellow mill owner.
There it was again, that phrase. I have come a long way, Lacey thought, and if I can continue the rest of the journey with Nathan by my side I’ll be the happiest woman in the world.
*
On a Tuesday afternoon in January 1919, at exactly three thirty, the Leeds to Liverpool train chuffed into Huddersfield station, wheezing and clanking as it drew to a halt. Doors flew open, the Barracloughs craning their necks, each wanting to be the first to catch sight of Jimmy.
‘There he is!’ Joshua’s roar startled Richard enough for him to look fearful. He, who had never seen his Uncle Jimmy, scanned the faces of men crowding the platform, many of them dressed in drab brown greatcoats.
Joshua, Matt and Edith surged forwards, behind them Lacey, Molly and their children, the young ones watching in amazement as their parents and grandparents hugged and kissed a stocky little man wearing a huge overcoat and a lopsided cap. Eventually they released him, all except Edith who clung to Jimmy as though she would never let go.
Jimmy glanced from one family member to another, a huge grin on his face. ‘By, but I wasn’t expecting a full turn out.’ He fixed his eyes on Joshua. ‘It’s good to see you, Dad.’
Joshua clapped Jimmy heartily on the shoulder. ‘It’s good to see you, lad. Good to have you back.’ His voice wobbled, tears springing to his eyes. To stem them he jested, ‘Now your mother can get summat done instead o’ sitting moping.’
‘An’ this must be Molly.’ Jimmy gave Molly a cheeky wink. ‘What did you do to get this miserable brother o’ mine to t’altar. I thought he’d always be an old bachelor farmer.’
Molly blushed. Matt came to her rescue. ‘She didn’t have to force me. I fell for her t’minute I saw her.’
‘An’ now you’re the father of two lads an’ one on the way. Congratulations, pal.’
Matt pumped Jimmy’s hand yet again, eyeing him up and down. ‘You’ve filled out since we last saw you. What happened to the skinny kid what joined up?’
Jimmy grinned. ‘I left him in France. He wa’ a useless, stupid bugger, so I dumped him.’
*
The kitchen at Netherfold hummed with happiness as they all crowded in for Jimmy’s homecoming, Jimmy delighted when Joan, Alfie and young James joined them. ‘You lucky bugger,’ he said when introduced to Alfie. ‘She left me high an’ dry when she married Stanley, now she’s gone an’ done it again.’ Knowing Jimmy was joking everyone, including Alfie, laughed.
‘Take your coat off, lad, make yourself at home,’ cried Edith, undoing the brass buttons on Jimmy’s coat. Jimmy flapped at her hands playfully, saying, ‘She still thinks I’m a bairn.’
‘What are you still wearing an army greatcoat for?’ Lacey asked as she hung Jimmy’s coat behind the door.
‘Eh, don’t sneer. I paid for that. They gave me fifty-two shillings and sixpence in place of a demob suit an’ told me if I wanted to keep the greatcoat I had to pay a pound for it.’
‘They charged you for a coat you’ve been wearing for the past four years fighting for king an’ country,’ squealed Edith, her eyes popping. ‘Well I never.’
‘If I return it I can get me money back, but I don’t think I’ll bother. I’ve grown fond of it.’ Jimmy’s face softened, memories of his days at The Front suddenly surging back. ‘You’d be surprised at the things we used to treasure over there. That old coat’s kept me warm an’ dry many a night.’
‘I know what you mean,’ Alfie said softly, ‘I brought mine back wi’ me. I only wish I’d brought this.’ He tapped the table with the prosthesis.
Jimmy gazed at Alfie, his eyes full of sympathy. ‘Aye,’ he said heavily, ‘there were lads in my regiment ended up t’same way, the poor buggers. But hey, you’re here an’ alive an’ wed to our Joanie. How lucky does that make you?’
‘The luckiest man alive,’ Alfie said, his voice thick with emotion.
Edith set about preparing a spread fit for a king, Molly and Joan assisting. Lacey sent the boys to play in the parlour, telling them to be good for this was a special occasion. ‘Your Uncle Jimmy’s a hero,’ she said, ‘and you’ve got to behave when there’s a hero in the house.’
‘By bloody hell,’ Jimmy exclaimed, coming in behind her, ‘I never thought I’d hear you saying that about me. You always thought I wa’ a daft little bugger.’
Lacey ruffled his hair, ‘Not any more. You’ve fought a war and made Dad proud. You’ve grown into a grand man, Jimmy. I always knew you would. Though you’re still careless with your tongue. Mind your language in front of these youngsters.’
Jimmy saluted. ‘Sorry, Lacey. Over there we did plenty of cursing, but then we’d plenty to curse about.’
Lacey ushered him out of the boys’ earshot. ‘It must have been terrible; was it truly as bad as the newspapers made out?’
‘Worse. You couldn’t describe some of the stuff I’ve seen an’ done. An’ don’t ask me now ‘cos I don’t want to remember… not today. Mind you, there are some things I’ll never forget; good mates that were blown to bloody smithereens an’ others who were gassed an’ went crazy.’
Jimmy’s face creased painfully and he shook his head to dispel the ghastly memories. ‘But hey, I wa’ one o’ t’lucky ones. Here I am. An’ don’t you go getting all mopey, ‘cos like me your Nathan will be home any day. They’re repatriating ‘em as fast as they can. A whole lot o’ them fellows I travelled up from London wi’ had been POW’s. They’re all coming home; wait an’ see.’
*
Wait and see, Jimmy had said. Lacey did, but it wasn’t easy. Every day she waited for the letter that would herald Nathan’s arrival. Would he have changed so completely she’d have to get to know him all over again? Jimmy had changed. There was a serious side to him now.
‘It’s a bit li
ke the parable of the Prodigal Son,’ Matt groaned to Lacey, when he called to collect Molly from work. ‘If me mother serves up another dinner like the ones she’s dished up ever since he came home, we’ll all be as fat as Fred Porter’s pigs. Mind you, our Jimmy’s certainly earnin’ his keep; an’ I never thought you’d hear me say that.’
Jimmy had decided to stay at Netherfold, his intention being to expand Edith’s chicken and turkey business. ‘We’ll increase t’number o’ birds,’ Jimmy told Edith, ‘an’ now I can drive, we can be poultry merchants. I’ve already organised gettin’ a lorry from a mate in me old regiment, an’ I’ll have them new rearing pens and chicken houses built before t’end o’ t’month.’
When Lacey heard of Jimmy’s plans she said, ‘By, he certainly has changed.’
Two weeks after his homecoming, his family discovered exactly how much.
*
‘Did you see this in t’paper?’ cried Matt, bursting into the kitchen at Netherfold waving a copy of the Garsthwaite Chronicle. He’d gone into the town earlier that day to deliver mutton to the butcher.
Edith and Lacey looked up from the paper patterns they were examining for Edith’s new dress. ‘What is it?’ they chorused.
‘It’s our Jimmy. He’s a bloody hero. Just listen to this.’ At that precise moment Joshua lumbered in from the yard. Matt waved the paper at him.
‘Dad, listen to this.’ Matt held the paper up and began to read, his voice ringing with pride.
A HERO IN OUR MIDST
Matt paused. ‘That’s the headline. Now hear the rest of it.’ He paused again to clear his throat:
It has recently come to our attention that we have a hero in our midst: none other than James Barraclough, son of Joshua and Edith Barraclough of Netherfold Farm. Whilst serving in France with the 3rd Battalion Durham Light Infantry, Lance Corporal James Barraclough risked his life to save that of three of his comrades. Under heavy fire, Lance Corporal Barraclough single-handedly destroyed a German gun emplacement which was threatening his own and the lives of his fellow soldiers. On a separate occasion he rescued an injured comrade, again under a hail of enemy fire, the unlucky soldier having been left for dead after the Hun invaded their trench. For these acts of gallantry James Barraclough has been awarded the Military Medal. We are extremely proud and honoured to learn that a son of Garsthwaite distinguished himself so bravely on the battlefield.’
The Girl from the Mill Page 30