‘I don’t care,’ Vera said. ‘Would anyone back home believe us if we told them we were even camping in the fields that belonged to a house this size?’
The sheep grazing on the oversized front lawn added a picture-postcard touch to the general view, for it was as though a rich green carpet had been stretched from the steps that led up to the house down to the thickly entangled hedges that seemed to have taken the place of boundary railings.
It wasn’t until they got closer that Lily could see that the whole building was badly in need of redecoration and that most of the outbuildings, in a separate block to the side of the main building, were in need of some repair. At the top of the driveway was an arch and Margaret assured them, as if she lived there, that it led through to the stables and to large outhouses where the coaches would be kept. Vera wasn’t sure that she believed her, but she had no alternative but to follow her through the archway to the back of the main house and into the courtyard where several pathways led away from the house to what looked like a largely wooded area.
A middle-aged man with a well-weathered face was standing at the top of the concrete steps at the back of the house and he came slowly down to greet them as the girls arrived. Margaret looked as if she was about to salute him but then changed her mind and offered a firm handshake instead. He was wearing muddied work clothes and oversized boots that were loosely laced and he rubbed his hand on the leg of his dungarees before shaking her hand. Then he quickly scooped his woollen hat from his head and introduced himself as Alf Clarke the head gardener.
‘But it’s not me you’ll be needing just yet,’ he said, ‘as I know they’re waiting for you in the house,’ and he pointed to a huge oak door at the top of the steps. ‘Mind how you go, there’s a couple of them as needs fixing,’ he said, indicating the broken slabs of concrete. Margaret stepped over them carefully and lifting the wrought-iron latch pushed open the door. Warm baking smells greeted them as the girls crowded into what they were surprised to find was a large, modern-looking kitchen.
‘Wow!’ Vera couldn’t help exclaiming. ‘This is bigger than our whole flat at the Mission!’ She was looking at the well-scrubbed table that stood in the middle of the room. There were benches on each of the long sides that could seat at least twelve people and a hefty chair with curved arms stood at either end.
‘Look at all these modern gadgets and things,’ Lily said, keeping her voice low, ‘see the size of that range.’
‘And what’s that?’ Vera’s eyes alighted on a large white cupboard-type object that looked not unlike the refrigerator that stood next to it. ‘It says, B-E-N-D-I-X,’ she spelled out, ‘but I don’t know what that is.’
She heard someone clearing her throat, followed by what sounded like a chuckle. ‘It’s a machine for washing clothes and bed linen and the like,’ the voice said. ‘It runs off electricity, which is why it’s in here.’
‘Oh gosh, sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude,’ Vera said, seeing the woman for the first time.
‘Not at all,’ the woman said. ‘You’ll soon get used to what everything is and you’ll be using things yourself before long.’
Vera looked up properly at the woman who appeared to be at least middle-aged and older than Mrs Sykes, though her face was softer and frequently creased into a smile. An extraordinary number of keys jangled freely on a chain round her waist, warning of her approach.
‘Welcome, young ladies,’ she said and her eyes joined in the smile that was already on her lips. ‘I’m Mrs Temple, the housekeeper, and no doubt you will be seeing a lot of me. For now, I’ll show you your living quarters where you can drop your bags.’
They went out the way they had come in, being careful to mind the broken step, and this time they crossed the courtyard and she showed them the stable block on the other side. Behind this was an old barn that looked as if it had been newly painted.
‘The other land girls are in a separate part of the house but this is where you’ll be staying while you’re with us,’ Mrs Temple said. ‘It’s been done up specially.’ She hesitated, but none of the girls had anything to say, they were taking it all in. ‘Right then, I’ll leave you to settle. And if you decide to have a look around be aware that there are other people sharing the manor grounds with us right now, so please be mindful of the signs. Supper will be served in the kitchen, but unless you have a specific reason to be there, the rest of the house is off limits. Tonight we’ll be eating at five o’clock because her ladyship wants to have a word with you all, though on normal working nights you’ll eat between seven and eight o’clock, depending on when you finish your work. Anything else you need to ask, you can usually find me somewhere close to the kitchen.’ And with her keys jangling, she disappeared and left them alone.
As they went inside the barn, they were struck by how clean it was and how it smelled of fresh hay and new paint. The large downstairs space was filled with overstuffed couches and several well-worn armchairs that were spread about the well-swept floor. In one corner there was a large cupboard against the wall where it seemed they were expected to store their belongings. An additional floor had been added under the high, arched beams of the vaulted ceiling and it was quickly apparent that that was to be their sleeping quarters. The new floor stretched from one end of the main barn to the other and could be accessed by either one of the ladders that was propped up at each end. Margaret was eager to climb up to inspect their new home and she scooted up the ladders before anyone could stop her, making appreciative noises about their new accommodation.
‘Hey, girls, you must come up and look at this,’ she called down before she had even stepped off the ladder.
Vera was happy to let the others go first and when she tentatively climbed up to join them she was so anxious she had to pause for breath on the top rung. She looked about her and was pleased to see four well-stuffed palliasses spread across the floor with a good deal of space in between. Each had a neat pile of bedding on top, consisting of a sheet and a pillowcase, a blanket, a small hand towel and a feathery pillow. Vera saw Margaret touch each of the mattresses with her foot then stand back as if she expected something to happen.
‘No obvious sign of any livestock in there,’ Margaret said, ‘and it doesn’t look like they’re filled with fleas either.’ She gave a sigh of relief.
Vera was shocked but she’d hardly had time to take it all in when she heard Jenny shouting from below, ‘Look what I’ve found!’ and she was pressured to go back down again quickly to where Jenny was standing beside a hotplate with a small kettle.
‘They surely don’t expect us to cook on this?’ Jenny said.
Margaret laughed. ‘No. What this tells me is that we’ve got electricity in here, thank goodness, so there must be a light switch somewhere. I hardly think we could cook anything on one little ring, but we might be able to make a cup of coffee if anyone’s got any essence?’ She looked around the group, eyebrows raised, but silence greeted her question.
‘Didn’t Mrs Temple say supper would be in the kitchen?’ Lily said. ‘I don’t think we could be expected to eat in here.’
No one noticed that Jenny had slipped outside and now she came back in with a triumphant look on her face.
‘Guess what else I’ve found?’ she said teasingly and when nobody answered she announced, ‘A privy, a loo or whatever you want to call it, but – wait for it – it’s got a proper flush and there are two sinks, a big one and a little one, both with taps and running water.’
‘Hot water? And a bath?’ Lily wanted to know.
Margaret snorted. ‘Come on, don’t be ridiculous.’
‘Actually, there is a tin bath hanging on the back of the door,’ Jenny said, ‘if you fancy carting hot water over from the kitchen.’
‘Then it’s not exactly the height of luxury, is it?’ Lily sounded disappointed.
‘It depends which way you look at it,’ the ever-optimistic Jenny said. ‘It’s a whole lot more than we got at the training centre and it does se
em as if we’ve got it all to ourselves.’
After they’d unpacked their bags, Lily and Vera took a stroll around the grounds so that they could become familiar with their new surroundings. The first thing that struck Lily as she and Vera wandered about was how many men there were about the place, just as Margaret had forecast. She had seen them at a distance as soon as they had entered the boundaries of the estate and she had assumed they were farmworkers or people working on the estate, but now she could see that they were mostly wearing British airmen’s uniforms although some seemed to be wearing soldiers’ uniforms that she didn’t recognize.
‘We’re not used to seeing so many men together in one place – I wonder where they’ve all come from?’ Lily said. As they watched, a small group of young airmen marched smartly by while someone with stripes on the sleeves of his jacket barked orders that were almost impossible to interpret.
‘There were hardly any men at the training centre, none that we could talk to at any rate,’ Lily whispered as they went by.
‘What makes you think we’ll be able to talk to any of them here?’ Vera said.
‘I’m sure we could find a way,’ Lily responded and sniggered.
‘I’ve not seen so many servicemen in one place since I went to that dance at Burtonwood,’ Vera said, and suddenly she felt guilty, thinking that she hadn’t written any letters to Bob as she had promised. They were halfway down the drive when Vera stopped to look back at the house. How could she ever begin to tell anyone in Weatherfield about all this in a letter? She didn’t think she had the words. Besides, there were so many things she had to tell about now that she wouldn’t know where to start.
As she and Lily returned to the kitchen, Vera realized she’d be glad of an early supper because they hadn’t eaten since breakfast. The other girls appeared and, as they began to jostle together to claim a seat at the scrubbed pine table, Vera noticed that three more people had joined them. Mrs Temple was keen to introduce them before they all sat down and so she held up her hand for silence.
‘Girls! Gentlemen!’ she said with a nod and a smile. ‘I’m sure you would like to know who is sharing your table tonight. Some new faces for all of you, as you haven’t yet met, so please allow me to introduce you to each other.’ She sounded rather formal, though she gave a little laugh. ‘Of course it’s easy to recognize our Land Girls, in their smart new uniforms,’ and she insisted that each of them gave their name and where they were from. ‘And now, girls, this is Mr Grayling, our butler here at Holden Manor,’ Mrs Temple went on, nodding towards the white-haired gentleman who had carefully positioned himself at the head of the table. Then she turned to a young boy and an even younger-looking girl. ‘And these two special people are what remains of our staff. They are bravely soldiering on in order to look after our dear Lady Edgefield and the family, despite all the privations and difficulties involved in trying to run a house like this when there’s a war going on.’
It was easy to see that the butler was too old to serve in the army, Vera thought, but it was not clear why Jones, who Mrs Temple referred to as ‘the last remaining footman’ had managed to escape conscription. Tucker, the girl, seemed to be the only maid left at the house from what had once been a whole hierarchy of maids. It seemed she had been the youngest and she was now, no doubt, doing the work of several others. According to Mrs Temple, when she wasn’t working she was to be found tucked away in her own little room in the eaves of the main house, or at home with her family in the village on her days off. It was not difficult to see why she was happy looking after Lady Edgefield rather than working in some boring job down at the docks.
‘What does a footman do?’ Vera, bemused by Jones’ title, whispered to Lily as they all sat down and began to pass the bowls of soup piled high with vegetables to the end of the table. To her embarrassment, it was Margaret who responded in far too loud a whisper that could be heard all about the table.
‘In a house of this size there’s usually more than one footman,’ Margaret said casually, ‘but with all the other servants gone I imagine he’ll be a sort of general dogsbody.’
Everyone suddenly became interested in their soup and Vera felt sorry for the poor boy as she saw his face and ears begin to redden from his neck up.
Fortunately, Mrs Temple stepped in before sitting down opposite Grayling. ‘The only other member of the family you may come across from time to time,’ she said heartily, ‘is the Marquis of Holden, Lady Edgefield’s son. He is in the army, of course, and posted several miles away from here, but he drops into the manor whenever he can get leave.’
They were woken the next morning by someone ringing a handbell downstairs in the barn, followed by the sound of a door slamming shut.
‘It’s six o’clock! Rise and shine everyone!’ Margaret’s strident voice was the first to pierce the chilled air.
‘She’s missed her calling, that one. She should have been a sergeant major,’ Jenny grumbled.
Vera rolled over on her mattress, infinitely wider and more comfortable than her bunk bed had been. ‘Do I really have to get up?’ she said. ‘I thought we were having the day off.’ She yawned and stretched.
‘We are.’ Margaret’s head popped up over the top rung of the ladder. ‘But there’s a message from Lady Edgefield with apologies for not appearing last night but she says that she’ll be waiting to meet us all in the drawing room at the big house at eight o’clock this morning instead.’
‘I suppose we’d better get up then, though I could get used to lying in bed,’ Lily said.
‘What’s so special about a drawing room?’ Vera asked. ‘Do you think there’ll be lots of drawings on the walls? Or is it a place to sit and draw?’
Lily laughed. ‘We’re about to find out,’ she said, as she pulled on her dungarees and pullover.
Chapter 19
Vera was disappointed that the drawing room was no different from any of the other rooms she managed to peek into as they made their way deeper into the house. As far as Vera could see, there was a sprinkling of satin-covered chairs with ropes across the arms that she would have been afraid to sit on even if they were free, and family portraits covered most of the walls. The only difference in this room was the grand piano that stood in one corner, its closed lid full of family photographs. Lily leaned across to inspect some of them.
‘Hmm, he looks nice,’ she said, running her finger over the image of a particularly handsome young soldier, ‘I wonder who he is?’ But before she could share the picture with Vera, the lady of the house appeared. It was not a very comfortable-looking room and they were not invited to sit down even though Lady Edgefield smiled at them warmly.
Kathleen, Lady Edgefield looked to Vera exactly as she had imagined a ‘lady’ should look, and when the two black labradors trotting behind her settled quietly at her feet in front of the hearth, Vera thought she looked as if she was actually posing for a portrait. She had on a plaid skirt that was pulled flat across her stomach and held in place at the front by a large fancy safety pin and the heavy woollen material fanned into chunky pleats at the back. It was Margaret who said that Lady Edgefield was actually Scottish and that the weave of her kilt was probably in her original family tartan, a whisper that passed among the group.
Lady Edgefield wore a pale green twinset that picked out one of the background colours in her kilt, the shade the sea was sometimes painted on funny postcards. At her neck she wore a single row of pearls, just like Vera had seen Queen Elizabeth wear when she was photographed with the King, and she wore a single pearl drop in each ear. The only thing that looked at odds with her elegant style was the stout-looking shoes she wore which were heavily laced and made her look as though she was set for a day’s hiking in the mountains. She had a very pretty face with a smooth complexion, and her thick fair hair was drawn back off her forehead and finished neatly in a French pleat behind; a style Vera envied though it was never possible to achieve with her wispy locks, even before she’d had them bobbed.
‘I would like to welcome you all to Holden Manor,’ Lady Edgefield began. ‘As you may have noticed, you are not the only guests we have staying with us right now, so we would ask you to stick to the rules meticulously and follow the signs about where you may and may not go. A reminder of these rules will be pinned up in the kitchen as well.’ She held up a piece of paper the size of a small poster. ‘Please make sure you read them and obey them; it’s vitally important for the smooth running of both the farm and the house. We do have some other Land Army girls with us who have been working here for some time and you will no doubt be working with them on the farm.’ She stopped and smiled. ‘But you are special for they don’t live on the estate; they are boarded out at a hostel in Redridge, the next village, so you probably won’t see much of them, I’m afraid. You are the first land girls we have been able to accommodate in our own grounds.’ She paused. ‘If you have any queries about anything at all, please address them to Mrs Temple who will do her best to help you. She and Mr Grayling, our butler, are in charge of the day-to-day running of the house.’
She paused again to beam at the group and make eye contact with each of them, then she bent to tickle the ears of one of the dogs.
‘You’ll be getting your instructions from Ken Abbott at breakfast about where you are to go each day; he is in charge of the farm. Alf Clarke is the head gardener for those of you lucky enough to be working in the gardens.’ She smiled. ‘Always my favourite place when the roses are in full bloom and, of course, the glorious dahlias we are known for, but sadly you won’t be seeing any of them this year because all the gardens have been turned over to growing fruit and vegetables.’ She took a moment to look at the group again and sighed.
‘Now I know you were all expecting to have the rest of the day off, but I hope you won’t mind if you get straight down to it today. There is a lot to be done. You will no doubt be working hard, in quite a different way from me deadheading my roses.’ She paused and smiled. ‘But then you knew that before you came. In fact, that’s exactly what you’ve come for and I’m sure you will find it all worthwhile.’ She beamed once more at everyone in the group. At the same time the dog she had been tickling lifted its head and gazed in the direction of the girls before stretching out, head on paws, by the hearth.
Wartime on Coronation Street Page 14
