‘Well, you walked past a stream on your way from the canal.’ But she fetched her some fresh water in another bucket with a wooden ladle. While she was gone, Olivia tugged at her wedding band and when the dairymaid returned she held it out in her palm. ‘Is this enough payment?’ She added quickly, ‘It was my mother’s. She’s dead now.’
‘I’ll ask me mam.’ The girl took the ring and went off in the direction of a low stone building. Olivia wondered if she would steal from her as the street boy had. It seemed a long time before she returned.
Olivia sat with her back against the wooden stall as the cows, waiting to be milked, shifted and grumbled restlessly.The water refreshed her. She drank copiously and was on her feet when the dairymaid returned with two bread cakes, a hunk of cheese wrapped in a cloth and two apples.
‘Me mam says you can keep the calico ’cos your ring was real gold.’
‘Thank you.’ Olivia began to tear at the bread with her teeth straight away.
‘Ta-ra, then,’ the girl said and moved her stool to the next stall.
‘Good day to you. And thank you.’
The sun came up over the water meadows and she sat in its rays to eat her breakfast. She had enough food for the day and lingered, trying to work out a plan. Although she felt bedraggled and must look a sight, her gown was neat and made of good cloth, which had impressed the dairymaid. She was clearly not some street woman like the one who had stolen her bag. And she had to earn a living somehow.
Fortified by food, she felt well again, and she knew she could work hard. But her demeanour and skills were those of a well-born housekeeper and no one would be foolish enough to give her a trusted position without knowledge of her background. She was obviously too educated to be a kitchen-maid or farmgirl.
There were not many options for her. But she was pretty - a beauty, Jessup had said - and that was something she could sell. After all, her body had been used for gain twice already in her life: the first time when she had become Hesley’s wife so that he could have her fortune, and last night when he had not thought twice about forcing her to pay his gambling debt. She could not accept being used in that way, but an unscrupulous man like Jessup expected it of her. It was what men did with women they did not respect. And, she thought painfully, it was what women did for payment when they had no alternative. At the moment, she had none.
If she was considered a prize by her husband’s gambling friends, others would pay for the privilege of using her body. Is that not what her uncle had done with Miss Trent? And with others before her? There must be more gentlemen like him, without a wife or, indeed, seeking comfort outside the marriage bed. She had an idea of what she was worth. Jessup’s wager had given her an indication. She would be able to pay rent on a cottage and employ a servant. All she needed was to get away from the town where she might be recognized.
She reflected on these ideas as she walked along the towpath, dodging into hedges when heavy horses drawing barges plodded by. No doubt there was money to be made from bargemen, but that was not what she had in mind. A horseman, smartly dressed for business in town, had passed her and given her more than a passing glance. She wondered if he would ride back the same way at the end of his day.
The weather was cold but dry and she made good progress. When she spied a farm building set back from the canal, she trudged across the fields. She found that it was not locked and contained straw. She slept for a long time on the warm bedding and ate more bread and cheese when she woke up. She had no idea of the time as the clouds now hid the sun and the sky was grey. She found a stream, drank and washed, drying herself on the calico square. She had continued to reflect on her idea. Ahead, there was a lock and an inn. If she had money, she might buy a bed for the night.
She saw the rider returning on the towpath, which brought her to her senses. What was she thinking of? He might be as evil as Hesley. To be well attired meant nothing. Jessup had looked like a gentleman but had not behaved as such. She searched for a gap in the scrubby hedgerow in which to hide as the rider went by. In her haste her toes caught at a root, throwing her off balance. A searing pain shot through her ankle. She yelped and sat down heavily, choking back her annoyance. If she had wanted to attract his attention she could not have done better.
He reined in his horse. ‘Good afternoon, ma’am. Are you in some difficulty?’
‘No, sir. Good day to you.’ She hoped he would continue his journey.
‘You are in pain, I think.’
‘No, I - I am resting.’
‘In the hedgerow? I saw you fall. Does it hurt very much?’ He dismounted and tethered his animal to the hedge. ‘I noticed you on the towpath this morning. Have you been walking all day?’
Oh, no, she thought. She could not run from him. ‘I am nearly home, sir.’
‘Where is that?’
She looked away silently. Already the lacing on her boot felt uncomfortably tight. She couldn’t even get to her feet without help.
‘Will you permit me to examine your injury?’
‘Very well.’
He knelt beside her, gently removed her boot and manipulated her ankle.
She gave a squeak of pain.
‘There is swelling but it is not broken. You are new here, are you not?’
She nodded. ‘I was making for the inn.’
‘Alone?’ He held out his hand.‘Let me help you to your feet.’
He took a step back and stared at her. ‘The inn, you say?’
‘I have no money. My purse was stolen.’
‘Then you may stay with me until you can walk again.’
‘No, thank you.’ He was not a young man for he had greying hair, but she guessed he had expected her to trust him because he looked hurt by her refusal. ‘What will your wife say, sir?’ she asked.
‘I have no wife, ma’am.’
She realized he was not like Hesley or his friends. He was a kindly gentleman. His horse was from good stock and well cared-for. Silently she picked up her boot.
‘I have a sister,’ he added, ‘who will welcome you.’
‘Then thank you,’ she replied. He was educated and polite. But his dress was not that of a gentleman. He was more of a countryman, she thought. Perhaps a farmer.
He lifted her on to his saddle and mounted behind her, holding her between his arms as he took up the reins. She panicked when they reached the lock and he turned the horse’s head from the canal towards the distant winding gear of the pit. ‘Where are we, sir?’
‘Mexton Lock. Do you know it?’
‘Where do you take me?’
‘To my home, as I have told you.’
‘But you are riding towards a pithead.’
‘Indeed I am. I shall turn off the track shortly. I live in a disused farmhouse a short distance from the pit village.’
He was taking her to within a stone’s throw of Mexton Pit! No matter, she thought. Hesley never visited the mine and the manager she had known as a child had died. A younger man had taken his place and did not visit Hill Top House.All Hesley’s mining dealings were done through Jessup’s legal office in town. She smiled at the irony in this turn of events.
Chapter 23
‘Have you news from Hill Top House, Father?’ Jared had come home from Manchester to install new steam hammers at his father’s forge. Sir William had released him from his position at Kimber Deep to study and he had used his learning to help his father expand their thriving concern.
During his absence from the South Riding he had tried to forget Olivia but could not. Finally he had asked after her in his letters home and had received news of Hesley’s return. ‘But what of Olivia?’ he had asked again. ‘She is mistress of Hill Top House,’ was all his father would say. Neither would his mother be drawn. He guessed they knew of his affection for Olivia and feared for the safety of both. He recalled his father being very persuasive about Manchester and at the time it had seemed the right thing to do.
Now Jared was an assured and conf
ident gentleman, respected among local ironmasters, but - oh, how he regretted leaving Olivia. Yet what else could he have done? He had no doubt that old Hesley would have locked her away if he had even suspected a liaison. Perhaps now that her husband was at home they might meet openly on social occasions. He wondered how Hesley would react to that.
Jared was living with his family again. They were drinking coffee in the drawing room after dinner. It was new to the household: Jared had acquired a taste for it in Manchester. His mother and sisters didn’t like it, and had gone to help the maid put away the china.
‘No,’ his father replied,‘but it’s interesting that you should want to know. Old Samuel Mexton’s lawyer has asked to see me.’
‘Mr Withers?’
‘Yes. It’s about your mother’s half-brother, I believe.’
‘I had heard he was very ill, Father.’
‘Who from?’
‘I met the pit manager from Kimber Deep. He knows Hesley’s man at Mexton. I asked about Olivia but he had no other knowledge of the family. Do you know anything, Father? I’m worried about Olivia.’
His father gave him a long, hard look. ‘So is your mother. She heard from the vicar’s wife that Olivia had stopped going to that little church. Leastways, no one’s seen her for a month.’
‘Didn’t they call on her to find out why?’
‘No one goes to Hill Top House without they’re invited, these days.’
‘Well, I shall. She may be ill too.’
‘Wait, son. Come with me to the lawyer tomorrow. He will have news.’
‘She left on her own? Why? What happened to make her go? I must find her! She will be in danger. Why has Hesley made no effort to look for her? Why haven’t you?’ Jared had leaped to his feet in the lawyer’s office.What kind of husband did not search for his wife? Hesley didn’t deserve her. Nobody did! She was too good for all of them.
Withers was frowning. ‘Hesley Mexton doesn’t instruct me now. He uses Jessup.’
‘Then how do you know about old Hesley?’ his father asked.
‘He is dying and his apothecary asked me to visit. I’m still a trustee for the pit.That was in old Samuel’s will.Young Hesley will take charge of his grandfather’s mine.’
‘He has a manager,’ Jared said.
‘The new one is not much older than you and he does as he’s told.’
‘Well, Hesley’s university education will come in useful after all,’ Jared went on wryly. But he didn’t want to waste any more time worrying about Hesley or his grandfather. He was anxious to be away making his own enquiries for Olivia. Somebody must have seen her when she left. She couldn’t just have disappeared. ‘Have you finished with us, sir?’ he added.
‘Rum lot, the Mextons,’ his father commented, as they left the office.
‘Mother’s one of them.’
‘Aye, she is. Blood’s thicker than water, and Mr Withers was right to tell us. She’ll be wanting to see old Hesley before he passes on.’
‘I’m going there now. I want to know what’s happened.’
‘Wait until after dinner, son. We’ll all go.’
‘No. It’s been too long already. I’ll ride ahead and meet you there at tea-time.’
‘Good day to you.’ Jared slid down from his horse and walked her towards the old walled garden.‘Are you from Hill Top House?’
The servant girl glanced towards him. ‘I might be. What do you want?’
‘Is your master at home?’
She tossed her head in the direction of the house. ‘You’ll find him there.’ She sat on a rock to unlace her boots and ease her aching feet.
He led his horse into the yard, expecting Matt to appear from the stable. He tethered the animal himself, uneasy with the silence. No one answered the jangling bell at the front door so he walked unannounced into the kitchen where another girl was stacking crockery on the dresser.
‘Who are you?’ she demanded, startled.
‘I’d like to see the master.’
‘You’ll have to ask Mrs Cookson.’
‘Where is your mistress?’
The girl’s eyes took on a guarded expression. ‘She’s gone.’
‘Gone where?’
‘Left. She took the trap into town one day and never came back.’
‘That’s enough, Mary.’ Mrs Cookson had walked into the kitchen, carrying a foul-smelling pail covered with a pile of soiled linen. ‘Take this bucket to the privy and find Eliza to wash these.’ She turned to Jared. ‘I wondered when you’d show your face again. Is she with you?’
‘Olivia?’ Jared felt anxious.‘No, she isn’t.When did she leave?’
‘A few weeks ago. I’d thought she’d gone to her aunty Caroline.’
‘We haven’t seen her. Why did she leave?’
‘Not for me to say. I don’t interfere between man and wife. But things weren’t right, that’s for sure.’
Jared remembered some of the things Olivia had said about Hesley. ‘Did he beat her?’
‘You stay away from him. He’s got enough with his grandfather. ’ Jared caught the firmness in Mrs Cookson’s tone and remembered how loyal she was to this household. His eyes followed the girl as she went outside with the linen. ‘How is old Hesley?’
‘He’s dying. He won’t admit it, and won’t have it said outside the house, but it’s true enough. Never been right since he took the rock in his back at the pithead.’
‘I didn’t know. Neither did Mother, I’m sure. Where’s his grandson? I want to talk to him.’
‘I don’t advise it, sir. He’s quiet at the moment, but you never can tell with him. The least thing sets him off.’
‘Is that why Olivia left?’
‘Couldn’t say, sir.’
‘Tell me, woman! What happened?’
‘Honest, sir, I don’t rightly know. I were over in t’ stables wi’ Matt. But it were after one of his late-night gambling parties.’
‘And nobody has seen her since?’
Mrs Cookson shrugged. ‘That governess was supposed to look after her and all she did was lead her astray. I knew about you two meeting of a Sunday, even if her husband didn’t.’
Jared detected a sneer in her voice, which he ignored. ‘You should have sent word to my mother. She’s old Hesley’s sister, for God’s sake!’
‘I had my orders, sir.’
‘What does Adam Harvey say about old Hesley?’
‘He says nothing to me or Matt, except when to give him his medicines.’
‘You should have told us,’ he said again, angrily, but his thoughts were with Olivia. Where had she gone and who was she with? The governess, maybe? He had no idea where Miss Trent was either. But maybe he could find out. A woman travelling alone would have been noticed.
Had they planned their escape together from Hill Top House? He thought not. Olivia had been devastated when Miss Trent had left. Perhaps they had corresponded since and Olivia had made up their quarrel. He wished he knew.Why had he listened to his conscience and stayed away? He could have helped her - he’d wanted to. But his misplaced respect for her sham of a marriage had kept him away. He had to find her, and prayed she would be in good health. He hoped he was not too late.
He tried the curate’s wife at the little church. She had not seen Miss Trent or Olivia so he rode across the moor to Blackstone. Neither woman had been there either. It was past five in the afternoon when Hill Top House was in his sights again. As he approached the farmyard he saw his parents’ trap making slow progress up the track from the town.
‘I’ll be in as soon as I’ve seen to the horse.’ Jared held the mare’s head as his father helped his mother down from the trap.They were anxious about this visit and pleased to see him. As he led the horse to the barn, he wondered again why Matt had not appeared from the stables. Another horse was already stabled there. Jared recognized it. Mr Harvey, the apothecary, was visiting too.
He went into the hall through the empty kitchen.The dining-room door stood
open and he saw Mary sweeping up broken china. The chairs were all over the place. He was reminded of a time in his youth when he had been the cause of such destruction. She looked up in alarm as he stood in the doorway and surveyed the congealing food on the table and the floor.
‘They’re all upstairs, sir,’ she said nervously.
As he went up he remembered his fight with Hesley and his anxiety for Olivia increased. He prayed she had come to no harm. He followed the hushed voices to old Hesley’s bedchamber. He had not seen his uncle since he had run Jared off his land with a shotgun and was shocked by his gaunt features and sallow colour, yellow against the bed linen. His eyes were closed and his breathing rattled in his throat.
Matt was here, and Mrs Cookson. Mr Harvey was talking quietly to Jared’s father, while his mother stared at her half-brother.
‘Where’s Hesley?’ Jared asked.
His father steered him out of the chamber.
‘What’s been going on, Father? There’s been a fight downstairs. ’
‘Not a fight, son. It’s young Hesley, he takes too much drink.’
‘He smashed the china?’
‘Mrs Cookson says it’s happened before.’
‘Where is he now?’
‘Sleeping it off.’
‘Dear God, he’s a drunkard. No wonder Olivia left him.’
His father was shaking his head. ‘It’s not only that. It’s—Well, the apothecary says it’s due to the heat in the West Indies. His brain was overheated . . . He has fits of anger, loses control and . . .’
‘He’s going mad?’
Benjamin covered his eyes with a hand. ‘It comes and goes, apparently. But don’t tell your mother. Her brother is dying and she worries for Olivia.’
‘I should think Olivia is best away from this,’ Jared said bitterly.
‘Perhaps that was why she left. Matt confirmed what Withers said about the trap.’
‘Where is she, Father?’
‘I don’t know, son. I am as troubled as you.You may be right about her going to the governess. That woman had a good head on her shoulders.’
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