‘Well, there’s the washing, you see,’ Amy said. ‘Especially now we’ve got the baby. And the dishes. And all the scrubbing, of course.’
‘Don’t you have a servant for the rough work?’ Mrs Leveston asked.
‘No, only me,’ Amy said. ‘And Susa… I mean my stepmother,’ she added hastily.
‘Hmm. Well, if you must get them wet all the time, make sure you dry your hands thoroughly. And every night you should rub glycerine and lemon juice into them. That will keep them soft and white. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, Mrs Leveston, thank you. I’ll try and remember.’
‘Good. Now—’ But Mrs Leveston was interrupted by the maid announcing the arrival of more girls, and any further advice she might have had for Amy was forgotten.
The next two hours passed in a succession of cups of tea, tiny sandwiches and dainty cakes. ‘These things don’t fill you up unless you have half a dozen of everything,’ Lizzie muttered to Amy, but Amy frowned her into silence. Then the visitors were given a tour around the gardens, with Mrs Leveston explaining each tree and shrub to them in great detail.
Arthur tilted his hat politely to Mrs Leveston when he arrived to collect the girls. ‘Good day, ma’am. I hope they’ve behaved themselves?’ he asked, earning a scowl from Lizzie.
‘Oh, they’ve been a pleasure to have,’ Mrs Leveston assured him. She gave the girls a delicate wave as the buggy moved off.
‘It must be wonderful to live in a place like that,’ Amy said dreamily as they jolted along the inland track. ‘All those beautiful things to look at.’
‘Mmm, and nothing to do except give orders and watch other people work,’ said Lizzie.
‘You’ll have to find someone fancier than Frank Kelly to set your cap at if you want to be one of the idle rich,’ Arthur put in from the front of the buggy, startling the girls, who had almost forgotten his presence.
‘Who said I wanted it?’ Lizzie said tartly, and they heard Arthur chuckle to himself.
*
The new baby arrived in August, just as Thomas had the previous year, and to complete the pattern it was another boy, this time given the name George. Susannah did not want a tea party this year, but Edie came to visit, with Lizzie at her heels, when George was a few days old and Susannah was still confined to bed.
‘Another boy,’ Edie said, looking at the tiny figure in his cradle. ‘Jack’ll always have a houseful of sons at this rate.’
Little George started to make a mewling cry. ‘He’s hungry, pass him to me, would you, Edie?’ Susannah said, unbuttoning her nightdress. Edie laid the baby in Susannah’s arms and watched as he began to suckle.
‘Now, you will feed this one for a whole year, won’t you?’ she said. ‘You stopped a bit soon with Thomas. I know you had to, but you should be all right this time.’
‘No,’ Susannah said flatly. ‘I’ll feed him till he’s old enough for ordinary food, that’s all.’
‘But Susannah, you’re sure to have another one next year if you don’t feed him yourself, and you made enough fuss over this one coming so fast.’
‘I’m not going to have any more children.’
‘That’s easy to say,’ Edie laughed. ‘They come along whether you plan them or not—especially if you’re so set on not feeding him.’
‘It didn’t work last time, did it?’ Susannah flung at her. The child stirred in her arms, and she transferred him to her other breast. Susannah’s eyes went to her wardrobe, then back to Edie. ‘My dresses are still hanging up in there, Edie, just like you said they’d be—hanging there getting out-of-date. Well, next winter they’re not going to just be hanging up—I’m going to wear them. I’m not going to be fat and frumpy. I’m not going to have any more babies, and that’s that.’
‘We’ll see,’ said Edie.
Amy and Lizzie left the room unnoticed and went out to the kitchen. ‘What do you think she means about not having any more babies?’ Lizzie asked. ‘Ma doesn’t seem to think she can get out of having them.’
Amy shrugged. ‘How should I know? Susannah seems pretty certain about it.’
*
Even if she had wanted to, Susannah could not accompany Jack on his weekly visits to town for supplies before George was content to be fed less frequently. One Thursday morning in October when Jack had gone to town, Susannah sat in the kitchen, drumming her fingers absently on the table top while Amy prepared lunch. The babies were both asleep in the bedroom; George in his cradle and Thomas in his little bed under the window. Amy glanced at her stepmother from time to time, puzzled at the woman’s strange silence. Susannah’s eyes had an odd, inward-looking expression, as though she were having a silent conversation with herself, and Amy found it disconcerting.
It was a relief when her father arrived home. He was carrying an armload of parcels, plus a letter that he put on the table in front of Susannah. Amy took charge of the food her father had brought home and started to put the things away while Jack sat down beside Susannah.
‘You all right, Susannah? You’re very quiet today,’ he said, putting his hand over hers.
She pushed his hand away and reached for the letter. ‘I’m tired. I’m always tired. Oh, it’s a letter from Mother.’ She roused a little as she opened the letter. ‘Constance has had another daughter,’ she said when she had reached the bottom of the first closely-written page. ‘Of course she has Mother there to help her when she has babies,’ she added bitterly. ‘She doesn’t live at the back of nowhere. She has a nursemaid to look after her children, too.’
‘Well, you’ve got Amy,’ said Jack, and Susannah flashed him a look that would have warned a wiser man into silence. ‘Amy’s better than some stranger.’
‘That’s a matter of opinion.’ Susannah went back to her letter. ‘Oh!’ she said when she had read on a little further. She put the letter down and looked at Jack with a softer expression. ‘Oh, Jack, Mother says James would like to come down and stay with us this summer. Could he? Please? I’d love to have him come and stay.’
‘Your young brother, eh?’ Jack said. ‘I don’t see why not, we can always use a bit of extra help over the summer, what with haymaking and everything. He could bunk in with one of the boys.’ He put his arm around Susannah’s shoulders, and she made to push it away, then seemed to change her mind and let it stay there. ‘Do you think it might cheer you up a bit to see him?’ Jack asked.
‘I’m sure it would,’ Susannah said, looking positively happy. Amy tried to remember the last time she had seen Susannah so animated; not since before Thomas was born, she was sure. ‘It’ll be wonderful to hear all the news and catch up on the latest fashions and things. I’ve missed James so much, too, we were always specially close. I’m going to write to Mother straight away to tell her you’ve said James can come.’ She rewarded Jack with a radiant smile, then slipped out from under his arm and went off to the bedroom with the letter to write her reply.
Jack followed her with his eyes, a soft smile playing around his mouth. ‘That’s brightened her up, hasn’t it?’
‘Yes, Pa.’
‘She’s been crook since George arrived, it really seemed to take it out of her, even worse than Tom did. Jimmy seemed a pleasant enough lad when I was staying at their house, he should fit in with us all right. It’s worth it to see her happy, eh, girl?’
‘It’s only one more to cook for, that won’t make much difference,’ Amy said, but she couldn’t help feeling apprehensive about what it would be like to have a male version of Susannah to put up with all summer. I hope he’s better tempered than she is. And I hope he doesn’t decide to hate me like she seems to.
*
‘Guess what?’ Lizzie said when she came over to see Amy the following week. The two of them were leading Thomas up the hill behind Amy’s house, walking slowly to keep to the toddler’s hesitant pace. ‘Frank and I went for a walk together when he came over on Saturday—that’s the first time!’
Amy laughed. ‘Well done! I expect y
ou’ll be announcing your engagement any time now. Where did you go?’
‘Well,’ Lizzie said, ‘it wasn’t very far, really—but it was still a walk.’
Her evasiveness made Amy suspicious. ‘Go on, Lizzie, tell me—where did you go?’
‘Oh, if you’re going to nag about it—we went down to feed the pigs. Frank carried the slops bucket for me, though,’ she added quickly. ‘Stop laughing.’
‘I can’t help it,’ Amy said, hardly able to speak for laughter. ‘You’re so funny. Did he give you a kiss by the pig sty?’
‘I won’t answer that,’ Lizzie said with a toss of her head.
‘That means he didn’t. I expect he was too shy with all those pigs watching.’
‘Humph! I suppose you think that’s funny. We’re not up to kissing yet, I’ll have you know. It’ll be a while before I’ll let him do that. I don’t want Frank to think I’m a loose woman.’
‘I don’t know about letting him, Lizzie—you might have to do it for him.’
‘I don’t think so,’ Lizzie said, suddenly thoughtful. ‘On Saturday I caught him looking at me, and I sort of got this feeling he wanted to… I don’t know, hold my hand or something.’
‘Hmm, you’d better watch him, then,’ Amy said with mock seriousness. Thomas let out a cry; Amy looked down and saw that he had bumped his foot against a stone. ‘Oh, Tommy, poor baby.’ She snatched him up and cuddled him until he stopped crying. The little boy seemed tired, so Amy decided to carry him the rest of the way.
‘Aunt Susannah didn’t seem as grumpy as usual today,’ Lizzie said. ‘What’s cheered her up?’
Amy grimaced. ‘Her brother’s coming to stay in December. He’s going to be here all summer.’
‘Ugh,’ Lizzie said. ‘Fancy having two lots of Susannah around. You’d better come and stay at our place.’
‘I can’t do that, I’ve got too much to do here. It’ll be even worse with another man to feed. Anyway, you’ll probably be too busy with Frank to want me around.’
‘Maybe. I’ll still have time to keep an eye on you, don’t you worry.’
‘It’s you who’ll need an eye kept on if Frank’s going to go wild,’ Amy said. She screamed as Lizzie made a grab at her. ‘No, Lizzie, don’t tickle me, not when I’m holding Tommy—I’ll drop him.’
‘Don’t be so rude, then,’ Lizzie growled.
*
Susannah became more and more excited as her brother’s arrival drew closer. Jack watched her in fond indulgence. ‘You’re like a child waiting for Christmas,’ he said.
‘I haven’t had anything nice happen for so long, of course I’m looking forward to it,’ Susannah answered. Amy looked at her father to see if that had hurt him, but he was still smiling affectionately.
‘It’s next week!’ Susannah said at the end of November. ‘I’m going to make all his favourite cakes. He especially likes gingerbread—and currant cakes, too.’ She bustled about, taking more interest in the kitchen than she had for many months.
‘It’s tomorrow!’ she said the following Tuesday at breakfast. ‘Now, where’s he going to sleep?’
‘He can share with me, I don’t mind,’ John said, surprising Amy. John had become steadily more silent around the house over the last two years, as Susannah became more difficult.
‘Oh. That’s good of you, John, thank you,’ Susannah said. ‘Though perhaps it would be nice for James to have a room to himself?’ She glanced at Harry, and he glared back with a look of such open hostility that she quailed before it. ‘I suppose it doesn’t matter, really,’ she added hastily.
The next afternoon Susannah was ready to leave for town long before she needed to be, and she kept casting anxious glances at the clock as Jack lingered comfortably over his pudding. ‘Are you sure it’s not time to leave yet?’ she asked repeatedly.
‘Don’t worry, the lad won’t go anywhere till we get there,’ Jack said as he finished his cup of tea. ‘The boat won’t be tying up for a couple of hours yet, anyway.’ But to humour Susannah he agreed to leave an hour earlier than he thought was necessary. He helped Susannah into the buggy, where Amy placed a sleeping George on her lap, then Amy held Thomas and encouraged him to wave as the buggy disappeared down the road.
‘They’ve gone to fetch your uncle,’ Amy told Thomas as she carried him back inside, and the oblivious toddler chortled at her.
Jack and Susannah were gone all afternoon. Amy had the table set and the roast keeping warm by the time she heard the buggy rattle up the road. She steeled herself to be polite to the intruder.
The back door opened, and Susannah walked in clutching her brother’s arm with one hand while she held George in her other arm. Jack came in at their heels. ‘Here we are!’ said Susannah. ‘Oh, this is Amy,’ she added carelessly. ‘Amy, this is James.’
‘Jimmy,’ he said quickly. ‘I prefer “Jimmy”. You and Mother—and Constance, of course—are the only ones who call me James, and I’ve given up trying to get you to change.’ The fond smile he gave Susannah took any sting out of his words.
The next moment Amy found his smile turned on her, and it was such an infectiously friendly smile that she found herself returning it. Jimmy was tall and slim, like Susannah, and like his sister he had dark brown hair and blue eyes. He was much younger, though; probably about twenty, Amy decided. She had assumed he would be in his late twenties, like Susannah.
‘Hello, Amy,’ Jimmy said, putting down his Gladstone bag. He waited politely for her to offer her hand before extending his own to shake it. ‘You’re older than I expected—they talked about you as though you’re six years old!’
‘Everyone always does,’ Amy said with a rueful smile.
‘And this fine little fellow must be Thomas.’ Thomas had decided to be shy, and he hid behind Amy’s skirt, peering out cautiously. Jimmy crouched down to the little boy’s level. ‘Don’t you want to say hello to your Uncle Jimmy?’
‘Come on, Tommy,’ Amy coaxed, and Thomas emerged to study the stranger more carefully. After a few moments he broke into a happy smile and let Jimmy hug him.
‘I’ll show you your room, James,’ Susannah said, unloading George into Amy’s arms. ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to share it with John.’ She led Jimmy out of the room.
‘I’ve had my ear bent all the way home,’ Jack said, sitting down at the table. ‘The two of them talking non-step—well, mainly your ma talking and Jimmy listening.’ He smiled fondly. ‘She’s been a different woman since she knew young Jimmy was coming—I think she’s starting to get her strength back.’
Amy soon saw what her father had meant. During dinner the conversation was completely dominated by Susannah asking questions about her family and her old acquaintances, with Jimmy doing his best to answer between mouthfuls. When Susannah stopped to take a breath Amy would leap in to offer Jimmy more food, and she was pleased to see that he seemed to enjoy the meal.
After dinner Susannah led Jimmy off to the parlour on her arm, and Jack and his sons soon followed. Amy cleared the table and washed the dishes, then mixed the bread dough for the morning’s baking and left it near the range to rise. She collected her sewing box from her bedroom and went through to the parlour, where she sat opposite Susannah and Jimmy, who were sharing a sofa. Her father smiled at her from his armchair, then buried his nose in the Weekly News again.
Amy pulled out the embroidered pillowslip she was working on and stitched away while she listened to Susannah and Jimmy talking about people she had never heard of. Susannah was in a lively mood, and she even laughed once or twice, something Amy could not remember ever hearing her do before. Jimmy had a pleasant voice, low-pitched and somehow always sounding as though there was laughter bubbling not far below the surface.
‘I went to rather a good play the other week,’ Jimmy said when Susannah had briefly run out of questions.
Before she had time to think, Amy burst out, ‘A play! Oh, what was it?’
Susannah turned a disapproving stare on her, a
nd Amy shrank back against the sofa, furious with herself for having spoken out of turn.
‘It was—’ Jimmy began, but Susannah interrupted him.
‘Amy, it’s time you went to bed. You’ve got to be up early in the morning, and you seem a little over-excited.’
‘But it’s only half-past seven!’ Amy protested. ‘I don’t usually go to bed till—’
‘Never mind that—tonight you’re going to bed at half-past seven. Off you go, be a good girl.’
Amy could see it was no use arguing. She put away her sewing, went to her father and gave him a goodnight kiss, then exchanged the barest brush of cheeks that passed for a kiss between Susannah and herself. ‘Good night,’ she said to Jimmy as she walked past him, and he gave her a smile that she thought just might be sympathetic.
‘She’s rather a spoiled child,’ she heard Susannah say to Jimmy as she left the room. ‘Take no notice of her.’
13
December 1883
On the morning of Jimmy’s first full day on the farm, Amy came out to the kitchen to find him sitting at the table. He yawned dramatically and gave a rueful smile.
‘Slept in too late to help with milking, I’m afraid,’ he said. ‘I think John gave me a nudge, but I was enjoying being asleep too much to take any notice. I’m not used to country hours yet.’
To her annoyance, Amy felt tongue-tied and shy. She wanted to make a good impression, but she would seem a real bumpkin if she just stood stupidly and looked at him.
‘Would you like some breakfast?’ she asked. He accepted, and even offered to help, which rather shocked her. She tried to refuse as graciously as she could, but Jimmy insisted on setting the table for her.
‘If I can’t be any use in the cow shed, at least I can give you a hand in the kitchen,’ he said with a laugh, and Amy found herself laughing with him. It was pleasant to have company while she worked, and Jimmy was easy to talk to once she got over her initial hesitation. He seemed interested in the mundane details of her daily routine of house and farm work, wanting to know how she made butter and how many hens she had.
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