by Abigail Agar
“Brother,” Penelope said, “sit near me and tell me all your progress since I was last here.”
He sat next to Penelope then promptly tried to bore the three ladies to death with talk of leaky roofs and rutted roads. Then Edward turned to Penelope.
“You ladies look exhausted. After tea, may I suggest you rest while Sir Jeffrey and I travel the fields?”
Cecilia sighed. “Sir Jeffrey made our journey easier to bear, but I’m afraid you’re right, Edward.”
Edward pulled the bell. When Thomas arrived, he gave instructions to show the ladies to their rooms.
“Let me apologize outright, Sir Jeffrey, if your journey here was difficult. I’m not sure I could handle that group for long, although it seems Lady Osgood doesn’t have much to say.”
“Thank you, My Lord, but your mother and sister are wonderful company. Your sister warned me about Lady Osgood, and what she said was true. I haven’t any idea what the young lady’s voice sounds like.
“No matter. I’m pleased to be here. Shall we get started?”
“Would you like a few minutes in your room before we go?”
Sir Jeffrey smiled, “Not necessary. Let’s go.”
Edward found Sir Jeffrey to be dedicated to his profession. The man wanted to walk clear through the fields with a spade in hand, turning over the dirt periodically to test the level of water in the soil.
“You say it rained the day before yesterday? A drizzle, steady rain, a downpour? For how long?”
“I’d say five hours drizzle, six hours steady.”
Sir Jeffrey nodded and walked on.
“My Lord, did you say you have plans drawn up of your property, or should I take notes to draw them up later?”
“We have full property plans, including borders. They seem to be in good order and accurate. I’m not sure when they were last updated.”
He walked on, Edward and the horses behind him.
Sir Jeffrey walked into the next field and swung his arm down his side and to the back. “For the sheep. Where next?”
“Pardon, Sir Jeffrey?” Edward said.
“You don’t want to grow anything here. Keep it for the sheep.”
“This way, then,” Edward said and grinned at the back of Sir Jeffrey as he walked ahead.
*****
Chapter 30
“Come,” Edward said, turning to see Cara enter the office. “Shut the door, Cara.”
She curtsied then did. She sat in her usual chair.
“How is our patient?” Edward asked, sitting tall behind his desk, hands folded together.
“He’s better, My Lord, but I would like to give him more lemongrass, with your permission. The guards tell me he has quiet moments but then gets himself into a state that makes their jobs difficult.”
“I see. Go ahead with more lemongrass. Is there another healer you can meet with to find out if anything stronger than lemongrass exists?”
“My mother’s aunt lives in the next village, My Lord. I could ask her.”
“I’ll send you on horseback with two escorts to leave at ten this morning. Is there anything else to do?”
“No, My Lord,” Cara said, stood, curtsied, and said goodbye.
*****
“Either my mother or I will always be with you, so you will never be alone while we do this,” Penelope said gently.
She looked at Mirabelle and smiled. She had to fight the urge to pat her head. Her hands made her so shy and self-conscious, making Mirabelle seem much younger than her twenty-two years.
Mirabelle was one of Penelope’s favourites but also one of her most difficult ‘tea girls.’ She had been to tea six times and spent two and a half days in the same carriage with her, and Penelope could count on one hand the number of words Mirabelle spoke.
“Our goal, Mirabelle, is to get you ready to run a home this size. I told Edward you had experience running a house, but I didn’t mention the size of the house. Now that we have toured it, and you are familiar with its size, it should be a comfort that you know every room, every piece of linen, and every utensil in this house. We are ready.
“You and I are going into the kitchen, and you are going to ask Cook to show you today’s menu, after pleasantries, of course.”
Mirabelle nodded.
Penelope put Mirabelle in front of her and gently pushed her into the kitchen.
“Hello, Cook,” Mirabelle said, her voice low, her eyes on her gloves.
Cook turned around, smiled brightly, and curtsied. “Lady Mirabelle, how may I help you?”
Mirabelle looked over at Penelope. Penelope folded her arms across her chest and pretended to look for birds on the ceiling. Mirabelle turned back to Cook.
“May I, please, if I could, would it be alright with you if I saw tonight’s menu?”
“Right away, My Lady,” Cook said then went to her book and lifted out the paper for tonight’s menu.
She walked over to Mirabelle and handed it to her.
“Thank you,” Mirabelle said, taking the menu with gloved hands.
Penelope came up behind her. “Mirabelle, do you have any questions for Cook?”
Mirabelle shook her head and handed the menu back to Cook. She turned and fled the kitchen.
Penelope mouthed ‘thank you’ to Cook then left. She found Mirabelle in the hall. “Let’s go to the parlour, shall we?”
Cecilia was sitting by the window doing needlework when Penelope and Mirabelle entered.
Mirabelle sat but Penelope couldn’t. She walked around the room twirling in her skirts and regaling her mother with the wonderful performance Mirabelle put on in the kitchen.
“Mother, she was splendid. Better than I would have guessed. I am so proud. Oh, and Mother, I keep forgetting, but Mirabelle likes to be called Mira. Isn’t that a beautiful name?”
Cecilia smiled then turned to Mira. “Tell me how you feel dear.”
Mira looked at her gloved hands and, in a low voice said, “It was fine.”
Cecilia said, “Pardon, Mira? I think my hearing is going. I couldn’t quite catch what you said.”
Mira looked at her ear, something Penelope figured she must have learned to do so she wouldn’t have to look people in the eyes.
“It was fine,” she said louder.
“Oh, that’s good dear,” Cecilia said then went back to her embroidery.
Penelope sat next to Mira and told her how well she did. She asked her how it felt.
“Fine, thank you,” she said.
“Good. Would you like to go for a walk? I think we should take a break before we start again.”
Mira nodded.
Thomas helped them with their wraps, and they put on their bonnets. Penelope walked toward a favourite meadow explaining to Mira that she liked the wildflowers there.
Penelope circled her arm around Mira’s and told her a story about how she and Edward tried to play with a ball in the meadow but had too much trouble finding the ball when it landed on the ground because the wildflowers were two feet high.
They both laughed. Mira’s laugh was so light and lovely, like wind chimes Penelope once heard made from glass. Then Mira stopped short, and Penelope bounced back to her having continued to walk arm in arm.
“What is it, Mira?”
Mira looked at her gloved hands then wouldn’t move. Penelope looked up to see Edward and Sir Jeffrey approaching.
She looked over at Mira. “Relax. You don’t need to do anything.”
“Hello, gentlemen. I trust you have had a productive day?” Penelope said as she curtsied. Mira curtsied also.
After bowing, Sir Jeffrey said, “These lands are beautiful. Your brother has some work ahead of him, but we can make him a gentleman farmer.”
“Before Sir Jeffrey, I didn’t know where to put the wheat from the sheep. But I’m learning. How are you ladies? It’s a beautiful day for a walk.”
Penelope nodded. “It is, Edward. I was just telling Mira about our sad attempts to play ball in
this meadow.”
Edward laughed. “Be careful, there may be a stray ball or two still hiding in the high grasses.”
Penelope could see out of the corner of her eye that Mira was still rigid, staring at her hands.
“Well, gentlemen, if you will excuse us, we are not quite through enjoying our afternoon walk.”
After a few curtsies and bows, the ladies walked on.
“I think I’ll pick some of these flowers, Mira. Would you help?”
Mira nodded, and Penelope stood still. “Can we try something, Mira? Could you say ‘yes’ when I ask you to help?”
Mira nodded and said, “Yes.”
Penelope smiled. “Thank you, Mira.”
Penelope realized from the way she was talking with no one answering her that she could talk to a stone wall. She supposed she always had the ability, but now she knew for sure. She and Mira picked flowers, and every once in a while, Penelope told a silly joke to make sure someone besides the stone wall was listening. She would hear Mira’s angelic laugh and be satisfied.
“Let’s head back to the house?” Penelope asked.
Mira nodded.
“Uh, uh, uh. Say ‘yes,’ don’t nod,” Penelope said, shaking a finger at Mira.
“Yes,” Mira said with a smile.
One word at a time, Penelope thought.
*****
Edward dismounted and knocked on the cottage door. Cara answered.
She opened the door wide and curtsied. “My Lord,” she said. “Tea?”
He entered. “No, thank you, Cara. Please forgive me for dropping in. I heard you came to see me when I was out. I am most anxious to hear how your time with your aunt went.”
“Please have a seat, My Lord. My aunt gave me two plants that should be stronger and show a better result than we’ve seen with lemongrass. She took me into the woods, so I’ll be able to find as much as needed.
“The first is Valerian. It is a strong stress reliever and causes the user to experience calm. The other is Cherry Plum, and it calms vicious rages. It is very strong, and I recommend that if we use it, we are careful of how much we give him. We’ll start low and increase while observing him.”
Edward sat up and asked, “Can they be combined?”
*****
“I pushed her a lot today, so if you want to ask her anything, keep it to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question.”
“Seriously, Penelope? She doesn’t talk at all?”
“Edward, she is fully capable of talking, she’s just self-conscious and talking draws attention to oneself.”
Penelope and Edward went into the parlour. Cecilia, Sir Jeffrey, and Mira were all there.
All but Cecilia rose, the ladies curtsied, and the gentlemen bowed. Edward sat next to his mother.
Cecilia smiled at him. “So tell us all, Edward. Has Sir Jeffrey given you a green thumb?
Edward smiled. “Hardly, Mother. If I learned anything today, it was that I have a lot to learn.”
*****
“That’s a good start, my boy.”
Edward turned to Cecilia; we’ll go out again tomorrow after Sir Jeffrey shows me his plans. If we missed anything today, we’ll be sure to catch it tomorrow.”
Cecilia looked up. “Edward, I don’t want you to take on too much all at once. I went to the village today to visit with some of my old friends. The main street, the cottages, everything looks so much better. The villagers are pleased at the attention to their needs. You’ve done so much in such a short time. Pace yourself, so you don’t wear yourself out.”
Edward rolled his eyes, “Yes, Mother.”
“If I may, Lady Cecilia,” Sir Jeffrey said, “I have recommended planting on one field every year. Each field has its own personality if you will, and Edward will need to learn them all to match the land with the crop. It takes time.”
“Enough about crops,” Edward said. “Did you ladies have a nice day?”
Penelope answered, “Yes.” She looked at Mira.
Mira answered, “Yes,” barely audible, but she spoke.
Edward looked at her and smiled in encouragement. She really was a cute, little thing. He hoped she would be able to make some progress. If anyone could help build her self-confidence, it was Penelope.
After a week of consulting, Sir Jeffrey left for London. Edward was left with a list of jobs to do, courtesy of Sir Jeffrey. He was focused on his work, to the point where he barely noticed anything around him.
He ordered two of the ploughs Sir Jeffrey recommended, and he bought two workhorses for each plough. He was eager to receive this modern equipment. He also ordered seed.
Edward walked the fields with the farmers in the village. So many of the fields were fallow and had been for so long that the farmers were not utilized or were under-utilized. Edward found satisfaction in their newfound excitement.
In the parlour before dinner, Edward would tell the ladies of his day and the progress he made. There was companionable talk amongst them, and Penelope noticed Mira contributed to the conversation more as time went by, and she felt more comfortable. Still, when she was nervous, she stared down at her gloved hands.
“Hey, sis. I saw a few plants I don’t recognize in the woods out back. Can I show them to you?”
Once outside of the house, Penelope turned to Edward, “What am I really doing out here?”
Edward laughed. “Obvious? I want to talk with you about Mira. Now that she is talking, it is clear she’s very nice, she’s interesting, and she’s intelligent.”
“But?” Penelope asked.
“But, what is her problem? I mean, she has a lot going for her, and she should do fine in the marriage mart.”
“Well, first of all, I’m happy you saw through everything to see how nice she is.
“She never takes off her gloves. When she came to tea, she said her hands were disfigured. She said nothing else. Her hands have made her self-conscious which has made her shy. I know nothing else, but I know there is more to the story.”
Edward stopped walking and turned to Penelope. “More to the story? Like what?”
“Like what happened to her hands. Like who did it to her. Like how old was she when her hands were disfigured.”
“You think it was from punishment? Her father, maybe? Not since birth? Well, you’ll get to it, I’m sure.”
Penelope and Mira began to take walks every day, weather permitting. Penelope knew she was making progress with Mira – she talked a little more, unveiling pieces of herself bit by small bit.
Mira reminded Penelope of herself. Self-conscious, afraid to open herself up to others, including Penelope.
“Mira, did you ever hear how I got my scar?”
They were walking on a beautiful stretch of meadow near the river. Penelope could hear the river noisily rushing over the rocks in direct opposition to the quiet where they stood.
“No, I didn’t,” Mira said quietly.
“Well, I have a cousin; he’s locked up because he is a danger, who tried to kill me by pushing me off a cliff into jagged rocks. I was lucky to be found and recover.
“Nash helped me walk around without shame for something I didn’t do. Now, I hardly notice when strangers look or comment loud enough for me to hear.
“I’m telling you this because I think if you wanted to, you could become less self-conscious about your hands.”
Mira’s head swiveled around to Penelope. “My hands? How did you know there is something wrong with my hands?”
“When you came to tea, your mother vaguely mentioned them. You never take your gloves off, even during times when it isn’t necessary to wear them. And you look down at your gloves most of the time. Am I right?”
Mira nodded slowly but didn’t offer an explanation. Penelope understood. She felt it was no one’s business to know how she came about her problem. Penelope sighed. She may never know.
Penelope gave Mira a small smile. “Don’t worry. I’ve had my scar for six years, and I know about curiosity.
I was always dealing with it, but Nash has helped me to handle it more gracefully. I will never ask you about it. However, I’m here for you if you ever want to talk.”
*****
Chapter 31
Mira seemed nervous when she and Penelope went for their daily walk a few days later. Penelope thought Mira had made great strides in overcoming her self-consciousness. She interacted with the servants in a friendly, open way that was reciprocated. She initiated conversations and stayed in the parlour talking with the Balfours long after she had normally retired for the evening.
