Daughter of the Dales

by Diane Allen

  ‘Here, I’ll make your life easier and take Dorothy her dinner. She won’t be able to sit in here with this smell, you know what she’s like. Yes, I’ll tell Jethro you need a brace of pheasants – he’s got some hanging already, if you need them with a bit of taste. They should just be right for Christmas Day.’

  Mazy reached for a tray and placed a cruet set, spoon, bowl of soup and plate with buttered bread on it. ‘That should do Her Ladyship Dorothy. Not that she’ll show her face anyway, because she knows you are busy in here and she’s in the morning room, mending clothes as usual. I’ll give Eve a shout – she’s busy in the hall seeing to the decorations – before I’m on my way to serve madam.’ Mazy lifted up the tray and left Ruby and Nancy shaking their heads in disbelief at how one of their group could get away with doing nowt.

  ‘Is your Ethan coming to the ball? He should, you know, if he’s courting young Rosie.’ Ruby sat down next to Mazy, on her return, and sipped her soup, waiting for her to reply.

  ‘Oh no. It’s not his place to be with the family. Mistress Isabelle won’t want him there. After all, he’ll be bringing the Atkinson family along in their carriage, and it wouldn’t be right.’ Mazy shook her head. She was proud that Ethan was courting Rosie, but knew his father did not agree with his son’s love for her and thought Ethan should know his place.

  ‘I don’t see why he shouldn’t. Miss Jane will have asked plenty of her friends. It’s not like it is a formal occasion, it’s only Christmas celebrations, and everyone should be welcome,’ said Eve as she enjoyed her soup, oblivious to the smell, which had dissipated into the cold air.

  ‘Nay, his father would not approve. Besides, what would he wear? You know how they all dress up on occasions like this. He’d only be embarrassed by looking out of place.’ Mazy thought about the dinner suit she had hidden; it might be a bit on the large side, but she was adept with a needle and could alter it to fit her Ethan. Perhaps Eve was right: he should attend; he should be with Rosie and be proud to be seen there.

  ‘Well, if I were him, I’d be there. Poor Miss Rosie is going to be lonely without him. And Miss Jane will not help, as she always seems to be slightly jealous of Rosie. Although I don’t know why; she has everything she needs in her life and always will have, while poor Rosie has always had to be more grounded and is more like us.’ Nancy leaned back next to the sink and watched the others eating their lunch. ‘I bet he scrubs up well, your Ethan; under that long, wild hair there’s a good-looking man hiding.’

  ‘Nancy, hold your tongue – he’s half your age.’ Ruby looked at her second-in-command and shook her head. ‘I don’t know how you can even think about him like that. He’s Mazy’s son, and perhaps she’s right: them and us shouldn’t mix. Only thing is: Miss Rosie is not one of them, she is more like us. So there’s no wonder Ethan has taken her eye. Still, it’s a shame he’ll miss dancing to the Beresford Band. Especially when they are coming all the way over nearly every dale in the area. I just hope the weather is good for them and that there’s no snow. I might have a dance myself, down here in my kitchen, if I can interest that miserable Thomson.’ Ruby sat back and laughed. ‘Tell your lad to come and dance with me in the kitchen; he can’t sit out in the stable feeling sorry for himself all night. Nancy will make him smile, by the sound of it.’

  ‘I’ll see. Perhaps he should attend. He is Rosie’s beau.’ Mazy looked around her at the faces she knew supported her.

  ‘Aye, tog him up smart and sneak him in, just for Miss Rosie. It’ll make her night.’ Nancy turned round to start plucking her next turkey, making feathers fill the kitchen again.

  ‘I’ll see. He might be asked yet anyway, and then there is no need to sneak him anywhere.’ Mazy stood up and cleared her dish.

  ‘Nay, he won’t, not with Mistress Isabelle, but you can dream.’ Ruby pushed her chair back. ‘Here, Nancy, I’m plucking, you are cleaning. Wash these dishes up, while I finish plucking your bird. I know just how much you can’t wait to get your hands into that bird, and I wouldn’t deprive you of the pleasure.’

  Nancy got hold of the half-plucked turkey and watched Ruby nearly swear as she did so. Bloody birds, she thought, they were nowt but work, and these are just the first of many to be eaten over Christmas.

  It was the Sunday before Christmas, and Rosie sat with her mother next to the kitchen window, looking out on the frosted landscape while having a quiet family moment. Georgina was lying asleep on her mother’s knee and Ben was laid out in front of the open kitchen fire, reading his latest copy of The Boy’s Best, occasionally letting out a chuckle as he read about the character’s latest exploits.

  Rosie concentrated on the darning that she had been given and felt content in the warmth of the kitchen. The smells of Christmas filled it, as the plum pudding steamed on the stove top and the scent of pine from the newly erected Christmas tree in the parlour drifted through the whole house.

  ‘It’s nice to have you back home all the time, Mother. We’ve managed, but in all honesty we have missed you when you have been at Skipton.’ Rosie looked up at her mother and smiled; it was a rare day when all was quiet at Crummock. The cattle were in for winter, the sheep were down from the fells and the two blazing fires were keeping the long farmhouse warm throughout.

  ‘Yes, I’m best at home in this weather. Come spring, I’ll give them a hand again. I think your Aunt Isabelle enjoys me participating a little in the business, and you all seem to cope without me for at least two days of the week. It’s good to be back in my kitchen, though, without wondering what exactly is going on at home. Speaking of which, will Ethan be joining us this afternoon, as usual on Sunday? We will have to stir them two sleepy heads, if you need the parlour to yourselves.’

  ‘No, Mother, it doesn’t matter today; he’s gone down to see his mother and father this afternoon and we’ve arranged to see one another later, after supper. I can tell him to join us for Christmas dinner, can’t I, Mother? I want him to share Christmas with us.’ Rosie blushed. She still found it hard to display her love for Ethan openly, knowing that her mother did not approve of her choice.

  Harriet shifted slightly in her chair as Georgina weighed on her arm. ‘He can come to Christmas Day dinner, but he does not join you at the Windfell ball. Your Aunt Isabelle has requested that, as a family, we come alone and said that Ethan will not be welcome. You can see her point of view; there will be dignitaries and people of all standing there, and she will not want a simple stable lad there on your arm.’ Harriet looked across at Rosie and waited for the temper that was about to erupt from her daughter. She saw her face turn from smiling happiness to a dark scowl. She was a creature with plenty to say.

  ‘How can she? If I’m going, Ethan is going. What’s she going to do when I marry him? Because that’s what I’m going to do. Tell her, Mother, or I will.’ Rosie threw the darning down and stood up, scowling in front of her mother and watching as baby Georgina awoke as she vented her wrath. ‘She’s nothing but a snob, and so is Jane. Well, she can keep her Christmas Ball – I’m not going.’

  Rosie stormed out of the kitchen and up to her bedroom and lay sobbing on her bed, staring at the unworn ballgown that she had been admiring since her mother had given it to her, as she waited for her first ball at Windfell with the love of her life on her arm. If Ethan wasn’t welcome, then she wasn’t, either, and wild horses would not drag her there.

  28

  ‘I’m so glad you’ve seen sense, Rosie. Just look how beautiful you are – you deserve to go to the ball. Ethan will understand; he would only feel uncomfortable, because – let’s face it – he will have tethered the horses of most of the guests and he’s bound to feel inadequate around them.’ Harriet stood back and admired her daughter, who was all dressed up for the Christmas Eve Ball at Windfell. ‘Isn’t she beautiful?’ Harriet turned and looked at Danny and Archie, wanting them to give Rosie the same assurance.

  ‘Aye, a right bonny lass. You’ll put everybody else to shame.’ Archie looked up at h
is granddaughter and smiled; she was the spitting image of her grandmother and, being so, was especially dear to him. ‘Never mind, lass, Ethan’s not going anywhere. He’ll be happier sitting in the kitchen with his mother, and you could always go down and visit him there. They’ll probably be better company than half of the buggers upstairs.’

  ‘Father, think on what you say! It’s a big night for Isabelle – she needs to prove her standing in society, and show that she and James have recovered from his wanderings.’ Danny looked at his father as he pulled a face and tugged on his collar and bow tie. He hated these sorts of event, and the fact that he had to toe the line and be polite to people he didn’t normally have time for.

  ‘It’s nowt but a bloody sham. Folk are still going to remember James for being the first to have a motorbike in this area and killing his lover on it. Despite how big the show is tonight. And as for her ladyship not inviting Ethan, she’s wrong. If he makes our Rosie happy, he should come with her.’

  ‘Just keep your thoughts to yourself, Father. Remember the children’s carer is in the next room.’ Harriet looked sternly at her father-in-law as she pulled on her gloves and put the fireguard up to safeguard the kitchen fire, after filling a small metal-lined wooden box with warm ashes to keep them warm in the carriage.

  ‘It’s alright, Grandfather. Ethan wasn’t too worried and, who knows, I might just enjoy myself with whoever may be there.’ Rosie smiled at her grandfather. He always fought her corner for her, no matter how annoying it was to her parents.

  ‘Right, if we are to get there in time, let’s go. Ethan is outside with the carriage and team, and at least it’s a fine frosty night. The weather is in our favour, albeit a little chilly. Have you all got everything?’ Danny looked at the two women in his life and thought how fine they both looked. ‘Mrs Atkinson, would you care to take my arm?’

  ‘Why yes, sir, it would be a pleasure.’ Harriet smiled and linked her arm through her husband’s.

  ‘That means you are with me, lass. Never mind – I’m the one with the brass. You remember that.’ Archie winked at Rosie as she took his arm.

  ‘I’d love you if you hadn’t a penny to your name, Grandpapa. Money isn’t everything.’ Rosie kissed his cheek and took his arm as they walked out into the crisp winter’s evening and towards Ethan waiting with the team.

  ‘Good evening, so glad you could join us.’

  Isabelle smiled at each guest as they entered Windfell, with James by her side in a show of unity. The hallway and ballroom were filled with well-to-do locals and dignitaries and their wives, and were awash with the bright colours and glitter of precious jewels.

  ‘I don’t think even Mama had as many guests as this. I don’t even know everyone who is here. I think some are friends of Jane’s, and of course there are some masters from Giggleswick School. It was only right that Luke asked them. It will do his standing at the school good. I do wish he had worn his dinner suit, though, instead of his cadet’s uniform,’ whispered Isabelle to James as he stood next to her, shaking hands with each guest and guiding them towards the drinks and food, which were being served by all the staff of Windfell.

  ‘Just how many people have you invited? And tell me, do you recognize the tall blond lad who’s with Jane? She keeps batting her eyelashes at him and I haven’t a clue who he is. He’s not in a dinner suit, so he can’t be one of yours.’ James smiled yet again at the incoming guests and glanced across at his daughter and her companion.

  ‘I haven’t got a clue who he is, but he is quite good-looking, although not well dressed. I’m just glad that she’s entertaining him, instead of sitting like a wallflower or telling everybody the virtues of the Suffragette movement.’ Isabelle smiled yet again and then looked out onto the driveway as the carriage from Crummock drove up. ‘Here’s the rest of the family. I hope Archie doesn’t speak out of turn, and I do hope Harriet has told Rosie that Ethan is not welcome.

  ‘Harriet, Danny and Papa, how lovely that you have joined us. And just look at you, Rosie, aren’t you beautiful – quite the young lady. You’ll be fighting the young men away from you.’ Isabelle kissed Harriet on the cheek and smiled at her family.

  ‘You’ve put on a good show, Isabelle; we could hear the band playing as we came past Stainforth. I hope you’ve invited your neighbours.’ Archie kissed his stepdaughter.

  ‘Yes, the neighbours have been invited. The Maudsleys are mingling somewhere, so you can catch up with them, Father, and I’m sure you will know more people than I do. Rosie, Jane is over there in the corner, if you wish to join her. Although she seems to be giving all her attention to a certain young man, who I must admit seems familiar, though I’m sure I don’t know him.’ She smiled at Rosie, who struggled to reply to her and wasn’t looking at where Jane was. Isabelle looked at Harriet, realizing that her request that Ethan did not attend had not been popular with her niece. ‘I’m so glad you could all come. It’s quite like old times.’ She smiled as Harriet passed Thomson her wrap and put her arm through Danny’s.

  ‘Indeed it is. Let’s hope this is the beginning of a wonderful Christmas, full of magic.’ Harriet put her arm around Rosie and pulled her close to her. She noticed Rosie glance at the lad who was talking to Jane, with his back towards them, and saw that he was not well dressed, so Ethan would not have looked too out of place. She guessed Rosie was thinking the same thing.

  ‘Go and enjoy yourselves. Just shout when you want a drink and Thomson will serve you. There’s cold platters laid out in the dining room and, as Archie says, there’s the Beresford Band playing in the ballroom. They would have been a bit too racy in Charlotte’s day, but we’ve moved with the times.’ James patted Danny on the shoulder and watched as the family walked into the throng and were made welcome by the other guests.

  ‘Please excuse me, dear; most of the guests have arrived now and I want to have a talk to the officer who is standing next to Luke and his friend. Just to get an idea of how he thinks our country stands in these turbulent times.’ James smiled at Isabelle. He’d done his duty, standing like a stuffed dummy, meeting and greeting while some of the so-called ladies looked at him and then giggled as they walked away, and their husbands chastised them even for looking at him. It would be a long time before his transgression with Madge Burton was forgotten, of that he was sure. Nobody forgot anything in the Dales, especially when it came to a scandal.

  ‘Certainly, dear, I’m about to mix myself and make everyone welcome to our home. Isn’t it wonderful to have the manor filled again with so many people – we must do it again next year.’ Isabelle picked up her champagne flute and made a beeline for Jane, as she needed to know who the mystery guest was that was keeping her daughter so enthralled.

  ‘The world is in chaos, sir. Every country has its eye on another one, and before long the alliances between countries will be tested beyond belief.’

  Captain Pierce looked sternly at James as he stood alongside Luke and his best friend, Bill.

  ‘The decline of the Ottoman Empire when the Balkan League captured the Ottoman lands in south-eastern Europe has been a major factor in the unrest. Those Russkies thought it would be a very useful tool to access the Adriatic Sea; and as for Germany, it is busy building a railway between Berlin and Baghdad through Istanbul, so it can’t afford to fall out with anybody yet. I’m just thankful that the London Conference this year resolved the conflict in Serbia and formed an independent Albania. That was one less conflict. But it’s only a matter of time – the world is a powder keg, sir. That’s why we need stout fellows like your son here to fight for his King and country.’

  ‘That’s what I am afraid of. It’s alright playing at soldiers in the grounds of Giggleswick School, but I would not want to see my son go to war. I’m glad that he is the age he is; at least he is too young for action yet.’ James looked across at Luke, whose face showed that he thought otherwise.

  ‘A war, if it came, wouldn’t last long. No country can afford it, and most countries are in an
economic mess. But as for playing soldiers, I beg to differ, sir. I train my cadets better than any of the officer classes of the Duke of Wellington Brigade. They are officers and gentlemen by the time they leave Giggleswick and my care. My training and values will be with your son all his life and he is one of our leading cadets, especially on the firing range. Something you are proud of, I’m sure?’ Captain Pierce slapped Luke on the back and looked at James for his response.

  ‘I am indeed proud of him, but I’d have been even prouder if he took my stance on life and didn’t believe in war, for it only brings death and despair. There are other means to ensure peace.’ James looked at the captain and then at his son.

  ‘Father, please!’ Luke sighed.

  ‘You are not one of those conscientious objectors, are you, sir? With no backbone, and someone who would rather see other people die in their place than fight for their country?’ Captain Pierce stuttered.

  ‘No, but I’m not one for needless war and the slaughter of innocents, especially when one of them may be my son. Now, please excuse me. I’m afraid my wife is urging me to mingle and I’ve wasted enough of your time.’ James looked at the man whose whole life revolved around fighting and war, and who had influenced his son far too much for his liking. He needed to make his excuses and speak to Isabelle regarding taking Luke away from the school, which acted as an army recruitment centre, before it was too late and the war that was threatening broke out.

  ‘Now, Jane, who is this? Are you not going to introduce us?’ Isabelle touched the arm of the young man who had captivated her daughter. ‘I don’t believe you made yourself known to me as you entered Windfell.’ She caught her breath as he turned to smile at her.

  ‘Mother, may I introduce Daniel Bland. He is the grandson of Ragged Hall’s Mr Brown. I met him when he came to inform Grandfather of Mr Brown’s death. I hope you didn’t mind me inviting him this evening.’ Jane beamed at the handsome young man who stood next to her.