The Wages of Sin

by Judith Cutler

  ‘Thank you. Mr Newcombe?’

  ‘I’m glad it’s not my money being spent, that’s all I can say. But I agree, many of those cottages are a disgrace. Mr Rowsley and I have had conversations in the past, and it can be admitted there are things over which we have not seen eye to eye. However, persuaded by his arguments, I have started to improve my own labourers’ places, little by little, and given them plots for allotments, and I have to admit, they are more cheerful as a result. They work harder, too. So maybe there’s an element of self-interest in Rowsley’s plans. As for the school, they say that Parliament will soon be insisting on free education for all our children, and being a step ahead is never a bad thing. But I warn you, universal education will change things. And not always for the better.’ He paused. ‘It’s a nice little church proposed there – you must be pleased as Punch, Pounceman. Sorry, Mr Chairman. I would imagine Mr Pounceman must be pleased as Punch.’

  Whatever the vicar wanted to say, he would have to wait. Wilson invited Samuel, who had bravely raised a hand, to speak.

  ‘Mrs Fau— Mrs Rowsley! – knows more about teaching and so on than I do, but I can tell you this. When we get the youngest servants into the House, they are poor, weedy specimens, weak and pretty well useless. But then they get three good meals a day, and they are transformed. So I say the allotments are a good idea, which means the cottages need a means of cooking this food. A kitchen. And it’s not decent the way families are crammed together, boys and girls, children and grown-ups, so they need proper bedrooms.’

  Pounceman was shaking his head. Eventually Wilson noticed, and invited him to speak.

  ‘Our Lord said we would have the poor always with us. It is right to give them alms, to admit them to the workhouse if they are deserving. But these cottages will be given to the deserving and non-deserving alike! How can you— how can Mr Rowsley house a man who drinks away his earnings next to a sober God-fearing man who comes to church? A school? I agree with Mr Newcombe that it will give people ideas above their station, and cause unrest. A cricket pitch on the village green? That will encourage idle loitering!’

  Harriet raised a finger, catching Wilson’s eye. To Pounceman’s clear chagrin, he was invited to make way for another speaker.

  ‘With due respect, Mr Chairman, I believe a village green complete with cricket team will actually help prevent revolution. His late lordship, for all his faults – some of which have sadly recently come to light – was popular with his workers and his tenants because he had, as they would put it, no side, no self-importance, one might say. He played alongside people earning a pittance and came to care for them. He insisted food parcels were despatched when illness struck a family. He knew everyone by name. I won’t say he was a model landlord, and that was partly because his agent was quietly feathering his own nest, I suspect. But because he knew his men and they knew him, if violence had ever arisen, he would never have permitted the militia to lay a hand on them, and I believe his men would have guarded him with their lives.’

  Wilson nodded gravely. ‘Mrs Arden?’

  Although I thought I knew her well, she surprised me. ‘Privies, sir. Why not have proper sanitation? Someone I know lost his wife and family to the cholera in Manchester. He says that with clean water from pipes and – forgive the term – water closets, such a dreadful disease could never flourish. And I know this is out of order, sir, but I’d like to see piped water and bathrooms and water closets here in the House, too. Those nurses Dr Page brought in: they say you have to be extra particular where you’ve got sick people. Beg pardon, sir.’ She subsided, her blushes painful to behold.

  Wilson produced a rare smile. ‘Thank you, Mrs Arden. An excellent idea. We must discuss it further in Any Other Business. Mr Pounceman, I suspect you have not completed your contribution? What are your thoughts about the church, which I gather does not conform to your own ideas?’

  They did not.

  Finally we reached Any Other Business. By now I was sure I could see another little smile playing across Wilson’s austere features. But he maintained his calm and judicious bearing throughout, even as Pounceman embarked on a diatribe against me.

  ‘I cannot disapprove of the measures taken to secure the house during the term of his lordship’s illness. But nothing will reconcile me to the wholesale changes proposed during our earlier discussions. His lordship may recover, after all.’ He glanced at Page, who responded with a sad shake of the head. ‘And when he does, he will no doubt expect to find a reasonable amount left in the family coffers. If the Almighty chooses to call him home, then his heir should find his inheritance intact. Oh, we have heard that it is a second cousin, probably living in the Antipodes. We have heard all about Mr Rowsley’s fruitless attempts to find him. But until he does appear, I say we should veto all these pie in the sky notions!’

  ‘How fortunate,’ Wilson said quietly, ‘that given the urgency of the projects, we will not have to wait long. Ladies and gentleman, his lordship’s heir is already in the country!’