The Christmas Wedding

by Dilly Court

  Daisy glanced over her shoulder as Nick entered the room. ‘Is he going to be all right?’

  ‘He was lucky you found him when you did, but he’ll be fine. Jay is tough and he’ll recover, although I’m a bit worried about the concussion. Anyway, I’ll take him back to Creek Hall, and his sister and Mrs Bee will look after him.’

  ‘Thank the Lord,’ Eleanora said wholeheartedly.

  ‘What happened to him?’ Daisy asked eagerly. ‘Did he say?’

  ‘I didn’t ask too many questions. I’m not even sure he remembers, but I hope that will improve as he recovers. He suffered a bad beating and he spent some time in the water, so I need to keep an eye on him for the next few days at least.’

  ‘Someone had better let his parents know.’ Sidney gazed out of the window. ‘Anyway, you don’t need me now so I think I’ll go fishing. Is that all right with you, Eleanora?’

  ‘I suppose so,’ she said, sighing. ‘You go off and enjoy yourself, Sidney. I’ll stay here and mind other people’s children.’

  ‘We’ll be on our way, Mrs Marshall,’ Nick said hastily.

  Daisy followed him into the hall. ‘He will be all right, won’t he?’

  ‘As I said, Jay is tough. We might have gone in different directions, but we’re still friends, so you’ve no need to worry.’

  ‘I thought he was dead when I first saw him.’

  ‘You probably saved his life. If you hadn’t found him when you did the outcome could have been very different. As it is I’m sure he’ll make a full recovery.’

  She smiled. ‘I did what anyone else would have done.’

  ‘Not everyone, it seems. Abel Perkins walked off and left a girl and an old man to manage on their own. I’m sure Jay will thank you both when he’s fully recovered.’

  ‘It was fortunate for Jay that you hadn’t gone to see your aunt. I was afraid we might have missed you.’

  ‘I had some things to do, so I decided to go tomorrow.’ Nick met her worried gaze with a smile. ‘Mrs Bee and Dove will take care of Jay while I’m gone, and I don’t imagine he’s in any real danger. At least, not now.’

  ‘Perhaps we’d better rescue him from Hattie’s ministrations,’ Daisy said, chuckling. ‘The last I saw of her she was making him a mustard footbath, which she swears by as a cure for just about anything.’ She led the way to the kitchen where Jay was seated in a chair by the range with his bare feet soaking in a bowl of hot water laced with yellow mustard. His fair hair had been washed and it curled wildly around his head, giving him the look of a fallen angel. One eye was half closed and would be blackened by morning, but his good eye was an interesting shade of blue edged with long thick lashes that would make any female jealous. He was dressed in some old clothes that Toby had left behind when he decided they were not smart enough for a professional gentleman. The trouser legs were rolled up to keep them away from the mustard water, but the jacket sleeves were far too short, exposing Jay’s bony wrists and muscular forearms.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ Daisy asked anxiously. ‘Does your head hurt?’

  He managed a lopsided grin. ‘Not too much, thank you, miss.’

  ‘He’ll be fine,’ Linnet said casually. ‘Jay has a thick skull. If he fell on his head as a child we knew he would be all right.’

  Hattie pursed her lips. ‘He should be tucked up in bed with a hot-water bottle.’

  ‘I’m all right,’ Jay said abruptly. ‘I wish everyone would stop fussing. I said, I’m fine.’

  ‘I need to keep an eye on you, Jay.’ Nick picked up a towel and tossed it at him. ‘Dry your feet. I’m taking you to Creek Hall whether you like it or not.’

  ‘I should go home, Nick. I’ve been away too long.’

  ‘Your parents are far from well at the moment and they can’t be expected to look after you. It’s best if you come home with me. Mrs Bee will delight in fussing over you.’

  Linnet picked up a towel and began to dry her brother’s feet. ‘You’ll do as you’re told for once, Jay Fox.’

  ‘I wish you’d all leave me alone,’ Jay said with a groan. ‘I’m quite capable of looking after myself.’

  ‘Well, you haven’t been very successful, considering you’ve just been fished out of the river, half dead.’ Hattie gave a disapproving sniff. ‘Gallivanting around won’t do you any good.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Mrs Cribb,’ Nick said smoothly. ‘Jay will be well cared for, and I’m sure you have enough on your hands with young Jack.’

  Jack had been sitting quietly at the table, munching cake, but he looked up and grinned. ‘It was worth breaking an arm to come here and be treated like a young gent. Mrs Cribb makes the best cake ever.’

  Hattie puffed out her chest. ‘Flattery will get you nowhere, young man.’

  ‘You’d best be ready to see your teacher,’ Daisy said hurriedly. ‘Mr Massey is coming here after school with some books for you to study while your arm heals.’

  Jack’s mouth drooped at the corners and he pushed his plate away. ‘I thought it was too good to be true. I don’t like Mr Massey.’

  ‘I thought he was charming,’ Daisy said firmly. ‘And you need to work hard in order to keep up with the rest of the class.’

  ‘You’ll have me to answer to now, Jack. I won’t stand any nonsense.’ Jay attempted to rise but subsided with a groan.

  ‘Your brother will be around for a while yet.’ Nick helped Jay to his feet. ‘I need to give you a more thorough examination, Jay. You might have cracked a couple of ribs.’

  Jack pulled a face. ‘I bet he’s on the run from the coppers again.’

  ‘Cheeky brat.’ Jay made to cuff Jack round the head as he limped past, but missed. ‘I’ll get you next time, nipper.’

  Jack poked out his tongue and was scolded by Hattie and Linnet in unison.

  ‘Maybe you ought to come with us to Creek Hall,’ Nick said severely. ‘You need someone to keep you in order, young fellow.’

  ‘I’ll be good. Don’t take me away from here. I never had such lovely grub, nor such a soft bed. Let me stay, please.’

  ‘Of course you’ll stay with us.’ Daisy gave him an encouraging smile. ‘I’m going to help you with your lessons.’

  ‘Can I join the class, too, teacher?’ Jay said, chuckling. ‘My spelling ain’t up to standard.’

  Nick grabbed him by the arm. ‘You’ll behave yourself now you’re home. I’d like to know what got you in this state in the first place.’

  Jay’s reply was lost as Nick propelled him out of the room and the door closed behind them. Daisy and Hattie exchanged worried glances.

  ‘Don’t worry about my brother,’ Linnet said calmly. ‘Jay might have got in with the wrong company at one time, but whatever happened to him I’m sure it wasn’t his fault.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Jack added. ‘Jay’s a good ’un.’

  ‘Never mind all the chit-chat,’ Hattie said briskly. ‘We’ve got work to do, Linnet. There’s water to fetch, wood to chop, and make sure the fire doesn’t go out in the front parlour. We don’t want the schoolmaster to think we can’t afford to live decently.’

  Daisy took this as her cue to make herself scarce. ‘Come with me, Jack. Let’s see how far you’ve progressed with reading.’

  Elliot Massey arrived promptly at five o’clock, bringing with him books and a slate for Jack to write on, together with a slate pencil.

  ‘Good afternoon, Miss Marshall.’ He took off his hat and long black coat and laid them on the hall stand.

  ‘Thank you for coming, Mr Massey. Jack will be pleased to see you. He’s in the front parlour.’ Daisy opened the door and ushered him into the room. ‘Please take a seat.’

  Elliot placed the books and slate on a table in front of Jack and sat down next to him. ‘How are you, my boy?’

  Jack turned his head away and mumbled something unintelligible.

  ‘I didn’t hear what you said, boy. Speak up as I taught you in school.’

  ‘I’m all right, thank you,
sir.’

  ‘That’s better.’ Elliot looked up at Daisy and smiled. ‘He’s looking well, and much cleaner than usual.’

  Daisy chose to ignore his last remark. She noticed that Elliot had slicked his unruly hair into place with Macassar oil and his shoes had been polished to a mirror-like sheen. ‘Jack has been working hard at his reading and spelling.’

  ‘Well, I hope he realises what a lucky fellow he is to have been taken in by Miss Marshall and her family. I hope you’re duly grateful, young man.’

  Jack nodded, staring gloomily at the pile of books. ‘Have I got to read all those, sir?’

  ‘Perhaps not all of them, but I’ll discuss your progress with Miss Marshall and allow her to decide. We want you to keep up with your classmates, don’t we?’

  ‘I suppose so.’ Jack huddled in his chair, holding his injured arm and grimacing each time he moved it.

  ‘Are you in pain,’ Daisy asked anxiously. ‘Perhaps you ought to go to your room and rest, Jack?’

  ‘No, miss. I’m all right,’ he said bravely. ‘Dr Neville said I must be careful not to damage my arm, but I wasn’t to let it stop me doing things. I want to be like Dr Neville when I grow up. He’s kind and he’s clever.’

  Elliot recoiled as if Jack’s childish admiration for another man had been intended as a slur on himself. ‘Or you could be a teacher, like me. You have to work hard at your lessons if you wish to succeed, Jack.’

  Jack shrugged. ‘If you say so, sir.’

  Daisy went to sit beside him. ‘The main thing is to keep you occupied until your arm has healed, and then you can go back to school with your friends.’

  ‘Well said, Miss Marshall.’ Elliot beamed at her, his sallow cheeks tinged with pink. ‘You obviously have a way with children.’

  ‘I was a governess for a couple of years, Mr Massey. I was very fond of Master Timothy, but his parents thought he was old enough to go away to school, and I was no longer needed.’

  ‘So you decided to come and live in the country?’

  ‘Yes, for the time being, at least. I haven’t quite made up my mind.’

  ‘Oh, you must stay,’ Elliot said earnestly. ‘Someone like yourself could do so much for a village like Little Creek. I find the people here are sadly behind the times.’

  ‘That isn’t my impression, Mr Massey.’ Daisy rose to her feet. ‘Would you like a cup of tea? I’ll go and ask Hattie to make up a tray.’

  He half rose from his chair. ‘Please don’t go to any trouble on my behalf. I merely came to see Jack and make sure that he was all right.’ He sank down again, flushed and obviously embarrassed. ‘I didn’t mean to cast aspersions on the care he is receiving here. I hope you didn’t think …?’

  ‘No, of course not.’ Daisy managed a smile. ‘You can rest assured that Jack will be given the best of care and I’ll make sure he does as much study as he can.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure you will.’ Elliot stood up awkwardly. ‘I’d better go now, but if you wish to talk to me about anything, or if you need my advice, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the schoolhouse.’

  ‘Thank you, I will. I’ll show you out, Mr Massey.’

  He hesitated, holding out his hand and then letting it drop to his side. ‘Elliot, please. I hope we might be friends. There are so few people in the village with whom I have anything in common. It would be wonderful to have some intelligent conversation for a change.’

  ‘Perhaps you haven’t met the right people,’ Daisy said more sharply than she had intended, but to her surprise Elliot seemed to take this as a compliment.

  ‘You’re right, of course,’ he said eagerly. ‘I must call on Squire Tattersall and introduce myself, and maybe that will lead to a more varied social life.’ He shrugged on his coat and placed his top hat carefully on his smarmed-down hair. ‘Perhaps I might call on you again, Miss Marshall? If I were fortunate enough to be invited to attend a soirée at Creek Manor, I would need a suitable companion.’

  ‘A kind thought, Mr Massey.’ Daisy opened the door. ‘Who knows?’

  He eyed her warily. ‘Er, yes. Well, I hope to see you again soon. Good afternoon, Miss Marshall.’

  She closed the door, heaving a sigh of relief. Perhaps the schoolmaster improved on further acquaintance, but she had no intention of finding out. She went into the parlour to find Jack drawing a picture on his slate. He jumped guiltily and attempted to rub it off but she took it from him with a smile of approval.

  ‘You didn’t tell me you were an artist, Jack.’

  ‘It was meant to look like you, miss.’

  ‘I can see that. It’s very good, and I think I still have a paint box and some brushes. Perhaps you’d like to borrow them?’

  ‘Really, miss?’

  ‘Yes, of course. I wouldn’t say so if I didn’t mean it.’

  ‘Do I have to read all these books?’

  Daisy picked one at random and flipped through the pages. ‘I think you might enjoy this one, Jack.’ She handed him a well-thumbed copy of Tom Brown’s Schooldays. ‘We’ll read this together, shall we?’

  He nodded eagerly. ‘I’d like that, but I can’t manage long words.’

  ‘That’s what I’m here for. If you knew everything you wouldn’t need to go to school, would you?’

  ‘Do you think Dr Neville has read this book?’

  ‘When we see him again you’ll have to ask him.’

  The winter days passed quickly, and Daisy was kept busy helping Jack to read and giving him simple sums to work out, which he did with his tongue held between his teeth as he concentrated on his slate. Sitting with him in the front parlour with the tea table for a desk, Daisy was reminded of the time she had spent with Master Timothy, and she wondered how the child was coping in boarding school. When it came to her broken romance with Julian, Daisy had gone through all the different stages of hurt, hope and then anger, and finally she had accepted the fact that she would never see him again. Julian Carrington was weak and she could never settle for someone so lacking in character.

  Every day, weather permitting, Sidney went fishing with varying degrees of success, and sometimes they had trout for dinner or stuffed carp. Hattie objected to gutting and preparing fish for the table, but Linnet had acquired the knowledge from her father, and she took over in the kitchen when Sidney came home with a good catch.

  Eleanora resented his continued absences, but a visit from Mrs Peabody, the vicar’s wife, changed everything. Grace Peabody invited her to join a small group of local ladies, who pooled their efforts in an attempt to alleviate the poverty of many agricultural families in the area. Eleanora had not had the heart to refuse, but after the first meeting at the rectory she returned home filled with enthusiasm. Hattie and Linnet were given instructions to make beef tea, which would be given to invalids in the village, including Mr and Mrs Fox. Eleanora announced that she was now on a committee to raise money for repairs to the church roof, and had been asked to organise bazaars and to help with the village summer fête. For the next couple of days the cottage was filled with the savoury aroma of simmering calf’s foot and baking cakes. Eleanora unpacked her best hats and tippets and, dressed in her finery, she accompanied Grace Peabody, distributing the calf’s foot jelly to the sick and elderly.

  With her uncle and aunt fully occupied, Daisy was free to concentrate on Jack. Three weeks after Jay’s unexpected return, they wrapped up warmly and set off on foot for Creek Hall. Jack was eager to see his brother and Daisy wanted to speak to Nick and find out if he had managed to raise the sum needed to save his home. Not that it had anything to do with her, but she could understand why he was so desperate to hold on to the house that had been in his family for generations. Her own life had been turned upside down by recent events, and she could understand his desire to cling to the past. She herself was still coming to terms with the reality of living in a small village without all the amenities that she had enjoyed in London.

  ‘We’re here,’ Jack cried, breaking her train of
thought as he ran on ahead. ‘Hurry up, Miss Daisy.’

  His youthful enthusiasm made her smile, and as she followed him from the shelter of the trees she had an uninterrupted view of Creek Hall and the saltings. The old building looked serene and mellow in the morning light, and the rampaging weeds in the overgrown garden added a romantic touch to the scene. It would grow out of hand in the spring, and by summer the house would be surrounded by a wilderness if unchecked, but today it might have been an illustration from a book of fairy stories. The saltings shimmered with the sunlight glinting on the pools of water left by the ebbing tide, and wading birds fished in the shallows.

  ‘There’s Jay.’ Jack pointed to the tall figure at the side of the house. Jay had been chopping wood, but he stopped mid-swing. Jack broke into a run and hurled himself at his brother, who caught him deftly and swung him off his feet.

  ‘Ouch!’ Jack cried. ‘That hurt.’

  Daisy observed them from a safe distance. She did not know what to make of Jay Fox and she was wary of him. Whether or not he had a criminal past was not important, and Nick seemed to like him, but Jay was too sure of himself in her opinion.

  He set Jack down with an apologetic smile. ‘Sorry, nipper. I forgot you were a wounded soldier.’

  ‘I see that you’re better.’ Daisy strolled up to them, and despite her misgivings she could not but be impressed by Jay’s remarkable recovery. In clean clothes that fitted him perfectly, he was taller than she remembered, broad-shouldered and good-looking in a rugged and slightly disturbing way. His mop of blond curly hair framed his face, but his square jaw and strong features looked anything but angelic, just as the twinkle in his speedwell-blue eyes held a hint of mischief and self-mockery.

  ‘I am back to my old self.’ Jay bowed from the waist. ‘I’m honoured that Miss Marshall has come to enquire about my health.’

  ‘She came with me,’ Jack said, puffing out his chest. ‘Daisy is my friend and she knew I wanted to see you.’

  ‘And I thought she came to see me.’ Jay put his head on one side, his amused gaze a challenge.

  ‘Is Dr Neville at home?’ Daisy had the sudden urge to put Jay Fox in his place. He was obviously sure of himself when it came to dealing with women, but she was not so easily won over.