Chapter Ten
“Are ye sure ye willnae come into town with us, lass?” Ballard asked as he stepped out onto the veranda, Clover following.
“Quite sure.” She smiled faintly as she watched Shelton and Lambert lift her lively brothers into the back of the wagon. Molly scolded them for their ram-bunctiousness as she climbed onto the wagon seat. “Molly knows what we need from Clemmons’s store, and I should stay with Mama.”
“Agnes said it was just a wee headache.”
“She always says that and sometimes it is. It could also be a sick headache that ties her to her bed. She has had a few since Papa died, although this is the first one since we arrived five weeks ago. It does worry me a little that they might have returned.”
“‘Tis probably just something in the wind or she but needs a wee rest. Our taking the twins with us for a few hours might be all the cure she requires.” He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Are ye sure she doesnae just wish to be left alone?”
“I think she might be a little frightened if she was left here all by herself.”
“Weel, she wouldnae be alone for long. Adam should be back from his hunt in a few hours.”
“I fear Mama would be quite hysterical by then and poor Adam would be at his wit’s end.” She smiled when Ballard chuckled and nodded. “Go on. I will be fine.”
He frowned up at the sky. “We willnae be gone long. I dinnae want to get caught in the storm.”
Clover saw only blue sky with shapely if swiftly moving clouds. Before she could ask him why he thought the weather would turn poorly, however, he was on the wagon and heading toward town. She waved until the wagon was out of sight, then returned to the house.
A quick peek in on her mother revealed she was sleeping, a cool compress balanced precariously on her forehead. Clover went back down to the kitchen and began to make bread. She was just taking the last loaf out of the oven, enjoying the sight and smell of her accomplishment, when her mother descended the stairs. Clover prepared some tea and sat down at the kitchen table to enjoy a cup with her mother.
“Has your headache gone then?” she asked after they had savored a few sips.
“Yes. It was just a little one. Perhaps it was caused by the weather,” Agnes replied.
“It is still clear outside, but there could be something looming. Ballard seemed to think so.”
“Have they returned from town yet?”
“No, but I am not worried. Ballard had a lot of things to do there. He wanted to judge the work of the blacksmith’s son, who has taken on the choresof his late father. If his work is as good as his father’s, Ballard will hire him for some tasks. Then he spoke of doing a little horse trading with Mr. Potter. For a moment, I was concerned that Molly would be sitting around twiddling her thumbs, waiting for the others, for she did not have much shopping to do. Then I recalled that she has set her sights on Jonathan Clemmons.” She shared a brief smile with her mother. “I am sure our Molly will make excellent use of any idle moments.”
“Unquestionably. I must say, I am not accustomed to being here alone. ‘Tis such an isolated place.”
“It does make me a little uneasy when all the men have gone, but I tell myself that Ballard would never leave us if he thought there was any real danger.”
“Of course not. He would be sure to have someone stay behind to watch out for us.” Agnes took her empty teacup to the sink and washed it out. “And that man of his should be returning soon.”
“He should be, although he has been gone longer than he was supposed to be. He either is having a good hunt or is still trying to find something to bring home.” Clover also rose and washed out her teacup.
“Yes, a man would hate to come back empty-handed from a hunt.” Agnes leaned against the kitchen sink and watched Clover scrub down the kitchen table. “Now that I have had such a long rest, lying about in bed for half the morning, I have the inclination to do something.”
“There is certainly an unlimited supply of work you can put your hand to.”
Clover laughed at the expression on her mother’s face. She knew what her mother meant. Sometimesone suffered a restlessness that could not be satisfied by hard work.
“Perhaps we could explore Ballard’s lands,” Agnes suggested.
“As the twins have done? Somehow I think we ought to choose something with a little more purpose.” Clover shrugged. “I have never liked aimless strolls. I like to be going somewhere or looking at something, such as a pretty garden.”
“We can look for something. I was asking your husband about what sort of berries and nuts or natural herbs grow around here, and he did not really know. All he mentioned was a patch of wild strawberries in the orchard. We can search for berries and the like.”
“They will not be ready so early in the year,” Clover protested, although she liked the idea of exploring Ballard’s lands for useful plants.
“True, but we can still locate the bushes so that we know where to go when the season approaches. Our knowledge of plants, both medicinal and edible, could be really useful. ‘Tis a woman’s job to know about tisanes, poultices, and such, after all. I doubt Ballard has any knowledge about it at all. I recall some of my acquaintances thinking it was rather common for us to go berry-picking or even to go out looking for herbs and medicinal plants, rather than just buying them from the apothecary and plucking them from the garden the maids had planted.”
“And Alice truly loathed those trips to the forest. Do you know, I have been so intent on learning how to cook and clean and tend the barnyard beasts, I completely forgot about woodland plants. Itwouldbe helpful to know what is around for us to use. It would also be nice to have some fresh berries this summer.Of course, I do not know how to make jam or the like. We just picked the berries, then handed them over to the cook.”
