“What you want to bet they’ll be living in hovels again in a month or two,” the man argued. “Them kinds never want to work.”
“Well, you just wait and see what our own Miss Clarisse has them doing then.” The woman straightened, her eyes flashing. “It’s a sight to behold, I tell you. She don’t brook no argument.”
“Then tell me what happens when she goes back home.”
“I hear the Earl is back from London.” The fae woman shot the man a knowing glance. “She may be one of them what stays.”
Jem grunted.
Chapter 18
REESE WENT TO THE WAGON and retrieved her basket of medical supplies. She wanted to check that the extra pots and cleaning utensils had been delivered. Her visits had an order to them, based upon her first day.
“Is that his lordship?” the old seamstress asked when Reese handed her a loaf of fresh bread. “Has he really come?”
“Yes, he has. He’s supervising the removal of that nasty ditch.”
“Bless you, miss.” The woman’s milky eyes glistened. “I remember him when he was young. He lost his lady and their babe, and it was as if he had lost himself too. Perhaps you are helping him to find it again.”
“Perhaps,” Reese said. “Can I help you with anything?”
“Oh, no, miss. Annie and her girl will be over in a bit for their sewing lesson. They see to my needs now.”
“Excellent.” That was just the kind of thing Reese had hoped to see, the neighbors helping and supporting each other.
She made her way to the next house, where she spent at least an hour. Never in her life had she met adults so ill prepared to raise a family. The mother and two older children were excited to learn, but they weren’t very good at follow-through.
“Don’t you dare,” Reese cried, picking up the youngest boy who had squatted to have a bowel movement in the middle of the floor. She carried him to the chamber pot that she had brought over the day before. “Even dogs are taught not to do that inside the house.”
“I forgot,” the child mumbled while his mother apologized.
“Do you remember what it can cause if not handled right?” Reese pointed to the privy.
“Cholera and typhoid, miss,” the mother said. “He will remember.”
“He better or you and the rest of the village will pay the price for his forgetfulness.” Reese then went over the list of hygiene rules with the mother again, wishing for an easy way to help them remember. Tough when they couldn’t read. Maybe if she drew symbols on paper that could be nailed to the walls, that might help. If anyone could figure out what they were. Art had never been a talent of hers.
Reese’s stomach was growling by the time she’d finished with the first row of houses. She stepped outside and shaded her eyes against the bright sunshine. A good three quarters of the ditch had been filled and replaced with clean dirt.
The workers were grouped by the tubs of water and furiously scrubbing. Reese paused, staring at the back of one tall man. His posture looked familiar, and her heart twitched. Had Jem come?
“Miss Clarisse.”
She turned and found a maid she recognized from Kellworth.
“Are you ready to wash up, miss?” the woman asked.
“Yes.” Reese glanced back at the tubs, but the man had disappeared. What would she have done if it had been him? Walked away again? Her stomach knotted as it did every time she thought of that day in the rain. She didn’t know if she could do it again.
The sound of the Earl’s voice drew her attention. He was with the engineer. The old man was talking animatedly, the Earl nodding his head. Good.
“This way, miss.”
Evidently, Reese wasn’t to wash with the other workers. She followed the maid to where a large pot was boiling. It must be the one they used to do laundry.
“Lady Ellen said you should use this after you’re done scrubbing.” The girl held a small pot when Reese had finished. She scooped out a small amount and sighed in relief as she spread it over her dry hands.
“Are you ready to eat something, Miss Hamilton?”
