‘I’m sure we shall be grateful of anything you wish to serve us, Mrs Ruffin,’ Barnaby said hastily with another warning glance at his wife.
Colour flamed in Louisa’s cheeks and she slammed her knife and fork down, suddenly wondering if coming here had been such a good idea after all.
Once the meal was over, Barnaby and Louisa went into the parlour where a cheery fire was burning while Mrs Ruffin cleared away the dirty pots and Jimmy went to look at the room above the stables, where he would be sleeping for the duration of their stay.
‘I can’t believe that you expect me to eat at the same table as our groom!’ Louisa fumed as Barnaby struck a vesta and lit a cigar.
‘Why ever not? We can hardly expect him to sit in the stable to eat his meals, and it wasyouridea to come here,’ Barnaby pointed out. Louisa wasn’t used to being spoken to that way and promptly burst into noisy tears making him feel dreadful.
‘I’m sorry, darling,’ he apologised. ‘But you must understand this place is only a fraction of the size of Greenacres so you’ll have to get used to seeing more of Jimmy while you’re here.’
She dabbed ineffectively at her eyes with a scrap of lace handkerchief before turning in a swirl of cotton petticoats and heading for the door. ‘I’m going to my room to rest!’ she declared. ‘And I just hope that woman you hired to clean the place has put all my clothes away properly!’
Once she’d gone, Barnaby let out a weary sigh and sank into a fireside chair. Their stay at the cottage certainly hadn’t got off to the best of starts and he had an awful feeling that it wasn’t going to get any better.
Chapter Eleven
The following Monday afternoon, Amber was sitting in the parlour quietly reading when she heard a knock on the front door. She made to heave herself out of the chair but Mrs Carter got there before her and when the parlour door opened, she gasped with delight.
‘Mam?.?.?. what are you doing here?’
‘That’s a nice greetin’, I must say,’ Alice said although she was grinning from ear to ear. ‘Can’t a woman come an’ visit her own daughter, eh?’ She plonked down onto the nearest chair, her hat askew. ‘Phew, I could fair do wi’ a nice cuppa.’
‘I’ll go and organise one right away,’ Mrs Carter said obligingly as she shooed Fancy ahead of her. She was always escaping from the kitchen, especially when she knew Jeremiah was due home from work, and most nights he got a royal welcome.
‘So, how are you, lass?’ Alice asked, her expression more serious now.
‘Oh, you know?.?.?.’ Amber shrugged as she tried to sit comfortably. It was getting harder by the day and she felt like a beached whale.
‘You certainly look well.’ Her mother couldn’t help but notice that Amber’s hands, which were usually chafed and swollen from all the hard work she used to do at Greenacres, were now smooth and soft and her face was glowing with health thanks to the good food Mrs Carter had insisted she eat.
‘Uncle Jeremiah and Mrs Carter have been very good to me.’
‘Hm, an’ are you still plannin’ on takin’ the infant to the foundlin’ home?’ Alice had spent sleepless nights fretting about the poor baby. It would be her first grandchild after all and had the circumstances been different, she would have been looking forward to it.
‘Actually?.?.?. no, I ain’t anymore.’ Amber flushed. ‘The, er?.?.?. father o’ the baby has offered to have it fostered out to a good family. I was still fer takin’ it to the foundlin’ home but then me an’ Mrs Carter were out one evenin’ an’ we saw the children from there. They were bein’ taken for a walk an’ they seemed?.?.?. oh, I don’t know, sad, I suppose. They were dressed in these plain brown shapeless dresses an’ the girls all looked as if someone had put a basin on their heads an’ cut round them. It weren’t that so much that upset me though – it were the look in their eyes, they all looked so?.?.?. hopeless.’ She shook her head to clear the memory. As much as she had hated the thought of Barnaby Greenwood having anything to do with the child, she had known the evening she saw those children that she had made the right decision for the child’s sake.
‘So, the father?.?.?. he must have some money if he can afford to have the child fostered out?’ Alice looked at her daughter long and hard, and Amber felt herself flushing. ‘An’ would I be right if I were to take a guess an’ say that I think the father o’ this bairn is Barnaby Greenwood?’ Alice was no fool and she had come to that conclusion some time ago. It had to be him or one of the staff who worked at the big house, for Amber rarely saw anyone else apart from on her days off, and once he’d started turning up at her house, her suspicions had hardened.
Amber nodded miserably, there was no point in lying, and Alice sighed. ‘But yermustn’ttell me dad or the lads. They must never know about this baby, let alone who the father is!’ Amber pleaded desperately.
‘Huh! Do you really think I’d be so daft?’ Alice snorted. ‘Why, if word were to get out one or t’other of ’em would make mincemeat of him. He should be ashamed of himself, takin’ advantage of a young girl like that. But have you given any more thought to what you’re goin’ to do once this is all over?’
‘I had thought o’ workin’ wi’ the herrin’ girls,’ Amber admitted. ‘But the herrin’ season is almost over now so I’ll have to think o’ somethin’ else. One things fer sure though – I won’t be goin’ back to Greenacres, even though the gaffer has assured me that he’ll not set his hands on me again!’
She stared miserably towards the window for a moment before admitting, ‘I had thought o’ headin’ fer London. They reckon there’s lots o’ jobs to be found there.’
‘Huh!’ Alice snorted in disgust. ‘Oh aye, o’ course there are, an’ the streets are paved wi’ gold, ain’ they? That’s why many o’ the young lasses that head there end up sleepin’ rough in shop doorways or goin’ on the game. No, you can forget that idea, me girl.’ And then seeing her daughter’s downcast expression she reached out to squeeze her hand. ‘But don’t fret, lass. Somethin’ll turn up, you’ll see. You know the old sayin, “When one door shuts, another door opens.” Let’s just concentrate on gettin’ this baby here safe an’ sound an’ then we’ll decide what’s to be done.’ It hurt her to see her daughter so low, so she went on with a grin, ‘An’ what’s brought about the change in Martha Carter, eh? I barely recognised her wi’ her hair done softer like that an’ a bit o’ lace on her collar. She’s always been as plain as a pikestaff but she looks quite attractive now. Would this be down to your uncle or is there another gentleman friend somewhere in the picture by any chance?’
‘Actually, I think—’ But Amber got no further for at that moment the person they were discussing appeared bearing a tray of tea and a jam and cream sponge cake still slightly warm from the oven.
‘Here you are, Mrs Ainsley,’ she said affably as she set the tray down. ‘This should keep you going until dinner time. Jeremiah will be so surprised to see you. You will be staying for dinner, won’t you?’
‘Well, as it happens, I were hopin’ you might be able to find me a bed for the night,’ Alice told her. ‘I could catch the mail coach back to Whitby first thing in the mornin’ then an’ be back in time for when the menfolk get back from sea.’
‘That will be no trouble at all,’ Mrs Carter assured her. ‘I’ll go and get the spare room ready for you right away and give you two some time to have a good catch up.’
‘Ooh, Jeremiah now, is it?’ Alice chuckled when she’d left the room. ‘Am I missin’ somethin’ here?’
