and said eagerly, his thin, pale face alight, ‘We came, see? And it’s grand outside. Shall we go down to the stream and look for crayfish?’
‘Can we?’ Both Polly and Ruth were looking at their grandmother, who in turn glanced at the two tall lads either side of Eva. They added their own plea by saying,
‘It’s really warm out, Gran,’ from the younger, and ‘There won’t be many days like this afore the weather sets in,’ from the older boy.
‘Aye, all right, be off with you.’ Alice was laughing at them as she spoke, but once the door had closed behind the young folk and Eva had come fully into the kitchen, seating herself on one of the hardbacked chairs, which she pulled out from beneath the table and turned to face the room, Alice said flatly, ‘Nathaniel not with you?’
It was her stock address and Eva answered as she did each week, her voice matching her mother’s in tone. ‘He’s at his allotment.’
‘Oh, aye.’
‘Where’s Henry ... and Da?’
She knew Eva always mentioned Henry first to get under her skin. Alice turned quickly to the range, taking a cloth and pressing the ready-filled kettle further into the glowing embers before saying shortly, ‘They’ll be in presently. You ready for a sup?’
Eva opened her mouth to answer, but before she could do so the sound of a horse’s hoofs on the cobbles outside brought her mother walking swiftly across the room, saying, ‘That’ ll be Frederick.’
Oh, aye, that’d be Frederick all right, and give it another minute or two and in would come her da and Henry with their pipes smoking and their faces smiling as though they hadn’t got a care in the world. Who did they think they were fooling? It was savage. This bit farm was shrinking each year, and there they were trying to play the gentlemen. It would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic. Her mam and da hadn’t made such a good bargain as they’d thought when they’d got rid of her and kept Henry and his lady wife, had they! She had always done half of Henry’s work along with hers; he was no farmer, Henry. But she hadn’t minded working for both of them, and she still wouldn’t. Oh, Henry, Henry.
Eva listened to the sound of her mother greeting Hilda’s stepbrother and her expression was bitter, but by the time they entered the kitchen, her father and Henry following on their footsteps, Eva’s face was wiped clean of all emotion. And Alice would have been more than a little surprised if she had known her daughter was echoing her own agonising when Eva said silently to herself, her eyes tight on her brother’s beloved face, Let the torture begin.
Once outside in the late summer air that smelt heavily of the big pile of manure steaming gently in one corner of the yard, Polly had the desire to laugh out loud, but knowing the others would enquire why she was laughing, she restrained the impulse. She was just so glad to see Michael – and Luke and Arnold too, of course, she added quickly, as a dart of guilt pricked her – and it was such a canny day too.
‘Come on then.’ She beamed at the others, her heart-shaped face with its great violet-blue eyes alight with the joy of being alive, and as though her elation had infected the rest of them, the five went running madly out of the yard into the lane beyond. They climbed over the dry-stone wall without bothering to open the gate and then continued pell-mell across the field, leaping over piles of cow dung with shrieks and cries until they came to the stream bordering that field with the next.
As though at a given signal the boys were taking off their boots and socks and rolling up their trouser legs, wading in over the smooth rocks around which the crystal-clear stream tumbled and frothed. Polly and Ruth followed a little more cautiously. The stream was running high – there had been several bouts of torrential rain throughout September which had created havoc with the
‘Can we?’ Both Polly and Ruth were looking at their grandmother, who in turn glanced at the two tall lads either side of Eva. They added their own plea by saying,
‘It’s really warm out, Gran,’ from the younger, and ‘There won’t be many days like this afore the weather sets in,’ from the older boy.
‘Aye, all right, be off with you.’ Alice was laughing at them as she spoke, but once the door had closed behind the young folk and Eva had come fully into the kitchen, seating herself on one of the hardbacked chairs, which she pulled out from beneath the table and turned to face the room, Alice said flatly, ‘Nathaniel not with you?’
It was her stock address and Eva answered as she did each week, her voice matching her mother’s in tone. ‘He’s at his allotment.’
‘Oh, aye.’
‘Where’s Henry ... and Da?’
She knew Eva always mentioned Henry first to get under her skin. Alice turned quickly to the range, taking a cloth and pressing the ready-filled kettle further into the glowing embers before saying shortly, ‘They’ll be in presently. You ready for a sup?’
Eva opened her mouth to answer, but before she could do so the sound of a horse’s hoofs on the cobbles outside brought her mother walking swiftly across the room, saying, ‘That’ ll be Frederick.’
Oh, aye, that’d be Frederick all right, and give it another minute or two and in would come her da and Henry with their pipes smoking and their faces smiling as though they hadn’t got a care in the world. Who did they think they were fooling? It was savage. This bit farm was shrinking each year, and there they were trying to play the gentlemen. It would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic. Her mam and da hadn’t made such a good bargain as they’d thought when they’d got rid of her and kept Henry and his lady wife, had they! She had always done half of Henry’s work along with hers; he was no farmer, Henry. But she hadn’t minded working for both of them, and she still wouldn’t. Oh, Henry, Henry.
Eva listened to the sound of her mother greeting Hilda’s stepbrother and her expression was bitter, but by the time they entered the kitchen, her father and Henry following on their footsteps, Eva’s face was wiped clean of all emotion. And Alice would have been more than a little surprised if she had known her daughter was echoing her own agonising when Eva said silently to herself, her eyes tight on her brother’s beloved face, Let the torture begin.
Once outside in the late summer air that smelt heavily of the big pile of manure steaming gently in one corner of the yard, Polly had the desire to laugh out loud, but knowing the others would enquire why she was laughing, she restrained the impulse. She was just so glad to see Michael – and Luke and Arnold too, of course, she added quickly, as a dart of guilt pricked her – and it was such a canny day too.
‘Come on then.’ She beamed at the others, her heart-shaped face with its great violet-blue eyes alight with the joy of being alive, and as though her elation had infected the rest of them, the five went running madly out of the yard into the lane beyond. They climbed over the dry-stone wall without bothering to open the gate and then continued pell-mell across the field, leaping over piles of cow dung with shrieks and cries until they came to the stream bordering that field with the next.
As though at a given signal the boys were taking off their boots and socks and rolling up their trouser legs, wading in over the smooth rocks around which the crystal-clear stream tumbled and frothed. Polly and Ruth followed a little more cautiously. The stream was running high – there had been several bouts of torrential rain throughout September which had created havoc with the
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