Hope for Tomorrow (16 page)

She was right. He could have her father brought before the magistrate but there was no telling what harm he could do before he was apprehended. Not to mention that trespass wasn't a serious crime and some would argue that since the law says that a man owns his wife and children, he can visit them in any dwelling they live in, even if it is on someone else's land.

“
We will think of something,” he assured her.

“
Just don't say anything to the others,” she asked. “I want them to have some sense of security for a change.”

“
You have my word,” he assured her.

John returned a few minutes later with the coal and was rather disgruntled to learn that he had to cart it to the carriage now. Martha gave the older ones a few minutes to collect anything that they wanted then she picked up the toddler while Mary carried the baby and Lucien collected her mother. Lizzy seemed confused by the fact that a gentleman was carrying her but she was too tired to question it.

The walk back to Lucien's carriage didn't take long but the driver gave them a very dirty look when he saw who would be riding in his carriage. Martha could see that there was a trunk on the top which she assumed were the clothes from the dressmakers.

Martha and the toddler, Lucien and Lizzy, Mary and the baby and finally the twins and Maggie squeezed inside the carriage while the older boys climbed onto the top for the trip.

Lizzy seemed listless on the journey and Lucien kept her on his lap as she didn't seem to be able to support herself. Once they arrived at the house, which was actually more of a cottage, Lucien carried her into one of the bedrooms up stairs then he told Martha that he would be back soon and left. Martha didn't try to stop him since she had more important things on her mind.

Chapter Fifteen

Once at the new house, Martha locked the older boys out of the house while she bathed the girls and then she lit a fire in the kitchen with the coal that John had bought. As the fire caught, she began to see what was here. She quickly found a pot that could be heated over the fireplace which she asked Mary to go out and fill from the well pump in the garden. Next she found a bath tub in the pantry which she dragged out in front of the fire. She kept filling the tub and Mary kept refilling the pot until the tiny bath tub was full of hot water.

While the water heated, Martha dragged the chest of clothes in from the front garden then set about cleaning the kitchen. The house had been left clean but dust had settled on the surfaces whilst it was unoccupied.

When the tub was half full, Mary was the first one in it and Martha scrubbed her until her her skin was pink. She washed and rinsed her hair three times using the old bar of soap until she was certain that it was clean.

They had no towels so Martha used a nightshirt that was in the trunk to dry her. She laid the night shirt over a stool by the fire so that it could dry a little before it was needed again. Mary looked through the trunk for clothes her size while Martha washed the toddler, who she had now been informed was called Ben.

Mary had found bloomers, a grey skirt and white blouse which fit, though they were a little too big, so she then dried and dressed Ben in a girl's shirt, since there were no clothes his size, while Martha washed the younger baby, Jack, who was then wrapped up in a man's shirt.

When they were dried, Martha changed the water, which was filthy. Next she washed the girl who had answered the door to her, Maggie before setting about the twins with her soap.

She then changed the water a final time and she put their old clothes on the fire to burn before she let the oldest boys, Alf and John wash themselves, while Martha took a bowl of hot water up to her mother and set about giving her a bed bath.

Mary and Maggie began exploring the small house which was luxurious compared to the two room house they'd had in town.

It had three bedrooms upstairs, none very big but at least the girls and boys could have separate rooms now. Downstairs there were two large rooms, a kitchen and... well Mary wasn't really sure what the other room was for. Maybe it was another bedroom?

She moved on and found an outdoor lavatory in the back garden, a wood and coal store and an outside cabinet which was filled with old or broken furniture.

When the boys were finished in the kitchen, she had a proper look in there. It had some pots, pans and plates, enough to get them started anyway, and she went to report her findings to Martha.

After washing Lizzy, Martha had dressed her in a clean nightshirt from the trunk. There was no bedding so Martha placed her cloak over her mother for the time being.

The fireplace in the kitchen was in the middle of the house, meaning that the chimney stack ran through all the bedrooms, and her mother's room was already warming up.

The elder boys were running around and choosing their room and beds so Martha headed back to the kitchen. The groceries that Lucien had said to expect were sitting on the kitchen table so Martha began going through the items. There was tea in there and Mary found a teapot so Martha decided that they had earned a quick break.

Mary made the tea for them, pleased to be acting like a grown up. She was seemingly in awe of her new house, the endless groceries (at least they looked endless to her hungry eyes) and her new sister (for she had no memories of Martha from when she was younger).

Martha even added a little sugar to their tea, which Mary thought made it taste divine!

When they were finished, Martha found a (rather blunt) knife and sliced the loaf of bread to make sandwiches for everyone using the ham from the butchers. While they ate as though it was the finest cuisine that they had ever laid eyes on, Martha set about making something for the baby. She had sugar and flour but really she needed milk to make truly nourishing pap. Her mother was so emaciated that Martha could tell that she wasn't now producing milk, if she ever had.

Martha had just decided that she would have to use bread, flour and sugar to make the baby milk when a cart pulled up outside and Mary went out to greet it. She returned moments later with two pails of milk.

Martha sighed with relief.

She heated up some milk and added a lot of sugar to it, then she tipped half of the mixture into another container and put it aside to cool while she added more milk and a little bread to the pot on the stove. When the milk had cooled Martha sent Mary up to her mother with two mugs of the heavily sugared milk and told her to get Lizzy to drink as much as possible.

Martha used a spoon to gently feed the baby his pap, which he ate greedily. She didn't give him too much but would feed him a little and often, since he didn't look used to food and she didn't want to make him colicky. Thankfully, as well as Hope,  Martha had helped to raise many of her siblings so she was quite practised.

It had also been a long time since Martha had needed to cook but she still knew the basics. She decided to use the beef that had been delivered along with the vegetables to make a stew. She also found turnips, carrots, potatoes and leeks which she, Mary and Maggie peeled and chopped.

Sadly she didn't have anything to season the stew with but they would just have to make do.

They were still chopping and cleaning the vegetables when a gig drew up outside. Martha went to see who was there and saw Lucien and Sarah climbing down. Sarah ran towards Martha when she saw her and they hugged.

“
Don't you look fine!” Sarah said when she pulled away from her sister.

“
I've missed you. I wasn't sure you'd recognise me; you were only eight when I left.”

“
'Ow could I forget you?”

Martha hugged her tightly again for another few moments, then finally turned to her companion, Lucien. She wondered why he'd driven her sister out here, and in a gig no less.

“
How long can you stay?” Martha asked Sarah.

“
Lord Beaumont, gave me rest o' day off.”

“
Wonderful.”

“
'Ow's Ma?”

“
I don't know,” Martha admitted. “She may be unwell or she may just be starving.”

“
You reckon hunger can do that to 'er?”

“
I know it can.” She vividly remembered her own period of near starvation on the streets. It hadn't lasted long, only a few weeks in total but the lethargy that she had felt at times took such willpower to overcome that she could quite imagine becoming bedridden had it gone on for much longer. Her mother often sacrificed her own food for the good of her children, so if times really had been tough she may well have survived on very little or nothing.

“
What's to do?” Sarah asked.

“
I'm feeding her milk and sugar to help her regain her strength. She could have another mug now, if you wanted. Mary will show you the pot.”

Sarah nodded and after a curious look from Martha to Lucien, she went into the house to see her other siblings.

Martha approached Lucien as he was untying some boxes from the back of the gig.

“
Riding with a servant?” she asked. “What will people say?”

“
People say far too much, in my opinion,” he said, handing her a box. “We brought the gig and pony so that we could leave them for you.”

“
Won't your mother need them?”

“
She prefers the carriage. Your hotel has stables where the pony can be kept and the stable lads will know how to set her to the gig. I'll tether her beside the house so she can graze until you're ready to go back into town.”

“
Lucien, I appreciate the offer but... well I can't drive a horse and cart.”

“
It's a gig, and I will give you a lesson before I leave.” Lucien smiled. “It's easy, pull the left rein to go left, right for right, shake both to go forward and pull to stop. And really, Bess is the quietest, best-behaved pony in the county; she won't give you any trouble.”

“
Lucien, really, this is too-”

“
What? Do you want to walk back to town? Your dress is already filthy and if you carry on this way you will become that scared little housemaid that you have tried so hard to leave behind!”

“
I was never scared!” she said tersely.

Lucien was about to answer that he could remember many instances when she was scared but he stopped himself. He didn't want to fight with her.

“
I'm sorry,” Lucien sighed. “I did this so that you might retain your independence, be able to come and go as you please without relying on carriages or walking everywhere like a common washer-woman.”

“
Your father will hit the roof when he discovers that you have seen me again, let alone that you are allowing my family to live in one of your properties. Do you really want to add more fuel to that fire?”

“
Worrying what my father might say?” he questioned. “Careful, Martha, people might think that you care.” She was about to speak but he carried on before she could reply. “Besides, my father is confined to his sick bed with only a nurse visiting him who thankfully, is rather too professional to gossip. Even if she were inclined to, he is taking rather large doses of laudanum which dulls his faculties; he is lucid for only a few hours a day.”

“
And how will you get home?”

“
I will walk.”

“
Like a common washer-woman?” she couldn't help teasing him.

“
Fair play,” he smiled. “But these are my lands, or they will be one day. I am allowed to walk them if the mood takes me.

Martha's smiled faltered for this was becoming far too friendly for her liking.

“
Thank you, Sir, I will accept your offer but only if you allow me to drive you back to the house.”

“
Very well, Madam, I accept.”

“
Shall I take you back now? You can teach me to handle the pony at the same time.”

“
I thought that I might stay a while. If you are taking me back, it makes sense to wait and take Sarah also.”

“
I thought that she might like to eat with us.”

“
Can that invitation not be extended to me also?”

“
Oh, uh...” She had never dreamed that he would even have a desire to eat dinner with her family. They were so far below his class as to be almost non-entities. He had been most congenial and more than helpful today, though she suspected that was probably more to do with wanting to get on her good side than because he had developed a magnanimous and caring nature. Breaking bread with her family though, that was on another level entirely.

“
I've embarrassed you,” he said. “I'm sorry, I'll go,”

“
No, don't. I mean, of course you can stay, you are very welcome. I only hesitate because we have no seasoning and I cannot vouch for the taste of the meal.”

“
Ah, well it seems that you are in luck.” Lucien smiled. “Mrs Lassiter has put together some necessities and other things that you might be needing. I believe food stuffs are in your box. This one,” he picked up the second box from the rear of the carriage, “contains things for the babies. Clothes and whatnot.”

“
Thank you, Lucien.”

“
This was all Mrs Lassiter's doing, not mine. Needless to say, she is anxious to see you while you are here.”

“
And I her. Although I cannot come to the house in case your mother should see me.”

“
Then I shall liaise between you and find a suitable time for her to visit you here or at the hotel.”

“
Thank you.”

They carried the boxes inside and after he had tethered Bess at the side of the house, to Martha's immense surprise he asked if he could help prepare the meal while Martha sorted through the boxes. Unsurprisingly he was something of a novice in the kitchen and his vegetables were rather misshapen. Mary couldn't help but laugh, though she tried to hide it. Sarah looked rather startled to be sitting in such proximity to her Master and Martha was uncomfortably reminded of the early days in her relationship with Lucien.

He was right, she had often been frightened in those days. She tried to put such thoughts out of mind and focus on sorting the boxes. There were clothes for children up to the age of about three so she found proper outfits for both Jack and Ben, who were sitting quietly on the floor in front of the fire. Neither child ever cried.

In the bottom of the box were blankets so when the babies were dressed, Martha took another cup of sugar milk and two blankets up to her mother.

“
Martha, dear, where am I?”

“
A new house,” she said, sitting down beside her on the bed. “How are you?” she asked.