The Watercress Girls (10 page)

Supper was quite a celebration. Roast lamb, floury potatoes, a domed Yorkshire pudding, mashed swede and finely sliced greens. They spooned on mint jelly, ‘sent on by my sister in south Wales,’ Anna observed.

‘I’ve never been there, where my father came from,’ Griff told her.

‘It’s a lovely place, my dear, with an unusual name: The Mumbles, near Swansea. Our father worked in the docks there. Your father was the only son, he joined the army and fought in the Boer war. You were just a baby when he died, so far from home.’

‘And now, I’m far away from England, where I was brought up,’ Griff said.

‘Are your first thoughts that you are happy to be here?’ Anna asked.

‘Well, mine are, but Mattie must answer for herself.’

‘It seemed the journey by train would never end,’ Mattie said candidly. ‘But, when I stepped inside here, it was such a relief – I felt I was at home!’

‘The moment I saw you, Mattie, I fancied you were the daughter I never had.’

‘Thank you,’ was all Mattie could manage to say in return.

By ten o’clock they were in bed; Griff nipped the candle out, and Mattie snuggled down, not sleepy, but full of joyful expectation. His hands explored her smooth skin hesitantly at first, then, as he felt her response to his touch, his confidence grew. This was how expressing love for one another should be, Mattie exulted.

The frustrations and the fatigue of the days since their marriage melted away. They had arrived in their new country, and the start of a new life together.

W
hen they ventured downstairs to breakfast at seven they found that they were the second sitting. Charlie was rounding up the sheep with the hired hand, Anna told them. ‘They are taking some to market this morning. Charlie and Lee had their usual lamb chump chops, but I guess you’ll prefer something less meaty?’

‘We really don’t mind, honestly, whatever is easiest for you to make,’ Mattie said. ‘My father used to rear lambs, but he gave that up, because of the watercress in the stream near the meadow. Something to do with liver fluke, I think, and the cress might become contaminated. Not that we had any problems with that.’

She was relieved that porridge wasn’t on the menu! Scrambled eggs went down a treat.

‘You must have a tour round outside.’ Anna whisked away plates as soon as they were empty. ‘We’ve two house cows, too many chickens to count and two farm dogs, Welsh collies, like the ones back home. You saw the horses yesterday. Treesa is already in the dairy, patting up the butter for me to take to market—’

‘Treesa?’ Mattie queried.

‘My helper; doesn’t say much, but she’s pure gold. She’s Lee’s wife.’

‘Do they live in?’

‘Oh no, they come out from the Indian reservation. Most days they paddle their canoe over where the river narrows, then walk along the track.’

‘You must allow us to help too,’ Griff put in, ‘while we’re looking for jobs and a place of our own. It appears both of these are harder to find at this time.’

‘That’s true, but the way forward is to become mechanized,’ Anna said. ‘We have to hire a team of workers with their machinery at harvest time, and to transport the grain. We bought a generator at the start of last winter, and, oh, the brightness of electricity after the old lamps. Mind, when it breaks down, you’ll hear old Charlie cussing in the
basement
. We’re hoping to have a telephone eventually, but the linesmen have more important places to fix up first. I understand you drove a
motor for your stepfather, Griff? Well, we’ve a tractor in the barn awaiting an experienced driver. Charlie is wanting a motor car next! When he appears, ask him about it, eh?’

‘I certainly will,’ Griff agreed.

Anna turned to Mattie. ‘I’d be glad of your company to market, Mattie. Plenty of buying and selling to be done today. I take my own buggy, in case I hear my services are required and I need to get
somewhere
in a hurry. Griff might like to go with the men, but I’ll warn you that if they have a good morning at the auction, they’ll celebrate with an illicit beer or two, so the wagon sways on the way home, with the reins all slack.’

‘Who might need you?’ Mattie wondered.

‘Didn’t I say? I’m the local midwife, my dear. A family tradition – my mother and grandmother in Wales, you could say they inspired me. It’s not for the money, most of my patients can’t afford to pay the doctor either. He’s a grand old chap, Doc Pedersen, mixes up his medicines himself, though the farmers are hardy and use their own home remedies mostly. He says we make a good team.’ She looked at Mattie
speculatively
, ‘We’ll be here when your time comes.’

Griff, aware of Mattie’s embarrassment, tweaked the long tail of hair she’d tied back with a moire ribbon. ‘See, you’re a prairie wife already!’

‘That’s enough for now,’ Mattie said firmly. ‘I’m not ready to be a prairie
mother
!’

Grace was still in her dressing-gown, in the bedroom, nursing Lydia. She was sobbing softly, but she wasn’t aware of it. It had been a long night, and after six months apart, Edwin had been rough and demanding. She tried to tell him that she was still sore from the birth, a protracted delivery because Lydia had been in the breech position, that she was weary beyond belief, that all she wanted was a good night’s sleep. He had grumbled when Tommy called out from his little room next door for his mother, only to have his stepfather tell him sternly to go back to sleep. ‘Stop that snuffling, blow your nose!’ he added. He had complained about the baby being fed on demand: ‘We should move the cot into Tommy’s room. You give in to their demands too easily, Grace. You must discipline yourself, and them.’

Discipline was obviously the order of the day in this big house. Being on the periphery of Moose Jaw, it was an imposing brick-built property, with modern sanitation and a large work force, both in and out of the house. The cook-housekeeper had shown Grace the well-appointed kitchen, and the boiler which must be kept riddled and topped up with fuel. Grace soon realized that her previous experience would be
disregarded
, she would have a lowly status here.

Now, she shifted the baby in her arms, murmuring ‘Please don’t take too long.’ Lydia clung determinedly to her mother, as if knowing she would soon be transferred to her carrying basket. It was almost time for Grace to begin work.

The door opened and Edwin came in. Grace had been thankful when he left their bed at dawn and departed to see to his beloved horses. He didn’t smile, but stared at her bared white breast, noting the baby’s limpet grip. She realized:
he’s jealous
….

‘Is the boy ready for school?’ he said abruptly.

‘I – I hope so,’ Grace said anxiously. ‘He’s downstairs having his breakfast.’ She wanted to add, but daren’t,
I
should go with him on his first morning at a new school.

‘I’ll collect him from the kitchen, then.’

‘Have I got time to say goodbye to him – to wish him well?’

‘Too late this morning. Don’t mollycoddle the boy, Grace.’

When he’d gone, she cried in earnest, and the baby wailed, too, as if in tune with her misery. She pressed her lips to the fuzzy little head. She whispered, ‘I should have taken heed of what my dear mistress back home told me, that Edwin wouldn’t make a good husband, that he’d never get over the disappointment of losing his dream job, as a jockey. I was lonely, Lydia. I’d known real love with Tommy’s father, he was a gentle, considerate man and our marriage would have stood the test of time.
You
are the reason I came to Canada to join Edwin, because I couldn’t deny you a father….’

Edwin had arranged for Tommy to go to the nearest school. Conversation was brief. Tommy sat unhappily alongside Edwin in the high-wheeled trap and fixed his gaze on the flickering of the whip on the horse’s rump. He clutched his lunch packet and his pencil case; Mrs Mack, the housekeeper, had proved to have a soft spot for small boys.

‘Don’t think you’ll get it this easy in future,’ Edwin told him. ‘You must earn your keep, like your mother. You’ll have to get over your fear of horses because you’ll need to rise like me, before it’s light, and your job will be to clear the stable muck. Then do all that again when you get back from school in the afternoon.’

Tommy said nothing, but his stomach was already churning.

The school was a single-storey building, adjacent to the church, with a small clock tower, and a swinging bell in a wrought-iron frame. The playground enclosed by the picket fence was already swarming with children, some of whom stared curiously at the small man in breeches and riding-boots, with an unhappy-looking boy in tow.

They went straight to the head teacher’s study. He was nearing
retirement
, white-haired, with glasses slipping down his nose, and, Tommy
noticed, a blob of porridge on his tie. Mr Duncan’s voice reassured him: another Scotsman, he realized.

‘Ye’ll be all right laddie. Your teacher is new here, like you. I’ll take you to your classroom and introduce you. I expect you wish to return to your work?’ he asked Edwin. ‘It’s almost time for me to ring the bell – make your escape before the rush begins, eh? Collect young Thomas just after four.’

Tommy followed Mr Duncan to a lofty classroom with rows of double desks. The teacher was perched on his high chair behind a tall table.

‘This is the top class,’ Mr Duncan said, ‘and this is Mr McBride—’

Before he could continue, Tommy blurted out, ‘I hoped it would be you!’

Mungo smiled. ‘I had best explain to Mr Duncan that we met in Quebec, and I travelled with you, your mother and your friends on the train to Moose Jaw.’

‘Find a seat Thomas, and enjoy your day,’ said Mr Duncan kindly, as he departed.

‘Well, Tommy,’ Mungo said, ‘how are you settling in your new home?’

Tommy swallowed hard. ‘All right.’

Mungo didn’t probe further. ‘There goes the bell – now I must become acquainted with thirty other children! Remember that I am Mr McBride in school hours, eh?’

Tommy nodded. He was glad to have a friend, even if he couldn’t show it.

Treesa was short, with jet-black hair hanging in a plaited rope to her waist, and she was very pregnant. She wore loose, padded trousers, a beaded smock. She smiled shyly at Mattie, continuing the rhythmic patting of blocks of yellow butter, but she didn’t speak.

‘Would you like to lend a hand, Mattie?’ Anna suggested. ‘Wrap the pats in a sheet of greaseproof, then pack them in this cool box?’

‘I’d be pleased to do so!’

‘Take from the pile on the left. The ones on the right still have to be stamped. We have our mark,
Prairie Butter
, embossed on this wooden block. I’ll do that.’

While she packaged the blocks of butter, Mattie glanced covertly at Treesa. The young woman’s features were distinctive, with high cheekbones, bronzed skin, aquiline nose and dark eyes which appeared hooded as she concentrated on her task.

Treesa spoke at last: ‘All finish, Missus.’

‘That’s good. We’ll load the buggy now. My husband has harnessed
the horse. We have four baskets of eggs to take, too. Are you ready to leave, Mattie?’

Mattie nodded. Charlie, Lee and Griff had already gone, having called goodbye.

It was much more springlike today; sunrays glittered on the remaining rime, and they bowled along in the buggy behind other conveyances bound for market.

Mattie sat up front with Anna. Treesa, despite her bulk, climbed into the back.

‘You all right, Treesa?’ Anna enquired. ‘Nearing your time, I believe?’

‘Soon, Missus,’ Treesa agreed equably. ‘But not today.’

‘Has she booked you for the confinement?’ Mattie asked. She thought the jolting sitting over the wheels wasn’t what Treesa needed, just now.

Anna was obviously amused. ‘I wouldn’t dare to poke my nose in, unless I was asked. Treesa has three sisters, with half a dozen babies between them, and a rather fierce grandmother who delivered them all!’

The market was already crowded and noisy. They had a small stall under a faded striped canopy. Anna quickly covered the unlovely wooden trestle with a spanking white cloth. Then she and Treesa put out the baskets of eggs and a sample pack or two of Prairie Butter. There was a shoebox till and a bag of coppers as a float.

‘Here, wear this,’ Anna told Mattie, tossing her a white apron.

Treesa, Mattie realized, had disappeared into the crowd. ‘She’s got things to buy for her family,’ Anna said. ‘I slipped her wages to her in advance this week. If Lee got hold of it first – well, it wouldn’t go on such wholesome refreshment.’

‘Do you do all your shopping here?’ Mattie wondered.

‘No, we only come to market to auction the lambs. Though I drive out here on Sundays to church, being in the women’s choir.

‘We buy in bulk, and our requirements are delivered to our door. We order clothes and household goods from the Sear’s catalogue. We grow most vegetables and, as you know, we are well-provided with dairy products, flour milled from our own grain, meat and eggs. The trading post is nearer home, handy if you run out of something. That’s the local post office for our community too.’

‘Sounds rather like our village shop back home! I worked there when I left school.’

‘Olive Henry – known to us as Ollie – is wanting an assistant, but you might consider that a step backwards, Mattie. Shall we call in there, when we finish here, after lunch?’

‘Please! I want to work – to help Griff realize our dream.’

At first sight, Mattie wondered if Ollie was short for Oliver, not Olive, as Miss Henry, with close-cropped hair under a man’s flat cap; lean figure encased in a thick, checked lumberjack’s shirt, corduroy trousers with braces, and sturdy boots, had a gravelly voice to match. Mattie’s hand was seized in a tight grip and pumped up and down.

‘Nice to meet you, Mrs Parry,’ Ollie boomed.

‘Oh, Mattie, please!’ Mattie tried not to wince.

‘Still need help here?’ Anna came straight to the point.

‘Only if the right person comes along. Interested, Mattie?’

‘Yes, but … I haven’t told you anything about myself,’ Mattie
floundered
.

‘Being related to Anna is good enough for me.’

Mattie thought: I ought to make it clear I’m only a niece by marriage….

Anna gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. ‘When can she start?’

‘Why not leave her with me for the afternoon, so she can learn the ropes?’

‘I’d like that,’ Mattie put in, before they continued in this vein, talking over her head.

The telephone in the post office section was ringing.

‘Excuse me.’ Ollie went through to answer the call.

She soon returned. ‘Well, that’s a bit of luck, your being here, Anna. A message for you from the doc. Can you get to Taylor’s farm as soon as possible? Myra’s started her labour. Doc’ll come if you need his help.’

‘I’ll drop Treesa off at our place first, then she can see to the men when they arrive back. Lee must carry her packages back along the trail, that’s if he can steer in a straight line, eh? I’ll collect you later, maybe much later – all right?’

Mattie wasn’t too sure about that, but she heard herself say, ‘Of course!’

‘Let me show you where we keep everything, Mattie,’ Ollie said.

It took Ollie some time to do this, especially with interruptions when customers arrived, sometimes two or three at a time. Mattie thought it was amazing what was on the shelves inside what, from outside, appeared a shack. Everything from shovels to sausages, dungarees to dog biscuits, she would tell Griff later. But she emerged triumphant from her first stint behind the post office counter. Ollie looked at her
approvingly
. ‘I
knew
you were a good ’un, soon as I saw you, Mattie!’