A Spell of Snow (3 page)

    
I found Edie, Ruby
and the two younger children in the kitchen, which was warm in the glow of
another open fire. Ruby gave me a sympathetic smile and a cheery, ‘Morning,’ as
she toiled over an ironing board in the corner of the room.

    
‘Come and sit down
now, dearie, and get some food down you,’ Edie said, bustling to the table with
a heaped plate. ‘You’re still looking a bit peaky, I have to say.’

    
I looked at the
plate piled with eggs and bacon and thought about the calories, but my stomach
had other ideas. I smiled gratefully at her and dug in.

    
Edie watched me
for a moment and then returned to the sink, where she set about the washing-up.
‘I’m afraid you’re going to be stuck here with us for a while,’ she said.
‘Could even be a few days. It’s three miles to the bus stop and even if we
could get you there I doubt there’d be a bus. The snow’s a foot deep and it’s
well below freezing out there. There’s nothing we can do until it thaws. Your
poor auntie, I feel so sorry for her.’

    
I frowned,
confused. Now that my mind was clear I couldn’t see what the problem was. ‘I
know I can’t get a mobile signal here,’ I said earnestly, ‘but couldn’t I phone
her on your land line?’

    
She turned to look
at me in bemusement. ‘Phone her? You mean telephone her?’ She exchanged a brief
glance with Ruby, who had momentarily suspended her ironing operations. ‘We don’t
have a telephone, dearie – no one does that I know of. Is your aunt that
well-to-do then, that she has a telephone?’

    
I stared
open-mouthed at the older woman, realizing suddenly what it was that had been
bothering me ever since I’d found Edward. It wasn’t just that everyone spoke
oddly, it was that they were dressed oddly, too. Even Ruby was wearing a skirt
that showed only her shoes, and her hair was tied up into a bun. Both she and
Edie wore aprons over their long skirts.

    
I didn’t have a
chance to speak, as at that moment the door opened and Edward clattered in, his
boots covered in snow, and flakes of snow in his hair. His arm was in a sling
and he looked pale. A jolt went through me at the sight of him, and my stomach
twisted oddly. Edie gave a tut of impatience. ‘Shut that door, will you,
Edward, and get yourself back on the settee. I’ll make you a cup of tea in a
little while.’

    
‘All right, Mam,
don’t fuss. There’s no avoiding a call of nature,’ he said, in a surprisingly
cheery voice, giving me a quick wink.

    
‘I told you I’d
have brought you a bottle,’ Edie said as he headed towards the living room.

    
‘Wasn’t that sort
of call,’ he called back cheekily.

    
‘Speaking of
which,’ Edie said, turning to me, ‘the privy’s just out the back here. Our Ruby
can show you when you’ve finished eating.’

    
I wasn’t sure I
had any remaining appetite. An
outside toilet?
What was this, the dark
ages? I swallowed and forced myself to finish the meal, thinking furiously. Why
was it that when I’d got on the bus the weather had been damp and drizzly, but
by the time it arrived at Rillsend it was snowing heavily? And what did the
strange costumes and the lack of a phone indicate?

    
When I’d finished
the last morsel of my breakfast a slightly sniffy Ruby took me outside to show
me the location of the ‘privy’. It wasn’t even a flush toilet, I discovered
with dismay, but at least it was clean and not too smelly. I didn’t dare to
imagine what the family did about taking a bath.

    
Once I was back
indoors, Edie suggested that I keep Edward company in the living room, and I
was despatched with mugs of tea. I was relieved, as Ruby’s resentful attitude
was making me uncomfortable.

    
I handed Edward
his mug and seated myself in a chair by the fire. I took a quick sip of the hot
liquid, hoping it would warm me up inside, where I was beginning to feel pretty
chilled. I couldn’t help noticing that there wasn’t a single gadget in the
house; not even a radio, never mind a TV.

    
‘So you live in
Nimbury then?’ Edward asked politely from his position propped up on the sofa.
I studied him carefully. He was still pale, and he had a nasty green bruise on
his left temple, but he was very attractive, with his clear blue eyes and blond
hair, and his lips that seemed to be curved into a permanent smile. All the
same, the peculiar feelings he roused in me made no sense; we definitely hadn’t
met before.

    
‘Yes, that’s
right,’ I answered.

    
‘So what do you
do? Are you in service?’

    
‘Don’t be daft,
our Edward,’ Ruby butted in from the doorway, where she stood holding a heap of
ironed clothes. ‘Her auntie’s got a telephone – she must go to one of them posh
schools.’ She turned sharply and headed up the stairs with her burden, but
despite her bitter words I was grateful to her for the interruption. It had
prevented me from making an even bigger fool of myself by asking what ‘in
service’ meant.

    
‘
Do
you go
to a posh school?’ Edward persisted. ‘How old are you then? You must be at
least our Ruby’s age.’

    
‘I’m nearly
sixteen,’ I replied. ‘I am still at school, but it’s not really posh. I’ll be
leaving in the summer, and I’m supposed to be going on to college after that,
only I’m not sure I want to. It’s…’ I trailed off as Ruby, returning down the
stairs, said, in a fair imitation of my Australian accent, ‘“Not sure I want to”,
she says. Chance’d be a fine thing!’

    
‘You can’t turn
down the chance to go to college!’ Edward said, looking horrified. ‘You could
become a teacher – that’s what our Ruby wants, only Mam and Da can’t afford
it.’

    
I looked across at
Ruby, who said, ‘No, I have to go into service with Mrs Barton in Nimbury
Heights. Housemaid, that’s all I’m fit for. And you “don’t think you want to”.
You and your rich auntie with her own telephone!’

    
Ruby stomped back
to the kitchen and Edward gave me a look of mild reproach.

    
‘I’m sorry, I
didn’t know,’ I said, my face hot. ‘I mean…’

    
‘There’s few
enough chances in this world, but if you get them you shouldn’t turn them
down,’ Edward said, adding, ‘What would you do if you didn’t go to college?’

    
Normally I’d have
shrugged and replied that I’d find something, but now I was cautious. ‘I don’t
know. Maybe you’re right – I should take my chance while I have it.’

    
‘What would you
study?’

    
‘Not teaching,’ I
said slowly. ‘I like to draw, and I love animals, especially horses. I haven’t
really thought about it much since my mum died and I had to come and live
here.’

    
Edward looked at
me with renewed sympathy. ‘And your dad?’

    
I shook my head.
‘He left my mum when I was young, and he died soon after. I never knew him. I
don’t know my Auntie Cheryl very well yet, either. She’s my dad’s sister.’

    
‘So you’ve had a
hard time of it, too. Well look, don’t mind Ruby. It’s tough on her – we all
know she’s not cut out to be a housemaid, but she’s got no choice.’

    
‘That’s so
wrong
,’
I said.

    
Edward gave me a
look of amusement. ‘Like my da keeps telling us, whoever said life was meant to
be fair?’

    
‘So what do
you
do then?’ I asked.

    
‘Work with my da
on the farm, of course. No choice for me, either.’

    
‘And do you like
it?’

    
He gazed at me, his
expression far older than his years. ‘I do, luckily. I wouldn’t want to do
anything else. A farmer born and bred, that’s me.’

    
I sighed. ‘What
I’d really like is to work with horses, like I did in Australia with my mum. We
had a riding centre; I loved it.’

    
‘I thought you
were good with Moll,’ he said. ‘Tell me about Australia. I’ve read books about
it but it seemed so far away. Have you ever seen a kangaroo? What about a koala
bear?’

    
I was happy to
talk about my home country, and I even managed it without getting upset. The
two of us talked and talked, without even realizing how much time was passing.
Eventually Ruby came in, still looking sulky, and said, ‘If you two are tired
of gassing, the dinner’s on the table.’

    
I still felt
awkward among the family, especially now they were all so sure I was
‘well-to-do’, but I did enjoy the dinner of shepherd’s pie and vegetables. I
was also glad to be sitting beside Edward. He ate with enthusiasm, despite his
pain.

    
‘Can I come and
help you feed the sheep, Da, as our Edward can’t do it?’ Tom asked.

    
Ben shook his
head. ‘You’re a bit too young yet for all that lifting.’

    
Tom’s face fell in
disappointment, and he returned to his food, but I couldn’t stop myself asking,
‘Could I help?’

    
Ben gave me an odd
look, but before he could answer Ruby spoke up. ‘You’re a girl, and what do you
know about feeding sheep anyway?’

    
‘
Ruby,’
Edie
warned sharply.

    
‘Actually I used
to help my mum on the homestead, and with her riding centre, so I
do
know
about feeding sheep,
and
looking after horses,’ I said, more vehemently
than I might have done if Ruby hadn’t sounded so snide.

    
‘Well I’m sure
it’s a bit different in Australia,’ Ben said, ‘but it’s damned cold out there
and you
are
only a girl.’

    
‘She managed well
enough, yesterday, Da,’ Edward said from my side. ‘It’ll be hard going on your
own. I think she can do it – she’s tougher than she looks.’

    
I gave Edward a
grateful look, and Edie said, ‘Maybe our Edward’s right, love. I don’t like to
think of you out there tossing bales of hay on your own in this weather. Why
don’t you take Tilly
and
Tom? I’m sure he could help a little, even if
he is only young.’

    
Tom’s face
brightened, and all eyes were on Ben as he considered the matter, looking from
me to Edward to Tom, and back to Edie. Finally he nodded. ‘All right, but
you’ll need to wear something else – you can’t go out there in those clothes,’
he said to me.

    
‘She’s only slim –
I’m sure there’s some old things of Edward’s that will fit her,’ Edie said.

    
Half an hour
later, with Ruby simmering over the washing-up and Edie and Edward giving me
looks of encouragement, I left the house dressed in a chunky woollen jumper, a
well-worn pair of corduroy trousers and some old boots that were a bit too big.

    
Ben had already
loaded up the cart with bales of hay to take out to the sheep, and a large bay
horse was harnessed to it. The three of us jumped on top of the bales, followed
by an avid collie dog, and Ben flicked the reins to set off.

    
We took a slow
route around the fields of the large hill farm, dropping off hay bales at
various points to grateful sheep, and I realized I was enjoying myself, in
spite of the peculiar circumstances. It was tiring but exhilarating work, and
reminded me strongly of my former life, although this landscape was a lot
colder.

    
It was two hours
later when the three of us arrived back at the house, and although the exercise
had kept us warm it was a relief to be out of the biting wind and fresh snow
flurries. Edie made hot drinks and we all clustered around the living room
fire. It was a pleasant sensation to be sitting as part of a family after a
shared task.

    
‘So, d’you think
you might want to take up sheep farming?’ Edward asked with a cheeky grin.

    
‘I just might,’ I
said, smiling back.

    
‘You made a good
team, the pair of you,’ Ben said, looking from me to Tom. ‘Both hard workers
and not complainers.’

    
‘That’s high
praise coming from Da,’ Edward said.

    
I spent what was
left of the afternoon playing Ludo and Tiddlywinks with the two younger
children while Edward watched from the sofa, butting in with comments here and
there.

    
On my next trip to
the privy I checked my mobile phone again, but there was still no signal.
Clearly there wasn’t going to be and I needed to face up to it. I’d just have
to hope that the snow thawed soon, and somehow I’d get back where I belonged.

‘I’d love to drive one of those motor cars,’ Edward said
three days later, as he and I huddled close to the fire with the temperature
outside still well below freezing. ‘Lord Bilshurst has one – he let me have a
good look at it once.’

    
Motor cars?
Everything the family said sounded so old-fashioned. Everything about them and
their lives
was
old-fashioned. Yet somehow I dared not let myself think
about what that might mean. I liked them, and I wanted so much to belong.

    
Above all I liked
Edward. Too much. While I’d had the odd boyfriend back in Australia, mostly I’d
been too busy on the homestead and at the riding centre, and since arriving in
England I’d held myself aloof from any boy who’d even glanced my way. Edward,
though, was different. From that first moment in the field he’d been special.
On top of that he was good-looking, and his old-fashioned and homespun clothing
made him seem more exotic. Then there was the shared interest in farming and
animals that meant we always had something to talk about.