Free White Water by Pamela Oldfield Page B

rode back to Devon feeling well content with the result of her efforts. She had made amends and was at last free from the uncomfortable prickings of her conscience.

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    In early December Minnie left Ladyford and rejoined the Heron household as cook. Maggie left the bakery and moved into Ladyford where Melissa greatly enjoyed her company as well as her cooking. Oliver was still at sea and Thomas divided his time between Heron and the mine. Maggie, prudently, had decided not to sell the shop but to put in a man to run it for her. She chose a certain Samuel Tegg, who had once worked for her as ‘a lad’ and with whom she had enjoyed a relationship that was more than platonic. He had wanted to marry her but she had refused him as kindly as she could and he left her employ to nurse his rejection elsewhere. He later married a young widow and they had seven surviving children. Maggie reasoned that fact alone would make him a hard worker and she trusted him to deal honestly with her. She was not disappointed in either respect.
    At Heron preparations for Christmas went ahead almost immediately, but in the event it was not quite as cheerful a celebration as in previous years. Everyone made an effort for the children’s sake, but an unspoken concern for Allan affected the adults and robbed their merrymaking of some of its usual enthusiasm. He had borne up well after the funeral and for several weeks following, but he then sank into a depression from which no one could rouse him. He rarely spoke and then only when spoken to and his face wore a haunted look. He lost all interest in food and often went for days without a proper meal. Maria scolded him cheerfully and tried to coax him to eat and to please her he would take a few mouthfuls, but as her ‘nagging’ continued he grew irritable and was often absent from the table altogether. The physician recommended bleeding but Allan refused that, also, denying that he was sick. He sat through the Christmas festivities and smiled dutifully, but his manner was both sad and distracted. Instead of lifting him out of his despair, the excitement around him seemed only to increase his solitary brooding and their concern for him grew daily.
    The new year announced itself with a heavy fall of snow and Heron and Ladyford were separated by deep and treacherous drifts. Piers and Lorna made the most of the opportunity and spent as much time outside as they were allowed. For nearly three weeks the kitchen was draped with damp clothes and boots stood steaming in the hearth. Beth would have found it a great nuisance but Minnie, recently installed in her place, was so delighted to be back at Heron (where she firmly believed ‘everything happens’) that she made no protest and the children’s joy continued. It was halted in the last week of January by an abrupt change in the temperature. Heavy rain, which washed away the snow, continued for nearly a week with disastrous effect. The ground was still frozen and unable to absorb the combination of rain and melting snow, and the surplus water found its way into the rivers, which rose alarmingly. Piers woke one morning to find that the rain had stopped and the sun was shining. He scrambled out of bed and ran to the window whooping with delight. Then he gasped in amazement.
    ‘Lorna! Come quick. Come and see,’ he urged. ‘Do wake up, you ninny, and look. I won’t tell you again, you must see for yourself.’
    He jumped up and down impatiently until she struggled to her senses and, somewhat crossly, ran to join him. She, too, stared in amazement at the sight which met her eyes. Large areas of the surrounding moorland had disappeared under a vast sheet of water which sparkled in the sunlight. From it the tips of shrubs emerged and startled birds swooped above it uttering shrill cries of alarm. The higher ground was unaffected and a few stray animals had found their way to it — a small group of ponies who grazed unconcernedly and