Souls to Heal by Tilly Wallace

Author:Tilly Wallace [Wallace, Tilly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ribbonwood Press

15

Alice

* * *

Alice donned her apron and tied the ends behind her back as she walked across the yard. She approached the rear of the building and pulled open the door. Inside, she was relieved to see the kitchen had moved on from the Tudor era of the building’s exterior and looked to have had improvements made in Georgian times.

One wall had three brickwork ovens, with embers glowing underneath and cast iron plates above that held kettles and pots. The adjacent wall had a large fireplace with a half carcass of meat on a spit. A wiry-coated turnspit dog ran in his wheel, and a chain from wheel to spit turned the mechanism to cook the roast evenly.

Daisy sliced vegetables at an enormous table in the middle of the room. Gaffie fussed by the ovens, stirring a pot that looked large enough to bathe a child.

“Good morning.” Alice called to the women as she walked over to the dog’s workspace.

“Morning,” Gaffie and Daisy chimed in unison.

Alice’s heart broke for the ugly little canine. Turnspit dogs lived thankless lives, working endlessly with only short breaks to keep the meat revolving. Often they laboured without so much as a name, not even recognised as living creatures. No one spared a thought for the little animal that cooked dinner.

The dog paused for a breath, and she reached between the spokes of the wheel to scratch his ears. Mournful eyes fixed on her as he leaned into her touch.

“What can I do?” Alice asked, giving the dog one more pat before returning to the long table. She tried to make sense of the array of items spread before her.

“Can you make pie?” Gaffie said, waving a wooden spoon in the air. “The lads love something sweet after their stew.”

Alice ran an eye over the ingredients stacked on the table. There was flour and butter to make a pastry, and berries that would make a filling. A little cinnamon or spice would add to the flavour, if she dipped into her tiny supply. “Leave it to me; I’ll concoct something.”

Gaffie beamed and moved down the row of hot plates to stir another pot. “You’re a good girl, Alice. What’s your man up to today?”

Daisy took her chopped vegetables to the stove and scraped them off the board with the large knife. They dropped into the pot with a faint plop.

“He’s going for a ride up the coast. Always looking out to sea that one, trying to find a way to earn a living.” She hoped her hint wasn’t too obvious.

Daisy picked up a parsnip and waggled it at Alice. “Jimmy says he’ll have a chat with Sean. He might know of something.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you.” Alice found a bowl and added flour and butter to begin making pastry. Once she had rubbed the butter through, she would add a pinch of salt and then enough water to make the pastry into a pliable dough that she could roll out.

The women chatted as they worked.

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