Song of the Shuttle by Christine Evans

Author:Christine Evans [Evans, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781912786046
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2019-01-17T05:00:00+00:00

Jacob sat with his head in his hands. Jessie didn’t know how to comfort him. She needed comforting herself. The day of her mother’s funeral had passed like a blur.

Alice paused from drying dishes.

“You gave your Nellie a grand send-off, Mr Davenport,” she said kindly. “I’ve never seen the chapel so packed. And the gentry, too! She would have been right proud.”

The gentry in Alice’s eyes had consisted of Eli Gorman and his niece Honora. Jessie had been touched and pleased to see her in the chapel. Honora rarely visited since that embarrassing incident with the Tates, obviously convinced that Arden had seduced her Aunt’s maid. Jessie firmly believed her brother’s denial and wondered what Dolly had been saying. Oddly, Tommo and Seth hadn’t returned looking for Arden. No one had said a word to her concerning the rumours, giving her some hope they would fade away. She could not know that, warned by a furious Dolly to ‘keep his gob shut’, Tommo was now threatening anyone who impugned his daughter’s supposed innocence. It was a brave man or woman who crossed Tommo Tate. Still, Jessie was heartened that Honora had paid her respects to Nellie. She missed her friendship.

Eli had sent a huge ham for the funeral tea afterwards, the remains of which sat now on the table.

“Will you take some ham for yourself and Mary,” asked Jessie, grateful for all the help that her friend and her mother had given during that afternoon.

A weary Mary had left earlier.

“Oh, I couldn’t,” said Alice, looking longingly at the ham she’d been slicing all afternoon for mourners.

“You must,” insisted Jessie, “as a thank you. We couldn’t have managed without you both. Please — we’ll have plenty.”

Jacob looked up sadly and nodded.

“Aye, please take some. I’ve no appetite and it’ll only go to waste.”

“All right, then,” agreed Alice and began to slice thinly.

Jessie put her hand on Alice’s and made her make thicker slices.

“Take some more for your girls,” she said.

“Not so many of my girls left now,” she told Jessie sadly. “Ceridwen and her sister have gone home to Wales and Annie left for Shropshire yesterday. But Aggie and Nan are from the workhouse. They have nowhere else to go and I wouldn’t send them back to that place. I know they’re not paying rent but they’re helping round the house.”

“You’re a good woman, Mrs Connolly,” said Jacob. “Here, cut a bit more of that meat.”

Alice laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“You’ll feel as if you want to take to your bed, pull the covers over your head and never come out, as if nothing will ever be the same again. And no matter how many people tell you that life goes on, you won’t believe them. That’s just how I felt when my Cornelius passed on. But, believe me, Mr Davenport, there is a life to live — not the same life, but life all the same. And you have a lovely daughter and two big strapping sons and a baby on the way.

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