Chapter 2
When
the maid neared the door at the end of the passage, the gruesome images that
had haunted his childhood returned with sudden alacrity and his heart began to
race. In a moment of panic he half-expected to discover the raving squire
howling in front of his fire like a man possessed by a demon but as the girl
pushed open the door all he saw was an elderly man sitting, calm and sane, at a
library table and peering into a ledger.
“Mr.
Harding has arrived, Mr. Brandwith.”
The
man stood up and offered his hand in greeting, “Good of you to come, Mr.
Harding.”
He
directed Will to a chair and served him brandy, “You’re an engineer, they tell
me?”
“That’s
right.”
He
handed him the glass, “Is business good?”
“Not
bad. I maintain a workshop in the village and a small forge just outside
Lowkirk. Nothing elaborate as yet.”
“But
a growing reputation, I understand?”
Will
smiled modestly as Mr. Brandwith shook his coat tails and sat down opposite
him. His hair was white, very white like wool, softening the clearly etched
features of his face: deep lines around his lips and crevices running from his
nose to his chin.
“Tell
me,” he said with the look of a merchant examining new wares, “what are you
working on at the moment?”
Will
hesitated; there were so many half-finished projects in his workshop and still
more in his mind.
“Farming
implements mostly; seed drills, threshing machines, ploughs. It’s long been my
hope that I might use my designs to make labour easier for the villagers. I
have ideas which could help them to produce a wider variety of crops, make
better use of their land and weave more cloth but...” he paused, unnerved by
the intensity of the older man’s stare.
“But?”
“Materials
are expensive and most of the villagers are simple tenant farmers and weavers.
The harvest has been so poor the past couple of years that it’s taken all they
have to feed their families.”
“So
your designs are wasted?”
Will
shrugged, “ It might not have been so bad if...”
Mr.
Brandwith raised his eyebrows.
“...if
the weavers hadn’t lost so much custom. With all the new factories opening in Leeds there isn’t the same trade for the villagers. They
do their best but with simple looms they can’t compete with factory prices or
output and customers aren’t prepared to wait.”
Mr.
Brandwith leaned back and pensively swirled his brandy around the glass, “And
you would like to help them?”
“They’re
my people,” Will smiled, “and I’ve been fortunate. I had an education, and they
say I have some talent so I believe it’s my duty to use what gifts I have to
help my neighbours.”
“Quite
right,” Mr. Brandwith agreed. “We must make use of all our resources to build a
better world for ourselves and those who come after us. But as you say,
machinery’s expensive, and what good are your designs if they all stay in your
head?”
“In
a year or two, if the harvest improves...”
“And
if it doesn’t?” Mr. Brandwith shuffled to the edge of his seat.
“Then
I’ll trust in Providence .”
“Providence ?”
“If
God gave me my gift, he must have done so for a reason. He won’t let it go to
waste.”
Mr.
Brandwith shook his head and, slapping his hand against his thigh, stood up,
“In my experience, Mr. Harding, the Lord helps those who help themselves and
those who fail, do so by their own lack of foresight. Don’t you agree?”
Will
stared into his glass, “I don’t know. Sometimes circumstances go against people.”
“Circumstances!”
Mr. Brandwith moved to the window and looked out over his estate, “Look at me! I
came from nowhere, had nothing. My father died when I was six years old and
left my mother without a penny. Look at
me now: this house, this land, a thriving mill with eight hundred workers. Do you
want to know how I did it?”
Will
nodded obligingly.
“I
made my own circumstances through sheer determination, hard work and using
every opportunity that came my way. If I’d waited for good harvests or Providence , do you think
I’d be who I am today?”
Will
rolled his eyes, carefully weighing his answer, “Perhaps you were fortunate in
the opportunities that came your way.”
“Fortune
doesn’t enter into it. During the wars I made uniforms; in peace time I make
blankets and clothes. A man must adapt to circumstances, not wait for them to
arrive. Opportunities are always there for those alert enough to see them.”
“In
which case,” Will smiled, “I had better keep my eyes open.”
“Ah
ha!” Mr. Brandwith opened his arms in a gesture of sincerity, “I can see you
have the right spirit. Supposing I were to offer you my support? With my money
behind you, you could bring your designs to life.”
Will
glanced at him cautiously, “What could I give in return?”
The
older man took a sip of brandy and swished it around his mouth for some seconds
before sitting down again.
“My
mill in Leeds does well but there’s a good
deal of competition. I want to expand: a complete integrated mill the whole lot
from start to finish - scribbling, fulling, the best looms, the fastest
shuttles. I want to produce the most and the finest cloth in Yorkshire .
Now then, supposing I were to offer you a chance to be part of all of that?”
“I
can’t see how I could be of use.”
“It’s
simple. You bring your designs to me before anyone else.”
“What
good are threshing machines in a mill?”
“Forget
your threshing machines and your farm tools, you’ll never make a penny out of
them. Design my machinery and I’ll see you set up for the rest of your life.”
Will
exhaled loudly and raised his eyes to the ceiling, “I’m sorry, Mr. Brandwith,
I’m a country man. Seed drills, planters, threshers; that’s my line.”
“Nonsense!
You said yourself you could design looms for the local weavers.”
“Simple
machines, yes, for their cottages, not the huge kind of things you’ll be
wanting.”
Mr.
Brandwith shook his head, undeterred, “A man of your ability learns quickly.
Besides, it’s merely a matter of scale: design small, build big!”
Will
frowned, “Why me? There must be dozens of engineers in Leeds
who would be only too willing to work for you.”
“Oh
yes, there are dozens of engineers all hoping for someone to back their
designs. Several times a week they come to my door begging me to try out their
inventions but I know very well that what they bring me today they took to my
rivals yesterday. Which is why I want someone new, someone I can trust, with no
contacts in the mills; an honourable man such as yourself who won’t be tempted
to share his designs with any other bidders.”
“I’m
flattered by your offer, Mr. Brandwith,” Will said, moving to the edge of his
chair, “but as I said, my duty is to the villagers.” He put the brandy glass on
the table and stood up, “Forgive me for wasting your time.”
Mr.
Brandwith, remaining seated, looked into his own glass nodding and moving his
lips in some internal monologue until Will reached the door. “A moment,” he
said, suddenly looking up, “I invited you here on the recommendation of my
son-in-law.”
Will
stopped.
“You
did some work for him in Beckford.”
“That’s
right. Sir Edmund wanted running water brought to the house.”
“Which
you provided with excellent results?”
“He
seemed pleased with the outcome.”
“I
have seen it for myself. Very impressive. How did you manage it?”
“It
was my father’s idea originally. I simply designed the pump; a hydraulic pump
bringing the water from the river at the end of his estate. Once that was in
order the rest was straightforward.”
“Could
you do the same for me?”
“Bring
water here?”
Mr.
Brandwith nodded.
“It
would be expensive; equipment, labour.”
“I’ll
pay in advance. Name your price.” His chin was strong and determined, his lips
narrow and straight as though drawn that way through years of self-control.
Three vertical lines formed a frown on his forehead. “And if we’re content with each other’s part
of the bargain you might see your way to consider my previous offer. What do
you say?”
Will
yielded with a nod, “I’ll sort out the water but as for the...”
“Father!”
The door burst open and a rush of skirts flew like a whirlwind into the study,
“It’s awful, something awful has happened!”
A
girl, pink-faced and flushed, glanced in Will’s direction then turned to a
taller young woman standing in the doorway, half-concealed by the shadows.
“Tell
him, Caroline,” said the girl, pulling her into the room, “tell father what
happened.”
Mr.
Brandwith twitched with a slight irritation and Caroline shook her head, “It’s
nothing,” she said softly, “and father’s busy. We shouldn’t have disturbed him.”
“Nothing!”
The girl gasped with such vehemence that Will wanted to laugh.
Caroline
stepped back into the shadows but the girl seized her arm, refusing to let her
go.
Mr.
Brandwith turned to Will and shook his head apologetically, “My daughter,
Ursula. I’m afraid her life is so dull that she turns any event into a drama.”
Undeterred,
Ursula forced Caroline further into the room, “She was coming back from church
and she encountered some horrible men.”
Mr.
Brandwith turned away apathetically and Will couldn’t help but notice the
pained expression on Caroline’s face.
“Who
were they?” he said.
“Villagers,
drunkards,” Ursula gushed. “They were all drinking at the inn. One was called
Saddler, wasn’t he?”
“I’m
not sure,” Caroline turned back to the door, “but it really was nothing. They
were quite harmless. There’s no need to bother father with it.”
“Harmless?
A boy was hurt and when Caroline stopped to help him this Saddler was very rude
about the factory.”
Mr.
Brandwith turned sharply, “What about the factory?”
“Nothing,”
Caroline said, “they don’t mean any harm. They’re just frightened that we’ve
come to take over their land.”
“It
isn’t their land,” Ursula huffed. “Father bought it at a high price. They’re
only his tenants. How dare they speak to
you like that, laughing at you as though you were no better than they are!”
“It’s
their home,” Caroline said gently. “We’re the strangers here.”
“They’re
animals, they should live in the barns with their cows. They’re dirty and
unkempt with no manners at all. I hope you’ll turn them all out, Father.”
Caroline
stopped with her hand on the door and glanced at Will, “Excuse me, Mr.?”
“Harding.”
he bowed.
“Please,”
she said, “pay no attention to my sister. She doesn’t mean what she says.”
“I
do!” the younger girl gasped. “Susanna told me all about them. They come into
church smelling of pigs and cattle and once a sheep came right down the aisle
and wandered onto the altar during the service. Matthew had to delay his
sermon until they’d chased it out.”
“The
Lamb of God!” Caroline smiled.
“Caroline,”
Mr. Brandwith intervened, “I won’t have blasphemy spoken in my house.”
“I’m
sorry,” she said and as she opened the door, Will noticed how her feet made no
sound but moved with such timid steps as though apologising for disturbing the
earth.
“Wait!”
her father called and she stopped at once. “What name did you say? Saddler?”
Ursula
nodded, “That’s right, isn’t it, Caroline?”
Without
waiting for her reply, Mr. Brandwith looked at Will, “Do you know him?”
“Martin
Saddler? He’s a weaver. He was doing
well at one time but now he’s lost most of his custom to the towns.”
“Is
it any wonder if he spends his days drinking in the inn?”
“Oh
no,” Will said, “that’s just today. They’re preparing for the dance, the
harvest feast tonight.”
“Is
he a tenant of mine?”
“He
lives in the cottages by the old barn.”
“Saddler,”
Mr. Brandwith repeated as though to memorise the name.
Caroline
paused by the door and, though her eyes remained fixed on the floor, it was
clear that she was speaking to Will.
“There
was a boy,” she whispered, “I’m afraid he was hurt. They were taunting him and
he was bleeding. I tried to help him but he was so...so frightened.”
“Tall,
long legs, yellow hair?”
“Yes,
that’s him.”
“Abe,”
Will smiled, “Abe Throppe. Don’t alarm yourself on his account, Miss Brandwith.
He’s subject to fits. He falls two or three times a week but he never comes to
any harm.”
She
raised her head slightly, “Throppe? I met a boy named Throppe in church. He
said he had come for a lesson.”
Will
nodded, “Abe’s younger brother, Joel, my apprentice at the forge. He’s a good
lad, works hard and he’s eager to learn. The family have nothing but he tends
the glebe and in return Parson Williams gives him lessons.”
She
frowned, “How old is...”
Mr.
Brandwith stepped between them, “I’m sorry, Mr. Harding. The girls are delaying
you. I’m sure they have other business to attend to.” He nodded to Caroline and
she retreated towards the door.
“Come,
sir,” Mr. Brandwith said, “I’ll show you around and we can discuss terms.”
Will
had always loved the harvest feast; the dancing and singing, everyone drinking
enough to drown their fears of the oncoming winter. Yet that evening as he
stood, one foot raised on the bench, watching the dancers leap around the barn,
something seemed lacking. For no reason he could discern, a sense of
disappointment sagged his spirits and a kind of loneliness weighed on his
heart. He shook his head to shrug away the feeling and swayed to the music,
tapping his boot to the rhythm of the drum. To no avail. It was as though he
missed someone, yet no one was missing. All the villagers were there and the
barn was full. He counted and named them all in his head - no, nobody was
missing but as tune followed tune the loneliness grew more intense.
He
drained his tankard and refilled it from the barrel, as the barn grew sticky
with the sweat and warm breath of the revellers.
“Alright,
Mr. Harding,” someone called, “stopped dancing?”
“For
now.” he smiled, drifting towards the door.
Outside,
the drum beat echoed on the cottage walls and the back of Throppe’s yard where
an old pig snuffled through the gullies.
Will
leaned over the gate, “Alright, Bertie?”
The
boar glanced at him through tiny eyes buried in a mass of wrinkles. Taking an
egg from a box by the fence, Will pressed his boots through the slats of the
gate and climbed into the yard. He held
out the egg and the pig trotted over, snorting through a snout like a giant
limpet. Speckles of grain stuck to the sagging lips and a long slimy tongue
slipped in and out between rows of jagged teeth. Will popped the egg into
Bertie’s mouth and he guzzled it, shell and all, until long strands of clear
and yellow slime stretched from his jowls - no finesse, no manners, no sense of
his own ugliness.
“And
we’re supposed to be the wise ones!” Will smiled, slapping his palm against the
bristly back. “We get the brains, the choices and decisions, and you get the
freedom not to care. What do you reckon, Bertie? Who has the better deal?”
The
pig gulped the last of the egg and trotted back to the wall where he rubbed
against the cottage, his only care in the world to rid himself of an itch.
“Alright,”
Will nodded, “so there’s pork and dripping, but you needn’t worry. They’ll not
have you slaughtered. You’ll just go on,
wake up every morning, stick out your
snout to see what the weather’s like and if you don’t like it you can roll over
and sleep for another hour. They’ll see that you’re fed and watered and all you
have to do in return is make a good impression on the sows and sire your
piglets.”
Will
climbed backwards onto the gate and, dangling his legs into the yard, swigged
from his tankard. “Now, we, on the other hand, we’re the clever ones. We travel
and we study and we think that we’re wise, but what do we do? We spend our
lives making ends meet, worrying about how we’ll last the winter, or do the
right thing, or find a wife...”
“Sorry,”
a deep voice grunted, “did you say sommat?”
Will
coughed, pretending to clear his throat as he turned to see two weather beaten
faces, brown and lined like autumn leaves.
Dan
Throppe smiled, raising a callused hand in a gesture of subservience, “It’s a
poor do when the cleverest man in the village spends harvest night talking to
pigs. There’s up of a dozen lasses in
there all waiting for a dance, Mr. Harding.”
Martin
Saddler stepped closer, “Happen there’s sommat else on his mind tonight.”
Will
smiled and looked down into the yard.
“He’s
a grand pig isn’t he?” Dan said.
Will
nodded, “Have you thought of mating him with Martha Green’s sow?”
“You
what!” Dan chortled, “She’s twice his size, is Bessie. She’d frighten him to
death!”
Will
laughed.
“He’d
be better with Dot again. Eight piglets last time and even the runt were a
strong little ’un.”
“Is
that right?”
“Ask
our Abe. It were his idea to start him with Dot. He might not be bright but he
knows what’s what when it comes to pigs.”
“And
people,” Will smiled.
“Aye,
he has them measured too.”
Saddler,
who until now had been staring towards the barn, licking his lips in
anticipation of a drink, turned, “You want to send him up to the Hall then and
see what he makes of this Brandwith.” He paused as though waiting for a
response but as the others continued to stare at the pig he sniffed and spat on
the ground, “Heard you went up there today, Mr. Harding.”
“I
did.”
“And
did you tell him we don’t want him here?”
“Ah,
come on, Saddler, give the man a chance. He might not be as bad as you think.”
Dan’s
eyes widened with interest and, tugging nervously at his beard, he shuffled
back from the gate, “Did he say owt about his plans for the village?”
“No.
His only concern was for his mill.”
“I’ll
bet!” Saddler huffed. “I’ve heard what goes on in there. There’s bairns working
twelve, fourteen hours a day, never seeing so much as a glimpse of the
sunlight. One second late and the door’s locked and the slightest mistake and
the foreman’s round with his whip.”
“Rumours,”
Will said, “and hearsay, that’s all.”
“Were
it a rumour that fifteen died of the factory fever last spring?”
“Never
mind the mills,” Dan said, “what’s going to happen here? Did he make no mention at all of the
village?”
“Only
that he wants water bringing to the Hall.”
“And
you’re going to do it?” Saddler said.
Will
drained his tankard, “It could work out well for everyone. I’ll be laying pipes
through his estate and if I take them round the edge of the top field I could
put in a drainage channel at the same time. The strips up there have been
waterlogged so often they’re as good as useless.”
Saddler
shook his head cynically, “What’s the use in draining the land if it’s all
going to be taken from us?”
Dan’s
face contorted with anxiety, “You think he’ll enclose us?”
“This
is just the start,” Saddler nodded, “water pipes today, fences and walls
tomorrow and unless we stop him we’ll be out before you know it.”
“It
won’t happen, will it, Mr. Harding?” Dan said desperately, “I mean, a man’s got
to keep his family. If I lose my land I’ll have nothing for them, nothing. Our
Joel will be alright, he’s a scholar like you, and the other lads might find
work, they’re bright and strong, but what about Abe, what will he do? God knows
he’ll never make much of his life but at least while we’ve got the land there’s
always a job for him.”
Will
jumped from the gate and rested his hand on Dan’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, Dan.
Why should he want your land? Like I said, his only concern is his factory.”
Dan
stared earnestly into his eyes and Will nodded reassuringly, “He might not be
the devil everyone’s expecting. I mean a man with such beautiful daughters
can’t be all bad.”
“Beautiful?
That’s not what I’ve heard. Our Joel met one of them today. Sneaked up on him
she did, like a witch.”
Will
laughed, “Like a witch?”
“Said
she wanted someone to show her round the village.”
Saddler
sniffed, “Eyeing it up to see what she could get her hands on.”
“Ugly
as sin, she were, with evil red eyes, according to our Joel.”
Will,
still laughing, shook his head, “The ones I saw today weren’t ugly. Lady
Beckford is beautiful and you must admit, Mrs. Williams isn’t bad.”
“How
would you know,” Dan almost smiled, “with her face hidden under her veil!”
Saddler
stamped on the ground, “Ugly or not, it’s an ugly business they’re in. Let them
try to take our village and I’ll show them what we’re made of.”
“Aye,”
Dan nodded, “and every man of Lowkirk right behind you.”
Saddler
stretched himself to full height and flexed his muscles with pride, “But
tonight,” he grinned, “it’s harvest! The lasses are waiting and it’s time we started
drinking. You coming, Mr. Harding?”
Will
raised his tankard, “I’ll be along soon.”
He
watched them stride away but the sound of music and laughter weighed more
heavily on his heart and, when they had disappeared, he walked past the door
and along the side of the barn where he leaned against the wall and, sliding to
the ground, sat down on the cobbles.
He
looked up at the stars that flashed and twinkled between the grey clouds and he
thought of the town; the darkness of the nights and the airless streets through
which he had so often wandered in his years away from the village. It had been
exciting at first: the busyness, the smells and the sounds, the cries of the
sellers from the markets, the strange accents of the immigrants and the stench
of the fish and spice stalls. He wondered if he had been happy then - perhaps
if he could go back...but even in those days something, something was
missing.
A
burst of giggling echoed from behind the barn; girls’ voices high pitched and
slurred.
“Don’t
take no more, you’ll get yourself drunk.”
“I’m
alright! I know what I’m doing.”
“Aye,
you might do now, but if you drink anymore you’ll even think Abe Throppe’s
handsome.”
“Oh
no, I won’t, there’s only one man for me.”
“That’s
what you said about the last one and the one before him!”
“This
time it’s real. This one’s special.”
“And
it doesn’t take a scholar to guess who he is.”
Will
leaned sideways around the barn. Three girls sat on the ground passing a jar of
cider between them.
“So,”
Kate Green nudged Becky Saddler, “has he given you any sign?”
“He
looks at me. I’ve seen him looking.”
“Looking?”
Sarah Fuller laughed, “You’re wasting your time. He’s not interested.”
“He
danced with me, didn’t he?”
“And
by the end of the night he’ll have danced with every girl in Lowkirk.”
“No,”
Becky said, “it was different with me. I could tell by his eyes.”
“It
was you with the eyes, gawking at him and swinging your hips.”
Sarah
shook her head, “You want to be careful, Becky. A man like him won’t settle
round here. He’ll not let all that learning go to waste.”
Kate
nodded, “That’s right. Don’t let him string you along. He’ll be off before you
know it and then where will you be?”
“Perhaps
he’ll take me with him,” Becky smiled dreamily. “I’d like that; pretty dresses,
a fine house and carriage. I’d drive through the streets and have people
calling, ‘Good morning, Mrs. Harding! What’s your husband invented today?’”
Will
laughed to himself and leaned back against the barn.
“I
tell you, you’re wasting your time,” Sarah said. “He’s not going to want
someone like you when there’s all them rich ladies to choose from.”
“I’m worth ten of them and he knows
it,” Becky said, “and I know how to get round a man.”
“Oh
aye?” the others laughed.
“Come
on then, if you don’t believe me, I’ll show you!”
In
the shuffling as they got to their feet, Will retreated into the shadows. Becky
stood up and paused for a moment, running her fingers through her loose hair.
She walked like a cat, one foot in front of the other in a perfectly straight
line, shaking her hips until her skirt billowed like a tree in the wind. Will
knew that walk well enough. The walk she adopted every time that she came by
the workshop with a broken scythe, a spade or a cauldron - any excuse to call
in.
He
shook his head and when they had passed he emerged from the shadows and sat
down again on the ground. Their giggling grew louder and their voices more high
pitched but he paid them little attention. He thought of the hundreds of years
that this land had belonged to their families and it saddened him to think that
Dan was probably right. A businessman like Mr. Brandwith wouldn’t let this
opportunity pass by; it was only a matter of time before he claimed his rights
and enclosed the fields and the common.
A
scream shattered his thoughts. Will leaped to his feet and ran around the barn
to find Becky and Kate shrieking in front of Throppe’s yard. Abe, his eyes wide
and wild, towered above them with a mallet raised in his hand.
“Abe!”
Will yelled.
“Get
him away! Get him away!” Becky cried throwing herself into Will’s arms. “He’s
going to kill us.”
“You
shouldn’t be in there. Tell ’em, Mr. Harding! Tell ’em to stay away.”
“It
was only a bit of fun,” Becky squealed. “He wants locking up. He’s a mad man!”
With
the mallet still raised above his head, and his face as stern as a crag, Abe
leaned over the gate and picked up a jar of cider, “Killing pigs i’n’t fun!”
Will
looked down at Becky who had pressed herself to his chest.
“It
was nothing;” she said, “we thought the pig might like to join the feast. A
drop of cider wouldn’t do any harm.”
“It’s
alright, Abe,” Will said, releasing himself from Becky’s clutch, “no one’s
going to hurt Bertie.”
Slowly
he lowered the mallet, “They’ve to stay away from him.”
“They
will, Abe, I promise,” Will nodded and the boy let the mallet fall.
“He’s
dangerous,” Becky said. “He’d have killed us if you hadn’t come when you did.”
“Go
on,” Will said, pushing her gently towards the barn, “go back to the dancing.”
She
gazed at him through huge brown eyes, “Aren’t you coming in with us, Mr.
Harding?”
“Maybe
later,” he nodded again towards the door. Abe stood by the gate, twitching one
eye and jerking his head. As Will moved closer he climbed backwards into the
yard where, cowering to the ground, he threw a gangly arm around the pig and
huddled close to its belly until slowly the twitching eased.
Will
leaned over the gate, “No harm done, Abe?”
“Daft
lasses,” he said, “daft lasses.”
“But
Bertie’s alright, see?”
“No
thanks to them. Daft lasses.”
“They’ve
drunk too much, that’s all. They didn’t think what they were doing.”
Abe
rocked gently and, still clinging to the boar, raised his head to the sky, “She won’t be drunk not like them daft
lasses.”
“Mm?”
“She’s
not like them daft lasses.”
“Who?”
His
finger shot to his lips and he smiled like an infant, “Sh, it’s a secret.”
Will
smiled and climbed over the gate, “Will you share it?”
Coyly,
Abe drew his knees towards his chest curling in on himself like a flower in the
night. His eyes darted around the yard searching out eavesdroppers, then he
shuffled closer to Will and whispered, “There’s a lady.”
“Which
lady?” Will smiled, “Martha Coke? No? Sarah Foley?”
“No,
a lady,” Abe looked up, his clear eyes shining, “a beautiful lady.” He ran his
fingertips over his cheek, “She touched me. She held my head in her arms and
she touched my face. She’s beautiful.”
“Miss
Brandwith?” Will said.
Abe
put his finger on his lips.
“Yes,”
Will nodded, recalling her face, “you’re right, Abe. She is beautiful.”