Authors: Gwen Kirkwood
‘Her mother tells me she is enjoying school and getting on well with her lessons now,’ she wrote in one of her letters to Fingal.
In his next letter she could visualize Fingal smiling as he wrote in reply, ‘I remember you sitting your doll and Andrew’s stuffed toy dog on seats and trying to teach them their letters. Your grandfather thought you were born to teach. I remember he encouraged you to help the youngest children when they were learning to read.’
There were so many things she would have liked to write to Fingal but she was always aware that Josiah was free to read her letters and his replies. Indeed she sensed a certain polite reserve in most of Fingal’s letters to her and she knew he could not forget she was a married woman now. It pleased Maggie McLauchlan when Fingal sent a letter. As Josiah had suggested he enclosed a page for her. She did not write much in return but she always sent him a note.
‘I shall leave you to tell him all the news, lassie,’ she said to Janet. ‘I should really call you Mrs Saunders now,’ she added apologetically.
‘Oh no, please don’t do that. I’ve known you and Peggy all my life and I would have died if you had not cared for me.’
‘Aye, we-ell, I’m glad you came to us, my lamb. It’s hard to
think of you as Mrs Saunders of Crillion Keep when we’ve known you since you were a babe in arms.’
‘You are the nearest I have to family of my own now,’ Janet said softly. ‘I don’t want you to change.’
‘You’ll always have a place in our hearts, Janet. You can be sure of that.’
It was true Maggie left the daily details to Janet but one thing she did tell Fingal herself, and which Janet had modestly omitted to mention, was that Beth, and even Angus, had begun asking Janet to help them with their lessons since Evie Bell had told them how Janet explained things and made them interesting.
Except for a private ache in her heart and a yearning to see and talk to Fingal, Janet felt her life had never been so settled.
Her contentment was shattered one sunny day when the Rosses’ coach arrived and Mrs Ross stepped out. She had come alone.
Maggie McLauchlan opened the door to her and brought her into the library expecting to find both Janet and Mr Saunders there. Janet was alone, curled up in one of the leather chairs immersed in a new book which Fingal had sent. The title was
Sense and Sensibility
and it was written by a woman called Jane Austen, who had died a few years ago. She didn’t look up. She thought Josiah had decided to join her instead of retiring to his room as he often did for an hour after lunch.
Eliza Ross stood in the open doorway of the library, her eyes popping in disbelief.
‘Why is that girl still here?’ she screeched. ‘It is months since her mother died. I told her to move on then! And what…?’ She marched into the room and grabbed a startled Janet by the shoulder, shaking her vigorously. ‘And what is a chit like you doing in here? It is bad enough that my brother has allowed you to stay so long, but he will hear about this, idling away your time like a lady with his books. You are downright—’
‘But madam … er, Mistress Ross….’ Maggie McLauchlan tried to interrupt her tirade and explain Janet’s position but she was beyond listening as she hauled Janet from her chair, snatched the book from her hand and hurled it at the fire. Her treatment
of her precious book affected Janet far more than being roughly shaken herself. She darted out of Eliza’s clutch and snatched her book from the flames, which were beginning to lick up from the recently placed logs. Janet beat it on the rug to make sure the charred edges of the pages would not smoulder, then she turned to face Eliza, her blue eyes blazing.
‘How dare you treat a book with so little respect?’ she demanded furiously.
‘Even more importantly, Eliza, how dare you come into my home and speak to my wife like this?’ Eliza turned to face Josiah, her mouth opening and shutting like a fish, as Maggie told Peggy and Donald later. ‘I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head.’
Eliza stared at Josiah in disbelief. She turned back to glare at Janet. ‘Your wife? I don’t believe it! You always said you would never marry. You weren’t expected to live past twenty….’
‘I have defied the doctors’ predictions and my own. Janet is my wife.’ He moved toward the fireplace and laid an arm around Janet’s shoulders. Both Eliza and Josiah were tall and slim and fully head and shoulders taller than Janet.
‘I have never heard of your marriage. You could not be so stupid. She looks no more than a child, but she’s a brazen hussy….’
‘Eliza!’ Josiah warned sternly. He looked down into Janet’s face. She was standing very close beneath his arm and she could feel his heart racing much too fast. He smiled at her. ‘Don’t worry, my dear. I have no intention of allowing Eliza’s vile tongue to upset me any more. If you need proof of our marriage you will have to ask the Reverend Drummond since he married us in church. Did your usual gossips fail to inform you?’
‘You’re a fool, Josiah. You’ve been taken in by a money-grasping maid,’ Eliza sneered.
Josiah squeezed Janet’s shoulder reassuringly. ‘Is that what you came here to tell me?’
‘Of course not. I didn’t know. I ought to have come sooner.’
‘We have been married since the day Mary Scott came to stay with us so you are a long way behind, for once.’
‘You mean you were already married at her funeral and you never breathed a word?’
‘I didn’t consider it necessary, though I was surprised you had not heard.’ It was a long time since Josiah had felt such satisfaction in his dealings with Eliza. ‘So to what do we owe this visit today?’
‘I wish to speak to you. In private,’ she added, glowering at Janet. ‘You could at least offer me some refreshment too.’
‘It is two o’clock.’
‘I had to leave before lunch and it took a while to get here. The horses are getting too old. I keep telling Ross it is time he bought fresh stock.’
‘I will go and make a tea tray,’ Janet offered. ‘Would you like sandwiches, as well as scones and cakes, Mrs Ross?’
‘Yes, I would.’
Josiah’s mouth tightened in disapproval at her ungracious manner. ‘Thank you, Janet, my dear,’ he said, giving her shoulder another gentle squeeze. ‘Will you bring it into the office, please? That is the best place if Eliza has business to discuss, but I warn you now, Eliza, if you have come to ask again for an allowance for Henry then you have come in vain. I hear he is a frequent visitor to the cockfights and to the gaming in Annan, as well as developing a liking for drink.’
‘I am not asking you for an allowance,’ Eliza said, pursing her mouth tightly.
Janet was pleased to make her escape and when she took the tray of food into Josiah’s office, followed by Maggie with the tea and crockery, she made sure there were only two cups.
‘I am going to get my shawl and go for a walk into the woods for a while,’ she said to Maggie when they had closed the office door firmly behind them.
‘Quite right, lassie. You’ll not be wanting to keep company with that she-dragon more than you can help.’ Maggie clapped her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh dear, I beg pardon, Janet, I shouldna say such things to you.’
‘Never mind,’ Janet smiled, ‘you have guessed my intention is to escape until I see the coach departing. Please leave the wash house door unlocked though. If I need to come in I will use the
back stairs to my room.’
Maggie nodded her understanding and wished she didn’t have such a dark feeling of foreboding. Mrs Ross had certainly been furious to learn Mr Saunders was married.
Janet was relieved when she saw the Ross coach departing less than two hours later. When they retired to the library after their evening meal, Josiah seemed vaguely troubled as he confided the reason for Eliza’s visit.
‘Eliza wanted, nay demanded, my help to save Henry from joining the army.’
‘Does he want to join the army?’ Janet asked in surprise. Her impression of Henry was that he was a bully and a coward, but she would never hurt Josiah by saying so.
‘No, he does not want to do anything which might involve effort,’ Josiah said grimly. ‘His father is a decent man and I agree the discipline of army life might make a man of Henry so I refused to intervene. Eliza spoiled him and he has grown into a self-indulgent young man. He has been gambling for serious sums and his father has refused to pay off his debts. He intends to buy him a commission in the army.’
‘I see,’ Janet said after some thought. ‘I suppose Henry will still have to pay his debts but he is fortunate his father is not banishing him without a penny.’
‘If he is honourable he will pay his debts but Henry is not honourable. He will wriggle out of them like the worm he is, if he can,’ Josiah said with contempt. ‘Eliza wants me to pay off his debts so that his father might relent about sending him to the army. She left in a fury when I refused.’
‘Ah,’ Janet said, ‘now I understand.’ She knew her husband well enough now to know he disliked quarrels of any kind and Eliza Ross was the nearest he had to family. She went to kneel beside his chair and took his twisting hands in her own small, strong fingers. ‘You have done what you consider best for Henry. You have tried to be fair. I believe you have helped him several times already so you must not feel troubled,’ she said gently. Josiah looked down into her upturned face and saw the earnest expression in her wide-eyed gaze. Young though she was, she had coped with the
hardships of life with courage and honesty and hard work.
‘You have a wisdom beyond your years, Janet. My mistake was in giving in to Eliza’s demands on Henry’s behalf in the early days. I shall write a letter and send it with Donald to Edward Ross tomorrow. I shall assure him of my full support and promise I will not interfere whatever he decides regarding Henry’s future. He does not need it of course, but he is aware Eliza has tried to involve me in Henry’s life. It is time that young man stood on his own feet. It is a pity he did not have several siblings to teach him to share.’
Janet was content during the next few weeks. Evie Bell was an eager pupil and making excellent progress as her confidence increased.
‘I can understand now why my grandfather enjoyed his work so much and why he seemed to have such endless patience with Andrew and Fingal. Although they enjoyed different subjects they were both keen to learn whatever he could teach them.’
‘In that case, Janet, you should understand how much pleasure you have given me in allowing me to guide your taste in books. As for anything to do with numbers, I believe you are teaching me since you began to deal with the ledgers. However ill I might be, I have no fear now of things falling behind.’
‘But I enjoy sharing your interest, and even the problems which some of your tenants present,’ Janet assured him.
‘Yes, and they seem to like your visits when you accompany me. As for Mrs Bell and Evie, I think they would be very disappointed if you did not accompany me each week.’
‘The enjoyment is mutual,’ Janet said with a smile.
It was ten-year-old Beth, Peggy’s little girl, who told Janet that the younger boys from Braeheights had begun attending school.
‘They stay with their grandmother, Mrs Fortescue, during the week and their big brother Joe collects them on Fridays. Mr Foster had an accident and his leg is – is cripped.’
‘Crippled?’ Janet prompted gently
‘Yes, that’s it. So Joe is allowed to bring them to school now.’
‘I see. I wonder how Mr Foster did that?’ Janet mused.
‘Adam says he tried to move a cow from the bull’s shed so the
bull knocked him down and trampled on him and broke his knee and his other leg. The doctor says it will take months to heal and he’ll never be able to bend his knee again.’
‘Oh dear. Poor Mrs Foster. I wonder how they are managing.’
‘Angus and me – well we thought you would be glad because our mother said Mr Foster was nasty to you.’
‘I certainly didn’t like him but Mrs Foster was kind to me, and so was Joe and – and Molly.’ Her voice trembled when she thought of Molly. Perhaps Mr Foster had got what he deserved. ‘I wonder how they will manage the farm?’
‘Adam says Joe is the farmer now and their mother sings while she is working and they are happy. They have a big strong man to help Joe. His wife helps in the house.’
Janet told Josiah and Maggie McLauchlan what she had heard about the Fosters.
‘Pity the bull didna finish him off all together, if you ask me,’ Maggie said bluntly, ‘but at least it sounds as though Hannah is happier. I hear Joe is a hard-working, capable lad.’
‘He is. I’m sure he’ll manage, with help.’
‘It is true the Lord works in mysterious ways,’ Josiah said. ‘I am pleased Mrs Foster is able to manage the farm and her family. If you wish to invite the Foster boys to visit they are welcome to come here after school with Beth and Angus. Donald tells me he is nearly fourteen and he will be leaving soon. He wants to be a blacksmith. Perhaps you would like to make a special tea for the four of them? The young Fosters could stay here overnight and I shall instruct Donald to take all four of them to school the following morning as a treat.’
‘Oh, they would love that!’ Janet said eagerly, her eyes shining. ‘I could make them a caramel custard for a pudding. It was their mother’s favourite food when she was – if she was feeling ill.’
‘I think the children are not the only ones who will enjoy it, my dear,’ Josiah said with an indulgent smile. ‘I suggest you invite them for Thursday evening and perhaps you would write a note for them to give their grandmother so that she knows where they are.’
‘Thank you Josiah. You think of everything.’
‘I like to see you happy, Janet, and it takes so little to give you pleasure.’ She smiled at him and hurried away to tell Maggie McLauchlan.
‘I would enjoy preparing a meal for them so please don’t think I want you to do extra work,’ she said.
‘Eh, lassie, I wouldna mind. Mr Saunders is right though, the bairns will enjoy a treat and I know you like cooking and baking so I will leave the kitchen to you on Thursday.’
So Janet got out her precious writing box and wrote a letter for Beth to give to the Foster boys. ‘Tell them I shall need a reply from their grandmother so that I know they have remembered to give her the letter. I don’t want her to be worried when they don’t return from school on Thursday.’