Knowl Park - Introduction Part 1

Fruitcake · 1 February 2021 09:18

[CENTER]Chapter 9 Part 5[/CENTER]

Gradually she became aware of her surroundings as she slowly opened her eyes.
She must have fallen asleep. Opposite her was the same middle-aged couple that had entered the carriage after she and Philip had sat down. The man was looking out of the window, but the lady was looking at her and smiled as she did so.
Philip had been sitting in the middle seat to her right, and had taken her right hand in his left, then placed it on the seat between them. When she awoke, he was still holding her hand, but now it felt different.
When all her senses began to function, she realised that things had changed. This wasn’t like the dull, leaden feeling followed by pins and needles she sometimes got if she somehow fell asleep in an awkward position. This was more like … looking around a room in the dark after the candles had been blown out, and gradually becoming aware of her surroundings as her eyes adjusted to the gloom. In this case, she was gradually becoming aware of her body, as if parts of it were gradually coming back to life.

Her right hand was no longer in Philip’s left, but in his right, which was now resting palm upwards on his left thigh. To her surprise, she then discovered that her left hand was resting on Philip’s chest, and her head was resting on his shoulder, with his left arm around her, holding her close to him by her upper arm.

Intimate was the word that first popped into her mind. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder and he had wrapped her up next to him. He had not tried to move her, discourage her, or awaken her. Whatever discomfort he had felt with her lying against him he had endured without protest.
At that moment she felt closer to him than she had ever felt before. She was in love with him, and wanted to tell him right now in that railway carriage, but she knew it would do no good.
She was no longer a child, but she knew he would say she was still too young, and probably still say that they could not be together.
As the train slowed for the final curve into the big city station, she looked up at him and smiled, even though she felt pain inside.
He looked down into her eyes and smiled before kissing her on her forehead, saying, “Hello sleepy head. We need to change trains now”

He didn’t offer an arm as he usually did when he escorted her, but instead took her hand to ensure they did not become separated. He led her along the platform, then over the iron footbridge to the platform where the train to the town near their home would depart.

Finding a vacant bench seat, they both sat and waited. He was still holding her hand. “What was happening?” She thought. Was he going to tell her something she didn’t want to hear? He had been so kind, so gentlemanly … so honourable towards her that she couldn’t help feeling he was about to break her heart, even though it was the last thing he would ever want to do.
When she had told her parents that Philip had not invited anyone else, her mother sat her down and warned her he may be going to tell her bad news. If he was with someone else, or wanted to be with someone else, he would tell her, not let her find out some other way.

After a while she spoke. “What did you tell your landlady? I know I have no right to say, but when she asked you about us, you said something different to your normal answer.”
Looking at the expression on his face she suddenly said, “I, I, oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Leaning towards his friend he said quietly, “We were talking about you, so you have every right to ask, and every right to know what was said.”

Leaning closer still he began, “When she asked me if you were my sweetheart, I said …”
His lips pressed against her thick, red-brown hair, making it tickle her cheek as he did so. It was late afternoon but the air was still warm, yet she shuddered as his hot breath fluttered around inside the shell of her ear as he spoke.

It wasn’t the sudden shrill blast of a locomotive steam whistle that made her jump; it was the two words he breathed into her ear, so close that another person standing next to them could not have heard it.

She went rigid, not wanting or daring to look at him as he broke contact with her before looking at the platform clock, saying, “We have plenty of time yet. There is no rush.”

She remembered very little of the rest of the journey back to the manor. Like an automaton, she got on the train and allowed Philip to hold her hand, got off at the other end and rode home in in the jaunting car driven by William.
Afterwards she couldn’t even remember talking to Millie. She wasn’t even sure she had been there.

That night it took a long time for her to get to sleep, and then only fitfully, remembering over and over again every time she woke those two words that Philip had spoken directly into her ear.

Over and over in her head flashed all her memories of Philip from the day they first met and he had given her some of his toys. How he had saved her when she was attacked. Their friendship ever since.

But now, nothing was ever going to be the same again. Philip, the man she loved, had in saying those two words, changed her life forever.
Her pillow was wet with tears as she eventually fell into a deep sleep.

That night she dreamed a strange dream. When she was younger, her father had been commissioned to make some branding irons for a company that wanted its name burned into every box and packing case that left its manufactory.
For her thirteenth birthday he had made her a branding iron that spelled her name. Despite protests from her mother, he had heated the iron in the forge before running through the cottage and then with a flourish, burned his daughter’s name into her bedroom door.
She remembered the smoke and flame, and tiny bits of charred wood that fell to the floor as he pressed the dull red iron brand into the wood.

In her dream, the letters on her door changed, and instead of her name, her father burned the two words that Philip had spoken, over and over again into hundreds of imaginary doors until she awoke, sweating, sure that she could still smell the fire and see the smoke in her room.

Tiffany · 1 February 2021 19:19

Oooh! A mystery. I wonder what those two words were!

Fruitcake · 1 February 2021 22:14

I thought about revealing it in the next (final) chapter, but have decided to add conundrum as an ending instead.
One will be answered in the epilogue, and one in a postscript that will follow it.

Tiffany · 1 February 2021 22:18

Fruitcake · 3 February 2021 20:40

'Tis finished. I shall let it brew for another day before giving it a final proof read, and then I’ll post it.

Fruitcake · 5 February 2021 14:51

[CENTER]Chapter 10 Part 1[/CENTER]

It had taken the men nearly four hours to rescue the beast, but now they couldn’t stop laughing, and it was all Master Philip’s fault.

Since taking over as estate manager, he had got into the habit of checking the boundaries a section at a time, and visiting the residents and workers in each particular area while he was there.
Today he had headed over on foot to the North-West part of the estate to check on Mr and Mrs Hardcastle, who had a five-acre smallholding. They kept hens and ducks, and usually visited the manor at least once a week to sell eggs, and sometimes other fresh produce, but hadn’t been seen for ten days.
Philip found the couple hard at work in their vegetable plot, fighting the weeds that had sprung up due to heavy rains followed by several days of bright sunshine.

Having determined that all was well, Philip began walking South along the Western border of the estate, looking for damaged fences and hedgerows as he went, as well as anything else untoward such as a stray or injured animal.
Climbing to the top of a tumulus, he noticed movement in a hollow to one side of a stream. In heavy rain, the stream would overflow and run through the dip forming a grassy island, before it re-joined the original watercourse.
When the rains stopped and the water level reduced, the hollow would become first a long thin pond, then a bog, before eventually drying out completely.

Philip normally carried a small satchel on his walks, and today was no different. Inside it was a notebook and pencils, a small flask of water, and a map of the estate. It also contained a small brass bring-em-near, and it was this he used to see what had first caught his attention in the hollow.
Ged Morris had a herd of British White-Cross Friesians because of their high milk yield, and two Guernsey cows that were prized for their cream.

When Philip had been twelve, he and his brother had found a disused Ice-House built into the side of a hill to the North of the manor house. Albert had organised several estate workers to clear it and make it safe, and said that anyone from the estate or the village could use it as long as they helped to fill it with ice and snow each Winter.

Ged and his wife would take several boxes of ice to keep their dairy produce cool when they went to market, and made a decent profit selling cold milk in Summer, as well as keeping fresh their cheeses, and clotted cream made from the milk produced by the two Guernsey cows.

Through his telescope Philip could see one of these cows had got itself stuck in the muddy dip, and several men were trying to dig or pull it out, but so far, all their efforts had failed.

When Philip arrived at the muddy morass, he was told that someone had gone to fetch Clem and the Blacksmith. Clem was good with animals, and Geoff Prentice was both intelligent and strong.
Both men arrived a few minutes apart some twenty minutes later, bringing several more men with them, and a cart loaded with things they thought might be useful including shovels, sacking, ropes, and wooden planks.

Several suggestions were made and tried, but it was eventually decided that the only practical option really was to dig away as much mud as possible, then try to pull each hoof out in turn and slide wide boards underneath to spread the weight, whilst a couple of the strongest men pushed upwards on the cow’s hip bones and Clem soothed and pulled the cow with a swiftly made halter and bridle.

Unfortunately, the cow was most uncooperative, and kept sliding its hooves off the planks every time the men tried to lift the next one.

Eventually though after another two hours, the beast was finally dug free and pulled out using the rope-bridle.
“Thank heavens it was a Guernsey and not a Friesian” commented Ged’s friend, Arthur. “We would never have got one of your bigger cows out ’till th’Autumn Equinox.”

By this time, all the men were plastered from head to toe in mud and clay. It was at this point Master Philip began to laugh quietly. When asked what was so funny, he stood up and said in an exaggerated false upper-class voice,
“Ay em inveyted to the Palmer-Montegue’s summer ball this fine eve.”
Indicated his mud-spattered frontage, including a wide, dark sash of cow-pee diagonally from shoulder to hip, he made a dandy-like leg and held out his hand to an imaginary lady, saying, “Mey Ay hev the pleasure of this daaance?” He then proceeded to pull his imaginary partner to him, making a squelching noise with his mouth as he did so, then performed a dance with “her” around the field, to hoots of laughter from the other men.

It was some minutes before the laughter subsided, and then Philip declared that he really must go because he really had been invited to a summer ball.

The Palmer-Montegues had “requested the pleasure of Albert and Sarah Marsden’s company” along with both their sons, but Philip’s brother was unable to attend as he had just become a father for the first time a few days earlier.

Albert was actually convinced their invitation would be cancelled because of Philip’s involvement in his friend Charlotte’s scandalous marriage, but nothing had been said, so the arrangements were made for the three remaining family members to attend.
Because it was so far away, they would be spending the night, as would two maids and a carriage driver. The maids would tend to the Marsden family’s needs, and were also expected by the hosts to help serve food and drink to the hundred or so guests

Fruitcake · 5 February 2021 14:52

[CENTER]Chapter 10 Part 2[/CENTER]

It was with no great surprise that William and Millie chose to accompany the family, but Mrs Marsden was surprised that Amanda had asked if she could assist as well.
Sarah knew that something had changed between Philip and Amanda, but couldn’t say what it was. For a week after her day out by train with her son, the girl had seemed very pre-occupied, but appeared bright enough when she spoke. When asked if she had enjoyed her day out with Philip, she had replied, “Very much so thank you.”

Sarah had asked Philip about his day out as well, and had a similar reply, but no mention of romance or heartbreak. “Perhaps” thought his mother, “he had said nothing at all about their relationship. Perhaps Amanda had hoped too much that Philip would finally choose her, but was disappointed when he had made no overtures to her at all.”
“At least he didn’t give her bad news,” was all Philip’s mother could think.

Philip was late. The carriage was ready, his parents were ready, everything they would need for their journey and overnight stay had been packed, but there was no sign of Philip at all until half an hour after the time they were supposed to leave.
Briefly explaining about the cow, Philip said, “You go on ahead and I’ll take a horse once I have removed as much of Ged’s field, and everything that the cow had discharged in my direction from its nether regions as I can.”

Several members of the household staff giggled at the sight of the young master, stripped to the waist in the stable yard, pouring buckets of water over himself drawn from the horse-trough. Throwing a horse blanket around himself, he left most of his clothes in an empty stall before padding through the house to his private bathroom.

Once he was presentable in clothes suitable for travelling, he saddled a horse and set off at a trot to the summer ball, knowing that he would be able to change into his best suit and shirt once at his destination.

Because of the distance, Albert had chosen their comfortable two-horse carriage for their journey. Even though they were slower than Philip, he was so far behind that he arrived a good half hour after the others.
William had waited in the stables, and was relieved when his friend eventually arrived, before unsaddling the mount and leading it to its two stablemates.
One of the grooms offered to show the new arrival to where he knew his parents would be settling in, saying he would let the rest of the staff know that the whole family had arrived and were now in adjacent rooms of the guest wing.

Philip let his parents know he had arrived before going to change, finding his clothes had already been unpacked from his bag, and laid out ready for him.
He made a mental note to find and thank the person who had done this for him. He also wanted to find his other two friends to let them know he was there, and to make sure they were all right.

The place was huge, ornate, and very ostentatious, with massive columns at the front, and smaller columns to the rear.

It took a while for Philip to find the kitchen, and had to ask several times for directions. Each time he did, he received surprised looks as if to say, “What on earth does a young gentleman want with the kitchen?”

When he finally got there, it was chaos, or at least that was his first impression. Cooks and assistant cooks were rushing from stove to range to fireplace while others emptied or filled bowls and pans with all sorts of foods, and yet more stacked plates and cutlery on a large table.
Several men were shuttling in and out with these plates and other crockery whilst another barked out orders.

Eventually a harassed looking woman noticed Philip and came over to greet him. “Oh sir, you must be lost. Here, let me find someone to lead you back to the ballroom.”

Having taken the trouble to obtain the name of the head cook from one of the staff who had helped him find his way, Philip surprised the woman by asking, “I’m Philip Marsden from the Knowl Park estate. Do I have the honour of addressing Mrs Harris?

“Why yes sir, that’s me. Is there something I can help you with? She replied, pleased at the way this young man had shown her such respect in her little domain.

“I hope so. I’m looking for two of my friends, Millie and Amanda. They both work for my mother and I was led to believe they might be here to help you with your important work.”

“My,” thought the cook, “he certainly knows how to charm a lady, but friends with two maids? That seems a little unlikely.”
Nevertheless, she could get into trouble for not helping this young man, so she led him to pair of large sinks where the blond and the brown-haired girls from Knowl Park were busy washing up posts and pans.

Both turned and beamed with delight when they heard a familiar voice say, “Good evening ladies. I have a set of mildly soiled clothes you could be starting on next if you wish.”
The girls laughed and to the cook’s shock, the brunette replied, “Not on your Nelly, Pip. You can wash your own filthy clothes thank you very much. That will teach you not to make mud pies in the future.”

Seeing the look on the cook’s face, Philip explained that he and a group of men, including Amanda’s father, had helped one of the tenant farmers to extricate a cow that had become stuck in a muddy hollow. He went on to say that he had become so mired that he had arrived home late and filthy, and had to get cleaned up while the rest of his family and friends had set off in order not to be late here themselves.

Fruitcake · 5 February 2021 14:52

[CENTER]Chapter 10 Part 3[/CENTER]

Turning to Millie, Philip went on, “I’ve seen William and I expect he will be here to help as soon as he can. I just wanted to let you all know I am here, and to make sure you have everything you need.”

Both girls confirmed they were well set, so he told them he would see them in the ballroom when the food was being served.

“Mrs Harris, thank you for your time, and for looking after my friends. They are hard workers all, so I hope you will be pleased with their efforts this evening.” With a huge grin he then pointed at the brown-haired girl before saying, “Just don’t let this one give you any cheek.”
The young man then surprised the cook again by giving a slight bow to her before kissing each girl on the cheek.

Realising that several of her own staff had stopped to listen and stare, the cook clapped her hands then loudly told everyone to stop gawking and get back to their work.
Looking back at the two girls, she saw the brown-haired one smiling happily as she scrubbed a copper pan for all she was worth. Whatever her relationship with the young man, it seemed to help her do her job well.

Moments later a rather good-looking young man she had never seen before arrived and spoke to the two Knowl Park girls. Having worked in a noisy kitchen for thirty-five years, she had become quite adept at lip reading, and so was able to decipher much of the exchange between the newcomer and the two maids.
The two girls were obviously pleased to see the boy, noting that the brown-haired girl said his name, and then something about having just seen Pip. The blond haired girl pointed towards the cook and mouthed her name, then the young man thanked her before kissing her on the lips and then headed in her direction.

When he arrived in front of her, the young man said, “Mrs Harris? My name is William and I work for Mr Marsden at the Knowl Park estate. Please tell me how I may help you this evening.”

The cook thought, “I don’t know if it is something in the water over at Knowl Park, but whatever it is I want to bottle it and have the family and servants here drink it so they behave in the same manner.”

Calling out to a middle-aged man who turned out to be the head butler, Mrs Harris shouted above the din, “This is William from Knowl Park. He will assist you to move the tables and chairs in the ballroom.”
With barely a nod of acknowledgement, the older man told William to follow him, and disappeared through the door leading to the main part of the house.

After an hour of sheer boredom, Master Philip left his rooms in the guest wing and went looking for the ballroom to see if there was anyone there that he knew. The room was vast; nearly half the floor area of the whole of Knowl Manor. The dining room here wasn’t deemed large enough to accommodate all the guests that were expected to attend, so tables had been placed in a U shape along the sides and one end of the ballroom, between large marble pillars and the walls.
Right now, several men including William were moving tables and chairs around under the direction of the house butler, whilst women spread expensive and elaborate cloths upon them.
When he arrived, the daughter of his family’s host, Lady Belinda Palmer-Montegue was inspecting and criticising everything that was being laid out around the vast room.

“Oh this won’t do. The tables are too close to the dance area. They are just in the wrong place; everyone of import who is dancing will be able to smell the food as it is brought in.”
“Nobody will be able to hear the quartet for the sound of understaff clattering about with dishes and the silverware. We shall be counting it all you know to make sure none of it goes missing!”

Four musicians had begun their tune-up and then started to practice a series of classical pieces written by popular musicians of the era, including waltzes and other dance tunes.
Lady Belinda spotted Master Philip and called out his name, insisting he join her.
Meanwhile, Philip’s friends had begun to bring in plates and dishes and cutlery ready for the food to be brought in later when there would be a break mid-ball for all the guests to eat.

Unbeknownst to Master Philip, Lady Belinda had been told by her parents that she should endear herself to him because his family were landed gentry, and he was an eligible bachelor who could afford to keep her in luxury, and maintain the current status that she enjoyed.

What she didn’t know was that Philip was not the slightest bit interested in making a “suitable marriage”, especially to someone he perceived to be as shallow and rude as this young woman.

He half listened to her as she prattled on about the shortcomings of the staff, and especially the visiting servants whom she deemed were less than worthy of her attention, and quite frankly thought were inbred, stupid peasants who didn’t deserve to be paid to be in her company.

In the past, Master Philip would have been outraged and incensed, and would have stood and told all concerned what he thought, but not tonight. He had mellowed, and preferred to show his feelings towards those people who were important in his life rather than against those that had opposing opinions to his own.
He had found that being calm and polite to someone who had been offensive made them more upset than merely shouting at them.

Fruitcake · 5 February 2021 14:53

[CENTER]Chapter 10 Part 4[/CENTER]

When Millie and Amanda appeared, he begged her leave and broke away from the young woman who had demanded his initial attention, and instead went to speak to his friends. As the Quartet continued to play, to Lady Belinda’s astonishment he took the brown-haired maid by the hand and slipped his other around her waist before dancing with her around the room.
Whatever the musicians thought, they never ceased playing even though Lady Charmaine was willing them to stop.

Eventually Master Philip and the maid came to a halt, and the young man thanked the girl, then bowed before kissing her on the hand.

Lady Belinda did not understand what was happening. She knew many men took a mistress as well as a wife, but would normally be discrete about it. This was quite the opposite. This was no illicit affair with someone from below stairs. It was totally inappropriate, flaunting his relationship and mixing with the staff.
She decided there and then that she would stop whatever nonsense was going on between the maid and the man she had been told she should marry. After all, her future depended upon it.
As a result, she began to devise a plan to discredit the servant girl and clear the way for Lady Belinda to be with someone who could afford to keep her happy.

An hour and a half later, the Summer Ball officially began.
Married couples, older couples, or parents with young children tended to congregate towards the end of the ballroom that opened out onto a wide patio where many guests wandered to view the gardens and parklands gently sloping away from the main house.

Single men had begun to congregate on one side of the room, and discussed the various favours of the single ladies who had gathered and simpered on the opposite side of the room.
Dance cards were requested and filled in, or in some cases, forcibly thrust into the hands of unsuspecting bachelors who felt obliged to add their names to the cards.
Master Philip had studiously managed to avoid these exchanges until Lady Belinda surprised him from behind, having surreptitiously slid along the walls and all the way round from one side of the room to the other. Having sought him out, she placed her dance card into his hand. There was nothing for it but to comply, so Philip wrote his name on it and said he would see her later before going back to a small group of young men that he knew slightly.

Belinda was rather miffed. He had been polite enough, but barely said more than a few words before bowing and walking away. She would have to await until it was Philip’s turn to dance with her, then make sure she did not hand her card to anyone else.
Two other men asked her, but she lied, telling them both that her card was full so regrettably would not be able to dance with them on this occasion.

Philip mingled with his parents, the guests and his hosts, chatted with some of the young men he knew, as well as a few of the single ladies present, but during the whole time he was there, he never danced with anyone at all until he was approached by the “horrible young woman” as he now thought of her.

He was too polite to rebuff her request, especially in her own home, and so began to dance. He was not an accomplished dancer; adequate enough not to make a fool of himself, but nowhere near as good as some of the other men, or even the woman who he currently held.

Again, he barely said anything except when spoken too. Belinda thought he was distant and cold. Well, she would soon change that.
As they moved around the dance floor in a series of not so elegant moves, at least on his part, he would look for his friends, and smiled every time he passed them, but never smiled once at his dance partner.

An announcement was made asking the guests to all move out onto the veranda whilst the food was brought in, and then a few minutes later they were requested to find their places as indicated by elegant cards with their names written in gold lettering.

When the guests began to re-enter the ballroom, there was a most unladylike shout from Lady Belinda at the other end of the room.

“Where is it? I placed my brooch there on the table when the clasp broke and told you to look after it. It’s gone,” she continued, stabbing a finger at Amanda. “What have you done with my brooch. It is very valuable. You took it didn’t you? You are a thief and I demand you give it back this instant”

Amanda was bewildered and frightened by this woman’s vitriolic outburst and downright lies. The woman had said nothing of the sort to her, nor had she seen the brooch.
“I did not take it. If you asked me to look after it, then I did not hear you, nor have I even seen your brooch. I would certainly have taken care of it if you had asked me.”

“Are you calling me a liar? Lady Belinda bridled. “You took it. There was nobody else here, and I distinctly heard you say you would look after my brooch which I placed here on the corner of the table right next to where you are standing now.”

A crowd of people had swept across the dance floor like a wave to see this unexpected entertainment. Amanda was almost in tears when she saw Philip striding across the room in her direction with a look of thunder on his face.
Turning to face the other guests, Lady Belinda demanded that the girl be searched right now, and her room if necessary.

Ignoring Lady Belinda, Philip approached the table and said to his friend across it, loudly enough for those close by to hear, “I know you did not take it. I know you are not a thief.”

Fruitcake · 5 February 2021 14:53

[CENTER]Chapter 10 Part 5[/CENTER]

Turning angrily to his friend’s accuser, he said, “Miss Prentice is my best friend. I have known her since she was three years old. In all that time I have never known her to take anything that is not hers, nor to ever tell a lie.”
“You will not find a single person from our estate or the village that believes this young woman has taken your brooch.”
“I can only assume therefore Miss Belinda, that you are mistaken.”
Several people noticed that the young man defending the servant girl accused of theft had not used Lady Belinda’s title, merely calling her Miss.

“She will not be searched. Her dress has no pockets, and it is quite obvious that she has nothing in her hands or her apron. Even though the room in which she has been placed belongs to your family, I will not permit anyone to search it or my friend’s private belongings either.”
“Now Miss Belinda, you have told us a story about asking this young lady to look after your precious brooch, but have given us no information about the brooch itself. Please describe it to us so we may search for it in here.”

Becoming even angrier, the woman said, “It is not a story, and you will not find it here.” Pointing again at the maid she continued. “She stole it! There can be no other explanation.”
“As for the brooch itself, it has a silver surround, a large blue sapphire, with a silver mounted diamond in its centre. The clasp broke so I left it here until I had finished my next dance, which was actually with you. When I came back to collect it, this thief had stolen it.”

Philip immediately set about searching the hanging tablecloths and under the tables. Suddenly he swivelled towards Belinda and exclaimed, “Aha!”
Bending, he asked, “May I be so bold?” but didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he began tugging at the woman’s dark coloured ballgown near her feet. He then stood, holding something in his hand as he did so.
Calling to one of the guests, Philip asked Mr Jamieson to act as a witness, reminding everyone that he was the local Magistrate and was therefore beyond reproach.

Opening his hand, Philip asked the magistrate to describe what he saw.
“I see a brooch,” began the older man. The assembled guests gasped when the older man held it up so all could see, and continued, “It has a silver surround, a large blue sapphire, and a small silver mounted diamond in its centre.”
Turing it over he went on, “and I see that the clasp is broken.”
This brought another gasp from the onlookers, and a cry of alarm and bewilderment from Belinda. “But that’s impossible. It can’t be, I …” then allowed her voice to trail off lest she say something that would make matters worse.

Handing the jewellery piece to Belinda, the magistrate said, “I believe this is the brooch that you misplaced. I see no deceit nor evidence that any crime has been committed, save the harm to the reputation of this young lady that you have done. I believe you now owe her an apology.”

She never gave it, but instead ran out of the room, red faced, confused, and angry.

The guests were now muttering amongst themselves when the clatter of hooves and the sight of a good-looking young man leading a horse across the polished floor of the ballroom brought even louder gasps of astonishment.

Holding his arm out towards the blacksmith’s daughter, Philip said loudly, “Come Miss ’Manda, I’m taking you home.”

There were more amazed gasps and mutterings from the gathered crowd as the handsome young man turned the horse, then held it steady whilst the maid deftly mounted the animal before taking her feet out of the stirrups and shuffling forward in the saddle.
Cries of disbelief then pierced the room as the young man who had found the brooch pulled himself up into the saddle behind the girl before slipping both arms around her waist.
The young man holding the bridle then passed the reins to the girl, who then set the horse moving slowly and steadily across the dance floor. The two riders briefly grasped the upheld hand of the horse-handler who just nodded in acknowledgment before walking over to the attractive blond girl near where all the commotion had all taken place.

Philip spoke quietly to Amanda, who then stopped the horse as they came level with Lord and Lady Palmer-Montegue.
“Sir, Madam, I have been put in an untenable position. My friend’s honour and good name have been unjustly impugned and it would be unfair now to ask her to stay, nor can I allow her to travel home on her own.”
“I must therefore bid you good day.”

Before the pair could continue, Philip’s parents spoke up to their hosts as well.
“It is too late for us to pack up and leave now, so we shall retire early and depart in the morning after we have taken breakfast in our room.” Nodding towards the pair on the horse, then to back of the ballroom he added, “William and Millie will pack their belongings, and we will all leave tomorrow.”
Indicating the girl on the horse, Albert spoke again, “I will reiterate what our Philip said. This young lady is as honest as the day is long, and I trust her implicitly. She has been wronged with no apology, and that is unforgiveable.”
“I bid you both good day as well,” before turning on his heel and taking his wife’s arm and leaving the room, closely followed by their two employees.

There was stunned silence for some time after the horse with its two riders had passed through the veranda doors before crossing onto the grass where it was encouraged to find its own pace once free of the treacherous polished floor and the stone slabs without.
After a few minutes, Philip leaned forward and began to tell his friend a fantastical tale.

Fruitcake · 5 February 2021 14:54

[CENTER]Chapter 10 Part 6[/CENTER]

A young serving girl had approached him and introduced herself as Janet Clarke, Jonathan Clarke’s cousin. She thanked him for what he had done to ensure her relative married Lady Charlotte, and wanted to repay his kindness.

Janet had been tasked with supplying a ewer and basin as well as clean towels to the visiting maids’ bedrooms. Coming out of the closet along the narrow passageway that ran along the servants’ quarters in the attic rooms, she had seen Lady Belinda looking furtively around before glancing at something in her hand that briefly glinted in the light, then slipped inside one of the small bedrooms.
Blending back into the shadows, Janet had seen the other woman leave the room very shortly afterwards, but this time with empty hands.

Once she was alone, the young girl had entered the same room to leave the washing bowl and jug before placing the towels next to them, then glanced around the room. She had made the beds that morning, and had shown the two pleasant girls from Kowl House to their rooms. They each left their small bags before following Janet back to the kitchen to begin work.
She knew therefore that the bed had looked pristine at that point, and that neither girl had been back, but now the pillow was creased and slightly askew. Lifting it up she saw an expensive looking brooch resting on the bed. Knowing also that it had not been there before, and having seen the unpopular Lady Belinda just enter the room with something in her hand, and leave the room moments later without it, she correctly guessed that the brooch had been placed there only a moment before.
She didn’t know why it had been put there, but knowing Lady Belinda’s temperament, she decided it was unlikely to be a gift for a stranger, and much more likely to be something sinister.
She quickly checked up and down the corridor before retrieving the trinket, then briefly hiding it in the linen cupboard whilst she placed towels and another basin and ewer in the other maid’s room.

She then collected the brooch, now wrapped in a duster, before descending the servants’ stairs at the back of the house whilst she worked out what she would do.
She mustn’t be caught with it else she would be accused of stealing, and dismissed without a reference, and could not hand it to anyone, especially the two visiting maids, for the same reason.
The only thing she could think to do was to tell Master Philip what she had seen and found. They had never met, but her cousin had told her all about him, and his courage and cunning in arranging a marriage in secret under the nose of Lady Charlotte’s father.
She knew she could trust him, and when she saw him dancing with the brown-haired girl, she knew it was the right thing to do, especially as she knew how much Master Philip’s friends had helped with the wedding as well.

As soon as the young man left the ballroom, Janet introduced herself, receiving a beaming smile in return. This quickly vanished, to be replaced with a look of astonishment then concern as she told her tale.
Philip paused for a moment when she had finished, and then said, “You had better give it to me now before someone sees us.” He produced a clean kerchief from a pocket and quickly wrapped the brooch, before handing the duster back to the girl.
He thanked her profusely then gallantly kissed her hand before asking her not to mention this to anyone, not even his friends, before they parted company.

When he finished speaking, Amanda was absolutely stunned. “Why did Belinda do it? Why did she hide it in my room then accuse me of stealing it, knowing it wasn’t true?” How did she even know which room I was using?”

“I’m not really sure, but she seemed upset when I left her company to dance with you. Perhaps she just did it out of spite. As for finding your room, she must have asked one of the other staff, but Janet certainly didn’t tell her.”
“I shall write to her and thank her. I meant to thank whoever unpacked my clothes and set my things out, but I never found out who it was.”

“Then I shall add a note as well,” added Amanda. After a moment she asked, “so how did the brooch get tangled up in her dress?”

“It didn’t,” replied Philip. “When I pretended to look under the table, I took it out of my kerchief and hid it in the palm of my hand. I then just tugged on her gown to make it look like something had become attached to it.”
“I wanted to warn you what was happening, but needed everyone to believe me when I found the brooch, and I couldn’t risk it if people didn’t think you were upset. I’m sorry.”

“How did William know to bring the horse? His friend asked.

“I told him to have it ready on the veranda, having already decided to take you home as soon as I found out about the brooch. I was going to give it back to the woman telling her I knew what she had done, but she started shouting at you before I had the chance.”
“William must have decided to bring my horse in himself; I certainly didn’t ask him to. I must say he looked really good doing it, and I thought you were magnificent the way you mounted and rode afterwards.”
After a moment he mused, “I wonder if we will get an invitation next year,” which made Amanda snort with laughter.

The two friends said very little after that on the long ride home, each reflecting on what had happened at the Ball. They stopped for a while on the crest of a low hill to watch the moon rise in the South East.

Amanda was in deep thought, and came to a decision that she would once again tell Philip how she felt about him. She was almost eighteen, no longer a child, and right here, right now, with his arms around her, both of them looking at this beautiful moon, she felt so close to him both physically and emotionally that she never wanted it to end.

Philip was in deep thought. He cared very much for this young woman. As they both watched the moon, full and bright just above the horizon, with his arms around her, an image of Annette, the pretty serving girl from Mrs Beasley’s Tea Rooms slipped across his mind’s eye.
In that instant he knew what he must do. Amanda was his best friend and she had a right to know the truth. Even though there was nobody for miles around to see or hear them, he bent forward and spoke softly into her ear,

“Miss ’Manda, there is something I need to tell you.”

[CENTER]The End[/CENTER]

Tiffany · 6 February 2021 13:03

I enjoyed reading that Fruitcake.

Fruitcake · 6 February 2021 14:00

Thanks. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, and I really appreciate your comments all the way through. It’s one of the main things that encouraged me to keep going.

Questions will be answered in the Epilogue and Postscript still to come.

I would be interested to see comments from you, or anyone else, what you or they think happened afterwards.
It won’t change anything, but you might want to see if you were right.

I might even do some authors notes on how the story came about and developed as I wrote it.

Tiffany · 6 February 2021 14:03

Fruitcake · 9 February 2021 23:09

[CENTER]Epilogue[/CENTER]

William and Millie were in front of the fire in the cottage where they both lived, taking turns to use a toasting fork made by Geoff Prentice the Blacksmith as a wedding present.

At the same time, Amanda was setting the table. She was intelligent and observant, so it came as no surprise to the others in the room when she stopped what she was doing to ask a question.

Looking first at the woman in her early thirties who was sitting at one end of the table, she began, “If I am named after you …” then pointed at the man in his late thirties sitting next to the younger woman before continuing, “why does Daddy sometimes call you Miss ’Manda, and why do you call him Pip?”

Fruitcake · 9 February 2021 23:10

[CENTER]Postscript[/CENTER]

Master Philip did not consider himself to be at all good looking. If asked, he would have replied that he thought his looks were at best, less than average.
As a result, he gave no thought to the notion that there might be some women who would find him attractive purely because of his character and good nature rather than because of his looks.
The image of the pretty girl from the tea rooms suddenly appearing in his mind had made him realise that it was in fact the case. Although he had not been the slightest bit interested in her, he realised now that the converse had been true.
In that instant, he had suddenly understood the anguish his young friend had suffered when he went off to college, terrified that he would come back with another woman on his arm.
Whilst it would have made no difference at the time, simply because of her age, he realised he could have told her some-time after she had turned sixteen, when he found that he was beginning to have feelings for her that were no longer just platonic. He could have told her he intended to wait for her as his father had waited for his mother after they first met.

On a beautiful moonlit Summer’s night, with his arms around her, four days before her eighteenth birthday, he had told Amanda for the first time that he loved her.
Her answer is known only to the two of them, and to the soft breeze that carried her words way.

As for those two words that changed Amanda’s life? The two words Philip had so softly whispered into her ear on the station platform? The two words she imagined emblazoned on her bedroom door? The two words he had given in reply to his former landlady when she had asked him if Amanda was his Sweetheart?

The tears on Amanda’s pillow that night had been ones of joy, not anguish, for those two words had been, “Not yet.”
She was happy because she knew then that he was waiting for her.

They courted for a year, became engaged, then were married two months before Amanda turned twenty.

They named their first two children William and Millie after their best friends, then named their third child Amanda after her mother.

Their friends married a few years later, and named their two children after William’s parents who had died when he was still young.

Both couples married in the small private chapel at the manor house, but not in secret.

The two couples had cottages built on the estate a short distance apart, and in time their children all became friends as well.

Fruitcake · 9 February 2021 23:10

[CENTER]Author’s Notes[/CENTER]

The idea for this story originally came to me from a random thought I had about a year ago along the lines of, “I wonder what my life would have been like had I been born a hundred years earlier.”

During Lockdown 1, I then started to make up stories in my head to stop my brain from seizing up, based around this idea, gradually expanding on how I might have met my wife and friends, and the type of adventures we might have had.

All the surnames are made up, but many of the first names are based on real people from my family tree, and my life. For example,

Thomas and Albert were the grandfathers I never knew
Arthur and Samuel were my great uncles, and farmers.
Victor was a great uncle who won a medal for bravery as an unarmed stretcher bearer in WW1
William was a great uncle who was killed in WW1
Sarah was a close relative we lost to cancer a few years ago.
Amanda is a close platonic friend
Jonathan was a school friend
Kenneth is my brother’s middle name

Most of the story is pure fiction, fantasy even, but a few of the minor events are true.

Amanda and Philip are loosely based on my wife and me, how we met and became cousins when she was eleven and I was twenty-one, how for years she had a crush on me both before and after I realised it, and how we finally got together when she was seventeen.

My Mum was indeed a farmer’s daughter, and my Dad worked for a bank. They really did meet when mum was sixteen and dad was twenty-two, but not in the way I described.

Geoff Prentice the blacksmith/Amanda’s stepfather is based on my Uncle who was a toolmaker, and married a divorcee with two girls, including the one who had a crush on me, several years after his own divorce.
Rose Wheeler the blacksmith’s wife and Amanda’s mother is based on my second Aunt who is now also my Mother-in-Law.

I learned about the difference between lift pumps and force pumps from an illustrated general knowledge book when I was about ten.
My Dad witnessed a man being impaled by the shaft of a runaway horse and cart when he was a child, only to find when it stopped that actually the man had become trapped between the two but was otherwise uninjured.

I used to live in a house called Knowl.

Most of the rest though is just the result of a wandering mind trying to find things to do during isolation.

I’ve enjoyed writing it, and I hope some of you at least enjoyed reading it.

Had it not been for a couple of the regulars on this forum, I would never have written it, so to them I say a big thank you.

Fruity.

Tiffany · 10 February 2021 00:16

You should get that published Fruitcake. I really enjoyed reading it.

Fruitcake · 10 February 2021 00:23

Again, thanks for your continued support.

It never occurred to me that anyone other than myself might be interested in what goes on inside my head.

Tiffany · 10 February 2021 10:28

Novel writers do it all the time, Fruitcake.