Chapter 16
Nash, Penelope, Cecilia, and Edward were sitting in Nash and Penelope’s parlour. All breathed a sigh of relief that they weren’t under Avery’s roof any longer.
Nash wondered about the arrangement. Avery seemed happy to have them live with him, and it didn’t hurt his reputation that his sister’s family lived there.
But he also seemed to keep his distance. Or maybe that wasn’t it. He always seemed to separate his life from Cecilia’s and her family. Her friends were her friends, and his friends were his.
Edward didn’t think his uncle would introduce him to a girl he might be interested in. Their social lives didn’t mix.
Except for Henry. He always seemed to be in their way, making his presence known. Cecilia thought Avery wouldn’t introduce Henry to his friends’ daughters any more than he would Edward.
Nash asked, “I hope I’m not being too forward, but I’ve always been curious about how you came to live with Avery. I think I would enjoy hearing the story.
Edward said, “Enjoy is the wrong word. But we’d be fine about telling it, Mother? Penelope?”
They nodded.
“It all began when our father died.”
Mother looked blank. Standing in front of the gaping hole in the ground in the shade of the church, her eyes were open, but Edward knew she did not see.
He held Penelope’s hand firmly. He didn’t want Cecilia to disrupt her and inadvertently rebuff Penelope. At ten, Penelope wouldn’t understand why her mother would be so unresponsive.
Neither did Edward. Only two years older, he was doing his best to handle as much as he could. Twice he shut the door on a man who wanted to look to buy the furniture in the house.
Did they need to sell the furniture for money so they could eat? He didn’t know. He wished he could ask his father these things. Instead, his father dropped dead before Edward could even think to ask a question.
The service was over. The prayers at the cemetery were over. The townspeople had dispersed. The priest went to his mother, “Lay Balfour. Could you come into the rectory for a moment?”
She nodded. Edward didn’t believe she had any idea why she did. Someone asked her a question, and she nodded.
Edward followed his mother while he still held Penelope’s hand. He doubted he would let it go for the rest of the day.
The priest offered them all seats. “Lady Balfour, I need the names of your next of kin. The church needs to notify them about your husband’s death. Kin on his side of the family as well as on your side of the family.”
Cecilia responded by looking up into the priest’s eyes. “Father Jerry?”
The priest picked up her hand and swallowed it with both his hands.
“Lady Balfour, I’m Father Stevens. Father Jerry left the parish four years ago. I know you know this. Your family never missed mass.”
The priest breathed deep. He glanced at Edward and Penelope, and then his gaze turned back to Cecilia.
“Lady Balfour, can I get you tea? Would you like a few minutes to collect yourself?”
She looked at him, puzzled. “Whatever for?”
He turned to the children. “Lord Edward. Would you be able to supply me with the names and whereabouts of your kin?”
Edward squirmed in his seat. “I only know one. His name is Lord Avery Stanton. He is my mother’s brother. Uncle Avery.”
Father Stevens nodded. “Her brother. That’s good. A close relative. Do you remember any other kin?”
Edward shook his head. “No.”
“All right. I will write to your uncle. Do you know where he lives? Did you ever visit him?”
“No. He and my father weren’t close. My mother said it was too far to go for two people who don’t get along.”
The priest moved in his chair, closer to Edward. “I need to know where he lives. Do you know his profession? Does he have a wife and children? Think of everything you’ve been told.”
Edward looked back at his mother. She was staring, not having moved during this conversation.
“He’s of no profession. He’s some sort of Lord. He has a country estate – I don’t know where. He has a London townhouse. I think, but I’m not sure. My mother had a dowry.”
“Edward, you’ve helped quite a bit. I need to get my hands on a copy of Debrett’s Peerage, then I can locate him.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a book published every year that lists all the lords. Everyone in the House of Lords. In case you want to know how they will vote on an issue, or if they are single or where they live or which club they belong to.”
Penelope looked at Edward. “Can we go home?”
Without waiting for permission from the priest, Edward said yes and rose.
Father Stevens rose also. “I will notify you when I hear back from Avery Stanton. Take care of your mother. I’ll check in on you.”
Edward lifted his mother out of the chair, taking her hand and pulling it up. They walked home.
Edward put his mother in the parlour and made her tea. He allowed Penelope to bring in the tray and pour. He told Penelope to sit with her, but she was not to expect any talking from her. Their mother was in shock.
He checked every kitchen cabinet and the pantry to see how long the food would last. He searched for money. Did Father have a money jar? Did he keep it under the bed? He would search there now. He would search the rest of the house when his mother went to bed.
Edward was hungry. He would have to make dinner for the three of them. He checked the parlour.
He walked in to see a teacup on the table in front of his mother. “Anything?” he said to Penelope.
She shook her head, tears in her eyes. “I talked to her. I sang her favourite song. Nothing.”
Edward nodded. “Are you hungry?”
Penelope nodded.
“I’m going to make something; I don’t know what. And Mother won’t eat much, but maybe the smell of food will make her eat something.”
Penelope looked up at him. “Do you want me to help?”
“Have you ever cooked before?”
“No. Not really. Just watched.”
Edward shook his head. “We’re better off if I cook and you watch Mother.”
Edward went back to the kitchen and looked in the cauldron. Stew toward the bottom. He cut a carrot and put it in then stirred the mixture.
The heat was loosening the broth. It was a nice thick consistency the way Edward liked it. But they would need it for another day. He added water.
When it was ready, he put it in three bowls, making the third bowl less than the other two. If she ate at all, he would get more for her.
Penelope and Edward each took an arm and led her into the dining room. They sat her down between them. Edward and Penelope ate what they had then weren’t so hungry. Edward took her spoon and pressed a little through her lips, hoping the taste would wake up her senses. No luck.
They guided their mother upstairs to her bedchamber. It was the nicest in the area but was modest compared to the descriptions they heard of houses built on faraway estates. Still, Father did well enough in the shipping business.
Edward left his mother fully dressed in the middle of the bed. He built a fire then left Penelope to make their mother comfortable. She took off her mother’s short boots and stockings and put them all in front of the fire. She turned her mother sideways and undid the buttons from her neck to past her waist. Then she slipped off the dress and left her mother in her chemise. After covering her, she left the room.
“Should I sleep in there tonight? What if she wakes in the night?”
Edward’s shoulders sagged. “I’ll sleep there. She’s too heavy for you to carry.”
Penelope said, “I’ll sleep in bed with her and wake you from the settee if I need you.”
Edward agreed, and they both went to prepare for bed. When they came back, Penelope settled in with their mother, and he brought a blanket to the settee. He swore Penelope grew up a year in a day. He hated her childhood slipping from her grasp. The second thing this week that would never be back.
Slowly, at a pace made for a snail, Cecilia returned. A cup of tea here, a brush of her hair there. Progress was slow but measurable. Edward was thrilled when she started to speak.
He had searched everywhere for money. There was no place he hadn’t looked. He needed his mother to tell him where it was.
“Mother,” he said slowly, “do you know the hiding places in the house?”
Cecilia looked at him. “That seems like an odd question. Hiding places? Where are the hiding places, Edward?”
“No, Mother. I don’t know where there are hiding places. Do you know where there are hiding places?”
“No. Do you think I hide my undergarments?”
Edward closed his eyes and counted to ten. He needed that money. After close to a week, the kitchen was beginning to run low on food.
The next day, Edward tried a different approach. “Mother, we need more food. Where’s the money?”
“What money, Edward?”
“The money we used to buy food. Where is it?”
“There is no money to buy food. There’s money for whisky and money for gambling, but there’s no money for food.”
Edward breathed deep. All that searching, and there was no money. “How did we have food in the kitchen?”
Cecilia talked to him as if he were a little boy. “I told your father I would go into town and buy his whisky. He gave me his money to pay for it. I bought whisky and food. I paid a boy to bring the food to the back door. I came in through the front door with the whisky. Your father got the change. He never knew.”
Edward began to panic. There was no money and very little food. He hoped the man who wanted to buy their furniture would come back. He’d sell every stick if it meant they could eat for a few weeks.
Edward told Penelope he was walking into town to get a job. He would see Father Stevens. The priest saw everyone in town every Sunday. He must know who needed help.
Penelope nodded. “Ask about jobs for girls. I learn fast, and I work hard.”
Edward nodded although he had no intention of asking the priest to find a job for Penelope.
“How are you faring there? I keep meaning to visit, but there have been a few difficult problems here that I couldn’t turn my back on. How is your mother?”
Edward didn’t know how much Father Stevens would like to know, but Edward wanted to unburden himself, and he needed to purge.
“My mother hasn’t been doing well. She is slowly coming out of her shock. Penelope and I have to each take an arm to move her from one room to the next. She is beginning to speak; she will eat some of the time, and will have tea with Penelope.
“We are out of food and have no money. Is there anyone in need of a hard-working boy? I need to buy the family food.”
The priest grimaced. “I don’t know of anyone looking to hire, but I’ll ask around the parish. I can put out a call for food. If every parishioner brought one item to the church, you could eat for a few weeks. I will do that this Sunday. We live in a very generous village.
“I have reached out to your uncle. It was not difficult to find him once I went to the Lord in this county seat. He sent a letter. I will go today to see if he got a reply although if he did, he would have surely notified me. He is your best hope.”
“Thank you, Father. You have given me hope. Asking if anyone needs a helping hand. Asking for food donations. Writing to my kin. Thank you for doing so much for us.”
Father Stevens opened his mouth to speak and closed it. He cleared his throat. He opened his mouth to speak again. “You must realize, Edward that you cannot go on living in that house, trying to live under such difficult circumstances. You are twelve. Your sister is ten. Even if your mother were her regular self, you face an almost impossible task. I pray every day for your uncle to take you in.”
Edward tried to conceal the tears in his eyes, but it was impossible. “I need to get back to my mother,” he said. He ran home.
On Monday, Father Stevens came to visit sitting in a work cart tied to a horse. He parked at the back door.
He called out to Edward. Both he and Penelope opened the back door to see the cart carrying three potato bags full of food. Father Stevens bounced down to the ground.
“Let me help you with this bounty. The village answered my call immediately. I asked for donations at mass yesterday, and look how they responded.”
Penelope was crying as Edward emptied the sacks on the kitchen table.
Edward had to brace deep so his voice wasn’t high and wavering. “This is more than we could have imagined. What wonderful people. How can I ever repay them?”
Father Stevens smiled. “On the way here, I wondered what I would say if you asked that question. I think I have an answer. If you went to the village and asked what the people in the village needed done, you could hammer or shovel your way to a thanks.
“I think they’d be appreciative, and it would only take a day of your time.”
“I’ll do it. Tell me when and where, and I’ll do it from sunrise to sunset.”
Father Stevens grinned. “Mind you, they would do it out of the goodness of their heart, but it’s always nice to hear ‘thank you.’“
Edward went into the kitchen to see Penelope putting away the food they just received.
“Did we get good food?”
Penelope nodded. “I can’t believe it. We can eat again.”
Edward craned his neck to make sure his mother wasn’t listening. “Did we get any tea and sugar cubes?”
“Yes. She will never know we ran out. We have uncooked bread. Do you think you can cook it without burning it?”
Edward shrugged. “I’ll try.”
Penelope clasped both her hands to her heart. “Bread.”
They both laughed.
Cecilia walked into the kitchen. “Edward is going to attempt to make bread,” Penelope said.
Cecilia winced. “Don’t burn it.”
Edward and Penelope laughed again.
Edward said, “That’s exactly what Penelope said.”
“Penelope, would you make me some tea? You forgot the sugar cubes last time.”
Penelope smiled, “Oh, did I? I’ll make sure I remember today.”
Cecilia left to go to the parlour.
Edward said, “She’s doing better.”
Penelope nodded and smiled.
*****
A week later, Father Stevens knocked on the front door. Edward answered and asked the priest to join his mother and his sister in the parlour.
“Tea, Father?” Penelope asked.
“Yes, I would like that very much. I walked from the parish and, as you know, the hill can be a challenge.” He turned to Penelope. “Cream, no sugar.” She nodded.
“What brings you up the hill, Father?” Edward asked.
Father Stevens grinned. “ Do you remember I asked what to write to Avery Stanton on your behalf?”
Cecilia spoke up, “Father, my brother is named Avery Stanton. Did Lord Daniels write to my brother?”
The priest turned to Cecilia. “Yes, he did. It is customary for us to reach out to relatives of the deceased or the deceased wife’s family during this difficult time.”
Confused, Cecilia said, “But he lives so far away. Surely he is unable to offer help.”
The priest grinned. “He is coming to visit you. He should be here within three days. He looks forward to helping you in any way he is able. This is great news. Great news, indeed.”
Edward rose from his seat and walked to the Father. He shook his hand. “Thank you for arranging this, Father Stevens. You have been so kind. So helpful.”
Penelope rose and went to the priest. She hugged him, tears in her eyes. She whispered in his ears, “Thank you. You have saved our lives.”
Cecilia asked, “Is he coming here? We don’t have a guest room ready. What will we serve him for food?”
Penelope put her hand on Cecilia’s. I will prepare the guest room. Edward will find something to serve. Isn’t it wonderful? You will get to see your brother again.”
“Yes, I suppose it is,” Cecilia said. “But I don’t know why he’s coming.”
Edward made his voice upbeat, “Your brother loves you, and he’s coming to visit you. I, for one, am excited by his visit.”
Penelope jumped in. “I don’t really remember him, so I can’t wait to meet him again.”