Mistletoe and Mischief

boy hopeful. Sammy Spadger, remembering the dog, seemed to be the first to guess where she was heading.

“Does tha mean ta take t’ boy wi’ thee, miss?” he asked.

“Of course I do. I cannot return him to such a cruel master. And I am certain my cousin will agree with me.'

Louisa was certain that Charles would support her in her decision, though she acknowledged to herself that he might not like the notion at first. But Charles was merely unused to thinking the way she did; he always saw the sense in her ideas in the end.

“You can't take my boy! I've paid good money for ‘im-the jackanapes!'

“Is he your apprentice?'

“'E is! An’ I've got papers to prove it!'

“Then you shall be reimbursed for all the expenses you have incurred on his behalf. Let's ask Bob, shall we, just how well you have fulfilled your trust as his master.

“Bob-” she knelt in front of the boy “-how well has this man fed you? Does he give you at least two meals a day?'

Bob shook his head in awe. “Ne'er two, miss. Not even one. ‘E says I got to go fishin’ for me meat an’ bread.'

Louisa ignored the carter's sharp protests. “And is this your notion of fishing? The way you took Mrs. Spadger's pudding?'

Bob nodded. “That's the way ‘e tol’ me t’ do it.” He tipped his head towards the carter, then cringed at the man's backhand gesture.

Louisa straightened and faced the man. Under her direct, scornful glare, his eyes shifted.

“There are laws designed to protect young apprentices from men like you. Perhaps you are unaware of the terms of your contract.'

The carter made no defence, but started to bluster.

“ I think we have heard enough. If you had taken any care of this boy, I should have seen that my cousin reimbursed you for your costs. But in this case, perhaps, we should send you to a magistrate for encouraging this boy to steal.'

“But, miss-!'

“It's a shame the penalties for stealing are so harsh in this country, but perhaps in your case the gallows is warranted. I can feel little sympathy for a man who would starve a child.'

By this time, the carter himself was cringing. Every blow from Louisa's tongue served to make him shrink a little smaller. And when she said the word “gallows,” he blanched and started to back towards the door.

Jim stood firmly in his way until Louisa said, “I think we should all be better off if this person leaves. My cousin will be happy to reimburse Mrs. Spadger for her delicious pudding and for anything else the boy requires.'

Jim looked to his father for permission, and Sammy nodded.

As the carter disappeared, Nan Spadger asked, “Does tha’ really mean ta take t’ boy? What will his lordship say?'

“I am certain my cousin will be delighted-once he has time to get used to the idea.'

But looking at the boy, Louisa felt less certain. Bob's eyes were wide with fear about what would happen to him now.

Louisa wished she knew just what to do with him. Unwilling to back out of her promises, however, and hoping that Charles would think of something, she said, “But I daresay he would prefer the boy to be washed. I cannot quite see him riding in my cousin's carriage in his present state.

“Do you think you could find me some better clothes for him?” she asked Nan. “And at the very least, I shall require a large tub of hot water and some soap.'

Nan was scandalized. “Does tha’ mean ta say tha'll wash t’ lad thysel'? What'll his lordship say?'

Louisa answered with pure bravado, “There's no sense in wondering what my cousin will say. We shall have enough to do to clean this boy. Jim, could you fetch a tub into the kitchen here? And Mrs. Spadger, do you think you could find him those clothes?'

Jim gave her a bright look and said, “Aye!” and then hastened to do her bidding. Nan said she would see what she could find amongst her son's old garments in the attic.

Each set about his or her task, and Louisa knelt once again to speak to the boy. He had not lost his frightened look. Even with the carter gone, he was not convinced he would not be thrashed.

“I promise that no one will hurt you and that you shall have good food to eat and some warmer clothes to wear,” Louisa told him. “Would you like that, Bob?'

The boy, whose eyes had lit up at the mention of food, nodded, but then asked, “An’ where'll I sleep?'

Louisa paused, and then answered, “We shall find you a proper place-somewhere where you shall be much happier, I assure you. I shall have to consult my cousin when he returns.” Then she added in a cheery voice, “But he is a very clever man, so I am certain he will know what's best. And you will have a bath like a real gentleman and ride in a carriage, if you like.'

To her dismay, Bob's face crumpled, “But I doesn’ like ‘orses! I be frightened of ’em! They's got such big teef an’ all! That ‘un-” he indicated the departed carter with a jerk of his head towards the door “-'e made me ‘arness ‘is pair, an’ they boaf bit me!'

Louisa had thought to give the child a treat and had even cherished hopes that he would make a good stable- boy for Charles. But she hastened to calm him. “No one will make you ride in a carriage if you don't wish to. But,” she suggested, still hoping he might be coaxed, “the horses cannot very well bite you if you are inside the coach now, can they?'

But it would not do. Bob was too alarmed at the prospect to be calmed by reason. He began to sniff again, and to stop him, Louisa repeated her promise that he would not have to ride. How she was to care for him, though, if he refused to enter Charles's carriage, she did not know.

Jim returned with the tub and proceeded to fill it with hot water from the stove. Louisa removed her spencer and put on one of Nan's aprons to spare her dress.

Bob watched these preparations with fascination, as if he had never seen such activities, focusing most of his attention on Jim, to whom he appeared to have taken a shine.

When he noticed he was an object of some awe, Jim smiled at the boy, ruffled his hair in a friendly fashion, and then reached into Nan's cupboard to get him a piece of ham pie. Bob gobbled it down in short order and gazed on the older boy as if he were a god.

“Tha's still hungry, I'll warrant,” Jim said to him.

The boy nodded.

Jim moved closer to Louisa and ventured in a low voice, “It wouldna do ta feed him too much reet yet. Better ta promise him more when tha's done wi’ t’ bath.” He raised his brows in an ominous gesture.

“You think so?” Jim's expression was meant as a warning, and Louisa felt a sinking inside. Why?'

“It's plain ta see t’ lad's ne'er had no bath. T’ way he's been watching, I can see he's no seen one before!'

Louisa glanced at Bob, who had begun to look trustingly on Jim. He was seated on a low workbench, happily swinging his feet.

She turned back to Jim. “And why should that worry us?'

Jim grinned. “I think tha's abowt ta get a soaking. T’ lad's bound ta put up a fight.'

Louisa took a deep breath. “Well, if he does, he does, but I don't see that we have any choice. I shall promise him another pudding.'

But, in the end, Jim was right. As soon as Bob discovered the purpose of the tub, he stopped swinging his legs and began to use them another way.

Jim caught him before he reached the door, and it was due entirely to his strength that the boy was brought to the bath at all. No matter how much coaxing and promising Louisa tried, she could not get him to submit peacefully to such a dreadful ordeal as being scrubbed all over with soap.

* * * *

As a result, on his return to the inn, Charles again discovered the place in an uproar.