‘Yes, more’s the pity. It’s a smelly, dirty place, and I don’t aim to spend much more of my life living there, if I can help it. Although I’ll always be there for my mother and sister and brothers. Even Mam hopes that we can some day move from Providence Row and the smell of the pits.’ Lucy stood for a second and looked at the sandy-haired lad of about her age, who seemed to want to engage her in conversation, since Adam had gone out to harness the horse and cart in order to take Reggie home.
‘Aye, I don’t think I’d want to live there, either. Wasn’t there a to-do over the fella that worked there, the other week? Somebody told me he’d died when drinking at The Fleece and arguing over some lass?’ Reggie looked wistful and tried to remember the fella’s name.
‘Yes, he was called Thomas Farrington – the strangest man that you are ever likely to meet. I hated him. Trouble is, the lass he was arguing over was me. He’d got it in his head to marry me, which I knew nowt about, until he’d shouted his intentions to everyone in The Fleece.’ Lucy decided to lie to Reggie; she didn’t know him, and she wasn’t about to open her heart to somebody she didn’t know.
‘Aye, well, I can see how he took a fancy to you. You’re not a bad-looking lass, and you are free of a man, so Mr Brooksbank says. Would you like to walk out with me on Sunday afternoon? We could go and listen to the brass band at Ponden and perhaps have a picnic, if the weather is fine?’ Reggie decided to chance his luck and not wait a second longer, now that they were both alone.
Lucy glanced at the good-looking lad in front of her. He was handsome; not that well dressed, in his corduroy trousers and checked shirt and waistcoat, but she could tell he took care of his appearance. As for money, she knew he wasn’t wealthy, but that didn’t enter into her decision as Adam stepped back into the kitchen. ‘I thank you for asking, but I’ve already got a commitment for this Sunday.’ She quickly turned her back on Reggie and went into the scullery.
‘Perhaps another time then?’ Reggie shouted, but got no reply.
‘Are you ready for off? Rosa’s waiting, and I could do with getting back before dark.’ Adam looked at the crestfallen lad as he entered the doorway, overhearing the conversation. ‘Never mind – I told you she’d a mind of her own.’ He slapped Reggie on the back, guessing what the conversation between the two had been about, and felt slightly glad that Lucy had rejected him. ‘You can come and see both of us any time you want, and try your luck again!’
‘Nay, I’ve never any luck when it comes to lasses. I’ve nowt to offer, when it comes to brass, and that’s what they are all after, when it comes down to it. Brass and stability, and I’ve neither.’ Reggie pushed his chair back across the kitchen floor and made for the doorway, not even saying goodbye to Lucy, who had made herself scarce.
‘Well, I have a bit of both, but no woman, so we make a good pair. But at least we have our health and nobody tells us what to do, so let’s think ourselves lucky.’ Adam laughed as Reggie hung his head and walked over to the donkey-cart, with Rosa standing patiently in harness. ‘You are young yet, and the right lass will turn up when you least expect her to. Besides, let Lucy mull over your offer. You never know: if you visit her on another day, she might say yes.’
‘No, she’s not interested. I think she must already have a fella, even if you say she doesn’t. A lass like that doesn’t stay single for long.’ Reggie looked back towards the farmhouse as he climbed in the back of the donkey-cart, noticing Lucy standing at the bedroom window, watching as Adam flicked the reins over the horse’s back. ‘But maybe, like you say, I’ll try my luck again another day. She’s watching us go, so perhaps she’s just shy.’
Adam said nothing to Reggie, but he knew Lucy as anything but shy. If she had fancied him, Reggie would already have known it and he’d be the one who was being pursued.
17
Even though it was nearly the end of May, the mist hung down around Black Moss. It was a fine drizzly mist, the kind that soaked you to the skin, even though you could hardly tell it was raining. The kind of rain that was not suitable for newly born lambs, which were being exposed to it on top of the moorland.
‘I’m going to saddle up Rosa and ride up the moor and have a look at my flock. Although there’s only one or two left to lamb, I’d better ensure that the weaker lambs are not taking any hurt in this miserable weather. Although their coats are fairly waterproof, this is the sort of weather that soon makes them shiver and go cold.’ Adam looked at Lucy, who was busy darning his socks next to the fire as she moaned about the weather outside.
‘Make sure you don’t get too wet. It’s a devil of a day, and the sheep and their lambs will have the sense to take cover under the walls.’ She looked up at Adam, whose company she had enjoyed as she mended and darned his clothes. ‘I’ll stoke the fire, in case you bring one back to the warmth of the kitchen, and we can soon warm its belly with a bottle of cow’s milk.’ Lucy put her darning down on the table and added a log to the fire. She was used to the routine, as both of them had done just that on the few occasions when a sickly lamb had been
