Lucy stood on the doorstep of the farmhouse and watched as Ivy climbed down from the donkey-cart. She was everything Lucy had known she would be: tall, elegant, with striking features and a perfect figure. No wonder Adam had been so excited about his guest’s arrival. Lucy curtsied as Ivy walked towards her and said, ‘Welcome to Black Moss, Miss.’
Ivy smiled at her and waited for Lucy to open the kitchen door. ‘Now, we’ll have none of that. No “Miss” or “Ma’am”. I’m Ivy, and I know you to be Lucy from the flay-pits. Adam has been telling me all about you on our way here. He tells me that he owes you his life, and that he will be forever grateful to you, as I am. I would hate to have thought that the wonderful Adam was left to his death, sucked down in the mire, when he had survived Sebastopol and many a blow from a thief, or even worse, when he patrolled Keighley and the district. He was always taking somebody on, fighting for justice and keeping the law. But it seems he’s still at it, since he’s also told me about these horrible neighbours of his, who have been dealt with as they deserve.’
Ivy leaned forward and kissed Lucy on the cheek, before walking into the kitchen, which she had known since she was knee-high.
‘Oh, you have got this house looking lovely, Lucy. I’ve never seen it looking so beautiful.’ She turned and beamed at Lucy, then made herself at home by seating herself in a chair next to the table.
‘Thank you. I try and keep it tidy and clean. It’s a lovely house, and the view from the windows is spectacular. I love working here.’ Lucy watched Ivy as she pulled a hat pin out of her hat and placed the elaborate headpiece on the table.
‘And of course you have the perfect master in Adam. He always was a gentleman.’ Ivy looked up at Lucy and smiled, before glancing over at Adam as he entered the kitchen, carrying her carpet bag full of her change of clothes. ‘You never told me that Lucy was so attractive – you kept that quiet.’
Ivy grinned and made Lucy blush. She decided not to listen to Adam’s reply, and picked up the carpet bag from Adam’s hands and made for the stairs, to place the bag in Ivy’s room. She stood halfway up the stairs, trying but not wanting to make out Adam’s reply. But she only heard Ivy laughing, leaving her wondering what Adam had said about her. Ivy was a little forward with her eyes, and Lucy could easily see why Adam was fond of her. She had no edge to her, but at the same time she was confident and outgoing – everything that she thought herself not to be. Ivy was a better match for Adam than she ever would be, and more his age. Filled with despair, Lucy placed the carpet bag on Ivy’s made-up bed and decided to accept that she would never be anything more than Adam’s maid; not while Ivy was under his roof, and looking as she did. She knew her place in life and she’d been stupid to think that she could even dream of being anything other than Adam’s maid.
Ivy yawned. It had been a long day and she was tired, but she still hadn’t found the right time to tell Adam her news and was amazed that he had not yet noticed the band of gold on her wedding finger. To be honest, she thought the conversation had been a little one-sided, with Adam constantly singing the praises of his maid, Lucy, and what he had done since his arrival back at his family home. She smiled as he said farewell to Lucy and came to sit back down beside her.
‘You think a lot of her, don’t you?’ Ivy looked across at Adam as he lit a spill from the fire and held it to his filled pipe.
‘Aye, she’s a good worker, and I wouldn’t be here talking to you if she hadn’t have saved me from the mire. This blasted leg of mine makes me so weak sometimes, but I try and overcome the pain it gives me.’ Adam puffed on his pipe and looked across at his old friend. ‘Now, how about you? You’ve not said a lot about yourself while Lucy’s been about the house. What have you been up to with your time? Are you still giving sittings and doing the medium rounds, or has that come to an end?’ Adam sat forward and looked at Ivy. She was a beautiful woman, but he had always seen her as a friend and nothing more; she was far too flighty for him, for a start, and liked to spend money on the finer things in life, as her clothes still showed.
‘Well, the reason I didn’t reply for a while was that I, too, have been out of the country. I, we . . . have just come back from touring Italy, which was magnificent. But before I tell you about that, I’d better tell you the news that I said I had.’ Ivy paused and held her left hand out for Adam to look at. ‘I’ve gone and got myself married, Adam. I never thought it would happen to me, but I am a respectable married woman, with a husband I love dearly.’ She looked at Adam as she held her hand out for him to take, and he looked at the gleaming gold band of the wedding ring and the delicately cut engagement ring above it.
‘Now, that is a shock! There’s
