A Mother's Love Page 5

  Looking ahead, Ellie saw a large wooden farm gate, and as they got closer Aidan pulled Spud to a stop. ‘Connor, be a pal …’

  Jumping down from the cart, Connor opened the gate, and without waiting for instruction Spud walked forward.

  Ellie stared in awe as a large stone house with deep-set windows and a thatched roof came slowly into view. A climbing rose of palest pink crept its way around most of the windows, and bees leisurely made their way from one flower to the next. A wisp of smoke trickled lazily out of one of the chimneys. The cobbled yard they were crossing was enclosed by stone stables on two sides.

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ she breathed. ‘I bet it’s at least three times the size of Lavender Court …’

  One of the stables had a net full of hay tied up on a ring outside the doorway. Spud strode determinedly towards it, only stopping when his lips were close enough to pull the hay out.

  Aidan shook his head and chuckled. ‘Typical pony, always thinkin’ of his stomach!’ Placing the reins by his feet, he rummaged underneath the seat. ‘Aha, found you,’ he said as he pulled out what appeared to be a large stick.

  Ellie’s eyes rounded as Connor helped her down from the cart. ‘What on earth are you going to do with that?’

  ‘I’m not goin’ to beat Spud with it, don’t worry. Blimey, I know some farmers think that kind of thing’s acceptable, but not us Murrays.’ He paused. ‘Didn’t Connor tell you?’

  Ellie shook her head. ‘Tell me what?’

  He raised his brows. ‘That I’m a cripple.’

  Ellie gasped at the words. ‘No. I mean, I – I …’

  Seeing her discomfort, his face softened. ‘Sorry, Ellie. I was only joking. Well, partly anyway.’

  Ellie turned to Connor, her brows raised in the hope that he might say something to break the awkward silence. He smiled ruefully. ‘Sorry. It didn’t cross my mind to say owt. I’ve known Aidan all my life and I never think of him as bein’ any different from the rest of us.’

  Aidan laughed. ‘I wish they saw me that way down at the recruiting office.’

  ‘Which of the services have you applied for?’ asked Ellie innocently.

  Aidan clambered awkwardly to the ground and turned to face her. ‘None of them. They wouldn’t let me, though I tried to get into the RAF. Our granddaddy flew in the last lot and he taught me a lot about the controls, so I know you have to use your legs, but I know I could manage if only they’d give me a chance.’

  ‘If you really want to do it then you must keep trying, although I must admit I think you and your cousin are mad for wanting to go up in one of those aeroplanes. If it were me I’d be scared senseless. I’d far rather keep both feet on the ground, and I must say, given the choice between working on the farm or risking all in the clouds, I’d choose the farm every time.’ She patted Spud’s rump as she spoke, then hastily removed her hand. ‘He won’t kick me, will he?’

  Aidan laughed. ‘Spud? Nah, he’s too lazy to kick anyone. It’s just about all we can do to make him put one foot in front of the other when he’s in the cart.’ Taking his stick, he walked round to the pony’s head. ‘Would you like to give him an apple? He’ll be your friend for life if you do; they’re his favourite.’

  Ellie nodded eagerly. ‘You’re ever so lucky to have a pony. I love horses. My dream has always been to ride a big white horse on Seaforth Sands.’

  Aidan patted Spud’s neck. ‘You’re not her colour, pal, but we could always paint you, I s’pose …’

  Forgetting that she had only met Aidan half an hour or so ago, Ellie made a playful swipe towards her host. ‘Don’t you dare. He’s beautiful just the way he is.’ She placed a hand on top of Spud’s back. ‘I know he’s only small, but that’s a good thing because it wouldn’t hurt so much if I were to fall off.’

  ‘She’s calling you short now, pal,’ Connor pitched in, winking at Ellie. ‘Mebbe we could make him some really thick horseshoes. You know, to raise him up a bit?’

  ‘Crikey, what is this? Pick on Ellie day?’ Ellie laughed as she chased after Connor, who had dodged out of the way of her flailing arm. Running backwards, Connor collided with a thickset man.

  ‘Steady on … oh, it’s you. I might’ve known.’ The man tousled the top of Connor’s head with one beefy hand, then turned his attention to Ellie. ‘Well! I’m guessing you must be Ellie? I’m Connor’s Uncle Kieran.’ He grasped Ellie’s hand in his, giving it a firm shake as he did so. ‘Now what’s all this runnin’ around, and why’s that pony still got his tack on?’

  Aidan gave his father a wry smile. ‘She knows his name’s Spud.’

  The older man rolled his eyes. ‘Your sister’s never allowed to name anythin’ again, not even her own kids when she has ’em.’ He grasped one of the shafts and nodded his head towards Aidan, who took hold of the other side. ‘Ready?’ Together the two men freed Spud from his burden; then, taking the shafts in either hand, Connor’s uncle pushed the cart across the cobbled yard into a large stone-built shed.

  Ellie’s jaw dropped as she watched him effortlessly guiding the cart through the aperture. ‘You don’t need Spud. I reckon your dad could’ve pulled us home.’

  Aidan burst into laughter. ‘You’re right there. When we were kids he used to take us for rides around the yard. It might look heavy, but if a cart’s well balanced it’s easy to pull. That way you don’t put too much of a strain on the horse’s back.’

  Ellie listened enviously. How she would have loved a childhood like Aidan’s, with ponies and a father who took you for rides around the yard. She had never known her own father, who had left before she was born.

  She recalled the day she and her mother had discussed her father’s whereabouts. She and Millie had been in Mr Wong’s when Sybil Herd, a schoolfriend of Ellie’s, had burst into the laundry, looking for her mother.

  ‘Mam! It’s Dad! He said to come and tell you to leave the washing where it is. He’s got the promotion and we’re moving to London. He says you’ll never have to do laundry again. You’ll have someone to do it for you from now on.’

  Ellie had watched enviously as the pair had left the building, and then grimaced as she went back to scrubbing the sheets. ‘I wish my dad would come and take me away so I didn’t have to do laundry again.’

  ‘Well he won’t, will he, because he doesn’t know you exist!’ her mother had snapped. ‘It’s not my fault he beggared off before I could tell him I were pregnant with you.’

  Ellie dunked the large white sheet into the hot water. ‘What I don’t get is how a man can leave his wife just like that without even lettin’ her know where he was going?’

  Ellie heard a ripple of sniggers from the other women. Looking up to see what had amused them, she saw nothing but a sea of lowered heads. She looked back to her mother, who had gone scarlet.

  ‘Never mind that,’ Millie had hissed, her eyes never leaving the sheet which she was scrubbing with ferocity. ‘Get on wi’ that sheet. There’s a couple o’ stains on there which will need a lot o’ soap an’ elbow grease to shift ’em.’

  At the time nothing more had been said, but at home that evening, with gossip being so rife amongst the court dwellers, her mother had decided to tell Ellie the whole story.

  ‘Your father was what they call a charmer. He was real handsome, and all the women admired him.’ She had sighed reminiscently. ‘When we was courtin’ he used to take me on the overhead railway to Seaforth Sands and buy us a fish supper. We’d take it down to the beach and eat it watchin’ the tide come in. It were so romantic, Ellie. He’d tell me as how I were the only girl in the world for him, and that one day he would take me far away from the courts and we would live a life of luxury in a big house, where I would be the one payin’ for someone to do my laundry, and I’d never have to work a day in me life again. I were in love, so of course I believed every word he said, and he truly believed that he loved me with all his heart and would never do anything to hurt me. It all seemed to be too good to be true, and of cou
rse it was.’ She put an arm around her daughter’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze. ‘He did love me, but he were only sayin’ that stuff ’cos he knew it was what I wanted to hear. He knew if he laid it on thick I’d give in and let him have his way wi’ me before we got wed, and of course I did.’ She heaved a sigh. ‘I were young, foolish, and willing to believe just about anything if it meant I got out of the courts. It were the first time I’d ever been with a man and I caught straight away.’

  Ellie had frowned up at her mother. ‘Caught what?’

  Millie had laughed. ‘It means I got pregnant.’ Dropping her arm from Ellie’s shoulders, she clasped her daughter’s hand in her own. ‘Soon as I realised I were pregnant I went to see him, but he’d gone to seek his fortune, and the rest you know.’

  ‘It’s not really his fault, though, is it?’ said Ellie. ‘Like you said, he didn’t know you were pregnant with me. If he had I’m sure he’d have come back and given you the life you dreamt of.’

  Sighing, Millie stroked Ellie’s hair back from her face. ‘Of course he would. He’d have loved you an’ all, but like most things in life it’s not that simple.’

  A voice from beside her ear caused Ellie to jump. ‘Oi, dilly daydream! You comin’ in or what?’ Connor smiled curiously at her. ‘You off wi’ the fairies again?’

  Shaking her head, she yawned. ‘I don’t know about you, but we spent the small hours down the shelter again, and those wooden benches are not easy to sleep on, ’specially when everyone around you is chattin’ or singin’ and Arla’s dad snores summat rotten.’

  Connor chuckled. ‘You’ve not seen our Anderson shelter, have you? It’s at the bottom of our yard. Dad kitted it out with mattresses, pillows and blankets, so when we hear the siren we just swap our beds for the cosy ones in the shelter. I must admit I slept like a log.’ He looked around him. ‘We needn’t worry about Moanin’ Minnie tonight. It’s a lot quieter in the countryside, you know.’

  Aidan, who had been taking the tack off Spud, pulled an old leather head collar over the pony’s ears and turned to Ellie. ‘Fancy takin’ Spud up to Coin Meadow with us?’

  Ellie nodded. ‘Yes please. Is that where he lives?’ She looked down at her boots. ‘Is it very muddy? I’m afraid I don’t have any wellies.’

  Aidan laughed. ‘Not to worry. You can sit on Spud on the way there, and young Connor can give you a piggy back on the way home.’

  Ellie’s mouth hung open in disbelief. ‘You mean for me to actually ride him? To sit on his back and everything?’ Her eyes dancing, she turned to Connor. ‘Is that okay with you? The piggy back, I mean?’

  Connor eyed her critically. ‘You can’t weigh more than a few stone soakin’ wet. I doubt I’ll even notice the extra weight.’ He nodded his head towards the farmhouse. ‘When Auntie Aileen starts feedin’ you, you’ll soon fill out.’

  Aidan grinned. ‘Aye, and if you don’t believe us, tek a look at me da.’

  ‘I ’eard that, you cheeky beggar! Just you tek Spud back an’ then you can come an’ introduce our guest to your mam,’ Aidan’s father hollered from across the yard.

  Chuckling, Aidan turned to Ellie. ‘You ready?’

  Ellie nodded, then gave a small gasp as Aidan lifted her clean off her feet and gently placed her on the pony’s back. ‘You can hold on to his mane if you want,’ he said as they set off.

  Ellie wound one hand in Spud’s mane and stroked his withers with the other. Watching her host from under her lashes as he led the pony up the grassy path to his field, she marvelled at the way he had so easily lifted her on to Spud’s back. He may have a limp, but other than that he seems very strong, Ellie thought to herself. I know I’m not heavy, but he damned near lifted me up to his chest to get me on to Spud’s back and he’s not even out of breath.

  To her disappointment, the distance to Coin Meadow was only short. Aidan scooped Ellie from the pony’s back and placed her carefully on a patch of grass whilst he opened the gate.

  Spud whinnied as he trotted into the field, before collapsing to the ground and rolling enthusiastically. Closing the gate, Aidan tutted. ‘Little blighter. He’ll be caked in mud now. He’s allus the same: can’t stand bein’ clean.’

  Ellie giggled. ‘He sounds like some of the boys I used to go to school with. Oh—’ She stopped talking as two magnificent draught horses trotted towards the pony. ‘So that’s why he whinnied. He was calling them over.’

  ‘Meet Samson and Hercules. You’d not think it, but Spud’s the boss,’ Aidan said, a look of admiration crossing his face.

  ‘Do you ride them?’ Ellie asked hopefully.

  ‘Sometimes, but we mainly use them for all the heavy jobs around the farm: pullin’ ploughs, shiftin’ fallen trees after a storm, collectin’ the harvest … you know the sort of thing.’

  Leaning on the gate, Connor called out, ‘She’s ditched you already, little feller.’

  Ellie looked appalled. ‘Don’t be so awful, Connor Murray. I’d never ditch Spud, he’s too sweet.’

  Connor chuckled. ‘You can’t fool me, Ellie Lancton. I know one of your favourite books is National Velvet.’

  Ellie smiled as she watched Spud get to his feet and shake himself violently. ‘I always wanted to be Velvet Brown.’

  Connor smiled smugly. ‘Precisely, but I can’t see Spud jumping anything, let alone entering the National, unless they let him limbo …’

  Ellie giggled as she imagined herself on Spud’s back, dodging the high fences as the graceful racehorses soared overhead. ‘You’re mean to me you are, Connor Murray. Spud too, come to that.’

  Connor turned his back towards her. ‘Come on, queen, jump aboard.’

  When they had returned from Coin Meadow – so called, Ellie was told, because there had been a pot of old Roman coins unearthed there many years ago – the boys had given her a tour of the farm, starting with the field just down from Spud’s, where the cows grazed. ‘I’ll teach you how to milk,’ Aidan said. ‘It’s difficult at first but you’ll soon get the hang of it.’ Next she had been introduced to the small drift of pigs, whose ears intrigued her.

  ‘How can they see with their ears hanging over their eyes like that?’

  ‘Don’t you worry about their ability to see,’ Aidan snorted. ‘If you jumped in with them I can guarantee you’d be surrounded by hungry, squealing pigs before you could say knife.’

  On their way to the farmhouse, Aidan pointed to the hens milling around the yard. ‘We just put them away for the night so’s the fox doesn’t get them; they’ve got their own hen house in the orchard. That’s where we grow all our apples, pears and damson plums. Me mam makes delicious jam out of the plums, and she uses the pears and apples in pies and crumbles.’ Aidan smacked his lips at the very thought.

  Ellie pointed to a tractor that was parked near the orchard. ‘You said earlier on that you use Samson and Hercules for all the heavy jobs around the farm. Why don’t you use the tractor?’

  Aidan glanced at Connor. ‘Now, we don’t use the tractor because of diesel rationing, but in truth we haven’t used it since the accident.’

  Ellie frowned. ‘Why? What happened?’

  Aidan led the way to the house, speaking to Ellie over his shoulder. ‘It was just after me tenth birthday and we’d been hard at it all day. The harvest is always a race against time and everyone’s always in a rush. I was runnin’ out of one of the barns ’cos Lady, our collie, had started to give birth to her litter o’ pups. I was too excited to think straight, and—’ He clapped his hands together, causing Ellie to jump. ‘Straight into the tractor and under the wheels.’ He patted his leg. ‘That’s how this happened.’

  Ellie slowly pulled her hand away from her mouth. ‘Oh, Aidan, that’s awful. You’re lucky you weren’t killed.’

  Aidan nodded. ‘Me da took me straight to hospital, but some of my thigh bone had been crushed beyond repair. They did what they could but it’s left me with one leg shorter than the other, which is why I limp a little.’ He ra
n his hand through his hair. ‘To make matters worse it was Da who was driving the tractor at the time of the accident, so he blames himself. I told him over and over that I was the one to blame for not looking where I was going, but he wouldn’t have it. So we only ever use the tractor now if it’s totally necessary.’

  Connor wiped his feet on the welcome mat outside the kitchen door. ‘Farming can be really dangerous, not just the tractors but some of the tools they use for harvest, but you needn’t worry, Ellie. I know our Aidan’ll take good care of you.’

  When they entered the large room with its low-beamed ceiling, Connor’s Auntie Aileen gave a cry of delight as she laid eyes on Ellie. ‘Here she is, our new farmhand! Come on in, Ellie dear. Leave your boots by the door, there’s a good girl. I’m just about to dish up, so if you’d like to wash your hands in the sink – Connor’ll show you where – you can take a seat and we can all have us suppers.’

  Sitting at the table, Ellie thought she must have answered a hundred questions before a plateful of delicious-smelling food was placed in front of her. When she took the first spoonful, she was surprised to find that it was real scouse and not blind, as she had been expecting, and she said as much. ‘The scouse is lovely. It’s a real treat to have meat … I’ve not had proper scouse for ages. Me mam couldn’t afford it.’

  Auntie Aileen smiled sympathetically. ‘Bless your heart, child, I’m glad you like it. Farming is hard work so we make sure our men are full.’ Her gaze travelled down Ellie’s frail form. ‘You’re already startin’ on the back burner, so to speak, so I’ll mek sure you get a bit extra so’s you can catch up to the rest of us.’ Pointedly, she turned her eyes to Uncle Kieran’s large stomach.

  Following her gaze, Connor stifled a chuckle. ‘Bloomin’ ’eck, Auntie Aileen, you’ll never get our Ellie to catch up wi’ Uncle Kieran, not in a year of Sundays!’

  Even though the plateful of food had been bigger than anything Ellie had ever been offered, she polished it off with ease and found it was all she could do to stop herself from licking it clean. Not expecting anything else, she was about to ask her host if she could help with the dishes when Auntie Aileen asked if anyone wanted pudding. There was a rumble of yeses.