Bonds of Earth, The (17 page)

W
HEN
J
ENKEN RETURNED
to the cottage occupied by the Bolithos for the family's midday meal, Jenken told Albert and Harriet about seeing Alan Toms being taken away by the militia and of running to Wheal Hope to inform Captain Pyne.

‘I doubt if Piran Pyne would have wanted to do anything about it,' Harriet commented. ‘Not after the way young Toms upset Morwenna.'

‘He did though,' Jenken said, ‘He went straight off to Spurre Hall taking two of the Wheal Hope miners with him.'

‘I wouldn't expect Cap'n Pyne to do anything less,' Albert declared. ‘He didn't care too much for the lad but young Alan is a miner – and a good one, for all his faults – and he was up at the mine talking to the cap'n when all the trouble was going on over at the estate. He wouldn't see the lad get into trouble for something he had no part in. Do you know where Alan is now, Jenken?'

‘No. Goran said he went off with Cap'n Pyne and the others but I don't know whether he'll be working at Wheal Hope, or not.'

‘I promised to take some sewing and mending I've done for Annie Pyne up to their cottage this evening,' Harriet said. ‘I'll find out then. I'd like you to come with me and help me carry the things there when you finish work this evening, Jenken.' With this, she dished out the midday meal for her large family and no more was said on the subject.

That evening, leaving the younger children in Albert's care, Harriet and Jenken set out for the Wheal Hope cottage. Jenken protested that the amount of clothing they were carrying hardly merited the two of them being involved, but Harriet's reply was that it had all been cleaned and ironed and she had no intention of taking the risk of dropping anything along the way, or having it arrive at its destination in a creased condition.

Once at the mine cottage, Harriet asked after Morwenna and was told the oldest Pyne girl had been out of bed that day, sitting downstairs for a few hours, but had retired to her bedroom earlier that evening and appeared to be asleep when Jennifer had been put to bed.

Satisfied she and the mine-captain's wife could now settle down to have a good long gossip whilst enjoying the tea Annie had brewed, Harriet sent Jenken out of the house until she was ready to return to Elworthy.

Annie suggested that he make his way to a small copse not far away from the cottage where he would probably find Nessa. The middle Pyne daughter had surprised a badger with two cubs some days before and discovered their sett in the copse. Since then she had visited the copse frequently, hoping to see them again.

Jenken would have preferred to remain with his mother and the mine-captain's wife to learn what they had to say about Alan Toms, but he decided he would settle for an opportunity to see a badger with its family.

He found Nessa in the copse watching the sett from a little distance. She was not immediately pleased to see him but, relenting, she put a finger to her lips and, beckoning for him to follow her, led him away from the sett.

When she thought they were far enough away she explained, ‘The mother badger is very wary. When she's ready to bring her babies from the sett she puts her head out of the hole and listens and sniffs about her for ages before letting the cubs out. It's still a bit early for them, but if you're patient and quiet enough we can go back there in a minute and might be lucky enough to see them … but what are you doing at Wheal Hope?'

A sudden thought came to her and she asked, ‘Did Goran come up here with you?'

‘No. Ma had some sewing to bring and I helped her carry it, but I think she and your ma want to have a good old gossip, so they sent me down here to watch for the badgers with you.'

‘Well there's plenty to gossip about with all that's been happening at Wheal Hope.'

‘I don't think it's going to be about the mine. They'll probably be far more interested in what went on at the Spurre estate between Sir John's men and Jacob Barlow – and talking about what happened to Alan Toms.'

Startled, Nessa queried, ‘Alan Toms … Morwenna's old sweetheart? What's he got to do with the Spurre estate?'

Realizing she had heard nothing of Alan Toms's presence in the area, Jenken told her of his arrival and how he had been arrested and released by the intervention of her father.

‘Pa has said nothing about Alan Toms being here, at least, not to me – and certainly not to Morwenna or I would have known. She wouldn't have been able to keep
that
to herself. Mind you, we haven't seen Pa today, he's been at the mine since dawn and Ma took something for his dinner up there. He probably said something to Ma then about Alan being here, but she wouldn't have mentioned it until they had discussed it properly and decided what they were going to do about it.'

Thinking hurriedly about Morwenna's behaviour in recent weeks, Nessa asked, ‘Does Goran know that Alan was once Morwenna's sweetheart?'

‘Yes, Pa told him.'

‘What does he think about Alan coming here? I mean, Goran was seeing Morwenna for a long time, wasn't he?'

His confusion evident, Jenken said, ‘What makes you think that? I'm pretty certain that the last time he saw Morwenna – probably the
only
time – was when she brought that book to the farm … and he wasn't expecting her then. In fact he was embarrassed by her being there, especially when she made him kiss her as a “thank you” for giving the book to him.'

‘Morwenna made
him
kiss
her
?'

Grinning at the memory of the occasion, Jenken said, ‘Well, it was
supposed
to be a kiss but he hardly touched her cheek and then jumped back as though he was frightened he might catch something from her. I don't think Morwenna was very happy about it!'

With so many thoughts tripping over themselves in her mind, Nessa tried to put them in some logical order and, thinking aloud, said, ‘But if she wasn't seeing Goran…? Perhaps Alan has been around here for a lot longer than we realize. She was probably seeing him when we all thought she was with Goran. That's why…!'

She almost mentioned Morwenna's miscarriage but stopped herself in time. It was a secret that should never go outside the family, but Jenken was shaking his head.

‘I believe Alan only came to this part of Cornwall recently, with Jacob Barlow, and I saw Morwenna up on the moor with gamekeeper Grimble's nephew, but he's gone off to America now so she won't be seeing
him
again.'

Listening to Jenken, everything suddenly fell into place for Nessa. First Morwenna's claims that she was going to Elworthy Farm every day to meet Goran, then her unexpected taunt that Nessa could have Goran back. She would have been desperate to find a father for the child she was carrying before it became evident to everyone she was pregnant. That would mean she probably realized she was pregnant before coming to the Wheal Hope. What seemed certain was that it could not have been Goran who was responsible!

With this knowledge it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her mind. She believed that both Goran and Grimble's nephew had been targeted as prospective husbands because of Morwenna's desperate need to be married. The man undoubtedly responsible for her condition had to be Alan Toms and it would explain why she had been so upset when he had refused to come to the Wheal Hope with the other miners.

Putting all the facts together, Nessa suddenly felt desperately sorry for Morwenna and the problems she had been forced to grapple with alone, not daring to tell anyone else about them.

Then Nessa remembered the manner in which Morwenna had come between herself and Goran, and had made no real attempt to put matters right, even when she must have believed she had succeeded in persuading Grimble's nephew to marry her.

Turning to Jenken, Nessa said, ‘You stay here and wait to see the badgers. I don't think I will be able to settle down enough to watch them tonight. I'd probably be so fidgety it would frighten them off. I'm going back to the cottage – and I hope Morwenna is awake: we have things to talk about!'

W
HEN
N
ESSA RETURNED
to the mine cottage she hurried upstairs to the bedroom she shared with her sisters. Morwenna was asleep – but so too was Jennifer. Nessa knew that what she and Morwenna had to say to each other would be so heated it would certainly wake the younger girl. Frustrating though it was, she realized the showdown with her sister would need to wait until morning if Morwenna's miscarriage was not to be disclosed to the family.

Returning downstairs, she found Harriet Bolitho ready to return home and offered to go and fetch Jenken, but Harriet said she was quite happy to go home alone and leave him watching the badger sett, adding, ‘He works hard during the day and has very little time to do things he enjoys. He loves all animals and birds and if he sees a badger it will be an unforgettable experience for him.'

When Harriet had left the cottage, Annie said to Nessa, ‘I presume Jenken has told you Alan Toms is here, on the mine?'

‘He told me Alan is around again, but he wasn't sure whether or not Pa had taken him on, or whether he's staying in the area.'

‘He's been given work at Wheal Hope, but only to help clear water from the mine and not as a miner. Pa wants to know Morwenna's feelings about him before taking him on. In the meantime he's moved in with a few of the miners who have taken over a cottage halfway between here and the Caradon mines. But I heard you go upstairs when you came in, were you going to tell Morwenna about Alan being here?'

‘I had a number of things to say to her and that was one of them, but she's asleep and I didn't want to disturb Jennifer, so it will need to wait until morning.'

Nodding approval, Annie said, ‘I think we both have a few things we want to discuss with Morwenna, but I'd rather you left saying anything until your pa has spoken to her about Alan. He was hoping to do it tonight but she went to bed early and he's late home so that too will need to keep until morning.'

‘Is what she says likely to make a difference to anything? I thought Pa didn't like Alan very much.'

‘I don't think Pa is particularly fond of him, but he did say that Alan has gone up in his opinion for the way he's behaved over this business with Jacob Barlow. He said Alan wasn't taken in by Barlow's claim to represent the rights of the miner and left him as soon as he could. It would appear Alan has shown more common sense than Pa gave him credit for. But whether or not he's taken on as a Wheal Hope miner depends on what Morwenna has to say about him.'

Nessa thought that had Alan put in an appearance some days earlier Morwenna would have had him in church before the young miner knew what was happening to him … but now?

‘Harriett told me Morwenna's story of spending much of her time at Elworthy isn't true and that she hasn't been near the farm,' Annie said.

‘Jenken told me the same thing – and that's something I intend having words with her about,' Nessa said firmly.

‘Well, save it until Pa has spoken to her, I'm sure we'll all be able to sort everything out.'

When Piran Pyne took his eldest daughter to one side after breakfast the following morning and asked her to walk to the mine with him, she was concerned about what he might have to say that could not be discussed in the presence of the other members of the family. Deciding it must be something to do with her state of health, she felt able to face such questioning with far more confidence than had it been a few days earlier.

Their conversation began very much as she had anticipated and she was able to tell her father with honesty that she was feeling much better and confident she was on the mend.

Then he said, unexpectedly, ‘Have you got over feeling upset about leaving Alan Toms?'

It was an unexpected question, but carefully composing herself, Morwenna replied, ‘I still think about him sometimes.'

‘If the opportunity arose do you think you would take up with him again?'

‘I'm never going to know, am I?' she retorted. ‘We're not likely to go back down west again.'

‘That doesn't answer my question. Would you, or wouldn't you?'

As Morwenna pondered the possible reason her father might have asked the question, he said, ‘Perhaps there's someone else who's taken his place since you came here?'

The question caused her a moment of panic, thinking her father might have somehow learned about her affair with Tom Miller – from Nessa, perhaps?

She breathed easily once more when he added, ‘… Goran Trebartha, for instance?'

Shaking her head, Morwenna replied, ‘There's nothing between me and Goran.' Suddenly remembering she had used seeing Goran as a cover for the time she had spent with Tom Miller, she added hurriedly, ‘Although I did think at one time there could have been, but why are you asking me about Alan now, after all this time?'

‘Because he's here and wants me to take him on at the Wheal Hope.'

The reply left Morwenna stunned. For a few moments she struggled for words before asking, hesitantly, ‘Have you … taken him on?'

‘Not as a miner. I've said I'd use him to help drain the mine and get it working again before I made a decision. But I would-n't employ him until I'd spoken to you. If you've found someone else it would be an embarrassment for you to have him around … and your feelings are important to me and your ma.'

‘Has Alan mentioned me at all?'

‘Yes, he asked after you and said he realized he'd made a mistake in not coming with us when we moved here.'

‘He would say something like that if he's desperate for work, wouldn't he?'

‘He would,' Piran Pyne agreed, ‘and there's always the possibility he could upset you again, but he told Albert Bolitho that the reason he hadn't come with us in the first place was because you were so keen on being married it frightened him. It was only after we'd left and he'd had time to think that he realized he'd made a great mistake in letting you come here without him.'

‘He actually said that?'

‘That's the gist of it, I think.'

‘And you believe him?'

‘I do – and the way he's conducted himself over the last couple of days has caused me to reconsider the opinion I had of him when we were down west.'

Telling Morwenna of the events involving Alan over the past few days, he added, ‘But, as I've said, I'll not take him on if it's going to upset you.'

The answer to his original question had never been in doubt in Morwenna's mind and she suddenly felt happier than at any time for many weeks but, trying not to sound too eager, she said, ‘I don't think he would have come to the Wheal Hope asking for work unless he meant what he's said and, if he
really
means it, I'm willing to give him another chance – although I shall make him prove to me that he is serious this time.'