had agreed they didn’t think they could ever come to like Caleb’s mother.The more they had to do with her, the more this proved right. Mary, on the other hand, was often in Mildred’s room once she was home from school, an arrangement the old woman actively encouraged, much to her son’s continuing astonishment. The old woman clearly genuinely liked the child.
Eve suspected the attraction on Mary’s side could be down to the supply of chocolates and other sweets Mildred consumed in vast quantities, but, whatever it was, she was grateful for it. It kept Mary out of their hair when they were working and the relationship boded well for their being kept on at the inn, should Mrs Travis recover fully. Not that there seemed to be any sign of this. Caleb’s mother appeared to be enjoying her role as an invalid to the full. That, and rubbing Caleb up the wrong way. Every morning he took her a bowl of hot water so she could wash herself and change her nightdress. He emptied the slops and saw to any little jobs she wanted doing, but invariably returned to the kitchen with a grim face. Eve found it puzzling that a mother could treat a son like Caleb so badly, but Mildred was a funny kettle of fish in more ways than one.
Mary seemed to have adapted to her new life with ease. She no longer spoke of Stanley with longing and on the surface showed no ill effects from her mistreatment by Josiah Finnigan. She had reverted to being the somewhat aggravating and forward little madam she’d been before their father and brothers had died, and although this caused altercations with Nell whenever the two sisters were together for more than five minutes, it went some way to reassuring Eve that all was well.
As the weeks rolled by they settled into life at the inn as though they had always been there. Nell turned twelve at the end of November, and Eve fourteen the following month. The jollifications over the festive period made life hectic, but once the New Year was over, Eve and Nell found they were managing their days much better.And then towards the end of a bitterly cold January that had seen snow up to the window sills and drifts eight feet deep in places, violence erupted in the Durham coalfields as the miners went on strike. The men were angry their officials had agreed to eight-hour shifts and round-the-clock working.
Eve and Nell had experienced their father and brothers being on strike in the past. Inevitably it had meant a period of pulling their belts in even tighter and making do on scrag ends and spotted vegetables while they got further and further behind with the rent, but this time they saw things from a different angle. When the miners were making half a bitter last all night and the waggonway workers and keelmen were having their shifts cut, the pub’s takings took a nosedive.
It was this situation which played a part in turning Eve’s dislike of Mildred Travis into something far stronger. The incident came about one morning in the second week of February.The snow was still deep in places and there had been a hard frost during the night. When Eve looked out of the scullery window into the yard, the white world outside the warmth of the house held the glinting sparkle of diamond dust. She stood for a moment gazing out, her soul soothed by the beauty the normally ugly view held.There had been mornings like this at home when she had escaped the confines of the house for an hour and gone for a walk in the countryside surrounding Stanley, sometimes running and running for the sheer joy of it until she had to stop with the stitch. One time when William had been on night shift he hadn’t gone straight to bed on returning home but had offered to come with her.The world had been quiet and the air biting and he had talked as he never did at home. Of leaving the pit, of travelling for a while, seeing new places and meeting new people. He had been bright,William. Intelligent.All his teachers had said so, one even going so far as
Eve suspected the attraction on Mary’s side could be down to the supply of chocolates and other sweets Mildred consumed in vast quantities, but, whatever it was, she was grateful for it. It kept Mary out of their hair when they were working and the relationship boded well for their being kept on at the inn, should Mrs Travis recover fully. Not that there seemed to be any sign of this. Caleb’s mother appeared to be enjoying her role as an invalid to the full. That, and rubbing Caleb up the wrong way. Every morning he took her a bowl of hot water so she could wash herself and change her nightdress. He emptied the slops and saw to any little jobs she wanted doing, but invariably returned to the kitchen with a grim face. Eve found it puzzling that a mother could treat a son like Caleb so badly, but Mildred was a funny kettle of fish in more ways than one.
Mary seemed to have adapted to her new life with ease. She no longer spoke of Stanley with longing and on the surface showed no ill effects from her mistreatment by Josiah Finnigan. She had reverted to being the somewhat aggravating and forward little madam she’d been before their father and brothers had died, and although this caused altercations with Nell whenever the two sisters were together for more than five minutes, it went some way to reassuring Eve that all was well.
As the weeks rolled by they settled into life at the inn as though they had always been there. Nell turned twelve at the end of November, and Eve fourteen the following month. The jollifications over the festive period made life hectic, but once the New Year was over, Eve and Nell found they were managing their days much better.And then towards the end of a bitterly cold January that had seen snow up to the window sills and drifts eight feet deep in places, violence erupted in the Durham coalfields as the miners went on strike. The men were angry their officials had agreed to eight-hour shifts and round-the-clock working.
Eve and Nell had experienced their father and brothers being on strike in the past. Inevitably it had meant a period of pulling their belts in even tighter and making do on scrag ends and spotted vegetables while they got further and further behind with the rent, but this time they saw things from a different angle. When the miners were making half a bitter last all night and the waggonway workers and keelmen were having their shifts cut, the pub’s takings took a nosedive.
It was this situation which played a part in turning Eve’s dislike of Mildred Travis into something far stronger. The incident came about one morning in the second week of February.The snow was still deep in places and there had been a hard frost during the night. When Eve looked out of the scullery window into the yard, the white world outside the warmth of the house held the glinting sparkle of diamond dust. She stood for a moment gazing out, her soul soothed by the beauty the normally ugly view held.There had been mornings like this at home when she had escaped the confines of the house for an hour and gone for a walk in the countryside surrounding Stanley, sometimes running and running for the sheer joy of it until she had to stop with the stitch. One time when William had been on night shift he hadn’t gone straight to bed on returning home but had offered to come with her.The world had been quiet and the air biting and he had talked as he never did at home. Of leaving the pit, of travelling for a while, seeing new places and meeting new people. He had been bright,William. Intelligent.All his teachers had said so, one even going so far as
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