Replenish the Earth by Anna Jacobs Page A

for our firewood.’
    He laughed. ‘You've enough firewood there to last you a hundred years. I’ll gather you a load from time to time, if you like. Those woods have been neglected for years, and there’s all sorts of useful stuff lying around.’
    There is was again, this reliance on the produce of your own land, instead of the need to buy things. ‘Tell me frankly, Mr Pursley. Was my grandfather a bad landlord?’
    ‘Well, he wasn’t as caring as he could have been. Not about the condition of the land, anyway. After your uncle died, your grandfather seemed to lose interest in the estate. Said he needed the money for other things.’
    ‘Perhaps I ought to think in a more businesslike way and sell you some wood?’ she asked, her humour surfacing again, now that her mother was no longer there to tell her that such remarks were not ladylike.
    He grinned back at her, then seemed to recollect who she was and grew stiffer again. ‘I don’t think that would be worth your while. But I mustn’t bore you.’
    ‘I’m not bored, Mr Pursley. I find such matters interesting. And anyway, I must learn all I can about country ways, if I’m to live here. I shall enjoy doing that. In London there was nothing much else to do but read or talk, and I often grew bored.’ She felt disloyal to her mother, admitting that, but it was true. She had sometimes felt like screaming with the frustration of their narrow life, not to mention her mother’s strict standards about what a lady could and could not do.
    She looked around her now, beaming. ‘Here there are so many things to do that I hardly know where to start and I haven’t been bored once!’
    What sort of life had the poor woman led, then? Will wondered. He admired her will to work, he did indeed.
    There was a sudden downpour of rain outside and that broke the spell. ‘Oh dear!’ Sarah exclaimed anxiously. ‘I must go up and check the attics. Mary's put some bowls up there to catch the worst of the leaks, and they may need emptying.’
    ‘I’ll come with you and find out what needs doing.’ He led the way out of the room at a brisk pace, intent on the job in hand and not on the social niceties of allowing a lady to go first. She had difficulty in keeping up and he turned to wait for her at the top of the stairs. ‘I’m sorry! I forgot about your lameness.’
    She thought it one of the nicest things anyone had said to her in a long time. Most people were all too aware of her lameness and stared at her when she moved, or else averted their gaze, which was just as bad. To have forgotten it completely meant - well, it surely meant that it didn’t matter to him.
    Rain was already trickling in through parts of the roof and they worked together to empty the motley collection of bowls and containers out of a sheltered dormer window.
    ‘I hadn't realised how bad things were!’ he exclaimed. ‘How could a man let his home get into such a state? If I had a place of my own, I’d not have wasted my money on casks of wine and fancy waistcoats, I’d have . . . ' He remembered that he was talking about her grandfather and stopped abruptly.
    ‘You don’t offend me,’ she said softly. ‘Nor would I!’
    When they had finished, he declined an offer of refreshment. ‘No, I’ve too much to do. I’ll bring the cattle straight over when I get them tomorrow, if I may, so I’ll have to mend those gates today. But don’t worry. I’ll not forget the repairs to your roof. There’s quite a bit I can do at very little cost, except for my time. And if you could spare just a little money for some dressed wood, well, I could do even more.’
    ‘I might be able to do that,’ she said cautiously.
    He hesitated, then looked at her sideways, emboldened enough by the rapport that had grown between them to make another request. ‘I’ll need proper shelter for the beasts. My barn burnt down recently.’ He didn’t say it was common knowledge that Sewell’s men had done it, but had added