in words but as if they were well-matched fencers and every move was calculated.
“Then I will show you the farms,” she said, “and tell you a little about the men who run them for you. I suppose you know that you have two thousand acres in hand. The rest is let to tenant-farmers who have been with us for many years.”
She realised as she spoke that she was identifying herself with Chart, then silently asked herself, ‘Why not?’
She was as much a part of it as he was, except that he had the power and – if he wished it – the glory.
They rode to the largest farm, which was let to a family who had lived there ever since she could remember.
There were four sons, who did the majority of the work as their father was getting old, and they were now out in the fields.
The father was feeding some new-born calves and his wife was feeding a flock of geese and collecting the eggs.
As soon as Pandora appeared they greeted her effusively, but when she introduced them to the Earl there was a cold silence and they looked at him apprehensively.
“If ye’ve come t’ turn me out, M’Lord,” the farmer said, “there’s nought Oi can do about it. Ye’ve bled us white this last six months, an’ the only way Oi can pay what Oi owes is to sell me stock, an’ that, as any farmer knows, be the beginning of the end!”
“Are you referring to the rent?” the Earl enquired.
“What else?” the farmer asked aggressively. “How much more are you paying since I inherited than you paid before?”
The farmer looked at him incredulously.
“Oi understood as the rises were directly on Ye Lordship’s orders.”
“Then you were mistaken!” the Earl said sharply. “Tell His Lordship the difference,” Pandora said softly.
“Over twice as much, M’Lord, an’ we’ve been told that ten percent of everythin’ we sells at the market has to be given to Ye Lordship.”
Pandora gasped.
She knew this was exorbitant to say the least of it, and she wondered if the Earl would understand that it would be impossible for any farmer to meet such demands honestly.
It seemed to her that there was a long silence before the Earl said,
“There has obviously been some mistake. You will pay in rent exactly what you used to pay in the past, and your sales do not concern me and are the reward you receive for your labour.”
The incredulous expression on the farmer’s face made Pandora feel that she wanted to cry.
“D-do ye mean th-that, M’Lord?” the old man managed to stammer.
“My new manager, Mr. Michael Farrow, will, I am sure, explain to you that what has been happening recently has not been on my instructions.”
“Oi canna believe it!” the farmer said slowly. “Thank ye, M’Lord, thank ye! Ye’ve taken a load off me shoulders, an’ the Missus’ll sleep sound again at night.”
They insisted on Pandora and the Earl going into the farm-house to drink a glass of their homebrewed cider and eat a slice of their home-cured ham.
Pandora was glad to see that the Earl was very much at his ease with these simple people.
Although the farmer’s wife had burst into tears when she was first told the good news, she dried them quickly and was all smiles and happiness when finally they left.
“God bless ye, Miss Pandora,” she added as they said good-bye. “This be a happy day for us and Oi knows as how yer father, God bless him, would rejoice to know that things up at th’ Hall are going to be as they was.”
“I am sure he would,” Pandora said softly.
She and the Earl rode away, and when they reached the next farm almost the identical scene took place.
She had a feeling that now the Earl was positively enjoying himself.
She was perceptive enough to realise that, after years of poverty, it was pleasant for him to feel that he was in the seat of power and his people relied on him.
That was the right word, she thought, and as they rode on again she said:
“Now you understand, I think, how important the Earl of
“Then I will show you the farms,” she said, “and tell you a little about the men who run them for you. I suppose you know that you have two thousand acres in hand. The rest is let to tenant-farmers who have been with us for many years.”
She realised as she spoke that she was identifying herself with Chart, then silently asked herself, ‘Why not?’
She was as much a part of it as he was, except that he had the power and – if he wished it – the glory.
They rode to the largest farm, which was let to a family who had lived there ever since she could remember.
There were four sons, who did the majority of the work as their father was getting old, and they were now out in the fields.
The father was feeding some new-born calves and his wife was feeding a flock of geese and collecting the eggs.
As soon as Pandora appeared they greeted her effusively, but when she introduced them to the Earl there was a cold silence and they looked at him apprehensively.
“If ye’ve come t’ turn me out, M’Lord,” the farmer said, “there’s nought Oi can do about it. Ye’ve bled us white this last six months, an’ the only way Oi can pay what Oi owes is to sell me stock, an’ that, as any farmer knows, be the beginning of the end!”
“Are you referring to the rent?” the Earl enquired.
“What else?” the farmer asked aggressively. “How much more are you paying since I inherited than you paid before?”
The farmer looked at him incredulously.
“Oi understood as the rises were directly on Ye Lordship’s orders.”
“Then you were mistaken!” the Earl said sharply. “Tell His Lordship the difference,” Pandora said softly.
“Over twice as much, M’Lord, an’ we’ve been told that ten percent of everythin’ we sells at the market has to be given to Ye Lordship.”
Pandora gasped.
She knew this was exorbitant to say the least of it, and she wondered if the Earl would understand that it would be impossible for any farmer to meet such demands honestly.
It seemed to her that there was a long silence before the Earl said,
“There has obviously been some mistake. You will pay in rent exactly what you used to pay in the past, and your sales do not concern me and are the reward you receive for your labour.”
The incredulous expression on the farmer’s face made Pandora feel that she wanted to cry.
“D-do ye mean th-that, M’Lord?” the old man managed to stammer.
“My new manager, Mr. Michael Farrow, will, I am sure, explain to you that what has been happening recently has not been on my instructions.”
“Oi canna believe it!” the farmer said slowly. “Thank ye, M’Lord, thank ye! Ye’ve taken a load off me shoulders, an’ the Missus’ll sleep sound again at night.”
They insisted on Pandora and the Earl going into the farm-house to drink a glass of their homebrewed cider and eat a slice of their home-cured ham.
Pandora was glad to see that the Earl was very much at his ease with these simple people.
Although the farmer’s wife had burst into tears when she was first told the good news, she dried them quickly and was all smiles and happiness when finally they left.
“God bless ye, Miss Pandora,” she added as they said good-bye. “This be a happy day for us and Oi knows as how yer father, God bless him, would rejoice to know that things up at th’ Hall are going to be as they was.”
“I am sure he would,” Pandora said softly.
She and the Earl rode away, and when they reached the next farm almost the identical scene took place.
She had a feeling that now the Earl was positively enjoying himself.
She was perceptive enough to realise that, after years of poverty, it was pleasant for him to feel that he was in the seat of power and his people relied on him.
That was the right word, she thought, and as they rode on again she said:
“Now you understand, I think, how important the Earl of
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