Chapter Seventeen #2
Bessie filled a large brown teapot from the kettle in the hearth and returned to the table, eyeing the doorstep of bread Phoebe had managed to cut.
She sighed. “I can see as you’ve never had to do work in a kitchen before, young lady.
Here. I’ll slice a few and you butter them.
Gabriel can eat your doorstep. Give him plenty of butter and a good spoonful of jam.
” She put a large earthenware pot on the table which proved, on closer examination, to contain strawberry jam.
“From Wentworth,” Gabriel said, taking the proffered slice of bread and jam. “I get all our jams from there, and fruit in the summer. So that, at least, is free.”
“And the children love it all,” Mrs. Thorogood said, patting the nearest one on its tousled head.
Difficult to tell if they were boys or girls as all of them had longish hair and wore matching off-white smocks.
One white blonde, one redhead, and four various shades of brown, all now enjoying the bread and getting jammy faces into the bargain.
Phoebe obediently buttered some more bread, as the children appeared to have bottomless stomachs, and Bessie returned to the teapot where she poured three large mugs of tea and, without asking, stirred sugar into them.
She put one in front of each of them and nodded at the jam.
“Now you’ve done the butter, you put jam on the bread for the children, too.
They’re growing children so they get as much as they want. ”
Six small and hopeful faces regarded Phoebe, most of them wearing milky moustaches along with jam-smeared cheeks. She smiled and dipped into the jam. Very soon each child was eating their second round of bread and jam with relish. Her own stomach did a loud rumble.
“Now you’d best do one for yourself,” Mrs. Thorogood said. “Don’t want you fainting away any more than we want Gabriel doin’ so.”
“I’m not the sort of girl who faints,” Phoebe said, biting into the bread and jam with relish.
Food hadn’t tasted so good in a long time, and the tea was hot and sweet and seemed to be reviving her tired limbs.
The children watched her as they ate, eyes round with curiosity. Perhaps they didn’t often get visitors.
Gabriel took a sip of his tea and nodded at Bessie.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll get you to explain what we do here to Phoebe.
She knows the basics, but I haven’t given her details.
” He grinned. “And you’ll be pleased to hear that I’ve managed to extract a good deal from Abner, so we have money for at least the next month, and enough besides for me to get the next house underway.
I squeezed a fair price out of him, and we have Phoebe to thank for that. She gave me the jewels herself.”
Bessie’s rather thick eyebrows rose in inquiry and she gave Phoebe a penetrating look.
“Should I be so bold as to ask how that came about? And, while I’m at it, should I perhaps not ask how it was you came to tell her all about this place?
I thought we were keeping it a secret from…
” She paused. “From the nobs with whom you have to spend most of your time.”
Gabriel, wiping his jammy mouth with the back of his sleeve, grinned. Color had returned to his cheeks. “Don’t ask and you won’t get lied to. But you can tell her what we do.”
“I already know you take in orphans,” Phoebe said.
“That’s why I gave Lord—I mean Gabriel my jewels.
” She put her hand to her throat. “I didn’t want him to take my pearls as those came down to me from my great-grandmother so they have sentimental value, but the ones I gave him I don’t wear or have a particular liking for.
” She glanced at Gabriel. “And I do have more like that I could give you.”
“You can get the money out,” Gabriel said.
With a bit of contortion, Phoebe managed to get the little bag of money out from under her arm and put it on the table. At least this money wasn’t ill-gotten.
Bessie nodded and tucked the bag away in the pocket of her apron. “I’ll pass it on to Violet when she comes in.” She met Phoebe’s gaze. “She does all the books, works out what we can spend, makes sure we don’t run short of anything.”
“She’s going to have to be careful with the money for the next couple of months while my arm heals,” Gabriel said.
“We can live a bit more frugally if we have to,” Bessie said with a sigh.
“It’s not like none of us haven’t ever done it before.
Grew up on frugal, I did. We’ll manage. And I don’t want you putting the next house on hold, not with all the little children out there still in want of a warm bed to sleep in and food in their bellies. ”
Gabriel ruffled the hair of the child nearest to him, who looked up at him with a smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll manage. You heard what Phoebe said—she has more jewels we can fence.” He winked at Phoebe and took another swig of his tea.
Bessie frowned at him. “I don’t want you doing anything silly and making that arm worse.
I don’t doubt you should still have it in a proper sling.
It’s only been a few days. If you were a son of mine I’d have you chained to this table so you couldn’t go off adventuring.
And don’t you raise your eyebrows at me, because I know you know I’m right.
I’ll wager that arm’s giving you gip right now.
I can see it in your eyes.” She paused, her expression softening.
“I’ve some more laudanum in the medicine cupboard.
I’ll get you a dose. Just a small one, mind. ”
He made no objection, so she got up stiffly and disappeared into a small pantry on the far side of the kitchen.