Tenants
Proverbs 31:16
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She felt so alone, sitting here at the grand dining table, reading a book.
“Excuse me, Claude,” she said to the footman who was serving her. “Could you ask Jeremy to come in, please?”
The footman looked shocked but left and came back seconds later, no doubt having sent some lesser menial to do the job. Jeremy, when he arrived, managed to look perfectly at ease.
“I’m sorry, Jeremy; I know that this isn’t at all according to Hoyle. But if you could sit down for a minute, Claude can bring you something; I have a few questions.”
“I think I would prefer standing, My Lady, but as long as Claude is here, there is nothing at all improper. Just, perhaps, a trifle irregular.”
He gave her a smile which, while formal, still set her at ease.
“Very well. As you know, I have been working on getting to know the house of which I am now the Chatelaine. But I would like to get to know… I’m sorry…what is the term? The people who live on the property, the farmers and all?”
“The tenants, My Lady.”
“Ah, yes. I would like to do a tour, like I have been doing, of the house, of the surrounding land. My husband’s land, you understand.”
Jeremy looked at her for a few seconds. A very long few seconds. “I see. It is a bit irregular, but… I will contact my lord’s agent and see what he says. You will place him in an ambiguous position, I’m afraid.”
She stared at him. “Well, I think I would like to at least discuss it with him.”
“Very well, My Lady. And, if I could make the suggestion. I am aware that you are very comfortable with Nara. I think it would be good if you invited her to the meetings. As a, as it were, chaperone.”
Hadassah flushed. It was incredibly annoying living in this house without another woman. It would be good indeed to move Nara more toward the status of companion.
“Very well. If you could discuss the matter with Mrs Baldwick, I think I would like her freed from other duties, duties outside of working with me, if you see what I mean. And when our Lord is not to home, I think I will have her eat with me.”
She saw Claude start out of the corner of her eye but remained fixed on Jeremy. Who smiled?
“That is an excellent idea, My Lady. It will make things much more comfortable.”
Well, it certainly would make Hadassah more comfortable. “If you could send her down, then?”
“Very well, My Lady. And I will pass your instructions to the housekeeper and contact the agent.”
A minute or so later, Nara showed up, looking flushed. “Sit down, Nara,” Hadassah said, and Claude dutifully pulled out her chair.
“But, My lady!” Nara said, coming over very reluctantly.
“Sit down.” Hadassah snagged an empty bread plate and pushed it over to Nara. “There is far more than I can eat here, and you will be eating with me whenever Our Lord isn’t here.”
“Oh, My Lady,” Nara said, looking down at her maid uniform.
Hadassah laughed, “We will put you in one of my dresses until we have time to go shopping. Surely I have enough.”
Nara reluctantly took some food, and Hadassah handed her one of her forks.
“I talked with Jeremy… the butler,” she hurriedly corrected. “And he is going to get me an interview with the agent—the man who manages the land for Our Lord. And we, meaning you, me, and the agent, will go around and see it all. All of the tenants’ houses and barns and things. Jeremy says it would be improper of me to go with the agent alone.”
Nara had opened her mouth, undoubtedly to object, but closed it at the word ‘improper’.
Hadassah was finished a few minutes later, and Nara had looked uncomfortable the whole time, so Hadassah pushed out her own chair (catching Claude by surprise, but he managed to pull Nara’s chair out for her, making her look very uncomfortable). “Let us get upstairs and find you a dress so you can ride with me once he comes. I don’t know when he will come, but it would be best to be ready. Perhaps we will have time this afternoon.”
The girls ran upstairs… no doubt shocking various of the staff… and quickly started rummaging around in Hadassah’s dressing room for a dress that Hadassah felt was nice enough to be seen riding around in and that Nara felt was low class enough for her to be seen in. They had finally chosen three that might work, and Nara was just trying on one when Hadassah heard a knock on her door.
“Agent to see you, My Lady,” Jonathon said, his face flushed.
“Well, send him up,” Hadassah said.
“Here, My Lady?!”
“Nara will be here with me,” she said, and the boy bobbed and ran off.
A minute or so later she heard a knock and opened her door, rather surprising a middle-aged man. “Are you the agent? Hadassah asked. “Come in.”
“My Lady! I don’t feel it is proper…”
“Oh, my maid is here; she’s just trying on a dress. Come in.”
The agent came in, leaving the door wide open and looking rather nervously around until his eyes fell upon the open dressing room door, when he relaxed.
“I am George Grant, the agent,” he said, standing rather stiffly. “I understand you would like a tour?”
“Yes. I wish to see all of the lands, and the tenant’s houses, and their barns, and everything.”
“That would take a few days… the butler informs me another young lady…”
“That would be me,” Nara said, coming in and finishing tying the bow in the front of the dress.
“I thought you said your maid… Oh, I see. I believe I know you, Miss.”
“Ma’am! And, yes, I’ve seen you around when you come to get rents. My father has that dairy on the northeast section.”
“Yes, quite. A quite profitable arrangement for all concerned.”
He looked back and forth between the two women. “I suppose, yes, I can’t really see my way to refusing. As long as your maid… or another appropriate lady, perhaps one of the older female staff… comes along.”
“Oh, good. Can we go now?”
“My Lady, my shoes,” Nara said.
“Yes, can we go in half of an hour?”
“It will take fully that time to arrange a carriage. And I will inform the kitchen to send along a basket. Travelling in that way can be quite fatiguing.”
So saying, he left, and Lady Ambrose went forward to close the door. “Hurry, lift your skirts,” she said to Nara. “We must get these shoes on. Good grief, there must be a hundred laces!”
The two girls finally reached the front door and stood waiting on the steps. They had only been there a minute or so when a cook’s helper came forward, saw them, curtsi ed, and gave them a basket. “For the trip, My Lady.”
“Thank you,” Lady Hadassah said, as Nara took the basket.
Thank you for coming round Arthur’s Substack. I hope and pray it will be a blessing to you.
Arthur publishes with Wise Path Books and includes the children’s/YA books:
The Bobtails meet the Preacher’s Kid: A Christian historical fiction chapter book about four orphans who go to live with their aunt on a dairy farm.
The Bobtails and the Cousins: The sequel to Preacher’s Kid. The aunt has married, and the cousins come to visit. Meaning town kids dealing with chores and manure and…
The Bobtails go to France: The sequel to cousins. The Bobtails, and Preacher’s Kid, get to take a trip to New York, London, Paris, and a small town in France. To get some cheese.
and
No Ordinary School: A brilliant but socially clueless boy gets recruited for a special school. Where he makes a lot of money, gets a girl, and solves a mystery.
As well as GK Chesterton’s wonderful book, “What’s Wrong with the World”, for which ‘Arthur’ wrote most of the annotations. The book is a series of essays on how modern politics has gotten the wrong prescription for the wrong diagnosis.
Quite a few chapters of the Bobtails and No Ordinary School are here on this substack as audio.
I also write as Von, and I encourage you to check out that substack. There is a lot of theology and politics there, as well as quotes, poems, other articles, and links to other Science Fiction. But ‘Von’ also is publishing some serial books and stories. Much more adult and serious books than here, for the most part. Some of them.