Read Online A Carriage for the Midwife by Maggie Bennett - Free Book Online
Authors: Maggie Bennett
Ads: Link
waited, hardly daring to breathe.
‘The
alphabet
is made up of the twenty-six letters that from the words of the English language,’ replied Miss Glover, smiling. ‘And I will send you to Mrs Bryers’ school to learn how to make them into words to read and write. Would you like that, Susan?’
Chapter 6
THE IMMEMORIAL RHYTHM of the fields moved from sowing to growing, and with the passing of the summer solstice haymaking time came round once again, when all available labour was in demand.
The Bever carriage was sent to bring the Calthorpe brothers home from Winchester, and young Midshipman Hansford came home on leave from the navy’s Royal Academy at Portsmouth. Osmond listened eagerly to Henry’s stories of life at sea, and longed for manhood; the stirrings of his young body had become a craving for that mysterious coupling with a female body, about which his fellow scholars joked but for which Osmond had found no opportunity, either at school, or at Bever House, where some of the maidservants smiled slyly at him but were unable to escape Mrs Martin’s vigilant eye. The only woman allowed to enter the brother’s bedchamber was the one-time nursemaid, black-browed Mrs Ferris, forty if she was a day, who glided silently in with clean linen and hot water in a china pitcher. Once or twice Osmond thought he sensed her dark eyes upon him, but when he turned to face her she always seemed busily occupied. The burgeoning of Nature all around him, and the animal kingdom’s universal drive to procreate was a torment to the handsome, well-built boy, now seventeen; his virgin state grew more irksome daily.
‘’Ee be that dull, Sukey, since ’ee started goin’ to that ol’ school,’ grumbled Polly, lying on the grass.
‘Oi may be dull to ’ee, Poll, but Mrs Bryers do say that Oi be – that Oi
am
– the best in the class,’ replied Susan with modest pride.
‘Tha’s ’cos ’ee be the oldest on ’em!’ laughed Polly scornfully.
The sisters had been working in Farmer Bennett’s hayfield, and were resting in the shade at midday. As soon as they sat down under the hedgerow, Susan had got out the well-worn reading primer that Miss Glover had given her. There was little time for studying, and she only attended school on two mornings a week during this busy season.
‘Hush, Poll, Oi ha’ to know this page afore Oi sees Mrs Bryers again.’ She began to whisper the words to herself as she deciphered each one. ‘“Tom sat on a fat nag.”’
‘Tibby Dummet do say ’ee might as well teach a cat her letters as a poor gal,’ mocked Polly. ‘For then Puss’ll give herself fine airs an’ catch no more mice – an’ a gal won’t work indoors or out if her nose be stuck in a book all the time, like yourn!’
Susan did not reply, but smiled in secret satisfaction. The word
cat
was special to her, for it recalled the actual moment when she had grasped the principle of building words from letters.
‘Take the letter C,’ Mrs Bryers had said. ‘C says
c
! say it after me, Susan, c!’
‘C!’ repeated Susan, nodding. She had learned the sounds that each of the letters made.
‘Now A,’ went on the teacher. ‘A says
a
!’ She broadened her mouth to make the vowel sound, and Susan did the same.
‘And now T,’ said Mrs Bryers, tapping her tongue against her front teeth. ‘T says
t
!’ She smiled as she led the eager girl towards the door of literacy. ‘
T!
’
‘
T!
’ tapped Susan breathlessly.
‘Now put all three sounds together,
c
and
a
and
t
. What do they say?’
‘
C
–
a
–
t
.’ Susan rapped out the three separate sounds.
‘Faster! Run them together, Susan.’ Mrs Bryers smiled encouragingly, and Susan saw light dawning.
‘C-a-t.
Cat! CAT!
’ Susan almost shouted the word, an explorer discovering a new country. ‘Cat, cat! So
that
be readin’. Oh, Mrs Bryers, now I can learn
all
the words!’
And sure enough, she progressed rapidly from then on, and now, after two
‘The
alphabet
is made up of the twenty-six letters that from the words of the English language,’ replied Miss Glover, smiling. ‘And I will send you to Mrs Bryers’ school to learn how to make them into words to read and write. Would you like that, Susan?’
Chapter 6
THE IMMEMORIAL RHYTHM of the fields moved from sowing to growing, and with the passing of the summer solstice haymaking time came round once again, when all available labour was in demand.
The Bever carriage was sent to bring the Calthorpe brothers home from Winchester, and young Midshipman Hansford came home on leave from the navy’s Royal Academy at Portsmouth. Osmond listened eagerly to Henry’s stories of life at sea, and longed for manhood; the stirrings of his young body had become a craving for that mysterious coupling with a female body, about which his fellow scholars joked but for which Osmond had found no opportunity, either at school, or at Bever House, where some of the maidservants smiled slyly at him but were unable to escape Mrs Martin’s vigilant eye. The only woman allowed to enter the brother’s bedchamber was the one-time nursemaid, black-browed Mrs Ferris, forty if she was a day, who glided silently in with clean linen and hot water in a china pitcher. Once or twice Osmond thought he sensed her dark eyes upon him, but when he turned to face her she always seemed busily occupied. The burgeoning of Nature all around him, and the animal kingdom’s universal drive to procreate was a torment to the handsome, well-built boy, now seventeen; his virgin state grew more irksome daily.
‘’Ee be that dull, Sukey, since ’ee started goin’ to that ol’ school,’ grumbled Polly, lying on the grass.
‘Oi may be dull to ’ee, Poll, but Mrs Bryers do say that Oi be – that Oi
am
– the best in the class,’ replied Susan with modest pride.
‘Tha’s ’cos ’ee be the oldest on ’em!’ laughed Polly scornfully.
The sisters had been working in Farmer Bennett’s hayfield, and were resting in the shade at midday. As soon as they sat down under the hedgerow, Susan had got out the well-worn reading primer that Miss Glover had given her. There was little time for studying, and she only attended school on two mornings a week during this busy season.
‘Hush, Poll, Oi ha’ to know this page afore Oi sees Mrs Bryers again.’ She began to whisper the words to herself as she deciphered each one. ‘“Tom sat on a fat nag.”’
‘Tibby Dummet do say ’ee might as well teach a cat her letters as a poor gal,’ mocked Polly. ‘For then Puss’ll give herself fine airs an’ catch no more mice – an’ a gal won’t work indoors or out if her nose be stuck in a book all the time, like yourn!’
Susan did not reply, but smiled in secret satisfaction. The word
cat
was special to her, for it recalled the actual moment when she had grasped the principle of building words from letters.
‘Take the letter C,’ Mrs Bryers had said. ‘C says
c
! say it after me, Susan, c!’
‘C!’ repeated Susan, nodding. She had learned the sounds that each of the letters made.
‘Now A,’ went on the teacher. ‘A says
a
!’ She broadened her mouth to make the vowel sound, and Susan did the same.
‘And now T,’ said Mrs Bryers, tapping her tongue against her front teeth. ‘T says
t
!’ She smiled as she led the eager girl towards the door of literacy. ‘
T!
’
‘
T!
’ tapped Susan breathlessly.
‘Now put all three sounds together,
c
and
a
and
t
. What do they say?’
‘
C
–
a
–
t
.’ Susan rapped out the three separate sounds.
‘Faster! Run them together, Susan.’ Mrs Bryers smiled encouragingly, and Susan saw light dawning.
‘C-a-t.
Cat! CAT!
’ Susan almost shouted the word, an explorer discovering a new country. ‘Cat, cat! So
that
be readin’. Oh, Mrs Bryers, now I can learn
all
the words!’
And sure enough, she progressed rapidly from then on, and now, after two
Similar Books
