Page 30

Chapter 30

September 1911

Ann sat at the kitchen table, and watched Isobel knead the bread dough.

‘You always look as though you are enjoying that.’

‘There are a lot of things I don’t like doing in this kitchen, like black-leading the range and mopping the floors, but yes, I do like making the bread.

’ Isobel pushed the edge of the dough away from her and then grabbed it and folded it over towards her before pushing it away again.

‘It’s another one of Finlay’s chemistry things,’ said Ann.

‘Taking powder and water and salt and putting them all together to make something tasty.’

Isobel paused in the kneading.

‘You are sounding very grown up, Miss Ann, if I may say so.’

Ann smiled to herself and patted her braids which, with Ursula’s assistance, were now looped around her head like a halo.

‘I have been thinking about how different things are now Ursula is here.’

Isobel continued to knead the dough.

‘And I’ve been making plans for my herb garden for next year.

’

‘That sounds rather grand.’ Isobel shaped the rounded dough into a ball and dropped it back into the earthenware bowl to rise.

‘It’s only September.

Next year is a good way off.

’

‘I know, but I’ve been reading a book about choosing plants, and it says you should always plan things a long time before you need to do them.

Have you got time to look at the garden with me now?

’

Isobel looked up at the clock.

‘I expect so.’ She rolled up her long apron and tucked it into the waist strings.

‘Just five minutes, mind.’

They went outside and walked up the bone-dry path to the carefully tended herb patch at the far end.

It was the only part of the garden which was still green and healthy.

‘What is it you want to do?’

‘I want this to be useful, so I need to know which herbs you would like more of. I’ve only ever planted the cuttings from the postman, and the seeds Finlay gave me for my birthday.

But we might want different kinds next year.

I’m teaching myself the proper Latin names.

’ Ann pointed to each herb in turn.

‘Rosmarinus, Thymus, Salvia, Mentha, Melissa, Allium, Ocimum, Petrocelium.’

Isobel was impressed.

‘Very good. I think we might need more parsley, we use quite a lot of that. And sage, because of your favourite dumplings, and perhaps you could grow some lemon balm for salads?’

‘My book says there is more than one kind of thyme and sage. I’ll ask Ursula if I can buy some extra seeds.

Do you think she’ll say yes?

’

Isobel leaned backwards to stretch her back a little.

‘She might. You’ve worked hard at the digging and the weeding, and I’m impressed with how you’ve kept up with the watering.

It’s very handy for me to be able to walk up the garden and pick a bit of this or that to help the dinner along.

’ She bent down to nip off a few mint leaves and popped them into her mouth.

‘They have such pretty names, that’s for sure.

Well, apart from the basil.

’

Ann laughed. ‘I know, Ocimum isn’t very nice, not for something with such a good flavour.

There are at least two sorts of sage, though.

’ She rubbed a velvety leaf between her fingers.

‘There is this green Salvia and there’s another one with purple leaves.

’

‘I’ll use whatever you choose to grow.

If you pinch out some of those chives and bring them inside for me now, I’ll chop them up and put them in the dough instead of onion, and you can have chive rolls with your dinner this evening.

Now, Miss Ann, I really must get on, so I’ll leave you to your planning.

’ Isobel turned and headed back along the path to the scullery door, her skirts brushing against the herbs as she walked.

Left alone, Ann sat down cross-legged like a small child, and removed the folded paper from the cunning pocket which Elizabeth Forrester had sewn into the side seam of her dress.

She opened it up and studied it.

The diagram was clear enough, and she would certainly be needing more space next year, if Father agreed.

On the paper she had drawn out a series of concentric rings, with the herbs arranged inside the circles and the rosemary bush in the centre.

The Latin names were listed neatly along one side of the paper, with arrows showing where everything would go.

She took a pencil from her pocket and spread the paper out on the dry, sun-warm flagstone path, and wrote in her best handwriting:

My New Herb Garden

She paused for a moment, and added:

By Annie Black