Page 14 of Echoes on the Wind (Borrowed Time #2)

Nellie and Betty had busied themselves for the whole of the next day preparing dinner for the evening, and the men had been relegated to the living room to keep out from under their feet. Gwyn and Gethin had used the time to play more rounds of rummy, while I’d retreated to the sofa to snooze away the hours until my brother and Tish arrived.

It was because of Tish, I was almost certain, that so much effort was being made.

Nellie, embarrassed about her dishevelled appearance when they’d first met, and exacerbated by the scolding from Gethin, had planned a feast big enough for double the people coming, and on a budget similar to what Mrs Hopkin spent in a week back on the farm.

A point was being made.

She was also working overtime to make up for what Gethin saw as her neglected duties, rising before dawn to clean from top to bottom, with breakfast ready on the table when he woke up. His mood seemed better for it, which we were all happy about, but he seemed to have little understanding, or perhaps little care, for just how much effort she was making.

“Nellie needs more butter,” Betty said as she came into the living room.

Her aprons and much of her face were covered in flour, and she looked exhausted from the work they’d been doing. Her health seemed to be on an uptick lately, though, and it had put the colour back in her cheeks, so it was good to see her being active around the house like she was before she got sick.

She stared around the room, waiting for one of us to offer our services, but the men at the table kept their heads low and their cards high, so she turned to me with a pleading smile.

“I guess I’ll go, then,” I said, setting aside the cushion I was cuddled into.

“Thank you, Thomas,” she said, a little louder than necessary, ensuring the others could hear.

She handed me some coins as I grabbed my coat from the hallway, and I checked to make sure I had some money of my own so that I could sneak myself something to eat in town. With the kitchen out of bounds, we’d been given only bread and jam for lunch, and the smell of the cooking was a constant reminder of how hungry I was.

“Won’t be long,” I shouted, and I put my cap on and headed out the door.

The sun was high, casting a warm glow over the town below, but the choppy wind was putting a chill in the air, and I pulled my coat tight as I walked along the pavement towards the turn in the hill.

“Hey, Tom. Wait up. ”

I turned back towards the house and the voice that had called out to me, and found Ellis jogging towards me from the dead-end at the top end of the street.

“I’ll walk with you,” he said, catching up and falling in line with me.

“What brings you up this way?” I asked, curious to see him. “Aren’t you meant to be working?”

“Just checking in on a friend,” he said. “Mr Carter gave me the afternoon off because of how much got done yesterday, so I thought I’d make the most of it. You off anywhere nice?”

“Just an errand run. Nellie needs butter for dinner, and I drew the short straw. She’s making enough to feed an army.”

“Oh, well I’m starving,” he said, and I wasn’t sure if he might have been hinting at an invitation.

“I’d ask you to come, but it’s kind of a family thing. Got my brother and his fiancée coming.”

“It’s alright,” he replied with a shrug, “I’ve got things to do anyway.”

“Anything fun?” I asked.

“Just going to the pub.”

“Speaking of the pub, was everything alright last night?” I asked, using it as an excuse to find out if he’d heard us. “You rushed off pretty quickly.”

“Of course, Tom,” he said, laughing. “Why wouldn’t it have been? I just ran out of money. And, well, if I’m honest, with the little in-jokes and whispering, I felt a bit left out.”

Despite feeling relieved that our interaction had seemingly gone unnoticed, I felt bad for appearing rude and making him feel that way. “Ah, I’m sorry, mate. We’d just had a few drinks. It was actually really nice to have you with us. I enjoyed it.”

I was over-egging it a little, but it seemed to do the trick in making him feel better, and he smiled enthusiastically.

As we made our way down the hill, a silence fell between us. Ellis put his hands in his pockets, leaving his elbows sticking outwards, so he had to swerve every lamppost along the way. As a result, he kept bumping into me every few feet instead of just removing them. By the third time, I started to wonder if he was doing it on purpose. I tried slowing down, then speeding up, but he continued to keep pace, nudging at me all the way to the main road.

I was considering cutting my losses and pushing him in front of an oncoming carriage when he finally moved away and spoke up again.

“Are you going to the Calan Mai festival next week?”

The May Day festival preparations were in full swing across the town, and Gethin, either by appointment or through his own volition, had taken charge of organising the carnival, which would be held on the green at the bottom of the hill in front of the house. Mr Carter had also promised all the farmworkers an extra day off, unpaid, giving us a long weekend.

“I’ll be there,” I said, “Gethin asked me to help with building the bonfire the day before. Or lighting it, perhaps. Or guarding it, maybe? I’m not sure. I wasn’t really listening.”

“Ah, alright. Spirit Night. I’ll come and help. ”

“I’m not sure if–” I began, but he jumped in and cut me off.

“Ok, that’s sorted. Right, I best be away. Enjoy your meal, Tom.”

Before I could say anything more, he ran across the street, weaving between the carts and wagons, leaving me to make my way to the store.

When I got back home, the card game was over, and Gwyn had gone to change, leaving Gethin alone in the living room.

“What’s Spirit Night? I asked as I came through the door.

He looked up from his paper and frowned as though I’d asked something absurd. “Superstitious nonsense is what it is. Why?”

“Just something Ellis mentioned. I’ve never heard of it.”

He placed the paper down in his lap, crossed one leg over the other, and then shifted in his seat to face me, ready for his lesson. “Some people believe that on the night before Calan Mai , the spirits of the deceased come back to walk among us, and that those who practise mysticism can communicate with them to tell you your fortune. But don’t worry, old chap. It’s all just nonsense.”

“Sounds like it,” I replied. “By the way, I think Ellis wants to volunteer for bonfire duties. What is it that I have to do, exactly?”

He gave me the kind of stern look that I imagined terrified the children at his school, and I half expected a telling off for not listening the first time he’d told me.

“You’ll be building the bonfire, then doing the torch dance on Thursday evening.”

“Yes, I know that bit,” I said, trying to cover my tracks. “But what is the torch dance?”

When he’d approached me to volunteer, I’d been busy watching Gwyn cutting logs in the backyard, so my attention could only stretch so far. I was certain he’d never mentioned anything about dancing, though, or I’d have offered him a firm refusal.

“It’s not an actual dance,” he said with a laugh. “It’s just ceremonial. We’ll do a practice run on the day, don’t worry.”

“Ok,” I said, relieved. “Right, I better get ready.”

He turned his attention back to his newspaper while I headed upstairs to change. Nellie liked us all to dress well at dinner anyway, but we were under strict orders to wear our Sunday best for her meal that evening. Thankfully, Betty had laid out something she thought would be suitable for me earlier in the day.

When I entered the bedroom, Gwyn, naked apart from his socks, spun around in a panic and grabbed his cap from the bedpost to cover himself.

“You scared the bloody life out of me,” he said, throwing it at me as I quickly pulled the door closed.

“I think Nellie is expecting you to be wearing more than just your socks,” I teased as I sat myself down on the edge of the bed.

He turned to the mirror and started combing his hair, and stared at me in the reflection. “Aren’t you getting ready? ”

“I will. I’m just enjoying the view.”

“Behave yourself, will you?” he said, grinning. “Lee and Tish will be here in a minute.”

I got up from the bed and wrapped my arms around him, letting my hands roam his stomach as I kissed the back of his neck. “When we finally get a place of our own, we’re not leaving the house or inviting anyone around for a month.”

“Only a month?” he said, turning around in my arms to face me. “I’m not letting you ever leave.”

“Want to keep me all to yourself, do you?”

He planted a kiss on my lips and then leaned back, shaking his head as he grinned at me. “Oh no, fy nghariad . I don’t care about all that. I just need to make sure you’ve enough time to clean the house and do my laundry.” He kissed me again, then pulled my shirt up over my head. “And if dinner isn’t on the table by the time I get home every night, you’ll be for it.”

“Boy, are you in for a shock,” I laughed.

“ Cyn belled fy mod i gyda chi ,” he replied, smiling. “Now come on. Get ready.”

“ Ie, sar. ”

“It’s ‘ syr’, ” he said, grinning at me while he pulled on his underwear. “What happened to all the Welsh you were learning?”

“Well, nobody speaks it here,” I said.

With nearly everyone in Bryncoed speaking English, even if they could speak Welsh, I’d had little chance to use what I knew or learn more. Even at home, they had such a habit of switching to English for me, that they’d automatically do it when I was around .

“I saw Ellis in town,” I said, changing the subject as I began to get changed. “Well, it was outside the house, actually. He said he’d been visiting a friend.”

“What are the chances?” Gwyn replied, the sarcasm clear in his voice.

“I asked him about last night. I wanted to try and find out if he heard you.”

“And?”

I buttoned up my shirt and nudged him out of the way of the mirror so that I could tie my neck scarf. “I don’t think he heard anything. He said he felt left out when he saw us whispering.”

“I don’t think he’d feel like that if he knew what I was saying to you,” he joked, then he grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him, batting my hands away so that he could fix the mess I was making of the scarf. “You look so handsome.”

It seemed daft to be so formal when we were only going downstairs, and the guest of honour was my own brother, but I did like an opportunity to dress up, and if Gwyn thought I looked good, then it was all the better.

“Looking pretty good yourself, Mr Griffiths,” I replied, and he held his arms out, presenting himself for inspection.

He’d opted for a black waistcoat, while mine was a very light grey, and he’d paired it with a dark velvet scarf that brought out his eyes and made his jawline seem even more impressive. Unlike me, who’d needed Betty’s help in choosing what to wear, Gwyn had an eye for it, if not much reason, and always scrubbed up well when the occasion called.

“Shall we?” he asked, holding out his arm .

We both knew that we could never go downstairs arm in arm, but for a brief moment in that bedroom, it felt nice that he might be able to escort me somewhere. When I linked my arm in his, he swung me around and tucked his free hand in the crook of my back, pulling us close as we kissed in all our finery. It was perfect.

The sound of knocking at the front door brought us back to reality, and we exited the bedroom in an orderly fashion as though absolutely nothing untoward had gone on behind the closed door.

At the bottom of the stairs we were greeted by my brother, who pulled me in for a hug before shaking Gwyn’s hand, and Tish, who held her hand out for me to lift and kiss. It was all very formal, and just a little bit silly, but if truth be told, I loved it.

Nellie had prepared a veritable feast, and Betty, who had managed to haggle herself a whole crown for an evening's work, served us instead of dining with us. When I’d asked her why, she said that she could miss all of the small talk, get paid for her service, and still eat everything that we did, albeit on her own in the kitchen, so it seemed she’d struck a good deal.

A creamy leek and mushroom pie was served to start, with a seasonal salad and enough wine to make us all merry before we’d even begun to tuck in. Lee nodded when Betty came to serve his drink, though he didn’t touch a drop for the whole meal, and the rest of us set about drinking as though hangovers were nothing but a myth.

“I must say, this is all rather delightful,” Tish said as she took a mouthful of pie. “I don’t remember the last time we ate so well. It must have taken you all day to prepare it. ”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Nellie replied, waving her off as though she hadn’t been slaving away in the kitchen since dawn. “It took no time at all.”

“It’s lovely,” Lee added before turning to Gwyn. “Have you thought any more about that fishing trip?”

“Fishing trip?” I asked.

“Gwyn was telling me the other day about a lake nearby,” Lee added, wiping at his mouth with his napkin. “I thought we could go and spend a day there now the weather is getting warmer.”

I was so pleased by how well Gwyn and Lee had been getting on since they met. I always knew that they would, but I was glad to see how much effort they were making with each other. Lee hadn’t been keen on the last guy I’d introduced him to, and I’d never liked any of his exes, so it felt like a real treat that we could all sit around together, eating dinner and enjoying each other’s company.

“And before you sulk,” he added, “I didn’t ask you because you hate fishing.”

Nellie and Tish began to laugh, and I held my hands up, grinning at my brother. “I’m happy to leave you to it. I couldn’t think of anything more boring.”

“You’re welcome to join us, Gethin,” Lee added.

“Tom tells me you’re engaged,” Nellie said, cutting a fresh conversation across the table. “How are the wedding plans coming along, Letitia?”

“Oh, wonderful, thank you.” She grabbed hold of Lee’s hand and stared at him lovingly. “We can’t wait, can we?”

“You need to give us some more information,” I said. “You’re both being very tight-lipped about it.”

“We don’t know much ourselves,” Lee replied .

“Well, all that nonsense is best left to the women anyway, eh?” Gethin said, and Nellie’s smile quivered a little.

“Oh, no,” Tish said, an innocent smile spreading across her face. “Lee is helping out with everything.”

“Well, isn’t that… unconventional,” Gethin added before topping up his wine and knocking it back.

Nellie smiled and gave my brother a nod. “I think it’s wonderful.”

“Will it be here in town?” I asked. “Lee said you were born in Yorkshire. Isn’t it a tradition to go to where the bride was born or something?”

“Oh, I moved here before I was even a year old,” Tish said, looking slightly embarrassed, which wasn’t at all my intention. “I don’t even remember Yorkshire. It’ll definitely be in St. Michael’s, we know that much.”

“It’s a beautiful church,” Nellie said, “and it means we won’t have so far to travel. Assuming we’re invited, of course.”

“Of course you will be,” Lee said. “We’re family.” I shot him a panicked glance, and even Gwyn clocked on and looked up from his plate. “I just mean we’re like a family. Your family has always looked after my brother, and now you’re doing it again and you’re so welcoming to me and Tish, so of course you’ll be invited. Betty, too.”

I hid my mouth with my glass and let out a long breath, and Lee gave me a grin to show off the fact he’d gotten away with it.

“Everyone ready for more?” Betty asked as she came in to clear our dishes .

She returned a few minutes later with a tray of lamb and set it down amongst multiple tureens filled with vegetables.

“Enjoy,” she said sweetly, and before she closed the door, but hidden from her sister’s view behind it, she turned and curtseyed, then burst out laughing. She obviously wasn’t taking any of it even remotely seriously, and I had to hide my laugh behind my napkin so that Nellie didn’t see.

“So do you have a date in mind?” Nellie asked, picking up the conversation where she’d left off.

“December,” Tish and Lee said in unison.

“I’ve always wanted a winter wedding,” Tish said, taking the lead. “I just hope we get snow and not rain.”

“That will be wonderful,” Nellie replied. “Although spring was nice, wasn’t it?” She turned to Gethin and smiled but got little more than a nod and a grunt in return. “We had some lovely flowers. In fact–”

She was interrupted mid-speech by loud banging at the front door, followed by the clicking of Betty’s heels on the tiles in the hallway as she ran to open it.

“ Where is he? ” a man yelled, loud enough for us to hear it at the back of the house.

The thick Yorkshire brogue made the man’s identity obvious, and Tish flushed red at the intrusion as Lee got up from his seat. With an embarrassed apology, he disappeared out into the hallway.

“ Not you, the other one, ” Mr Awbrey barked, and all eyes in the room turned to me.

I’d never met the man, never even seen him, so I had no idea what he wanted with me, or why he’d be so angry he’d barge into someone's house and disturb dinner .

And barge he did. He burst right into the dining room, followed by Lee and Betty, and glared around, seething with rage, as though he’d just found us all intruding in his own house.

“Are you happy now? he asked, and he slammed a piece of paper right onto my plate and into my food.

“Who do you think you are?” Gwyn said, rising from his seat in my defence.

He was followed to his feet by Gethin, who was most likely defending his wife's efforts rather than my honour, but I appreciated the backup all the same.

“Daddy, what is it?” Tish asked. She turned in her seat and grabbed her father’s arm, but he didn’t acknowledge her in the slightest.

I pulled the paper from my dinner and read it through the gravy stains. It was an official order from the inspector to close the mine for five days so maintenance work could be carried out. Buried amongst his findings, one particular line stood out, claiming that I’d filed a complaint following an accident, and on further inspection, he’d found that two of the tips were unsafe. Unless the work was completed, the mine faced a heavy fine or even potential closure.

“Mr Awbrey,” I said, standing to face him. “This isn’t true. I didn’t make a complaint.”

I tried to plead my case, annoyed at myself for slipping up in front of the inspector, but even more annoyed that he’d blown my comment out of proportion. I felt like a scapegoat for him issuing Mr Awbrey with a warning.

“Let me see that,” Lee said, coming around the table and taking the paper from me. He glanced it over briefly, before turning to Mr Awbrey. “He didn’t say this. I was there.”

“You had him on site?” Mr Awbrey screamed, and his face grew even redder. “During an inspection?”

“It’s my fault,” I said, attempting to defend my brother. “I just showed up. He didn’t know I was coming, and I didn’t know the inspector was there.”

“You’re damn right it’s your fault,” he shouted, pointing a finger in my face.

Gwyn, now nearly as red as Mr Awbrey, reached out and knocked the man’s hand away from me, and for a brief moment as they glared at each other, I felt sure that one of them was going to start fighting.

“You better mind yourself, you little shit,” he snapped at Gwyn, spit flying as he spoke.

The ladies all gasped at his profanity, and Gethin slammed his hand down on the table, causing the cutlery to jump about and the china to rattle from the force.

“Do you mind!” he bellowed, furious at the impropriety. “How dare you. I won’t have language like that in my house with ladies present. Have you no shame?”

“Daddy, please, let’s go,” Tish begged. She was flushed pink with embarrassment and her eyes had glazed over with tears. She rose up, scraping her chair across the floor, and pulled on her father’s arm, but he wouldn’t budge.

“I don’t know what accident you had, boy, but it’ll be nothing compared to what I do to you. I’m warning you now. You’ve cost me, and I won’t soon forget it. ”

“Right, that’s enough,” Lee said, stepping between us, then he grabbed Mr Awbrey by the shoulder and pushed him towards the door. “Let’s go.”

“Nellie, I’m so sorry,” Tish said, tears streaming down her face. “I, I…” but whatever she was going to say next wouldn’t come, and she ran from the room to catch up with Lee and her father. A moment later, the front door slammed shut and the house turned silent.

“Well, I declare!” Betty said from the doorway, a wry grin on her face.

Gwyn, Gethin and I retook our seats and apologised to Nellie for our raised voices, but she seemed to be having trouble stifling a smirk herself.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” Gethin said as he placed his napkin back into his lap.

Gwyn reached under the table and squeezed my hand, and I stared at the empty seats opposite us until Betty propped herself down in one of them, smiling.

“Anyone for dessert?”