11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

A licia watched him go, sighing and shaking her head. He was under Caroline’s spell. She had him in her thrall, and whatever she demanded of him, he gave into.

“Please, Miss Saunders, we’re running out of bread,” one of the servants from Burnley Abbey said, and Alicia was brought back to her senses with a startle.

“Oh…yes, of course…send someone to the bakery. We’ll have to make do with whatever they’ve got left,” Alicia said, glancing at the table where the bread was being distributed from.

They had ordered several hundred loaves from the bakery that day, and almost all of them were gone. There had been no stipulation as to who received a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. Anyone who came had been fed, and no one had been turned away. Word of the soup kitchen had spread rapidly, and Alicia had been astonished at the number of poor families arriving in the market square. She had heard terrible stories of poverty and had felt entirely inadequate in the face of such overwhelming suffering.

“I don’t eat so my children can eat,” one mother had said, her whole body emaciated, and her features pale and withdrawn.

Alicia had insisted on her eating something, and she had wept, clinging to Alicia, and thanking her over and over again. The scene had been repeated countless times, and Alicia could hardly believe the need now exposed.

“I just don’t know what else we can do,” she had said to Lily who, despite being well beyond the time of delivery, had come in her carriage to help with the distribution.

“We can only do our best – and you’ve certainly done your best,” Lily had replied, and Alicia had been consoled by the knowledge they had done some good, even as there was still a great deal more to be done.

“Do we have enough soup?” she asked, approaching the braziers, where the heat of the fires was almost unbearable in the warmth of the late spring sunshine.

One of the ladies who was serving looked up and nodded.

“Plenty of soup, Miss Saunders – and it’s delicious, by all accounts,” she replied.

For the soup, Alicia could not take any credit. She had intended to leave the matter to her mother’s cook, but Caroline had insisted on interfering, and sent over her own recipe, along with a cook from her father’s kitchens to prepare it. Alicia had been somewhat put out, but she could hardly have refused, and the two cooks were set to work together, causing much grumbling on both sides. The result was the soup being enjoyed by all, and Alicia had to admit it was delicious.

“I’m exhausted,” Isobel said, when the last of the bowls had been handed out.

Alicia smiled, glancing over to where Ernest was still in conversation with the mayor, Caroline standing at his side.

“Thank you, Isobel. It’s kind of you to come. You didn’t have to,” Alicia replied, but Isobel shook her head.

“I wanted to come. I wanted to make sure you realized my support for you. I know it’s difficult,” she said, glancing over to where Ernest and Caroline were talking to the mayor.

Alicia sighed. She did not want it to be difficult. She wanted to help the many people who had come to the market square that day. That was why she was there. But Caroline had turned the whole thing into an opportunity to make out as though she was the one deserving of praise. Alicia had no desire to vie with her for Ernest’s attention, nor did she feel able to compete with the viscount’s daughter, who was still standing at Ernest’s side, talking loudly to the mayor.

“We want to do so much more,” she was saying, even as Isobel shook her head.

“It’s not difficult. I don’t want to make it difficult, either. I just wish…well, why can’t he see what she’s doing? Or does he? If he does, why doesn’t he do something about it?” Alicia demanded, losing her temper for a moment, even as she checked herself.

It was not her place to criticize Ernest. He was surely beholden to Caroline. It was her father who financed the school in Manchester, and her father who would do the same with the school in Lancaster. Ernest could not afford to upset Caroline, and if that meant enduring her constant presence, so be it…

“He…it’s not that he doesn’t want to do something about it, but…I don’t think he feels he can,” Isobel replied.

“But why? We could raise the money somehow. I’m going to sell all my dresses at a sale to raise money, and there’re lots of other things we could do. A charity ball, a dinner… I don’t know… Anything to raise the money and stop her from constantly interfering,” Alicia replied.

She was feeling frustrated now, even as she knew it was not her place to do so. Ernest had his reasons, and there were far more important things at stake than Alicia’s own happiness – and his. She did not even know if his feelings were the same. Perhaps he tolerated Caroline because he was in love with her…the thought of it made her feel sick, and she was embarrassed to have even entertained the thought of her and Ernest being anything more than friends.

“We could tell him she had nothing to do with organizing the soup kitchen,” Isobel said, but Alicia shook her head.

It would only be churlish to do so, and she was not about to play games with Caroline, whom she felt certain could be a very dangerous opponent if challenged. It would be better to bide her time and keep up the pretense of their being on friendly terms, even as both knew they were not.

“I don’t want to do that. Lily even suggested searching out some sort of scandal in Caroline’s past – or even your brother’s,” Alicia said, and she was surprised to see a look of momentary horror come over Isobel’s face, even as she checked herself.

“Oh…but she can’t…no, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. Caroline’s father isn’t a nice man, and he certainly wouldn’t take kindly to anyone seeking that sort of information about his daughter. As for Ernest, why would she want to investigate him?” she asked.

“It’s not going to happen, I forbade it. But she thought perhaps discovering something about Ernest would be enough to put Caroline off – though I told her the schools need the money. We can’t afford to anger the Viscount, and we can’t afford to upset Caroline, either. Don’t worry. Lily won’t do anything. She’s left all that behind her,” Alicia assured her, though she remained curious as to Isobel’s initial look of horror.

Was there something to be discovered about Caroline? Or even Ernest himself? If there was, Alicia would be glad to know of it, if only for her own satisfaction. For in all things, Caroline made herself out to be the perfect example of a society belle – a pretty, social butterfly, deeply concerned with the needs of those around her. It was all a front of course, but the rest of society was just as fickle, and lapped up the image Caroline created for herself like cats at spilled cream.

“Well… I’m glad. We don’t want anything to spoil the prospect of the school being acquired,” Isobel said, and Alicia nodded.

She would not wish anything to jeopardize that. If the opening of the soup kitchen had taught her anything, it was the need and necessity of such a school, and of a much wider project to help those in need. Poverty lay all around them, and there was still so much for them to do. Rivalries had to be set aside, and whilst Alicia could not help but feel jealous of Caroline, she knew she had to keep her feelings in check.

“And we won’t. It’s just…well, I wonder sometimes…about Ernest. How he feels about anything, I mean… I’m not explaining myself very well…does he have…romantic inclinations?” Alicia asked.

She felt embarrassed to ask, but the matter had been playing on her mind, and if there was even the slightest possibility of there being a romantic connection between Ernest and Caroline, Alicia wanted to know – before making a terrible fool of herself. Isobel sighed.

“He does…that’s why Lily was so keen to invite me to tea. We want… I want…oh, you and he, Alicia, you’d be perfect together. But my brother…holds himself back. He won’t admit his own need for…companionship,” she said, and Alicia looked at her curiously.

“For companionship? But what about Caroline? Does he have feelings for her? Are they in love?” Alicia asked.

She wanted desperately to know, even as she could hardly bear the thought of Ernest choosing Caroline over her.

But Isobel shook her head.

“No…they’re not in love…well, Caroline might be in love with Ernest, but there’s no love lost with him. But he can’t seem to escape her. You’ve seen it for yourself,” she said, and Alicia nodded.

She felt sorry for Ernest, but he really needed to make a decision – would he sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of the schools, or would he make a decision to go at it alone and attempt to raise the funds himself, even as he would ensure the wrath of Caroline and her father? Whatever he did, Alicia would remain uncertain of his true intentions towards her, and whether he had any feelings for her at all.

“I hope he makes up his mind soon – she’ll have him walking down the aisle if he’s not careful,” she replied, glancing over to where Caroline now had her arm slipped into Ernest’s.

Isobel sighed and slipped her hand into Alicia’s.

“It’ll be all right. He’ll realize what’s important soon enough. I know he will,” she said.

At that moment, a call came from the other side of the market square, and Alicia turned to find a servant bearing a wheelbarrow returning from the bakery with another few dozen loaves of bread. Alicia had work to do, and thanking Isobel, she hurried off to see the bread was properly distributed to those still waiting. There was a family sitting by the water pump in the middle of the square – a mother with eight children, ranging in ages from a babe in arms to a surly looking youth.

“Have you had something to eat yet?” Alicia asked, approaching the woman, who looked up and shook her head.

“We can’t get in the queue. I’ve hurt my leg, I had to sit down. I’ve got the baby,” she said, and Alicia’s heart went out to her.

“It’s all right. I’ll bring you something. Will some of the older ones come and help me?” she asked, glancing at the tallest three children.

“Go and help Miss Saunders, William. You, too, Mary, and you, Isaac,” the woman said.

The three oldest children followed Alicia, and bowls were found for all the family, along with four freshly baked loaves of bread.

“Have you come far?” Alicia asked, as she stood helping the children ladle soup into the bowls.

“We walked ten miles, Miss Saunders – from across the moor – and we’ll walk the ten back. We don’t have a horse,” the oldest – William – said.

He was a good-looking boy, strongly built, and with a kindly face, albeit one displaying evident hardship.

“Twenty miles for a bowl of soup,” Alicia said, shaking her head.

“We didn’t eat yesterday, and the day before it was just vegetable soup – the first crop from the garden boiled up. We grow what we can,” he said, going to describe more of the family’s circumstances, as Alicia shook her head.

The conditions he described were terrible – the family lived in one room in a croft on the moor, along with several animals – a goat, two pigs, a small flock of hens and ducks, and a cow. They worked the land as best they could, but William’s father was very ill, confined to his bed, and the family did not know how they would survive another winter. William himself was stoical, telling Alicia he would be the one to take care of his family.

“But you’re still a child yourself, William. How old are you? Fifteen?” she asked, and he nodded.

“But my father depends on me. I milk the cow, feed the chickens, and I’ll slaughter the pigs when it comes to it. I’m going to grow potatoes, too,” he said.

Alicia’s heart went out to him – and to the others. Mary and Isaac expressed a similar desire to do what they could to help their mother, and there was no doubting the loving bonds between them. But love alone would not be enough to sustain the family if their father was to die, and taking a purse from her pocket, Alicia pushed it into William’s hand.

“It’s not much, but it’ll keep food on the table whilst you grow your crops and fatten the pigs,” she said.

William thanked her, and Alicia wished she could do more to help, even as, again, she felt overwhelmed at the prospect of doing so. Theirs was but one of a hundred similar stories – hungry children, dying fathers, a lack of opportunity and education…

“I want to help you,” Alicia said, as they returned to where William’s mother and the younger children were sitting at the water pump.

“It’s getting home I’m worried about. My leg’s hurting terribly,” the woman said, handing the baby to Alicia, as she took her bowl of soup and began to eat.

“I could ask Ernest – Lord Crawshaw – if we might provide a horse and cart to take you,” Alicia said, and the woman’s eyes filled with tears.

“You’d do that for us?” she asked, and Alicia nodded.

“I’d be glad to. And what about the children? Are they in good health, or…” she asked, glancing at the younger children, one of whom looked very ill indeed.

The woman shook her head.

“Peter’s been sick for some weeks. William had to carry him most of the way. I can’t afford a doctor, but I don’t know what to do for him,” she said.

Alicia kneeled in front of Peter, reaching out to brush back the hair from his forehead. He was perhaps seven or eight years old, with wide, bloodshot eyes, his face pale and withdrawn, just like his mother.

“You poor thing. I’ll make sure you get some help,” Alicia said, and the boy coughed into a grubby handkerchief.

“Can something be done for him?” the woman asked, and Alicia nodded.

“I’m certain it can, yes. He’s got a fever,” she said, for Peter’s forehead, though pale, was hot.

But what he needed was food to give him strength, and Alicia insisted on the whole family eating two bowls of soup and taking four loaves of bread home with them. She asked Ernest to provide a horse and cart and arranged – at her own expense – for a doctor, whose practice was in the market square, to examine the boy there and then.

“I can prescribe a tonic, and bleed the boy, too,” the doctor said, and arrangements for this were swiftly made.

Money was what mattered, and if Alicia had learned anything, it was that those with money had little to worry about when it came to their wants and needs. But for the poor, life was very different, and whilst she could not possibly help everyone, she could do something to help those she had encountered that day, and putting all thoughts of Caroline out of her mind, Alicia was resolved to do just that…