Page 138 of The Affairs of Ashmore Castle

Hook cut him off. ‘Oh, I’ll bet he’s being kind. Kind of this, kind of that. Kind of queer behaviour from an old man, isn’t it?’

Crooks mottled. ‘What business is it of yours? Go away and leave us alone.’

‘I dunno what he says he’s teaching you, Sam, old chum,’ Hook said with a salacious wink, ‘but you’re not the first. Oh, no, not by a long chalk. Very keen on teaching stuff to young men, is Mr Crooks.’

‘What are you implying?’ Crooks said angrily.

Hook ignored him. ‘Just make sure he keeps both hands on the table.’ He waggled his hands in the air. ‘Adam and Eve and Pinch-me, eh?’

‘How dare you!’ Crooks cried, almost inarticulate with rage. ‘How dare you come here with your disgusting insinuations—’

‘If the cap fits, Crooky,’ Hook began. ‘We all know—’

But Speen had appeared in the doorway behind him, and said sharply, ‘That’s enough.’

Hook turned in surprise. ‘What?’

‘I said, that’s enough. You’re always riding him. Leave the poor old devil alone.’

‘I’ll remind you, Mister Speen,’ Hook said angrily, ‘that I am the senior valet in this house. My master outranks yours, and I outrank you.’

‘Oh, give it a rest, James,’ Speen said indifferently. ‘Rank this and rank that. We all put our trousers on one leg at a time. Just leave Crooks alone. Nobody likes a bully. Go on, go about your business.’

And he stood, calmly but implacably, until Hook gave a snort, turned on his heel, and went. Speen, his face expressionless, gave Crooks a nod and walked away too.

After a moment, Crooks said, ‘I think we’d better stop for tonight.’ Sam, his face red, scrambled away hastily without meeting his eye, and Crooks closed his precious Bible and wondered whether there would ever be another lesson. He hated Hook, with his crudeness, his libidinous mind and his spitefulness. Hated him and wished him dead. He had been in two minds about Speen, and he didn’t much like being beholden to him. But Speen had done the right thing this evening – and no one else seemed able to get the better of James Hook.

Tabby was getting impatient.

‘I will marry you, Tab,’ William said, ‘but I got to sort things out.’

‘It’s all right for you,’ she said angrily. ‘You’re not the one swelling up like a balloon. You’re not the one that’ll have fingers pointed at you.’

‘No one’s going to point a finger at you, not if I have anything to do with it,’ William said stoutly.

‘Well, but what are you doing about it? Cos this baby won’t wait for ever.’

‘I been looking for another job,’ he said. ‘But it’s not that easy. You know this place – everyone knows everyone, and all the jobs’re being done by somebody already. I’ve tried the Crown and the Royal George. There was nothing doing. That Ippy Cobham just laughed when I asked her dad for a job, then whispered to him, and he grinned and said I’d have to sort out my problems on my own. And I’ve asked around the village, but no one wants an extra hand. Most wouldn’t even listen to me. But Mr Peascod’s housekeeper said I ought to go to London and sign on with an employment exchange. Maybe we ought to think about going away. There’d be bound to be more jobs in London, stands to reason.’

‘But I don’t want to go away,’ Tabby objected. ‘I’ve lived here all my life.’

William sighed. ‘I don’t want to either, and there’s my ma to think about. But maybe that’s the only way. I could go on ahead and find something, and get some lodgings, and then send for you when I was settled.’

‘Oh no you don’t!’ Tabby said. ‘You’re not running out on me!’

‘I never said I was running.’ William was hurt. ‘I’m going to do the right thing by you, Tab. I’m standing by you, but I got to have a job. Don’t you trust me?’

She burst into tears. ‘You don’t know what it’s like. People’ll say I’m a loose woman, just because I was overcome with love for you.’

He put his arms round her. ‘I love you too. And we’ll get married, I promise, and we’ll love this baby, don’t you fret.’

She stopped sobbing and dried her eyes on her sleeve. ‘I’ve got to start getting things for the baby, William. Get ready, like. And my clothes won’t fit me much longer. I need some money.’

‘I got a bit left out of last month’s wages, you can have that. And when my next month comes in, you can have it all – or nearly all. I can give you two pound ten.’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘First footman at the Grange gets four pound a month.’

‘I only get three,’ William said sadly. ‘And I got to give my ma something.’