“I thought it might be of interest. You may have heard of the Merrets. He was one of the two assistant managers on the estate. Mrs. Merret was a great help to him in his work. They are leaving for Australia at the end of next week.
His brother is farming over there and has persuaded them to join him.
At last they have decided to do so. “
“I did hear something of them,” I said.
“A good fellow, Merret. Someone’s taking over his work, so that is not the point. It was just Mrs. Merret. She was a great help to him in his work and therefore to us.”
“Wives often are,” commented Aunt Sophie, ‘and rarely get the credit until they are no longer there. “
He smiled rather grudgingly.
“Yes, you could say that. Merret was excellent but Mrs. Merret had a way with her. I suppose you would call it the feminine touch. Merret might have been a bit gruff at times. He was a man of few words and when he talked he spoke his mind, whereas she knew how to handle people. She also knew what was right for the cottages . those Elizabethan ones on the edge of the estate. She made sure that they did not lose their character, whereas Merret might have had something done, if he I could get it at a low cost, which wouldn’t have been right for them. She made the tenants feel proud of their places. You see what I mean? “
Aunt Sophie was sitting back in her chair looking a little smug, while I was wondering what this was leading to.
The fact is,” went on Crispin, ‘hearing you talk about becoming a governess or companion, I thought this might suit you better.”
“Suit me? What do you mean?”
“I thought you might care to take over Mrs. Merret’s work. It would mean getting to know something about the properties, but most important, the people. Dealing with them tactfully. James Perrin is taking over Merret’s work, and you’d be working with him. What do you think?”
“I’m just astounded. I’m not sure what I should be expected to do, and whether I would be capable of it.”
“Well, you were always interested in old buildings,” said Aunt Sophie.
“And you’ve always got along well with people.”
“You could try it,” said Crispin.
“If you didn’t like it, you could give it up. You could see Tom Masson about a salary. He deals with that sort of thing. Why not give it a try? I think you might like it better than tiresome children or querulous old ladies.”
“I think I should have to know more about it,” I said.
“I am not sure that I have the qualifications.”
“That will soon be discovered. I think you might become really interested. Some of the properties on the estate go back a long way.
We have to make them comfortable enough to live in without spoiling the old features. People are beginning to value these old places.
They’re solid. They knew how to build well in those days. See how they have stood up to the years. “
“I can’t imagine what I should have to do.”
“It’s simple. You get to know the people. You go round in your official capacity and they’ll talk about their dwellings. You listen sympathetically. We have to keep them in good order. They ask for all sorts of things. You will explain why this or that could not be done.
You’ll see. In any case, you won’t know whether you want to do it until you have tried, will you? “
“It sounds very interesting to me,” said Aunt Sophie.
“When would you want me to start?” I asked.
The sooner the better. Why don’t you go along and see Tom Masson and James Perrin? They’ll give you all the details. “
“Thank you,” I said.
“It was good of you to think of me.”
“Of course I thought of you,” he said.
“We need someone to take Mrs. Merret’s place.”
When he left and we sat back listening to the sound of his horse’s hoofs on the road until they died away. Aunt Sophie laughed.
“Well!” she said.
“What did you think of that?”
“I can hardly believe it.”
“It sounds a cosy sort of job.”
“It’s amazing. How should I know anything about property?”
“Why shouldn’t you learn? He’s what I’d call a cryptic sort of fellow.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You can’t be sure what he’s getting at. I imagine there’s something behind most things he does.”
“And what’s behind this?”
She looked at me knowingly.
“It’s my opinion that he takes an interest in you. He doesn’t like the idea of your going away. The talk of governessing has put this into his mind.”
“You mean he is creating this job just to keep me here? That’s a bit wild, even from you. Aunt Sophie.”
“He’s bound to have his reasons. I am sure he has some idea that he has to keep an eye on you. It’s somewhere in the past…”
“Do you mean Barrow Wood?”
“That’s something none of us is likely to forget, and it applies to him as much as any of us. Let’s say, because of what happened, he takes a special interest in you and he doesn’t think it would be a good thing for you to go off on some wild-cat scheme.”
“Wild-cat scheme! Being a governess!”
“He thinks it is and he did save you, remember. People feel these things quite strongly after something like that happens.”
“It’s hard to imagine he could feel very strongly about anything except the estate.”
“He’s thinking of the estate now. His precious Elizabethan cottages and all that.”
We were thoughtful for a while.
I said: “I must say, I feel rather interested in all this.”
“So do I,” said Aunt Sophie.
The next day I went over to the St. Aubyn’s estate office to see Tom Masson. He was a tall, middleaged man with rather a brisk manner.
“Mr. St. Aubyn told me you would be coming,” he said.
“He thinks Mrs. Merret was a great asset in her husband’s work, which she undoubtedly was, and we shall miss her. You’ll be working with James Perrin as a sort of assistant. Mrs. Merret will be here shortly. It is better for you to talk to her about what your duties will be.”
“I shall like that,” I said.
“At the moment I feel a little vague about what is expected of me.”
“I do not think you will find it over-arduous. We found things ran more smoothly with her around. It’s better for you to talk direct to her. Meanwhile, we’ll settle other details.”
He told me about the rules of the estate. Hours of duty would be flexible. Someone might want to see me at any hour of the day and I would be expected to be available for emergencies. There would be a horse at my disposal and if I needed it, a pony and trap. We discussed salary and he asked me if I had any questions. I had not. I felt there was so much for me to discover.
Mrs. Merret arrived.
“Oh hello. Miss Hammond,” she said.
“I hear you are going to take over my job.”
“Yes, and I am eager to know what is expected of me. I’m not altogether sure.”
She had a very pleasant face and an easy manner. I could see why people liked her.
She said: “It began like this. I started helping my husband and I found certain things which I thought weren’t quite right with the tenants. I got more and more interested. There are several tied cottages on the estate and we have to make sure the tenants keep them in order. I suppose some feel they are only theirs while the job lasts and that makes them careless. You have to see that they report what is wrong so that things don’t get beyond repair. Then you get the complaints and quibbles. You have to sort them out, of course. You have to get to know the people … those who have a real grievance and those who have a habit of complaining and grumbling. I always tried to keep them happy. I’d make them proud of their places. There’s a lot in that. One of my jobs was to make sure they got a hamper for Christmas with the things they needed. I found people with a cupboard full of blankets which they’d been getting year after year when they were short of coal. People are proud, some of them. Then, of course, there are the cadgers. You want the worthy ones to get what they want and for which they are too proud to ask. Am I giving you some idea? ”