Sea Gem Read Online Free Page A

was quiet and tranquil. Mary felt her heart expand with
fresh warmth as she fell instantly under the house’s spell.
    ‘Come and welcome,’ said Louise.
    They entered through a fastened-back, solid, oak door and Mary followed down a long corridor that was thickly carpeted. The old woman opened a door on the left so Mary could follow.
    Mary stepped into the room and halted as her eyes swivelled around. It was an enormous kitchen and pride of place was taken by a large, dark-coloured dresser which leaned against one wall. On
this reposed the china which Mary’s experienced eye told her was of top quality. On the far side were a climbing range of wooded shelves, the same dark colour, which held pewter plates and
mugs. The third wall was where the fire nestled and overhead hung two sides of pork, smoking gently from the daily fire. Mary nodded sagely to herself. The Oliver kitchen could not better this.
    ‘That’s a funny jug, mum,’ she said and nodded.
    Louise smiled. ‘It’s a typical Guernsey milk can. You’ll not find the like in England.’
    Mary nodded as her eyes roamed around again. ‘It
is
a nice kitchen,’ she remarked slowly with feeling. ‘One of the best I’ve been in.’
    She could not have pleased the old woman more as Louise pulled out a chair, one of six, tucked around a large, central table whose white deal top shone from daily scrubbing.
    ‘I think so too,’ Louise agreed. ‘It has always been Duret’s favourite room. I always say this is the woman’s workroom so it should be comfortable and welcoming.
Too many of the island women have to put up with earth floors sprinkled with sand. I don’t hold with that. These flag stones were put down by my father after my mother made a fuss. I’m
glad she did. I have straw scatter mats to keep the feet warm in the cold weather. That’s a terpi.’
    Mary eyed the black arm and equally black iron kettle which nestled nearby. ‘We’d call that a trivet, mum,’ she explained, then something occurred to her. ‘What work will
I do here?’
    For a second Louise was nonplussed, then understood. This girl would never have known idleness.
    ‘We’ll discuss that another day. You’ve only just arrived. You’ll want to explore and I’m not having Duret say I used you as a drudge. Anyhow, there is little
enough to do because this is a well organised home. There is an outside male worker who has been with the family since I was a little girl and a woman comes in daily. I don’t expect
you’ve ever had a holiday in your life, so take a week now as my guest,’ Louise told her with an unexpected grin. ‘There’s a cycle in the outhouse. Use it to explore the
island. When you get fed up and bored come and tell me and we’ll sort something out. When you go out, watch you don’t trip over the iron boot scraper,’ she said with a nod at the
back door. ‘I keep meaning to have it moved and never do. We’re all used to it being there so don’t fall and break your neck on it.’
    ‘I think I’m glad I came after all,’ Mary admitted slowly with her natural honesty. ‘I do want to make a new life for myself but when I met you on the quay—’
she halted tactfully and uncertainly— ‘I felt your hostility and it made me cross.’
    ‘Do you always speak your mind so frankly, Mary?’
    She shrugged. ‘I didn’t dare to when younger but yes, I do now and why shouldn’t I? I’m a person in my own right, not a chattel!’
    Louise’s eyebrows rose and her lips twitched. ‘Come! I’ll show you to your room so you can unpack and freshen up. I can’t have you calling me mum all the time. It’s
too antiquated. I think you’d better call me Tante, if you like. That means Aunt. We do speak our own patois here as well as English. It has a French base but not the French as spoken in
France today. There’s a heavy French influence here though. All around the island you’ll discover old Martello towers which were built in case Napoleon