Call Home the Heart (17 page)

 

 

"You can keep the beds inside, but I want everything else brought
here into the courtyard. Then you will go back and clean your houses
from top to bottom with soap and hot water, which you can fetch from
the kitchen. I will count all the work you do today at a fair day
laborer's rate against the rent you owe. I will also give you a fair
valuation for everything you put on your piles, and deduct that from
the rent you owe.

 

 

"Anything that is not completely personal, or your babes have no
immediate need for or have outgrown, can all go on the pile to be
used by anyone who really needs the things for themselves or their
bairns.

 

 

"As for paying back the rest of the rent, and continuing to pay in
the future, from now on, you will be given chores to do around
Barnakilla, according to your talent and our needs here on the
estate.

 

 

"If you work hard, you will be fed and clothed, and have your daily
wages go towards paying off your rent. I promise you, I will look
after you. Once your rent is paid, if you wish to go elsewhere, you
shall be free to do so.

 

 

"But in the meantime I want us to start by looking after what we
have. That means scrubbing the houses and improving them. It also
means keeping ourselves neat and clean.

 

 

"Those of you with skills like carpentry and building, or cooking
and sewing, can also make extra money by undertaking that work for
those who can't, and by passing on your skills to others. So I want
you to go away now and start sorting through your cottages and
bringing your things out. I shall start making my calculations."

 

 

Everyone looked at each other sideways.

 

 

Muireann warned, "I'm no fool, ladies and gentlemen. If I catch you
trying to hold things back, I will fine you, and hand you over to
the magistrates for non-payment of rent. Debtors' prison won't be
half as nice as here, however awful Barnakilla may be at the
moment."

 

 

The people continued to grumble and gossip.

 

 

Muireann waited patiently for the noise to die down.

 

 

But there was at least one doughty soul prepared to challenge her
authority and position.

 

 

"What gives you the right to tell us we have to give up everything,
make these sacrifices? You rich people never suffer when the estates
fail. You just put up the rents to try to squeeze more out of us!
How do we know those rents are accurate? And how do we know if, even
after we give everything we have, you might not turn around and
evict us anyway?" one older man with broad shoulders and a haggard
look declared loudly.

 

 

Lochlainn stepped forward. "If I may, Mrs. Caldwell?"

 

 

"Of course, Mr. Roche," Muireann assented.

 

 

"I'm the estate agent, and you know me of old. I admit I've been
away for the past three years, but the rents I set when I first took
over about ten years ago under old Mr. Caldwell were fair. A most
more fair than many others in Ireland have to pay.

 

 

"They haven't increased substantially over that period, or at least
not according to these ledgers, which Mrs. Caldwell has here and
which I have gone over fully.

 

 

"As for Mrs. Caldwell being rich, I'm afraid to say that Mr.
Caldwell used her dowry to pay off his own gambling debts, leaving
her completely penniless and alone when he died."

 

 

A murmur went up in the crowd at this astonishing news, but as he
continued speaking, they quietened down, eager to hear what he had
to say next.

 

 

"I admit that we had to sell Mr. Caldwell's things to get enough
cash to pay for his funeral. Mrs. Caldwell herself willingly sold
almost every garment she had, and her carriage to pay off some of
the debts. So apart from a couple of dresses, she has nothing but
what she stands up in. She has no way of counting on any outside
support. I'm asking all of you to trust me, and I can tell you that
I trust her.

 

 

"Muireann came here, even knowing how poor the estate was, because
she sincerely believed she could make a huge difference to all of
our lives. I think she can do it, but only if you're all willing to
support her. After all, isn't it better to stay here with me and
Mrs. Caldwell, than force her to sell and run the risk of having a
far worse landlord, who might evict you as soon as he bought the
place?" he argued persuasively.

 

 

Lochlainn looked round at the sea of worried faces, and knew he had
won this argument at least.

 

 

"Will you support Muireann?" he demanded of the crowd.

 

 

"Aye, we will!" several of the men and women declared stoutly.

 

 

The crowd dispersed then, to start organizing their cottages.

 

 

He heaved a sigh of relief, and went over to where she was standing.

 

 

"Thank you."

 

 

"Glad to do it. I said no less than the truth."

 

 

"Still, you're taking a big risk—"

 

 

He shook his head. "You've proven to be an even bigger gambler than
Augustine. You're risking everything for people you don't even
know."

 

 

She smiled up at him shyly. "I know you, and you seem worth the
risk. And while I don't indulge in games of chance, I do know that
it's better to bet on a long shot, than a sure thing. And I'm
willing to stake my life that I can make this work. I wanted a
challenge, after all. I'm not going to back down now just because
it's a bigger one than I wished for, now am I."

 

 

He grinned then. "No, indeed."

 

 

 "Can you and your sister start making inventories of the
piles?" Muireann asked Lochlainn. "I want one pile for each cottage,
is that clear?"

 

 

Lochlainn nodded, and set to work. Though he was stunned at her
idea, he was unable to see any other way of doing things. She was
absolutely right. They would sink or swim together, all of them.

 

 

Muireann went to inspect each cottage, and made sure all of the
tenants threw out their filthy mattresses and took some straw from
the barn for clean ticking for all the beds. She even had them bring
every last piece of turf and every potato and the few remaining
privately owned animals to the stable yard, and she and her helpers
began to busily calculate all of the ‘wealth' of the estate. Soon
there were small mountains of vegetables and even a few pigs, geese
and hens.

 

 

Muireann consulted with Lochlainn about fair market prices for each
of the items, so they could be deducted from the rent
owing.   The livestock were put in the appropriate pens,
and the vegetables brought to the larders in the kitchen.

 

 

Muireann instructed the women there to take some of the vegetables
and some of the meat from the day before to make enough stew for a
hundred people. Once the cottages were all empty and the women began
the cleaning, she told the men that anyone who wished to hunt could
take the guns out, and she would give an extra bonus off the rent to
the three men who brought home the most.

 

 

"Anyone who is too old or too ill to work, or expecting, can look
after the children, and we will make someone come around to clean
your house. And I want to think about having slate floors instead of
mud ones."

 

 

"There's a slate quarry up at the north-western side of the estate,
and Thomas MacMahon over here knows all about cutting it," Lochlainn
informed her.

 

 

"Good. If we have enough skilled workers, we could even think about
having slate roofs instead of the thatched ones, once we've repaired
the big house. Some of these look rotten through and through."

 

 

Everyone on the estate put in an exhausting day's work, while
Muireann filled out a new rent ledger with the names of the head of
each household, and how much credit they had against their back
rent.

 

 

She then had the men not out hunting take all the farming implements
into the storage sheds. All of the clothes went into a huge pile to
be redistributed to those who were most needy, especially some of
the elderly women and young children on the estate.

 

 

She supervised the transfer of the kitchen goods and then added the
figures to her inventory from the evening before. Lochlainn did a
new inventory of the farming implements. Muireann and he worked out
exactly how many items they would need, and how much surplus they
could sell.

 

 

"Patrick and Siobhan can take them to the market in Donegal tomorrow
if the weather is good, and sell them there along with the clothes
and the other things we didn't manage to fit in the cart," Muireann
outlined as she redid her figures one last time, and sat back in her
chair satisfied.

 

 

Just then they heard Ciara's voice calling them to supper. After
scrubbing their hands in the scullery sink, they waited in the line
in front of the stew pot like everyone else, and gratefully received
a bowl of rabbit and venison stew, and two freshly made oatcakes.

 

 

"Well, what now, Mrs. Caldwell?" Lochlainn asked wearily, as he sat
down beside her on the bench to eat his supper.

 

 

"The next thing is to find out what talents the tenants have, if
any. Some of the women must be good at cooking, sewing and so on. As
for the men, hunting, fishing, carpentry, and such like. We need to
draw up lists and keep track of what everyone is doing each day so
we can pay them fairly.

 

 

"Even the old can work, if they're willing to look after the
children and mend. The older children can work if we can find them
some simple chores. I don't want anyone lying idle. I certainly
don't want them to think I'm some rich snooty heiress. If they are
going to work, then I shall as well."

 

 

"What will you do?" Lochlainn asked between mouthfuls.

 

 

"I can cook, bake, sew, teach them how to read, do the accounts,
oversee the foodstuffs and all the purchases, milk the cows when we
get some, muck out the stables . . ."

 

 

"But you were brought up with dozens of servants!"

 

 

"I won't say I didn't have a great deal of leisure time growing up.
I was spoilt and privileged, and lucky enough to be well educated, I
know that. But I lived on a big estate. I'm not completely ignorant
as to the daily workings of a farm. I just have to take all the
responsibility on my own shoulders now. I only hope I make the right
decisions."

 

 

Lochlainn was unsure what to say, so they remained silent, eating
the last of the rather tasty stew, until at last Muireann looked
directly at Lochlainn and said, "About today. You looked very
worried, uncomfortable even, when I made my announcement. Do you
think I made the wrong decision?"

 

 

"No, I was just surprised, that's all. But what you said makes
sense. What's the point of everyone farming the potatoes and so on
upon his own small plot, when a few can do that for everyone while
the others do useful tasks like hunting and fishing,  or
carpentry."

 

 

"Do you think I can strike a bargain with the victuallers in town to
take the extra game and fish?"

 

 

He considered in silence for a moment. "It's worth a try, especially
with the smoke oven working again."

 

 

Muireann stood up and brought her bowl over to the sink to be washed
and dried by Sharon and Brona, who had adapted very well to working
in the house. She strolled out the back door into the deepening
twilight.

 

 

She watched silently as the tenants tidied away the rest of the
items still in the stable yard. Lochlainn came up and stood beside
her. She looped her arm in his and moved closer to him, sharing his
warmth and strength for a brief moment.

 

 

"Thank you for everything, Lochlainn."

 

 

"I haven't done anything," he replied, embarrassed.

 

 

"You did. Your speech made a big difference, I'm sure. You supported
me right through this even when you were unsure of what I was doing.
It counts for a great deal, you know."

 

 

"So does your faith in me, Muireann."

 

 

"Well, I never would have come here if it hadn't been for you."

 

 

Lochlainn laughed. "Somehow I think it's early days for you to be
thanking me for bringing you to Barnakilla."

 

 

Muireann grinned as she gazed up at his broodingly handsome
features. "I'll astonish you all. Just wait and see."

 

 

Suddenly his face lit up into a broad smile which took Muireann's
breath away. "I think you've already done that."

 

 

He stroked her hand briefly until, afraid of his feelings for her,
he moved on to a more neutral topic of conversation.

 

 

"You know, I do have some carpentry skills. I'm a bit rusty, but
perhaps we might consider making our own furniture here and selling
it. There are some good stacks of well-seasoned timber Augustine
obviously never got around to selling. We could also get the men on
tree-cutting detail to get more timber. We could even sell some of
it. But let's make sure we have enough firewood for ourselves before
we branch out into any enterprises like that."

 

 

"I'll help too. I've done woodcutting myself once or twice, and
hunting and fishing as well."