Firebird (49 page)

Georgina walked sedately up the slope towards Pottery Row, her maid tripping behind her. When she reached the row, she stood and waited for the men to notice her. They had been busy returning furniture to the houses and now they were joined by their womenfolk.

‘Look, it's 'er, the new Mrs Morton-Edwards. What does she want round here? Up to no good, I'll bet a farthing,' Celia said loudly.

Jim Cooper's wife tapped his shoulder and jerked her head in Georgina's direction. Jim walked towards her.

‘Mrs Morton-Edwards, what can we do for you?'

She smiled warmly. ‘I'm here looking for workers. My husband has expanded his potteries and he needs more skilled men and women. He is, of course, offering well above the average wage as well as other benefits.'

‘You won't get us out of our houses again, not by threats or bribes, missis,' Celia said loudly. ‘We got right on our side, we got leases, mind.'

Georgina held out her hands. ‘Have I come equipped to evict you? I have no armed men with me. No, I come to offer a genuine opportunity to the people who live on my godmother's property.'

‘Why were we evicted in the first place, then?' Jim asked, folding his big arms across his chest.

‘That was a mistake. It was made in my husband's absence while he was away on business. Mrs Sanders becomes confused at times, she is old. But I'm here to apologize and to invite you to take up a new position with the best pottery in Swansea.'

‘We got a good position now, missis,' Jim Cooper said loudly.

‘But' – Georgina paused – ‘I'm also offering you your homes rent-free for as long as you work for us.'

‘
Duw!
We can't turn that offer down flat. We got to think about it, man.'

Jim turned and stared angrily at the speaker. ‘Speak for yourself, Dennis Anderson. My answer is no.'

‘Well my answer is yes.' Dennis Anderson was an older man, his hair greying. ‘I can't afford to turn down the chance of more wages and a rent-free house, even if you can.'

‘And what about when they sack you?' Jim challenged. ‘How long would you keep your house then?'

‘Why would they sack me? I'm a blutty good worker.' He turned to Georgina. ‘I apologize for my language, Mrs Morton-Edwards, but I got carried away, like.'

‘No-one is going to get sacked,' Georgina said loudly. ‘So long as the work is done satisfactorily, you all have a secure position in my husband's pottery. How secure would your future be if you remained with the Savage Pottery? It's finished, don't any of you understand that?' Georgina smiled.

‘I'll leave you to think it over. Those who wish to take me up on my offer can start work first thing in the morning. In the meantime, please feel free to return to your homes in peace.'

Her head was high as she walked away. She smiled, she'd had them in the palm of her hand. Appeal to the greed in man's nature and you could usually get what you wanted.

‘Did those ruffians behave themselves?' The old lady was standing anxiously in the window of the sitting-room staring across the intervening land towards Pottery Row.

‘Of course they did. Oh, some clever person had apprised them of their rights but I've handled it. I've offered them a job and their hovels back, rent-free.'

Mrs Sanders looked at her for a long moment and her face broke into a smile. ‘You are a clever girl. This way, Lloyd Savage is still going to be beaten. Philip will be pleased.'

Georgina sank into a chair. ‘I'll be pleased if he displays the same wit and finds some midwife to lie about his first wife and the particulars surrounding Eynon's birth.'

‘He will. Philip is a resourceful man, be careful you don't underestimate him.'

‘We'll see.' Georgina rested her head back against the plush upholstery of the chair. ‘And when I've sucked him dry like an orange and when I'm done with him, I'll find myself a vigorous young man to share my bed.'

‘You'll take a lover?' The old lady's voice rose a little. Georgina smiled at her.

‘I'm certainly not going to take another husband. I have no intention of handing over all my worldly goods again, not to anyone.'

Mrs Sanders leaned over and patted her knee. ‘You know something? I'm certainly glad that you and I are on the same side.'

Joe stood on the top of Kilvey Hill and stared out over the vast expanse of the sea. The scent of the soft breeze mingled with Llinos's sweet perfume as she came to stand beside him.

‘I was so impressed with your cleverness,' she said, resting her head against his shoulder. ‘How did you know all that about tenancy agreements and leases and such?'

‘My father had me educated properly, remember?' Joe smiled down at her; she was slight, feminine with her dark hair blowing free of her bonnet. Her lips were rosy, her cheeks flushed. She was so beautiful. He found it difficult to keep his hands from tracing the line of her breasts and the slimness of her waist.

He thanked the Great Spirit that the last obstacle to his marriage to Llinos had been removed. Lloyd was a man of few words, he had never been effusive but now, in his own blunt way, he had given them his blessing.

‘I'm surprised we've had no trouble from Philip Morton-Edwards,' he said, forcing his thoughts back to practical matters.

‘I think he's still away.' Llinos nuzzled against his arm. She was tall for a girl but she only just came up to his shoulder. He felt a curl of her hair lifted by the breeze touching his face and he ached with love for her.

He moved away, unable to trust himself. ‘I wonder why so many of the men stayed off work this week. I have the feeling that someone might have used coercion, threatened the men in some way.'

‘I can't see that,' Llinos said. ‘Who would do that? As I said, Philip is still away. In any case, Jim Cooper isn't the type to be intimidated, is he?'

‘No, he's not. But Jim turned up for work as usual this morning. Something is wrong. I feel it.'

‘Perhaps our neighbours are all drunk with some home-made brew, it's the weekend and a time for celebrating. They'll probably make a start back to work on Monday.'

‘I don't think so.' Joe felt the itch at the back of his neck, heard the rushing of ancient rivers and he knew that danger was waiting for himself and, worse, for Llinos.

‘Why don't you go to visit my sisters?' He saw her look of surprise and smiled. ‘They should be invited to our wedding, don't you think?'

‘Yes, I do think. Now that you've closed the breach between you, they would be most welcome.' She came near and pressed close to him and he looked into her dark eyes and felt he might never think clearly again. Llinos, his Firebird. She had become woven into the fabric of his being. They had not yet lain together but they were part of each other.

‘But I am not going away and leaving you, not now.'

‘Why not now?'

‘Because you know something is going to happen. In that strange mysterious way you have of seeing the truth, you sense danger for us.'

He put his arms around her and she buried her head beneath his chin. ‘You are too perceptive by far, Llinos Savage.'

‘Look at the pot calling the kettle black!'

He felt her arms wind around him. His bones seemed to melt as her softness fitted against the contours of his own body. The breath swooped away from him as if the big eagle had come down from the skies and taken the air from him.

‘My place is with you, Joe,' she said simply.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Binnie sat on the wooden porch of the McCabe house listening to the haunting sound of the fiddle. Beside him, like fallen flower petals, were the McCabe sisters, each of them vying for his attention.

It was a heady feeling to be wooed by three lovely girls. Dangerous too, he acknowledged. It sometimes troubled his conscience that he was a married man but then no-one in America knew that. In any case, why should he spoil his prospects at the McCabe pottery by admitting to a foolish mistake he had made when he was too young to know better?

‘Would you like some blueberry wine, Binnie?' Josephine smiled at him, her large eyes staring into his.

‘I'll fetch you a cup, Binnie.' Melia flounced through the doors into the kitchen, her curls bobbing on her shoulders. A little way off, in the shadows, Hortense remained silent, her hands resting in her lap. Binnie kept glancing at her, admiring the stillness of the girl, the dignity of her.

‘You are very quiet tonight, Hortense.' Binnie moved over to sit beside her. The perfume drifted from her, he glimpsed the womanly swell of her breasts beneath the bodice of her gown and immediately he was roused. It was a long time since he had lain with a woman and a man had needs. Binnie moved, embarrassed by his obvious reaction to Hortense. She glanced at him, her eyes all-knowing, and smiled.

‘You plannin' to stay in our country long, Binnie?' She spoke softly.

‘For ever!' he said emphatically. ‘When the sun shines here, it really shines. The air is fresh and clean and you can drink from the springs that cut like silver ribbons through the hills.'

‘That's so poetic,' Hortense said. ‘You'll be thinking of setting up a home of your own, then, I expect.' She glanced sideways at him. He was taken aback.

‘I suppose so.'

‘Daddy would help you build a fine house for yourself, Binnie, best timber an' all.'

Binnie swallowed hard, he had not thought of moving out of the McCabe household where he felt so comfortable. But it could be he was outstaying his welcome.

‘You like me, don't you, Binnie?' Hortense spoke practically, with no hint of seductiveness.

‘Of course I like you. You are a very desirable woman.'

She met his eyes. ‘And you are a well set-up young man. Well versed in the pottery business, too. You are a good strong practical man who could look after a wife and family. Am I right about that, Binnie?'

‘Well, yes, I suppose so.'

‘In that case, why don't we get wed?'

He looked at her sharply, there was no hint of a smile in her eyes. Hortense was deadly serious.

‘What would your folks have to say about that?' The words seemed to stumble from his mouth. ‘After all, you haven't known me very long, have you?'

‘Long enough,' Hortense said. ‘And in a country this size, a woman often don' know the man she's to marry hardly at all.' She regarded him steadily.

‘Now, I have seen you bathe and I have seen you eat. Both you do with commendable good manners.' She studied him for a long moment. ‘I know you would like to bed me, it's plain enough in your eyes for anyone to see.' She allowed herself a smile. ‘Even Daddy has made remarks.'

Binnie felt the hot colour rise to his cheeks. He had not realized how transparent he was.

‘There's a young man from over at Troy City wants to wed me. He's presentable enough but a bit slow.' Hortense tapped her head. ‘I would prefer you for a husband, Binnie, but you will have to declare yourself soon or it will be too late.'

‘Declare myself?'

‘Ask my daddy if you can have me in marriage. If he say yes, then the preacher man will call and we will be man and wife before you can spit.'

Binnie felt a surge of excitement: married to Hortense, his future would be secure. Dan McCabe was rich by any standard, not only did he own the pottery but he also had a huge timber business. Apart from the material considerations, there was the need in him that was becoming urgent.

He leaned closer to Hortense. ‘Would it be proper for me to ask him tonight when we have our last drink on the porch?'

‘That would be an ideal opportunity, Binnie.' She rose from her chair and bending down to where he was sitting on the steps, she dropped a kiss on his forehead, affording him a fine look at her golden, sun-kissed breasts. ‘I'm going to help Momma clear up after supper,' she said. ‘And I'll drop a little hint about our forthcoming nuptials.'

She left him and before the other girls could settle round him Binnie pushed himself to his feet and strode away towards the creek that flanked the edge of the McCabe land.

He ran his hand around his collar, suddenly feeling the heat of the night. Was he mad? He was already married, how could he even contemplate taking another wife?

But what was the alternative? Sooner or later the McCabes would lose patience with him. Dan had made it clear enough that he was expected to take one of the daughters as his wife.

‘To hell with it!' He spoke softly into the fragrant air. He was ready for a commitment now, not like the first time when Maura had forced him into a marriage he did not want.

Later, he sat on the porch with Dan and tried to swallow the hard lump of anxiety that had stuck in his throat. At last, Dan gave him an opening.

‘You like my Hortense, then? Good choice, she's a bright girl, good at figuring and a head too smart for a girl. She's strong and will bear good young 'uns. Aye, if I was a man choosing a wife, Hortense would do for me.'

Binnie coughed. ‘I wanted to talk about that, Dan.' The younger man rose to his feet. ‘Dan, you know me for an honest man and a good worker.' He coughed again and Dan laughed.

‘Don't put yourself through the tortures of hell, boy! Of course you can marry my girl.' He rose and clapped Binnie on the back.

‘You treat her right an' don't raise a hand to her unless she backchats you and you'll do fine as a son-in-law.'

He moved to the door. ‘Bring out the drinks, Momma, we got ourselves a fine son at last.'