The changeling

In a few days I had settled in and it seemed as if I had never been away. I had done all the familiar things. I had walked into the town and been greeted by Gerry Fish wheeling his barrow through the streets and beyond as his father old torn Fish had before him. He shouted a greeting. “Good day to ‘ee, Miss Rebecca. How be to, then? You back with us now for a spell, me ’andsome?” Old Mrs. Grant, who had kept the wool shop when my mother was a girl and still did, although her hands were too crippled with rheumatism to allow her to do her crochet work now, came to the door of the shop to welcome me. There were the young Trenarths who had taken over the Fishermen’s Arms from old Pennyleg and were, to the dismay of some, introducing new ways. They all had a welcome for me.

I paused to chat with the fishermen who were mending their nets and received a detailed description of the gale in which one of the boats had been lost.

It was comforting to realize that life did not change very much here.

The Pencarrons came over the day after our arrival and there was a happy reunion. Both of them had adopted a rather proprietorial attitude towards me. I was now to be their granddaughter-in-law, and they wanted me to know how happy that made them. My grandmother had warned me not to mention the mine disaster to them. “It upset Josiah so much,” she explained. “No doubt he’ll tell you about it later on ... or I expect Pedrek will. Just don’t bring it up. Let him enjoy the reunion.” It was a very happy day. Pedrek was not with us but he would be home for the week-end, and it was arranged that I should go over to Pencarron on Saturday. “So it will be a lovely surprise when he comes in,” said his fond grandmother. I spent a happy week-end at Pencarron and on the Sunday Pedrek came back with me to Cador. There would be many week-ends like that.

Pedrek and I went riding together and we talked of the future as we made our plans. We would not live at Pencarron. We would look for a house and if we could not find what we wanted we would build our own.

We spent happy hours planning it.

“By the sea or on the moor?” asked Pedrek.

“Somewhere between the two perhaps?”

“The best of both worlds.”

“Are you going to enjoy it, Pedrek?”

“Superbly. But isn’t it frustrating to have to wait?”

I agreed that it was.

“They say that anticipation is the best part of life.”

“We will make the realization even better.”

“Oh, we will,” I said fervently.

I was delighted to see that Belinda was enjoying Cornwall. I had wondered how she would feel when the possibility of seeing Oliver Gerson was removed, for indeed she had seemed to have an adoration-an obsession one might say-for the man. Perhaps I had exaggerated it. She seemed so fond of me flow, which was gratifying. I was very content to bask in the affection of the two girls and the love of Pedrek and my grandparents. I was thinking that, in spite of the fact that I had lost my mother and could not forget that, I had a great deal to be thankful for.

Leah took the children into the Poldoreys and on the way she called in to see her mother. The girls were intrigued by Mrs. Polhenny. They rolled about in glee when they described her on her “bone-shaker.”

“She looked so funny!” shrieked Belinda.

“We thought she was going to fall off,” said Lucie.

“Did she give you an exhibition then?” I asked.

“We went there ... and there was no one in and just as we were going away she came up on that ...”

They were hysterical.

“And what did she say to you?”

“We had to go in and sit in the parlor,” said Lucie.

“There were pictures all round the room. Jesus on the cross ...”

“And another one carrying a little lamb.”

“And somebody with a lot of arrows sticking out of his body. She asked Leah if our souls were saved.”

“And what did Leah say?”

“She said she looked after us in a right and proper manner,” Lucie told me.

“Mrs. Polhenny was looking at me all the time,” said Belinda.

She and Lucie could say no more because they were laughing so much.

I told my grandmother about it afterwards. “They found it quite hilarious,” I added. “I am glad they did. I should have thought they would have hated it and wanted to get away.”

“You would think they had been to some entertainment.”

“Well, I’m glad they see it that way. I daresay Leah would like to go and see her mother now and then and if they would go with her willingly, that’s all to the good.”

“It would take Mrs. Polhenny’s attention off Leah perhaps.”

“Yes, that is what I thought.”

The new girl, Madge, was often with the children. They obviously liked her very much. I had seen her in the garden where she had doubtless been sent to bring something in from the kitchen garden, and the children would be with her. I liked to hear their laughter.

My grandmother had noticed, too.

“She is young and full of high spirits,” she said. “I don’t see ?why she shouldn’t relieve Leah a little.”