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There was a long, narrow basket in the bottom of the boat which Edward explained was an eel trap. ‘They go in this end after the bait,’ he told Lisette, picking it up. ‘But it is too narrow for them to turn round and they cannot swim backwards.’
‘They are caught alive?’
‘Oh, yes. They are sent to London in barrels so they arrive fresh. Mr Roker uses this one to catch eels for Cook.’
The expanse of water was edged with reeds and here and there a windmill was used to scoop water off the adjoining land and tip it into the mere. The only sound was the creaking of the water wheels, the cry of the water birds as they squabbled over the titbits Anne threw to them, and the croaking of frogs in the reeds. There were other boats on the water whose occupants were busy pulling baskets out of the water and examining them for captured eels. Others were shooting ducks and some were laden with reeds for thatch or willows for making the eel traps.
‘The fen provides a livelihood for many of the village men,’ Jay said, smiling at his son who explained all this to an attentive Lisette. ‘Others are employed on the land.’
‘I recall you said you had a farm on your estate.’
‘So I do, that is why I must go home and deprive myself of your company.’
‘But you will be bringing the children for their lessons, will you not?’ she queried, conveniently forgetting that he had said he would send them.
‘To be sure, when my work allows,’ he said. ‘I frequently visit my parents and they visit me. You should ask them to bring you. Falsham Hall is not as large or as old as Blackfen Manor, but it is set in gently rolling countryside, fertile land for the growing of crops and rearing cattle. There is even an orchard where we grow apples for cider. It is perhaps not as fine as Normandy cider, but a very pleasant drink to quench a thirst. You must come and try some.’
She smiled. He was a different man here in the place he loved, with his children who undoubtedly meant the world to him. The man he had been in France, and for a brief moment at supper the previous evening, she had found difficult to like, but the man whose muscular arms pulled on the oars of the little boat was altogether more agreeable. ‘I should like that,’ she said.
They spent hours on the lake, watching the birds and the other boats or talking quietly, until it was time to return to the Manor. And later that day, Jay took the children home.
Their absence left her feeling strangely at odds with herself. It was the children she missed, she told herself, not the man, but she could not convince herself. Jay Drymore was such a powerful presence his absence left a void which she was determined to try to fill. There was a well-stocked book room at the Manor and she spent an hour or so browsing before selecting Gulliver’s Travels to read to her father. He was recovering well, but she knew he worried about Michel.
Five days later the house echoed once again to children’s laughter, as both of Jay’s sisters arrived—Lady Amelia Jepson with her two daughters, Matilda and Charlotte, and Mrs Charlotte Granger with her two, Sophie and Thomas, who was only three—then Jay arrived with Edward and Anne. Once everyone had been introduced, Lisette took all the children, including Thomas, out into the garden to begin French lessons, playing games and learning the names of the flowers.
They came twice a week after that. On other days Lisette was kept busy with translating work and teaching adult émigrés the rudiments of the English language, but they found it a struggle and some would never manage to do more than utter a few phrases. The children were so much easier to teach.
In early September Jay gathered in his harvest and invited the whole family over to celebrate it and naturally Lisette and the Comte were included in the invitation.
It was evidently an annual custom for the squire to host a feast to thank the labourers for their hard work and it was held in a barn on the farm. When they arrived, Jay was busy overseeing the preparations and, having greeted them politely and made sure they had refreshments, he left Edward and his mother to show Lisette and her father round the house.
It was a solidly built square building with large airy rooms furnished in the French style, which pleased the Comte. He eagerly pointed out pieces that were similar to those he had had at home and which he did not doubt had been looted now the château was uninhabited. Downstairs there were three reception rooms, a dining room and a library. They peeped in the kitchens, which were a hive of activity as the cook-housekeeper and her extra staff worked to provide the feast, but quickly withdrew for fear of getting in the way. On the next floor, there were six bedrooms and above them the servants’ bedrooms, though they did not venture up there, but returned to the drawing room to take tea, supervised by Lady Drymore in the absence of a hostess. ‘Jay could do with a wife,’ Amy said. ‘But he says he will never marry again. It is hardly to be wondered at, but I wish he would get over it.’
