Esther Waters | Page 7

very afternoon? Walk
back to London? She did not know if that was possible. She did not
know how far she had come--a long distance, no doubt. She had seen
woods, hills, rivers, and towns flying past. Never would she be able to
find her way back through that endless country; besides, she could not
carry her box on her back.... What was she to do? Not a friend, not a
penny in the world. Oh, why did such misfortune fall on a poor little
girl who had never harmed anyone in the world! And if they did give
her her fare back--what then?... Should she go home?... To her
mother--to her poor mother, who would burst into tears, who would say,
"Oh, my poor darling, I don't know what we shall do; your father will
never let you stay here."
For Mrs. Latch had not spoken to her since she had come into the
kitchen, and it seemed to Esther that she had looked round with the air
of one anxious to discover something that might serve as a pretext for
blame. She had told Esther to make haste and lay the table afresh.
Those who had gone were the stable folk, and breakfast had now to be
prepared for the other servants. The person in the dark green dress who
spoke with her chin in the air, whose nose had been pinched to purple
just above the nostrils, was Miss Grover, the lady's-maid. Grover
addressed an occasional remark to Sarah Tucker, a tall girl with a thin
freckled face and dark-red hair. The butler, who was not feeling well,
did not appear at breakfast, and Esther was sent to him with a cup of
tea.
There were the plates to wash and the knives to clean, and when they
were done there were potatoes, cabbage, onions to prepare, saucepans
to fill with water, coal to fetch for the fire. She worked steadily without
flagging, fearful of Mrs. Barfield, who would come down, no doubt,
about ten o'clock to order dinner. The race-horses were coming through
the paddock-gate; Margaret called to Mr. Randal, a little man, wizen,
with a face sallow with frequent indigestions.
"Well, do you think the Gaffer's satisfied?" said Margaret. John made

no articulate reply, but he muttered something, and his manner showed
that he strongly deprecated all female interest in racing; and when
Sarah and Grover came running down the passage and overwhelmed
him with questions, crowding around him, asking both together if
Silver Braid had won his trial, he testily pushed them aside, declaring
that if he had a race-horse he would not have a woman-servant in the
place.... "A positive curse, this chatter, chatter. Won his trial, indeed!
What business had a lot of female folk----" The rest of John's sarcasm
was lost in his shirt collar as he hurried away to his pantry, closing the
door after him.
"What a testy little man he is!" said Sarah; "he might have told us
which won. He has known the Gaffer so long that he knows the
moment he looks at him whether the gees are all right."
"One can't speak to a chap in the lane that he doesn't know all about it
next day," said Margaret. "Peggy hates him; you know the way she
skulks about the back garden and up the 'ill so that she may meet young
Johnson as he is ridin' home."
"I'll have none of this scandal-mongering going on in my kitchen," said
Mrs. Latch. "Do you see that girl there? She can't get past to her
scullery."
Esther would have managed pretty well if it had not been for the
dining-room lunch. Miss Mary was expecting some friends to play
tennis with her, and, besides the roast chicken, there were the côtelettes
à la Soubise and a curry. There was for dessert a jelly and a
blancmange, and Esther did not know where any of the things were,
and a great deal of time was wasted. "Don't you move, I might as well
get it myself," said the old woman. Mr. Randal, too, lost his temper, for
she had no hot plates ready, nor could she distinguish between those
that were to go to the dining-room and those that were to go to the
servants' hall. She understood, however, that it would not be wise to
give way to her feeling, and that the only way she could hope to retain
her situation was by doing nothing to attract attention. She must learn
to control that temper of hers--she must and would. And it was in this
frame of mind and with this determination that she entered the servants'
hall.
There were not more than ten or eleven at dinner, but sitting close
together they seemed more numerous,