Sweet Sanctuary by Charlotte Lamb Read Free Book Online

in to save it, and looked at them in amusement.
    "Any tea left for me? Then you must come out with me to milk the goats, Kate. You'll soon learn how to do it."
    "How is the pony?" Kate asked.
    Mrs. Pepper smiled at them both and removed herself to do some more work upstairs. Kate sighed as the door closed behind her.
    Mrs. Butler laughed. "Mrs. Pepper is quite an experience, isn't she? The pony is cheering up. He'll have to stay indoors for a few days until he's settled in with us. Poor chap, he had a near miss with the slaughterhouse!"
    Kate went out to learn how to milk the goats that afternoon. Mrs. Butler was a patient teacher, and Kate's uneasy clumsiness amused her. When the goat kicked over Kate's bucket for the third time, Kate groaned, but Mrs. Butler laughed.
    "That's enough for today. You'll have sore wrists tomorrow. Milking is like riding a bike—once learnt you never forget, but it may take a while to pick up the knack. That's all it is—a knack. You'll learn, my dear."
    "What shall I do now? I don't feel I'm earning my keep, Mrs. Butler. I seem to have so little to do."
    "You can take the dogs for a long walk. They need exercise."
    "Could I do some of the cooking for you now and then? I would enjoy that, and it would leave you more free time for yourself."
    Mrs. Butler looked at her sideways. "You mustn't feel you have to work yourself to death, Kate. I'm more than happy with the way you're working."
    Kate went to fetch the dogs with a feeling of uneasiness which lay heavily over her heart. If she could have felt really useful in the household she would not have felt so guilty, but she suspected that Mrs. Butler could well manage without her. Her presence was not dictated by any need for assistance with the work. Mrs. Butler had only wanted her as an ally in the war against Sylvia, and Kate had a furtive feeling that the full extent of Mrs. Butler's plot had not yet been revealed, and that, when it was clear, she would find it both distasteful and personally wounding.
    So involved with her thoughts was she that she barely noticed where she walked, and was surprised to find herself approaching the far side of the park, where the flint wall was crumbling away, under the impact of weather and age. The stones shone with a blueish tint, where water had run down earlier and been caught in crevices and cracks. The grass was slippery underfoot from the rain. The sky had cleared. The livid hue had gone, leaving a washed blue, shimmering faintly, but illuminating the landscape with a gentle radiance.
    The dogs snuffled eagerly forward, paws scrabbling on the ground. Kate saw that there was a gate, narrow and ancient, set in the wall. It hung open on a broken hinge. She pushed it further open. The dogs rushed through, excitedly puffing, and she followed.
    She stood in a sloping green pasture. Cows grazed on the other side of the meadow. A few trees offered shade. Beyond lay a field of freshly ploughed and planted crop. It ran on for some distance, fenced in by a well-tended hedge, newly burgeoning with bright green. The ditches were well defined and cleared. Kate had grown up on the edge of the sea, with the country always within walking distance, and she could see at a glance that the farm was well managed. It had a neat, prosperous air.
    The farmhouse stood half a mile away, in a square half acre of yards, with clean, well-painted outbuildings. They had been freshly whitewashed lately, she saw, from the way the light struck a dazzle from them. Well-kept machinery stood under cover in open sheds. The haystacks were covered, too, and protected from the weather.
    While she stood there, staring with appreciation around her, she suddenly saw a young man coming across the meadow towards her. He was very tall, with light brown hair tumbled across his thin face, and he walked fast, with an easy swing.
    His jeans were muddy. His blue shirt flapped open at the neck. On one thin arm he wore a broad wrist watch.
    When he was