The Passions of Bronwyn by Martina Martyn Read Free Book Online Page B

of household items.  The man sitting on top of the wagon was a small, thin-legged old man.  He was wearing an old velvet coat with a feather stuck in the band of his battered old hat and he had an old red and yellow neckerchief knotted round his neck.  He set his stock out on the ground and rang a bell to get attention.  He had all kinds of items for the home for sale from tea cloths to full dinner services.  Wyn and Betty ran over to have a look. 
    ‘I never realised life in the country was so exciting,’ Betty remarked. 
    They jumped back as women and children started running towards the wagon to see what there was to buy.  A fight broke out between two of the women over a set of jugs. 
    ‘Now, now you two,’ the odd little man said.  ‘There’s another set over here, you can both have one.’  The two women went off happy, each holding a set of jugs.  
    Wyn and Betty walked back over to William and Ned laughing. 
    ‘I’ve never seen anything like that,’ said Wyn. 
    ‘Me neither,’ responded Betty.  ‘What shall we do now?’ she asked. 
    ‘There’s the small market town of Crampney nearby and it’s market day,’ said William, ‘let’s go and see what they’ve got there.  It’s not too far to walk.’ 
    They all agreed and walked out of Ripplesdown along the road to Crampney.  As it was market day, there were a lot of carts and wagons travelling along the road.  They had to keep to the verge where the grass was quite high which made walking difficult. 
    ‘Oh my!’ exclaimed Wyn after tripping again.  ‘This is not easy walking.’ 
    ‘Come on,’ replied William smiling, ‘stop moaning and just walk.’ 
    ‘It’s alright for you,’ she replied ‘you haven’t got your best shoes on.  I don’t want to spoil them.’ 
    The traffic on the road eased so they could walk in the road for a bit which made the going easier.
    In the distance they could see the spire of the church and knew they were getting closer to the town.
    ‘I think we’ll find an inn first,’ said William.  ‘I could do with a bite to eat and a drink.’  They all readily agreed and walked into the town.  They could see crowds of people walking down rows of stalls with all kinds of goods for sale.  Wyn started feeling quite excited by everything she was seeing. 
    ‘Come on,’ said William, ‘let’s find the inn first, I‘m really thirsty, then we’ll go explore.  It looks like there is going to be a lot to see.’
    They sat down in the inn which was full of people.  There was a lot of talking as most of the customers of the inn were there to sell their goods and prices were being argued about.  They drank their beer which was very welcome as they were all very thirsty.  As soon as they were finished they went outside into the sunshine.
    There were market stalls selling all kinds of goods from fruit and vegetables to the meat stalls.  The fish market was hidden from view although you could still smell where it was.  Further up the hill were the pens for the livestock market.  They were full of lambs, calves and pigs waiting to be sold.  Wyn felt quite sorry for them. They walked all around the town.  There were cottages with railings enclosing their front gardens which were full of flowers.  There was the railway station and shops.  It took them a long time to walk around.  As they walked down the main street they saw a man on a penny farthing. 
    ‘I don’t think I could ever ride on one of those do you?’ Wyn asked them. 
    William was watching fascinated.  ‘I want one,’ he said.  
    ‘Me too,’ said Ned, ‘it looks like fun.  I don’t know how he stays on it.’
    All too soon it was time to start making their way home.  It was getting towards dusk and the sun was starting to set.  It was quite a long walk back.   They had bought some bread and cheese and decided to eat it by the side of a little brook sitting with their feet in the water.  When all the bread