The Witch of Eye by Mari Griffith Read Free Book Online Page A

you.’
    ‘You won’t have a chance to forget me,’ Robin smiled. ‘Even if I don’t see you again before we start for home, I’ll be back with another herd in nine or ten weeks, an even bigger one, with animals to fatten up for the Christmas market. So I’ll see you around Martinmas, if you’re still here.’
    ‘If I am, I’ll look out for you, for old time’s sake. Look after the girls for me!’
    ‘Oh, Jenna,’ he called after her, ‘the girls will need milking later. Will you tell Master Jourdemayne? And tell him I’ll be expecting the usual tankard of ale later on.’ He paused. ‘Good luck to you!’ he added, watching as she set off down the lane. ‘And God’s blessings.’

CHAPTER THREE
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    J enna hesitated at the open door of the byre until her eyes became accustomed to the gloom and she could make out the shapes of empty cattle stalls. She could still hear the muted shouts of the drovers and the barking of dogs in the distance but it was very quiet in here, and very big.
    ‘And what can I do for you?’
    The questioner’s low voice was muffled against the flank of a dun cow as his fingers pulled rhythmically at her teats. After a moment, the cow turned her head and regarded Jenna with an inquiring expression in her dark eyes as though she, too, expected a reply. Milk, squirting into the wooden pail beneath her udder, made the only sound in the warm byre.
    ‘Well? What can I do for you?’
    ‘Beg pardon, sir?’
    The man’s voice came again, louder this time and with a note of tetchiness. ‘I said, what can I do for you?’
    All Jenna could see of the big man who was crouching awkwardly on a three-legged milking stool was the back of his head. She had an impression of strands of grey in dark hair, powerful shoulders. She swallowed, suppressing a sudden wave of anxiety, but she really needed this job. If she said nothing she would likely gain nothing and that was not the way to start the rest of her life. She cleared her throat.
    ‘If it please you, Master Jourdemayne,’ she said. ‘I heard from Robin the Drover that you might be looking for someone to help with the milking and the running of the dairy.’
    William Jourdemayne eased himself up from the low stool, stretching his cramped back as he stood. ‘Off with you, then, my beauty,’ he said, giving the cow’s rump a gentle slap to move her on, deftly removing the pail before she kicked it.
    ‘So,’ he turned towards Jenna, wiping his hands on a clean rag, ‘you’re looking for work, are you? And Robin’s told you I might be wanting some help around here. True enough. I wouldn’t be doing the milking if we weren’t short of cowmen. I’ve got better things to do. What’s your name?’
    ‘Jenna, sir. Jenna Harding.’
    ‘Hmm. And can you milk a cow, Jenna Harding?
    ‘Oh, yes, master. I have done it a thousand times.’
    ‘Good. And what about dairy work? Have you any experience of that?’ He raised his dark eyebrows as he looked down at her.
    ‘Yes, sir, in my stepfather’s dairy, ever since I started to work as a child. And I am now four-and-twenty years old.’
    ‘Four-and-twenty, eh! Is that so? Well, an older woman could be an advantage, I suppose, someone experienced who knows what she’s doing. Have you anyone to recommend you? Someone in Chelsea, perhaps? Knightsbridge?’
    ‘No. No one in any village hereabouts, sir,’ she replied, ‘though you could ask several people in Kingskerswell and I’m sure they would vouch for my honesty.’
    ‘Kingskerswell? And where might that be?’
    ‘Down Devon way, sir. Not far from Exeter.’
    ‘Ah, so that’s your accent; you’re a Devonshire lass. Well, that’s clever of you, Mistress Harding,’ William laughed, showing teeth which were still white and even, though Jenna judged him to be above thirty years old. ‘Do you think I’m going to go all the way to Devon to find someone to recommend you? Eh? Or could Robin recommend