Thanks again for your comments. While the soap recipe is actually still in use, please do not follow without some precautions. Merry Christmas.
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Chapter 19
Anne and Agatha continued to develop their practical skills in the kitchen and with needle. Once they had successfully mastered chopping and dicing, they were allowed to make soups and stews from scratch. They were amazed at how many different ones could be made from the same basic ingredients just by varying the proportions and the seasonings
Mrs. Carlisle put all the fats from trimmed meats into crocks each day. These crocks were stored in the cool cellar below the pantry. At least weekly, sometimes more often, these fats would be rendered. This would mean a few hours of carefully cooking the fats to melt out all the oil. Once all was melted, it would be poured through cloth into a pan to form a cake of fat. The cracklings left behind in the cloth would be fed to the dogs. As the girls watched the first time, Mrs. Carlisle explained what she was doing.
“Cleaning the fat is called rendering. We remove the impurities, which allows us to keep the fat safe for a long period of time. If it is stored with impurities, it goes rancid. We use different fats for our frying and flavoring our food. The tallow, from the beef, is used in making both soap and candles. We will show you how to do both the next time we make them. Once the fat cake is hardened, we place it in a crock in the cellar. We keep one cake in the kitchen while we store the rest. The one in the kitchen is the one currently in use. We grease roast pans with lard or tallow. We grease baking pans usually with lard. These keep food from sticking, as you are learning. We use the lard in our baking. They add moistness and flavor to many of our dishes.”
Agatha said, “I had been wondering what you were using in the skillet. I thought you would probably tell us when it came time for us to move beyond the soups.”
Mrs. Carlisle laughed, “Yes, I would, as you can see. There is so much to learn, I did not want to overwhelm you with information. Much easier to learn about it when you start to use it. As you are going to learn about the cleaning next, now is time to learn about tallow. Mrs. Craig will be overseeing the laundry staff making soap before we do laundry next time, and you need to know about tallow for that.”
Anne asked, “So we will learn how to make soap from Mrs. Craig?”
“Yes. Sometimes it is the housekeeper, sometimes the cook who oversees making the everyday soaps. Lady Rachel has Mrs. Craig manage that. I make the tallow and she uses a good chunk of it in making soap.”
The girls finished making their working dresses and put them to good use. The two began to learn to repair tears, to darn, to sew on buttons, and to make hems. Nell practiced these right alongside them. Once these skills were mastered, they put the new skills to practical application in making night clothes for the ill, elderly or new babies within the parish. The completed nightclothes accompanied them when they visited recipients who could appreciate their efforts.
They started learning about the skills required for cleaning, beyond that in the kitchen. The first would be clothing. They were amazed at how difficult it was to do laundry. The different requirements for different types of fabric were fascinating and complex. This explained why laundry was done on a schedule and only twice per month. If the family had been involved in it, it would have taken much more time to accomplish. After everything was washed, it had to be mended if necessary; then it would be pressed. It took many days to wash the laundry. Mending was a never-ending chore. This was something Nell would manage for Anne’s wardrobe.
One day about a week before they planned to learn about laundry, they spent the afternoon with Mrs. Craig and Sally, Lady Rachel’s lady’s maid. Mrs. Craig said, “Girls, Sally is the one in our household responsible for soap. Although we often purchase fancy soaps for the family to use, the rest of the soap is made by staff. Sally has a real knack for it, so we have assigned her to the job. It is a nasty one, and can be very dangerous.”
At a nod in her direction, Sally said, “We have decided to have you help, but we hope you will take the precautions very seriously. It can be very dangerous.” Both girls nodded. Nell looked very solemn. She had seen burns resulting from soap making. They were very ugly.
Mrs. Craig continued her instructions, “We burn hardwood in the kitchen bread oven because it gives a very steady heat so the bread bakes more evenly. We use the ashes from the hardwood to create the lye we need for the soap. Each day, those ashes are carefully cleaned out and placed in a lye leaching barrel. When it is full, we add water. You have seen that lye water used to scour grease from pans. Now, come watch as we prepare the next step.”
The girls followed Mrs. Craig to the lye barrel outside the kitchen. They recognized the crock beneath the barrel as the one used to bring in lye to scour burned grease from the cooking pots. The liquid lye was tested for strength by placing an egg in it. When at the right strength, the egg would float. This liquid was then combined with tallow over a very low heat at the stove. They spent quite a while stirring this mixture as it bubbled. When it became thick, salt might be added to help it set. It was then poured into a soap mold and allowed to cool and harden. These bars of soap were used by the servants and in the laundry. Soap making took an entire day. It would harden overnight.
The next day, the girls learned the next step was preparing soap for washing the clothing. The girls returned to the laundry room, and Mrs. Craig continued her lecture as Sally continued to prepare. “We need to shave the soap into bits to make it more efficient for laundry. If we shave the soap, it will mix with the laundry water more easily. Many people do not bother with soap when they do laundry. They use all manual labor. However, we find that soap helps get the clothes cleaner.”
Sally proceeded to shave up one of the bars of soap. Once it was shredded, the bits were placed into a bowl for use the following day when they would begin washing the laundry. The bowl was covered so that none of the precious soap would blow away.
Next they sorted the clothing into different degrees of color as they would not wash darker clothes with lighter. The last activity of the day was to take all the white clothing and place it in a tub with some diluted lye water to soak before washing. It would help remove stains and maintain the whiteness. Other items with stains were treated by the stain being saturated, then soap rubbed directly into the stain. This would also sit until the washing the next day. If the stain was blood, it would be wet, then covered with salt which would lift out the blood.
The next day, they began early. The maids, Mrs. Craig, Nell, Anne and Agatha met in the kitchen yard where a large cauldron was heating water over a fire. Mrs. Craig said, “We start with our white clothes. They need hot water to help them get clean. Now, some people do not use soap, they simply beat out the dirt. However, we find that soap helps it come out more easily. ” Some of the soap flakes were sprinkled into the hot water. The white clothes were removed from their soaking tub and placed into the hot water. A bat was used to move the clothing around in the hot water. Anne and Agatha took a short turn beating the clothing with the bat. They were not able to do so for very long as they hadn’t yet developed the needed strength or skill. The maids worked until Mrs. Craig deemed the clothing clean. It was then moved into another tub for rinsing. After one rinse, the water in the tub was drained and refilled for a second rinse.
After the clothes were washed, the maids wrung the water out. Again, both girls tried wringing the clothes for practice. They were able to be effective on lighter items, but those that were heavier or larger, like bed linens, were beyond their strength. The wrung out clothes were then placed on a line for drying.
While this was going on, the cauldron was removed from the fire, more water was added to replace that which had been soaked up, and slightly darker clothes were added. The washing then occurred again, with more soap added to the mix and another round of beating clothing. Each change brought a batch of even darker clothing until the final batch of the darkest. It took two days to wash the clothes planned for that week. The girls were exhausted by the end of the first day. However, they continued to assist on the second day.
The clothes hung on the clothes line for at least the remainder of the day that they were washed. The whites were left to hang for at least two days as the sun would help bleach them and keep them whiter. Heavier articles took longer to dry. Once all were dry, mending was the next task.
Sally, Nell, and Mrs. Craig examined all the items looking for small tears. Mrs. Craig said, “If we catch the tears when they are small, the mending is much easier than if they go for longer times. Sally and Nell look each time they put something away, but small tears are easy to miss. You can see here on Lady Rachel’s dress that something happened in the hem. Sally will repair that before we do the pressing. This is also when we might do a bit of changing of trim and such if it is wanted.”
After a morning of mending, the afternoon was spent in pressing. Both irons and mangles were used on clothing. Irons were heated at fire in the laundry room. While still hot, they pressed the wrinkles out of the linens and other clothing. The girls were amazed at how heavy the irons were. Most items were pressed with a mangle rather than a flat iron which was a newer innovation.
After they finished, Anne said, “Now the discussions about fabric care make much more sense. Ironing is so tedious. Irons are also heavy. If we choose a fabric that requires less ironing, it also requires less upkeep.”
Agatha agreed, “I will always think of that in the future when I select a gown.”
As they completed the pressing, Anne added, “I hope I never have to do this myself. It is very tiring. I wonder how they manage laundry on board a ship. I suppose that in foreign parts or at sea, I may be required to do this. I suspect Nell will be the one doing most of the work though.” As she was putting finishing touches on one of Anne’s dresses, Nell smiled at that thought.
Agatha said, “I vow that I will always show appreciation for my lady’s maid. Imagine having to do this all the time. You are probably right that Nell will usually be the one doing all this for you.”
As they completed the laundry, they watched the maids touch up everything they had done. Their own results were passable, but obviously not up to the standards of their maids.
By now, both girls had developed new muscles from these unaccustomed activities. They also had far more respect for those who did these jobs in their households.
While they had respect for the skills, they were aware that these were not skills discussed at a dinner party. The Stevensons hosted a dinner in the latter part of October where skills were not the major topic of conversation. Rather, everyone was worried about the total defeat of the Prussian army at Jena and Auerstadt.
Over the soup course, Sir Michael said, “Now there is nothing to stop the French until they get to Russia. There is no force strong enough to stop them. And I wager that Napoleon will recruit from the Prussians to add to his own forces. Even if they could not withstand him, they are decent soldiers. He may become invincible. And now that Britain is involved, Anthony and Percy have both been sent to the continent. Even more to worry about.”
His neighbor agreed, and the two had an in-depth discussion of the situation to which their neighbors listened closely. At her end of the table, Lady Matilda discussed what it might mean in terms of imports from the northern portion of the continent. Now only Scandinavia would be available. Did anyone know what came from Scandinavia? Unfortunately, they did not, and were concerned that choices would start to become limited as Napoleon’s reach expanded. It had already shown itself in the difficulty of finding good wine and brandy.
After they finished sharing what they knew, what they feared, and what they hoped, they moved into less controversial topics such as the success of shooting that fall. After shooting, the success of the harvest was the main topic of conversation. The evening concluded with all of the ladies performing in the music room. In Anne’s opinion, this was far more enjoyable than a similar evening at Kellynch. Here everyone had participated and seemed to enjoy themselves.
Anne’s correspondence with Sophie Croft was progressing. She had sent an introductory letter when Frederick was still there and had included a note from him. It had taken some weeks, but she had recently received her reply. Because the Crofts were at sea, mail delivery was irregular. Sophie had sent her congratulations and had asked many questions about Anne. Anne spent a morning composing her response to her future sister. From the tenor of the questions, she could see that Sophie would be a far different sister than Elizabeth.
Anne’s correspondence with Mary was also growing. She had written Mary about her engagement and the reason for her removal to South Park when it had occurred. Mary had waited to determine what she really thought before responding. She had considered her father’s response, Lady Russell’s, and grandmother’s before deciding what she felt. Anne had included all in her letter. Mary decided that Anne was doing the right thing, that someone who would cherish her was more important than someone of rank. She sent a letter indicating strong support for the choice that Anne was making. Once again, these two sisters drew closer together which Anne truly appreciated.
Letters to Kellynch were not answered, except for those to Lady Russell. Father and sister were always poor correspondents, at best, when she had been in school. Since they were not happy with her choice, they decided to just ignore Anne. Besides, there was nothing to report. No courting took place at the shooting party. Lady Russell’s letters did fill Anne in about the party and lack of results. She lamented Elizabeth’s short sightedness when it came to men. She also heard about the party from the Musgroves. While Charles loved shooting parties, he was away at university this time and had not attended. Mr. Musgrove felt the shooting had been below standard this year while Mrs. Musgrove had enjoyed visiting with the participants. Anne also heard from Mr. Wentworth about the literacy project. It was moving forward slowly.
Now that the colder weather was upon them, Anne learned to lay the fires, both with wood and with coal. Both were heavy and dirty. She had to sweep out the fireplace first, an incredibly dirty job. Once the fire was laid, she learned to light it. She was grateful that the maids usually took care of this job. Nell was already proficient and assisted Anne as she learned. Anne was grateful that Mrs. Craig had her practice this only once each week after she had learned. It was not a job she enjoyed at all.
In November, the girls made their first steps in learning to knit by knitting dishcloths. The wool for the dishcloths was supplied by Mrs. Craig. Once they could make a consistent weave for the cloths, they would move on to shawls. Their first efforts were comical, ending in a variety of shapes, none quite square. It took quite a few days to achieve consistent tension to create the square. Until then, they would unwind the mistakes and reknit until they achieved passable results.
At this point, Lady Rachel again took them to the village to learn about the different properties of knitting wools and cotton. At the end of the discussion, they selected wools for their shawls. Now that they were able to knit with consistent tension, the work progressed rapidly. With these successfully completed, they determined to make shawls for at least one family member as gifts for Christmas. Shawls were easier than some of the more complex projects.
In the kitchen, they were now concentrating on learning to bake. Mrs. Carlisle was careful in what she let the girls touch, since breads and pastries could be tricky to master. Mrs. Carlisle was a proponent of lard in her pastries but it required a deft touch to make them flaky. They would not attempt those for some weeks. By the end of November, they were able to make a simple tea of bread and soup or stew which was served at the dower house. Agatha remained for dinner to share in the fruit of her labors. The three sat down together and waited for the meal to be served.
Mrs. Craig appeared and announced, “Lady Rachel, I want you to know that Miss Anne and Miss Agatha made everything that appears on the table this evening. It is simple, that is true, but they were able to do it without help under Mrs. Carlisle’s supervision.”
The footman then served the soup while another placed the basket of bread on the table. Lady Rachel said, “This looks lovely. I am proud of you, girls.”
Agatha said, “I am still amazed at how much work is required for a meal that is soup and bread. Now that we know how to do it, we can do it much more efficiently. But it is still a lot of work.”
Anne said, “At least now I know that we will not starve. We won’t have much variety yet, but we won’t starve.”
Lady Rachel said, “Well done. I am very proud you have persevered and mastered this much. You are right, Anne, that there is still much to learn, but you will not starve.”
Over the rest of the meal, they discussed the next steps and the progress they had already made. Both the sewing skills and the cooking skills were now at a satisfactory novice level. They could see how far they had come, but could also see how very far there still was to go.
“Grandmother, as I see how much we have had to learn just to make a simple meal and night clothes, I am more grateful than ever for your suggestion. I know Captain Wentworth will ultimately be successful, and even now we could afford a modest home and servants, but this will truly enable me to manage our household no matter what our circumstances,” said Anne.
Agatha added, “And I will always have a much greater appreciation for both the servants and the tenants. Many of the tenants get by with no servants. Others have only a char to do the heavy work. And it is amazing how heavy that heavy work is.”
Lady Rachel replied, “It never hurts to understand the position of others in life. You gain greater appreciation for your own and their contributions through the studies you are making. Gratitude is never wasted. Neither is knowledge. Next year, you will learn about all the harvest activities. This year, most of that in the autumn was taking place in the afternoons when you were sewing. That is a completely different challenge. Well, at least Anne will learn. Agatha may be in her own establishment by that time. As the weather keeps us indoors and curtails some of our visits, we will start spending time on budgeting. I do not mean the level that the Lady normally does. We will get down to details about how to budget your money and choose wisely among different merchants. That will help both of you.”
Agatha laughed and replied, “That is what we hope, anyway. I hope to be in my own place before next autumn. Budgeting will be very helpful, I’m sure.”
After this dinner, the wintery weather started coming in fits and starts. Cold, blustery winds had arrived, so, on many days, Agatha remained at the main house. Otherwise, she was forced to use the carriage to join the classes at the dower house. Anne continued to progress in the kitchen, now adding a variety of casseroles to her soups and stews. She also began learning how to prepare the sweet course. She found she enjoyed cooking, although she did not care for the clean up afterwards.
Both girls found discussions about procurement and budgeting very different than they would be as Lady of an estate. The housekeeper was the one who selected which establishments they used and understood about the prices paid for various items. While the Lady on the estate was involved at a general level, the girls were now learning at the level the housekeeper used instead. They helped reconcile accounts and determined where changes might be beneficial. It was surprising how complicated it could be.
Chapter 20
By the time the Christmas season had arrived, both had made many of the presents for their family members. Anne purchased items for her father and sisters and Lady Russell, but for everyone in the South Park family, she made items she knew they would appreciate. She sent embroidered handkerchiefs to Frederick, getting them sent early in November so there was a chance they would reach him by Christmas. Since he had left in October, she wrote him each week, updating him on the little things she was doing. She had received one letter from him from the day before he shipped out in early October. He was being sent to the Indies again. He indicated that she might expect to actually receive letters at least every six months, sometimes more frequently.
December promised another set of family festivities as William and Charles Stanley had planned a double wedding ceremony and invited all of the family to attend. William, Lord Stanley, was engaged to Ethel Bosworth. Charles was engaged to Cora Harmon. The brothers had always been close, and when they had each become engaged during the spring, had determined to wed together near their home. Their brides were also friends, so they were willing to share their special day together.
At the beginning of December, Sir Michael and Lady Matilda left to collect Mary from school. While she had not been able to meet Arabella and attend the September wedding, she was looking forward to meeting her new cousin and attending the wedding for the others. She was deemed old enough to attend instead of being relegated to the nursery during the activities. They rode straight from school to Derby.
At the end of that week, everyone else packed up and left South Park to meet in Derby for the holiday. William and Charles Stanley were marrying on December 18. At James’ wedding in September, everyone had agreed to travel to Derby for this larger family wedding. The brides were both from local gentry, so their families had not needed to travel.
The Stanley’s home was a beautiful stately mansion with plenty of rooms to house the large family. Lord and Lady Derby were there to greet each of the family members as they arrived. He made arrangements to curtail his estate management activities during the holiday season in favor of hosting duties. As each carriage arrived, the inhabitants were welcomed into the house, with Lady Derby immediately tasking a footman to get the group up to their rooms to refresh and warm up again. They would then be shown into the parlor for a cup of tea and talk.
Anne, Mary, and Agatha were given rooms next to one another and all planned to spend a great deal of time together. Mary was pleased to meet Arabella. She could see why James had liked her so very much.
Once all had arrived, it seemed that the only quiet moments were at night when everyone was sleeping. As Susan and Lady Rachel were sitting together in the parlor watching the chatter one afternoon, Susan remarked, “I just love times like this when we are all together, even though it is so often chaotic. It is nothing like when the children were all young together, but it is still rather noisy.”
Lady Rachel remarked, “When the children were young, they were mostly in the nursery together. I like this much better.”
Susan said, “If only Elizabeth were still here with us. It is a shame that Sir Walter and Elizabeth do not like our family functions. I am glad Anne and Mary are here though. Anthony and Percy are still missing, though. I hope they are well.”
Lady Rachel sniffed. “I am sure the boys are fine. Walter does not feel comfortable around us. We do not share his opinions or viewpoints, and he finds ours to be unintelligible. We do not defer to him, and he seems to need that deference to feel comfortable. His oldest is so different from her sisters. I fear Mary would have followed his lead, but this past year she has truly started to improve. Anne is so like her mother and Elizabeth so different, I wonder that they are even related. Mary is becoming more like Anne and her mother every day. Elizabeth follows her father in looks and Anne and Mary their mother. It is a little like having my Elizabeth back to have Anne living with me.”
Susan patted her mother’s hand and replied, “It must be. It was really kind of you to come to Anne’s rescue. I do not understand her father’s opposition to the match.”
“Simple. He is not exalted enough to attach to the Elliot name. Even if he doesn’t care about Anne, he does care about the Elliot name. However, Captain Wentworth is a good man, and it will be an excellent match. And his disapprobation means I get to spend almost two years with Anne as my companion. I cannot regret that.”
“It also means she and Mary can be here for the wedding and Christmas. If they were at Kellynch, we would not see them.”
Meanwhile, Anne, Agatha, Mary and Arabella were becoming better acquainted with Cora and Ethel. The six clustered together on two sofas and discussed their upbringings, their families, the upcoming wedding, and Arabella’s new life with James.
Mary was so excited to be included as an adult even though she was still a school girl. This gathering was so different from those at Kellynch, and the interactions among the women so different, that she began revising her opinions on how relationships should work. She had never considered the reciprocation involved in healthy interactions between friends and family since there was none in the Elliot family. She watched more than she participated, and she came to the realization that friendship involved both people making an effort. She also realized that she had few real friends. She had the opportunity to turn Henrietta and Louisa Musgrove into true friends, but it would require making some changes on her part. Over the course of the holiday, she continued to study what worked and what made people want to spend time together. She decided that she needed to make some changes so that when she returned to school, she cultivated some true friendships. She was doubly glad she had chosen to come to Grandmother instead of Kellynch for this holiday.
In the evenings, all of the girls took turns to play on the piano for the family. Once again, Mary was grateful for Anne’s encouragement the previous summer as she acquitted herself quite well. The more Mary associated with her extended family, the more she saw the limited picture her father presented of the world, and the more she rejected his viewpoint.
Nell enjoyed the trip as well. Sally provided training on how a lady’s maid acted when on a visit such as this. Nell was becoming quite proficient and appreciated the differences between South Park and Derby. As she helped Anne one evening, she said, “Miss Anne, I can already see how different my life will be thanks to you. I can never thank you enough for choosing me for your lady’s maid.”
“I am glad you are enjoying your new responsibility. Is Sally giving you tips on how to act while we are here?”
“Yes. She is ever so helpful. It looks like my life will be very interesting with you. I just wanted you to know how grateful I am.”
Although there had been snow off and on throughout the month, December 18 dawned cold and clear. The sun shone on a white landscape that appeared picture perfect for Christmas. The family filed out of the house and into carriages for the short ride to the chapel. They arrived to find it filled with Christmas greens and smelling of balsam. Family and friends filled the small chapel on the estate to overflowing. As William and Charles moved to the front, they each gave a nervous smile at the congregation of well-wishers. Finally, the organist played the fanfare and everyone arose. On the arm of her father, Ethel appeared in the aisle and walked slowly toward William. Behind her, Cora appeared to have a tighter grasp on her father’s arm as she waited her turn to start.
As the brides joined their grooms, white handkerchiefs appeared and began to dab at eyes throughout the rooms. Both mothers of the bride wept softly. Susan managed not to cry, but her mother joined in with the quiet weeping. Within a few moments, Ethel and Cora had joined the Stanley family, with Ethel becoming Lady Stanley.
Everyone in the chapel then joined in a festive wedding breakfast up at the house. It lasted well into the day, winding down only after each new couple finally said their farewells. Each was going to stay in a different hunting lodge nearby allowing them some privacy as they became accustomed to a new life together. They would rejoin the family on Christmas Eve.
Christmas at Debry was a fun break for the entire family. It was far more congenial than the celebration at Kellynch and far better attended. Mary had chosen to come to her grandmother and sister, assuming there would be more to do and more fun. In this, she was correct. Besides fun, it was also a great learning opportunity. Almost everyone else there outranked her. And in spite of that, very little attention was paid to rank. This was almost the complete opposite of the situation at Kellynch. Along with her insight into friendship, this enabled Mary to see how little rank should play in the interactions between friends and relations. This might explain why her father and eldest sister appeared to have few friends while Anne appeared to have many, at least if correspondence and the way people spoke of one another were any judge.
While practicing piano with Anne’s assistance, she mentioned this to Anne. “I have noticed that when it is just the family present, no one seems to pay any attention at all to rank. When others are visiting, everything is most correct and precedence is followed, but when it is only family, it is ignored. Is that usually the case in families like ours?”
“One of the reasons Father is uncomfortable with the Stevensons is their attitude about rank and precedence. Father is never able to ignore it and feels he is always entitled to deference. However, the Stevensons consider that, in order to promote more harmonious family relationships, rank and precedence should be ignored within the family circle. If it is not, how can we be happy together?”
Mary replied, “I had been noticing their attitude and wondering about it. We have never spent much time with the extended family, at least since Mother passed, so I had never seen this before.”
Anne smiled. “I was old enough when Mother passed that I had already had a lot more experience of this than you. If you continue to learn from Grandmother and the extended family, rather than just from Father and Elizabeth, I think you will find a far happier situation in life. Father and Elizabeth suffer from their attitude to everyone around them. They are never satisfied. Grandmother is just the opposite. And her happiness has nothing to do with being an Earl’s daughter. It is in her attitude to life.”
Mary nodded her head in understanding and returned to her practicing. However, she continued to observe and ponder what she saw.
The Stanleys held an Open House for neighbors on Christmas Eve. The newlyweds all returned to participate in the celebration. At the beginning of the evening, they held a Yule log lighting ceremony. The grand fireplace had been thoroughly cleaned and a fire laid which included a huge log that would burn all night. A remnant of the prior year’s Yule log was used to light this year’s log as the festivities began shortly before dark fell. It brought good luck for the coming year if the log burned well all night.
After the lighting, carols were sung to welcome in the holiday. These were followed by an evening of dancing. Finally, they all headed down to the chapel for a midnight Christmas service. Following the service, the neighbors returned to their homes while the family returned to the house and their beds.
In the morning, the family attended another Christmas service. Gifts were exchanged in the afternoon prior to another sumptuous feast. Mary was excited that she had attended until the dancing began. Kellynch rarely hosted any Christmas festivities. Sir Walter and Elizabeth would attend those of a neighbor. Anne had joined in the previous year while Mary had remained home alone. Once she was ‘out,’ she would be allowed to attend the dancing as well as the midnight service.
After Christmas, James, Arabella, and Hugh’s family returned to their homes in London, Mary to school, and the rest to life at South Park which became quieter, settling into a predictable pattern. Due to the snow, visits to neighbors were curtailed. Agatha attended Anne’s training irregularly as they kept mainly to their own houses during storms.
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Chapter 19
Anne and Agatha continued to develop their practical skills in the kitchen and with needle. Once they had successfully mastered chopping and dicing, they were allowed to make soups and stews from scratch. They were amazed at how many different ones could be made from the same basic ingredients just by varying the proportions and the seasonings
Mrs. Carlisle put all the fats from trimmed meats into crocks each day. These crocks were stored in the cool cellar below the pantry. At least weekly, sometimes more often, these fats would be rendered. This would mean a few hours of carefully cooking the fats to melt out all the oil. Once all was melted, it would be poured through cloth into a pan to form a cake of fat. The cracklings left behind in the cloth would be fed to the dogs. As the girls watched the first time, Mrs. Carlisle explained what she was doing.
“Cleaning the fat is called rendering. We remove the impurities, which allows us to keep the fat safe for a long period of time. If it is stored with impurities, it goes rancid. We use different fats for our frying and flavoring our food. The tallow, from the beef, is used in making both soap and candles. We will show you how to do both the next time we make them. Once the fat cake is hardened, we place it in a crock in the cellar. We keep one cake in the kitchen while we store the rest. The one in the kitchen is the one currently in use. We grease roast pans with lard or tallow. We grease baking pans usually with lard. These keep food from sticking, as you are learning. We use the lard in our baking. They add moistness and flavor to many of our dishes.”
Agatha said, “I had been wondering what you were using in the skillet. I thought you would probably tell us when it came time for us to move beyond the soups.”
Mrs. Carlisle laughed, “Yes, I would, as you can see. There is so much to learn, I did not want to overwhelm you with information. Much easier to learn about it when you start to use it. As you are going to learn about the cleaning next, now is time to learn about tallow. Mrs. Craig will be overseeing the laundry staff making soap before we do laundry next time, and you need to know about tallow for that.”
Anne asked, “So we will learn how to make soap from Mrs. Craig?”
“Yes. Sometimes it is the housekeeper, sometimes the cook who oversees making the everyday soaps. Lady Rachel has Mrs. Craig manage that. I make the tallow and she uses a good chunk of it in making soap.”
The girls finished making their working dresses and put them to good use. The two began to learn to repair tears, to darn, to sew on buttons, and to make hems. Nell practiced these right alongside them. Once these skills were mastered, they put the new skills to practical application in making night clothes for the ill, elderly or new babies within the parish. The completed nightclothes accompanied them when they visited recipients who could appreciate their efforts.
They started learning about the skills required for cleaning, beyond that in the kitchen. The first would be clothing. They were amazed at how difficult it was to do laundry. The different requirements for different types of fabric were fascinating and complex. This explained why laundry was done on a schedule and only twice per month. If the family had been involved in it, it would have taken much more time to accomplish. After everything was washed, it had to be mended if necessary; then it would be pressed. It took many days to wash the laundry. Mending was a never-ending chore. This was something Nell would manage for Anne’s wardrobe.
One day about a week before they planned to learn about laundry, they spent the afternoon with Mrs. Craig and Sally, Lady Rachel’s lady’s maid. Mrs. Craig said, “Girls, Sally is the one in our household responsible for soap. Although we often purchase fancy soaps for the family to use, the rest of the soap is made by staff. Sally has a real knack for it, so we have assigned her to the job. It is a nasty one, and can be very dangerous.”
At a nod in her direction, Sally said, “We have decided to have you help, but we hope you will take the precautions very seriously. It can be very dangerous.” Both girls nodded. Nell looked very solemn. She had seen burns resulting from soap making. They were very ugly.
Mrs. Craig continued her instructions, “We burn hardwood in the kitchen bread oven because it gives a very steady heat so the bread bakes more evenly. We use the ashes from the hardwood to create the lye we need for the soap. Each day, those ashes are carefully cleaned out and placed in a lye leaching barrel. When it is full, we add water. You have seen that lye water used to scour grease from pans. Now, come watch as we prepare the next step.”
The girls followed Mrs. Craig to the lye barrel outside the kitchen. They recognized the crock beneath the barrel as the one used to bring in lye to scour burned grease from the cooking pots. The liquid lye was tested for strength by placing an egg in it. When at the right strength, the egg would float. This liquid was then combined with tallow over a very low heat at the stove. They spent quite a while stirring this mixture as it bubbled. When it became thick, salt might be added to help it set. It was then poured into a soap mold and allowed to cool and harden. These bars of soap were used by the servants and in the laundry. Soap making took an entire day. It would harden overnight.
The next day, the girls learned the next step was preparing soap for washing the clothing. The girls returned to the laundry room, and Mrs. Craig continued her lecture as Sally continued to prepare. “We need to shave the soap into bits to make it more efficient for laundry. If we shave the soap, it will mix with the laundry water more easily. Many people do not bother with soap when they do laundry. They use all manual labor. However, we find that soap helps get the clothes cleaner.”
Sally proceeded to shave up one of the bars of soap. Once it was shredded, the bits were placed into a bowl for use the following day when they would begin washing the laundry. The bowl was covered so that none of the precious soap would blow away.
Next they sorted the clothing into different degrees of color as they would not wash darker clothes with lighter. The last activity of the day was to take all the white clothing and place it in a tub with some diluted lye water to soak before washing. It would help remove stains and maintain the whiteness. Other items with stains were treated by the stain being saturated, then soap rubbed directly into the stain. This would also sit until the washing the next day. If the stain was blood, it would be wet, then covered with salt which would lift out the blood.
The next day, they began early. The maids, Mrs. Craig, Nell, Anne and Agatha met in the kitchen yard where a large cauldron was heating water over a fire. Mrs. Craig said, “We start with our white clothes. They need hot water to help them get clean. Now, some people do not use soap, they simply beat out the dirt. However, we find that soap helps it come out more easily. ” Some of the soap flakes were sprinkled into the hot water. The white clothes were removed from their soaking tub and placed into the hot water. A bat was used to move the clothing around in the hot water. Anne and Agatha took a short turn beating the clothing with the bat. They were not able to do so for very long as they hadn’t yet developed the needed strength or skill. The maids worked until Mrs. Craig deemed the clothing clean. It was then moved into another tub for rinsing. After one rinse, the water in the tub was drained and refilled for a second rinse.
After the clothes were washed, the maids wrung the water out. Again, both girls tried wringing the clothes for practice. They were able to be effective on lighter items, but those that were heavier or larger, like bed linens, were beyond their strength. The wrung out clothes were then placed on a line for drying.
While this was going on, the cauldron was removed from the fire, more water was added to replace that which had been soaked up, and slightly darker clothes were added. The washing then occurred again, with more soap added to the mix and another round of beating clothing. Each change brought a batch of even darker clothing until the final batch of the darkest. It took two days to wash the clothes planned for that week. The girls were exhausted by the end of the first day. However, they continued to assist on the second day.
The clothes hung on the clothes line for at least the remainder of the day that they were washed. The whites were left to hang for at least two days as the sun would help bleach them and keep them whiter. Heavier articles took longer to dry. Once all were dry, mending was the next task.
Sally, Nell, and Mrs. Craig examined all the items looking for small tears. Mrs. Craig said, “If we catch the tears when they are small, the mending is much easier than if they go for longer times. Sally and Nell look each time they put something away, but small tears are easy to miss. You can see here on Lady Rachel’s dress that something happened in the hem. Sally will repair that before we do the pressing. This is also when we might do a bit of changing of trim and such if it is wanted.”
After a morning of mending, the afternoon was spent in pressing. Both irons and mangles were used on clothing. Irons were heated at fire in the laundry room. While still hot, they pressed the wrinkles out of the linens and other clothing. The girls were amazed at how heavy the irons were. Most items were pressed with a mangle rather than a flat iron which was a newer innovation.
After they finished, Anne said, “Now the discussions about fabric care make much more sense. Ironing is so tedious. Irons are also heavy. If we choose a fabric that requires less ironing, it also requires less upkeep.”
Agatha agreed, “I will always think of that in the future when I select a gown.”
As they completed the pressing, Anne added, “I hope I never have to do this myself. It is very tiring. I wonder how they manage laundry on board a ship. I suppose that in foreign parts or at sea, I may be required to do this. I suspect Nell will be the one doing most of the work though.” As she was putting finishing touches on one of Anne’s dresses, Nell smiled at that thought.
Agatha said, “I vow that I will always show appreciation for my lady’s maid. Imagine having to do this all the time. You are probably right that Nell will usually be the one doing all this for you.”
As they completed the laundry, they watched the maids touch up everything they had done. Their own results were passable, but obviously not up to the standards of their maids.
By now, both girls had developed new muscles from these unaccustomed activities. They also had far more respect for those who did these jobs in their households.
While they had respect for the skills, they were aware that these were not skills discussed at a dinner party. The Stevensons hosted a dinner in the latter part of October where skills were not the major topic of conversation. Rather, everyone was worried about the total defeat of the Prussian army at Jena and Auerstadt.
Over the soup course, Sir Michael said, “Now there is nothing to stop the French until they get to Russia. There is no force strong enough to stop them. And I wager that Napoleon will recruit from the Prussians to add to his own forces. Even if they could not withstand him, they are decent soldiers. He may become invincible. And now that Britain is involved, Anthony and Percy have both been sent to the continent. Even more to worry about.”
His neighbor agreed, and the two had an in-depth discussion of the situation to which their neighbors listened closely. At her end of the table, Lady Matilda discussed what it might mean in terms of imports from the northern portion of the continent. Now only Scandinavia would be available. Did anyone know what came from Scandinavia? Unfortunately, they did not, and were concerned that choices would start to become limited as Napoleon’s reach expanded. It had already shown itself in the difficulty of finding good wine and brandy.
After they finished sharing what they knew, what they feared, and what they hoped, they moved into less controversial topics such as the success of shooting that fall. After shooting, the success of the harvest was the main topic of conversation. The evening concluded with all of the ladies performing in the music room. In Anne’s opinion, this was far more enjoyable than a similar evening at Kellynch. Here everyone had participated and seemed to enjoy themselves.
Anne’s correspondence with Sophie Croft was progressing. She had sent an introductory letter when Frederick was still there and had included a note from him. It had taken some weeks, but she had recently received her reply. Because the Crofts were at sea, mail delivery was irregular. Sophie had sent her congratulations and had asked many questions about Anne. Anne spent a morning composing her response to her future sister. From the tenor of the questions, she could see that Sophie would be a far different sister than Elizabeth.
Anne’s correspondence with Mary was also growing. She had written Mary about her engagement and the reason for her removal to South Park when it had occurred. Mary had waited to determine what she really thought before responding. She had considered her father’s response, Lady Russell’s, and grandmother’s before deciding what she felt. Anne had included all in her letter. Mary decided that Anne was doing the right thing, that someone who would cherish her was more important than someone of rank. She sent a letter indicating strong support for the choice that Anne was making. Once again, these two sisters drew closer together which Anne truly appreciated.
Letters to Kellynch were not answered, except for those to Lady Russell. Father and sister were always poor correspondents, at best, when she had been in school. Since they were not happy with her choice, they decided to just ignore Anne. Besides, there was nothing to report. No courting took place at the shooting party. Lady Russell’s letters did fill Anne in about the party and lack of results. She lamented Elizabeth’s short sightedness when it came to men. She also heard about the party from the Musgroves. While Charles loved shooting parties, he was away at university this time and had not attended. Mr. Musgrove felt the shooting had been below standard this year while Mrs. Musgrove had enjoyed visiting with the participants. Anne also heard from Mr. Wentworth about the literacy project. It was moving forward slowly.
Now that the colder weather was upon them, Anne learned to lay the fires, both with wood and with coal. Both were heavy and dirty. She had to sweep out the fireplace first, an incredibly dirty job. Once the fire was laid, she learned to light it. She was grateful that the maids usually took care of this job. Nell was already proficient and assisted Anne as she learned. Anne was grateful that Mrs. Craig had her practice this only once each week after she had learned. It was not a job she enjoyed at all.
In November, the girls made their first steps in learning to knit by knitting dishcloths. The wool for the dishcloths was supplied by Mrs. Craig. Once they could make a consistent weave for the cloths, they would move on to shawls. Their first efforts were comical, ending in a variety of shapes, none quite square. It took quite a few days to achieve consistent tension to create the square. Until then, they would unwind the mistakes and reknit until they achieved passable results.
At this point, Lady Rachel again took them to the village to learn about the different properties of knitting wools and cotton. At the end of the discussion, they selected wools for their shawls. Now that they were able to knit with consistent tension, the work progressed rapidly. With these successfully completed, they determined to make shawls for at least one family member as gifts for Christmas. Shawls were easier than some of the more complex projects.
In the kitchen, they were now concentrating on learning to bake. Mrs. Carlisle was careful in what she let the girls touch, since breads and pastries could be tricky to master. Mrs. Carlisle was a proponent of lard in her pastries but it required a deft touch to make them flaky. They would not attempt those for some weeks. By the end of November, they were able to make a simple tea of bread and soup or stew which was served at the dower house. Agatha remained for dinner to share in the fruit of her labors. The three sat down together and waited for the meal to be served.
Mrs. Craig appeared and announced, “Lady Rachel, I want you to know that Miss Anne and Miss Agatha made everything that appears on the table this evening. It is simple, that is true, but they were able to do it without help under Mrs. Carlisle’s supervision.”
The footman then served the soup while another placed the basket of bread on the table. Lady Rachel said, “This looks lovely. I am proud of you, girls.”
Agatha said, “I am still amazed at how much work is required for a meal that is soup and bread. Now that we know how to do it, we can do it much more efficiently. But it is still a lot of work.”
Anne said, “At least now I know that we will not starve. We won’t have much variety yet, but we won’t starve.”
Lady Rachel said, “Well done. I am very proud you have persevered and mastered this much. You are right, Anne, that there is still much to learn, but you will not starve.”
Over the rest of the meal, they discussed the next steps and the progress they had already made. Both the sewing skills and the cooking skills were now at a satisfactory novice level. They could see how far they had come, but could also see how very far there still was to go.
“Grandmother, as I see how much we have had to learn just to make a simple meal and night clothes, I am more grateful than ever for your suggestion. I know Captain Wentworth will ultimately be successful, and even now we could afford a modest home and servants, but this will truly enable me to manage our household no matter what our circumstances,” said Anne.
Agatha added, “And I will always have a much greater appreciation for both the servants and the tenants. Many of the tenants get by with no servants. Others have only a char to do the heavy work. And it is amazing how heavy that heavy work is.”
Lady Rachel replied, “It never hurts to understand the position of others in life. You gain greater appreciation for your own and their contributions through the studies you are making. Gratitude is never wasted. Neither is knowledge. Next year, you will learn about all the harvest activities. This year, most of that in the autumn was taking place in the afternoons when you were sewing. That is a completely different challenge. Well, at least Anne will learn. Agatha may be in her own establishment by that time. As the weather keeps us indoors and curtails some of our visits, we will start spending time on budgeting. I do not mean the level that the Lady normally does. We will get down to details about how to budget your money and choose wisely among different merchants. That will help both of you.”
Agatha laughed and replied, “That is what we hope, anyway. I hope to be in my own place before next autumn. Budgeting will be very helpful, I’m sure.”
After this dinner, the wintery weather started coming in fits and starts. Cold, blustery winds had arrived, so, on many days, Agatha remained at the main house. Otherwise, she was forced to use the carriage to join the classes at the dower house. Anne continued to progress in the kitchen, now adding a variety of casseroles to her soups and stews. She also began learning how to prepare the sweet course. She found she enjoyed cooking, although she did not care for the clean up afterwards.
Both girls found discussions about procurement and budgeting very different than they would be as Lady of an estate. The housekeeper was the one who selected which establishments they used and understood about the prices paid for various items. While the Lady on the estate was involved at a general level, the girls were now learning at the level the housekeeper used instead. They helped reconcile accounts and determined where changes might be beneficial. It was surprising how complicated it could be.
Chapter 20
By the time the Christmas season had arrived, both had made many of the presents for their family members. Anne purchased items for her father and sisters and Lady Russell, but for everyone in the South Park family, she made items she knew they would appreciate. She sent embroidered handkerchiefs to Frederick, getting them sent early in November so there was a chance they would reach him by Christmas. Since he had left in October, she wrote him each week, updating him on the little things she was doing. She had received one letter from him from the day before he shipped out in early October. He was being sent to the Indies again. He indicated that she might expect to actually receive letters at least every six months, sometimes more frequently.
December promised another set of family festivities as William and Charles Stanley had planned a double wedding ceremony and invited all of the family to attend. William, Lord Stanley, was engaged to Ethel Bosworth. Charles was engaged to Cora Harmon. The brothers had always been close, and when they had each become engaged during the spring, had determined to wed together near their home. Their brides were also friends, so they were willing to share their special day together.
At the beginning of December, Sir Michael and Lady Matilda left to collect Mary from school. While she had not been able to meet Arabella and attend the September wedding, she was looking forward to meeting her new cousin and attending the wedding for the others. She was deemed old enough to attend instead of being relegated to the nursery during the activities. They rode straight from school to Derby.
At the end of that week, everyone else packed up and left South Park to meet in Derby for the holiday. William and Charles Stanley were marrying on December 18. At James’ wedding in September, everyone had agreed to travel to Derby for this larger family wedding. The brides were both from local gentry, so their families had not needed to travel.
The Stanley’s home was a beautiful stately mansion with plenty of rooms to house the large family. Lord and Lady Derby were there to greet each of the family members as they arrived. He made arrangements to curtail his estate management activities during the holiday season in favor of hosting duties. As each carriage arrived, the inhabitants were welcomed into the house, with Lady Derby immediately tasking a footman to get the group up to their rooms to refresh and warm up again. They would then be shown into the parlor for a cup of tea and talk.
Anne, Mary, and Agatha were given rooms next to one another and all planned to spend a great deal of time together. Mary was pleased to meet Arabella. She could see why James had liked her so very much.
Once all had arrived, it seemed that the only quiet moments were at night when everyone was sleeping. As Susan and Lady Rachel were sitting together in the parlor watching the chatter one afternoon, Susan remarked, “I just love times like this when we are all together, even though it is so often chaotic. It is nothing like when the children were all young together, but it is still rather noisy.”
Lady Rachel remarked, “When the children were young, they were mostly in the nursery together. I like this much better.”
Susan said, “If only Elizabeth were still here with us. It is a shame that Sir Walter and Elizabeth do not like our family functions. I am glad Anne and Mary are here though. Anthony and Percy are still missing, though. I hope they are well.”
Lady Rachel sniffed. “I am sure the boys are fine. Walter does not feel comfortable around us. We do not share his opinions or viewpoints, and he finds ours to be unintelligible. We do not defer to him, and he seems to need that deference to feel comfortable. His oldest is so different from her sisters. I fear Mary would have followed his lead, but this past year she has truly started to improve. Anne is so like her mother and Elizabeth so different, I wonder that they are even related. Mary is becoming more like Anne and her mother every day. Elizabeth follows her father in looks and Anne and Mary their mother. It is a little like having my Elizabeth back to have Anne living with me.”
Susan patted her mother’s hand and replied, “It must be. It was really kind of you to come to Anne’s rescue. I do not understand her father’s opposition to the match.”
“Simple. He is not exalted enough to attach to the Elliot name. Even if he doesn’t care about Anne, he does care about the Elliot name. However, Captain Wentworth is a good man, and it will be an excellent match. And his disapprobation means I get to spend almost two years with Anne as my companion. I cannot regret that.”
“It also means she and Mary can be here for the wedding and Christmas. If they were at Kellynch, we would not see them.”
Meanwhile, Anne, Agatha, Mary and Arabella were becoming better acquainted with Cora and Ethel. The six clustered together on two sofas and discussed their upbringings, their families, the upcoming wedding, and Arabella’s new life with James.
Mary was so excited to be included as an adult even though she was still a school girl. This gathering was so different from those at Kellynch, and the interactions among the women so different, that she began revising her opinions on how relationships should work. She had never considered the reciprocation involved in healthy interactions between friends and family since there was none in the Elliot family. She watched more than she participated, and she came to the realization that friendship involved both people making an effort. She also realized that she had few real friends. She had the opportunity to turn Henrietta and Louisa Musgrove into true friends, but it would require making some changes on her part. Over the course of the holiday, she continued to study what worked and what made people want to spend time together. She decided that she needed to make some changes so that when she returned to school, she cultivated some true friendships. She was doubly glad she had chosen to come to Grandmother instead of Kellynch for this holiday.
In the evenings, all of the girls took turns to play on the piano for the family. Once again, Mary was grateful for Anne’s encouragement the previous summer as she acquitted herself quite well. The more Mary associated with her extended family, the more she saw the limited picture her father presented of the world, and the more she rejected his viewpoint.
Nell enjoyed the trip as well. Sally provided training on how a lady’s maid acted when on a visit such as this. Nell was becoming quite proficient and appreciated the differences between South Park and Derby. As she helped Anne one evening, she said, “Miss Anne, I can already see how different my life will be thanks to you. I can never thank you enough for choosing me for your lady’s maid.”
“I am glad you are enjoying your new responsibility. Is Sally giving you tips on how to act while we are here?”
“Yes. She is ever so helpful. It looks like my life will be very interesting with you. I just wanted you to know how grateful I am.”
Although there had been snow off and on throughout the month, December 18 dawned cold and clear. The sun shone on a white landscape that appeared picture perfect for Christmas. The family filed out of the house and into carriages for the short ride to the chapel. They arrived to find it filled with Christmas greens and smelling of balsam. Family and friends filled the small chapel on the estate to overflowing. As William and Charles moved to the front, they each gave a nervous smile at the congregation of well-wishers. Finally, the organist played the fanfare and everyone arose. On the arm of her father, Ethel appeared in the aisle and walked slowly toward William. Behind her, Cora appeared to have a tighter grasp on her father’s arm as she waited her turn to start.
As the brides joined their grooms, white handkerchiefs appeared and began to dab at eyes throughout the rooms. Both mothers of the bride wept softly. Susan managed not to cry, but her mother joined in with the quiet weeping. Within a few moments, Ethel and Cora had joined the Stanley family, with Ethel becoming Lady Stanley.
Everyone in the chapel then joined in a festive wedding breakfast up at the house. It lasted well into the day, winding down only after each new couple finally said their farewells. Each was going to stay in a different hunting lodge nearby allowing them some privacy as they became accustomed to a new life together. They would rejoin the family on Christmas Eve.
Christmas at Debry was a fun break for the entire family. It was far more congenial than the celebration at Kellynch and far better attended. Mary had chosen to come to her grandmother and sister, assuming there would be more to do and more fun. In this, she was correct. Besides fun, it was also a great learning opportunity. Almost everyone else there outranked her. And in spite of that, very little attention was paid to rank. This was almost the complete opposite of the situation at Kellynch. Along with her insight into friendship, this enabled Mary to see how little rank should play in the interactions between friends and relations. This might explain why her father and eldest sister appeared to have few friends while Anne appeared to have many, at least if correspondence and the way people spoke of one another were any judge.
While practicing piano with Anne’s assistance, she mentioned this to Anne. “I have noticed that when it is just the family present, no one seems to pay any attention at all to rank. When others are visiting, everything is most correct and precedence is followed, but when it is only family, it is ignored. Is that usually the case in families like ours?”
“One of the reasons Father is uncomfortable with the Stevensons is their attitude about rank and precedence. Father is never able to ignore it and feels he is always entitled to deference. However, the Stevensons consider that, in order to promote more harmonious family relationships, rank and precedence should be ignored within the family circle. If it is not, how can we be happy together?”
Mary replied, “I had been noticing their attitude and wondering about it. We have never spent much time with the extended family, at least since Mother passed, so I had never seen this before.”
Anne smiled. “I was old enough when Mother passed that I had already had a lot more experience of this than you. If you continue to learn from Grandmother and the extended family, rather than just from Father and Elizabeth, I think you will find a far happier situation in life. Father and Elizabeth suffer from their attitude to everyone around them. They are never satisfied. Grandmother is just the opposite. And her happiness has nothing to do with being an Earl’s daughter. It is in her attitude to life.”
Mary nodded her head in understanding and returned to her practicing. However, she continued to observe and ponder what she saw.
The Stanleys held an Open House for neighbors on Christmas Eve. The newlyweds all returned to participate in the celebration. At the beginning of the evening, they held a Yule log lighting ceremony. The grand fireplace had been thoroughly cleaned and a fire laid which included a huge log that would burn all night. A remnant of the prior year’s Yule log was used to light this year’s log as the festivities began shortly before dark fell. It brought good luck for the coming year if the log burned well all night.
After the lighting, carols were sung to welcome in the holiday. These were followed by an evening of dancing. Finally, they all headed down to the chapel for a midnight Christmas service. Following the service, the neighbors returned to their homes while the family returned to the house and their beds.
In the morning, the family attended another Christmas service. Gifts were exchanged in the afternoon prior to another sumptuous feast. Mary was excited that she had attended until the dancing began. Kellynch rarely hosted any Christmas festivities. Sir Walter and Elizabeth would attend those of a neighbor. Anne had joined in the previous year while Mary had remained home alone. Once she was ‘out,’ she would be allowed to attend the dancing as well as the midnight service.
After Christmas, James, Arabella, and Hugh’s family returned to their homes in London, Mary to school, and the rest to life at South Park which became quieter, settling into a predictable pattern. Due to the snow, visits to neighbors were curtailed. Agatha attended Anne’s training irregularly as they kept mainly to their own houses during storms.