Abby Ch. 18

"Abby! Come and look at this." James shouted. They hastened to see the cause of James' excitement, similarly Sam and Harry who were still trying to unlock the door, came round to the front of the house where James was looking in the window he had just cleared. They all joined him and he said. "Look inside." Abby did so, and through the dirt on the glass could just see into the room. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom she saw what had excited James. Furniture! Table, chairs, an old fashioned dresser, with what appeared to be crockery still displayed on the dresser. She looked at James with surprise written all over her face. The others crowded around to look.

"Good Lord!"

"Strewth!"

"Bloody Hell!" This last from Reg, who immediately apologised to Abby.

She smiled. "Don't worry, Reg. I have heard much worse in the Dealing Room, and have used much the same myself at times. But I won't say what language I used as I don't want to have Sam believe that I am not quite a Lady."

Sam laughed. "Abby I am sure that anything you said would not be as bad as Roger and me when we can't get the tractor started. Come on let's get that door unlocked." He hurried off, closely followed by Harry.

The door to the house was at the side, a cantilever porch roof protecting it from direct rain. Harry was wrestling furiously with the lock, which had turned a little but then stuck solid. His struggles were accompanied by a surprising amount of swearing which amused Abby enormously. Suddenly the lock gave up and the key turned. Harry regarded his efforts morosely with the comment. "Well I have either done it, or broken the lock." He straightened his back and went off to get the dogs which had been tied to some fence work.

Sam looked at Abby. "Do you want to open the door?"

"May I?" Abby's curiosity was evident.

"Bless you Girl; it's your house now. Seems right to me that a Tregonney should open it again." Abby took hold of the door knob and turned it. Surprisingly it went quite easily at first, but then the door stuck, she pushed it again with Sam lending his weight, and slowly the door creaked open.

Harry was there with the terriers, and called. "Stand back." Abby moved to the side and the dogs passed them with the same excitement they had shown before. Their search took longer this time, but the result was almost similar to the station, the excited yelps gradually died away, as the unhappy dogs found no sport until suddenly the yelps and growls built back to a crescendo. Then one dog came trotting out, proudly carrying his kill. A very dirty duster! Harry took the duster off the dog saying "Silly bugger!" and looked at Abby. "Nothing in there. By rights you should be first in, but I'll go in if you want, Miss Abby, just to be certain."

Abby shook her head. "Thank you Harry, but I will do it."

Harry nodded and looked at Sam, who also nodded. Abby entered her family home.

James had managed to get the boards off all the downstairs windows, so there was adequate light for Abby to see. She entered a large room, dominated by the simple table which stood square in the middle of the floor, its sturdy legs planted seemingly unmoved by time. Ladder-back chairs of the same unfussy design were arranged, two to one side, one to the other, and one at one end. To the left of the door stood a dresser, the top reaching up close to the ceiling with three shelves running the full width. Underneath the counter, were two wide drawers with simple cupped handles, and beneath them two cupboards, one of which was slightly opened. To the right of the door against a window sat a large, shallow Butler sink with a single tap standing tall over it. To the left of the sink there was a grooved wooden draining board, now cracked and warped. Over the draining board screwed to the wall were a row of hooks, one holding a cracked mug. As Abby turned anti clockwise she saw a blackened, dusty range, and then a door leading presumably to the stairs and the back room. The opposite wall to the main door was empty except for a large, round, wooden cased clock, the hands frozen at four thirty-five. Everything was covered in a fine white dust, even the great clusters of cobwebs which festooned everywhere. Abby stood there with astonishment. The dresser did indeed have a few pieces of crockery; a Jug and some plates. Sam, Harry, and Reg had now crowded into the room, followed shortly at a run by James who, having taken down the boards from the downstairs windows had wanted to be the first after Abby to enter.

Abby turned to them indicating the furniture. "How?" She said no more as the question was obvious. Sam shook his head. She looked at Reg with the question still on her face. He shrugged his shoulders. James had been pondering this question from the time he had unveiled the window. He cleared his throat, and they all looked at him expectantly.

"I could be very wrong." He said hesitantly. "But I would say the house wasn't cleared for a number of reasons, but all connected." Abby waited for him to go on. "It may have been that the crew that cleared the station were told that this was now private property, they wouldn't have a key for it."

Reg interrupted. "They had a key to the station."

James nodded. "Yes it stands to reason that they would have a duplicate for the station, but this house was the stationmaster's residence. Even if they had a key, they couldn't clear it because the contents were his not BR property. They simply boarded the windows and left it. Someone in BR obviously knew that with the closure of the line, the land and buildings became the property of the estate. They could come and take away the items that belonged to the railway, but they couldn't touch this stuff, nor do any damage, which was probably why they left the seat in the waiting room." He thought speculatively about this. "If BR's legal people knew about the Way-leave, it would have been nice of them to inform my father. But then they could have done just that, but knowing dad he could have just as easily lost the letter, or never bothered to read it." Harry to whom all this was academic and not of interest offered to look at the rest of the house.

"Upstairs will be dark." James suggested, "I will need ladders to get the boards off those windows."

Harry thought for a moment. "I will take the dogs back to the van. I am sure I have a torch somewhere. I'll get it."

Abby walked gingerly over to the partially opened interior door, trying not to disturb too much dust and ducking as cobwebs dangled low. She pulled the door completely open to reveal a small lobby. To the right the stairs ascended into complete darkness, opposite there was a smaller room which she entered. This was empty apart from a large Captains chair and a single iron bed frame. In one corner a moth-eaten curtain enclosed a hanging rail. She walked towards the chair with little puffs of white dust rising from her shoes, and touched it gently. She could see her granddad sitting here, but no other sign of a family having lived in the room. Reg had followed her in. She turned to him.

"Just this?" She asked plaintively.

Reg nodded glumly. "After Marion left, and there was no sign of her coming back, Thomas cleared upstairs, and moved in here. It was warmer, because the range backed on to that wall." Abby understood. Emotions chased around her head. It seemed that every time she got closer to her granddad, another poignant situation reared to bring a lump in her throat. She suddenly felt that she wanted to get out, and walked quickly back into the front room and out the door. Sam and James had been chatting and looked up in alarm as she left. James went after her and Reg who had followed made to go as well. Sam put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Let Mr. James go."

Reg looked at him and realisation suddenly came to him. "Ah!"

Sam nodded. "Yes. I think she will want Mr. James there rather than any of us."

Once she had got out into the yard, Abby stopped. James caught up with her and put his arms around her feeling her trembling. He held her in a comforting embrace rather than a passionate hold. Abby accepted the comfort of his arms without thought. After a moment she began to speak. "I get annoyed with myself, that these things affect me so much. After all I knew what had happened, yet these little reminders get to me. I saw a few sticks of furniture. Was that all that my granddad had to show for his life? He had worked so hard, yet in the end he had so little." James didn't reply he just held her, knowing that she needed to talk, just as he had done once. "I don't regret coming here. It is just that knowing the history was purely academic. But going in there and touching his stuff made all these pictures in my mind come to life. I was touching furniture that granddad had felt every day and sat in. I felt his loneliness and despair, and I wanted to weep for him." She stopped, keeping the tears away from her eyes, just accepting the sympathy that James' arms offered.

He let her regain her composure, understanding the struggle she had with her emotions, then he spoke softly. "All history is a bit like that, Abby. And family histories especially. If you delve you will always find sadness, tragedy, good times and bad. The important thing to remember though is that somehow the circle balances itself, turns, and for all the unhappiness and bad times, there is good fortune and happiness to compensate. You are the living example of that. You are living a life that your granddad could never have dreamed of, nor even your mum. If they were looking down now from wherever people go, they would have the biggest smiles on their faces, to see you, and your success, and it would give them so much pleasure to know that you are coming home. He and your mum would tell you that everything they suffered was worthwhile to make you the person you are today. They wouldn't change anything." As his words and the truth they contained filtered through to Abby's mind, her sadness gradually melted away to be replaced by the pleasant sensation of his holding her. She began to enjoy James arms for more than just the comfort he offered. Resisting the impulse to burrow even deeper, she looked up and smiled at him.

"Thank you." Abby was very conscious of James' arms around her, which was comforting, but for her also a little more. Wanting to take the warmth out of the situation she mimicked the local accent. "Oh Squire, what would the others say, to see you holding me like this."

"Not much really." James laughed. "After all they all know what Squires are like." He released her with Abby detecting reluctance, and stepped back. Harry was approaching. "Ah here comes Harry with a torch." There was a forced normality in his voice.

Harry did indeed have a torch, so large that it had a handle, and the biggest lens she had ever seen.

"That torch looks as if it would shine for miles." she commented.

Harry laughed. "Very useful at night when you are looking for an animal that may have caught itself in a ditch." he replied. He went straight into the house, calling Sam.

James looked at Abby. "Are you ready to go back in?" he enquired.

Abby nodded. "Yes, I think I have got over the girly stuff."

As she turned to go James said softly. "Not girly stuff, compassion."

Harry was standing in the small lobby at the foot of the stairs. "I'll go up, if you don't mind, Miss Abby. I had a good look at the roof yesterday, and it seems to be intact, but you never know. Pigeons could have got in, in which case there could be some dead ones up there." Abby told him to go ahead, and switching on the torch he made his way carefully up the stairs. From below Abby could hear his boots scuffing the floorboards above her head, and then clumping over the back room. His voice when it came was muffled. "It's all alright up here, come up. I'll shine the torch on the stairs so you can see.' Moments later the stairs lit up. Abby looked up and was blinded by the beam. Harry moved the torch away from her eyes and Abby started to climb. Harry had cleared the cobwebs on his way, although some still brushed her face and hair. Behind her she could hear James following. The stairs finished on a small landing with just two open doors. Harry had backed into the front room as she got to the top and now shone the torch on the ceiling. Such was its power the room was completely visible, and completely empty. Two windows on the front wall and a small fireplace were the only features of an otherwise completely featureless room. Harry gave her a moment to take it all in, then said to her.

"Shall we see the back room, Miss?" Abby nodded, aware that James was watching her carefully, just in case her emotions broke down again. She smiled at him to let him know she was alright. Harry kept the torch pointing at the ceiling. Although very dirty, the ceiling had been painted white, and that was sufficient to reflect the light back down on the whole room. The back room was exactly the same as the front. Perhaps a little smaller, and reversed, But another totally featureless room, apart from the two windows and a hatch in the ceiling. Presumably the loft opening.

Her thoughts were disturbed by Harry's voice. "It may be sensible to go down now. The battery is quite old, and I wouldn't want the torch to fail, whilst you're up here."

Abby looked at him. "Yes of course, thank you, Harry." With James leading, and Harry following her they descended and came back into the main room where Sam and Reg looked up expectantly.

"Well, Abby, how do you like your new home?" Enquired Sam.

Abby looked around. "It's going to take a lot of cleaning and decorating. I am amazed at all this white dust. Where has that come from?"

Sam grinned. "It's Lime wash, Abby. Good thing too." They were walking outside. Abby had to ask the reason for that last remark. "The place was built with Lime mortar, plaster, and the walls and ceiling washed with it." Sam informed her. "That's why it's dry inside." He could see the question of Abby's face before he went on. "Lime soaks up moisture. From the atmosphere and the stone used to build. The Lime plaster inside would absorb any moisture in the air, and it would go through the Lime mortar, and be dried by the wind."

Abby was giving this thought when another struck her. "There's no bathroom!" Her companions laughed.

"No, Abby." Reg explained. "Your granddad would have used a big tin bath, once a week, even if it was freezing outside."

"Yes but what about....." Her voice trailed off, not knowing quite how to talk about calls of nature in this all-male company. Sam came to her rescue, and just pointed her to a wooden lean-to at the back of the house.

"Oh!" She exclaimed.

James had of course been grinning at his exchange. "I told you it would take a lot of money, Abby." He went on. "You will have to convert one of the upstairs rooms into a bathroom, and plumb the place too."

"Plumb the place?"

"Yes. There is no running water. There will be a Well somewhere hereabouts, though."

Reg could help there. "It's down there." He pointed to a low rock-built enclosure, half hidden by weeds on the side away from the station. He continued. "The Lad Porter would have the job of pumping up the water to a tank, which stood next to the well. It supplied just the tap in the kitchen, the station, and my house too. Tanks gone now, but I suspect the Well is ok. It is good water. Mind you, in hot weather the water was always warm when it came out of the tap."

Abby's practical mind was working now. She turned to Sam. "Is there a good local Builder I could use?"

He didn't have to think about the question, answering immediately. "Yes Love. Bloke called George Walker. He's in Paverton, but does most of the work in this area. Good craftsman. He would be useful at the station as well. He does a lot of work with the listed buildings around here."

James agreed. "Yes, he's the man you want. Would you like me to give him a ring, and get him down here to take a look?"

Abby looked pleased. "Yes please, James. I am going to need someone, and if he's your recommendation, then it had better be him." she looked at her watch. It was half past one.

"Oh God! If I am seeing your mother this afternoon, I shall have to get washed and changed. James, you will be there won't you?"

James laughed. "Yes, Abby I will be there a bit later, don't worry though. She's not an Ogre."

Abby smiled sheepishly. Then turned to the others. "I am sorry to rush away like this, please forgive me, and thank you for all the help you have given me today." Sam smiled.

"Go on Girl, don't worry about us. I'll lock up and let you have the keys tonight." Abby smiled and gave him his ritual kiss on the cheek, and was gone.

Harry was regarding the ground around the house. It was covered by gorse and windblown self-seeded weeds. "Would be a help if we cleared all this, before George gets started, and that could do with a gate on it." He pointed to the gap where the gravel path started from the station.

Sam nodded and turned to James. "Whole area could do with fencing anyway; do you know how much land is going with the house and station?"

"Not yet Sam." James replied. "Got to get the surveyors down to measure up. Abby's having the house, the station with its track bed and the drive."

Sam shook his head. "Oh come on Mr. James, best thing is to get some fencing up, at least around the house and then calculate the area. We could do that."

James thought about it. "Yes Sam. Let's do that. It doesn't make that much difference for a yard or two. Do you reckon we should get some gravel down as well? I don't think that Abby will want too much lawn and Flower beds."

Sam looked to Harry. "What do you think, Harry. I have got some post and rail not doing anything. Do you think we could do it ourselves?"

Harry grinned in reply. "Course we could, I have got some post and rail as well. We can get some gravel from Lills, if that's ok with you Mr. James? Sam, it would be a change to see you working again."

"I was going to buy you a pint tonight, but after that comment you can buy your own." Sam had a smile on his face, not seriously offended. Indeed he looked forward to doing this work. It pleased him to be able to do this for Abby.

Reg was now anxious to get away. "Got to pick up Gladys and get home. I'll see one of those gangers tonight, and I'll give you a call tomorrow if the rails are available." He took a look at the house. "It will be good to see the place lived in again. I had many happy years here, and it feels right to have a Tregonney back here. She's a nice lady."

"Yes she is." James agreed.

To be continued