Chapter 21

The next day dawned with high cloud, through which the Sun would break frequently, it was warm, and Mary considered that it would stay this way all day. Abby had considered going over to the West Somerset Railway again, but Sam's words last night had given her a lot to think about, and after breakfast her footsteps, as if with a mind of their own, took her to the station. The peace and solace that she would normally find here escaped her today. Perhaps she was wrong to think that she could put down roots in this place, she was growing fond of these people, but had managed to upset both James and Sam, two men who had shown her a different side of the male of the species. Sam, who she had started to view as a surrogate father; and James, who treated her with respect and genuine friendship, without the predatory approach that she had become used to, and for whom her feelings were starting to extend a little past a simple friendship. Was the diversity of urban and rural attitudes too much for her to surmount. She sat on what was left of the coping to the platform, and contemplated the situation miserably. How long she sat there she didn't know, until her misery was disturbed by the sound of horse's hooves.

She knew who this would be before she looked up to see James sitting upon Cassie regarding her solemnly.

"We don't appear to be in our usual good humour this morning. Is this because we are contemplating the horrendous task of restoring these buildings?"

"No James, in fact I may not attempt that at all."

"Oh, has anything happened?"

"I don't know. I don't know if I will fit in here. Did I upset you when I questioned your support of hunting?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Well I might have upset Sam. I spoke to him last night, as you suggested, and he seemed to get angry."

"If I know Sam, he wouldn't be upset with you. You asked. I think what Sam gets upset about is those who don't ask, but just condemn from a position of ignorance."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, but if you need to be re-assured, why don't we go and ask Sam?"

"Could I? The only trouble is that I would have to walk back to the Inn to get my car."

"No trouble, I am sure that Cassie wouldn't mind taking us both to the Inn. That is if you don't mind riding pillion behind me." Abby looked concerned about the prospect.

"Would that be alright?"

James didn't reply, he mounted Cassie quickly and nudged over to where Abby sat on the platform.

"Just put your leg over her rump behind me, and put your arms around my waist, you will be fine." Abby did as she was told, and once settled; James got Cassie walking at a gentle pace along the track. For the first hundred yards or so Abby was a little worried, but as she got used to the walk, relaxed, and suddenly found the proximity to James rather comforting, so much so that the usual humour that she enjoyed in James' company was restored.

"If Mavis could see us now, she would be elated." James shoulders quivered as he chuckled.

"She may not see us, but she will know all about it soon. Mary will see us and that's just as good as putting it out on the B.B.C. news." Their arrival back at the Combe Inn was too soon for Abby, Cassie's rump was not the most comfortable seat in the world, but hugging James had more than compensated for the discomfort. Great credit had to be given to Mary, when she came out and noticed them, not a muscle moved to display her feelings, and she took it in her stride when James asked if she would mind Cassie being tethered for a while.

"No problem at all, you will be going off somewhere then?" she asked incuriously, which was not how she felt. Abby explained that they were going to see Sam.

"I don't know about James, but I would love a cup of coffee before we go." Mary's face split into her beaming smile, which it did whenever she was asked to provide food or drink for Abby.

"Of course, Love, would you like a cup Mr. James?" James nodded his agreement, and made sure that Cassie was fine.

He tethered her so that she had a little slack to get to the longer, lush grass that grew by the fence. Abby watched as he did so. When he was sure that Cassie was ok he came to join Abby.

"As that rattletrap of yours isn't here, you have no choice but to go in my car." Abby told James as they sat down at one of the benches. She noted the glimmer of laughter in his eyes and prepared herself.

"Well you know I profoundly disagree with these luxuries of life, and it goes against all my principles, however as you say there is no choice. I have one request to make though."

"Yes." Abby said resignedly.

"Can I drive, please, pretty please, can I drive?"

Abby was laughing now, her misery of earlier completely forgotten.

"Yes of course, but remember one thing, you bend it, you mend it." Mary was pleased. She had heard some of the exchange from where she was making coffee in her kitchen. Instinctively she had known that Abby was miserable this morning, but could not fathom the reason. Hearing her laugh was enough to convince her that whatever the problem, it was resolved. It also cemented her view that James was good for Abby, and that the reverse was also true.

James turned out to be a good driver, treating Abby's BMW with consideration, unlike his treatment of his Land Rover. Abby had bought the car when it was twelve months old, choosing an automatic as better suited to London motoring, with the 2.5 litre engine. She had never sat in the passenger seat before. This was a new experience for her, which she found she quite liked. Their arrival at Gallow Farm went unnoticed, which meant as James remarked that Mavis was not around. They toured the various barns and out-houses searching for either Roger or Sam, and found Sam in a stall, tending to a solitary cow. He greeted them cheerfully.

"Morning James, morning Abby, how are you today?" He then astonished Abby by apologising for his anger last night.

"Hope I didn't upset you, but I sometimes get infuriated, when I talk about this government." James nodded sagely.

"I know how you feel, Sam. Some of the things they get up to are just plain daft. But what's happening here?" He asked indicating the Cow.

"I'm just keeping Jess apart from the herd for a while; she seems to have a bit of fever."

"Nothing that needs reporting?' asked James with a serious expression.

"No, nothing serious, I expect she's ate something, given her a tender belly, but I'm just being careful for the moment, I'll have to milk her though, otherwise she will be in pain." With that he grabbed a plastic bucket, and a little stool, and squatted down by the cow's withers.

"You give names to all your Cows?" Abby asked in astonishment.

"Well, they don't mind what you call them, but anything is better than their registration number.' He indicated the yellow ticket attached to the cow's ear. "It's the tone of your voice that they recognise."

Abby watched fascinated as first he washed off the cows Udders, and then used a cream rubbed all over the teats, liberally anointing his hands as well, then with the bucket held between his knees, he began to milk, squeezing gently at the teats to send jets of milk into the bucket. Suddenly she thought of her Mum, who had according to Sam, mastered this technique, until Thomas Tregonney had forbad her. If her Mum could do this, why couldn't she? So, in a tremulous voice asked.

"Sam, would you show me how to milk?" He looked up at her with a mixed expression on his face, thinking for a while, possibly of the day so long ago that he had taught Marion to milk.

"Let me make her more comfortable." He said. "With this amount of milk in her udders she will be feeling a little sore." He continued to milk until the ringing sound as the milk hit the bucket had softened, the milk now filling a good quarter of the bucket.

"OK. Abby, take some of that cream, and get your fingers well lubricated." Abby did as she was told, finding that James was looking at her with that famous grin on his face.

"What's the grin for?" she asked.

"Well if I seem to recall all the stories about milkmaids, they all seemed to be a little on the buxom side. You will have to eat a lot more of Mary's food, before you qualify." Sam's voice came, muffled as his head was still buried down by Jess's withers.

"I reckon you have been reading fiction, not all milkmaids were built that way. Look at Mavis, she was a stick way back, and she's still a stick now. Right Abby, have you got your hands well covered?"

Abby held up her hands to show.

"Right." Sam got up from his stool, and held out his hand, with the fingers pointing down. "Now squeeze my fingers in a downward pull." Abby did as he asked the cream making her fingers slip downwards.

"A little firmer." She increased the pressure. "That will do fine, now that's the motion you want to use, letting your fingers slip down her teats, expressing the milk. You reckon that you could do that?" Abby agreed that she could do that.

"Now get down as you saw me, and try and hold the bucket between your knees. This proved more difficult as the bucket was now quite heavy, but eventually she mastered the technique. The smell of the cow was warm and creamy tinged with manure, not at all unpleasant and not as she had imagined.

"Take two teats, and just do what you did with my fingers. Alternating between your hands." Abby grasped the teats, and suddenly milk shot out of the one, missing the bucket completely, splashing instead over her shoes. The Cow looked round, aware that different hands were now milking her. Abby soon found the rhythm, and her aim.

"Well! Look at that James, I'm milking a cow."

"Conversion from city slicker to country bumpkin, in one easy lesson." James replied cheekily.