Family Values .....Chapter 4

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AnneM
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Family Values .....Chapter 4

Post by AnneM » Wed May 18, 2005 10:51 am

Some more about Effie and co as I'm on leave ostensibly sorting out my house.

Family Values

Regardless of how often Bella Kerr told her many friends that a mother of 8 in her forties had no time for vanity, no-one paid the least attention to her protestations. She was known to be inordinately proud of her shining chestnut locks which concealed not one thread of grey (or at least not one that she had not ruthlessly hunted down and destroyed). Any minor imperfections of figure caused by 10 pregnancies could be hidden by clever tailoring. Her main source of satisfaction, however, was her complexion. The delicate pink sheen on her cheeks meant that she need rarely resort to the box of rouge which sat on her dressing table. Ninian was wont to tell her, particularly when there was any boring duty relating to the church to be suffered, that in this respect she could rival any of her daughters.

These four well-brought up young ladies are currently to be found jostling for position in the hall of their home, trying to get their ears to the crack in the double doors to the drawing room, drawn there by the interesting intelligence borne by the youngest, Miss Susan, that Mama and Papa are having the most ferocious row.

Their tenure of the best position in the house is not to be long lived as the housekeeper Mrs Brown appears and sends them on their way with harsh words about the behaviour expected in a gentleman’s household and dire warnings about what would happen if she told their mother.

“Old Cat!” mutters the eldest, Miss Isabella, as they reluctantly climb the stairs, “I’ll bet that as soon as we’re out of the way she’ll have her ear to the door”

“Probably,” replies Miss Elizabeth “but if you want to get to that party you would be best to keep well out of sight. If old Brown tells Mama she’ll say it proves you’re not old enough to be out in society.”

The prospect of being denied her first real adult excursion into the world is too terrifying for Miss Isabella to contemplate so she hustles her sisters into their room and all pick up their sewing or reading as though no unladylike thought had ever crossed their mind. This is not totally altruistic as any delay in the appearance of Isabella in Edinburgh society will also delay their own.

They therefore do not have the satisfaction of seeing their prediction fulfilled and witnessing Mrs Brown replacing them outside the drawing room door.

Inside the room the atmosphere is exceptionally stormy. The delicate flush on Mrs Kerr’s cheeks has been replaced by an unbecoming crimson stain and tendrils of her carefully dressed hair are tumbling about her shoulders. Tears of fury well from her eyes as she confronts her husband. Ninian meanwhile stands by the bay window, his face stern.

“How dare you!”, shrieks Bella, “How dare you agree to such a humiliating thing. What will my father say about it?”

“I regret to tell you, my dear, that it was your father who suggested this idea.”

“I will not have her under my roof. I will not house an illiterate weaver’s brat who has grown up in a hovel! What about my poor dear girls? What will they learn from someone brought up in that way? Your father’s bastard child”

Ninian winces at her unaccustomed language but has to suppress his real fellow feeling. He is by no means a harsh husband. Indeed, while he might deprecate her extravagance and social pretensions, he has never stopped loving Bella, but he will be master in his own home. Whereas his daughters may fear more their mother’s wrath, even they know that on the rare occasions when Papa speaks he must be obeyed.

Perversely, at that moment, the memory of Sarah in her dreadful gown, with her work hardened hands arouses sympathy in him and he replies more harshly that he intended.

“My dear, you are hardly a countess. Just the daughter of a country solicitor and I am only the son of a farmer and a servant of God. Your head has been turned by mixing with all these wives of advocates and such like. It would have been better for us all if we’d stayed in Greenlaw. Just look at your daughters, Mrs Kerr, they are growing vain and spoilt and never think of anything but new dresses and parties.”

Vaguely aware that Ninian is being unfair but too distressed to rebut the accusations Bella focuses on the one piece of the speech she has taken in, “Don’t mention that dreadful man, your father, to me. How could he have done this to us? Everything is ruined now, ruined!”

Ninian while privately agreeing with his wife’s sentiments has the advantage of having had time to reflect on the situation so he can say gravely, “My dear, you must not speak without respect about my father. At any rate we must face reality. This abominable marriage is unfortunately legal and the girl is his child.”

“How do you know she is his? That woman could have been associating with anyone.”

“Once you see her, you will know and I believe that Effie is not a bad young woman. Indeed it could be said that my father only put right the wrong that he did her”

Ninian, a just man, has difficulty with the prevailing view that in these circumstances the fault always lies with the woman. His father had been much older and the girl’s employer. Bella however in her current mood will have no truck with liberal ideas.

“She must be immoral to have done what she did. And to think that the daughter of that woman will be associating with my children. What about our sons?”

“The girl will have been at a school to improve her education and learn to conduct herself as a lady before she comes here. In any event she is far from pretty and I have every assurance that our sons know how to behave themselves.”

Turning over in her mind the exploits, since his enrolment at Edinburgh University, of her first born young Mr Adam Kerr, Bella can have no such confidence but she retains enough good sense not to remind her husband of his heir’s delinquencies.
“You know what everyone will say, “, sobs Bella “Oh, I don’t know how I will bear it”

Ninian is all too aware of what everyone will think and say about the arrival of Sarah in his home. However he feels that no purpose can be served by encouraging Bella in these reflections.

“We will say she is my cousin. The family likeness should make that credible. Once people see that you accept her and welcome her into the household no-one will think her birth is anything other than respectable.”

“I can never welcome her. You are asking far too much of me.”

Ninian feeling that he has been hard on Bella who has had a serious shock speaks more gently.

“My dear, we have no option. I know this is a lot to bear and I wish I did not have to put you through it but think of the scandal if the woman took the case to court, not to mention the expense. Indeed if she won her case, which seems likely, not only would she get two thirds of my father’s estate under his will but the girl would be declared his legitimate child and share half of the rest with me. At least this way Effie has agreed to settle for half of the estate in shares etc, some settled on the girl Sarah. As heir, I have the house which, though it is in disrepair, will fetch a reasonable price and then there is the rest of the estate. This is not an inconsiderable sum. My father was quite a wealthy man and never spent a penny that was not extorted from him. We will be able to pay the boys’ fees at school and university and dress your girls well without having to apply to your father or my uncles for help. We should be grateful.”

Far from reconciled to the idea but exhausted by shock and anger, Bella can only sob in response to this reasonable speech. Catching sight of herself in the mirror over the mantelpiece her concern becomes how she will get to her room to restore her appearance without being seen.

“I have a dreadful headache” she says in all truth. “I don’t want to be disturbed for the rest of the day” and, mustering as much dignity as she can, mounts the stair, mercifully oblivious to Mrs Brown’s scuttering back into the kitchen.

In another home the news of the agreement is being received with as little enthusiasm. Sarah is standing in the middle of the room her eyes blazing with fear and fury.

“I will not go and live with these people. Why should I leave here? This is where I live. I don’t want to go. Effie, you can’t make me do this. You’re not really my mother. If you were my mother you would take me to live with you.”

Effie, while fond of Sarah, does not have the love of a mother who has raised her child and now that she has money has plans for her own future which do not involve an adolescent daughter.

“I’ve done the best for you, Sarah”, she replies “You’ve always wanted to go back to school and once you’ve left there you will live with your brother and have all the advantages of a good home”

“I have a good home here with mother and father. Let me go to school, then and I could come back and work. I could teach in a school. There are even women doctors now”

“Don’t be silly Sarah. You’ve only been to school for a few years so far and much of what they taught you was plain sewing and Bible studies. Anyway it is not natural for a woman to do work like that. You take advantage of what I have to offer otherwise you will be a very ungrateful girl.”

The older Betty looks sadly at the girl she will always think of as her youngest daughter. She has wept often since Effie told Sarah about her parentage, not only because of her own sense of loss but also because the happy, enthusiastic young girl she knew seems to have gone for good. However she does not want to hold her back.

“You go, lass, “, she says “It’s a great opportunity for you and it’s your birthright.”

Support for Sarah comes from an unexpected quarter. Willie with whom she has quarrelled so often comes to her defence.

“I don’t see why Sarah should have to go. She’s one of our family and should stay with her own kind. Those people are nothing to her and I’ll bet they don’t want her any more than she wants to go. What will she do with people like that?”

His father looks at him sternly and rising with difficulty from his chair by the fire walks slowly towards Sarah and takes both of her hands between his.

“Lass, “, he says with only a faint quaver in his voice, “You can’t go back in this life. You must go forward. There’s nothing here for you any more”

Sarah squeezes the hands of the only father she will ever know and weeps quietly now, accepting that the knowledge of her circumstances will always set her apart for her erstwhile friends. She can’t go back to the way things were before.

“Very well then.” she says softly, “I’ll do what you want but I want you to know I’ll never be happy again.”

Turning away, she wonders if she will ever feel part of a family in her life again.
Anne
Researching M(a)cKenzie, McCammond, McLachlan, Kerr, Assur, Renton, Redpath, Ferguson, Shedden, Also Oswald, Le/assels/Lascelles, Bonning just for starters

DavidWW
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Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:47 pm

Post by DavidWW » Wed May 18, 2005 1:00 pm

Wow :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

This is becoming an ever more interesting "saga" :wink: , - a Scottish `Forsythe Saga` in it's own way, even :!: , with many fascinating opperchancities for the continuation (Anne?, - did you ever realise what you had started, and the expectations that there are now out there in the whole world in terms of the continued saga ?? :roll: 8-[ )

My experience in life to date is that there are `peepul` who can write and communicate and `peepul` who can't....... and in the former category in terms of the former GROS ScotlandsPeople DG, and followed on in TalkingScot.com it was previously that man somewhere near Fort William, and that other man somewhere in deepest England but with ancestral connections to Methil and surrounds who were the best practitioners of the art that we had seen to date, but I have no hesitation in pronouncing that we now have an additional "star in the firmament" :!: :!:

But just how many further episodes will there be :?: , - many, I would like to believe, and I'm 99.99% certain that all other readers of the story to date will agree with me.....

Davie

Davie

AnnetteR
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Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 2:45 pm
Location: Glasgow

Post by AnnetteR » Wed May 18, 2005 2:30 pm

Hi Anne

I, like Davie, am an avid fan of your story. Your penmanship is awesome so keep it coming.

Cheers

Annette
-----------------------------------------------------
Researching in Fife: Wilson, Ramsay, Cassels/Carswell, Lindsay, Millar, Bowman and many others.
In Glasgow and West of Scotland: Aitchison, Wilkinson, Keenan, Black, Kinloch and Leiper.

JustJean
Posts: 2520
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2004 12:52 am
Location: Maine USA

Post by JustJean » Wed May 18, 2005 3:41 pm

Hi Anne

I save your posts to read for when I'm not likely to be interrupted and can give them the attention they so richly deserve. I'm particularly grateful that you speak in a strong Scottish voice but save me the struggle of seeing it written and therefore of having to decipher it :!: :lol: I fear try as I might I'll never really grasp the correct way to speak the Scottish tongue :cry:

I look forward to hours and hours of future epidsodes....

Best wishes
Jean

AnneM
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Post by AnneM » Wed May 18, 2005 4:15 pm

Help! There is only one more episode to run and that one is set ??????????Will I be lynched if I stick to that plan?

May need a new saga!

Anne
Anne
Researching M(a)cKenzie, McCammond, McLachlan, Kerr, Assur, Renton, Redpath, Ferguson, Shedden, Also Oswald, Le/assels/Lascelles, Bonning just for starters

DavidWW
Posts: 5057
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:47 pm

Post by DavidWW » Wed May 18, 2005 4:34 pm

AnneM wrote:Help! There is only one more episode to run and that one is set ??????????Will I be lynched if I stick to that plan?

May need a new saga!

Anne
Only wan mair episode :?: :?: :!: :!:

Impossible, given the multifarious possibilities that there must be over the following decades ...............

Davie

JustJean
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Location: Maine USA

Post by JustJean » Wed May 18, 2005 4:38 pm

AnneM wrote:Help! There is only one more episode to run and that one is set ??????????Will I be lynched if I stick to that plan?

May need a new saga!

Anne
Lynched???? :?: .....Hardly!!!!!! :!: ....given the comfy chair and a cup of tea more likely.....perhaps some bonbons and even a snifter of something stronger to fortify yourself for the task laying ahead......

AnneM
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Post by AnneM » Wed May 18, 2005 4:59 pm

Thanks Jean

Re your comment about my language. That is as much inability as anything and a fear of not getting an authentic 'voice'.

I once attended a performance in a city which I love on the East Coast of the USA (it can remain anonymous to protect the innocent) of Schiller's Marie Stuart in a good translation by a Scots playwright.

Unfortunately the actors/director had decided that it should be performed in 'authentic' accents. Mary Queen of Scots' attempt at a Scots accent was so broad that at times she sounded as though she might be her own maid and at times was so sing-song that her name should have been Myfanwy instead of Mary! Given that she was brought up in France it seems likely to me that if she had any noticeable accent it would be a French one.

One chap who played Queen Elizabeth's courtier, I think it was the Earl of Essex was doing really well with an English accent until he got to the line: "Tell me what to do O Queen for the love of God" which to my Scottish ears came over "Tell me what to do O Queen, forthelavaGaad!" Straight out of Stagecoach!

Speaking in one's own voice has never done Sean Connery any harm and that performance would have been much better if they'd stuck to their own accents-------not nearly as funny, though. What do you mean, it's a tragedy??

Anne
Last edited by AnneM on Wed May 18, 2005 9:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Anne
Researching M(a)cKenzie, McCammond, McLachlan, Kerr, Assur, Renton, Redpath, Ferguson, Shedden, Also Oswald, Le/assels/Lascelles, Bonning just for starters

Alison Plenderleith
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Post by Alison Plenderleith » Wed May 18, 2005 8:30 pm

There can't be just one more episode Anne :(

Pleeeeze!

Alison

HeatherH
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Post by HeatherH » Wed May 18, 2005 11:01 pm

Pretty Please with sugar on top!
HK
Looking for ...but not limited to Haldane ,Keir ,McLauchlan ,Walker ,Torrance , Reid ,Clark ,Johnstone ,Holmes ,Laurie ,Lawrie ,Strachan , McIlwee ,Welsh ,Queate ,Stewert ,McNight ,Steele ,Cockburn ,Young ....whew! That's more than enough for now.

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