for prayer.” Satisfied that some sort of peace had been achieved, Mrs. Mainprice took a seat at the foot of the table, picked up a Bible, and began to read. “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.”
Rachel stared at her hands, clutched in her lap, while enmity rose off Molly and Peg like waves of heat from simmering coals. Just because Rachel was Irish. Or could they read the trials of her past like printed words on a pamphlet? Clearly, the Lord had not delivered her from her distress.
Mrs. Mainprice set the Bible away. “Eat now, everyone, before the meat gets cold. I didn’t spend all afternoon roasting that beef to have you gawp at it. And I have a sauce to prepare for the master’s dinner, so no dawdling.”
Rachel was certain the roast and the beans and the dense bread were wonderful. It may have been water, for all she could taste any of the food.
“Must ’ave been awful difficult comin’ all the way to England and leavin’ your family and friends,” said Peg between mouthfuls. “Miss Dunne,” she added as an afterthought.
Rachel decided she was not trying to be friendly Nosy, was more like it. “It was.”
“Just like it was hard for you to leave Shropshire, Peg,” said Mrs. Mainprice.
“That waren’t so ’ard, Mrs. M! My pa was a mean one, ’e was. I’m ’appy as a lark to be away from ’im!” She turned her eyes to Rachel. “Was that ’ow it was for you? Runnin’ away from yer pa?”
“No. Just in need of work. My family has encountered difficult times, and employment is not easy to come by in Ireland,” Rachel replied, holding Peg’s gaze, trying not to let the worry for her family show in her eyes. Had Mother’s customers begun to return, now that Rachel was gone from Carlow? Would there be meat in the stew pot for the twins and Nathaniel? “There are five of us to feed and clothe, and we hoped I could make more money in England to support everyone.”
“So that’s how it is, eh?” Peg asked, overbold.
“That’s precisely how it is if that’s what Miss Dunne says, Peg,” scolded Mrs. Mainprice. “Now finish your dinner. We’ve work yet to do and precious little time for impolite chitchat.”
The talking ended, and the dinner ground to an eventual halt with all the grace of a costermonger’s wagon bogging down in deep mud. Dishes were hastily cleared and Mrs. Mainprice turned to the task of finishing the preparation of Dr. Edmunds’s meal.
“Might I help?” Rachel asked. Peg and Molly’s eyebrows lifted in unison, and they set to whispering.
“There’s no need, Miss Dunne,” said Mrs. Mainprice. “You’re not to do servant’s work.”
“But I wish to help.”
“This is not right, Miss Dunne.”
Rachel saw she was making the housekeeper fidget with agitation, but she wanted to prove herself willing and able. “I insist.”
Mrs. Mainprice nodded. “Peg, Molly, what are you two doing? Get to your chores.”
As instructed by the older woman, Rachel brought out from the pantry the serving ware made of fine china decorated with maroon roses. Her fingers traced the intertwining stems and flowers. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life.
What a world she’d found herself in, as though she had become a thistle among heather. Although she wouldn’t have been comfortable in this house before life had tossed her from her secure place. In Carlow, she had once known where she belonged, what was expected of her, what her future held. Now . . . her finger curled over the smooth edge of the platter. Now she was adrift and scrambling for a toehold.
Rachel felt Peg’s gaze on her. Was the girl wondering if Rachel was planning on pinching a saucer or teacup to sell on a street corner somewhere?
“Peg, if you don’t mind the gravy, it’ll boil and curdle quick as you can say ‘Jack Robinson,’” Mrs. Mainprice reprimanded. “Back at it now.”