Chapter Eleven
Spiller got Halberd back to Daubery's place where he got entangled in a long discussion about wedding plans especially regarding when he would be able to bring Lupy and Hendreary. He gave an approximate date but reminded Sateen that as usual it would depend entirely on weather and how the river was running.
"Good enough then," Daubery said, slapping his hand on the table.
Halberd showed everyone his quilt and when he explained that a human made them as a hobby, they were all amazed. First by the lovely workmanship and second by the fact that Halberd and Spiller had been brave enough to borrow something like that from a human being. Halberd glanced at Spiller and they both almost laughed at that.
The family urged Spiller to stay for dinner. He decided he was too tired to move on and wound up spending the night and sleeping in the next morning. When he finally did get up he got a good meal which almost made up for the excruciating afternoon.
All the younger girls wanted to show him the dresses their mother had made them for the wedding. They put on a sort of fashion show for Halberd and Spiller. They tried to be as enthusiastic and polite as possible, but it wasn't easy for either of them since neither of them cared much about clothes, especially girl clothes. Actina amused them the most since she was such a cute little thing and so excited that Spiller couldn't help being happy for her. He had always had a soft spot for this wispy child who had become his new little sister just when he was mourning the siblings he had lost. She reminded him so much of Larkspur sometimes. She ahd been the sister closest to him in age and they had been inseparable. Actina didn't look like her. Larkspur's hair and eyes had been as black as Spiller's, but Actina sounded like her at times.
Sateen, who had been forced to ask Daubery to set up another room just for sewing all of these outfits, gave them some broad hints about what the bride's dress would look like but neither Halberd nor Spiller could picture at all what she was talking about, so it was pretty much a waste of time. They both did say they were looking forward to seeing it, though, since she was so thrilled about how it was coming along. She was making it out of a white silk cravat Daubery had borrowed from the bishop.
Spiller was glad to finally get back in his boat that night and set off for Little Fordham. Sateen gave him a box of matches to take to Homily along with a bag of pepper and a bag of salt. Spiller had made an attempt to remember some of what she had said about the wedding and the dresses just so he could repeat it to Homily and Arrietty. He thought, and rightly so, that it might make more sense to them.
When he finally reached Little Fordham he was relieved. It was early in the morning, and as Spiller tied up his boat carefully at one end, then carefully at the other, he heard Miss Menzies hail him. That woman has the sharpest eyes of any human I've ever seen, Spiller thought, grinning at the sound of her voice.
"Spiller, dear, is that you? We haven't seen you in ever so long. I was worried about you. I have some things for that friend of yours that's having the baby."
Leaving his things in his boat he hiked up the path from the custom house to where Mr. Pott was tarring rails and Miss Menzie's was sitting beside him moving the pot along as he worked.
"Been gone longer than I wanted to be. Been helping Halberd get ready for the wedding. I can take the baby things but probably not right away. I'm going to be taking a trip with Pod first and I don't want him to see any of that. Cause too many questions it would."
Miss Menzies asked, "Can I show them to you, though? Come to the house with me, and I'll make you the biggest possible breakfast, and then you can tell me what you think. Could you do that?"
Breakfast sounded good to Spiller, and he did want to be nice to this helpful human. "I suppose so," He answered.
"I don't know what to carry you in," Miss Menzies said, looking around, fretting. "I'd like to spare you that long walk to the house."
He eyed her carefully. She was wearing a loosely fitting jacket with deep side pockets. It wouldn't be any worse than Tom Goodenough's hunting jacket. "I could go in your pocket," he said finally.
Miss Menzies paled. "Oh, Spiller, I don't want to hurt you!"
"You won't. Ridden in pockets before I have. Just hold very still while I climb in. Is there anything in there that I need to watch out for?"
She thrust her hand into her left pocket and felt around "Just my house key. I can move it to the other side."
When she had done this she leaned over and held the pocket open against the grass. Spiller climbed in and as she righted the pocket he carefully righted himself. She kept one hand on the edge, holding it open as she carefully rose. "Oh, dear, oh, dear," she muttered as she got to her feet and then glanced down. Spiller almost laughed. For a moment she had sounded like Homily. Then she was standing up and he was looking out of the space she was making by holding the material away from her body. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Sure," he said, his black eyes shining with amusement at her concern.
She walked so slowly that Spiller thought he might have almost made better time himself running to Pott's cottage but they finally reached the cottage and went into the kitchen. She took off the jacket carefully and laid it down on the floor. Spiller scrambled out, and then relieved, she hung it over the back of a chair. "I'll put the kettle on," she said, "and fry you up an egg. Will you take a piece of toast?"
"Maybe half of one," he said.
"I'll make a whole one and whatever you don't eat now you can eat later. Now, tell me all about Halberd's wedding plans."
As she cooked, Spiller told Miss Menzies that he was taking Lupy, Hendreary and Arrietty to the wedding, and as much as he could remember about the bride's and bridesmaid's dresses. That made her perk up.
"I have a tube of clear seed beads in my sewing basket. They were too small for what I bought them for. You should see if Hemiola's mother could use them to decorate the dress. From what you are describing, I think she could." She opened the cupboard, rinsed out a doll sized cup and saucer, and brought Spiller some tea.
"If she can't use them for the dress she could probably use them for buttons. Can you take them down to the dock and slide them into the side of my boat for me this afternoon? Beads make good buttons. Pod really liked those ones you gave me before. He used them for shoe buttons and Homily made them into buttons on some skirts and dresses she made. A tube would probably be big enough for every borrower in the area to have some."
"Certainly I can. If they will really be that useful, then you definitely must take them," Miss Menzies said firmly. "You can all find much better uses for them than I ever could."
She got Spiller the small seafood fork and set his plate of egg and toast down on a clean kitchen towel so he could picnic while she sat at the table, drank tea, and talked. She certainly is a talker, Spiller though, wondering if Pott ever got tired of it. Probably tuned it out like he so often tuned out the conversations going on around him between the girls at Daubery's house. He cut the egg with the edge of the fork and when he got to the yolk and it seeped out he wiped it up with pieces of buttered toast as Miss Menzies told him how they were getting so many visitors that they were now letting tourists in on Fridays as well as Saturdays and Sundays.
"So we've been running the trains for the last three days. We were both glad to see this Monday come. It was a busy three days. I have convinced Abel to start charging a shilling instead of a penny, though."
"Isn't that a big jump?" asked Spiller, who seemed to remember hearing that there were twelve pence to a shilling.
"Perhaps, but when he asked for a penny, most people put in more than that in the donation box anyway. They knew it was for his fund and he still won't charge for children."
"That's nice of him," Spiller said, reaching for his cup to take a sip of tea.
"I'll go get the layette I made for the baby. I've been working on it in the evenings after Abel and I have supper." She got up and went in to the next room and came back with a small package and something shiny. The shiny object was a glass baby shoe about four inches long, the kind that humans bought as knick knacks. She had made a mattress for it, and several sets of tiny sheets that she has edged with yellow and green thread. It made a very fancy baby bassinet.
In the package she had a dozen miniscule cloth diapers, several soft, tiny, blankets, and several bibs that had such tiny stitching on them Spiller didn't see how she had ever done it. He picked one up in awe. The white ribbon that they tied with was the narrowest ribbon he had ever seen and made of satin.
"Amazing, this is," he exclaimed.
"Oh, it was fun," she said. "It was nice to have a new challenge. Do you think they will like them?"
"Don't see how they couldn't," Spiller told her truthfully.
Miss Menzies picked everything up and set it on the table. "You just tell me when you want it all down by the boat dock and I'll bring it there so it's easy to load. Or have Arrietty leave a note in my sewing basket. She does that now when she needs something special."
"She does?" This surprised Spiller.
"Yes, she's been doing that for a few weeks. When she needs something she leaves me a note and I either put whatever it is on the porch for her, or I set it down at the base of that alder tree at the side of the path to the Crown and Anchor."
"I should go see her," Spiller said. "Can I take this other half of the toast with me?"
"Certainly," Miss Menzies said. "I'm sure Arrietty will be glad to see you. I'll go put the beads in the boat now while you do that. I need to see what Abel wants for luncheon anyway. We might go into town. Oh, and I have something else for you."
She went into the other room and came back with several odd leather gloves that she said she and Abel had found while they had been cleaning. Spiller was pleased to see them knowing that Pod could use them for shoe making.
While she bundled them up, Spiller folded the half piece of bread in half again with the butter side in, so he could manage it. Then they headed for the miniature Crown and Anchor. Miss Menzies carried the gloves as far as she could, and left them with Spiller by their special tree. He dragged them the rest of the way. When he stepped into the kitchen door, Homily shrieked his name and Arrietty and Pod came running. He just had time to set the bread on the table and say, "thought this might be good for a second breakfast" when the women launched themselves at him.
Homily hugged him first. "You dear, dear, boy! We were worried about you!"
Arrietty got him around the neck and said, "Ever so worried! Oh, Spiller, I was afraid I had lost you! I was really afraid something had happened to you!"
"I was wondering if we'd ever get to the mill!" Pod exclaimed.
As Arrietty wrapped her arms tightly around him and laid her head on Spiller's chest he realized she was crying. He slid his arms up her back and patting it, laid his cheek against her hair.
"Ari, don't cry. I'm fine. Just got involved in so many things that dragged on and on." He kissed her temple and sighed. "Knew you'd worry but was getting so much done I just let it ride. Went to the mill a couple of times with things I found that I knew you could use." He glanced over Arrietty's head at Pod. "Think you'll be surprised by some of it. Then took Halberd to visit the stove and we made it nicer for when he and Hemiola go there after the wedding. That took some doing! Tried to teach him about gypsies, but don't think he's got the quickness to borrow from the caravans. He's a fair hunter and fisherman, though, and he's gotten quite good at gathering."
Arrietty quit crying and with a little hiccup slipped to his side and just stayed under his arm while he explained some more about what he had been doing as Pod listened intently and Homily put the kettle on.
"Halberd and I went to see Arista and Burgonet and got caught there three days by a rainstorm. Three days listening to Arista talk about the baby and helping Burgonet stock his storeroom from what the vicar had was more work than fun but at least they're pretty well set for winter. Arista gave me some things for Lupy. Thought I'd be able to drop Halberd at home and then come back here, but then I decided to do some more work at the mill. I think you'll like how I have things set up. Since I had the chance to grab some flour for Sateen to use to make things for the wedding I wound up making the rounds again."
"Oh, tell us about the wedding plans," Arrietty said, as Homily got the tea on the table. She and Pod and Arrietty began to tear into the toast while he talked. He told them as much as he remembered about the dresses, which interested the women just as keenly as he thought it would, and about how he was going to pick up Lupy and Hendreary and take them to see their son married.
"Daubery says you're invited, Ari, if you'd like to go," he said, sipping more tea. He was practically awash in tea that morning but it was a small price to pay for peace with his future in laws."
"Oh, I'd like that!" Arrietty looked at her mother, excited. "I could wear that blue silk dress you made me, Mother, the one from that scarf we found." She looked over at Spiller. "We haven't been out of the house for three days. For some reason, they've been letting the visitors in on Fridays, too, lately. There have been so many of them! After they leave Papa and I check for borrowings and there's been quite a lot. The scarf was one of them. Mother and I have been sewing and knitting all kinds of clothes. The dress I have in mind for the wedding has the loveliest blue flowers on it."
Homily wiped crumbs off her hands and stood up. "We have a surprise for you, too, Spiller, for the wedding." She left the room and came back with the shirt, suspenders and trousers they'd made for him. She had the outfit put all together hanging on a hanger Pod had made her from a piece of wire. When Spiller saw it he was speechless.
Pod, watching his expression, was amused. "Didn't think you'd want to attend a wedding in your usual fur or leather. Face it, Spiller, a wedding is a more formal occasion, but you needn't worry. They made it as loose and comfortable as they could. You can wear the boots I made you with it.
"I suppose I could," Spiller said slowly. "Thank you. S'pose you're right. If everyone else is getting all fancied up for the occasion. I might as well, too." He turned to Arrietty. "Actina was the most excited about it, I think. She's so happy about her new dress and happy for her sister. You wouldn't believe what she said to me," he said suddenly remembering. "We were talking about the wedding being in October and I told her I thought my birthday was in the fall but couldn't remember when since I hadn't celebrated it in so long. She told me I should just pick a day so they could start celebrating it with me. The ideas that girl gets!"
"I think it's a lovely idea," Arrietty said. "You really should think about it. What else did you do while you were away?"
"Did go back to see if Lupy had my winter clothes ready. That was when I thought I'd be coming here next but Halberd was already anxious to get out of there. Said he had to get back because Sateen was making a wedding suit for him. So I took him along. Think he's going to just stay there until the wedding. It's just as well. If the two of us and Lupy and Hendreary are in the boat going to the wedding that's about all she can handle. Talked to young Tom a bit while I was there. He's asked after you, Arrietty. I think he misses you. The old Grandad isn't doing so well. More bad days than good at any rate, but Tom's got promised the job and the cottage for life, so he's relieved about that."
"I'm happy for him," Arrietty said firmly.
"Well, he did save us from the gypsies," Homily said stiffly, "so if he's happy I suppose I can be happy, too."
"Hendreary is happy because they're used to him. At least that's what he said," Spiller told her, setting down his cup.
"There's a lot of be said for that," Pod agreed. A shadow passed the window in the back door and he looked up. "That will be Pott going in for his tea. Do you have any cargo that needs to be unloaded, Spiller? This might be a good time to do it."
"Got my things, a bag of pepper, a bag of salt and some matches. Do you need those things here or do you want to leave them in the boat and take them to the mill? You do want to go to the mill and do some work this week, don't you? I can't wait for you to see how much Halberd and I got done."
Pod started to speak and Spiller was pretty sure he was going to say leave them until his wife spoke first. "I could use them," Homily said. "It's going to take several trips to get everything we want to move to the mill down there, and I have to have something to work with in the meantime."
"We need to move out of here soon," Pod said patiently. "We should have been gone already. It's getting near to fall. It will take more than one trip, yes, but we won't be here that much longer."
"I want to stay as long as we can," Arrietty said. "There's so much we can salvage here, especially with them having tourists an extra day a week." She turned to Spiller. "We have two whole apples down at the custom house. They've been dropping apples like trees. If they have bites out of them, we cut out the good pieces and eat them, but the whole ones can go to the mill. We also have a big box of clothes Mother and I made, and we can take some of the jam we made. We have whole big jars of it."
"I don't think I'm going to do anymore cobbling this fall," Pod added. "We can take my cobbling tools."
"And since we got the sewing done," Homily said, "we can take the rest of the thread and the needles, and probably the pins your father filed down for our knitting."
"That will definitely be more than one trip," Spiller said. "I'm knackered. I want to go to bed early tonight and sleep late. Suggest you do the same. Then we can leave tomorrow as soon as it starts on dusk."
Spiller and Pod went down to the river to get the things out of Spiller's boat and tried to imagine how it would need to be arranged for the first trip.
Pod was pleased to see the gloves, but frowned when he saw the clear beads. "What in the world are those good for? They wouldn't be much use in shoemaking."
"Just leave them there. I borrowed them for Sateen to use to decorate the girl's dresses for the wedding. I think they'll be fine for buttons on those fancy dresses."
"Oh, well, that makes more sense. If she doesn't use them all, Homily might like some, too. I never think in terms of dress buttons."
"I'm sure there will be some left," Spiller said. "There's plenty in that tube."
Once they had the boat unloaded, they stopped and picked a bit of wild garlic for Homily. Since she now had plenty of salt and pepper she wanted to make soup for dinner. She had some chicken from a chicken sandwich that a visitor had dropped half eaten. They went back to the Crown and began sorting the supplies, trying to decide how to move things. Arrietty wanted to know if she should take her new blue dress out of the box and Homily told her no.
"The wedding will be toward the end of October, Spiller says, and we will definitely be at the mill by then. The railroad closes the first, which is the end of next week. After that there is no reason to stay."
"Better make hay while the sun shines," Spiller said. "Need to whip around every night after closing and see what you can get. Apples will keep for awhile, so we can probably take those with us on our first trip. We can put them under the floor closer to the river, where it stays cooler."
Homily let out a cry. "I never thought of that. Will our rooms be cold in the winter because of the river?"
"We put them as far away as possible," said Pod, "and it's not like we don't have enough blankets and warm clothes. Once we get something worked out in the way of a stove we should be fine."
"Have an idea about that," Spiller said with a grin. "Show you when we get there." He gave Arrietty a wink and she gave him a blazing smile.
"Oh, well, I guess that's all right then," Homily said, and went to start the soup while Pod and Spiller rigged up a kind of sled using a piece of the waterproof which they would need anyway if it rained. Since Mr. Pott was still out of sight once they got it arranged they decided to go ahead and haul a load of supplies to the boat.
Since she had the soup simmering by then Homily decided to come along for company. Arrietty went with, supposedly to help keep watch, but she and Spiller both knew that if Mr. Pott or Miss Menzies saw them with Pod they would steer clear.
They got the apples loaded, the box of clothes, Pod's cobbling tools, the jam and Homily's sewing supplies before Spiller decided that was all they could handle on this trip. Pod never argued with Spiller about the boat, always bowing to his authority when it came to traveling on the river. Homily spied the tube of beads and Spiller had to explain again what they were for. She also hoped that Sateen wouldn't use them all.
"I'd really like to have a few of them. They're so lovely," she said a bit enviously, laying her hand on the tube.
"We can ask her," Spiller assured Homily.
When they got the boat loaded and Pod was ready to go back, Spiller looked at Arrietty. "Can you help me with something?" He asked. "It will only take a few minutes."
"Be careful and don't take too long," Pod warned as he and Homily started up the path. "The human beings could come back any minute. I know that Pott was over here today. I can smell the tar where he was working on the tracks."
"Yes, and the soup should be nearly done," Homily added.
"I promise, it will only be a few minutes," Spiller assured him, and took Arrietty into the station itself.
"What do you need help with?" Arrietty asked curiously as Spiller leaned in and began to dig around in a barrel.
"Advice more than help," he answered, and came up with the jump ring that he had pulled off the necklace chain so long ago, when he had been making Arrietty's birthday gift. He held it up. "If I bent this back together, do you think it would make a good wedding ring for Hemiola? I was thinking of giving it to Halberd. Sort of as an early wedding present."
Arrietty was delighted. "Spiller, that's a wonderful idea! I'm sure it would fit. Let me try it. Her hands aren't that much bigger than mine." She slipped it on, and while the gap where he had pulled it off the chain definitely needed to be closed, it was a fair fit. "Do it, Spiller, do. I think that's a wonderful idea, and very sweet of you!" Then she put her arms around him, and kissed him, and he kissed her back realizing how much he had missed her.
They kept kissing for awhile and then Arrietty pulled back and said shakily, "I wish we had more time to be alone but Papa and Mother will be watching for us."
"After we make the first trip to the mill, I want to run down and see Arista. Miss Menzies made some things for the baby. Maybe you can come with me then."
"I'd like that," Arrietty said, burying her face in the front of his vest. "I've missed you so much. I was so worried about you. I kept thinking that you were hurt or that you had decided you didn't want me anymore."
He sighed, exasperated. "I'll always want you." He kissed the top of her head. "Now let's go back. Some soup would be a good thing. Take care of that ring for me, will you? I'll bend it back together later."
"I'll put it in my desk drawer until we leave on the trip to see Arista and Burgonet," Arrietty said. "You can work on it during that trip. I know we'll have to stop at Daubery's place on the way back from the mill but we can give it to Halberd and Hemiola the next time."
They walked back to the cottage hand in hand. When they came through the back door into the kitchen, Homily looked them up and down. "Well, what have you two been up to? It's almost time for supper."
"We're trying to think of a wedding gift for Halberd and Hemiola, "Arrietty said honestly. "Spiller wants to make them something."
"That would be nice," said Homily. "I almost wish I could see the wedding myself, but you're right, Spiller. The boat would be too crowded with six and I don't really fancy a long trip on a small boat with Lupy."
"We'll tell you all about it afterwards. I promise," Spiller assured her, and then she told him to go wash up.
They ate at one of the tables in the pub since they could have candles there without being seen. When the curtains were drawn they pretty much blocked out everything. The soup smelled and tasted wonderful. As they ate, they talked some more about the mill, Spiller's boat and the wedding. That set Homily and Pod to reminiscing about their wedding.
After supper Spiller said he was going to walk down and check on his moorings and Arrietty went with him. They walked down to the river hand in hand, sat on the dock next to the shipping house and after telling each other again how much they had missed each other, started kissing. But there was only so much of that they could do sitting on a dock without it getting uncomfortable and awkward.
"We'd better get back," Spiller said with a sigh, looking up at the heavily laden boat. "We've got to get some rest if we're going to leave for the mill tomorrow night. Wish we could have gone tonight but I think it would have been too hard on Pod and Homily. They like to have time to plan."
"I wish it was just us going," Arrietty said, leaning on his shoulder. "I wish we could be alone but we can't here, and we won't be able to at the mill, either."
"Plenty of time for that later," Spiller said stoutly, although he was just as eager to be alone with her as she was with him. "We have the trip to see Arista and Burgonet and the trip to pick up Lupy and Hendreary for the wedding to look forward to."
"Yes," Arrietty admitted. "That will be nice." But to both of them it seemed an age away and as both of them lay in their beds that night they found it very hard to sleep.
The next morning Homily went through the kitchen sorting out all of the food that would not keep until they returned. Some they ate for breakfast and luncheon and some they packed for the trip. Pod walked around the Crown trying to sort out what they would need for the next trip to the mill. He hoped it would be the last. The sooner he got under a floor the happier he would be. He liked Little Fordham but to him it just wasn't a natural way to live.
Spiller tried to eat himself into a stupor so he could take a nap, knowing it was going to be a long night and did a fair job of that.
As they climbed into the boat that night, Homily frowned. "Why couldn't we go in the morning? Sometimes you go of a morning, Spiller."
As Spiller carefully untied first one end of the barge and then the other, he frowned back at her. "Loaded too heavy. Going to be harder to control. Don't want to be fighting with the boat in daylight. Too much chance of being noticed."
Arrietty and Homily watched Pod and Spiller up forward for awhile, Spiller steering the boat and Pod talking to him quietly, too quietly for the women to hear what was said but eventually they crawled into the sheep's wool that Spiller always kept under the canopy. Homily went right to sleep, but Arrietty watched Spiller a little bit longer, the way the muscles in his arms flexed as he kept the boat moving along, the way he set his legs, the way his shaggy hair moved as he turned his head. Then she finally nodded off.
When she woke up Pod was calling to her softly. "We're here. It's morning. We're going in along the side. The water wheel is already turning. Harvest has started or so Spiller says and he pretty much knows the routine here."
Arrietty crawled out of the fleece and woke her mother. The two of them watched Spiller maneuver the boat. They were amazed that he could get around to the side of the mill without being drawn into the current that went up and around and turned the millstone inside. Spiller had circles under his eyes and looked quite done in when they were finally under the mill and safe. As soon as he got one rope secure, Homily got up and started to move forward, but he stopped her abruptly.
"Wait until I've got the other side tied off. It's too dangerous to try to get out when only one side is tied up, especially when we're in churning water like this."
Pod helped him with the rope, and with it tied tight and securely out of sight, they were finally able to climb out of the boat. They both helped Homily up onto the wooden framework under the mill and then Spiller helped Arrietty out. She felt safe and happy as he wrapped his arms around her tightly and lifted her up. Then both of the women helped unload the boat, taking what was handed up to them as best as they could. Arrietty was better at grasping and maneuvering than Homily was. Every once in awhile something would slip in her grasp and Homily would mutter, "oh, dear! Oh, dear!" But eventually everything was out of the boat and they all began to cart things under the floor to the back of the mill.
"Wish we lived closer to the water," Homily grumbled, as she rolled a spool of thread toward their living quarters.
"No, you don't," Pod said, exasperated. "We been through this. It would be too cold in winter and we don't want to have to worry about high water when it rains."
When they got into their living area they had to go past Spiller's room to get to the storeroom, where they kept stacking everything until they had made the last weary trip from the boat hours later and had everything ready to unpack. Before they did that, though, Spiller showed him the work he and Halberd had done.
Homily was so excited when she saw the little pot bellied stove that she was nearly speechless, a rare thing for her. She got it lit and put water on to hear right away, acknowledged that the water pipe made it more sensible to have the running water in the new bathroom. She was also pleased with how much sturdier the walls were dividing the rooms.
"You and Halberd did very, very, well," Homily told Spiller, brushing a lock of sweaty hair out of his eyes. "Let us all wash our hands. Then you can go have a nice bath in the soap dish while I get some supper together for us. Arrietty, you can help me cut an apple, and we have some bread. We can open a jar of that jam. Then after supper we can start sorting things out in the storerooms."
That sounded good, as they had not had any luncheon and they were all starving. He lay in the hot water the women poured for him until it cooled, and that soothed his sore muscles. By then the food was on the table. Then he got out, got dressed and went to eat.
After the meal Homily and Arrietty brought more water in from the bathroom and heated it to wash dishes while Pod and Spiller sat as Pod questioned Spiller again about the routine at the mill.
Pod insisted, though, that Spiller go rest after the supper dishes were done since Spiller had finished his bath. "You worked hard today. We don't have to do the storerooms now. That will keep you awake if we do, being as your room is just next door." He looked over at Homily. "How about if I screw some of those little hooks that Spiller got into the walls in the bedrooms and then make some clothes hangers out of wire? Then you and Arrietty can start putting your clothes away. You've already got a matchbox dresser apiece. Some of your things can go in there."
"I suppose," said Homily, shooting a glance at Spiller, who looked even more tired now that he was clean. His eyes were not just shadowed. They were a little sunken and while he had been eating well, he had been doing it very mechanically.
Arrietty laid her hand gently on his. "Yes, Spiller, go and rest. You've had a long, weary night and day." When he looked up at her she leaned in and gently kissed his cheek.
"All right," he said, taking a final sip of water and getting up from the table he had built for Homily. He took his quilt, crawled into the box lid he used to keep him off the floor, and went straight to sleep.
The rest of them tried to be quiet. As Pod used the tip of a nail to start the holes in the walls for the cup hooks Homily and Arrietty dragged the box of clothes out of the storeroom down to where the bedrooms were. As Pod twisted the wire into adequate hangers, they put their socks, drawers and petticoats into the matchbook bureaus. Then when the hooks were up they hung their dresses and Pod's shirts and suits.
"We didn't think of beds," Homily said unhappily, remembering their lovely doll beds, mattresses and pillows back in Little Fordham. "We didn't think to make rugs."
"It will come in time," Pod answered. "You didn't have a bed in the boot or in the kettle. We have plenty of blankets. We'll be all right until we can think of something, and since you and Arrietty got so much knitting and sewing done at the Crown, you can work on rugs once you get here. Plenty rags for rag rugs. You've made those before. You can do it again."
"Yes," Homily said s they walked down the hall to the kitchen." I know how but I'm just so used to having everything nice. It's such a come down to sleep on the floor again and have to cook in bottle tops."
Pod shook his head. "This is what happens when you get spoiled having everything done for you by humans!"
"Speaking of humans," Homily said, "I wonder where Spiller got that stove."
"What does it matter?" Arrietty asked quickly, walking over to look at it. "It's done and a lovely stove it is, all set up on that nice piece of tile."
"It's not as big as the one at Vine Cottage, or at the Crown and Anchor, either." Homily picked up a scrap of wood that Spiller and Halberd had left next to it, and fed the fire.
"Better than nothing, though," Pod retorted."Come on, Arrietty. Let's you and me go back and take a look around under the floor. We'll need more fuel and maybe we can find some scraps big enough to make a wood box out of to keep it in."
When Spiller woke up he didn't remember at first where he was. Then he got up, went to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face, then headed down the hall and peeked into the bedrooms. Pod and Homily were sound asleep in a large pile of pale blue blankets. He tiptoed past their door and looked into Arrietty's room.
She was sleeping with her head on her hand and her hair tumbling about her. Her face was smooth and carefree and she looked very, very young. He crouched down next to her and brushed a wayward lock of hair away from her forehead.
She frowned and went to bat his hand away as if he were a fly and he almost laughed. She opened her eyes then and when they widened at the sight of him he held his finger to his lips. "Meet me by the storeroom in ten minutes," he whispered, and she nodded.
When she appeared Spiller took her hand and led her out to the river's edge where they sat with their arms around each other and watched a spectacular sunrise. I'll remember this moment forever, thought Spiller, feeling quite all right. Arrietty seemed pensive, though.
"Don't like it here, do you?" Spiller finally asked. "Tried to make it nicer but it isn't enough, is it?"
Arietty laid her head on his shoulder. "It's not you. You did a splendid job. It's not the pots or the furniture either, like Mother said last night. Oh, you missed that didn't you? She was complaining about bottle top pans and not having any beds and Papa told her she was just spoiled by the human beings at Little Fordham. But that's not it, either. I just don't feel happy under a floor anymore."
"I know that, Ari, but you have to admit, you can't be outside all year round. The river fills up with chunks of ice and the snow gets deep in the winter. Even I get stuck in one place sometimes and don't think it's safe to move."
"I know I'm not being fair. I just don't know what I want. It's not this, but I don't know exactly what it is."
"You're like me," Spiller said. "You like moving around and seeing what there is to see. I'm not sure how we'll be able to do that later on, though, Ari."
"We'll do it together, and that will make it all right," she answered, but he shook his head knowing that life together would not be all smooth sailing.
"Think about Burgonet and Arista, about how poorly she was feeling. What if that was us? We'd have to stay in one spot. We'd need a home base. Everyone's been telling me that and I see the sense of it now, but I'm short of spots. No kettle or boot anymore, and Halberd's taking over the stove."
Arrietty colored. "Oh, Spiller, we don't have to worry about that at the moment. We agreed, didn't we, that we didn't have to get that far ahead right now. We'll have plenty of time for that later, to figure that out later," she amended.
"We'd talked about getting married next year. You change your mind on that?" He looked at her intently, his dark eyes deep.
"No, I want to be with you all the time and next year is long enough to wait, but I think something will turn up by then. And we can visit here, and visit Halberd and Hemiola in the stove, and even Aunt Lupy and Uncle Hendreary once in awhile. Burgonet and Arista like to see us. We can learn a lot from them and there's always Little Fordham."
"I suppose," Spiller said, getting up and holding out his hand, "but we have to keep our eyes open for something of our own." He looked up and listened. "The millstone is starting to turn and I think that's a flour carter coming down the lane. That means the old man has finished breakfast and is starting to work. If you feel brave we can go see if he's left anything useful in his kitchen."
"Oh, I'd like that," Arrietty exclaimed, giving Spiller a quick kiss, "but you'll have to tell me what to do."
"Not a problem for me at all," Spiller said with a grin just before he kissed her back. Then he looked out over the water and frowned. "There are clouds rolling in and the wind is picking up. I hope we don't get caught in a rainstorm on the way to Daubery's place. The canopy keeps things fairly dry, and I suppose you and your mother and father could help bail the boat if we have to, but I don't want to have to pull in someplace for the night."
Arrietty looked up at the sky. "Spiller, if it's windy and cloudy, will there be as many people walking along the river? Maybe we don't have to wait until night to travel. The boat won't be as heavy going back. It will be pretty light actually. Could we go in the afternoon? You've done it before."
"If your parents are willing," he acknowledged. "Pod has lots of things he wants to do today."
When they got back to Pod's little flat under the stairs, Arrietty was rolling a potato down the hallway and Spiller was dragging a carrot and two of his burlap bags, one full of sugar and one full of tea. Homily and Pod looked up startled as Arrietty rolled the potato right into the kitchen the way she used to do under the floor at Firbank.
"Do you want this here or in the storeroom, Mother?"
"In the storeroom, I suppose, between the apples and the candles. Your father and I just got done rearranging some of it, but we have a ways more to go. Goodness, Arrietty, we were worried about you!"
"We were fine," Arrietty said. "I just kept watch while Spiller borrowed."
"Let us help you with the work in the storeroom," Spiller said. "No one will hear us while the millstone is turning, and we were just out checking the weather. It's turning into a cloudy, windy day. I want to try to get out of here sometime in the afternoon and get to Daubery's place by suppertime."
They straightened some of the shelves that Spiller and Halberd had installed, then unpacked boxes and bundles, hammered and tidied until they were all dead beat. After a quick wash up they had a cold luncheon that Homily put together and decided to take a nap before they headed out to Daubery's place.
It was late afternoon when they got started. Homily, Arrietty and Pod sat just under the edge of the canopy toward the front of the boat and watched tensely as Spiller shoved off. The water was a bit choppy and Spiller had a hard time pushing off with his crochet needle. They finally got into the water and away from the mill, to everyone's great relief.
The bouncing water eventually made Homily out of sorts. When Pod started planning their next trip Arrietty mentioned her bar of lavender soap and Homily told her flat out that she wasn't going to ride in the boat out on the water smelling that smell all the way to the mill.
"You'll just have to leave it behind, Arrietty. I know you like it and I like it too, but it's just too much. Besides, I don't know where you'd put it at the mill. It's too big for the bathroom. It wouldn't do to have it in your bedroom, and I certainly don't want it in my storeroom around the food. The smell is too strong."
Arrietty did not want to leave it at Little Fordham and this started an argument. It got pretty heated before Spiller looked over his shoulder at the two women and said, "You can both have your way. We can cut a piece off of it and wrap it in waterproof to bring it downriver to the mill. That should cut down on the smell. It did when Halberd and I got it in the first place. A piece of it in the bathroom there shouldn't be too bad. You'll need soap, after all. Every time Arrietty and I go back to Little Fordham we can use the rest of it while we're there and can bring back another piece for her to use at the mill."
"I'm not sure how often you'll need to go back to Little Fordham," Pod said slowly. "Once we're settled in the mill we'll have a whole new way of life. We won't want to be thinking about the old one."
"Spiller promised me we could go back now and then," Arrietty said firmly, "and he keeps his promises."
"You're both right again," Spiller retorted, pushing against a rock to keep them in the middle of the current. "You'll probably have to stay at the mill through the winter, Arrietty. Winter is a tricky time to be traveling, but I'll be going back to Little Fordham regular when spring comes. There's too much good stuff to borrow there for me to quit going. If you still want to go along that's fine with me."
They all grudgingly agreed that his plan was a sound one and went back to discussing what else still needed to be moved and how they could load it onto the boat and unload it, as more and more clouds rolled in. When they got to the spot where they needed to tie the boat Spiller shouted over the wind to them as he slid in under the branches. "Only bring what you need for the night and we'll have to take those beads for Sateen. Leave anything else under the canopy."
"There isn't much else left," Homily grumbled as she prepared to disembark. Spiller tossed his arm out to block her way.
"Stay down. Got to remember to let me tie up both ends before you get out," he said exasperated. "It's just not safe until we're secure at both ends." He ignored her injured look and thought about all of the times his father had told him this. He liked Pod, but being a part of Arrietty's family sometimes made him miss his own more. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. He had repressed those kinds of feelings for so long, because it had hurt too much to let them surface. The pain, he realized, was crumpling around the edges as time passed, and the sound of his father's voice in his head could sometimes now be a comfort.
Spiller got the boat tied and he and Pod helped their women off. Now it's time to go see what my other father is up to, Spiller thought, remembering the first time he had come to this place, a lost and lonely child. Daubery was probably sick of hearing about wedding plans. A nice long visit would be a diversion. He hoisted his quilt and kit bag over his shoulder and followed Pod out of the boat, carrying one end of the bead tube while Pod carried the other. They just got outside the entrance to Daubery's place when the sky literally opened up. With a tremendous clap of thunder, huge raindrops came pelting down.