Chapter 20
Some stone and wood from the building had landed in the water, and made a sort of bay where Spiller could pull in. He got the boat tied up between the stones and the wood and thought it would be well hidden there. Then he turned to Arrietty, who was on her knees on the deck still staring horrified at the mill, and reached down for her.
"Come on," Spiller said, drawing her to her feet. "We have to go ashore and see where your parents went."
"It wasn't like this when we passed by before," she said numbly, "nothing like this at all, and the weather has been better, except for that one night Do you think they died while we were…?"
He knew immediately what she was referring to and didn't want to go there. He didn't even want to think about the possibility of that and what it could do to his relationship with her. "Ari," he said sharply, "you don't know they're dead. Don't know anything. Let's go see, but be careful. You don't want to break a leg. It was bad enough when I did it and I know borrowers who have been crippled for life doing it."
He got her up and examined the debris with a careful and practiced eye. When he had determined the safest path he grabbed their smaller hatpin for just in case and they walked carefully along a board sitting on top of one of the stones to shore.
Neither of them stumbled and the board didn't budge in the slightest. When they got on the land they skirted the broken sections of the mill and kept to the long grass. Spiller ceased to move and Arrietty looked at him fearfully but it was just the sound of human voices that was freezing him in place. He slowly took her hand again and drew her along behind him. They began to ease around to the side of the mill. They ducked behind a chunk of fallen stone to listen.
"What a shame," one short, stocky human with a thatch of blazing red hair said, glancing up at the mill. "Was he hurt?"
"Yes," said the other, a taller, thinner chap. "Won't ever be the same from what I heard. The son came and got him. Old Man Brisbane talked to the son and that young man says his father won't be back. They've been worried about him a long time, the family has. Knew he was getting too old to keep the place up but he was stubborn and wouldn't give in. Now he'll have to. Lucky we have the other mill down river past Cairncross Lodge. Everyone'll have to go there."
"A lot of folks already have," retorted the first man. "They didn't think he was keeping up with the orders the way that he used to do. Damned shame, though, that it ended like this. They should never have built it so close to the water anyway. What was the point of that? If it had been the kind with a turning water wheel it would have made some sense."
"It made perfect sense back in the old days when most of the farmers sent their grain over water," his friend retorted. "That was the fastest way originally because the roads were not as good as we have now. They wanted to be by the water so they could have a dock and unload at it. I remember that dock. Can't remember when they took it down, though. I know when his children were young the miller used to let them fish off that dock but that was years ago, too."
"Hallo," called a voice that made Arrietty and Spiller start, since they knew it very well. One of them men looked up, recognizing the voice as well.
"Well, well, young Tom Goodenough! What are you doing out this way? Old man Montague send you for something?"
"Naw," Tom said, drawing alongside of the men on his horse. "Just heard what happened and wanted to see it." He eyed the mill and shook his head. "Mess isn't it?"
"Yeah, that's the end of the old thing," said the redheaded man. "Say, what's going on with the gypsies up by Perkin's Beck? Heard the squire was trying to chase them out and that they were setting up a new camp downriver somewhere."
Tom slid down off his horse and tossed the reins over a branch that was sticking out of a nearby stump. He began to converse with the men and Spiller got an idea. "We need his help," he whispered to Arrietty. "I'm going to climb on that stump and try to get his attention when he goes to leave."
"I'm going with you," Arrietty said firmly, but Spiller shook his head.
"In that dress you're not exactly hard to spot. Please, Ari, stay here. The humans can't see you in that clump of grass. If they did spot a bit of pink they'd probably think you're some kind of flower." He kissed her and holding her by the shoulders looked right into her eyes." If you've ever really loved me, do as I say. Stay here. Watch me." Then he was gone.
Arrietty stepped alongside a foxglove plant, thinking that her pink dress would be more inconspicuous there. She thought about the times she had played dress up, using the flowers of the foxglove as hats, and how Spiller must have seen her as he glided past in his boat that summer. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
Now he was climbing the stump. She could see a slight movement on the side. He must be using the hatpin to help him climb, she thought. She hoped with all her heart that he wouldn't get hurt. She couldn't lose Spiller now, on top of everything else that had happened. If she lost him now Arrietty thought she would just curl up and die. His clothes were still white in spots but he blended in with the sunlight on the bark and places where the bark had peeled well enough.
He was visible for a moment as he ran across the top of the stump and climbed down onto the broken branch where Tom had tied the horse. Then Spiller stopped and faded from sight against the side of the stump just as he always did when he didn't want to be seen.
Arrietty looked at the humans. The shorter one was waving goodbye. He walked off, away from the river. The taller man and Tom walked all around the mill, the tall man pointing things out as Tom nodded or occasionally made a comment that Arrietty couldn't catch. They did a pretty thorough examination of the ruins and then came back around.
"It was nice to see you. Sorry I was about your grandfather," the tall man said. ""I'm glad to hear you're doing all right and that Montague's taking care of you. If you ever need anything come see me. You know where I live. Down the road aways in the white house with the gray roof."
"I know," Tom said, and shook hands with him. "Thanks."
The tall man walked off and Tom turned back and looked thoughtfully at the mill again. He walked closer, bent down and seemed to be trying to look under the rubble in spots, but he finally straightened and shrugged. He walked back toward his horse. When he reached for the reins, Spiller shouted at him.
"Hey, Tom, good to see you!"
Tom recoiled, and then laughed in relief. "Spiller! Glad to see you. When I heard about the mill falling down I thought you were a goner. Is Arrietty all right? What about Pod and Homily?"
"Arrietty is fine. Wasn't here when it happened." He waved at Arrietty to come over and she began to work her way through the grass toward the stump. "We were away. We'd gone downriver to stay with my sister a bit. We missed all this but we're not sure about Pod and Homily. They might be trapped. We're going to look for them and need help. Will you help us?"
"What kind of help?" Arrietty and Tom said together. He sounded puzzled while she was just out of breath.
"Go back and get Hendreary. Tell him there's been an accident and we need him, that's it's important," Spiller said firmly, crossing his arms and leaning against the stump. "Bring him back as quickly as you can."
"Uncle Hendreary?" Arrietty looked at Spiller as if he'd gone mad. "What can he do?"
"We're going to need help hunting through that pile of junk, borrower type help, and he's your mother's closest kin," Spiller said.
"What if he won't come?" Tom said, unsure.
"You have to make him come. You have to tell him we need him!" Spiller said. "Go on. I don't care how you do it, but call into that wall until he answers and get him back here as soon as possible. Bring us some food, too if you can. I have a feeling we're going to be here awhile, and if they're stuck in there or hurt, they'll need food."
Tom nodded and drew the reins off the branch. "I'll try. I'll come back as soon as I can. I'll meet you back here by this stump."
As Tom mounted the horse and wheeled it around, Spiller came down the side of the stump and reached Arrietty. "We can't do this alone, Ari, and Hendreary is the only one who might be able to help us quickly. Tom coming along was a piece of luck. It's like he was heaven sent as the humans would say."
Arrietty shook her head. "I've read about human angels and Tom doesn't exactly fit the bill, but all right. I can see what you mean. Do we really have to wait, though? Can't we do anything until he comes back?"
"'Course we can," Spiller said. "We can start looking around for a way in. We'll hear Tom coming from a mile away when he comes back. If he comes back, that is. I hope Hendreary answers him."
"I think he will," Arrietty said, "if Tom puts it right." They started toward the mill. Neither of the spots where Spiller usually slid under with his boat was still accessible. They walked around the broken base of the building seeking a way in. The foundation was, as Spiller pointed out to Arrietty, still in nearly in perfect condition. The problem had not come from the original construction.
Well built, it had held up wonderfully well. The problems had all been in the upper part of the building that had been most exposed to wind and weather for years. Whether the wind or the lighting had been too much for it, and whether it had been the strength of that wind or the poor maintenance of the last couple of years that had caused this disaster was hard to say. Spiller was encouraged, however, by the condition of the base, and tried to encourage Arrietty, too.
She was very down, though, and he could not bring her out of it. "If the water didn't drown them, or the falling stones crush them," she said, her voice shaking, "they have probably starved to death by now."
Spiller shook his head empathetically. "It's hard to starve to death, Ari. I know. I've starved. You can last a long time without food before it kills you as long as you've got water to drink."
"Water to drink," Ari whispered, and looked at him wide-eyed.
"What?" Spiller asked, puzzled by her expression "You don't believe me?'
"No, I do. It's just something I remember. Something that Papa said once when we were at the gamekeeper's cottage," she answered. "Remember when Tom's grandfather went to the hospital and he lost his ferret and we couldn't get out? You found us sitting by the hearth about ready to give up. Do you remember that?"
"Yes," he said with the first smile he'd made all day. "Came up out of the drain and found you all sitting around that hearth. Surprised you I did. Your mother called me a dear boy, a good boy, a blessed creature. Never saw her take on so before. Couldn't figure out at first why she was so happy to see me."
"Well," Arrietty said, "right before you came along Papa said we were between the devil and the deep blue sea. He was thinking that we'd have to go back upstairs, bury our pride, and ask Lupy and Hendreary to let us stay. He said all we'd ask for was water to drink and a few dried peas. Is that what he meant, Spiller? That we could hold out for a long time as long as we had water?"
"Just so," Spiller said, turning back to the mill, following the edge of the foundation. "Don't give up yet, Ari. Like I said before, we don't know."
Familiar with the building, he knew several places to get in and out. Everything on the river side was obviously no good as the water was still too high. The side where they had moored the boat was too buried in rubble, he realized, going back and climbing carefully on a piece of stone to look while Arrietty below him was wringing her hands and telling him to be careful. There were other possibilities on the other side, though, the side facing the road. He got down from the stone and going back began to walk along, his black eyes darting about not missing a thing.
Arrietty felt slightly comforted. No matter what happened she knew she would be all right as long as she had Spiller. She began to trust that he knew what he could do and what he couldn't. This was the hardest thing about loving him sometimes, Arrietty realized with a start, having that kind of faith. The way he shot the rapids on the river, borrowed from the caravans, climbed up the side of trees with just a piece of string and a hat pin, was very dangerous. She had to, every day if they were going to have a successful life together, convince herself that he was capable of doing what he set out to do, and even when it was hard to bear, she had to bring herself around.
They heard hoof beats in the distance and Spiller stopped where he was, sinking into the tall grass. He held out his hand as he did so, and Arrietty ran to him, to be enfolded in his arms. They both stared in the direction of the sound.
"Can't be sure until we see, he muttered and she knew what he meant. They both gave a sigh of relief as Tom Goodenough came into view, riding quickly. The horse took a boulder in a clean jump and Spiller winced. "Poor Hendreary. That probably gave him a few more gray hairs!"
Tom rode up and reined in his lathered horse. He looked around. Arrietty and Spiller, stepping into flatter ground called out to him together. He heard Spiller and Arrietty's faint voices and saw Arietty's pink and white dress, and walked his horse a little closer to them. The horse leaned his head down and took a huge mouthful of the clump of grass they had just been standing in and they hurried to get out of the way as Tom slid down the beast's side and opened his saddle bag.
"Got him and got food," Tom said. "Just grabbed whatever I could. Hope it's enough."
"Put it on that flat stone by the river's edge," Spiller told him. "I got my boat tied up near there. If we don't find Pod and Homily by dark we'll have to sleep on it."
"Let's get Hendreary out first," Tom said as he set the bag down and was swinging the top flap over. "He's very worried and a bit shook up. You all right in there Hendreary? You're not hurt or not dead are you?"
"How could he say if he was?" Arrietty murmured, thinking of her mother the time they had ridden in Tom's pocket.
Hendreary stuck his head up over the edge of the bag, hauled himself out and dropped to the grass in front of it. "I'm all right." He staggered a bit and went over to Arrietty. "I'm so sorry to hear about this Arrietty. Lupy was beside herself when Tom told us. She was so worried she actually came downstairs to the hole in the wainscot and listened to us as we talked about it. Don't you worry none. If Pod and Homily can't be found, we'll find them. My poor sister!"
Tom began to unpack his bag. There was another small loaf of brown bread like the one he had given them before, small to a human that is, but plenty big enough for borrowers, a banana, two hard boiled eggs, a chunk of cheese, and several shortbread biscuits.
"Thanks, Tom," Spiller said, eying this loot. "We'd better stash this in the boat under the canopy to keep it safe."
"Do you need me to come back tomorrow?" Tom asked anxiously.
"No, once we know what's what and get it all sorted out, I'll bring Hendreary home by water. You've done enough. Hendreary can tell you how it turned out when we get there." Spiller looked at Arrietty and Hendreary. "Let's start moving these things." He took one end of the banana and Hendreary took the other. Hendreary was very impressed by Spiller's boat.
"This is nice," he said. "I can see now how you live on the water. Very nice," He said again as he peered into the back and saw the quilts and piles of sheep's wool. The blue blanket had dried and Arrietty pulled it down and tucked that under the canopy as well as Spiller and Hendreary fetched the biscuits. They had trouble with the bread. It took all three of them to do that, and once they had it in the boat, Arrietty looked at it with longing.
"I know it's wicked of me to say this when we're all so worried about Mother and Papa, but could we stop and have a bite to eat? I'm so hungry!" Arrietty said, eying the bread.
"Not wicked at all," Spiller assured her. "You'll need your strength when we start going into those tunnels." He handed her a bucket and she got some water while he took a piece of fret saw blade and cut off some bread. They ate a quick lunch of bread and cheese, and in between bites Spiller updated Hendreary on what they knew and what they didn't know.
"Doesn't look good," he told Spiller. "Doesn't look good at all to me, but we have to try. Do you know how you want to go about it?"
"I do," Spiller said. "I scouted out a place where we can get in. We'll need light. Probably dark in there but we can get in, I think. If they had left I think they would have either made for Sateen and Daubery's place, which they didn't, because they would have arrived by now, or your place."
"We've seen nothing of them," Hendreary assured Spiller. "Think they could have gotten that far in this amount of time, though?"
"Yes," said Spiller, "you can do it in a couple of days walking but I can't imagine that's what they did. Not through the woods."
"Mother hates walking out of doors," Arrietty put in. "It reminds her of when we had to leave the big house."
"If they had to get out," Spiller said, "it's more likely that they would've headed for Daubery's place, following the river, or found someplace around here to wait for us. They knew we'd be back eventually. Makes no sense. If they were out here I'm sure Pod would have been watching for me and seen my boat on the water. He knows well enough what it looks like afloat."
"So you think they're still inside?" Hendreary's beard set to wagging as he tore into another piece of bread.
"I do. Not sure if they're hiding or trapped but we'll find out before we leave here." Spiller looked up from his own bread. "Thanks again for coming."
"Yes," Arrietty said. "We needed the help and if anyone finds her I'm sure Mother would like it to be family. She won't want to be caught out looking disheveled by anyone but us."
They left the boat and went back ashore and along the edge of the mill. Spiller had found a broken spot in the foundation that they could fit into. Once they were in he lit the piece of candle that Arrietty held for him with a waxed match. The light flared up and the tunnel gleamed with ghostly light. In the yawning blackness they could see puddles of water that reflected the light of the candle back to them.
"Better give that to me," Spiller said. "I'm going to be going first."
Hendreary had no problem with Spiller leading the way. He wrapped a comforting arm around Arrietty as they trudged along behind Spiller. His long lean arm reminded Arrietty of her mother. Brother and sister had the same bone structure. Hendreary was taller of course but Arrietty found herself calmed by his presence and was very grateful to young Tom for fetching him. It was true, she thought. Borrowers really could not live totally without humans.
It was almost like being in the drain, dark with water to slosh through, and obstacles to climb, but at least they didn't have to worry about bathwater suddenly rushing along and soaking them.
Spiller muttered occasionally, as he held the candle up and looked first one way, then another, trying to get his bearings. "We're going toward the river so we must be near where we set up the flat. We set it up as far away from the river as possible. The storeroom was the closest to the river and then the rooms went straight back. We should land on them soon unless we're a bit too far over to one side or the other."
A piece of framing from the floor indicated to him that they were indeed too far over and he turned slightly to the right. They began to find things, bottle caps, safety pins, a hair pin, and at one point a hook exactly like the ones that the family had used to hang clothes on the walls. Everywhere they went the floor was still wet and the air smelled musty.
"The whole place must've taken in water," Spiller said suddenly," but how much? And where would they have gone when it did? Up would be the most logical but depending on how it came in they might have tried to outrun it."
"When they had flooding under the floor, they headed for the highest ground under the floor," Hendreary offered.
"The grating" Arrietty asked, remembering how she used to stand below it and look out. Something against the wall caught her eye as Spiller swung the candle back and forth trying to see as he thought it out. Arrietty gave a strangled cry and darted away from Hendreary to push past Spiller. Snatching up a familiar object, she cradled it in her arms like a baby and moaned.
The men rushed over. "What is it?" Hendreary asked, puzzled.
She turned and held it out. "It's Papa's bell clapper hammer that he uses for his cobbling, Uncle Hendreary. This was Papa's prized possession. He always kept it close at hand and never went anywhere without it. This would be the first thing he'd reach for if they had to leave and he would never have dropped it unless it was a dire emergency."
"But he could have dropped it if the water knocked it out of his hand," argued Spiller. "I agree though, that if they weren't here, they were at least nearby. We're heading in the right direction. There's no humans about. Shall we call?"
"I will," Arrietty said firmly. She walked beside Spiller down the dark space, him holding the candle high and she calling as loud as she dared. They found other things along the way, bits of string and wire, a raw potato, still whole, but with the skin still slightly wet, A whole candle lying on its side in the tunnel startled them as they could not see how that could have gotten where it now was by water power. There were chunks of splintered wood across and under it and that worried Spiller, but he tried not to show it.
As they rounded a corner, a sodden dresser made of matchboxes was lying on its side, practically falling apart, surrounded by pieces of another broken board. When Arrietty pulled at one of the drawers in the dresser part of the front of the drawer actually did come off. Inside were three pairs of very wet blue socks.
"These are mine," she said. "This came from my room. That would have been the last room in the back of the house, the farthest from yours and the storeroom, Spiller. Mother and Papa's room would have been next." She took a step forward and began to call again. A quilting pin, like the ones Homily used for knitting was embedded into a broken board, and Spiller and Hendreary looked at each other and winced when Spiller pulled it out.
"Took some force to slam that into that board," Hendreary ventured.
Spiller's sharp eyes went from right to left. Occasionally he would glance between the broken boards into openings in the wall, to see what he could find. Then he stopped and stood staring into a space in the wall. He ceased to move and just stared. Then he slowly let the candle down and just as slowly turned. "Ari," he said gently, and at the tone of his voice, Hendreary and Arrietty both knew what he was going to say. Hendreary, already expecting it, shook his head, and sighed, blinking back the tear that threatened to come, but Arrietty, even though she knew, refused to accept it.
"Let me see," she demanded, and pushed up to Spiller.
He wrapped a strong arm around her and held her tight. "Ari," he began again, but she pushed herself away from him as hard as she could, and balancing the candle in one hand he couldn't hold her back. Hendreary reached for her as well but it was too late.
She peered into the wall until her eyes adjusted. It was not pitch black. Slight glints of light were coming in from above through cracks higher up. She had never seen corpses before. Homily was lying on her side facing away from them, her dress still sodden and a long hank of her graying hair tumbling down over her shoulder. A lone hairpin stuck out of it. Arrietty's eyes did not linger on her mother, though. They went straight over her to Pod and she held her breath.
Her eyes filled with his face. He looked for a moment as if he was asleep on his back in a puddle of water but then she realized his eyes were open and his doughy face was slack. As if in a dream, she reached through the broken wall and touched his cheek with her finger. Spiller was amazed at her courage and calm, and then just as amazed by the intensity of her grief.
She suddenly shuddered and jumped back as though she'd been stung by a bee and pushed past Spiller and her uncle's outstretched hands. Falling to her knees a bit farther down the tunnel she wretched, sobbing great sobs, coughing and heaving. When Hendreary reached for her she batted his hand away. Staggering up, she bolted back down the tunnel as if a ferret were pursuing her. Wind came through the broken building from somewhere and both the men shivered.
"You go back and get her," Hendreary told Spiller, sounding a hundred years old. "Make sure she's all right. I'll see if anything can be salvaged here."
Spiller, sick with worry, nodded and went after Arrietty. He didn't find her anywhere in the foundation of the mill and was terrified she'd taken a wrong turn until he got to the outside and saw the grass. The path through it to the boat was bigger now, with more blades crushed down. Mindlessly, putting one foot after another, he made his way to the boat hoping she hadn't thrown herself in the rushing river.
She was there, though, on the deck, holding a roll of white linen, sheets they had cut from the shirt they had found. "Can we," she asked in a whisper, "I mean, could we use this? I can't look them like that again. I just can't."
"Sure," he said, and this time when he reached for her she tucked the fabric under her arm and let him hold her.
"It's so hard, Spiller," she said. "I sort of knew, I sort of expected, but it's still so hard."
"I know," he said in his most corncrakey voice, wrapped up with her in her grief. He finally stepped back and took the bundle. "I hate to ask but we can't just leave them there to be crushed when they pull the mill down. Do you want us to bury them? Or let the river have them?"
"Let's see what Uncle Hendreary thinks," Arrietty said, "as long as I don't have to see them again like that. I'll go with you but I'm not going to look again until it's taken care of."
"You don't have to," he assured her.
Then she buried her face in her hands and began to weep again. "Poor, poor Papa! He loved me so much. What will become of me now?"
"I love you," Spiller said, "and I'll take care of you."
"You'll never leave me?" Arrietty asked, looking at him through red rimmed eyes.
"I can't promise you, Ari, that I'll be with you until the end of your life but I can certainly promise I'll never leave you until the end of mine." She considered this and then nodded. They went back to the mill and found Hendreary had salvaged a few things from Pod and Homily's room. He had two more wet blue blankets, a small tin box that held Homily's hair curlers, a small silver eyelash comb, and Pod's packet of shoemaker's needles.
Arrietty took these things gently in her arms and went back to the boat with them while Hendreary and Spiller wrapped the bodies in the white linen. When Spiller asked Hendreary what they should do with them, he agreed that they could not be left in the mill.
"River, I think," Hendreary said. "It's closer. We'd never be able to take them all the way into the woods and if we did how could we dig a grave deep enough that the animals wouldn't get them? We can weight them down and let the river have them." He shuddered. "It's a terrible thing. A terrible thing. When my parents died at the big house they went into the fire. I didn't watch. I couldn't watch and I don't think Arrietty should watch this, neither."
"That's up to her," Spiller said shortly remembering his own parents and another fire.
Spiller and Hendreary went further into the mill making their way to the shattered storerooms. Spiller's old room was totally blocked off but they managed to break a piece of wood and get into the storeroom off the kitchen. They found a ball of twine and more wire and debated which one would be better for the dark task at hand.
Spiller took Pod's hatpins, a borrowing bag full of nails and all of the candles and empty bags he could find. He and Hendreary also took the little case with the scissors in it that Miss Menzies had given Pod. The sterling silver case needed polishing but when they checked inside the blue satin hadn't gotten wet at all.
"That's a well made box, that is," Hendreary said, when Spiller opened it to check on it. Everything was there, the small pair of scissors, mother of pearl handled stiletto, matching mother of pearl handled buttonhook, bone crochet hook, the needle case, and the sterling silver thimble. They shut the lid, closed the clasp, and moved the box over next to the other things they were taking to the boat.
They found Arrietty calmer and more resigned. While they had been working she had cried some more. She had lain on the deck, turned her face down and wept until she choked. When she finally sat up, she was groggy but determined. Papa and Mother wouldn't want me to worry about them anymore, she thought. They would trust Spiller to take care of me. What kind of wedding we'll have now I have no idea but he promised me and that's that.
When they brought the Etui to the boat, she said firmly, "Uncle Hendreary, I want you to have that, from Mother. She'd appreciate everything you've done so much."
When the two white bundles were weighted down and put into the river, Arrietty didn't stand too close but she did watch. Spiller and Hendreary both were struck by how brave she was. Then they went back to the boat, ate some bread, cheese and banana and collapsed into the sheep's wool and covered up with quilts and blankets. Ari stayed next to Spiller but she didn't curl up against him. She turned her back to him but when he came up behind her, and wrapped his arm around her, she allowed it. Hendreary, on the other side of the boat didn't begrudge them the comfort they were able to give each other. He thought perhaps he and Lupy should go ahead and offer to have the wedding, but he wasn't sure if he should offer without talking to Lupy first. There was not a doubt in his mind that the two would still want to marry.
They all fell asleep thinking their own thoughts of the loved ones they had lost. Spiller felt guilt about directing Pod to the mill and vowed to himself to take care of Arrietty the best he could, Hendreary thought of Homily, and what it had been like growing up at the big house with her, and Arrietty thought that it was almost as if she were on the boat, on a trip, away from her parents. They were not there, but it didn't mean they were not anywhere. She preferred to remember happier times than what she had seen that day.
The next day they had bread, banana and egg for breakfast, and after rearranging the boat, which was overloaded with cargo, Spiller very carefully cast off for the groundskeeper's cottage. He didn't want to go by way of the drain, so he just followed the river until he got as close as possible. When they moored the boat late in the afternoon, Hendreary wanted Arietty and Spiller to come and stay with the family. He practically begged, but Arrietty shook her head.
"I have some tall thinking to do and I'd rather do it on my own. We will come see you, and soon, but not today, please." She said she would stay on the boat while Spiller helped Hendreary drag the silver box through the woods. Spiller was totally against this, not wanting to leave her alone. They argued about it a bit, but she kept telling him to go and promising to wait for him. Hendreary argued with her too, that her place was with them, but she wouldn't budge.
Spiller kissed her when they were ready to set out, warning her, "If it's too dark when we get there I won't be back until morning. Don't want to be dodging owls and everything else that's in these woods at night, but I will come back tomorrow for sure. Are you sure you'll be all right?"
"I will be as long as you are careful and do come back as soon as you can," Arrietty said and leaned in to hug him. She whispered into his ear as his shaggy hair brushed her forehead. "I just can't face Lupy right now. I can't. She'll turn in all around into how she feels, and never even ask me how I am, and I can't bear it. I love her but I can't deal with her right now and I'm afraid she'll nag us about getting married. I couldn't bear that after the things she said when we were living with her in the groundskeeper's cottage.
"What did she say?" Spiller asked, intrigued.
"She told me not to waste thoughts on a ragamuffin like you. She told me I'd meet all sorts of nice borrowers someday, maybe even one brought up in a library. She said they're the best, cultured and all that."
Spiller recoiled and his face went white. "How could she know?" he whispered.
Arrietty looked at him puzzled. "That they're cultured? I have no idea. I just know that she knew I was interested in you and didn't think you were good enough for me. I just can't spend tonight there and risk having to bite my tongue while she mourns for Mother and Papa and turns everything into a debate about what she wants and how she feels."
"Understood," Spiller whispered back. Then he straightened and said in a calmer voice, "Just stay with the boat and leave it where I've hidden it. You've plenty of food. I'll come back as soon as I can." Then he kissed her again quickly joined Hendreary on the shore.
Dragging the box wasn't hard with two of them to pull, but when they got within sight of the groundskeeper's cottage, they were glad because it was getting dark fast. The front door was ajar so they went right in. Tom was sitting at the table eating something that smelled wonderful but when he saw them he jumped up.
"Well? Tom cried out. Spiller and Hendreary just shook their heads and Tom slumped back into his chair. "Thought so. Didn't want to say so, but I thought so." He looked behind them out the door. "Where's Arrietty? Is she all right?"
"She's doing as well as could be expected," Spiller quietly. "She's on my boat. I just came to drop off Hendreary and some of the things we salvaged from the mill."
"Need help?" Tom asked.
"Not as long as the woodbox is pulled out," Spiller answered, which it was. He and Hendreary got the box inside and left it at the bottom of the ladder. Grego and Timmis could help their father bring it up later. They climbed the ladder bone weary and went into the ornate drawing room. Eggletina heard them and came running.
"Father! Spiller!" Eggletina cried, "We've been so worried! What happened? Where are Pod and Homily and Arrietty?"
Lupy came in, too, moving fast for someone so bulky. "Hendreary! Oh, Hendreary, thank goodness you're here! Please don't say they're…"
"Arietty's on Spiller's boat. She's just about brokenhearted and she said she needed some time alone," Hendreary said, enfolding Lupy in his arms. "You won't see Homily and Pod no more, Lupy. Nor will any of us." She turned away with a sharp cry and Timmis went to comfort her as Grego began to ask questions. It was Eggletina, obviously upset but more practical, who urged them all in to the dining table.
"Young Tom gave us chicken stew," she said. "He called through the hole in the wainscot about an hour ago and Grego, Timmis and I went down and hauled up the jar. It's good stew. Let's all sit and eat and then you can tell us everything. Mother and I made yeast rolls to go with it. "
Indeed, when Spiller got into the kitchen, he smelled the same rich smell that he had smelled downstairs. How kind Tom was at times, and how thoughtful it was of him to know how worried they all were and offer to help in his own way. Trusting this human had been a good instinct.
Lupy, regaining a small measure of control, shooed him and Hendreary off to wash their face and hands. They were both, she said, filthy, and she was right. Crawling around in the mill and dragging things about had left them both very grubby indeed. When Hendreary went to fetch some clean clothes, Spiller stuck his hands and arms in the water and dirt literally rolled off him. He used a washcloth to wash his arms, face and neck.
Hendreary knocked and when Spiller opened the door, Hendreary handed in a shirt and a pair of trousers. "Halberd left these behind. Thought you could use them. He wouldn't mind. Finish washing and put them on while I go get clean clothes for myself."
Spiller considered the wisdom of this, and then shed his vest and trousers and gave himself a complete wipe down. He even rinsed off his hair and toweled it dry as best as he could. Then he examined the clothes. The shirt fit well enough, but the trousers were too long. He folded the bottom of each leg over until he could walk without tripping. By then Hendreary was back and Spiller ceded the bathroom to him. Hendreary looked at Spiller dirty kid clothes and said mildly, "I'll hang these up to air out."
When Spiller got to the dining table, Eggletina was ladling out bowls of savory hot stew, as Lupy, her eyes a bit red, was putting the rolls on the table. Spiller told the whole story in a flat voice, with Hendreary putting in a bit now and then. The others mostly just listened. When Lupy got wound up Spiller was glad Arrietty wasn't there. She went on and on about how much she was going to miss Homily, how her sister-in-law had been just like a sister to her, when all the world knew the two had not gotten along well at all.
"You weren't going to see them much anyway," Grego said in his usual tactless way, but Spiller thought he had a fair point that time. Lupy glared.
"But I knew they were out there and I might," she said. "And I kept wondering if we'd be able to go to Arrietty and Spiller's wedding. If you two actually went through with it, I mean. I never thought you two were old enough to make up your minds about something like that, and I couldn't see how you two would make it work, living half in the wild and half not, but I was going to make a new dress, out of jade green velvet. I would've looked wonderful in it." She turned to Spiller. "I can still do that. We can give the wedding. Maybe you could even fetch Halberd and Hemiola. I do so want to see Halberd again."
Spiller was overcome by Lupy's self centeredness and suddenly suspicious of her based on what Arrietty had told him, said sharply, "I'll never change my mind and she won't either. It'll be whatever Ari wants it to be. I'll tell her you offered, though," he said a bit more calmly, vowing to mention the offer, but not Lupy's new dress and her plan to use the wedding as an excuse for a visit with her son.
After dinner they sat around for awhile, reminiscing about Pod and Homily. This Hendreary, Eggletina and Spiller could do well, especially after Lupy, declaring herself overcome by grief, went off to lie down. They had dandelion wine and talked for hours. When Spiller finally went up the ladder, he literally collapsed on Arrietty's old bed. He thought he'd worry about her for hours, but he was too exhausted and too sleepy from the wine. When he put his head on the pillow he went straight out like a snuffed candle.
In the morning he had a dry mouth and a headache, and went downstairs to dunk his head in water. He swallowed some and used a razor blade to trim his hair so it wouldn't be in his eyes anymore. When he got out to the kitchen, Eggletina poured him tea. There was a lot of fussing coming from the drawing room. Spiller had only to incline his head in that direction and raise one eyebrow to get Eggletina to explain.
"Mother's enjoying that silver case with the tools in it. She says it's her legacy from Pod and Homily." She sat down across from him. "Spiller, Arrietty is the one who matters now. Is she really all right?"
"I hope so," Spiller answered. "I'll go back right after I eat and see how she's doing. If she changed her mind and wants to come back here, I'll bring her."
"I can't see her doing that," Eggletina admitted, pushing a platter of fried eggs and potatoes toward him.
"Me neither," Spiller said, taking some.
"I know Mother never thought you two were a good match, and it took Homily forever to come around, but I do and I always did. Promise me," Eggletina said fiercely, in a voice most unlike her, "that you'll take care of her, Spiller. You have to promise."
"You know I will. Already have," Spiller said. Lupy soon bustled in with the sterling silver thimble.
"Isn't this lovely?" Lupy asked Eggletina. "Imagine Homily of all people having something like that case. It just boggles my mind. She didn't even know how to pronounce parquet when Hendreary and I got married. Thank you for bringing it to me, Spiller," she added, completely forgetting that Arrietty had not given it her, but to Hendreary.
He had to point this out, feeling it's what Arrietty would have wanted. When she turned to him he said, "Arrietty gave it to Hendreary for helping at the mill," Spiller said, pointedly leaving Lupy out. "She thought Homily and Pod would want him to have it." He finished his tea and stood up. "Got to get back to her. I think I'll see if young Tom is up. He might be able to help me again."
"Oh, Spiller," Lupy exclaimed, turning from where she was trying the thimble out on a shelf, "is that safe?"
"Just as safe as walking all day through the woods alone, I reckon," he answered. Lupy turned back to the shelf as he hugged Eggletina and he went to the drawing room. Hendreary pulled him into his arms unexpectedly, and gave Spiller a slap on the back.
"You tell Arrietty again how much I wish it had turned out different," Hendreary said solemnly "and don't be strangers. Come back as often as you can and let us know about the wedding."
"I will," Spiller said, patting him on the shoulder. He really liked Hendreary, just not his wife. Timmis forgot his newfound maturity and hugged Spiller, too.
"Tell Arrietty I miss her and I'm sorry," he said.
Grego, standing behind Timmis folded his arms to ward off any sentimentality and said, "Good luck, Spiller."
"Thanks," he said, smiling crookedly, and went down the ladder to find young Tom also having breakfast.
"You're up early," Tom said. "Want a sausage?"
"No, I already ate. I have to get back to the boat and Arrietty. I didn't want to leave her alone, but she said she needed to be alone for awhile and think."
"I'll take you. Just let me finish me tea," Tom answered.
When Tom let Spiller down near the riverbank, Spiller gave him thanks and then disappeared into the tall grass and began to walk toward the boat. Spiller saw some wild strawberries as he went along and thought he'd pick a couple for Arrietty. He knew how much she liked them.
When he climbed aboard, he dropped them though when he saw a white linen wrapped bundle and a sudden fear grabbed hold of him. What if Arrietty, in her despair, had done something drastic? I should never have left her, he thought, cursing himself as he ran toward her, rocking the boat. To his great relief she sat up.
"You're back. I'm glad you're back. I went to sleep under the quilt but I got so overheated I woke up and had to throw it off, but then I got cold, so I used this for a sheet." He didn't tell her it had reminded him of Pod and Homily's shrouds. He just hugged her tightly and kissed her soundly. When she finally stepped back she asked him if he needed breakfast.
"No, I ate at the cottage. Why don't you have some, though? I brought you some berries. You can eat them while I tell you how it was. Lupy agrees with Hendreary. She thinks they should give us a wedding. Do you want them to?"
"No," Arrietty said, folding the sheet. "I don't want Lupy having anything to do with planning our wedding, unless it can't be helped. What I do want to do is get to Little Fordham as fast as we can. I just want to get back to the village. Do you mind?"
"Not at all," Spiller assured her. "Anything you want." And he meant it. While Arrietty washed up he got the boat ready to go and when she sat down with a strawberry, a slice of hardboiled egg and a bit of bread, he looked up at her. "It's a two day trip to Little Fordham, if we get good weather and the river's running good. Do you really want to go straight through? Because we have enough food to just stop and camp along the way, but we could also spend the night at Arista and Burgonet's place is you want to sleep in a real bed for a change."
Arrietty considered this. "I'd like to see the baby. I'd like to see that life goes on."
"It does," Spiller assured her, and pushed off downriver. As he paddled, He heard Arrietty digging around in the luggage. Glancing over his shoulder he saw that she had pulled out the poetry book Miss Menzies had given her. She began to read.
I have a special treasure that is softly laid away
And though I have not seen it this many a weary day
From everything around me comes a token and a sign
That it is fondly watched and guarded and that it still is mine.
"Isn't that lovely, Spiller?" Arrietty asked, laying the book gently on her lap when she was finished, and he said yes, but he didn't look back at her, because he didn't want her to see the tears running down his cheeks. Why, he thought, did she have to be such a one for poetry?