Friends
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About this ebook
Richard Wasenius
The book was written at the request of my daughter when she was five years old. I wrote about my hobby of growing an English rose garden, breeding and field trialing English Springer Spaniels. I wrote the book while traveling on back roads of Iowa to various country court houses where I served as an official court reporter in the Iowa District Court judicial system. My wife and I now live in Waterloo, Iowa and travel extensively to visit nine grandchildren from St. Paul, Mn to St. Louis, Mo.
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Friends - Richard Wasenius
Copyright © 2010 by Richard Wasenius, csr.-rpr
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-6862-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4502-6863-9 (ebook)
Printed in the United States of America
iUniverse rev. date: 11/15/2010
To Annie, always my Em
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 1
The New Home
The dark morning sky began leaking a fine mist, gently at first, then with mounting intensity. Soon the rain was so hard it was impossible to see more than a few feet in front of the horses hitched on either side of the long wagon tongue. The horses, with their blinders pulled forward of their eyes, were lunging in the harnesses as the footing was becoming more and more uncertain in the now pounding rain. The passengers in the wagon, shielding their faces from the stinging rain, could just barely read the names on the fence posts they passed on the road, a road that was now a sea of mud.
John Archer could not remember such a rain as this. Two days of constant downpour had by now almost surely ruined all of the family possessions they had so carefully packed in the wagon after he learned that he had been accepted for employment as a blacksmith and cooper on the estate lands of Lord Henry Tweed.
Archer knew that times were hard for many people in England and were likely to remain so for a long time to come. Although the salary would be low, the promise of a cottage with a roof and fireplace was more than enough to persuade the Archers, John, Mary and son, Colin, to quickly accept the offer. The thought of a dry roof at this point was almost hypnotic as he bent his head to stop the pain of each drop.
Lord Tweed is the largest landowner in this part of England
said John. The crops from his farm alone must be enough to feed half of London
.
Well, John Archer,
replied his wife anxiously, you can consider yourself among the blessed in getting this job now. I don’t know what would have become of us if not for their offer
. Now, now, Mary, I know you are concerned, as we all are, but don’t be anxious or you will work yourself up into a state if you keep this up
.
Colin, who had been half listening to his parents conversation, was very much aware by the growling in his stomach that these were not the best of times.
There it is
, shouted Colin, as they neared the entrance to Tweed Farms. Turning into the tree lined path, they soon saw the cottage that had been described to them in the letter they received a week ago from the agents of the landowner.
Quickly they unloaded the wagon, placing their belongings into the cottage. On one of the fast paced trips from the wagon into the cottage, Mary discovered someone had made a stew and put it in the kettle suspended over the unlit wood in the fireplace.
Colin, if you put the horses away, when you have finished, the stew will be ready
said John, as he stared in grateful anticipation of the kettle. I’ll get things sorted out in here for now
. Looking at Mary, he said I wonder who our friend is
.
In the barn, Colin, who had been busy feeding and brushing the horses, reaching to replace the currycomb, took one step and tripped over a water bucket that had not been there before, and landed with a loud thud on the ground.
Oh, dear, I am so sorry. Let me help you up
. Colin looked up and he was vaguely aware, as the stars in his eyes quit moving, that there was a girl standing in front of him, a rather tall, somewhat gangly girl, who looked as thin as a reed.
Offering her hand, she said I am Emily Brown. You can call me Em. I am 12 years old and I live in the cottage down from yours
.
Did I hurt you
? I only meant to give you the water bucket for the horses
.
What is your name
?
Are you the new blacksmith for the farm?
Slowly Colin raised himself from the ground and, brushing straw from his shirt, he said I am Colin Archer and I am 13
almost, he softly added.
Tell me, Em, how many other kids are there here
?
Just us
replied Emily. There are no others. Just us
.
"Come on then, Em, let’s get something to eat, the thought of which, reminded him of his immediate pain.
Entering the cottage, Colin yelled out, Mom, dad, I want you to meet our new neighbor, Emily Brown
.
Oh, dear, are you the one to thank for this wonderful stew
asked Mary.
It wasn’t difficult
replied Emily. I hope there is enough
.
I am sure there is
, added Colin. Please stay and join us for supper
.
After they had seated themselves at the table John asked How did you know we would be coming?
.
Emily, passing the biscuits and jam down the table, said One of the managers told my father last night as they were meeting about the planting. My mom thought you would arrive today and she made up the stew and I carried it over. But you weren’t here so I just put the kettle on the wood
.
I have never met Lord Tweed. Tell us what he is like
said John.
There was a long silence and at first Colin thought she had not heard the question. Softly, Em answered. "Oh, he is not nice at all. You will have to find out