The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900 ... - Gredos

The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900)
Rachel, eager to change the subject, crossed the room, and took up the quaint book with
its superfluity of injunctions and minuteness of detail. Miss Belinda's mother's spelling
had not been on a par with her housewifely knowledge, and Rachel smiled to herself
over sundry items. Under the heading "Damsel Cheese" —the late Mrs. Fleetwood
having given the same title to the fruit in question as Rachel's foreign mother had done
— particular stress was laid on the fact that the "damsels must not be broozed," while
the receipt for “Suking Pig" gave such a variety of directions regarding the manner of
demise of the animal in question that Rachel hastily turned over the page.
She left Miss Belinda in no small degree exhausted,
[220]
but thoroughly happy and complacent; and the will was drawn up next day to the
complete satisfaction of the testator.
Rachel came several times to the house during the ensuing days, and even accompanied
her mother when, after poor Miss Belinda's death, her earthly remains were duly laid
out with all prescribed ceremonial. It was the first time she had been brought face to
face with death, and she looked pale and scared as she followed Madam Charnock up
the old oak stairs. But, despite her shrinking, she would not turn back, and, indeed, there
was nothing alarming about the placid old face that lay smiling on the pillow, or the
poor form that looked so small and shrunken now. Susan and Dolly were in the room,
red-eyed and shaken with sobs, but, nevertheless, distinctly flattered and consoled by
the honour Madam Charnock was doing their former mistress by visiting all that was
left of her.
As the ladies quitted the house, Simon met them in the hall, and thanked them, not only
for calling then, but for their many kindnesses to his aunt during her illness. Mrs.
Charnock uttered some words of heartfelt sympathy, and Rachel lingered a moment
behind her mother to say, with a wistful upward glance at the yeoman's grave and
sorrowful face, "You will be very lonely now, poor Simon”
“I shall indeed," said he; "very lonely."
[221]