On the day Ethels funeral is held, Frederick doesnt shed a single tear.
See? I told you he never loved Zina, whispers Tessa into the ear of her neighbour, Daisy.
Keep your voice down. What does it matter now? The children are left as orphans with a father like that.
Youll see, hell certainly marry Kate, insists Daisy.
Why Kate? What does she have to do with him? Gladys is his true love. Remember how they used to wander through the haylofts together? Kate will never get involved with himshes got a family and has already forgotten him.
Do you really know? Frederick asks.
Of course. Kates husband is a war hero. She doesnt need Frederick and his brood. Shes practical. Gladys, on the other hand, is suffering with Mick. Thats where the new romance will start, Daisy replies.
Ethel is buried. The children clutch each others hands tightly.
Mickey and Polly have just turned eight. Ethel married Frederick out of great affection, but nobody in the villagenor Ethel herselfever knew if Frederick truly loved her.
They say she was pregnant, which forced Frederick into marriage. Their first child, Lily, is born seven months early and dies shortly after, and then the couple has no more children for a long time. Frederick is always grim and taciturn. People nickname him Brittle Fred because he is stingy with words and even more with affection. Nobody can hide that from Ethel.
Still, God shows mercy. After many prayersonly he knows how manyEthel receives two babies at once.
Polly and Mickey are twins. Mickey inherits his mothers gentle, softhearted nature, while Polly mirrors her father: she is silent, locks herself away, and never says a word. No one can guess what goes on in her mind, but she feels closer to her father because their temperaments match.
Often Frederick is busy in the barn, sawing or hammering, and Polly flits around him, listening to his stories and learning about life.
Mickey stays by his mothers side, sweeping the floor, fetching water with a tiny bucket, offering whatever help he can. Ethel dotes on both children, but she never quite understands Polly, while she is completely attached to Mickey. When Ethel is dying she says to Mickey:
Son, Ill be gone soon. Youll be the head of the family. Dont hurt your sister; protect her. Youre a boy, you must look after her. Shes a girl, so shes weaker and needs your help.
Dad? Mickey asks.
What? Ethel doesnt hear.
Will Dad protect us?
I dont know, lad. Life will tell.
Then dont diehow will we manage without you? Mickey cries.
Oh, son, if it were up to me Ethel sighs, and by morning she is gone.
Frederick stands beside his wifes body, gripping her hand, not a single tear or word escaping him. He hunches over, his shoulders slumped, his face darkening. Thats it.
Life slowly returns to its rhythm. Polly takes on the role of running the house, trying to cook and tidy the cottage, though shes still young. Aunt Nancy, Fredericks sister, drops by often, helping and teaching Polly the chores of a household.
Aunt Nancy, is Dad going to remarry? Polly asks one afternoon.
I dont know whats in his mind, love. He wont tell me.
Nancy has her own husband, Victor, and a happy family of her own.
If anything happens, will you take us in? Polly continues.
Dont talk nonsense. Your father loves you and wont let anyone hurt you, Nancy replies.
Meanwhile, gossip spreads through the village that Frederick and Gladys have revived an old romance.
Gladys has gone off her rocker, mutters Tessa, shes back with Frederick and has forgotten about her own family.
Stupid woman, the women at the shop say.
Enough, ladies, finish the meeting, calls the chairman of the parish council, Mr. Martin Lewis.
Stop spreading lies. You dont even know your neighbours, he scolds, defending Frederick.
Indeed, Frederick and Gladys once loved each other fiercely, enough to write poems. Then Frederick was sent to work far away in another county to help a struggling collective farm. He stayed there two months, during which Gladys became involved with Mick Cherry. When Frederick returns and learns of the affair, he knocks Micks teeth in, and never speaks to Gladys again.
Gladys ends up marrying Mick, a reckless man who spends his days drinking and chasing women, leaving Gladys weeping that she never held a husband she could respect. Frederick, a sober and hardworking man, remains quiet, speaking only when necessary.
Soon the villagers notice Fredericks lingering affection for Ethel. She blossoms like a rare bluebell, drawing admiration from all.
Love does strange things to people, the villagers comment.
Ethel had loved Frederick for years, keeping her feelings hidden because she never wanted to compete with Gladys.
Eventually, Frederick and Ethel meet again, stroll together, and even register their marriage at the parish council. Their wedding is modest. Fredericks only remaining relative is Nancy; Ethels mother is an elderly widow who gave birth to Ethel late in life. The village gossip guesses who Ethels father might be, but says nothing. The parish council is chaired by Victor Proctor, who once had a fling with Ethels mother, a beautiful woman named Odessa who never married. The villagers disdain Odessa, but she roams the village, flirting with men.
People pity Ethel, especially after she marries Frederick. Oh, what a tragedy, sighs Mrs. Green, he doesnt love her; shell suffer her whole life.
Yet, oddly enough, Frederick remains faithful, and the villagers are convinced that no one can hide such a thing forever in a small English hamlet.
They spend fifteen years together without a single quarrel. As the years pass, the villagers settle down, until Ethel falls ill one harsh winter with a dreadful disease that no one can cure.
The situation looks hopeless.
One day Frederick walks home from the fields.
Freddie, may I pop round for a spell? Ive baked some scones for the children, calls Gladys, holding a tin of fresh scones.
No, thanks. Nat has already baked for us yesterday.
But Im doing it from the heart, Freddie.
And so is my sister.
Freddie, meet me at the mill tonight, Gladys presses.
Why?
Dont you remember what we had? she asks, surprised.
What we had is long gone. I love my children. I love Ethel, Frederick replies.
You cant bring her back now, Gladys says.
Love never dies, he answers.
You never loved her. You married her just to spite me.
Gladys, go home, he whispers.
He quickens his step, heading to the cottage where his children wait. Gladys stands alone in the village lane.
Years later the children have grown. Aunt Nancy still visits her nephews, now fully aware that her brother was a onewoman man.
Polly, I heard youre seeing Graham Vickers, says Aunt Nancy as she steps over the threshold.
Yes. So what? Polly replies, now a grown girl.
Nothing, just asking. Be careful with him.
Why?
You know why. Youre not a child anymore.
Aunt Nancy, I love him for life.
Do you really think itll last?
Im sure.
Maybe youre sure, but what about Graham?
If he betrays me, Ill never love anyone again.
Thats what I believe, says Nancy.
That evening Mickey and Polly wait for their father to return from work.
Dads late again, Mickey says.
Its Friday.
So what?
He always goes to Mums grave on Wednesdays, Fridays, and weekends.
How do you know? Mickey asks, his eyebrows shooting up.
Youre a fool if you cant feel your fathers spirit.
They walk quietly to the cemetery, Polly leading the way along the hidden garden path.
Look, she says, pointing at a hunched figure.
Mickey listens as his father softly talks to someone.
Ethel, its as it is. Soon Polly will be married. Ive saved a dowry, Nat helped. Were getting by. Forgive me, dear, for saying few tender words while I was alive. My heart has said them all.
He coughs weakly and shuffles toward the gate.
Polly watches Mickey, tears freezing in his eyes.
