Читать книгу Always Have, Always Will - Jemma Price - Страница 4

Elinor had met Mr Hugo at least ten years ago. It had been an eventful meeting, Elinor of the age of thirteen and William of the age of sixteen, both old enough to know their own minds and use them to their advantage. This proved to be a certain difficulty in their first meeting as Elinor had discovered an instant dislike of her new acquaintance and at the discovery of her likes and dislikes this was vital evidence.

As the day of their meeting occurred Elinor had started the day by attending an opening of wheel Buckett mine situated near the Southgate area of Redruth, beside the Redruth to Helston road. The mine had closed in 1853 however after being brought by another company had once again opened on this particular day of the 2^nd of January 1873. The town had been in utter excitement at the opening and it seemed the whole town was attending. Elinor had made the miners each a Cornish pasty, waking early enough in order to cook them, as the miners felt it was a nutritious yet portable meal to last them through the day.

The weather had been fine for such an event to take place- not too hot, not too cold. Expressions of happiness were painted on the sea of families, men and children, each benefitting in some way or another from the opening. Cornwall at the time was in considerable danger of losing its heritage, as copper prices were low and investors were few, which meant that mines were closing at a considerable number every week. Miners of the village, with no work, were left to partake in a crime of sorts, whether poaching, stealing or smuggling. This meant that they were either transported to Australia or set to Bodmin jail after trials in Truro, leaving their families lost and destitute.

Elinor had engaged herself into a conversation with a group of miners, eager to support them and the work they were about to endeavor upon.

“I understand that you used to be a sailor, Mr James,” Elinor stated.

“Yes indeed ma’am and enjoyed it immensely however I am glad to be on safe land after spending many years on the ocean,” Mr James replied.

Elinor laughed,” Yes I bet you have seen many storms through many nights during your time on the ocean.”

“Oh yes ma’am a great many indeed you can imagine, enough for a lifetime,” he said. He was then called by a group of his fellow miners and turned to their direction then back at Elinor. He said good day to Elinor and walked of in their direction as he was being beckoned eagerly.

The wind had started to blow and Elinor breathed in the goodness, closing her eyes as she did so. Many of the most beautiful things in life are seen with your eyes closed. The crowd of people had started to gather in the middle of the grassland in front of Wheal Buckett, whose giant brick walls protruded upwards, looking down upon the waiting faces, standing as proud and as excited as those below. The atmosphere seemed to go on a journey of suspense and excitement; each evenly distributed across the vast stretch, which on many other days ,would be deserted of any people, only the few taking an afternoon stroll or bird watching, however this was not just a normal day.

The morning had advanced. The air had grew quite easily hotter in a matter of a few hours as if from some enormous furnace from which it could draw at will, depending on what mood it seemed to ascertain-cold or hot. The children chattered loudly but ceased once told by their mothers. As to the mothers, they were huddled together as though a group of penguins or a secret group confirming and planning their plot and hence forth into battle. Elinor was sure she could spy a bubble of excitement and gossip levitating above their heads just waiting to be taken on its cycle.

Elinor watched as the crowd started to cheer and thought how wonderful it was that the new owner was giving these people a fresh and hopeful new beginning; a stable and worthwhile life. She clapped along with them as the owner stood up in front of them, his back towards his mine. He thanked everyone for their support and wished them all good luck in the future. Then with a pair of scissors he cut the red ribbon which was wrapped around Wheal Buckett and the whole entire town screamed and cheered. Elinor was sure they could be heard across the English Channel to France.

From a distance Elinor spied her brother, Henry, taking long strides as though a military officer towards her. From the expression on his face and the pace at which he was walking Elinor could tell that he was eager to tell her something. The grass below his feet was long yet well-kept, it was fresh and a colour of pure green. It whispered as Henry trudged through, swiping his knees as he went. Something must have caught him for he bent down rather curiously and swiped his leg free from the latching object that deterred him from his determined walk.

He walked up to her after several minutes of waving to passing by miners and declared, ” Elinor ,Elinor ,there is to be a race of who can climb the biggest tree amongst the forest the fastest and, whoever wins wins a new boat.”

Elinor needed no incentive, for her just the winning was a prize in its self but she had nevertheless always wanted a boat in order to explore the cave which always seemed hidden due to the sea on Portreath beach.

****

William Hugo was visiting his cousin in Cornwall and seemed to fit into the Cornish society especially well considering his role models conducts towards them.

“Oh I do not understand how opening a mine could lift so many spirits, these people know nothing,” his parents would say.

William replying,” Yes mother but you must remember that these people who you seem so determined to hate have endured some things that not even you could buy.”

Although his reply angered his parents so very much and the consequence was being ignored ,he did not mind at all as he much preferred to be ignored by them than to be in there good books. Such was his childhood growing into adulthood.

He left his parents, looking smug and dissatisfied with the answer that they were neither expecting nor wanting to hear from their dear son William, who was more than satisfied to leave them.

William portrayed through many gestures and the unique look in his eyes that he was enjoying the event as much as the people who lived there. Not knowing many of the children in the area, except his cousin and Henry, he felt it almost a duty to take part in this tree climbing challenge ,and considering his tree climbing abilities, he felt that it would be less than an embarrassment and more of a fun activity. He was nevertheless slightly nervous as everyone is when meeting new people. William found the funny thing about meeting strangers was their honesty. They do not care about your feelings so they throw their truth in your face leaving you with their truthful thought of you. He did however not like the people who seem to judge your story on the chapter they walked in on.

Walking away from Wheal Buckett and advancing upon the forest he thought how wonderful Cornwall was and the thought of going back to Scotland seemed to wrench his heart. As the gradient of the hill that was scattered with rocks and stones, bracken and bushes, became steeper he took one look on the vast stretch of beauty laid out before him and he breathed in the wonder, the view that engulfed his entire mind, the sun setting, colors of red and orange filling the endless Earth and sky above and around him. The metal on his braces were reflecting the dazzling light from above and his striped shirt seemed to radiate a pure white that would have blinded a person directly opposite. His black hair, which was slightly curly and wavy on the top now seemed a lighter colour, almost brown to the gullible eye. A tree to the left of him had been battered out of place and was now in what one could only describe as awkward in position and height. The leaves were still present which was surprising considering the recent storms that had encountered and, hanged on the branches swiftly swaying at a moment of anger from above.

He moved on, trudging through the hidden mud below the grass and the shrubbery that forced you to take a giant step over the nettles that would eventually scrape against your leg, digging through your trousers until it had reached its ambition of stinging you, causing a physical pain that is hard to dispose of.

The path of the forest that William had at last seemed to find by fathoming his way through ,no idea where it would take him but hopefully to his destination, was winding and overgrown clearly slightly neglected for some years, however it was still beautiful with all its wonders treasured abundantly across the seemingly endless tunnel of forestation.

He heard what sounded like the noise of older children laughing and shouting. Making the link between them and the tree climbing challenge he followed the deafening (to a person nearer the hustle and bustle) sound that emitted through the forest, trying not to trip upon the stones and rocks that lay in crevasses upon the ground, embedded and concealed from the wondering eye, catching you at a moment of hallucination or bewilderment, a misleading problem that would suddenly cross you mind.

As he neared, an overpowering wave of general noise floated and hurled through him, forcing him to become bubbled into the excitement that filled the atmosphere catching nearby people, creating reactions of all sorts considering that persons mood and state of mind.

As he neared towards of what he thought was the center of the forest, towards the open space which was clear of any shrubbery, a circle of grassless land, a sudden feeling of agitation overcome him. It started from deep inside him but managed to reach his head, in a poisoning dread of fear. He carried on despite the hindrance from inside, preventing him from collecting his thoughts for the event ahead. Before he knew it he was in the middle of it. Just a vast stretch of people, rather intimidating to one who was used to wondering desolate mountains in absolute solitude. From them came excitement, nothing but for the clearly unorganized situation. However from William came stress from the unknown.

He stood still. Looked around for any familiar faces. He saw none. The faces of everyone seemed to blur into one and his eyes darted around anxiously searching for even just a hint of familiarity.

Then from around the corner came Henry. Henry grabbed Williams arm,” Come William we must be partners,” Henry replied still grabbing William by the arm, urging him forward. William came to the conclusion that you and your partner must get to the top of the tree and collect a flag each and whichever pair won would win the prize of a new boat.

As William and Henry prepared, the crowd started to wait in anticipation waiting to scream for the team they supported and to shout in excitement. The game would be between Henry who partnered with William and Elinor who partnered with Hermione.

Elinor was ready along with Hermione who did nothing but stare at William, Elinor jolted her a few times to grab her attention on focusing on the flags, Hermione seemed somewhat distracted despite this. The tree was indeed the biggest William had seen, it seemed to stretch far above the sky, peaking above the clouds, he was however still up for the challenge although he did not know how well Henry climbed, he still kept a positive outlook upon the event. Also considering the fact that their competitors were both girls and at least one of them looked idle, the other however William believed to have an intelligent air about her which worried him slightly.

The whistle was blown and the ringing sound hurled straight through Elinor’s ears, forcing her to begin the climbing, using her whole body as a force against her competitors. They began at a tie, although as they continued Elinor and William (who had never met) seemed to storm straight ahead. The crowd below shrieked with eagerness and enthusiasm. They had commenced a bet on which team would triumph.

Above Elinor’s head a twig deterred her for a couple of seconds sanctioning her time to catch her breath and call down to Hermione to focus more urgently. Hermione seemed to Elinor undistinguishable, however as she came into view it appeared she was ahead of Henry. William however was ahead of her, but this did not burden her, instead she kept positive and strained to catch up, observing the cautious location of her foot as to not step anywhere which would mislead her from succeeding. She could see the flag above. Shining in the sun. A light blue. Almost blending in with the sky. A few meters away.

As Elinor strode ahead she caught up the pace of which William had customized and, as they reached the top, they both clasped their hands round the bottom of the flag and pulled it out of the branch. The race was still not over however. Hermione was now determined, which Elinor imagined to have arisen by the idea of impressing William. She did not care. Henry was at least one meter below Hermione but catching up fast. Hermione with on extra leap joined Elinor at the top and pulled her flag out before Henry could reach the last 50 centimeters. Elinor and Hermione had won. The whistle was blown and the four climbers could just about hear a tremendous chatter from below.

As Elinor made an attempt to transfer her position and travel further down the tree, she established a branch stalling her way down, interfering with the triumphant success. Hermione carried on down along with Henry. William was surprised how well the girls could climb and had come to the conclusion that they had clearly practiced, as he was sure he and Henry would win. As his eyes wondered, he noticed Elinor was in some state of bewilderment and called over to her,

” Excuse me, is it Elinor?”

“Yes it is,” Elinor said as she tried to break the branch with her foot, “We were introduced were we not?”

“Yes I believe we were Elinor,” William replied trying to remember when they were.

“If you cannot even remember my name then is an introduction of any worth, I have often wondered these things,” Elinor said as she was hurled upside down as the branch was now caught in her shoe.

William’s facial expression at this moment was one of fear mixed with amusement at the position Elinor had found herself. He continued their conversation anyhow,

“Well I suppose having an introduction is just conforming to society’s ways however much it may be of little use.”

William watched as Elinor grabbed onto the nearest branch and swung herself back upright.

“Do you need any help?” William asked.

“None at all I shall be perfectly fine thankyou Mr Hugo,” Elinor replied secretly knowing that she did in fact need a lot of help and had no idea how she was going to recover.

“Very well,” William said,” But I still don’t believe you.” With that he reached over to Elinor and took her arm, pulling her around the branch that had stalled her and setting her free.

“Well thank you for your assistance even though it was hardly needed,” Elinor thanked him and began climbing back down the tree.

“You are very welcome Miss Clark,” William said smirking.

Elinor stopped and turned back up,” I never told you that my second name was Clark…. So you did remember my name, ha-ha very funny…”

“Not at all I just could not remember your first name that was all,” William replied trying hard not to laugh.

“Of course it was,” Elinor sarcastically said, resuming her descending.

It was now midday and the sun had now started to disappear gradually and peacefully fading into the distance, a million miles away.

Once down on solid ground Elinor was pleased that she and Hermione had shown everyone that actually girls can climb trees even if they do get stuck on the way down. Hermione having no use for such an object such as a boat left Elinor with the prize and decided to take a nap as she felt rather exhausted after all the hard work. She did not seem to care how anyone else felt and was only concerned about her well-being. Some people are so caught up in their lives they tend to forget the pain that others are silently going through. This was Hermione all over which was why she made a good friend with Elinor. Elinor knew Hermione so well and tried to teach Hermione to try and care for other as much as she cares for herself.

Feeling adventurous, Elinor with her new boat, after they had lunched, decided to take it down to Portreath beach and test it out, she thought she may go and explore the deep cave which is always hidden by the ocean. She had often stood on the beach, looking out towards it and wondered what could be beyond it- a new world, a lost world, something of meaning.

On her way to Portreath she came across many people, some taking a stroll, some visiting families, some even lost and some on a mission, each taking a unique path. She was told the boat would be waiting for her near the rocks on the beach which she felt was very helpful considering her intentions for it.

Elinor was glad the sea was still, considering the fact that she had never been sailing before, it would be a new experience and hopefully an exciting one at that. The carpet of turquoise and purple propelled a breeze which was hard to imitate, to feel its powers of reconciliation simmer over you, washing tranquility upon you. She stood for a while, there was no one about- the beach was deserted just the way Elinor hoped it would be.

As she looked around and towards where the boat was said to be, she noticed an odd bird-like creature upon the boat. She neared closer, it was white and large with feathers wide. It had the face of a Parrot but the body of an Emu. She wondered how it had got there-flown perhaps. It was facing away from her and had its eye on something else, floating through the stream, cascading towards it, diving into the afternoon air. Elinor ran and ran and consequently shooed the bird away. It flew against the gentle breeze, a silhouette now due to the sun, its outline blurred yet in some ways defined.

Her blouse and skirt blew in the breeze, as she pushed the boat onto the sand. The boat was quite large for its type and Elinor found it would be just perfect for the mission she wished to accomplish. She pushed it into the sea which was now becoming fierce and slightly dangerous. The boat pitched and wallowed like a frantic child thrashing about in the waters of the choppy and wallowing sea. Here and there massive crests topped with white froth charged through the sea. The immense receptacle of water pulsated with life and seemed to smile a mocking smile at Elinor’s attempt of sailing. Elinor was shocked that the sea seemed so still when looking down upon it but quite the opposite once caught up amidst it. She could finally empathize with sailors who would willingly spend some of the worst storms battling with their ship, determined against everything to help their country. Her black curls were gusting in the breeze, flicking her in the face whenever a moment of boat turning occurred. Although the first minutes of her mission were not in the least successful, as she continued she found herself quite proud of the progress she had achieved. Caught up in the moment of proudness, she did not seem to notice the gigantic wave that was encountering her with the intention of creating havoc among her.

Little did she know that back upon the calm and tranquil beach, William, choosing an adventure over dinner with his parents, was looking out towards the sea. He wondered along the receding line of the water, and had caught a glimpse of Elinor in the far distance battling with her oars against the monster, which from William’s point of view seemed to be still and in utter silence. He laughed and smirked, smiling in amusement.

The beach was an art in itself. Where the water met the ground, there was shifting in the tiny grains of sand- slow yet somehow powerful like the tide that ends in drifts like memories will come and go.

Elinor, having no idea of this had decided that she was in danger. She turned the boat around and headed for land. She was determined not to be found by some ignorant person in a rather awkward position, or be found drowning in the depths of the deathly ocean, straggling for someone to save her life. As she neared land, she noticed William walking towards her. She rolled her eyes and tried to think of some kind of excuse which would save herself from being humiliated by him. She beached and jumped out of the boat, relieved to be back of save ground once again. She walked over to William without looking where she was going. The sun still shone brightly in the endless sky, beaming straight into her eyes, not allowing her to see clearly the placement of her foot. Less than one meter away from him she started to quicken her walking pace, in less than a second she found herself looking down upon William’s shoes. She had tripped over a rock and had found herself face planting the sand and more importantly William’s shoes.

“Well Miss Clark, I have heard of women throwing themselves at men but this is slightly over the top!” William laughed.

Lifting her head up from upon his shoes she replied, “Hmm well perhaps you have never heard of manners or maybe accidently tripping over a rock and landing, without no choice I’m afraid, upon someone’s feet.”

“Hmm manners are a slight mystery to me although I do abide by them. Society informs us that we must be polite, but I see no truth in that. However I see sarcasm as an amusing way to tell the truth, or in some situations to aggravate the person receiving it,” William replied.

“Why don’t you shock me and say something intelligent you see I would challenge you to a battle of wits but I see that you are unarmed,” Elinor said as she pulled the boat along the sand, tugging so hard her voice even seemed to struggle against it.

William however still stood with his hands in his pockets watching as Elinor struggled with no intention of helping whatsoever.

“Is Miss Clark therefore out of words as I cannot possibly imagine you think I am of low intelligence,” William replied.

“……” Elinor was silent “….” She did not reply.

“Why are you not talking to me? Do you need any help with the boat?” William questioned.

“I am afraid Mr Hugo that some people are not worth talking to,” Elinor finally replied as William slowly walked away.

“I would agree with you but then that would mean we would finally agree upon something,” William called back now at least half the beach away.

Elinor huffed and continued with packing the boat away, rather down due to not being able to explore and complete her mission. She did however thought she had better practice sailing after her poor attempt. It was now definitely late in the day and Elinor found that she was looking forward to settling down in the library with her father and reading him a chapter or two before he fell asleep and left Elinor sorting out the book arrangements or cooking for a special occasion.

That was the first time Elinor and William had met and it had not been a very successful one at that. Both had acquired a mutual dislike of the other that they did not seem to hide at all.