Читать книгу To See The Light Return - Sophie Galleymore Bird - Страница 11

The buckets were heavy and banged against her shins as Dorcas backed cautiously through the door to the cellar, pivoting on the spot to be sure of not taking a tumble down the steep stone steps that led from the kitchen. She gave soft grunts of effort at each tread, taking care not to spill any of the buckets’ contents. The fat was solid at room temperature, but could still leave a slimy mess, treacherous underfoot.

The smell from the rendering room had permeated the stairwell and she wrinkled her nose in disgust, taking shallow breaths. At the bottom of the stairs was a screen made up of old strips of plastic, to keep flies and other insects out, and here she turned and backed through. It was stiflingly hot on the other side; Agnes had already lit the stove and was warming the pan they would use to melt down the fat Dorcas was delivering. Tiny vents high in the wall were inadequate to remove all the smoke escaping the chimney and the room was slightly hazed.

‘Right girl, you get this lot started, I’ve another bucket to bring down.’

Carrying buckets was more menial work than Dorcas liked her girls to see her do. It was important to her that she maintain her status as someone above that sort of thing, but Ivy was off with the flu and Spight was complaining he didn’t have enough fuel to get the next supply run in to the village, so needs must. And she hated the rendering room and its smells and smoke. Better to do the donkey work than stir the blubber as it rendered down to oil.

Dorcas poured the blood-threaded lumps of yellow, waxy fat out of the buckets and into the pan, scraping out the residue with a metal spoon, then handed the spoon to Agnes, who started poking around and distributing it more evenly.

‘Mind you don’t let it burn,’ Dorcas admonished her, before starting the journey back up the stairs, empty buckets banging carelessly together. ‘I’ve got to go take care of our prize cow. She’ll be shipped out soon enough and she’s got to be fit to travel.’