Chapter 16: Brandon - Bother The Weather!

Chapter 16 Deep Dive

Outline:

Brandon travels from the Kitter forge to Far Pebble Farm with Rodrick and Helena
Its pouring rain
Rodrick welcomes Helena, she will stay in the room with Annie
Rodrick, Rick, Hart, Dec, and Pip head to mill
Helena is upset she didn't see enough of the young men
Brandon and Ed look at each other and start to laugh
Helena does help at the farm: she darns Thomas' clothes, all the socks, warmed supper, and then joined Brandon, Ed, and Annie in the field
Annie and Helena fall in love with 2 lambs and let them into the cottage to keep them safe from the rain and cold
Brandon and Ed disagree
The girls redeem themselves with food
Outside was cold and wet, but inside their bellies were full and they sang songs
Brandon climbs into bed with Ed, they find the bed empty without their brothers
Ed stretches out then cuddles into Brandon bc of the cold
A wet and slippery morning as the boys tend the sheep and farm
Ed complains about the weather
Brandon looks into the woods & the trials the Hobsons have made
Brandon mentions what Mistress Goode said about lyches and a curse on them and the Hobsons are mean
Ed says there are no lyches and why would they place a curse on them and no someone more interesting
Ed asks since when does Brandon listen to her, shes a miserable lady since Uncle Allan left her
Brandon agrees, but is not so sure
After morning work, Brandon & Ed head back to croft
The girls made a delicious soup from leftovers
The boys are very grateful
later in afternoon, the 4 went to fields
The girls are upset they boys wont let them leave the lambs in the croft
Annie named the lambs Theo and Leo
The girls promise to clean any mess the lambs have made
After battling the weather, boys are too tired to argue with the girls
The next afternoon their Hobson aunt, Jane Norris comes to the home to find food on the table and the croft very, vrey clean
She asks the boys what they had done to warrant it being to clean
Ed says nothing, Annie and Helena keep a clean house
Brandon says they don't allow muddy boots
Aunt Jane doesn't believe them
Annie changes the subject to the wall
Aunt Jane says the wall was going to fall over and then men are working in shifts
The men will remain an extra night to work on the wall
Helena asks if the old wall around the mill
Aunt Jane corrects her and says that wall was fixed, now working on north wall that master Builder is worried will break the mill
Aunt Jane says Rodrick volunteers the men to fix it
She recommends that Annie and Helena have strong broth, boiled cabbage, and meat for them when they arrive tomorrow
Aunt Jane now says for them to tell her how they've been spending their days because not even her mother could keep the croft so clean
The 4 blush
Annie & Helena prepare a filling meal
Rodrick thanked the girls by kissing the palms of their hands
Rick and Hart get herbed ale
Pip and Dec help fill the trenchers with food
Rick tells the story of fixing the wall while Pip acts out the misery
Everyone laughs
Pip and Helena share a look
Next morning, Rick drives Brandon & Helena to town and Helena laments that the Hobsons are poor but so handsome
Rick glances at Brandon who bites his cheek to keep from laughing
Helena says she'd consider marrying Thomas, though he is a year younger than her
She asks if Pip has thought of marriage yet
Rick says not that he knows of, since Pip is still quite young
Helena asks about Dec
Rick says he doesn't know
Helena adds that Ed has lovely blue eyes
Rick looks to Brandon again and Brandon bites down harder to spare her feelings
Brandon wakes with a start, not sure what woke him
Dunstan is fast asleep and the room is still dark
Brandon spots Mistress Kitter standing the kitchen
She starles and asks him why he is up
Brandon says he heard a noise
She tries to send him back to bed
The front door closes and Kitter jumps at the sight of his wife and Brandon in the dark
Brandon repeats that he heard a noise
Mistress Kitter lies and says she wanted to make sure that Brandon wasn't sick
Brandon doesn't dare disagree
Kitter asks that Honora pour them drinks
She goes to send Brandon to bed but Kitter lets him stay
Kitter lights candles and then sat in his usual place and waited for the Mistress Kitter to join them
Brandon sipped the warm milk and honey she gave him
Kitter says the south wall at the mill fell and it will break and over flow
Brandon is upset since his father and brothers worked on the mill
Kitter tells Brandon he promised Master Builder to go in the morning to asses the damage and wants Brandon to work with Dunstan while he's gone
Brandon says he will and Kityer sends him to bed when he finishes his drink
Brandon helps Dunstan unstick his chair to get closer to the forge
Dunstan calls him over to watch him make a lock and key
Dunstan explains everything as he makes it he only stops when Kitter returns and calls them
Brandon asks if hes done something wrong
Kitter repeats himself that they need to go inside
Dunstan shrugs and Brandon make sure the forge is safe to leave unattended
Kitter orders them all to sit down
Kitter saw Aunt Jane om the lane as she went to fetch her husband at the mill
When the mill broke it sent a flood of water and debris into the farms
All of the mess settled in Far Pebble Farm, but everyone is fine but there is a mess and the sheep are dead
Kitter will take Brandon home since his father will need him more
Brandon is shocked
Kitter tells him to get his things, he has to take him home