The Way of Peace

Chapter 3

The woman, Melanie was properly introduce to as Mrs. Hameldon had stuffed food down her throat when William finally showed her where the kitchen was. She had sliced Melanie two large pieces of bread with chunks of ham, cheese, lettuce, onions and peppers. Then after Melanie was done with her sandwich Mrs. Hameldon said she was too thin and weak for life out here, so she had served her two bowls of applesauce. After she ate the very last bite of applesauce with Mrs. Hameldon standing over her making sure she ate it all, she felt like casting up her accounts right then.

Mrs. Hameldon now stood over a pot with her specialty soup, only made for special occasions which she had thought it was a special day since William had brought home a wife. Melanie was told to sit at the kitchen table to rest a while. Mrs. Hameldon told William that if Melanie lifted a finger to do any chores for the rest of the week Mrs. Hameldon would go straight to Mrs. Clemmet's and tell him off. William looked rather horrified and left abruptly which led Mrs. Hameldon rolling her eyes, shaking her head and mumbling. It almost made Melanie want to smile.

Melanie went out of the kitchen door into a vegetable garden surrounded by a tall iron fence that needed tending to after Mrs. Hameldon thought she rested enough. The sun was shining high from the east and a cool breeze tunneled through the valley where she now stood on the east side of the house facing the barn bringing with it lovely smells of lavender. She walked through the vegetable garden and opened the beautifully crafted iron gate. She toured the the chicken coop and counted thirty laying hens, twelve chicks and three roosters. She then made her way to the barn and ran into Roy the young boy who she had seen earlier that morning. He had impressed her with all his information about the animals that inhabited the barn. She met two mustangs named Borak and Cyrus, who William trained from colts. The two horses were divine. Borak was so black he almost looked blue and Cyrus had to be her favorite. She was a painted horse of dark brown and white with a brown mane. She met the two Holstein horses that drove her here. Abby a white with a black mane female and Giles a Chestnut stallion. Abby had two young colts in January in another stall which Roy hand't named yet. One had the same color as Borak and the other was gold. They moved into the next area of the barn holding dark red pigs. Roy called them Duroc's he had a whole list of information about them as well. She rather liked the little nine year old boy who looked twelve or thirteen considering his size. He was very patient with her and every question she had asked he had an answer for. He was a silly boy too. Each time she was about to leave he would think of someway to keep her in the barn. He seemed very lonely. She had learned his mother and father died in a carriage accident and Mr. and Mrs. Clemmet drove up on the accident right after it happened they found him still tucked inside the carriage unharmed and brought him out here. He had been four years old at the time. She also learned that Mr. and Mrs. Clemmet lived in Portsmouth where she had been last night. They had moved into a town house two summers ago leaving all the land to William. Roy said William had made more money and bought more land since his Father left for town. They were going to take Roy out with him for schooling but he had refused to go and Mrs. Hameldon said she would be his teacher. Which she hadn't done any teaching since January.

He took her around the corner to find goats. Billy goats on one side locked up and on the other doe's. In a pen all on their own held little kids. Roy said they needed the mama goats for milking. They used the milk for cheese, soap and Mrs. Hameldon sometimes made creams to make for their neighbor since she was old and could't get around much anymore. But she had stopped making creams, for Mrs. Hameldon's hands were stiffening.

After her tour around the barn which was the largest barn she had ever seen, she walked back through the vegetable garden and got a burden to weed it and tend to it. It was still cool outside even with it well after noon. She looked down at her clothing and shrugged. She would have to wash it sometime today to wear it tomorrow. She would need a bath right away though. She opened the door to the kitchen and met Mrs. Hameldon.