It is still bitterly cold outside but Thomas and I are very comfortable. We actually spend a great deal of time cleaning and chatting. The movement keeps up warm and we take advantage of every opportunities to sit in the kitchen as I heat water and cook our simple meals.
Thomas is opening up just a little. I do most of the talking and he confirms, denies, or asks polite questions. His fear of me is ebbing. He shared just a little about himself and I am already learning what he likes, what interests him, and I am fairly positive that he can not read – or read very much. After we finish going through the house I may try to school him. It will be a nice way to spend the days together. I would love for him to have time to be a little boy instead of a premature adult. He looks so serious all the time.
Our progress on the house has already made a miraculous change to the overall atmosphere. After we cleaned the entry hall we went to work on the kitchen. I am sure Milly would have told me to begin my efforts there but that is just one of the many practical concepts I am still learning.
As we were cleaning the entry it became very apparent that finding anything in the kitchen and pantry was almost impossible – or at least finding what we desired was. We found the ammonia and lye among the earthenware baking dishes. The dishes were covered in spider webs and in some cases dead spiders. New cleaning rags had to be made from some old moth-eaten material we found at the bottom of the pantry. I can only assume that the material was meant for men’s clothing. Thomas actually found one of Madam Darion’s ball gowns stuffed into a wooden crate near the rear door. The list of interesting discoveries is ever-growing.
I even discovered a second stove stored in the back. I believe William meant to change them out and I am wondering if, with a little ingenuity, Thomas and I could set the beastly thing in place.
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The diary of Elizabeth Whetherby - A Historic Fiction
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