Before the heat settled
its mantle on the land,
in this freshened morning.
with each welcome greeting
from joggers or walkers
my path curved by still waters
hastened on by feathered parents,
decorated by spring blossoms.
“Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.”
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
Clear skies,
light breezes,
warm sun
birds threading the air
with their songs
Which way should I turn?
Bird Sanctuary or lakeside?
On impulse, a swing toward
the lake and a pleasant surprise ~
The Waterfall, stilled for winter,
flowed once more.
~ Lao Tzu
England, 1862. Charlotte Harding and Harriet Baldwin, sisters, were on the edges of British society. Harriet, the older sister is married to the Honourable Charles Baldwin, MP a man of means who is vying for a greater position in the British Parliament. Charlotte is twenty one, unmarried and lives with them, taken in by her brother-in-law when her parents died. The most recent marriage choice for her, an unpleasant man, is key to aiding Charles in his bid for position. This is a time when women were no more than chattel, the British Empire was advancing their colonization into Canada with the attendant issues of racism, small pox and class divisions. Leslie Howard in her first novel The Brideship Wife, takes Charlotte and Harriet out of England aboard the Tynemouth, one of four ships, that became known as a bride ship. This is one of the historical details in Leslie Howard’s novel. At this time of the gold rush, the men that worked the claims were clamouring for wives. Some were impoverished and still panning for gold, while others ‘struck it rich’ either spending their new found wealth or using it to develop their ‘free’ parcels of land. There was little concern about the pasts of the women that arrived on Victoria’s shores. Charlotte, and her sister Harriet, were essentially banished from England by Harriet’s husband. On the ship, Charlotte showed compassion for those on the lower decks. Men in dreadful working conditions to man the ship; women confined to the lower decks by the Reverend and Mrs. Burke bringing religion to this new land. Shipboard romance is another part of Charlotte’s story. But she was determined not to fall into the role of the good wife again.
In reality, bride ships were the result of the Columbia’s Emigration Society’s initiative to bring women to aid in populating the colonies. The Brideship Wife was, in turn, strait laced and lively, as the women were shunted from their lives in England on the three month sea voyage to their new, and hopefully better, lives. Some did marry and raise children, some did not. In general they did find very different lives outside of some of the constraints of English society. This novel is a fast and easy read, despite the details packed within its pages. My only concern was that there seemed almost implausible jumps from one location to another. Possibly my own issue.
All in all, I found The Brideship Wife to be a very enjoyable read.
“After all I’d been doing to salvage my reputation, I was
taking a risk, but I had no other choice.”- Charlotte Harding
~ Leslie Howard, The Brideship Wife
Title: The Brideship Wife
Author: Leslie Howard (raised in Penticton, B.C.; avid interest in her province.
Copyright: 2020
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada
Type: Novel
Format: Soft Cover
ISBN - 978-1-5082-5935-0
ISBN - 978-1-5082-5936-7 (ebook)
Review, Revision, Edit and Update
Each time I review an episode, I appreciate the work of editors and copy editors. I could call it tinkering which is what I do. Their work is much more intense and of course, usually for a novel.
I saw little to alter in this episode. One fairly significant error I made was in the first paragraph. The sentence in question originally read: “Extra staff was needed - doctors, nurses, RMTs and......” My intent was to include respiratory therapists, important member of the health care team, but I used the wrong initials. My improved sentence reads: “Extra staff was needed - doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and......” Other wise, my tinkering involved a few wording changes and spacing. Nothing elaborate.
Awakened
“Do I have to get up? Really?” Jeremy pulled his pillow over his head. “The light is too bright. Just let me sleep.” It was the first good sleep he’d had in two weeks. His rotation was only supposed to be one week, but the hospital filled up with more cases of Covid 19. Extra staff was needed - doctors, nurses, Respiratory Therapists and any auxiliary staff. Everything still needed cleaned, cleaned and cleaned again. And everyone had pulled together. They were all exhausted even with rotations to give people much needed resting time away from the chaos.
“Yes, honey you have to wake up. Here’s coffee and toast. Cook sent it up just for you. None for me! And she fixed it just the way you like it - lots of cream cheese and her strawberry jam. I do get to have coffee with you though, honey.” Jeremy had looked absolutely exhausted when she picked him up the night before. At dinner that evening, he ate everything, at the same time leaning his head on one hand. Drank two big glasses of water and one of milk. Giving a loud burp, he said - “Show me where the bed is, Em. I don’t know if I can get there myself.”
“Ok, ok, I’ll sit up - but I’m not getting out of this bed. How long did I sleep? What time is it?” Scrubbing his eyes open, he squinted out the window. “It’s kind of dark? Why is it time to get up?” Emelina laughed. “Well, you’ve slept all day ~ almost a full 24 hours! I had to check on you to make sure you were still breathing.” He sat up a little straighter, taking the welcome mug of coffee from his wife. “Cook fixed your snack just before she left for the day. There’s dinner waiting for you if you can make yourself get up. You can always go back to bed but get up for a bit, please Jeremy.”
“All right, Em but I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. Every muscle in my body aches.” Returning the empty coffee cup to her, he sat slowly on the edge of the bed, leaning his elbows to knees, head in his hands. “Maybe I’ll have a shower and go back to bed. I don’t know about dinner, but a shower I can manage.” He kissed her on the forehead and staggered in to the bathroom. Emelina heard the shower turn on, heard moans of pleasure and “my god that hot water feels good!” She stripped the bed, put fresh sheets on and folded them down for him.
The shower turned off. “Em. I think I might have that dinner after all. I’m starving! Can you hand me my housecoat? Otherwise I’ll have to flash you!” She laughed out loud and took him his housecoat. “I’d rather we had dinner first, husband.”
~~~~~
Dinner was finished. “I’ve eaten all I can eat. When you woke me up, I wasn’t even sure I wanted the coffee. You’re quite the saleswoman! Pushing me out of bed and sending me off to the shower.” Jeremy was shaking his head in mock disbelief. “I did not ‘send you off to the shower’ - it was your idea.” Emelina took some of their dinner dishes to the dumbwaiter. “So are you going to get dressed now?” He pulled her onto his lap. “Jeremy, I need to clear away our dinner things!” She wrested herself away from him. “And why should I get dressed. I saw the bed made up and looking all ready for something.” Em stood behind him and massaged his tight shoulders, eliciting another moan from him. “It is all ready for something, but I want to go for a walk first with you. It’s a lovely evening and you need some fresh air. I want you all limbered up and smelling of the outside, not hospital.” Jeremy looked like a chastened little boy. “Ok, mom, I’ll be a good boy and take my poor old mother for a walk. Maybe she’ll magically change back into my beautiful wife and then I’ll take her to bed.”
~~~~~
Emelina had wanted to talk with Jeremy about doing something for the staff here at the estate. Seeing him so very tired and exhausted, she had decided not to and was glad of it. “Thank you for getting me out here, Em.” Stepping out the front door, the sun almost gone, Jeremy took a deep breath of cool, fresh island air. She stood beside him, happy and content. The two not so young lovers took a stroll around the grounds. Back on the porch sitting on the wicker swinging bench, they cuddled until they both got cold. “Let’s go in, Em. I think I need to get back to bed.”
“To know when to go away and when to come closer
is the key to any lasting relationship.”
~ Doménico Cieri Estrada
Slowing my stride,
sun warm on my face
a new path lay ahead ~
over the bridge,
up and around an island
manned by geese and ducks
on tiptoe I peered over a wall
to sight across the lake
the path from whence I’d come
I wandered home by
a different path to a
park where blackbirds sing ~
my morning walk had
eased body, soul and mind.
“Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.”
~ Steven Wright
Silence is golden
down at the pond
by the lake ~
space for nightbirds
to echo goodnight.
“Does not everything depend on our interpretation of the silence around us?”
~ Lawrence Durrell, Justine
A Walk in the Park
Earth shattering screams pierced the early evening air! Winston cringed. The lake remained unruffled. “I told them not to start screaming until I signalled them. Abigail is late!” Winston Dreadnaught had a date. The first date in years. He obfuscated if anyone pressed him on that issue. Nervously, he looked around to make certain the ‘screamers’ he had hired were not in sight. On the path leading into the park he spied Abigail. She wore the demure white dress sprinkled with purple flowers she purchased at Winston’s Ladies Wear the week before. The ‘date’ was merely a stroll around the lake, with a stop at the Tea House. He pulled out his pocket watch, hoping that they would not be too late for their reservation.
Abigail Abercrombie was nervous. Especially coming into the city park alone. The earth shattering screams did little to give her ease, stopping her in her tracks. She had seen Winston wave so, with only brief hesitation, she continued on. “Good evening, Winston. My heavens, I almost decided to turn and run when I heard the screams. I was so afraid that you’d been hurt and that I’d be next! But I’m glad I changed my mind. It’s such a lovely evening and you are looking so very handsome.”
Winston breathed a sigh of relief. “As am I, Abigail. Those screams were just some unruly children who should be home for supper. I’m certain that now that we’re together, there will be no other problems.” Winston was pleased. He’d have to give his two ‘screamers’ a extra coin or two for being early. He offered his arm to Abigail and they set out for their stroll.
“Smile, breathe, and go slowly.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
