Chapter 4

“I hope you slept well, Caroline. It is a soft bed and a lovely room. How do you like my little world?”

“Beautiful. You seem to be so utterly on your own here - away from the outside world and all its cares. I almost envy you. There is a question for you, however! Where are my clothes?”

Grace laughed. “You will get them back when you leave. As my guest you won’t need them, Caroline. Just enjoy being part of the rhythm of life and nature. Let yourself and your cares and troubles go away and allow your mind and soul to be healed and restored. This is why I have asked you to come here.”

“Did you know my grandfather well?” she asked - rather at a loss for something to say after such a strange reply to her question.

“Years ago, now, we were very close. Come along my love - there is work to be done on the farm. I have been up since before dawn. I am so happy you will be here to help. Happy for you - that is”

Grace led the wondering, although willing, Caroline through the wood and into the field of wheat, telling her that it was ready to be harvested and that the two of them would have to reap the whole field by hand. She taught Caroline how to wield a scythe and the pair set to work, getting ever hotter and dirtier as the day progressed. By the time the sun began to get lower in the sky and the heat of the day began to fade, Caroline was tired and thirsty as she had never been before. Her soft hands were covered in blisters and she was in agony, scarcely able to hold the scythe any longer. As they worked their way through the field, Grace taught her how to bind and stack the sheaves.

Just as the exhausted Caroline was ready to drop from exhaustion, Grace signaled that it was time to rest, eat and drink. She led the way back into the wood. There was a well from which Grace drew a bucket of water and it tasted cooler and cleaner than any Caroline had drunk in her life before. The two girls stretched out on the grassy and mossy ground under the shade of an ancient oak tree.

“This is a last vestige of an ancient forest that once covered all the country. I like to think that so much of Old England that has been destroyed by so-called progress has retreated into this beautiful grove and is here to give life to those who come here. I find strength and consolation whenever I walk among these trees. I am so glad they are here for you, my dear.”

Caroline smiled lazily and looked at her poor hands.

“Just keep working, Caroline. Ignore the pain and in a short time your hands will be as work-hardened as mine and your feet will also grow strong and hard and be able to tread any path, no matter how rough and stony. The Earth will be yours then, just as soon as you have become Hers. Now we must get back to work, before the light is gone. After that there is milking to be done. I’ll show you how - it’s very easy really.”

By the time all the various jobs had been done and Grace had baked tomorrow’s bread in the furnace, it was almost eleven at night and Caroline was about to go up to her room when Grace stopped her with a hand gently and very firmly applied to her arm.

“You don’t want to sleep up there! I never do unless it is very cold. Come with me, sweetheart.”