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Back Plough the Furrow Save as PDF
Chapters (53)
  1. Cover
  2. Title page
  3. Dedication page
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-one
  25. Twenty-two
  26. Twenty-three
  27. Twenty-four
  28. Twenty-five
  29. Twenty-six
  30. Twenty-seven
  31. Twenty-eight
  32. Twenty-nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-one
  35. Thirty-two
  36. Thirty-three
  37. Thirty-four
  38. Thirty-five
  39. Thirty-six
  40. Thirty-seven
  41. Thirty-eight
  42. Thirty-nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty-one
  45. Forty-two
  46. Forty-three
  47. Forty-four
  48. Sow the Seed
  49. Reap the Harvest
  50. About the Author
  51. ALSO BY MARGARET DICKINSON
  52. Acknowledgements
  53. Copyright page

From the time that Matthew had undoubtedly saved his life, Robert, magnanimous in his own quiet way, came back to help out with the harvest on Brumbys’ Farm. Matthew still went down to the Seagull at the Point from time to time but he caused no more drunken scenes and whilst they never could be friendly towards each other, there seemed to be an uneasy truce between the two men.

Esther did not know – nor did she enquire whether or not Matthew ever saw Beth and his son, Daniel. Esther had her own growing child now and always she had the farm.

Through the months that followed, they settled into a routine. Matthew, despite his bitterness against her which sometimes surfaced, nevertheless worked very hard on the farm – and his physical need of her never diminished. Even though now words of love never passed his lips, he still wanted her as much as he had ever done. As for Esther, although she had never pretended to love Matthew, she had believed that they could find some sort of happiness together. But resentment had changed Matthew and now Esther knew herself to be locked in a loveless marriage.

Nevertheless, she reminded herself resolutely, she had what she had always told herself she wanted most – a place of her own and a family. Now she had someone to cherish and to love – her baby daughter.

If Matthew took little interest in his daughter, there was someone else besides Esther who made up for his deficiency.

From the moment he saw Esther’s child, Will Benson was besotted by the little girl. Whenever his cart drew into their yard, it became a ritual for him to climb down and go in search of Kate. Finding her, he would pick her up and, as she grew, offer his pockets for her to delve into with her tiny hands and searching fingers. She would giggle and pull out sweets and pretty ribbons and trinkets one after the other.

‘You spoil her, Will,’ Esther would admonish, but she would smile as she said it. It was difficult not to spoil the bright-eyed child, though she was not always as cherubic as she appeared to Will. Sometimes there were childish tantrums if she did not get her own way, and it was left to Esther to administer the sharp smack of correction. At such times, Matthew would frown and turn away, irritated by Kate’s naughtiness.

‘She only does it when you’re around,’ Esther would say. ‘She does it to get your attention. If only you would take a little notice of your own daughter sometimes . . .’