The Farmhouse

[rvplymates]

OOC: Heather Whiterspoon, 29 years old, blonde blue eyed, 5'5", well built and pretty.

It had been a long hard winter, as the first buds of spring showed themselves, Heather came out of the farmhouse. Still not use to being alone she turned to look for Brett when it struck her he was gone, dead. She continued to the barn to saddle the horse. She had to ride out to the fields to see how much work there was to do.

Twenty minutes later she sat on the horse looking at the barren land. She would have to hire some field hands if she wanted to keep the farm. As she gazed at the land she remembered a night some three months back when Brett came home from town with a raging fever. Whoever would have guessed that Brett would succumb to what they both thought was a heavy cold.

Heather turned and rode back to the farmhouse. She knew now for sure she was in big trouble unless she got some help. She took the horse to the barn, unsaddled him and gave him some oats in his stall. She returned to the farmhouse, tired and depressed at the thought of maybe having to sell her home.

 

[sonali00783]

Ronald Goodman
25 years old
Ronald lived in a small town near Whitefields, on death of his father his elder brothers made him sign some documents he din't knew and by cunning threw him out of the house. he now had no money to survive and had to find some work to survive. Being a nice man he was he did not said a word against his brothers at the injustice they did to him.
He left the home wih just 5 pounds in his pocket.
But where could he find a job?
he had to survive and 5 pounds were not enough to ensure a ride to the town so all he could do was to walk his way through the fields and try to find a job in the neighbouring village and find means for survival.
He was a strong man and an expert at farming.
Finally after searching job at a few farms i stumble upon this farm which looked as if it were vacant and run down, as i turned to leave i heard a voice of horse, and turned back and thought well atleast give it a try and thus ringed the bell at the side of the gate, with crossed fingers i hoped someone might come and i could find a job.

hope it is ok?

 

[rvplymates]

Heather was working in the house when she heard the bell, she wiped her hands on her apron and hurried to see who it could be. She rushed to the door, opened it and looked to the gate. She saw a man, an impressively big man standing there. She started walking down the path to the gate wondering if this was a smart thing to do. She thought if he was up to something he would not have rang the bell but barged in. She would see what he wanted and guage what she was dealing with as they talked, one thing she had to keep in mind was not to mention she was alone until she was sure of the character of this man.

She walked up to the fence with a pleasant but not overly friendly expression on her face.

"Yes, May I help you"

 

[sonali00783]

Usually i never was intereted in women but i was amazed by the beauty of the women that was walking towards me.
I got a grip on my self immediately knowing she belonged to someone else.
As she came near me and asked may i help you i bowed my head once and said in a soft tone.
"Mam i was just looking for a job, i had been thrown out of my house after my father died. I know farming and how to keep animals and do plenty of household stuff!"
I looked at your face expectantly, hoping with crossed fingers to atleast get a job here because from what i knew this was the furthest end of the village and there were hardly any farm left

 

[rvplymates]

Heather listened to the man's story, when he mentioned the death of his Father, she made up her mind that he knew the pain of loss and would not harm her. That added to his respectful manner and his abilities on a farm made her make up her mind.

"I am looking for help on the farm, if you are willing to wait for your pay till Harvest, I am willing to take you on. On this farm there are several harvest as we grow a variety of crops. In the barn there is living quarters as we usually use migrant farmers during harvest. I need a man or maybe a few, I really don't know what I need, you see my husband use to take care of these things. He past away during the winter months"

Heather's voice cracked as she mentioned Brett's passing.

"If you will act as a kind of foreman, letting me know what I need to do, in return, you will have a home over your head and plenty of food to eat. I just do not want to lose this farm that meant so much to my husband"

Heather cleared her throat as she could feel emotions threateneing to overtake her.

 

[sonali00783]

I could see the pain in her eyes and her voice as she mentioned the loss of her husband, i also understood the reason for the run down state of the farm.
Also since she had offered me a place to stay and food to eat i was not too much bothered about th pay at the moment, as at this time i was desperate for survival, more then anything else!
I agreed to her terms and condition and asked "Mam can i join the work now itself, since i have no place to go tonight"

 

[rvplymates]

"Why of course, come to the farmhouse, I will give you supper and we can discuss terms as far as what you expect to be paid and what I can aford to play"

Heather took a key from her apron and unlocked the chain lock. As he stepped in, she relocked it and lead the way to her farmhouse. As they walked up the steps she noticed she had left the door open. Typical of her, Brett had always been after her for that. She gave the man a sideward look to see if he like Brett would be annoyed at her lack a daisy ways. He did not have any emotional look on his face as she pushed the door open and led him him. As he moved into the kitchen she closed the door and locked it.

"Take a seat, I have stew and biscuits"

She bent to get the biscuits out of the oven, she always made too much food and today was no exception. She placed the biscuits on a plate and took out butter and a knife and placed it on the table. She was surprised to see out of all the chairs by the table the man had chosen Brett's chair. She did not say anything but went to the stove and ladeled out the stew in two bowls, filling his to the brim. She of course had little appetite for a long time now.

 

[sonali00783]

I looked around the kitchen and it was really well maintained and i murmured thanks as you gave me a bowl of stew, biscuits and some butter.
As my habit was i ate the food quitely but i could not help steling glances at you, as you are really beautiful.
Soon we ended the dinner and i washed the dishes clean and kept them at the place instructed by you and then cleaned the table, assuming these to be part of my job.

Then i came back and sat on the chair and waited for you to speak

 

[rvplymates]

Heather was surprised as the man ate and got up quickly and washed the dishes. She had never seen a man do what was considered a woman's job. As he asked where to put the dishes, she pointed to the cupboard and watched him put them away. It was kind of confusing to Heather but as he sat down at the table she got hold of herself and sat down next to him.

"First of all, I just realized, I do not know your name. I am Heather Whiterspoon "

She flushed a bit as this was to her unforgivable in polite society.

"I take care of the house and there is no need for you to do my dishes. It is Spring now so we have to get to the planting. I usually helped my husband with that but he was the one that decided what we should plant, I am afraid I need your help in deciding this"

She looked at him before she continued noticing for the first time, he was a handsome man. She blushed again at her thought and began to speak again.

"As you probably notice the winter was rough to the upkeep of the farm, again Brett decided the priorities and we worked together to make everything up to par. I need direction from you on what we should do first. I guess you are thinking doesn't this woman know anything, and it is true I do not, the only thing I do know is that I do not want to lose the farm"

 

[sonali00783]

"I am really sorry mam but in hurry i forgot to introduce myself"
"I am Ronald Goodman and used to live in the village Whitefields north of here"
"I had seen the fields mam and before we could sow anything the fields need to be ploughed thoroughly, as the top layer seems to have crusted due to the worst winter here in this region!" then i suggest madam we could plant some vegetables, and some cereals in the main fields and along the boundary we will need to reset the fruit bearing trees, also if you had like madam orchid flowers can earn some good money as there is a good craze for it nowadays!"

 

[rvplymates]

Heather nodded as Ronald made his suggestions, he seemed to have good plans and knew his way as only a man could around a far.

"I have seed for all that you mentioned except for the orchid flowers. I just don't know if I have enough or if it is any good. Brett saw to all that, and I of course was his help mate in everything on the farm. We will go look at the seed after we finish talking. I have some money that was saved just for the purpose of buying seed. I have a few horses, cows and some chickens in the barn, I think they have enough feed for awhile but again I need you to look it over and let me know how much we should buy. I hope all of this is not too much of a burden on you but you seem to know your way around a farm. I will help you plough the fields tomorrow. We did it the old fashioned way, me and Brett, with a horse and a Plough. I have three horses and two ploughs so all I need is for you to tell me what to do. The ploughs are out in the field covered. Brett got sick early winter and never got back there to move them to the barn. I am hoping they are alright, again I will have to rely on your knowledge if they are alright. If we have a good year, I will buy modern equipment after Harvest, with your help of course. Men do not respect woman and I am afraid the sales people will take advantage of me"

 

[sonali00783]

I nodded and said "Madam don't worry, even if we have less money for flowers i know a place where we could get the seeds and bulb on credit, also i know of some labour who shall work on the farm in exchange of little money and food. and i think i would like to see the stores and check how much seed and fertelizers we have with us!" i purposeley never reminded you of my salary since at the moment i was just interested in a shelter and ood for survival, also since i understood that due to the tragic loss you had suffered you might not have enough funds, and all i wanted was a place to stay at and nice people to stay with, even if they were the employers

 

[rvplymates]

Heather thought for a moment, and relized she was asking him to act as a husband would without the obligations that came with it. She had to offer him something for his trouble.

"Would you accept 10% of this years profits as pay when we do the harvests. I mean each harvest I would give you 10 % of the profits, would that be enough to compensate you for all this work I am placeing on your shoulders. Also I would want you to hire the people we need to do the work. Until that is arranged I will work side by side with you on all endeavours. Even after we hire, I will work at anything that is necessary to work at. Again, I need your direction there as Brett often told me when the men came to work that I should not be in the fields with them. He never told me why, would you"

She thought for a moment.

"Don't we have to be careful about credit, Brett never used it, he said he was not taking a chance on losing the farmhouse, again he never told me why he felt that way. He was a cash and carry kind of man"

 

[sonali00783]

"Madame i am afraid but 10% is to much, i just need a place to stay and food to eat, also your husband was right, you must not be in fields with labour around the place, you are too beautiful to be seen by men!, i am sorry but i did not want to offend you but i had to speak the truth sinceyou asked me!"
"The person i am asking about will not be giving credit to you but to me madam, he will never ask you for anything!"
and soon we reach the place where you had kept the seeds and fertilizers and to my delight they were in very good shape and i reported the same to you

 

[rvplymates]

As they walked to the barn so that Heather could show Ronald all that she had, she thought of what he had said. She had never thought herself beautiful and was surprised when he said that. As Ronald looked over the seed and fertilizers, Heather thought of what he had said about the 10% of the profits. She showed him up the stairs to the living quarters in the barn.

"See it is not very private, whoever you hire will be in the same room as you. You will be in charge and should have a different room. I have lumber in the back of the barn that could be forged into a separate room for privacy"

She thought for a moment.

"I do have a spare room in the farmhouse that you are welcomed to"

She looked into his face.

"I believe you are entitled to 10 % Ronald as all of what I have asked you to do is what a husband would do except for........."

She had almost stated the obvious, her face colored and she turned away.

"I would feel I was taken advantage of you if you do not accept the 10%"

She fell silent as she looked around the quarters.

 

[sonali00783]

"Madam , my soul will never allow me to take 10% of the profit, i will feel as if i had taken advantage of the situation, i have to be honest and all i wanted was food and shelter, any money i get shall be bonus for me!, and at the time madam i will stay here, i do not think we could afford to waste that lumber on the room, and madam thankyou for the room in the farmhouse but it would be better if i stay here out in the farm to look after everything!"

 

[rvplymates]

Heather nodded her head, she was confused by his lack of need for money but she would not argue with him, she would bide her time and bring it up again, sometime in the future. She walked to a closet and opened it.

"This is where I keep the sheets, pillows and blankets, If there are any questions you need answers for I will be in the Farmhouse"

She had assumed he wanted to go to sleep now and started for the door, she turned to him.

"Breakfast is at five and then we will get working. We will talk in the morning as to what we should do first"

Heather smiled at him and turned to leave.

 

[sonali00783]

Unsure if i had the authority to say something i said "Goodnight madam and thanks a lot for giving me the job!" she just smiled and said goodnight and returned to the farmhouse.
I slept and woke up early in the morning 3 Am infact and did my morning chores and decided to take a round around the farm as it was still early morning and 1 and a half hours to breakfast.
I quitely went around the farm and when i returned to the barn i found a paper and pencil and sketched the entire farm and decided what to be grown where so that we could do it with minimum hired labour both at time of sowing and harvesting and we could have steady flow of money.
Finally i had decided to put in 6 different crops in six areas so we could start reaping the harvest as early as after acouple of months.
Also while roaming the farm i found a nice place to grow Orchid flowers, and infact there were a few orchid plants too!

It was still 4.30 in the morning and i could hear voices from the farmhouse and i decided to go and have a look at the plough, and was happy to find both ploughs in workable conditions

 

[rvplymates]

Heather woke at 3:30, washed and dressed herself. As she got to the kitchen, she put wood in the fireplace and started a fire. The room soon warmed as she began breakfast. She began singing a favorite song to herself as she cooked. As always she made too much food but hopefully Ronald had a healthy appetite like Brett had. She placed the food into the oven as she completed it.

Soon there was a knock at the door. She hurried over to it and smiled as Ronald stood outside the door.

"Good Morning, everything is ready, come in and sit at the table"

Heather brought plates full of eggs, bacon and hash browns to the table. She went back and got the buttered toast and two cups of coffee. As she balanced this she walked back to the table and placed the cups on it. The toast went between them. She went back to the cupboard and got out plates, forks, and knives and some napkins.

She placed the plates, smiled at Ronald and sat down.

"I hope you like eggs, I forgot to ask"

She watched him take what he wanted and then put food on her own plate. For a change Heather found she had an appetite.

 

[sonali00783]

"i love eggs madami reply smiling and i wait for you to join and we eat our way throught the breakfast, i had a healthy apetite but i notices you ate too less,
soon however the breakfast was over and i helped you cleaning the dishes, and putting them back in place.
I in a small voice say "Madam the food was really delicious, you are truly a wonderful cook!"

 

[rvplymates]

Heather smiled broadly at Ronald's compliment. She had been told that many times by her husband and it always gave her great pleasure. She looked into his handsome face, wondering for the first time, why he wasn't married with a place of his own.

"Thank you for the compliment"

Her eyes twinkled with happiness that she had not felt in a long time.

"So what are we going to do today"

Heather looked into Ronald's eyes waiting for the plan for the day. Her house was clean, her belly was filled, she was ready for harder work now.

 

[sonali00783]

"Well madam i had been around the farm and had seen the grounds, some of them need little ploughing and some need real heavy ploughing!" i take out the paper on which i had sketched and planned everything and start explaining it to you!
In the end i say "Madam i have tried to arrange it in a matter to have least labourer work in for us and we get good yields, and i thin we can start with these two parts nearest to the barn"

 

[rvplymates]

Heather listened to Ronald and as he took out the paper she moved to the side of him. Their bodies pressed against each other but Heather did not notice it as she concentrated on the sketched plan. She nodded her head at each plan.

"It is a sound plan, Ronald, very sound, I believe it will work very well"

She liked his way of thinking, he was a good farmer she realized. She placed her finger on the two parts of the land that they would plough today.

"Yes, which part do you want me to do"

She looked up at him.

"When will we do the hiring? Do you know people willing to do the work, Ronald"

Heather realized how close she was standing to Ronald, she took a step back.

 

[sonali00783]

I too realised as she stepped back that how close she was standing to me as i had just finished the explanation.
I reply "Madame i would do the ploughing in both the fields today, the soil needs very less ploughing, it would be better if you could mix the manures and fertilizers which we will have to mix in the fields, and tomorrow we will take the third field here, it will take around 2 days and then after that we will need a couple of labourers for say about 10 days, and i know 3 people who are willing to do the job!"
Sayin this i smile at you and we both go out i take the horses put them in the plough and begin my work while you start mixing the manure and fertilizers.
It was around 12.30 pm and i had completed ploughing the first field and come to the barn where you were mixing the fertilizer and manure.
"madame i will do it now, you can go and rest!" i speak as i enter the barn, i had decided o give horses some rest before ploughing the second field.

 

[rvplymates]

Heather was surprised that Ronald did not want help with the ploughing as she had done it many times before. He felt it would be better if she mixed the manures and fertilizers, she nodded as she knew how to do this too. As Ronald explained that they would do the thrid field tomorrow she moved by his side once more to look at where they would be tomorrow. Again she felt his body against hers, she looked into his face as he explained about the three people he knew to help with the job.

"So tomorrow we will plough together, right"

She was so interested in his plans that she did not move away from him. They hitched the horses to the plough together and then Heather headed to the barn to do the mixing as Ronald went to the field. Hours later as she worked hard on mixing and shoveling the mixture into a wheelbarrel, Ronald walked into the barn.

Whisps of long hair had fallen from the tight knot that was at the nape of Heather's neck. She was too busy to notice. She jumped a bit at the sound of Ronald's voice.

"I will let you finish the job but I am not going to rest, there is lunch to be made. I don't know about you but I am very hungry"

Heather stood in front of Ronald, her face was flushed and moistened by the hard work she was doing.

"So how is the ploughing going"

She used the back of her hand to push back an annoying piece of hair.