The Hayride

The Harvest Moon was waning, and Billy, the lead hand, had hooked up Buck and Buster, the plow horses, to the hay wagon, so the younger girls and boys could go on a hayride around the fields where they’d been working all summer.

Mr Lawd, the farmer, had laid on a feast for his hired help, since the harvest had been good, and he hoped he could entice the summer help back for the next year. His wife, Mrs Lawd, had fretted about the expense, and told Martha the cook to be frugal with everything, as far as she could manage.

It had taken three days to make all the food, and the kitchen and scullery had been a whirlwind the whole time. The scullery maid’s – Nancy’s – dress had been soaked through and her hands were raw from scrubbing all the pots and pants as Martha and the other hired girls did the cooking. She’d woken up in tears on the third morning, but Martha had made her some salve with lard, yarrow and calendula, and it helped a little.

By the time the hayride was over, Nancy had fallen asleep from the rocking motion, her rare night off wasted.