The Tale of Hill Top Farm Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Chapter 1 - Miss Tolliver Departs

  Chapter 2 - Miss Potter Arrives

  Chapter 3 - A Town Mouse Meets a Country Cat

  Chapter 4 - Losses, Mix-Ups, and Confusions

  Chapter 5 - Miss Potter Surveys Her Domain

  Chapter 6 - Dimity Woodcock Serves Tea

  Chapter 7 - Tabitha Twitchit Has a Bright Idea

  Chapter 8 - Charlie Hotchkiss Has News

  Chapter 9 - Myrtle Crabbe Makes a Dreadful Discovery

  Chapter 10 - Miss Potter Faces Facts

  Chapter 11 - Freedom!

  Chapter 12 - Miss Tolliver’s Will Is Read

  Chapter 13 - Miss Potter Sees Herself in a New Light

  Chapter 14 - The Mystery of Miss Barwick

  Chapter 15 - True Love

  Chapter 16 - Behind the Walls of Castle Cottage

  Chapter 17 - Miss Nash Shares a Problem

  Chapter 18 - Miss Potter Says No

  Chapter 19 - Bertha Stubbs Tells All

  Chapter 20 - Miss Crabbe Meets with an Unfortunate Accident

  Chapter 21 - Rats!

  Chapter 22 - Acorn to the Rescue

  Chapter 23 - Miss Nash Is Surprised

  Chapter 24 - Miss Potter Pays a Visit

  Chapter 25 - Sarah Barwick Shocks the Neighbors

  Chapter 26 - Miss Potter Puts a Thief out of Business

  Chapter 27 - Many a Little Makes a Mickle

  Historical Note

  Resources

  Favorite Sawrey Village Recipes

  Glossary

  More praise for THE TALE OF HILL TOP FARM

  “A perfectly charming cozy, as full of English country loam, leaf, and lamb as could be desired . . . as full of pinched schoolmistresses, vicar’s widows, and goodhearted volunteers as any Barbara Pym novel.” —Booklist

  “There is a historical essence to the tale . . . fans feel they are in a quaint English village, circa 1905 ... Fabulous.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “Beatrix Potter fans will welcome the talented Susan Wittig Albert . . . similar to [the works] of Rita Mae Brown.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Endearing . . . The English country village resonates with charm and humor, and sleuth Beatrix positively shines.”

  —School Library Journal

  Don’t miss the new Cottage Tale of Beatrix Potter,

  THETALEOFHOLLYHOW

  Praise for Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles Novels

  “Albert’s characters are as real and as quirky as your next-door neighbor.” —Raleigh News & Observer

  “[Albert] improves with each successive book . . . artful”

  —Austin American-Statesman

  “Albert’s dialogue and characterizations put her in a class with lady sleuths V.I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “The denizens of Pecan Springs are sympathetic and insightful, grand livers with flinty wit—a combination of the residents of Lake Wobegon and the Texas villages in Larry McMurtry’s novels. Albert’s writing and outlook suggest Molly Ivins, while China’s independence and sunbelt sleuthing will appeal to readers of Earlene Fowler’s Benni Harper series and Allana Martin’s Texana Jones novels.”

  —Booklist

  “A marvelous addition to the ranks of amateur detectives.”

  —Linda Grant

  China Bayles mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert

  THYME OF DEATH

  WITCHES’ BANE

  HANGMAN’S ROOT

  ROSEMARY REMEMBERED

  RUEFUL DEATH

  LOVE LIES BLEEDING

  CHILE DEATH

  LAVENDER LIES

  MISTLETOE MAN

  BLOODROOT

  INDIGO DYING

  AN UNTHYMELY DEATH

  A DILLY OF A DEATH

  DEAD MAN’S BONES

  With her husband, Bill Albert, writing as Robin Paige

  DEATH AT BISHOP’S KEEP

  DEATH AT GALLOWS GREEN

  DEATH AT DAISY’S FOLLY

  DEATH AT DEVIL’S BRIDGE

  DEATH AT ROTTINGDEAN

  DEATH AT WHITECHAPEL

  DEATH AT EPSOM DOWNS

  DEATH AT DARTMOOR

  DEATH AT GLAMIS CASTLE

  DEATH IN HYDE PARK

  DEATH AT BLENHEIM PALACE

  Beatrix Potter Mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert

  THE TALE OF HILL TOP FARM

  THE TALE OF HOLLY HOW

  Nonfiction books by Susan Wittig Albert

  WRITING FROM LIFE

  WORK OF HER OWN

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada

  (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

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  (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

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  (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,

  South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  THE TALE OF HILL TOP FARM

  A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

  Copyright © 2004 by Susan Wittig Albert.

  Frederick Warne & Co is the sole and exclusive owner of the entire rights titles and interest in and to the copyrights and trademarks of Beatrix Potter, including all names and characters featured therein. No reproduction of these copyrights and trademarks may be made without the prior consent of Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  eISBN : 978-0-425-20101-5

  BERKLEY ® PRIME CRIME

  Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  The name BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the BERKLEY PRIME CRIME design

  are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  Acknowledgments

  I am especially grateful to the many
people whose biographical research into the life of Beatrix Potter has made this fiction possible; their names and the titles of their studies are listed in the Resources section at the end of the book. Special thanks go to Dr. Linda Lear, Senior Research Scholar in History at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, whose eagerly awaited biography of Beatrix Potter will be published in 2006. Dr. Lear read and commented on this book; she helped to confirm the accuracy of the background research but, even more importantly, to affirm the validity of this fictional approach to Beatrix Potter’s life. Thanks also go to Liz Hunter, House and Collections Manager, Hawkshead and Beatrix Potter Properties, National Trust; and to Peter Tasker, the gardener at Hill Top.

  I continue to be grateful to my editor, Natalee Rosenstein, whose wit and humor enliven all our interactions, and whose patience I especially appreciate. And of course, to my husband, Bill Albert, for his careful research, his constructive criticism, and his attentive reading.

  Susan Wittig Albert

  To Judy Taylor,

  with grateful appreciation for

  her studies of the life and work of Beatrix Potter

  Author’s Note

  This book and others that follow in the Cottage Tales series trace the arc of Beatrix Potter’s life from 1905, when she purchased Hill Top Farm in the village of Sawrey, through 1913, when she married William Heelis and went to Sawrey to live. If you have visited the Lake District of England, you may recognize the names of villages, towns, lakes, woods, and even actual houses, for I have chosen many of these lovely and very real places as settings for these books. But with the exception of Beatrix, her family, her friends, and her animal companions, the characters and their stories are entirely imaginary. The “real” people are noted with an asterisk in the Cast of Characters; all others appearing in this book are flights of the author’s fancy.

  Susan Wittig Albert

  Bertram, Texas, 2003

  Cast of Characters (* indicates an actual person or creature)

  Beatrix Potter*, children’s author and illustrator, has recently purchased Hill Top Farm. She has brought her animals to Sawrey for this visit: Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle*, Josey and Mopsy Rabbit*, and Tom Thumb Mouse*.

  Dimity Woodcock and Captain Miles Woodcock live in Tower Bank House, a large house overlooking the road to Hawkshead. Dimity, who always has something good to say about everyone, volunteers for parish activities; her brother Miles is Justice of the Peace for Sawrey District. Elsa Grape keeps house and cooks for the Woodcocks.

  Abigail Tolliver, recently deceased, lived in Anvil Cottage, with Tabitha Twitchit*, the senior village cat. Miss Tolliver’s nephew, Henry Roberts, a draper from Kendal, expects to inherit her estate, and employs a house agent, Mr. Oscar Spry, to sell Anvil Cottage. Sarah Barwick, from Manchester, has a certain mysterious connection to Miss Tolliver.

  Mathilda Crook boards guests in her home, Belle Green, at the top of Market Street. Mathilda’s husband, George Crook, who has a cranky temperament, owns and operates the village forge. He has a Jack Russell terrier named Rascal. Charlie Hotchkiss (George’s helper at the forge) and Edward Horsley room with the Crooks. Beatrix Potter also stays here during her 1905 visit to Sawrey.

  Grace Lythecoe is the widow of the former vicar. She lives in Rose Cottage and plays an important role in village affairs.

  Lucy Skead is the village postmistress; her husband Joseph Skead is sexton at St. Peter’s. Lucy’s elderly mother, Dolly Dorking (reputed to be a witch) lives with them in Low Green Gate, which is also the village post office.

  John Jennings farms Hill Top Farm, his wife Becky manages the dairy. They have two children, Sammy and Clara, and a cat named Miss Felicia Frummety.

  Myrtle Crabbe, the teacher of the junior class and the headmistress of Sawrey School, lives in Castle Cottage. Her two younger sisters also live here: Pansy Crabbe (who gives piano lessons and leads the Sawrey Choral Society) and Viola Crabbe (who gives dramatic readings). Their cat Max the Manx lives with them.

  Margaret Nash teaches the infants class at Sawrey School, and lives with her sister Annie in Sunnyside Cottage.

  Bertha and Henry Stubbs live in the left-hand cottage in the row of Lakefield Cottages. Bertha cleans Sawrey School; Henry is a ferryman. Bertha has a gray tabby cat named Crumpet.

  Jeremy Crosfield and his aunt Jane Crosfield live in picturesque Willow Cottage, on Cunsey Beck. Jeremy is in Miss Crabbe’s junior class at Sawrey School; Miss Crosfield is a spinner and weaver.

  Rose Sutton, wife of Desmond Sutton, the veterinarian, lives in Courier Cottage.

  Roger Dowling and his nephew David Dowling do light carpentry work in the joinery, just up Market Street from Meadowcroft Cottage, where Roger lives with his wife Lydia. Meadowcroft is also the village shop, which is operated by Lydia and will later become famous as the Ginger & Pickles Shop in one of Beatrix Potter’s books.

  Vicar Samuel Sackett is the vicar of St. Peter’s Church in Far Sawrey, and lives at the Vicarage. Mrs. Thompson keeps house for him.

  Dr. Butters, a much-loved physician, lives in Hawkshead and cares for all the people in the vicinity.

  Lawrence Ransom owns an art gallery in Ambleside.

  Louie and Sophie Armitt*, friends of Beatrix, live in Rydal Cottage, Ambleside. Later in her life, Beatrix donated her botanical drawings, as well as her father’s books, to the library established by the Armitt sisters in Ambleside.

  William (Willie) Heelis* is a solicitor with an office in Hawkshead.

  Galileo Newton Owl, D.Phil., is a tawny owl who lives in Cuckoo Brow Woods. He studies celestial mechanics and the habits of small furry creatures, and makes it his business to know everything that goes on in the neighborhood of Sawrey.

  Ridley Rattail is a country-gentleman rat who gets involved with Roger-Dodger and Newgate Jack, a pair of bad rats from London who want to cheat him out of his money.

  1

  Miss Tolliver Departs

  NEAR SAWREY, OCTOBER, 1905

  It was a splendid morning in October when Miss Abigail Tolliver departed this world—one of those brilliant, breezy days that sets the heart singing and stirs the blue English lakes and the blue English sky into a grand and glorious celebration of clouds and color. It was one of those perfect days that seem to promise the beginning of all good things, but because the leaves were whirling from the trees, it promised endings, too.

  Dimity Woodcock discovered what had happened at eleven o’ clock, when she went to Anvil Cottage to consult Miss Tolliver about the School Roof Fund. There was no answer to her tap at the back-garden door, but since it was always kept off the latch, she called and went in, expecting to find Miss Tolliver in the kitchen. She found her, instead, slumped in her upholstered chair in the sitting room, where the previous afternoon Dimity had presided over tea and cake at a village celebration of Miss Tolliver’s sixty-fifth birthday.

  “Oh, dear!” Dimity gasped as she touched dear Miss Tolliver’s cold hand. Her heart leapt straight up into her throat. “Oh, sweet Miss Tolliver!”

  “She died last night,” Tabitha Twitchit said. She gave a long, sad sigh. “I’ve been keeping watch.”

  Dimity looked down at the old calico cat, Miss Tolliver’s companion of many years. “What a plaintive meow,” she said, bending over to stroke her fur. “But of course you and Miss Tolliver have been together for ages and ages. You’ll miss her.” She straightened up. “You must be hungry, Tabitha. Come home with me, and I’ll give you something to eat.”

  “Thank you all the same, but I’ll just stay here with Miss Tolliver,” Tabitha said, tucking her paws neatly under her fur bib. “I had a mouse last night, but if you would be so kind as to bring me a bowl of milk with a bit of bread in it, that would be quite nice.”

  Dimity regarded the cat thoughtfully, reflecting that animals seemed to feel death as keenly as people. “On second thought, perhaps you’d rather stay with your mistress for a while. Tell you what, dear—I’ll bring you a bowl of bread and milk when I come b
ack.”

  And with that, Dimity hurried home to Tower Bank to fetch her brother, Captain Miles Woodcock, Justice of the Peace for Sawrey District, who was always called upon when someone died and knew exactly what must be done.

  The news of Miss Tolliver’s unexpected death spread swiftly through Near Sawrey. Agnes Llewellyn, who lived at High Green Gate, the farmhouse next up Market Street, met Dimity coming out of Anvil Cottage and heard what had happened. Agnes hurried back home to fetch the black crepe mourning wreath she had hung on her own mother’s door some months before. Some might say it was unlucky to use the same crepe, but Agnes, a practical person, could not see the sense in letting a very good bit of crepe go to waste—and now that Miss Tolliver was departed, what worse luck could there be?

  Betty Leech, gathering the last striped marrows in the frost-kissed garden of Buckle Yeat, heard the sad news from Mary, Agnes Llewelyn’s daughter. She set down her garden basket, told ten-year-old Ruth (who was home from school with a bad cold) to mind the babies, and went to help Agnes hang the crepe. That done, she hurried round to the back of Anvil Cottage, where Miss Tolliver kept two hives of bees, to tell them the news of their mistress’s passing. It was always good practice to tell the hive courteously and with respect for their feelings, so that the bees did not decline and die in sympathy with the departed, or take offense and fly off in search of new quarters. The bees properly informed, Betty went knocking on the doors of the cottages on Market Street, and sent her oldest daughter Rachel to tell those who lived on Graythwaite Lane.