As a result, or partly so, Barbara found that
her son grew more and more uncontrollable. He mixed with grooms and low
characters, and when checked flew into fits of passion which frightened
her.
Oddly enough, during these paroxysms, which were generally followed by
two or three days of persistent sulking, the only person who seemed
to have any control over him was a certain under-housemaid named Bess
Cotton, the daughter of a small farmer in the neighbourhood. This girl,
who was only about three years older than Anthony, was remarkable for
her handsome appearance and vigour of body and mind. Her hair and large
eyes were so dark that probably the local belief that she had gipsy or
other foreign blood in her veins was true. Her complexion, however, was
purely English, and her character had all the coarseness of those
who have lived for generations in the Fens, whence her father came,
uncontrolled by higher influences, such as the fellowship of gentle-bred
and educated folk.
Bess was an excellent and capable servant, one, moreover, who soon
obtained a sort of mastery in the household. On a certain occasion the
young Squire, as they called him, was in one of the worst of his rages,
having been forbidden by his mother to go to a coursing meeting which
he wished to attend.
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