Nat nodded.  It sounded easy enough.  She started with the rake and worked without a stop filling the wheelbarrow and taking it out back as she had been directed.  Then she brought it back, taking a bit of a pause and wiping sweat off her face.  However, there was still more to do, and she wasn't going to let him down in how hard a worker she was, so she got right back to it.  The areas she cleaned were done even down in the corners and edges.

Tobias stopped for a bit to watch Nat. He was satisfied with what he saw, for though the boy was still young and skinny, he seemed strong for his size and worked on steadily without complaining. When they had brushed the remainder of the straw out, Tobias rested on his broom and smiled at the boy. "Aye, I can see ye'r used to workin' hard, and that's sum't to be proud of."

She looked over at the comment and smiled.  She was sweaty, dusty, and had straw here and there.  "Don't get called back for the jobs unless they like what you do."  She replied.  "I like this kind of job, it's not all tight and dark like in a chimney."

Tobias gave Nat a look of concern. "They still send kids up the chimney? I thought that was illegal. That's appalling... Well, none of that here. The work can be mucky, but it's not dangerous, if ye keep yer wits about ye. Now. There's fresh straw in the barn. We'll fill the floor with it. This way." And he took one of the wheelbarrows and led Nat out to the barn.

Nat shrugged.  "Not everyone is up with keeping the rules and a job is a job sometimes.  Being small, I could get those."  She followed him.  Being dirty was not an issue for her.  She waited till he had hay ready for her to move around, and got started right away.

Tobias shook his head. The state of this bloody country! What was the point of changing the law if the law was not enforced. And he knew from private experience that law enforcement in Whitby was a joke. "Here we are. Ye can use the wheel barrows. And he filled his own with straw, drove it back to the stables and spread it across the floor of the stall.

She nodded and with a filled wheelbarrow, she began to spread the hay out evenly over the stall floor.  "How many animals do you have here?  I know the horses we used to get here, but how many and what other kinds?  Will you teach me to milk a cow or goat?"  She grinned as she worked thinking of the new things she would be learning here.

"There's no goats, but two cows. We only use them for our own dairy, and the occasional cheese to sell." Tobias said as he spread the straw. "They're here." He indicated the stalls they were cleaning. "And two horses, the ones you saw. We have a flock of sheep, 41 at the moment, but they're out on the moor now. And then there's the chickens, about fifty. We deliver eggs to town every few days." He leaned on his rake. "Jenny will teach ye how to milk the cows. They're milked twice a day."

Nat listened as she worked.  Reaching up to pull a bit of hay off her collar, she tossed it to the floor with the rest of the clean hay.  Getting another rake of hay, she thought about milking and smiled.  Wouldn't Gus laugh seeing her now?  Away from the beach, but she didn't mind.  It was fresh air.

A question that she needed to find out about pretty soon.  "Umm, where do your employees take baths?"  She asked as if it weren't a big issue just a general question.

Tobias tilted his head a little. "Jenny should have brought you a pitcher of water and soap this morning..." he said, and then he frowned. "Jimmy didn't show you, did he? Well, never mind, he will tomorrow. I'll make sure of it. We're done here and you've earned your tea. Let's go in." He put the pitchfork away and took off his overall. "Your meal will be in the kitchen."