midday
Prudence and Alice looked cool beside `` Mother Hephzy , '' but then they were never allowed to do any work in the kitchen . Mrs. Malling loved her kitchen better than any part of the house . She had always reigned supreme there , and as long as she could work such would always be the case . Now she was preparing the midday meal for the threshing gang which was at work in the fields . Great blocked-tin canteens stood about upon the floor waiting to receive the hot food which was to be sent down to the workers . Hephzibah was a woman of generous instincts where the inner man was concerned . The wages she paid were always board wages , but no hired man was ever allowed to work for her and pay for his keep .