Molly's Journey
Page 30
In a brief respite from the flurries of snow, she noticed that there was a hamlet below the ridge. She had previously avoided descending to these small villages along the way, but now she plucked up the courage to follow the lights beaming from a row of cottages. The bells had become clearer, though they were not as sonorous as church bells, and through a window she glimpsed a circle of people around a table, each with a handbell, ringing in turn.
A woman came into the room with a tray full of glasses, steam rising from a bowl of punch. The bells were put down as she placed the tray on the table and began to ladle the punch into the glasses. A man went to add a fresh log to the fire that already roared up the chimney, then crossed to the window to close the curtains, but a small gap remained so that a chink of light was visible from outside. The girl moved away from the window. She leaned against the rough stone wall next to the front door and glimpsed a lovely wreath of holly fastened there. She pricked her finger as she touched it hesitantly, but her hands were so cold she didn’t feel anything. There was singing coming from the house now.
‘It came upon the midnight clear, That glorious song of old . . .’ They must be practising the bell-ringing and carols for Christmas, she thought.
Suddenly she heard organ music and felt drawn to find out where it was emanating from. Whoever was playing stopped abruptly. She saw a chapel further along the cobbled street; finding the oak door unlocked, she ventured inside, but no further than the porch, where she found a settle. This would be her bed for the night. She would be safe here, she was sure. There were notices on the walls but the light was too dim to discern them.
She rested her head on her bundle and shivered. Charity is cold – the words were jumbled in her head. She had no coat, just the shawl, and she tucked her numbed hands underneath it. She was too weary to attempt to remove her boots from her sore, blistered feet. They were smeared with clay after her slithering descent from the rough grass on the edge of the snow to the terrain below.
The inner door opened and a figure emerged from the chapel: a tall, well-built woman carrying a lantern. She looked down at the girl huddling on the settle, taking in the pale face and the shabby clothes, recognising fear in the blue eyes looking up at her.
‘There is nothing to be afraid of,’ she said gently. ‘You are welcome to rest here. I would offer you a bed for the night, but we have six sons still at home. I’ll come back soon with food for you. I am the minister’s wife.’ The girl’s eyes flickered and she nodded.
Later, the minister’s wife supported her with an arm around her narrow shoulders while the girl sipped hot soup from a tin mug. She broke pieces of soft new bread into a dish and added a chunk of cheese. ‘Eat what you can, it will give you strength,’ she said.
The empty crockery was packed into a bag, and from a reticule the woman produced a warm red and green plaid cape. ‘Let me help you put this on, my dear. It will be too large, no doubt, but wrap it around you and it will be as good as a blanket. I haven’t worn it in ages but I brought it here from Scotland when I married – I am glad for you to have it. In the pocket you’ll find a lucky piece of white heather; I put it there twenty years ago.’
When the minister’s wife returned the next morning with porridge and a bottle of tea, she found that the girl had gone. Her footprints had already been obliterated by a fresh fall of snow. She didn’t even tell me her name or where she was going, the woman recalled. In fact, she didn’t speak at all; she appeared to be suffering from shock. I can only pray she reaches her journey’s end safely . . .
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Circus – a World History by Rupert Croft-Cooke and Peter Cotes.
Published by Elek, 1976
Circus by Rodney N. Manser.
Published by Richford Enterprises Ltd, 1987
I Saw A Strange Land by Arthur Groom.
Published by Angus and Robertson, 1950
The Sunburnt Country edited by Gilbert Murray, O.M.
Published by Collins, 1953
I wish to also acknowledge the generous assistance with my research of the late Miss D Gamble, a stewardess with P & O between the wars.
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First published in Great Britain as ‘Molly Sparkes’ in 2001 by Piatkus
This ebook edition published in 2016 by
Zaffre Publishing
80-81 Wimpole St, London, W1G 9RE
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Text copyright © Sheila Newberry, 2001
Girl © Masson (Signed model release filed with Shutterstock, Inc)
Sky © weedezign
Ship scene © Detroit Publishing Co. / Library of Congress
The moral right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-7857-6166-9
This ebook was produced by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd
Zaffre Publishing is an imprint of Bonnier Zaffre, a Bonnier Publishing company
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