Read Online Break of Dawn by Rita Bradshaw - Free Book Online Page B

mistress be so mean? To withhold the doctor’s presents like that, it was stealing, that’s what it was. Did the master know? And him a clergyman. But she wouldn’t put anything past the pair of them where that bairn was concerned, so why was she surprised? And even when Sophy was occasionally summoned to the drawing room with Patience when visitors arrived, ost ensibly to keep up the pretence that she was treated as amember of the family, she had noticed before that this never happened if the guest was Dr Lawrence. And now she knew why. He might mention something.
    The carriage was drawing away, the trap following, and as a few desultory snowflakes drifted down in the bitterly cold night, Mary and Jeremiah walked towards the house. Bridget made up her mind quickly. She wouldn’t say a word about the present, not until she’d given it to Sophy anyway, and then she would mention it casually when she was serving the mistress’s elevenses in the morning room tomorrow. No doubt she would get into trouble, but that didn’t matter. She could make out that the doctor had given her the gift when she was busy with her duties, and she’d put it in her pocket and forgotten all about it till morning when she’d found it and given it to the bairn.
    Mary and Jeremiah walked past her without acknowledging her presence, their personas having changed radically now there was no longer any need to keep up the pretence of being a happily married couple. However, Mary did manage a tight smile as she paused at the foot of the staircase to say, ‘Tell Cook the meal was most satisfactory, Bridget.’
    ‘Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.’
    ‘The ladies on my committee for the Sunday School Christmas party will be meeting here at ten-thirty tomorrow morning. Please see to it refreshments are served promptly at ten forty-five.’
    ‘Yes, ma’am.’
    ‘And the young masters will be home for the Christmas holidays in five days’ time. You may start airing their bedding tomorrow morning and lighting a fire in their rooms.’
    ‘Yes, ma’am.’
    ‘That is all. Once you have put the drawing room to rights, you may retire.’
    Considering it was nearly midnight, she should think so an’ all, Bridget thought, her voice without expression as she said again, ‘Yes, ma’am.’
    Nevertheless, as she stacked the coffee tray, plumped the cushions on the sofas and tidied up crumbs of shortcake from the carpetwith a little dustpan and brush, the small, gaily-wrapped parcel in her pocket banished any tiredness. She could just imagine Sophy’s face tomorrow morning when she had a present from the doctor. And there were the books she and her mam and da had bought the bairn too. The old picture book was falling apart, Sophy had looked at it so much, besides which the lass hadn’t been reading so well then. She hadn’t known which book to choose – Hans Christian Andersen’s
Fairy Tales
or Lewis Carroll’s
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
, when she had nipped into the little toy shop close to the dairy in Southwick Road. Conscious of the list of shopping in her pocket from the mistress, she had bought them both and she didn’t regret it. The bairn had little enough.
    She would have dearly loved to buy Sophy one of the richly dressed dolls she had seen, their porcelain faces and long hair curled in ringlets similar to those in Miss Patience’s room, or maybe one of the magic lanterns which could project hand-coloured scenes on slides, but both would have been difficult to conceal. The books would give her the greatest pleasure. She nodded to the thought. And no doubt before too long she would know the stories off by heart.
    Bridget’s parents had already retired to their room when she finally finished in the drawing room and walked through to the kitchen. The room was in semi-darkness. Kitty had extinguished the oil lamp but left two candles at either end of the kitchen table, and by their flickering light Bridget gazed down at the child