Read Online The Promise by Lesley Pearse - Free Book Online

anything, and fell asleep soon after it was over, but I couldn’t go through that again.’
    Mog put her arm round her and held her close. She hated that her Belle had been forced to see something so harrowing.
    ‘It doesn’t bear thinking about how it would have been for Miranda if she had gone home,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘I’ve met her mother and she’s a Tartar.’ She went on to tell Belle what she knew about her. ‘But what are you going to do with Miranda now?’
    ‘Let her sleep for as long as possible,’ Belle said, looking back at the door. ‘I won’t open the shop of course, not when I’m supposed to be at Lisette’s. I’ll walk her home later. Fortunately the friend she’s supposed to have stayed with isn’t on the telephone, so her mother won’t find out she wasn’t there. Miranda can pretend she’s just having a very heavy monthly and go back to bed.’
    ‘You’ll have to get rid of that.’ Mog pointed to the bucket.
    ‘I’m going to pour some turpentine on it and set fire to it later,’ Belle said. ‘I can’t do it now; it would be suspicious if anyone saw smoke at this time in the morning.’
    ‘I’ll take my hat off to you, you’ve thought it all through,’ Mog said admiringly. It never ceased to astound her how after all the humiliations and terrors Belle had been through she had retained her humanity, dignity, warmth and sense of humour.
    She had loved Belle as her own from the moment she held her in her arms when she was newborn, and she would have continued to love her even if she’d lost her mind and her beauty. But to see her return to England and by her own force of will open the milliner’s she’d always dreamed of and make a huge success of it, that made Mog immensely proud.
    Belle half smiled. ‘It’s not the first time I’ve had to plot something, but I don’t know whether I can tell Jimmy. How was he last night?’
    ‘He was fine, but then he’s always easy about everything. Not like some men that fly off the handle when their missus goes out. You got a fine one there.’
    ‘I know,’ Belle said glumly. ‘That’s why I’m going to feel terrible lying about going to see Lisette.’
    ‘Then don’t say anything much, just launch into telling him about your baby. He’ll be so thrilled about that he won’t think to ask about Lisette.’
    Belle looked pensive. ‘I wonder if Miranda will keep in touch with me after this.’
    ‘Do you want her to?’ Mog asked.
    ‘Yes,’ Belle nodded. ‘I thought she was very snooty at first, but once that was gone I found we had a lot in common and I felt very close to her. I kept thinking that it was but for the grace of God I was never in her position. But I didn’t tell her I was having a baby, it didn’t seem right.’
    Mog sighed. ‘No, but don’t dwell on that. You were there when she most needed someone. Now, if you don’t need me for anything, I’d better go home. Have you got anything you want me to take to wash? Don’t want Jimmy seeing you with anything suspicious.’
    ‘There’s a sheet and a towel,’ Belle said and got up to get them. ‘I’ll be home about one.’
    As Mog opened the back gate a few minutes later with the soiled linen in a bag, she turned to Belle. ‘I’m so proud of you,’ she said. ‘Perhaps in the eyes of the law you did wrong getting involved, but to me you have been brave and kind. I hope Miranda realizes that God must have been smiling on her to send her to you.’
    Just after one, Belle locked up her shop, and tucking Miranda’s arm into hers they set off on the walk to the Paragon. There were a great many people flocking over to the fair, children running about excited at the music and noise coming from it. Miranda looked drained and pale, but she was in quite good spirits and not in any pain. Belle had slipped out of the shop earlier and bought some Hartmann’s sanitary pads for her, and it was a relief to both women that she wasn’t losing much blood any