A Mother's Christmas Wish by Glenda Young

Author:Glenda Young [Young, Glenda]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2022-08-18T00:00:00+00:00

The following morning, Bessie was up early, and had the fire burning by the time Emma came downstairs. Emma was pleased to see her looking so well, animated, busy, working through her pile of paperwork.

‘How are you this morning?’ she asked.

Bessie shrugged. ‘As right as rain, just like I knew I would be. Got a small bruise on my leg where I knocked it against the hearth, but nothing that won’t clear up in a day or two. Now, I won’t hear any more about it, and don’t you dare breathe a word to Branna or Cara. I won’t have them fussing around.’ She raised a sheet of paper that Emma recognised as the letter from the brewery. ‘It’s about time I tackled this,’ she said briskly. ‘I’m going to write to the fella whose name is on this letter. I’m sure he’ll understand once I tell him about Pat and what’s happened.’

‘He might, but the brewery won’t be so forgiving,’ Emma advised. ‘They’ll want their money, one way or another.’

Emma toasted bread on the fire as she drank her mug of tea and watched Bessie writing her letter.

‘There’s syrup in the kitchen if you’d like some,’ Bessie offered.

Emma usually enjoyed thick, gloopy syrup on hot buttered toast. But the thought of it that morning turned her stomach. She put it down to feeling unsettled over the events of the night before; she was still trying to process what had happened with Robert. She’d already decided not to mention it to Bessie. It wouldn’t do to get her aunt’s hopes up, thinking there might be something between her and Robert when she didn’t know herself.

‘I’ll be all right with just butter,’ she said.

Bessie took an envelope and popped her letter into it. ‘Would you take this to Joy Sparrow after breakfast and ask her to send it?’

‘Course I will,’ Emma replied.

‘I just hope it does the trick with the man from the brewery. I know I can put a convincing case forward to let me pay off the debt each week.’

‘Do you feel ready to come back to work yet?’ Emma asked hopefully.

‘Oh, now, who wants an old bird like me clucking about behind the bar when there’s you with your pretty face?’

‘Is that your way of saying no again?’

‘You’re getting to know me, lass. Anyway, despite everything, Dan has turned out to be more hard-working than I thought.’

‘He’s still in cahoots with Badger Johnson.’

‘And Badger’s still bringing in stolen goods?’

Emma nodded. ‘Mainly tobacco and cigarettes as far as I can tell. I’ve tried to have a word with him, but he just sneers at me.’

Bessie sat up straight in her seat. ‘I’ll give him something to sneer about. Next time he comes in and you suspect there’s something going on, let me know.’

Emma felt her heart lift with joy at Bessie showing interest in what was going on outside her room. She noticed her leaning forward to rub her leg and guessed she was suffering more pain from her fall than she was letting on.

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