Edie's Home for Orphans by Gracie Taylor

Author:Gracie Taylor [Taylor, Gracie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2020-10-20T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Edie rarely arrived home before seven when she was working at Larkstone Farm. As she had quickly learned, there were no short days in lambing season. Tilly was usually waiting for her in the kitchen, and the two girls enjoyed a gossip together while Edie ate her evening meal. Today, of course, she was particularly keen to get her friend alone. But when she got to the kitchen, she found not only Tilly but Jimmy and Aggie, beaming as if they had an especially good piece of news to share.

‘Hullo,’ Edie said as she eased her tired body into a chair. ‘What’re you two monkeys doing up?’

‘We’re allowed. Mrs Hewitt says,’ Aggie told her. ‘We got special permission to wait for you so’s we can give you a surprise.’

Edie felt that she’d had enough of surprises today, but she could tell the two of them were bursting with excitement so she played along.

‘Is it a nice surprise?’

‘Oh, very,’ Tilly told her, amusement sparkling behind her sober expression. ‘Show her, Ag.’

‘Right, this is my surprise,’ Aggie said with an important air. ‘Jimmy’s got a surprise too, but Tilly says I’ve to give you this one first because you’ll be starved.’

Edie laughed. ‘She’s not wrong. Is it a food surprise then?’

Aggie nodded eagerly. She looked at Tilly, who put a plate of cheese pudding and spring greens down in front of Edie with a flourish.

Edie eyed the pudding warily. ‘It hasn’t got one of those snakes on a spring inside it, has it?’

‘No,’ Aggie said, bouncing on her heels. ‘Eat it, Edie. I mean, eat it, please,’ she said after a look from Tilly.

Edie swallowed a forkful.

‘It’s delicious,’ she said, blinking. ‘Should I be surprised by that?’

Aggie couldn’t contain herself any longer.

‘I made it!’ she burst out. ‘Jimmy helped too. Tilly let us make it for your dinner and she says it’s betterer than anything she could make.’

‘She’s right,’ Edie said, with an apologetic grimace for her friend. ‘It’s the best cheese pudding I’ve ever eaten, that’s for sure. Thank you, both of you.’

Aggie beamed with pride.

‘Jimmy’s got something to show you too,’ Tilly said. ‘Haven’t you, Jim?’

He answered with a shy nod.

‘Go and get it then,’ Tilly said.

The little boy bounded from the room and came back with his school exercise book, open at today’s work. Several lines were filled with writing, each spelling out ‘James Adam Cawthra’ in letters that became steadily more legible as Edie looked down the page.

‘Jimmy! Did you write this?’ she said.

He nodded eagerly.

‘All on his own,’ Aggie said, glowing on her brother’s behalf. ‘He said the teacher helped a bit with the first one – only a little bit – but all the others Jimmy done just himself. Ain’t he clever?’

‘I always knew he was,’ Edie said, smiling at the pink-cheeked little lad. She ruffled his hair. ‘Well done, Jimmy, I’m ever so proud of you. If you keep practising your letters with me and Uncle Jack, I bet you’ll be ahead of everyone when you go into the big class.

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