Marrying Miss Martha by Anna Jacobs

Author:Anna Jacobs [Jacobs, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction/Romance
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 2004-01-25T05:00:00+00:00

PART TWO

Chapter 10

JANUARY 1829

As soon as the festive season was over, lessons started. The four Wright children were escorted to and from school by Mrs Wright’s maid, an elderly woman who had been with the family for as long as Sally had been with the Merridenes.

The children were a delight to teach and even Georgie was slightly less abrasive these days. She was wearing her altered clothes, and not only looked slimmer, Martha thought, but prettier, too.

They spent the morning finding out what the four girls knew, but as it was a crisp, sunny day, Martha decreed that they should all go for a walk in the afternoon. Mr Wright had made it plain that he wanted the girls to start getting more exercise as well as receiving a decent education. She had already asked Georgie to be their guide and since the new boots had been made and pronounced comfortable, the girl led the way cheerfully up to the edge of the moors, happy to be in the role of expert, for once.

“They’re delightful children, aren’t they?” Penelope murmured, watching as the Wright girls began to throw a ball to and fro. Even Georgie condescended to join in, then took over the management of the game, helping little Alice, who was at a disadvantage.

“I’m beginning to think Georgie has hidden talents,” Martha said. “Look how well she’s organising the others and how they mind what she says.”

“She’s not stupid, though I think that mother of hers sounds to be very silly and has taught her to hide her talents, not display them.”

“I agree!”

Martha began to walk up and down, watching the children play and smiling at their pleasure and high spirits. But her own spirits weren’t as high as theirs because she hadn’t realised how much being with the children would rouse the old longing for a family of her own. She had never talked about this to her sister, pretending she was happy with her single state, but now she asked quietly, “Do you ever wish you had children of your own?”

Penelope looked at her in surprise. “Of course I do. Don’t you?”

Martha could only nod, because if she spoke she might give away how emotional she was feeling. But she saw that her sister understood. They knew each other all too well.

* * * *

Ben saw them coming down from the moors, Georgie in animated conversation with Beth, the oldest Wright girl, Penelope walking with Helen and Jenny, the middle girls, and Martha holding Alice’s hand as the child skipped along. Both teachers had cheeks as rosy as their charges and when Martha bent down to listen to something Alice was saying, he found the picture they made very touching.

It was only as he was going back to the mill that he realised he’d hardly noticed how Penelope looked. Strange, that.

Then he forgot about everything as his two engineers brought him into a discussion about the steam engine and the new machines, which were proving their value.

“Daniel’s

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.