The Tuppenny Child by Glenda Young

Author:Glenda Young [Glenda Young]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction & Literature, Historical, Romance, Saga
ISBN: 9781472256607
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2019-05-29T23:00:00+00:00

Fresh Start

As Sadie ran her fingertips across the birthmark on the baby’s shoulder, her breath caught in her throat and her heart filled with happiness, so much so that it hurt inside her chest. She wanted to stare at Birdie’s face, drink in every inch of her. She wanted to study every feature, every line of her body, every finger, every toe.

‘Birdie,’ she whispered as she pulled the child towards her. Tears pooled and fell from her lashes, streaming down her face. ‘My Birdie.’

The little girl snuggled against her, happy now, gurgling and smiling and lifting her tiny hands to Sadie’s head, trying to touch her short hair.

‘Girl!’ Mrs Marshall cried, but her call went unheeded as Sadie’s heart filled with love and fear and all kinds of emotions she’d never even known she could feel. There was something familiar about the pull of it, something that took her back to the days after Birdie’s birth and her connection to the tiny girl in her arms.

And now, at last, they were reunited. All her hard work had come to fruition: hiding her savings for months under the floorboards, plucking up the courage to escape from Freda’s house, searching for her child. Finally, here was Birdie, sitting on her knee, her own precious daughter.

‘Girl!’ The cry came again.

Sadie looked up and saw Mrs Marshall with a face full of thunder. Beyond her, the three pit managers’ wives and the two girls were walking back from the shoreline.

‘Serve the cake, girl!’ Mrs Marshall called sharply.

Sadie stood with Birdie in her arms, the child reaching out her small doughy hands to her face as if to wipe away her tears. Then she walked slowly and calmly across the stones, holding onto her daughter tightly.

‘Put her on the rug,’ Mrs Marshall directed as she drew near. She did as she was told, then returned to fetch the plates of birthday cake. She was shaking, hardly daring to believe what had just happened. Quickly she wiped her eyes on a corner of her apron, then brought the first plates to Mrs Marshall, who handed them to her guests and received their compliments in return on the lightness of the sponge and the pretty yellow birds decorated around the edge.

Sadie kept her eyes on the child each time she neared Mrs Marshall and the group of women, for what else could she do? She couldn’t cause a scene, not here in front of such important guests. She couldn’t give in to her feelings, no matter how much she wanted to. Her heart was screaming: Run, Sadie, run with the child in your arms. Run as far as you can, but her head was telling her: No. If she ran, there was a risk that she might fall on the sand and rocks along the beach, and protecting Birdie was paramount now.

She was filled with the need to let Bessie and Eddie know what had happened. Bessie would know what to do. And Eddie, well, Eddie would keep her grounded, she knew that.

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