Inherit the Skies by Janet Tanner Page B

dish.
    Amos had gone to open the door and she returned to the kitchen untying the strings of her apron as she went.
    â€˜Ah, Amos, we haven’t interrupted your supper I hope?’ she heard Gilbert say.
    â€˜No. No, we had that some long time ago,’ Amos said placidly and she experienced a fresh desire to strike him. Surely with the evidence of supper still on the table he could have had the sense to pretend they had only just finished! She bustled forward, bad temper conflicting with the lifelong habit of ingratiating herself with ‘ the gentry’ she so despised.
    â€˜Good evening, Mr Morse. You’ll excuse the mess, I hope. We’ve been so busy talking I’m all behind hand.’
    â€˜I wouldn’t even notice, Mrs Pugh,’ Gilbert said equably. ‘May we come in?’
    â€˜Well yes – do!’
    â€˜Now, this is Sarah. You know Sarah, Mrs Pugh?’
    Bertha lowered her eyes from the tall figure of Gilbert to the child at his side. She looked very small and forlorn standing there clutching a reticule and somehow the contrived neatness of her added to her vulnerability. Her hair was tied up with a length of slightly crumpled ribbon, her pinafore was freshly washed and starched and there was a shine on her boots as if she had spent a very long time making them presentable. But as Bertha scrutinized her the small firm chin came up and the eyes that met hers held a look that might almost be defiance.
    She’s a little madam, I can see! Bertha thought. Aloud she said, ‘I understand you want us to take her in, Mr Morse.’
    â€˜Yes. It’s a great deal to ask, I know, but Sarah has no relations she knows of and nowhere to go. The Sticklands, her neighbours, have been taking care of her since her mother died but they don’t have the room to make a permanent arrangement of it and unless some kind soul will give Sarah a home she will have to go into the Union until she is old enough to go into service. I’m sure none of us would want that for her. She has lost enough without having to leave her friends and familiar surroundings to go and live among strangers in … well, less than ideal conditions.’
    Bertha gathered herself together, bristling slightly. Easy to see how Mr Morse had talked Amos into agreeing to his suggestion; he would not get around her so easily!
    â€˜Don’t think I’m not sympathetic, Mr Morse – I am,’ she began. ‘But we’re not used to children here. Amos is out all day and I …’ she gave a little laugh, ‘I’ve got my hands full. Wouldn’t she be better off in a family where there are others her age? There must be somebody who …’
    Gilbert Morse’s elegant head tilted slightly as if he was perturbed.
    â€˜I was rather relying on you, Mrs Pugh. I gave the matter a great deal of thought before I approached your husband and I could think of no-one more suitable than yourselves. You have the room and Sarah won’t be any trouble, I know. And there is something else,’ he went on, lifting his hand to brook what had promised to be Bertha’s interruption then letting it fall protectively around Sarah’s thin shoulders, ‘I really would like Sarah to be close enough to the house for me to keep an eye on her. Sarah’s mother, as you know, worked for us for a good many years and I feel a sense of responsibility towards her. If Sarah is nearby I shall be able to take a hand, perhaps, in her upbringing. A sort of honorary guardian, if you understand me. I’d like to make it clear I have no intention of simply depositing her at your door and taking no further interest. Sarah needs us – all of us. We are not going to fail her, are we?’
    â€˜Well …’ Most of the wind had gone out of Bertha’s sails. Almost without her realising it Gilbert had done exactly what she had accused Amos of allowing him to do – cleverly taken the