Page 31 of The Winter Bride

Nancy stepped past her and gazed about. The floorboards had been painted white and there were patterned rugs scattered across them, and the bedspread and curtains were in a pretty floral material. There was a highly polished wooden wardrobe standing against one wall and a small desk and chair next to it. Beside the bed was a bedside table and a chest of drawers that matched the wardrobe. The window overlooked the garden and there was a little cast iron fireplace with a fire burning in it. Nancy sighed with delight. She had never seen a prettier room. After the austere dormitory she slept in at the workhouse this was pure luxury.

‘I lit the fire in here to air it just in case you decide to give it a try,’ Annie explained. ‘But there’s no pressure.’

Nancy was smiling when she turned to face her and said, ‘I-I think I’d like to, if yer think I’ll do.’

Annie beamed. ‘I think you’ll do very well indeed. Now come on, we’ll go down and tell the others the good news. Oh, and the lady that just arrived is Peggy, by the way. You probably won’t remember her, but she used to work at the workhouse. She’s been like a mother to me since I was much younger than you and if you come to live here, you’ll be seeing a lot of her. She’s the salt of the earth with a heart of pure gold.’

‘Nancy has agreed to give us a trial,’ Annie told Monty and Peggy when they got back downstairs.

‘That’s lovely,’ Peggy approved. ‘An’ you’ll be ’ere fer Christmas.’

‘We’ll make all the arrangements with Mrs Latimer when we take you back,’ Monty told her, and she nodded. She had a feeling that she could be happy living here.

It was decided between them that Nancy would join them two days later and Annie was happy as she and Monty chatted about it that evening over a cup of cocoa.

‘She’s a nice girl, isn’t she?’

Monty nodded. His wife was sitting in her nightwear with her hair loose about her shoulders, in the glow of the fire. He felt like the luckiest man in the world and if it had made Annie happy, he would have taken half the children in the workhouse.

‘Of course, it will be some months before I’d think of leaving her with Adam and going back to work,’ Annie told him. ‘I shall want to feel quite sure that she can cope and look after him properly first, and even then, I doubt I’ll go back full-time until he’s a little older. And I want Nancy to have a happy life too,’ she went on pensively as she thought of how she had felt when she was first taken from the workhouse. ‘It was a long time before I felt at home at the Lilburns’, and I don’t want Nancy to feel like that.’

‘I agree.’ Monty nodded solemnly. ‘And I did notice that the poor child has quite a bad limp too. We’ll have to see if something can be done about it.’

Once again Annie was reminded of why she’d married him. He really was one of the kindest men she knew.

‘I did ask Mrs Latimer about her limp and she told me that Nancy had one leg slightly longer than the other. So yes, it would be wonderful if we could make things easier for her.’

As arranged, Monty and Annie went to fetch Nancy two days later. The girl was solemn as she said her goodbyes to Mrs Latimer and followed them out to their car, wondering what the future had in store for her.

Annie was saddened to see the few pitiful clothes she had in her bag and could hardly wait to start getting her some new things. She would do it tactfully though, so that she didn’t overwhelm her.

As soon as they entered the house and Annie had put Adam in his playpen Nancy tentatively offered, ‘Shall I make yer both a hot drink?’

‘No, I’ll do that,’ Annie told her with a smile. ‘You sit down and get yourself comfortable.’

Nancy looked anything but comfortable but she did as she was told and perched on the edge of the chair.

Soon after, as they all sat sipping their drinks, Annie told her, ‘You really don’t have to look so worried, Nancy. I know everything must feel strange to you at the minute but hopefully you’ll soon settle in. And please don’t think you’re only here to work. We want you to look out for Adam when I’m not here and help about the house a little, but most of all we want you to feel part of our family. Now, why don’t you go up to your room and put your things away? Can you remember where it is?’

Nancy nodded solemnly.

‘Good, and when you’ve done that come down and dinner should be ready. I’ve done us a shepherd’s pie.’

Nancy skittered away clutching her few measly possessions and when she’d gone Annie sighed. ‘Poor thing, she must feel like a fish out of water. I know I did when I first left the workhouse.’

‘She’ll soon settle,’ Monty said confidently. ‘And she’ll be someone for you to talk to when I’m at work.’

After just a few days, Annie felt as if Nancy had always been there. Adam adored her and she never tired of playing with him. Nancy couldn’t do enough for any of them and was smiling much more, which Annie took as a good sign.

After a week she took Nancy and Adam in his pram into town to buy the girl some new clothes, and Nancy was speechless at some of the pretty things Annie pointed out. They looked so colourful after the drab uniform she’d worn at the workhouse.

‘We’ll just get you some basics for today,’ Annie said. ‘A couple of outfits to wear in the day, underwear and nightwear, eh? Then perhaps next week we could find you something really pretty for going out in and to wear over Christmas. Oh, and you’ll need a nice warm coat and some decent shoes.’

She’d noticed as each day wore on that Nancy’s limp became more pronounced and she would constantly rub her hip as if it was paining her, so when they got home, she asked tactfully, ‘Have you always had that limp, Nancy?’

They were standing side by side at the kitchen sink preparing the vegetables for dinner while Adam had his afternoon nap.

Nancy kept her eyes lowered as she nodded. ‘Yes. I’ve got one leg longer than the other, see? That’s why I ’ave to sort o’ throw meself from side to side an’ it makes me hip ache after a time.’