Page 89 of The Winter Bride

‘You’re not here to work,’ Charity told her on Christmas Eve. ‘I’ve never had the chance to spoil you so please don’t stop me now. This is somethin’ I never thought would ’appen an’ discoverin’ you were alive were the best gift o’ me whole life.’

Suddenly they were in each other’s arms and as Annie finally broke free she said softly, ‘Thanks, Mam.’ It was the first time she had ever addressed her as such, and Charity was so thrilled that she was sure her heart was going to beat out of her chest.

‘Right, be sure an’ be at our trailer first thing fer breakfast an’ to open presents,’ Charity told her as she left.

It wasn’t even properly light when she and Adam made their way through the other trailers to her parents the next morning. She was a little concerned that it might be too early but she needn’t have worried, Luca and Charity were already up and dressed and had breakfast ready for them.

‘I’m not used to being spoilt like this,’ Annie commented with a smile as they sat down to eat together.

When breakfast was over, they exchanged gifts. For Luca, Annie had bought a leather jacket that she thought would be nice for the winter. She’d had to guess at the size but it fitted him beautifully and he loved it so much that he refused to take it off. For Charity, there was a gown that was the exact same blue as her eyes. It was from the shop and again she’d had to guess at the size, but when Charity put it on, she was delighted to see it was a perfect fit. It was far grander than anything Charity had ever owned and she wondered aloud where she would ever go that would be posh enough for her to wear it.

Next Adam opened his gifts, screaming with delight when he saw the lovely wind-up train set his grandparents had bought. The engine and the tiny carriages were so realistic that he couldn’t stop touching them as his grandfather set up the track. And then it was Annie’s turn and her mother handed her a small velvet box.

‘This belonged to my mother,’ Charity told her. ‘And it’s our custom to pass anything like this down through the generations. It was a wedding gift to her from your grandfather. I hope you like it.’

Annie opened the lid and gasped as she stared down at a slim gold chain from which was suspended a stunning oval-cut emerald. She could see just by looking at it that it must have cost an awful lot of money and for a moment she was speechless that something so precious was being given to her.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she managed eventually. ‘But I don’t quite know what to say.’

‘There’s no need to say anything. Mercy already has her grandmother’s wedding ring so it’s only right that you should have this. It’s what she would have wanted. It was she who made the beautiful shawl you’re wearing today.’

Annie put her arms about her as tears stung at the back of her eyes. This was fast turning out to be the best Christmas she’d ever had.

A little later that morning Mercy, Barney, Skye and Noah came to join them, and the trailer was full to bursting and echoing with laughter. Yet more gifts were exchanged and the mood was happy and light. Somehow, they all managed to squeeze around the table for Christmas dinner, which Charity had cooked to perfection. There was a goose with a selection of winter vegetables and home-made stuffing, along with crispy roast potatoes and a large jug of delicious gravy. This was followed by a Christmas pudding that Charity had had soaking in brandy for weeks, and by the time they’d finished Annie was so full she could hardly move.

In the afternoon the grown-ups played cards while they each took turns to entertain Adam and see to Skye, and the day seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. She only reluctantly left early that evening when it looked as if Adam might fall asleep standing up.

‘I’d better get him tucked in,’ she told Charity as she lifted the sleepy child onto her hip.

‘All right, but be sure to be back here early tomorrow. Goodnight, my love.’ Charity gave her a warm kiss and Luca insisted on walking her back to their trailer.

Once he’d gone there was a warm feeling in the pit of Annie’s stomach. At last, she had the family she had always dreamt of, and she thanked God for guiding her to them. Without warning a picture of Alex’s handsome face floated in front of her eyes and the smile faded. Everything was almost perfect, apart from never being able to have the man she loved.

Three days before the New Year Annie was sitting in her parents’ trailer reading the newspaper when something caught her eye.

‘Oh . . . it says here that Reginald Taylor-Lloyd is to appear in the Crown Court charged with multiple murders tomorrow,’ she gasped.

Charity paused in the act of rolling pastry. ‘This is Reggie, your late husband’s brother?’

Annie nodded. ‘Although you would never have thought so, they were as different as chalk from cheese. Monty was kind and giving, whereas Reggie is . . .’ When her voice faltered Charity quickly wiped her hands and came to sit beside her.

‘Is what?’

And suddenly the whole sorry story of how he had raped her poured out. Adam had gone off with his granddad to help him feed the animals, so they had the trailer to themselves.

‘Not long after, I left to be a nurse on the front in France,’ Annie went on. ‘And for weeks I was terrified that I might be pregnant.’

Charity bit her lip. She hated to see Annie so upset. ‘But you weren’t?’

Annie shook her head. ‘No, not then but . . .’

‘Go on, spit it out. You know what they say: “A problem shared is a problem halved”.’

‘While I was in France I started to help the French Resistance and I fell in love with a man who smuggled injured soldiers back to England.’

Charity looked slightly confused. ‘But I thought you married Monty when you came back?’

Annie nodded. ‘I did. You see I couldn’t marry Alex because he already had a wife. But Monty and I had been close for a long time, and I . . . well, I decided I would marry him. I didn’t know I was having a baby until after we were married.’