A Distant Dream Read Free Page A

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    Molly stared up at the kind looking girl who looked to be as old as her sister, and gave her a tearful smile.
    â€œThere now, isn’t it good to see that cheerful face, instead of the sad one that yer had on yer before. Yer shin will be as good as new soon and I’m sure I can find yer a cup of milk and one of Cook’s tasty biscuits. Sit there, Alanna and I’ll be with yer in a second.”
    Bridie disappeared into the scullery and was soon back with the promised treats, which Molly ate and drank hurriedly, not having had anything to eat since the biscuit at the Filbey farm.
    A woman with light brown, curly hair that was pulled back in a colourful, woollen bandeau, put her head around the kitchen door. Bridie bobbed a curtsey and asked what she could do for her?
    â€œJust checking on the little girl, Bridie. There’s a bit of an altercation between the carrier and my visitors, so shall we say dinner at half past the hour? Will the child be a nuisance? I can take her from you if you want me to, though Mrs. Filbey has asked me to look out some of Kathleen’s old things, so I’ll be doing that for a while.”
    â€œNo, she’s fine, Madam, she can watch me while I’m dishing up. Cook left everything prepared. Looks as if the orphanage was a little short of clothing.”
    Her employer nodded and it wasn’t until Bessie came to take the child to a bedroom that Molly saw the woman again.
    â€œThey’re probably a little on the big side,” she was saying when Bessie walked into the room, holding Molly by the hand. “I kept them for sentimental reasons, hoping that Kathleen’s children could make use of them, but she turned them down flat, said that her husband was quite capable of providing the clothes for their children.”
    â€œThat’s young women for you Sara, but I’ll be very glad to take them off your hands as they are really quite beautiful. Come Molly, let’s try on this little dress and make you look like a princess.”
    Molly, not sure what a princess was anyway, found herself in front of a cheval mirror, being pushed from side to side, whilst Bessie put a few pins into the hem of the white, muslin dress. Then there was a brown one with white lace on the bodice and a pink, stripy one with a white frill around the neck. Two pretty bonnets, three pairs of pantaloons, white gloves and a pair of shiny, black shoes later, Molly found that she quite liked the idea of being on a holiday.
    â€œI threw away the rags that the orphanage had dressed her in, that was why she was dressed in my shawl and petticoat. I just need to get her a couple of liberty bodices.” Bessie and Clarence had decided on a simple tale regarding the young child’s origins.
    â€œThere’s a small shop in town that sells just about everything. We can go tomorrow. Would you like me to get Bridie to do the hems later? She’s a very willing girl.”
    Molly had eaten her dinner in the kitchen, with Bessie and Clarence not being sure of how she would behave at a grownup table, so she missed the heated discussion in the dining room. She had been happy in the kitchen with Bridie and was full to bursting with the mashed potato and gravy, a little piece of meat and a few boiled carrots that she had been fed with. She had been taken to use the lavatory in the yard outside and had made no protest when she was dressed in a long cream nightgown and put into a comfortable bed.
    The day had been a tiring one for all concerned and the couple’s nerves were taut when they sat down for a meal with Sara and Finbar, her husband, a genial man. Bessie, not used to more than a glass of red wine occasionally, something their host had imported from Burgundy, felt empowered to speak her mind.
    â€œI think Colooney’s a miserable sod, fleecin’ them that has no option than to take what he offers and be pleased about it. I heard say that he is nearly as