A Nurse's Duty Read Free Page A

her mother and father. ‘Yes,’ she admitted. ‘But they could come and live here with us, couldn’t they?’ Yet she knew it was only a dream. There were no coal mines this high in Weardale so where would Da get work?

Chapter Two
    ‘JEMIMA’S GONE AWAY to work in Manchester,’ said Kezia. ‘I’m leaving school at Christmas anyroad. And mind, our Karen, you’ll have to help me as much as you can till then, run the messages and such and do what I say.’
    Karen and Joe were back in Morton Main for the new school year. Karen gazed at her elder sister but she was too miserable at leaving Low Rigg Farm and her gran to bother complaining about Kezia’s being so bossy.
    ‘Now, Kezia,’ laughed Mam, ‘I think you’ll both still be doing what I say. I’m still the gaffer here and I’m not completely useless yet.’
    That was the nice thing about coming home though, thought Karen. Mam was looking and feeling better. She felt the lightness in the air. The house itself was brighter somehow, because Mam was better.
    ‘Thank you God, for making Mam well again,’ she whispered the next day, which happened to be a Sunday. She was sitting in Sunday School with the other girls in her class and Mr Dent, the Sunday School superintendent, was praying aloud in front of the crowded room and the children were sitting with their hands together and their eyes closed. Karen’s thoughts began to wander as the prayers went on and she cautiously opened her eyes and squinted through her lashes at the boys’ benches, across the aisle.
    Robert Richardson was there, his head bowed in reverence. He was the son of the Minister and Karen supposed all his thoughts must be pious. Idly, she studied him. He sat next to Joe who was swinging his legs backwards and forwards impatiently though Robert seemed oblivious of it.
    ‘In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ,’ said Mr Dent. ‘Amen.’ Everyone shuffled about and sat up and Mr Dent launched into the Old Testament reading and followed up with his sermon. He was talking about the trials of Job.
    ‘Job was a just man and true yet many misfortunes and calamities fell on him. But Job submitted himself to the Lord and God magnified and blessed Job. And we have to remember the story of Job when our way is hard and everything is going wrong, we have to trust in the Lord as he did and the Lord will help us in our troubles.’ Mr Dent paused and turned the page of his Bible and began to read. Karen sat listening to the drone of his voice, waves of sleepiness threatening to overwhelm her. But she sat up, suddenly awake, as she heard the words of the text which hung on the wall at home.
    ‘“… He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first Jemima, and the name of the second Kezia, and the name of the third, Keren-happuch. And in all the land were no women found so fair …”’
    Karen smiled, thinking of the many times Da had sat her on his knee and quoted the text. But when she looked up she saw Dave Mitchell and his friends nudging each other and grinning at her. She scowled fiercely at him. She didn’t like Dave Mitchell, he was a big boy and a bully. And when Sunday School was over and she came out with the other girls, she wasn’t surprised that Dave and his friends were waiting for her.
    ‘Keren-happuch, Keren-happuch! Is that your proper name, then? Does your da think he’s Job?’
    ‘Leave me alone!’ Karen shouted at them, her dark eyes snapping with anger. ‘My name is Karen, you know it is.’ Her father had changed the spelling of her name to the more usual Karen, but it was from the Book of Job that she’d got her name.
    ‘Go on then, make us leave you alone,’ said Dave. ‘Or mebbe you can get your seven brothers to chase us off, Keren-happuch.’ The crowd of lads began to jeer and Karen bunched her fists in frustration.
    ‘Leave our Karen alone!’ cried Joe, running up and aiming a punch at Dave, but Dave easily held him off with one