A Family Christmas by Glenice Crossland Read Free Book Online

Greenwood. Better than any doctor.’
    ‘The liniment she gave me dad cured his bad back in no time,’ Mable said.
    ‘We’ll remember that,’ John answered Mable, but his attention was on Lucy. He thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever set eyes on. He blessed young Dot for bringing them up here. ‘So where do you all work?’ he enquired, glancing round at them all, but it was really only Lucy Gabbitas he was interested in.
    ‘The umbrellas,’ Lucy said. ‘All us girls except Dot. She’s lucky she can stay at home all day.’
    ‘Oh I don’t know about being lucky; I don’t have half as much fun as you lot and it’s not the best of jobs tramping about amongst the pig muck.’ Dot loved her work on the farm really and wouldn’t have swapped her life with any of them.
    ‘That’s where we work.’ Jane pointed to the building down in the works, surrounded by tall black chimneys and other buildings Jane went on to describe. ‘That one there is the rail mill and behind it the spring mill. This one in the bottom is where they roll the steel and cut it into strips to make our umbrella frames and all sorts of things. In the distance you can see the wire mill and the coke ovens and further still, though you can’t see it from here, is the coal mine; it’s hidden away in Sheepdip Wood.’
    ‘So that’s where I’m going to be working, starting tomorrow morning,’ John said.
    ‘Really? So you’ll be on the same shift as our brother, Ben.’ Lucy smiled. ‘I’ll tell him to look out for you.’
    ‘Thanks,’ John laughed nervously. ‘I’ve never done anything remotely like coal mining.’
    ‘You’ll be all right. It’s hard but they’re a good crowd to work with, give you their last penny the miners would.’ Lucy’s face clouded as she remembered the money the colliers had collected for them when their dad died. She wondered what had become of it. Certainly none of them except her mother had seen a penny of it.
    ‘Well, like it or not, that’s what I’m going to be doing.’
    ‘What about you?’ Jane turned towards James, the one who had caught her eye in church. He looked even handsomer close at hand. James looked into Jane’s warm brown eyes and knew he was going to enjoy living in Millington. ‘What?’ He tried to recall what she had said. ‘Oh! I’m to start in the wire mill, or so Herbert told me. Sorry, Reverend Goodman. That’s where we’re staying at present and although it seems strange calling him Herbert, that’s what he’s told us to do.’
    ‘He would, he’s lovely. So is his wife. Nothing’s too much trouble for either of them,’ Kitty said.
    ‘Not like that miserable lass of theirs. If she ever smiles her face’ll split in two,’ Dot said to the amusement of Robbie. He certainly liked Dot Greenwood. So long as she didn’t think she was his girl or owt like that they would get on fine. There was a hoot of laughter as the bunch of lads approached them.
    ‘Hiya.’ Dot took charge again. ‘Before you all start acting the fool may I present the vicar’s guests: John, James and Robbie Grey. John’ll be starting in’t pit tomorrow and James in’t wire.’ She suddenly realised she hadn’t enquired what Robbie would be doing. ‘What about you?’
    ‘I’m to be a joiner apparently, though I don’t know where. Herbert is to take me tomorrow.’
    ‘That’ll be with old Smiler,’ one of the young men laughed.
    ‘Smiler? Is that his real name?’
    ‘Oh aye.’ The lad winked at the others.
    ‘No it isn’t,’ Dot said. ‘Don’t take any notice; they’re playing tricks on yer so that you’ll call ’im Smiler when he’s never smiled in ’is life. Him and that Prudence Goodman’d make a right pair. No, his name’s Mr Grundy. Ee’s a bit miserable but he’s all right, he’s a good joiner and ee’ll treat you fair. He made us two new hen houses and right strong they are.’
    ‘Spoil sport,’ Lewis Marshall laughed. ‘I’d just like to