A Moment to Remember by Dee Williams Read Free Book Online

anything like that before. Walton moved a small table from the side of the room and put it in front of Jane. Everything on the tray had the same pretty mauve flower design. She poured out the tea into delicate china cups with matching saucers. Then, after arranging one of the linen napkins on Jane’s lap, she put a delicious-looking cake on a plate and placed it on the table in front of Jane.
    ‘Thank you, Walton,’ said Jane. ‘Please, Milly. Help yourself. Betty is a very good cook.’
    Milly had noted all that Jane had done. First she took a napkin and laid it on her lap, then she watched how Jane put sugar in her tea and stirred it very gently. Milly did the same. Then she took a cake and placed it on a plate. She watched Jane when she took up a funny-looking fork that only had three prongs and began to cut her cake up and eat it. She did the same with her own cake. It was delicious. She was very nervous, and when she picked up her cup and saucer, the cup rattled. This was a whole new world for her and she loved it. What would Billy and Dan say if they could see her? And what about her father? Who would get beaten when he found she’d gone? She shuddered.
    ‘Are you all right?’ asked Jane. ‘Are you cold?’
    ‘No. Thank you. I’m all right. I was just thinking about me brothers, Billy and Dan.’
    ‘Tell me about them.’
    ‘Billy is two years younger then me, he’ll be twelve soon, and Dan is younger than Billy, he’s eleven. Then there’s Pammy and Iris . . . and Rosie and Bert.’
    Jane laughed. ‘How do you manage to remember all their names?’
    ‘They’re me brothers and sisters.’
    ‘It must be lovely to have so many people around laughing and playing games together.’
    Milly didn’t tell her life wasn’t like that.
     
    That evening Milly sat in the kitchen with Betty while Jane, Walton and Mrs Green were having their meal. Betty had told her that Mr Green was away and that young Richard was at school.
    ‘Don’t he come home for his tea?’ asked Milly.
    Betty smiled. ‘No. It’s at boarding school. He’s very clever,’ she said as she filled Milly’s plate. ‘Now, the Missus expects you to do a few jobs round the place.’
    ‘What should I do?’ This food was the best Milly had ever had, and she was stuffing her face as fast as she could.
    ‘Slow down a bit, girl. Nobody ain’t gonna take it away from you.’
    ‘Sorry, but it’s so lovely.’
    ‘Thank you. Now, to answer your question. I’m in charge of running things here but we have a woman, Elsie, who comes in in the mornings to do the grates and fill the coal scuttles. She does the washing as well, and you can help her with that to start with. We’ll see how long Jane puts up with you, then we can go from there.’
    Milly let her spoon clatter on to the plate. ‘Does she bring home a lot of friends?’
    ‘They come and go. You ain’t the first. Her mother lets her have all her own way. The last one was a thief, so don’t let me catch you pinching anything, otherwise you’ll be out on yer ear before you can say boo to a goose.’
    Milly felt sad. ‘I like Jane.’
    ‘You have to call her Miss Jane.’
    ‘It’s such a shame she’s in a wheelchair. What’s wrong with her?’
    ‘She was born like that. She can’t use her legs.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘I dunno.’ Betty looked a bit cross. ‘And don’t you go asking her.’
    ‘I won’t.’
    ‘Now, clear this table and start the washing-up. They’ll ring when they’ve finished. I’ll collect the crocks and you can wash them up as well, and be careful, we don’t want any breakages.’
    ‘And you look after this big house all on your own?’
    ‘When the master and young Richard is away I do. But I have more help when they come back.’
    ‘Where’s Mr Green?’
    ‘Nosy little cow, ain’t yer?’
    ‘Sorry.’ Milly busied herself with clearing the table. That was the best meal she had ever had in her life, and she knew she had to watch her Ps and Qs if she