Rory's Promise by Michaela MacColl, Rosemary Nichols Read Free Book Online Page B

luxury.” Sister Anna sighed. “I wish they did.”
    Relieved, Rory glanced up at Sister Anna. She was startled by the remnants of worry in Sister Anna's expression. How exhausting it must be, Rory thought, to be responsible for all of the children. Loving them but having to send them away all the same. Knowing some would succeed but many wouldn't. How could she do it?
    Sister Anna folded her bonnet neatly over once, then twice, staring down at her hands. “We'll find something foryou to do here. You'll find it easier to say goodbye to Violet then.” She put her hands flat on the table and pushed herself up. “It's late and we've talked about this incident enough.”
    “Sister, may I take a bath?” Rory scratched her head. “I'm afraid of what I might have picked up in jail.”
    Clearing her throat, Sister Anna agreed. “Exactly what I was going to suggest.”
    Rory gathered her courage. “Sister, what about Violet?”
    “Come to my office after breakfast. We'll talk then,” Sister Anna insisted. “Now go get clean.”

    T he bathhouse was in another building but there was a long underground passage so the children and nuns didn't need to brace themselves against the outdoor weather in the colder months. Rory walked down the long, familiar tunnel, lit by electric light bulbs installed in the old iron gaslight fixtures. After visiting her old home, she couldn't believe how much she took for granted here at the Foundling. In Hell's Kitchen she'd never even seen a bathtub. Water had to be carried up the stairs from the one pump and then heated on the small stove and poured in a basin. But here she could just turn on the oversized metal bath knobs and hot steaming water cascaded into the porcelain tub with its clawed feet.
    She took twice as long in the bath as she usually did, scrubbing hard to make sure she left the filth and lice of the jail behind. She wondered about the girl Brigid and if she had ever taken a long hot bath like this. There were definiteadvantages to living at the Foundling. What else would she miss if she ever had to leave? Central heating. The plentiful food. The library. Even her little chats with Sister Anna.
    She walked back through the tunnel, the concrete floor cold to her damp feet, and the electric bulbs flickering like lightning bugs. Sometimes, Rory thought, her place at the Foundling felt like one of these new bulbs in an old gas fitting. It shouldn't work, but somehow it did. A light bulb burst and died in a shower of sparks, leaving Rory to walk the last ten yards in near darkness. So much for staying at the Foundling. Maybe it was a sign. If Violet had to leave the Foundling, then Rory had to go too.
    Clean and dry, she crept into the dormitory. Rory made a beeline past the other seventeen beds straight to Violet's. Her sister's hair, as red as Rory's, was splayed across the white pillow. She lay on her back, arms extended, snuffling as she slept. The marks of dried tears and snot streaked her face. Rory put her head in her hands and rubbed her scalp so hard it hurt. Her sister had cried herself to sleep and it was all Rory's fault. She pulled the blanket up to Violet's neck and for a moment rested her hand against her sister's forehead. She let Vi's steady breathing calm her. After a time, Rory felt the knots in her neck and shoulders dissolve. “Violet,” she whispered as she kissed her precious sister. “I'll never leave you again.”

CHAPTER Eleven
    T HE NEXT MORNING R ORY KNOCKED GINGERLY AT S ISTER Anna's office door. The nun was sitting behind her desk examining a file. She closed it when she beckoned Rory to come in. Before Rory could get a word in, Sister Anna began speaking. “Our decision about Violet is final. I'm very sorry, Rory, but she leaves next week on the train out west.”
    Rory took a deep breath and spoke rapidly. “Sister, they threatened to put me on an orphan train at the jail. The matron and the police officer thought it was just the thing for a