The Promise by Lesley Pearse Read Free Book Online Page A

putting them in the bag. ‘And brandy in warm milk might help to settle her afterwards.’
    Belle put her arms around Mog and hugged her tightly. ‘You are such a good person,’ she said. ‘Thank you for not being angry with me.’
    Mog pulled away, but held Belle’s arms and looked straight at her. ‘How could I be angry with you for having a big heart?’ she said. ‘I’ll pop up there tomorrow morning before the men are about. Just to see how she is. Keep her clean, boil some water up for washing her down below. She might be sick when it finally happens, don’t be too alarmed by that. But if she loses consciousness or there is a fast flow of blood, call the doctor immediately, whatever she says.’
    Belle realized then that Mog must have helped girls through this before, just another part of her past she had never revealed.
    ‘I will,’ she said, suddenly scared by what she had let herself in for.
    Mog hugged her again. ‘I’ll be there with you in spirit, if not in the flesh. Now go, before Jimmy gets back.’
    Miranda was sitting on a stool by the open back door when Belle came struggling through the yard gate with her two big bags. She was still dressed and her face looked grey with anxiety.
    ‘It’s so hot,’ she whimpered. ‘And my stomach aches.’
    ‘That’s a good sign,’ Belle said briskly. ‘It means it’s starting to happen. Why didn’t you take off your dress?’
    ‘I couldn’t do the buttons,’ she said. ‘We have a maid at home, she always does that.’
    ‘Well, there’s no maid here,’ Belle said, and putting down the bags, she turned Miranda around and unfastened her dress. The corset beneath her petticoat was laced so tightly it was a miracle she could breathe. Belle quickly unlaced it for her. ‘Take everything else off too,’ she said, and rummaged in the overnight bag for the nightdress she’d brought for her.
    Miranda turned away as she took off her chemise and camisole, and Belle winced as she saw the vivid red marks the corset had made on her naked back and waist. She slipped the clean nightdress over Miranda’s head, then indicated she was to take off her drawers and stockings too.
    ‘I’m going to heat up some water for you to wash yourself properly down there,’ Belle said. ‘But sit down for now while I make up the bed for you.’
    It was dark by nine o’clock and much cooler. Miranda lay on the bed, now made up with clean sheets, and Belle had brought one of the shop chairs in to sit on. Miranda had eaten a little soup and bread, and seemed more relaxed, and with just the light Belle used on her workbench, the workroom looked cosy.
    ‘Tell me about the man,’ Belle said. She could see Miranda was having regular pains, but so far she said they were no worse than her monthlies. ‘Is he someone your family knows?’
    Miranda had already said she was one of four children: two older brothers who were both married with homes of their own, and a younger sister called Amy who was twenty and engaged to a solicitor. Miranda was twenty-three.
    When Belle had asked her earlier what her father did for a living, Miranda had looked surprised. ‘A living?’ she’d said. ‘He runs the estate in Sussex of course. Is that what you meant?’
    By that Belle had to assume that Mr Forbes-Alton had inherited wealth and all he had to do was keep an eye on those who worked on his country estate and brought in the money to keep a grand London house. Miranda had said they’d only recently come back from a month in Sussex. She said she had been panicking her mother would want to stay longer, as she knew she must get the abortion done quickly.
    ‘No, my family don’t know him,’ she said. ‘I met him in Greenwich Park back in the spring. I’d gone for a walk on my own, and I tripped on some mud. He helped me up, and as I had hurt my ankle, he offered to walk me home. He was so charming, funny, interesting and kind. My parents have been trying to get me married off for the