A Change of Fortune Read Online Free PDF Page A

last of the autumn shades as it prepared for the long winter ahead. A dry sob shook her slender body. What trials and hardships would this winter hold for her? Did she have the courage to go ahead with the plans she’d made? Would it be wiser to go to live with Albert Greaves for a while in order to give herself more time to plan her escape? But if she did come under his control there might not be a chance to get away in the future. Did she even have a hope of succeeding with this crazy plan of turning herself into a servant?
    With hands clenched she spun away from the window. What choice did she have? It was either make a life for herself or go to live with Albert Greaves. No! That was impossible. She hadn’t known that he had a sister, but if she was anything like him, Jenny wanted nothing to do with her.
    She scrambled on her hands and knees to reach to the back of her wardrobe and, after much tugging, pulled out an old battered suitcase. This would be perfect to take with her when she left. Her father hadgiven her this when she’d been ten. He’d taken her to the seaside for two days: a rare treat and it had been so wonderful. The two had walked along Brighton seafront, explored the shops in the small alleys, and eaten fish and chips out of newspaper.
    She ran her hands over the case and wiped a tear away as it splashed on the worn leather. That had been such a wonderful time, and she would always cherish the memory … Jenny shook herself out of her reminiscences. She had to get on. Her mother wouldn’t appear today – she’d never been able to face anything unpleasant – and it was a safe bet that she would keep to her room. Aunt Gertrude wouldn’t show her face until after lunch. Her plans must be put into action this morning while she had the chance to slip out unnoticed. If Aunt Gertrude discovered what she was doing, then she’d be locked in her room, and her fate would be sealed.
    Leaping up, she began to search through her clothes, choosing the plainest and oldest garments. The case was only small and soon full, but there was room for one more item. The dress her father had bought her for her fourteenth birthday. It was most unsuitable, of course, and there wouldn’t be an occasion to wear it in the life she was planning for herself, but she had to keep some small memory of the way things had been, and of the father she had loved so much.
    After wrapping the white lace and beaded dress in tissue paper, Jenny tucked it underneath her other clothes. Now she had to find a way to raise somemoney. She would have to try one of those pawnbrokers she’d heard about because she didn’t know any other way.
    It wouldn’t be wise to leave the house with a large package, so, after choosing a couple of good frocks, she tipped out the trinket boxes. There wasn’t much jewellery, but it was all gold and must be worth something. There was a bracelet, a heart-shaped locket on a chain, a couple of brooches, and this: she held up a fine gold chain with a small pendant, a diamond surrounded by emeralds. It was the most valuable gift her father had ever given her. After gazing at it for a few moments she made up her mind to keep it and fastened it around her neck, tucking it out of sight under her blouse. It would be wise to keep that as insurance, because she didn’t know when she might need money in a hurry.
    Gathering everything together, she crammed it into a leather handbag. That could be offered to the pawnbroker as well.
    With heart hammering, she crept down the stairs, hoping no one would see her, and slipped out of the front door with a sigh of relief. They’d all been too busy to take any notice of her. Now, where would be the best place to go? Somewhere she wasn’t known, she thought, as she hurried towards the bus stop.
    A bus was pulling up with the destination LAMBETH on the front. She’d never been there and was sure that none of her family had either. She jumped on and made her way upstairs. All she