A Family Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page A

own.’
    ‘If yer go yer needn’t come back.’
    ‘What?’ Nellie couldn’t believe she wouldn’t be welcome in the family home.
    ‘You ’eard.’ Annie’s face was as hard as granite as she turned her head away from her daughter.
    ‘Right, if that’s what you want.’
    ‘No.’ Jane ran and threw her arms round her sister. ‘You can’t turn our Nellie out.’
    ‘I’m not turning her out. She’s decided she wants to go, not me.’
    ‘But you’ve got to let her come home to see us.’
    ‘Don’t tell me what I’ve got to do. This is my house.’
    ‘Is it now?’ Ben went to the cupboard and brought out a folded sheet of paper. ‘What’s this then? The house is in my name now. Go on, read it, woman; the contract says that only employees of the colliery are allowed these houses. Well, I say our Nellie can come home whenever she likes.’
    Nellie’s face was as white as the sheet of paper. ‘No , Ben, I won’t be coming home again. I know where I’m not welcome. I’ll go get my things.’
    Lucy began to cry. ‘Don’t go, Nellie.’
    ‘I have to, Lucy. I’m sorry.’ Nellie went upstairs and found her few items of clothing, wrapping them all in her winter coat, then she unwrapped the new material Lucy had bought and used the brown paper to wrap her boots in. Then she went sadly downstairs to where her sisters were consoling each other.
    ‘Come and see me sometimes on a Sunday. I’m sure Mrs Cooper won’t mind.’ Jane nodded her head. The two girls were too upset to respond.
    ‘I’ll carry those.’ Ben took the bundle from Nellie as she prepared to leave. He turned to his mother. ‘It won’t end here. Our Jane’ll be next, then our Lucy, and I’ll tell yer this, I’ll not stand for yer vindictiveness for much longer and what will yer do if I leave? Eh? You silly, stupid woman, ’ave yer thought about that?’
    Nellie couldn’t stop the tears as she made her way back to the manor. She loved her brothers and sisters and not being able to see them didn’t bear thinking about. But she also loved her job. She would find a way to see her family somehow. Her feet were hurting as she climbed the last mile and her arms were aching with the weight of her belongings. She began to feel better as she breathed in the air from the moors and caught sight of the cherry trees, which were heavy with blossom. Besides, Mrs Cooper would make her feel better. The housekeeper was like a mother to Nellie. Like the mother Nellie could remember from when she was a little girl. But that was a long time ago, and things had changed.

Chapter Three
    ‘ARE WE NEARLY there?’ Young Robert Grey stopped and leaned on the dry stone wall. ‘Is that it?’
    John looked towards the circle of smoke in the distance. ‘It could well be. What do you think, James?’
    ‘We can’t be far away. We’ll see more when we reach the top of the hill.’
    ‘I don’t know if I can.’ Fifteen-year-old Robert sat down on the grassy bank and examined his feet. His boot soles had worn through and his feet were thick with blood and dirt from the road. James took off the muffler from round his neck and tied it round his brother’s foot. ‘Give us yer scarf, John.’ John took off the length of dirty material and bound up his brother’s other foot. ‘We won’t be long now, then we’ll get yer feet seen to.’
    The journey from Lincoln to the West Riding of Yorkshire had been long and torturous, but the promise of a home and job had kept the brothers going. They had taken shelter in a barn at West Markham but had been fired at by a farmer in the early morning. Another night they had asked permission to take shelter in an outbuilding somewhere near Worksop, but the man had tricked Robert into going to the house for drinking water only to try luring him into his bed. Twice they had taken a wrong turning and gone miles in the wrong direction. Now they were nearing the end of their journey a feeling of dread was replacing the