A Second Chance Read Online Free PDF

family had even known of
the existence of her first child; of those few, Lizzie was the only
one who had ever let her talk about the baby. The joy of her new
knowledge bubbled inside Amy, making her step light as she walked
along the track down the valley.
    Frank and Lizzie were lingering over a
morning cup of tea when Amy entered the warm kitchen. Frank had
prevailed on Lizzie to let him hold Benjy; the baby waved his arms
and chortled a greeting at Amy. Beth and Maisie hurried to fetch a
cup of tea for her, and when she had fussed over Benjy and kissed
Lizzie she took the seat Lizzie indicated.
    ‘Well, you look bright as a button,’ Lizzie
remarked. ‘I thought you might be a bit down in the dumps, with
your visitor going.’
    ‘It did seem a bit flat last night—I missed
Sarah straight away. But do you know what’s happened?’ Amy put her
hand on Lizzie’s arm, wanting to be sure she had her cousin’s full
attention for her momentous announcement. ‘Sarah’s asked me to go
and stay with her in Auckland.’
    ‘Oh, the silly girl. I hope she didn’t make
a fuss when you said you wouldn’t.’
    ‘But I didn’t say that. I’ve said I’ll
go.’
    ‘Don’t talk rot, Amy! Honestly, fancy that
girl getting you to say such a thing. You couldn’t go all that way
by yourself—and to Auckland, of all places. Frank says it’s an
awful place, isn’t it, Frank?’
    ‘Well, it can be a bit wearying, with the
size of it,’ Frank allowed. ‘It’s a bit of a beggar finding your
way around, anyway.’
    ‘There you are, then,’ Lizzie said, as if
her case had been proven beyond question. ‘You probably wouldn’t be
able to find her house, even if you did go up there. You just write
her a nice letter and say it was good of her to ask, but you don’t
want to go after all. She won’t mind.’
    ‘I do want to go, though,’ Amy said
quietly.
    ‘You don’t really. That Miss Millish has got
you all excited, but once you’ve settled down and had a little
think about it, you’ll see for yourself it’s a silly idea. Going
all that way on your own, and you don’t even know her all that
well. I know she’s sort of Lily’s cousin, but she’s not anything to
you.’
    ‘She is , Lizzie. Sarah’s special.
She’s as special as she could be. She…’ Amy glanced around the
room, taking in their interested audience. ‘I need to talk to you.
Please?’
    She met Lizzie’s eyes, and was relieved to
see her catch the message that this talk was not for all ears.
    ‘Come up to the bedroom for a minute,’
Lizzie said. ‘Frank, mind you don’t go spilling your tea on
Benjy—sit him up properly.’
    ‘Yes, I’m not too good with babies yet,’
Frank said, trying to assume a suitably humble expression. ‘We’ve
only had the eight of them, after all.’
    ‘I’m just telling you to be careful, there’s
no need to talk silly. Mama won’t be long, sweetie,’ Lizzie cooed
to the baby. ‘Let him suck on a biscuit, Frank, he might be a bit
hungry.’
    She ushered Amy ahead of her, up the passage
and into the bedroom. As soon as she had closed the bedroom door
behind them, she turned to Amy with a mixture of curiosity and
concern in her face.
    ‘Now, what’s going on? Whatever’s got you so
excited?’
    Amy took hold of both Lizzie’s hands in
hers. ‘It’s Sarah.’ She took a deep breath to calm herself as, for
a moment, the wonder of it all threatened to overwhelm her.
‘Sarah’s my little girl. She’s Ann come back to me. She’s my
daughter.’ She savoured the delicious feel of the words as her
mouth formed them. ‘My daughter.’
    Lizzie stood as if frozen and stared at her,
not with the delight Amy had hoped to see, but with deep concern.
‘Oh, dear,’ she said faintly. ‘You poor love.’
    She took hold of Amy’s hand and steered her
over to the bed, waving aside Amy’s attempts to explain further.
‘You just sit down quietly. I’ll—now, don’t you worry, we’ll have a
little talk and