Heaven Made Read Online Free PDF Page B

gone like a wisp of smoke in a brisk wind. Sabrina
sighed with relief and a morsel of trepidation. She hoped Cassie was right and
Mr. Northcliffe wouldn’t ask any questions that would force her to deceive him
about Alice. There was only one way to find out. Finishing packing their meager
belongings, Sabrina pinned her wide brimmed hat, decidedly less fashionable
than Miss Blackmore’s as she was still in mourning, onto her upswept hair,
pulled on her gloves and took one last look around the sparse room. She
wouldn’t miss it, not even for a minute.
    "Come, Alice," she said, trying to juggle her hat
box and Gladstone bag and hold out a hand to her daughter. "Time to go to
our new home."
    "Yes," Alice said very seriously. "And as
soon as Ford’s mama straightens him out, it will be our home forever and ever."
    "How did you know what Mr. Northcliffe’s Christian name
was?" Sabrina was certain she hadn’t mentioned it out loud, although she
had secretly been using the name to herself. "Never mind," Sabrina
quickly said. She didn’t want to hear Alice’s answer right now. Too much talk
of ghosts was going to give her nightmares, even if it didn’t seem to bother
her daughter.
    Alice obediently took her mother’s hand, picked up her bag, and
they left without even a glance back. It was a long walk across town, but they
bore it with determination. After years of being driven around in fine
carriages, and motorcars, Alice didn’t once complain about the harsh turn their
life had taken over the last few weeks. So when they arrived at their
destination, there was an audible sigh of relief from them both. Sabrina
laughed as they made their way to the servant’s entrance. Alice let out a
giggle. They were starting over, but they were together and that was all that
mattered. Even if their circumstances had changed considerably, it was still
better than it had been even the day before.
    "Here we are," Sabrina said, knocking on the door.
Five minutes went by and no one answered.
    "Knock again, Mama," Alice said through chattering
teeth. The warmth they had created by the long walk was wearing off quickly.
    Sabrina knocked again. This time, only two or three minutes
went by before they heard a noise on the other side of the door.
    "Who’s there?" a voice called out from the other
side.
    "Mrs. Tremaine," Sabrina said, hesitantly. "The
new—" she stopped abruptly. The new what? She wasn’t exactly the
housekeeper. Mr. Northcliffe had one of those already and they had never
discussed what her official title would be. She’d heard the term Lady Help,
bandied about, but it didn’t exactly roll off one’s tongue or sound quite
proper. The door swinging open saved her from having to come up with something
that sounded appropriate. A tall robust woman stood on the other side. She
looked Swedish, Sabrina thought, with white blond hair and light blue eyes. She
was probably in her forties and her kind face had laugh lines around her mouth
and crinkles at the corners of her eyes.
    "Well, what do we have here?"
    "I’m Alice, and this is my mama." Alice walked
right up to the woman and looked at her with curiosity. "Who are you?"
    "I’m Mrs. Dixon, or Cook to most. But you and your mama
can call me Delores." She crouched down to look Alice in the eye. "Aren’t
you the pretty little thing."
    "We’re very pleased to meet you, Delores," Sabrina
said through chattering teeth.
    "Where are my manners?" Mrs. Dixon said, standing
up and reaching for Alice’s satchel. "Come in and warm yourselves. My, my,
my, we need to get you fed, Mrs. Tremaine. You look like you haven’t eaten in
days."
    Sabrina was grateful as they were ushered into the warm
friendly kitchen. She wanted to go to their room and unpack right away, but
Delores was right and food would have to come first. She was ravenous and Alice
would be too having only had a stale bite of bread and some thin soup earlier
that morning. Delores fussed over them and helped them out of