No Wings to Fly Read Online Free PDF Page A

to reply, there came a distant call from the direction of the house, and he said, ‘Ah, there’s your mother and Dora come back. We’d best get up to the house. Don’t say anything more for the present. We’ll talk again soon.’
    Later, in the scullery, Lily was set to washing Dora and getting her into her nightdress for the hour or so remaining before she took her up to bed. As she worked, she could hear her father and stepmother’s low, murmuring voices coming from the kitchen. When she went into the room with Dora, though, their conversation abruptly changed its tone.
    Tom came back from the farm a little after six, and when Dora had gone off to sleep upstairs the four of them sat down to eat. Afterwards, Lily carried the dishes out to the scullery and began to wash them. As she stood at the sink, her father came in from the kitchen.
    ‘It’s settled,’ he said. ‘It’s all settled now. You’ll be going to Mr and Mrs Haskin at Whitton.’
    Lily put down the dish she was washing and turned to him. ‘Go to – to Mr and Mrs Haskin . . .?’ She had begun to fear something like this. ‘It’s all arranged?’
    ‘Yes. You’re to go as general maid. Mrs Haskin needs help around the place. The maid she had has just left and she’s lookin’ for another one.’
    Lily stood in silence, letting the news sink in. ‘How long must I go for?’ she asked.
    ‘How long? Well, that remains to be seen.’ There was acertain brusqueness in his manner, an awkwardness in giving the unwelcome news. ‘At least for three or four years, I should reckon. After that we can think about it.’
    ‘Three or four years. But – but a girl’s petty place – when she first goes off into service – it’s usually for no more than a year. And if – ’
    ‘It’s not the same,’ he broke in shortly ‘You’re going to friends. It’s not the same thing at all.’
    ‘Oh, Father – must I go?’
    ‘Yes,’ he said sternly, ‘you must. I told you, it’s all settled. And it’s true what your mam says: look at your old school-friends – those girls were going into service at twelve and thirteen. You should be grateful we let you stay on as long as you did. And what else is there for you to do? You’ve got to start bringing something in and paying your share.’
    ‘Oh, I want to do that,’ Lily said, ‘but – couldn’t I go somewhere local? Oh, let me ask Mrs Meller – see if she’d keep me on full time.’
    ‘I told you, it’s all settled. Besides, the Mellers don’t pay enough. The bit extra you get from the Haskins will come in very handy – specially in times like these.’
    ‘But Father –’
    ‘Enough!’ he said sharply. ‘It’s done. You go Sunday, a week tomorrow.’
    When the Sunday came, Lily helped her stepmother get the midday dinner, and afterwards, when the dishes had been washed and put away, got into her second-best dress and put on her bonnet. Near the time of her leaving, her father came up to her room and hoisted up the box she had packed over the previous days, and carried it downstairs. It was not so heavy, for she owned little.
    Tom was at the farm and not there to see her off, but they had made their sad goodbyes earlier. He had said little in words, but she could see from the way he pressed his lipstogether, and feel from the hard grip of his hand that he was deeply moved. Now there was just Dora and her stepmother. Lily bent to her half-sister and kissed her on the cheek, and then turned to her stepmother. ‘Well – goodbye, Mother.’
    ‘You don’t need to look so long in the face,’ Mrs Clair said. She made no move to embrace her stepdaughter but stood with her arms folded over her flat bosom. ‘You’re only going to Whitton, you’re not going to Timbuktu. You’ll soon have a chance to come back and see us.’
    ‘Yes, of course.’
    ‘And listen – don’t write home asking us to send things. And don’t forget what we arranged – you remember to send something when you