The Hawthorns Bloom in May Read Online Free PDF

energy of a five-year-old.
    ‘Hallo, Emily,’ Rose said, hugging her warmly. ‘Where’s Sammy?’
    ‘He’s comin’. He can’t run as fast as I can,’ she added proudly, as six year old Sammy appeared breathless, with eyes only for his grandfather.
    ‘CanIve a ride inthemotor?’ he gasped, fixing John with bright blue eyes.
    John laughed and picked him up.
    ‘Maybe if you said hello to your Granny, we could manage something.’
    ‘Hello, Granny,’ said Sammy, so promptly that all the adults laughed.
    ‘And me,’ insisted Emily. ‘There’s room for me too, Granda.’
    ‘Come on then,’ John said, smiling at Rose and Sam as he took the two children by the hand.
    Through the open doors of the barn, Rose watched him cross the yard, Emily swinging on his arm in her excitement, young Sammy talking nineteen to the dozen. She was about to comment on how much both children had grown since Christmas when she saw Martha come striding into the yard, the baby in the pram, young Rose perched across it.
    ‘I’ll away and say hello to Martha and the weeones,’ she said, as she stood up and saw Sam now running a finger thoughtfully up and down a piece of metal.
    ‘Hello, Martha, how are you?’ she asked, as the younger woman lifted Rose from the pram.
    Martha was heavily pregnant, but she swung the child to the ground with the greatest of ease.
    ‘I wasn’t expectin’ ye,’ Martha replied with a little laugh. ‘I’ve the cows to milk before I can make tea for anyone,’ she said sharply, looking down into the pram to make sure Bobby was asleep.
    ‘Oh, we’ll not stay for tea, Martha. You’ve enough to do,’ said Rose, reading the familiar signal. ‘We’ll be off as soon as John gives the children their ride in the motor.’
    Martha turned the pram to face away from the lowering sun and looked down at little Rose who was sucking her thumb.
    ‘Here you are, Rose, here’s your Granny, come to see you,’ she said quickly. ‘She’ll play with you while Uncle Joe and I do our work,’ she added as she picked up the weary child and handed her to Rose.
    Behind them, Uncle Joe came to the door and strode silently past on his way to bring in the four cows from the low field.
     
    ‘An’ ye mean t’ say that was all the conversation ye had wi’ her, an’ you hasn’t seen her or the childer since Christmas?’
    John took his eyes off the empty road and glanced at her as if he couldn’t believe her words without seeing the look on her face.
    ‘That’s all, John,’ she said firmly. ‘I had a good deal more conversation with little Rose, for all she’s not three yet and there wasn’t so much as a doll or a wee toy for us to talk about. Sam hasn’t much time for making toys from what I can see,’ she added sharply.
    ‘Aye, ye’re right there,’ he said sadly.
    He pressed his lips together and looked up at the clear sky, now paling from blue to palest yellow.
    ‘There’s a quare stretch on the evenin’s when ye get a good day to see it,’ he said, looking round him carefully as they turned on to the Banbridge road. ‘We did the right thing goin’ on to Thomas and Selina’s diden we?’ he said more cheerfully.
    ‘Yes, you were right, and I was wrong,’ she admitted laughing. ‘I know I said it was too near teatime to call, but they were so glad to see us, weren’t they? I think it did us both good to be made that welcome. Even if Selina had nothing but baker’s bread and shop jam, she’d have put it on the table. She’s a great baker, isn’t she?’ she went on, her mind still moving on the warm welcome they’d had from John’s old friend and his second wife.
    ‘You don’t think Martha and Sam are just veryshort of money?’ Rose asked, as she thought of the scones and cake so generously provided.
    ‘How would they be, Rose?’ John replied, a note of irritation in his tone. ‘Sam’s a skilled man. He’s earnin’ far more than I iver earned before we moved to Ballydown. She’s