The Runaway Read Online Free PDF Page A

old, the result of the mass evacuation of children from the large towns, and the confusions of World War II. She had heard nothing of her parents since that time and presumed they had been killed during the bombing of London. Constant searches for her sister had failed to find her.
    She would still continue to search for Joy, even though hope was all but diminished. At least she now had Matt and in a few months she’d have the delight of a baby to enjoy and love and care for. Matt wanted this child so much and she had to believe he would be a good and loving father. If only she was as certain that he loved her, or, she admitted to her secret self, if she were certain that she loved Matt and wasn’t just pretending because of her child and her desperate longing for a family.
    As the procession of lively children reached the school gates the rest of the pupils were already coming out for playtime and she released the children, except the monitors, who helped her carry the sports equipment into the storeroom. Then she went to the staffroom for a welcome cup of tea.
    On the following day, a Saturday, she and Matt were to marry but very few people were invited. A quiet marriage ceremony at the local register office was all she had arranged. Better not to make too much fuss, the dates of the wedding and the birth would be quoted often enough without increasing the number of people that knew.
    She thought fleetingly of Nick Harris and wondered whether he and Tessa were happy. Had she clung to Nick because she had loved him? Or had he simply been an escape from continuing loneliness, a reason to stop running away? Was it the same with Matt? And did that make her incapable of true love?
    It was half an hour after the children had gone home when Faithleft the school. She had stayed behind to prepare some displays for the entrance hall. Walking home, her mind was still concentrating on the photographs and food from different nations which she had placed in front of a large world map with ribbons showing their origins, so she wasn’t aware of the car approaching. It didn’t actually hit her, but its closeness made her stumble and fall.
    Before she could rise, several people ran to help her and one ran into a nearby shop and phoned for an ambulance. Protesting only weakly, she was taken to hospital. Matt and his mother were informed.
    The doctor advised her to stay overnight to make sure both she and the baby were all right. She daren’t reveal her relief when Carol accepted that they had to cancel the wedding.
    When she came out of hospital she went straight to see her friend, Winnie.
    ‘Faith! Are you sure you’re all right? Shouldn’t you be at home, resting?’
    ‘I’m fine, really. I’d love a cup of tea, though.’
    ‘Such a pity about the wedding. I’d bought flowers and buttonholes and now I can’t even wear my new dress,’ Winnie said in mock dismay. Glancing at her friend, aware of her doubts, she asked. ‘How do you feel about cancelling the wedding? Will you rearrange it as soon as possible? Or have you decided to wait until after the baby’s born? No one need know you didn’t marry, if you don’t want them to.’
    ‘You’ll think me wicked, but I can’t help feeling relieved. A baby isn’t the best reason to marry, whatever the oldies say. It will soon be the sixties and there’s a new set of rules, very different from those of previous generations.’
    Winnie giggled, her hand over her mouth in a familiar gesture. ‘I don’t think Matt’s mother would like to be called an oldie!’
    ‘Well, you know what I mean.’
    ‘You mean you still aren’t sure about Matt?’
    ‘If it weren’t for this baby, I might have changed my mind about marrying him. There’s his temper which I find worrying and there’s something secretive about him that makes me uneasy.’ She hesitated then added, ‘There are things I’m not being told. Carol looks shifty when I ask about his life before he met