Sing as We Go (47 page)

‘Anthony,’ she breathed. ‘My little Anthony. You’ve come back to me.’ But it was not the grown man standing nearby to whom she spoke. It was the child.

Kathy moved then and knelt beside her. ‘Mrs Kendall, it’s not Anthony, but it is his son. This is your grandchild, but that – ’ she gestured towards Tony – ‘is your son.’

Slowly, with what seemed like a great effort, Beatrice raised her eyes and looked at Tony for the first time. He didn’t flinch, didn’t even turn the injured side of his face away, but met her gaze steadily.

‘Oh – Oh – my – darling – boy,’ she gasped at last and the tears flooded down her face. She held out her arms and, for a moment, the child on her knee was forgotten.

Kathy picked James up and carried him from the room, whispering to George as she passed close to him, ‘I think we’ll leave them together for a while, don’t you?’

George followed her out. In the kitchen he took his grandson into his arms for the first time and held the boy close. In an unsteady voice, he murmured, ‘You really have the most remarkable mother.’ His gaze rested upon Kathy. ‘Thank you,’ he said simply. ‘Thank you for your generosity of heart, lass.’

Kathy smiled and touched her baby’s cheek as she said softly, ‘I can understand her so much better. Now that I know what it’s like to be a mother.’

Sing As We Go

Born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Margaret Dickinson moved to the coast at the age of seven and so began her love for the sea and the Lincolnshire landscape.

Her ambition to be a writer began early and she had her first novel published at the age of twenty-five. This was followed by twenty-one further titles including
Plough the Furrow
,
Sow the Seed
and
Reap the Harvest
, which make up her Fleethaven trilogy. Many of her novels are set in the heart of her home county, but in
Tangled Threads
and
Twisted Strands
the stories included not only Lincolnshire but also the framework knitting and lace industries of Nottingham. The Workhouse Museum at Southwell in Nottinghamshire inspired
Without Sin
, and the beautiful countryside of Derbyshire and the fascinating town of Macclesfield in Cheshire formed the backdrop for the story of
Pauper’s Gold. Wish Me Luck
returned to Lincolnshire once more and the county is also the setting for
Sing As We Go
.

www.margaret-dickinson.co.uk

A
LSO BY
M
ARGARET
D
ICKINSON

Plough the Furrow

Sow the Seed

Reap the Harvest

The Miller’s Daughter

Chaff upon the Wind

The Fisher Lass

The Tulip Girl

The River Folk

Tangled Threads

Twisted Strands

Red Sky in the Morning

Without Sin

Pauper’s Gold

Wish Me Luck

For my grandson, Zachary John

‘
When I saw thee, I gave my heart away.
’

Longfellow

A
CKNOWLEDEGMENTS

My grateful thanks to the staff of Lincoln Central Library and of Skegness Library for helping so much with all my research, and to Brian and Jean Gabbitass for the photo of Brian’s father, James, who served with ENSA during the Second World War.

As always, my love and thanks to Robena and Fred Hill, David and Una Dickinson and Pauline Griggs for reading and commenting on the script, and to all my family and friends for their constant support and encouragement in so many ways.

Thank you to Darley Anderson and everyone at the Agency, and to Imogen Taylor, Trisha Jackson, Liz Cowen and all at Pan Macmillan, for always being there.

First published 2008 by Pan Books

This electronic edition published 2010 by Picador
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-0-330-52794-1 PDF
ISBN 978-0-330-52785-9 EPUB

Copyright © Margaret Dickinson 2008

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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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