The Tarnished Necklace. Trish Inc. DuffinЧитать онлайн книгу.
a choked throat. Usually he talked about what he had done over the day. Sometimes he even just sat there quietly whittling away on a small herd of ponies for a little girl about to turn five. There were frequent times he came back from working his land to find a loaf of home-made bread or a cake on the table. Once he spotted Maria making her way back home after her errand. Andrew came over every few days to offer a hand on his farm or invite him over for a meal. Peter increasingly found his legs tucked under their table and they even came to his place for a meal one night. It was a simple meal and there weren’t enough chairs for everyone. They made do and laughed when Joanne fell off the chair she was sharing with Alice. Gradually Peter got absorbed into the family. Chenoa had only been in his life for nine months. Within that time frame he had gone from being a lonely and single young man with no roots, to being a husband, an expectant father and then back to being single - this time with a farm, an unused crib and empty space in the bed beside him. Now, he was becoming part of a family, this was something he had barely experienced before and he loved it. Though no stranger to being on his own, he had started to become lonely in the year leading up to meeting Chenoa. His very short marriage of only five months had been a happy time, and he found the sudden jolt back to being a single man difficult and unwanted.
Andrew noticed this change as well. Though he loved being a father of four girls he would have loved to have a son work alongside him. The two men worked well together and they unconsciously took on the roles of father and son. Peter had little idea how to run a farm and was more than happy to work alongside Andrew, absorbing his wisdom and learning the necessary skills of farming.
Peter’s mother had died in childbirth and he had been cared for by a number of nannies as his father’s temperamental behaviour saw a steady turnover of employees. Susan’s warm heart soon won him over and Peter unconsciously started to regard her as a mother. Susan likewise took to looking on him more as a son than as a neighbour, a son that she never had but always wanted. She realised that was the case one day when he sat down at the table with dirty hands and she sent him out to wash up, realising once she had given the order that she had used her mother’s voice. Peter’s abashed look had made her laugh as he slunk out the door to obey her command. The fact that Joanne and Alice had teased him when he got told off made it all the more funny.
What was a real novelty for him was the growing feeling of having sisters. As an only child he had never enjoyed the company of siblings. The girls in return didn’t have a big brother so they too enjoyed his company, gentle teasing and tugged ponytails.
The only one that he didn’t tease was Maria. She was eighteen so instead he treated her with the respect that reflected her age. Until Chenoa’s death he hadn’t got to know her too well other than deeply appreciating the relationship that had developed between his wife and Maria. Chenoa had really struggled with being the only Indian woman in a white community. Maria’s warm and open friendship had meant a lot to both of them. Now he was realising why Chenoa had always appreciated her company. She was a quiet, calm person. She also had an inner confidence that showed both in the tilt of her chin and the way she expressed herself. They took to chatting and he quickly found that she had a keen mind. She also proved to be completely unbeatable in chess. It became a regular evening routine for him to lose a game before heading home.
He still struggled with the emptiness of his home though, and knew his grief was not going to go away immediately.
Chapter 4 Happy Birthday
Andrew’s booming laugh could be heard from Peter’s place and the squeals of little girls wafted over as well. He tucked the parcel under his arm, closed the door behind him and walked to their home. Rounding the corner he saw Andrew blindfolded and tickling his giggling daughter while her three little friends tried to get caught as well. Maria spotted him first. She raised an arm to wave and he waved back. Grace spotted him and squealed in excitement before running over to him and hugging his leg, which ground him to a halt.
“Happy birthday little lady,” he said and then he crouched down, putting the box on the ground and giving her a huge hug. “Now let me take this inside,” he said before straightening up and heading towards the house. She skipped into the house with her little friends in tow, leaving Andrew to remove his blindfold and come after them.
Grace was waiting in the kitchen and Maria had slipped ahead of the girls to get them settled. Alice and Joanne had brushed their hair until it shone, Maria’s hair wasn’t pulled back in her usual practical bun but fell in dark brown curls down her back. Susan’s face was flushed with the heat from the oven. On the table were two carefully wrapped gifts which Grace hadn’t opened yet. Maria looked up as Peter came in. He caught her eye and smiled, before sitting down next to her and placing his gift on the table.
Andrew spoke up. “Well, Grace, there seem to be some parcels here, what shall we do with them?” Grace’s eyes lit up and she politely asked if she may open them. Andrew passed his over. It was wrapped in a sheet and Grace carefully unwrapped it and then gasped. In it was a beautiful little crib with hand-carved flowers around the edge. The crib was on rockers and the headboard had ‘Daisy’ engraved on it, the name of Grace’s dolly. Grace stared, then quietly snuggled up into her father’s arms and planted a big kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, thank you so much,” she whispered before skipping off to fetch Daisy.
On her return Susan and Maria jointly passed their gift over and Grace’s eyes sparkled as she carefully unwrapped it. It was a small mattress, two little sheets and a pretty blanket with pink ribbon swirling through it. Grace’s mouth opened in a little O but no sound came out. She carefully made up the little bed and put Daisy under the blankets before running around the table to lavish them with hugs, kisses and thank you’s. Her three little friends all took turns tucking in Daisy and giving her a little rock.
Joanne and Alice then produced their gifts. Joanne had made a nightgown for Daisy and Alice had made a bed cap for the dolly. Each had been beautifully worked on when their little sister had gone to bed. Grace pulled the grubby dress off Daisy and dressed her up in her clean nightwear before tucking her back into bed once again. The little pin tucks, lace edging and pink ribbon made Daisy the best-dressed dolly anyone had ever seen.
Finally it was Peter’s turn to present his package. Grace climbed up onto his lap before beginning to open the gift. In the box was not just one horse but three. One was a mare with a flowing tail, suspiciously the same colour as the Scott’s dog. There were two foals, one with its head to the ground as if grazing, the other with its head up like its mother. All their tails were golden. Maria looked at their dog and back at the gift. “You didn’t!” she whispered in accusation.
Peter glanced at her with a futile attempt to look innocent, but a wry grin twitched at the side of his mouth. “Miss Scott, are you making an unjust accusation?” he whispered back. Jake, the dog, chose that moment to raise his head off the mat and whine which caused both Maria and Peter to bite their lips in an attempt to stifle their laughter. He was rescued by Grace flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly on the cheek. He laughed and then pointed to the little package that hadn’t been opened yet. In it was a tiny little bridle, reins and a saddle alongside a carving of a little girl who nicely fitted onto the horse. “That’s me!” exclaimed Grace and kissed him again, before, with his help, assembling the bridle and saddle. She made the horse ride around the table and jump over Daisy in her crib.
Meanwhile Maria looked at Peter and laughed inside before glancing over at Jake again. She tried to figure out where the hair had been snipped from, most likely his tail.
With the presents opened the little girls all took them down onto the mat. They played with Daisy and rode the horse around Jake until he gave up and went outside to snooze under the walnut tree. Peter and Andrew were both scooted outside while the girls set the table and Susan got the food ready for the party. The men decided to use that time to saw a large branch into more workable sizes and appreciated the lemonade that came with the meal.
Chapter 5 The Girls Are Returned Home
Eventually the day came to an end and Peter was volunteered by Grace to take her three little friends home in the wagon. As he didn’t know where their homes were Maria suggested