Dorcas flew to the door and sure enough she saw that Hetty was right. Without a second thought she rammed her feet into her boots and dragged her coat on. ‘In that case whoever it is can’t have gone far. I’m going to try and find them. Come on, Bruno.’ And before Hetty could say another word her mistress set off into the thickly falling snow with Bruno prancing delightedly at her heels.
The footsteps led into a small copse and once beneath the barren trees it was harder to follow them but Dorcas plunged on regardless, Bruno romping at her side. As they emerged from the copse, he began to bark and race ahead, and holding her hand above her eyes Dorcas peered into the snow. She could just make out a hunched figure striding some way in front of her.
‘Hey .?.?.wait!’
The figure paused and turned towards her and as Dorcas moved forward her mouth gaped open in shock and her heart began to thump.
‘Gerald!’
Shamefaced he lowered his head. He was dressed in workmen’s clothes with a cap covering his thatch of thick hair. His hands were plunged deep into his coat pockets and his shoulders sagged.
‘Gerald .?.?.’ Dorcas’s voice was softer now and clogged with tears. ‘Wherehave you been?’
‘Working.’ His voice was so low that she could barely hear it and she drew closer, shocked at the change in him. His face looked at least ten years older than she remembered and his hands when he removed them from his pockets were calloused and rough.
‘But why did you run away like that?’
He shrugged. ‘What else could I do? I’d let you all down and I was ashamed. I thought you’d all be better off without me.’
It was she who held out her hand to him. ‘No .?.?. no, you didn’t let us down! I was as much to blame as you for what happened. Please come back to the cottage with me. I think we need to talk.’
His head wagged from side to side. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, Dorcas. It’s too late for talking now.’
Her chin rose in the determined way he remembered so well. ‘I don’t agree. Please come back with me. Just to talk .?.?.please.’
He hesitated like a bird about to take flight but then with a laboured sigh he fell into step beside her as they turned back towards the cottage.
When they entered the kitchen sometime later, Hetty was just throwing some logs on to the fire and she dropped the one she was holding so heavily that the fire crackled and spat.
‘Mr Winter!’
‘Hello, my dear.’ He stood nervously by the door but not for long because Dorcas dragged his coat from his shoulders and ushered him towards the warmth of the fire.
‘You sit there while I get us a hot drink,’ she ordered bossily and with a wry smile playing about his lips he did as he was told. It seemed that some things never changed.
‘I, er .?.?. I think I’ll go an’ give me bedroom a good tidy,’ Hetty said tactfully, then bustled away upstairs.
Neither spoke as Dorcas busied herself making tea, but finally, when they were both seated either side of the fire facing each other with steaming mugs in their hands, she asked, ‘Why didn’t you tell me the business was in such dire trouble?’ But before he could answer she rushed on. ‘I think I know the answer to that .?.?. it was because I wouldn’t have listened to you. I was too demanding. Nothing was ever good enough, I always wanted more .?.?. and I want to say .?.?. I’m sorry. Soverysorry!’
He raised his head to stare at her in surprise. He had expected her to be shouting and screaming at him but instead she was being more than reasonable. In fact, as he looked at the simple gown she was wearing, with her glorious hair tied loosely in a ribbon at the nape of her neck, he was suddenly reminded of the girl he had fallen in love with.
An awkward silence settled between them for a few moments then and he stroked Bruno’s silky ears.
Finally, Dorcas asked, ‘Where have you been living? Have you found someone else?’
‘What?’ He looked startled at her suggestion. ‘OfcourseI haven’t. For all my faults I’ve never been a womaniser – you should know that. I’ve been working at Bates Farm near Bedworth and living in a room above his barn. But where are the girls?’
Slowly Dorcas began to tell him of all that had happened since he had left and he hung on her every word.
‘So Abigail is at Imogen’s house in Lytham St Anne’s and Emerald is looking after Imogen?’
‘Yes.’ She nodded. ‘I didn’t even know where Abigail was until I received a letter from Emerald yesterday. I’m afraid she took the move here very badly which is why she ran away to London. But at least I know she’s safe now and I also know that both girls will be so relieved that I’ve found you. We’ve all been so worried not knowing what had happened to you.’
He looked at her incredulously. ‘Youwereworried?’ He could hardly believe what he was hearing. Was this really the same woman he had run away from?
‘Yes, my love – I was.’ She reached across the distance between them to gently take his hand. ‘I admit I was angry – furious, in fact – when you first went. And then when we discovered that we were to lose the house and I would have to throw us all on Bernard’s mercy I hated you for a while. Coming here’ – she spread her hands to encompass the cosy kitchen – ‘seemed like a fate worse than death. Yet after a while I found that it wasn’t so bad. Of course, I was also heartbroken because my so-called friends had all turned their backs on me, until I realised that they had never been true friends after all. Hetty has stood by me through thick and thin and I think I now have more feelings for her than I ever did for any of them.’ She sighed. ‘Sometimes it takes something life-changing to make you realise what is important and I’ve come to love this little place. I also slowly came to realise that I still love you too.’
He looked infinitely sad. ‘I was terrified I had destroyed all your lives. And don’t worry, I shall continue to support you as much as I can. I don’t need much to get by on out of my wages, which is why I’ve been leaving them outside here for you. But now I really should be going. Thank you for the warm and the hot drink.’
