They stayed for another ten minutes. The children were becoming restless by that time so they set off for the farm again. ‘How is she?’ Eddie asked when they were home and he came in for his lunch.
‘She looks tired and her mother is failing.’
He shook his head. ‘Maureen has devoted her life to caring for her mother and her family since her father died. And she’s been wonderful to me since I lost Mary. She’s a good woman.’
Charity nodded in agreement.
Maureen sent word three days later that her mother had passed away peacefully in her sleep.
Eddie immediately stopped what he had been doing to go to her. When he came back, he told Charity. ‘I have asked Maureen to move in here to be with us.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Charity had been hoping he would say that. But it did make her wonder where that would leave her.
He instantly put her mind at rest when he said next, ‘I think there’s more than enough work here to keep you both busy.’
Charity stifled a sigh of relief. She just hoped that one day Maureen and Eddie would realise they had feelings for each other. They were both good people and deserved a happily ever after.
Chapter Nineteen
‘We’re going to be busy,’ Eddie said over breakfast one day in early September when the harvest was about to begin. Farmers from nearby farms would be arriving to help. They also employed people who were seeking casual work. ‘If you two could organise sandwiches and bottles of tea it would be grand,’ he said to Charity and Maureen.
‘We’ll bring them up to the top field for you at lunchtime.’ Maureen had settled in as if she had always been there. The children adored her, and she and Eddie were growing closer by the day.
The only thing Charity was concerned about was the Gypsies. What if her own family came. She didn’t know how she would face them. Especially when they realised she was going to have a child. But as Maureen pointed out, there was no point in worrying about something that hadn’t happened yet.
Mid-morning they began to make a pile of sandwiches and load them into baskets. Other baskets were filled with bottles of cold tea. Then they all set off for the top field. The workers were ready for a break. It was a hot day and they were all hungry and thirsty. Many of them were bare-chested and sweating, their scythes flashing in the sunlight. There were some Gypsies there but none that Charity recognised. Relieved, she deposited the baskets and hurried back to the farmhouse. But unknown to her one pair of eyes followed her closely.
Luca had arrived there the night before. He had been searching for Charity ever since he had left the circus, but with no luck so far. He was right at the top end of the field, but there was something about the back of the girl he had just seen that looked wonderfully familiar. He couldn’t see her face but her long black hair was identical to Charity’s. She also had Charity’s way of walking. He kept her fixed in his sight until she disappeared into the farmyard. His heart was thumping. Could this be the farm and the farmer she had left him for? Luca had met Eddie the night before and liked him. He had agreed Luca could park his horse and trailer at the edge of the bottom field. Now, Luca quickly made his way to the refreshments where Maureen was handing out sandwiches. He smiled as he took one from her and accepted a bottle of cold tea.
‘The girl that was here a few minutes ago,’ he said casually. ‘I think I recognised her from somewhere.’
‘Who, Charity?’ Maureen shook her head. ‘I doubt it, she’s not from around these parts. I’ve sent her in out of the sun. She’s having a baby so we don’t want her getting ill.’
Luca felt the colour drain from his face. Having a baby? He rushed off to find shelter in the hedgerow. There he sat feeling as if his heart was breaking. She had certainly wasted no time in forgetting him. He had thought that she would be the mother of his children, that they would grow old together. Now here she was wed to another and carrying his child. He supposed he couldn’t blame her. It was a grand farm and Eddie was decent from what he’d seen of him. Somewhat older than Charity, admittedly, but he didn’t suppose that mattered. She would be set for life now. Eddie had been able to offer her so much more than he could. There didn’t even seem any point in speaking to her now. He considered downing tools and setting off to find the circus, but common sense told him that would be foolish. If he finished the job, he would earn enough to keep himself on the journey back.
He pushed the sandwich into the hedgerow – he wasn’t hungry anymore – and went back to work.
Maureen watched him go with a frown on her face. He had seemed upset when she told him about Charity’s baby. Why would that be? she wondered. With a shrug, she lifted the empty basket and went back to the farm.
‘I just spoke to a young man who thought he might know you.’ Maureen glanced at Charity out of the corner of her eye.
Charity was washing the dirty pots up at the sink. ‘Oh yes. Who was he then?’ she asked, panic creeping in that she’d been recognised.
‘He didn’t say his name but he was a handsome young chap.’
As a thought occurred to Charity her heart began to thud. ‘What did he look like?’
Maureen paused to remember. ‘He was tall, dark haired. Quite muscly.’
‘He’s probably mistaken me for someone else,’ Charity said quietly as she stared from the kitchen window.
The man fitted Luca’s description, but why would he be here now? He had chosen Scarlet and they would surely be travelling with the circus? She got on with what she was doing and tried not to think about it.
That was easier said than done, though. That night she found it hard to sleep and tossed and turned. Then she made her decision. She would take the sandwiches to the top field again the next day. Maureen could point the young man out to her then. It probably wouldn’t be Luca but she had to know.
Chapter Twenty
It was another beautiful day, perfect for harvesting. Maureen and Charity prepared the sandwiches and tea and set off to take them to the workers.
