Barely two months had passed since the carter had brought them from Luddenden to Northwaite and here he was again, waiting outside Lane End Cottage in the sunshine of a late August morning that promised a hot day ahead. The letter that Ella had persuaded Sarah to write had received a swift reply from York and, as Ella picked up her bags to take them out to the waiting carter, she reflected that this time she both knew, and did not know, what to expect. Life in a big city would be strange no longer, and she knew both the house and its occupants. Yet she did not know who she would find there or how they would receive her. The letter that Sarah had read out to her from Mr Ward had made mysterious reference to ‘some changes in the household’ since she was there last. If anything, Ella felt more nervous than when she had been setting out into the unknown. Was returning to York going to prove to be a misjudgement? Weighed against this was her certainty that she couldn’t stay in Northwaite and endure the sight of Albert, who had settled back in the village, on an almost daily basis. Nor could she continue to feel so hopeless about her lack of contribution to the household. Sarah had been adamant that her presence was invaluable to her, but even though patients had returned for the remedies that she had been supplying to them seven years previously, and her market stall was still popular, Ella knew that the weekly expenses for a family were high. The peppercorn rent charged by Albert was invaluable; Thomas and Annie would both be bringing in small wage packets once their apprenticeships were at an end, but until then Ella felt it her duty to find a way to provide. On top of that, Beth would be starting at Northwaite school in the autumn. Ella felt her choice was clear. She had to go back to Grange House.
Thomas, Annie and Beattie had said their goodbyes earlier that morning. There had been tears then and Ella did not relish further distress from Sarah and Beth. But she found Sarah on the front path with a furrowed brow.
‘I can’t find Beth anywhere,’ she said. ‘I’ve searched the house from top to bottom and even looked under the beds.’
‘Do you think she could have run off?’ Ella was immediately alarmed.
‘She was upset at the thought of your leaving, but would she have missed the chance to say goodbye?’ Sarah was troubled.
‘We need to look sharp, miss, if you’re to make the train.’ The carter had turned in his seat and was viewing the unfolding scene dispassionately.
It was with mounting agitation that Ella loaded her bag into the back of the cart, disturbing a small cloud of dust from the empty flour sacks piled there as she did so.
With a heavy heart, she prepared to mount the step to sit herself next to the driver when she heard a volley of muffled sneezes.
‘Beth?’ she said, questioningly.
There was a moment’s silence, followed by more sneezes. Ella drew back the folded sacks to reveal Beth, her face and hair white with a dusting of flour, tear streaks making runnels down her cheeks.
‘Oh, Beth,’ Ella said, quickly lifting her out and hugging her, with no regard for the mess it would make of her travelling clothes. ‘Did you think to come with me? I’m so sorry to leave you but I promise I will come back soon. You must be good for Ma. And for Albert,’ she added as an afterthought.
‘Miss –’ the carter said by way of warning, as the horse shifted its feet uneasily and tossed its head, sensing his growing impatience.
Ella gathered both Sarah and Beth to her. ‘I love you both,’ she whispered, then turned and rapidly mounted the step to seat herself beside the carter. Needing no further encouragement, he shook the reins and they were off. Ella turned and gazed at the scene behind her, trying to lodge it in her memory – Sarah clutching Beth’s hand and waving; both of them crying; Sarah bending to give Beth her handkerchief; the sun bright behind them; the hills blue in the distance.
The carter stayed silent as Ella’s shoulders heaved and shook while they trotted at a brisk pace through the village and down the hill to the station. As he handed her down from the cart in the station yard, the train just coming into view as it chugged around the bend in the valley, he said gruffly, ‘Don’t take on now. The young ’un will be busy enough on summat else by now, I’ll be bound. Aye, and when she’s but a few years grown she’ll be after joining you in yon big city!’ And with that he shook the reins and headed off without a backward glance while Ella, struggling to compose herself, hastened with her bag to the station platform, just in time to climb into a carriage before the doors slammed shut.