Christmas Child: an absolutely heartbreaking and emotional Victorian romance Carol Rivers (great books for teens .TXT) 📖

Every now and then she wriggled to see if his grip had loosened. But each time she did, he pulled her harder, ramming his stick on the cobbles. This frightened her even more.

Now she was completely lost. The road had narrowed to a lane. This didn’t look like the Old Ford Road that Michael had told her about. Ettie was terrified that her knees would not support her. She dropped to the ground. ‘Please let me go,’ she begged.

‘Get up,’ he ordered.

Summoning her courage, Ettie tried to think of an escape. If she pretended to obey him, perhaps she could grasp the moment and run away. She whispered, ‘Just let me catch my breath.’

‘You’re a nice little type, ain’t you?’ he spat. ‘Got any money?’

Ettie hadn’t brought money with her. She didn’t have any to bring. But then she thought if she said she had, the moment he let her go to reach in her pocket, she would dart away.

‘Well, where is it?’ he demanded, shaking her roughly.

Ettie's teeth rattled.

‘Turn out your pockets, kid.’

Ettie slid her free hand into her pocket pretending to search for pennies. She saw the look of greed in his eyes. In that second, she pulled herself away. Her heart raced so heavily that she scrambled awkwardly, falling, then rising until in a frenzy of panic she found herself able to move.

But which direction? She didn’t know. Onwards she ran, as fast as her shaking legs would carry her. She bolted through the people who were walking along the path and briefly glanced over her shoulder. The man, despite his walking stick, was running too; she tried to run faster.

What would he do if he caught up with her?

Chapter 5

Ettie could hardly draw a breath as she arrived at the park gates. Her lungs were sore, her legs were trembling. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the man had disappeared! Several fine carriages pulled up and the drivers assisted the well-dressed men and women to the ground. Soon the children were playing on the green grass as the adults clustered together in groups.

Ettie noticed how they spoke in subdued, discreet accents; even the children were well-behaved. Most of the men wore tall hats and button-down jackets. The women looked fashionable in their silk bonnets, furry muffs and warm cloaks. The park seemed to be a world away from the streets through which she had just run. Perhaps that was why the man hadn’t followed her, since here she could see no sign of beggars or traders.

Ettie breathed a sigh of relief. Though she knew she looked less than presentable, she had at least, found the park where Michael would meet her.

Walking slowly under the arch, she saw a long stretch of leafless trees, below which the children played. They rolled hoops and threw balls and there were any number of perambulators being pushed along the path by their nannies. Was this the path the woman had told her about? She would most certainly keep to it.

Perhaps she had just been unlucky in meeting that dreadful man. Now the tranquil atmosphere was broken only by the children’s laughter. A little way beyond the trees, she sat on a wooden seat and although it was very cold, a ray or two of sunshine broke through the wintry clouds. Ettie wondered where the water fountain was.

‘Excuse me,’ Ettie called to a lady dressed smartly in a cloak and fur bonnet. ‘Can you tell me where the water fountain is?’

The lady looked her up and down and hurried off.

Tears of humiliation stung Ettie's eyes. She guessed the lady wanted nothing to do with her because of her bedraggled appearance. Her gaze fell upon the boys and girls playing nearby; some had velvet collars and brass buttons on their jackets. The boys’ caps were made of fine cloth and their boots shone. Most of the girls wore their hair in ringlets. From under their smart coats she could see a hint of white petticoat.

How could it be, Ettie wondered, that God gave so much to the rich and so little to the poor?

She wrapped her shawl tightly around her head so that no one would see her straggly, unkempt hair. But the contempt in the lady’s eyes and the seed Michael had put in her mind had taken root.

She was beginning to see just how unfairly life treated some people and rewarded others.

Living safely behind the convent’s walls appearances hadn’t mattered.

But today, here in the wide world, she realized how it felt to be poor. The nuns had taught her that everyone was equal. But today she’d discovered this was untrue.

As she walked to find the fountain, Ettie was so deep in thought, she lost her way. The bushes were thick and the thin branches of the trees looked menacing. It was darker too and the trail was hidden by undergrowth. No longer could she hear the children or the sweet song of the birds. She stopped, her heart hammering.

Which way to go? Was this still the park, or had she strayed out of it? If only she had concentrated on her direction. Remembering the warning she’d been given about straying from the path, Ettie shuddered. This gloomy place was frightening.

Suddenly there was a rustling behind her. She turned, but could see nothing more than brown prickly thorns entangled with the trees. She spun around. Nothing but the wood. She stumbled on faster now, panic pushing her forward.

On and on she rambled, but the rustling seemed to follow her. She stopped, gasping a breath.

‘Where am I?’ she breathed, hearing the fear in her own voice.

A few more paces and she stepped into a clearing. Just when she was about to give up hope, she saw a tall stone building. It was not very large, and like the ruined folly that stood in the convent gardens.

She moved towards it and her heart leapt. The pillars