I left off last time in Chapter 2 of The Christmas Carrolls. Sir Nicholas had brought Edmund home after he was attacked by some other boys who broke his pencils and gave him a black eye. Mary is at the market, and Henry insisted that his new friend meet his sister Beth.
Here are this week's ten...
Beth sighed and sat, propping her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands. “We used to live in the country.”
“You miss it?” Nicholas asked, checking on Henry’s black eye.
“Yes, and so does mother,” Beth told him. “Town isn’t fun like everyone said. We don’t go the theaters or parties or even to supper with fine ladies.” The girl was taken by another coughing spasm. “And I am ill in town.”
Ill in town, but well in the country. Some maladies could appear as one got older, but this was a puzzle to Nicholas, and it was one he could not solve yet.
And a bit more for good measure...
“Hmm. And do you miss the country as well, Henry?”
The boy nodded. “I miss the animals, and the trees, and the meadows, and the birds. I like pigeons, but there are more birds in Kent. It’s quieter there too.”
Nicholas could well understand their missing the way things were back at their childhood homes. Town was useful, and good for a change, but it was not where he wanted to spend all of his time either. He wondered how much the children understood the need for their living in London. “Is there anything you like about town at all?”
“I like peppermints.” Beth perked up. “And pretty things in shop windows, and seeing the lovely gowns and things mother brings home to work on, she makes them even prettier than they were before.”
“I like seeing all the horses that go by in the streets.” Henry said, and then grinned and added, “And hot chestnuts.”
Please join me again next weekend for more with Sir Nicholas, Henry, and Beth.
Kate