1885 North Devon, England
When Emily’s neighbours inform her that Sir Edgar Grantley has also
perished from the deadly disease, the old woman is distraught, for the kindly
gentleman has been their benefactor for many years, much to the disgust of his
wife, Lilliana. Emily is well aware that Sir Edgar’s generosity has long been a
bone of contention between him and his spouse, and she is certain Lady Grantley
will evict them from their cottage at the first opportunity.
As she racks her brain for a solution, Emily remembers her father
came from Hartford, a seaside village in North Devon and had relatives there.
Desperate and too weak to travel, she insists Millie and Jonathan leave home
and make their way to Hartford before the embittered woman can cause trouble
for them. There, she tells them, they must throw themselves on the mercy of
their family and hope they will offer them a home.
With Emily promising to follow as soon as possible, the two
youngsters reluctantly set off on their fifty-mile journey on foot and in the
harshest of weather conditions. Emily warns them to be cautious, for she
suspects Lady Grantley may well pursue them to seek revenge for a situation
that has existed between the two families for many years.
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Snippet
They left the gloomy building with Sam carrying Paul snugly wrapped in a warm blanket and Robert carrying Martin. Neither child weighed much, for they were so thin. The two girls pulled their blankets around them as Dodger climbed down and lifted them into the relative warmth of the carriage. Between them, Robert and Dodger lifted Marrok into the carriage, making him as comfortable as possible on one seat with his broken leg stretched out before him. Sam held Paul on his knee, and the other three children squashed into the seat beside him.
There was a slightly awkward silence in the carriage
as Sam and Marrok tried hard to think of something to say. Then Sam remembered
something that Annie had thrust into his hands at the last minute, and he
reached under the seat and retrieved a tin.
“I was wondering if any of you might be hungry?”
The children stared at him with renewed interest,
and the old man beamed at them.
“Ah, I thought that might get your attention, and
I’m pleased to tell you that I have six pasties in here, all baked by Maisie,
the cook at Hartford Manor. They might still be warm if we’re lucky, for they
were fresh out of the oven. Would anybody like one?”
Sam lifted the lid, and immediately, a
mouth-watering aroma assailed the nostrils of the starving inmates of the
carriage. The ice was broken as the children took a pasty each and ate them
hungrily.
“I think they’re enjoying them; what about you, son?
Have you got room for a pasty?”
Marrok grinned widely at his father, reached for a
pasty, and eagerly took a massive bite.
“You have no idea how delicious this tastes … Dad …”
He hesitated as he spoke.
“Ah, but I have, lad. I’ve spent more years of my
life being hungry than not, but hopefully, those days are behind us now.”
Marcia Clayton is the author of five books in The Hartford Manor Series, a heart-warming family saga stretching from the Regency period to Victorian times. A sixth book is to be released in 2024.
Marcia
was born in North Devon, a rural and picturesque area in the far South West of
England. When she left school, Marcia worked in a bank for several years until
she married her husband, Bryan, and then stayed at home for a few years to care
for her three sons, Stuart, Paul and David. As the children grew older, Marcia
worked as a Marie Curie nurse caring for the terminally ill and later for the
local authority managing school transport.
Now
a grandmother, Marcia enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She’s a
keen researcher of family history, and this hobby inspired some of the
characters in her books. A keen gardener, Marcia grows many of her own
vegetables. She is also an avid reader and enjoys historical fiction, romance,
and crime books.
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Thank you so much for hosting Marcia Clayton on her blog tour today.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Cathie xo
The Coffee Pot Book Club
My pleasure.
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