Pauper's Gold (52 page)
Authors: Margaret Dickinson
‘I thought you . . . I mean,’ his deep voice was husky with emotion, ‘we docked in Liverpool and I heard about the fire – that someone was hurt. I was so afraid that you
. . .’ His voice trailed away and his gaze shifted to the child, quiet now, staring in turn at the man who was a stranger to him. With a sad little smile, Adam squatted down in front of his
son. His voice shook as he murmured, ‘I should have believed you, Anna. Can you ever forgive me?’
‘There’s nothing to forgive. It’s me who should ask forgiveness . . .’ she began, but his attention was wholly on his son now. The little boy reached out his chubby hand
and stroked the man’s beard. It tickled his hand and Eddie chortled with delight.
‘And what’s your name, young man?’
‘Ed-ward,’ the little boy answered with careful deliberation.
Adam nodded and murmured, ‘Edward Critchlow of Wyedale Mill. Yes, it has a good sound to it. And you’re going to make a fine master one day, aren’t you?’
She hardly dared to ask, but she had to know. ‘Are you . . . are you back to stay? Have you come home, Adam?’
He straightened up and held out both his hands to her, palms upwards in supplication. ‘If you’ll both have me . . . ?’
And then she was in his arms and they were kissing and laughing and hugging, with Eddie clutching at their legs and laughing too. There was so much to say and yet there was no need now for
anything to be said at all.
Adam was home.
Born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Margaret Dickinson moved to the coast at the age of seven, and so began her love for the sea and the Lincolnshire landscape.
Her ambition to be a writer started early and she had her first novel published at the age of twenty-five. This was followed by nineteen further titles, including her most recent novel,
Wish
Me Luck.
Margaret Dickinson is married with two grown-up daughters.
A
LSO BY
M
ARGARET
D
ICKINSON
Plough the Furrow
Sow the Seed
Reap the Harvest
The Miller’s Daughter
Chaff Upon the Wind
The Fisher Lass
The Tulip Girl
The River Folk
Tangled Threads
Twisted Strands
Red Sky in the Morning
Without Sin
Wish Me Luck
For David and Una Dickinson,
my brother and sister-in-law
I am very grateful to David and Mavis Holmes for their kind permission for me to use Cressbrook Mill in Derbyshire as the inspiration for part of this story. The former
cotton mill has now been beautifully transformed by them into apartments – a far cry from the conditions in which spinners,weavers and apprentices once worked.
Because I never use real people as the basis for the characters in my novels, I always change the names of small towns and villages deliberately. But with larger towns and cities like
Macclesfield, a town with a fascinating social history, I like to keep its rightful name. Although I mention the workhouse there, I must stress that the characters and story are entirely fictitious
and have no relation whatsoever to any real inmates or staff. Similarly, I have named actual streets and buildings, but have peopled them with my own imaginary characters.
My grateful thanks to Professor Chris Wrigley of the School of History at Nottingham University, who recommended that I should read
The Hungry Mills
by Norman Longmate (Maurice Temple
Smith, 1978). This story of the Lancashire cotton famine, 1861–5, was indeed inspirational. I also consulted several other books and papers in my research, the most noteworthy of which were
A History of Macclesfield
edited by C. Stella Davies (E. J. Morten, 1976) and
Life & Labour in Victorian Macclesfield
by George Longden (Neil Richardson, 1986).
Very special thanks to members of my family Helen and Mike Lawton, Carole and Paul Cairns and David and Una Dickinson, who gave generously of their time and knowledge, supplied books, maps and
photos, and took me on tours of Macclesfield. Thank you too to the staff of Macclesfield Library, the Silk Industry Museum and West Park Museum for their interest, practical guidance and help. And
not forgetting other members of my family and friends who have also read and commented on the script: Robena and Fred Hill, Pauline Griggs and Linda and Terry Allaway. The help and encouragement of
all of you means more to me than you can ever know.
First published 2006 by Pan Books
This electronic edition published 2010 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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ISBN 978-0-330-52767-5 PDF
ISBN 978-0-330-52766-8 EPUB
Copyright © Margaret Dickinson 2006
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