Red Sky in the Morning (46 page)

‘So what happened?’

‘At first, because we couldn’t sell it, we put a manager in. The farm did well and earned quite a good living for us. But Douglas wanted the lump sum. He wanted to buy the cinema he
was involved in.’

At this point, Anna interrupted her mother’s tale to tell her what PC Jenkins had said.

‘It doesn’t surprise me.’ May’s mouth was grim. ‘Believe me, Douglas Whittaker owned very little that had been legitimately bought, unless,’ she added
bitterly, ‘it was something I’d paid for.’

Anna said nothing.

‘When you’d been missing a few years he consulted a solicitor. But he must have been advised to wait a little longer. I think he was told that we ought to make more effort to find
you first. So the farm had to stay in your name and we couldn’t sell it, only continue to work it.’ She sighed. ‘Douglas was furious, so the beatings began again for a while. And
then he stopped again, though the cruelty still continued, but it was only verbal now.’

‘Only!’ Anna cried.

‘It – it wasn’t so bad.’ May tried to sound brave, but her mouth trembled. All she had ever wanted was to be taken care of, but instead she had lived with a brutal,
greedy man.

‘Poor Mam,’ Anna murmured. Then, taking a deep breath, she asked, ‘What about Bruce?’

‘He stayed in the army and only came home on leave. And when he did, the conversation was always about finding you. Of course, part of me wanted you found – desperately – but
on the other hand, I wanted you to stay hidden. I was so afraid that if they did find you—’ She needed to say no more. Anna shuddered.

‘Did Douglas go back to the solicitor again?’

‘Yes, and the second time – oh, Anna – ’ tears filled May’s eyes – ‘I didn’t really understand it all. I still don’t. Douglas handled
everything, but I had to swear an oath in front of an independent solicitor that I believed you to be dead and that I was your next of kin. Eventually probate was granted and – and the farm
came to me.’ May covered her face with her hands and wept. ‘Douglas made me sell it. I lost Clayton’s Farm, Anna.’ She shuddered. ‘Your grandfather must be turning in
his grave.’

‘Oh, Mam, don’t. Grandpa would have understood. He loved you. He wouldn’t blame you.’

‘But I blame myself,’ May whispered hoarsely. ‘And the worst of it is it needn’t have happened. Douglas didn’t have the power to make me do anything, if only
I’d known it.’

‘What do you mean?’

May was shamefaced. ‘I was never properly married to him. It – it seems he never got a divorce from his first wife. Oh, Anna, how could I have been so stupid?’

Anna did not answer her directly but asked instead, ‘Who – who has the farm now?’

Through her tears, May was able to smile. ‘Jed.’

‘Jed!’ Anna was startled. But then, as the realization seeped in, she said again, but softly now, ‘Jed.’

Again there was a long silence before May asked, ‘How did Douglas and Bruce find you after all this time? No one has told me.’

Anna explained that her rebellious teenage daughter had persuaded Tony to take her to Lincoln to see one of her idols.

‘It wasn’t their fault. I’d kept her hidden away so long without any explanation. She was bound to break out sooner or later. I see that now. I’m not really sure what
happened exactly. All Maisie knows is that they were outside the cinema and a photographer took pictures of the queue. Tony thinks perhaps the picture appeared in the
Echo
complete with
Maisie’s name and where she lived and they came looking.’ Her voice hardened. ‘Of course, when they got to the farm, Bertha couldn’t wait to tell them where I was. I expect
she saw for herself then, the likeness of Maisie to – to Bruce.’

‘Is she like him?’ May asked, sounding as if she hated the idea.

Anna smiled. ‘She has his red hair and his brown eyes, but, thankfully, that’s the only way she resembles him.’ Anna squeezed her mother’s hand. ‘You’ll love
her, Mam. I know you will.’

They glanced across the grass to see Maisie and Tony walking towards them. Anna caught her breath. Tony’s arm was around Maisie’s shoulder and Maisie’s was around his waist. As
they drew closer, Anna felt tears fill her eyes, but now, after all these years, they were tears of joy.

Tony’s face was shining with happiness and Maisie was blushing as she laughed up at him.

It’s all right
, she thought.
Everything’s going to be all right
. As they drew near, Anna, with one arm still around her mother, held out her hand towards
Maisie.

‘Darling,’ she said, ‘come and meet your grandmother.’

My grateful thanks to Graham and Liz Jarnell for answering all my questions about sheep. Any errors, of course, are mine and not theirs! As always, my love and thanks go to my
family and friends, especially my husband, Dennis, and those who read the script in the early stages: Robena and Fred Hill, David and Una Dickinson, Linda and Terry Allaway and Pauline Griggs. Your
constant support and encouragement mean more to me than you can ever know.

Special thanks to the best agent any writer could have – Darley Anderson. Thank you, too, to all the ‘team’ at Macmillan, headed by my lovely editor, Imogen Taylor.
You’re all absolutely wonderful.

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 began early and she had her first novel published at the age of twenty-five. This was followed by a number of further titles including
Plough the Furrow, Sow the Seed
and
Reap the Harvest,
which make up her Lincolnshire Fleethaven trilogy.

Many of her novels are set in the heart of her home county but in
Tangled Threads
and
Twisted Strands,
the stories include not only Lincolnshire but also the framework knitting
and lace industries of Nottingham.

Her 2012 and 2013 novels,
Jenny’s War
and
The Clippie Girls,
were both top-twenty bestsellers and her 2014 and 2015 novels,
Fairfield Hall
and
Welcome
Home,
were both
Sunday Times
top-ten bestsellers.

A
LSO
B
Y
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

Without Sin

Pauper’s Gold

Wish Me Luck

Sing As We Go

Suffragette Girl

Sons and Daughters

Forgive and Forget

Jenny’s War

The Clippie Girls

Fairfield Hall

Welcome Home

First published 2004 by Pan Books

This electronic edition published 2016 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
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Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-0-330-54066-7

Copyright © Margaret Dickinson, 2004

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The right of Margaret Dickinson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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