The Favourite Child (53 page)
Clara sighed. For all she regretted the death of her only son and had done her share of grieving these last months, she’d no intention of making it her life’s work, as Kitty seemed set on doing. But then the poor girl couldn’t help being soft as marsh mallow, disguise it as she may, and the two had been especially close, them being twins and all.
Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she was sweeping them angrily away. ‘I don’t deserve to enjoy myself, or to see new American musicals. It would be like a betrayal. How dare I even think to buy a new dress? I won’t go and that’s that.’
She’d begun to prise open loosely stitched buttons and scatter pins in every direction, sending the dressmaker scurrying about the room, picking them up as best she might. Clara, to her credit, had simply shaken her head in sorrow.
In the end Kitty had allowed herself to be persuaded. Oh, and wasn’t she glad? It had been the most wonderful experience of her life. Now the show was over and people were streaming out onto a wet London street and Kitty couldn’t bear to drag herself away.
The performance had been stunning, the costumes dazzling, the music foot-tapping, in particular
Alexander’s Ragtime Band
which she could hardly stop humming. There she’d sat, very straight and proper in her elegant gown in the orchestra stalls, feeling as if she were up there with the actors on that stage, living every scene along with them. The whole atmosphere of the theatre had been thrilling and exciting. Simply to experience row upon row of delighted, happy people laughing, applauding and singing, felt as if for the first time since Raymond’s death she was vividly and stupendously alive.
Kitty bestowed a dazzling smile upon the ever-patient Frank in his shiny suit and stiff collar, despite his somehow having managed to irritate her beyond endurance all evening by attempting to anticipate her every need. She felt suffused with guilt since it was their engagement night after all. For a fleeting second the smile transformed her, making the fine lines vanish, winging the eyebrows upwards and seeming to lengthen the laughing eyes into a delightful almond shape, endowing the face with a radiant and unusual beauty.
‘Wasn’t it all wonderful?’
‘Of course, my dear. Don’t I always know what is best for you?’ Frank concluded in self-satisfied tones. And while he collected coats and capes and hailed a cab, Kitty experienced the slightest chill drift across her shoulder blades.
Family sagas
The Promise
House of Angels
Angels at War
Lakeland Lily
Kitty Little
The Bobbin Girls
The Favourite Child
For All Our Tomorrows
Gracie’s Sin
Trapped
Biographical Historicals
Hostage Queen
Reluctant Queen
Historical Romances
Madeiran Legacy
Whispering Shadows
Rhapsody Creek
Proud Alliance
Outrageous Fortune
The Luckpenny Series
:
Luckpenny Land
Storm Clouds Over Broombank
Wishing Water
Larkrigg Fell
Poorhouse Lane Series
The Girl from Poorhouse Lane
The Child from Nowhere
The Woman from Heartbreak House
Champion Street Market Series
Putting On The Style
Fools Fall In Love
That'll Be The Day
Candy Kisses
Who’s Sorry Now
Lonely Teardrops
Short Stories
A Sackful of Stories
Born in Lancashire, Freda Lightfoot has been a teacher, bookseller and smallholder. She lived for a number of years in the Lake District where she tried her hand at the ‘good life’, kept sheep and hens, various orphaned cats and dogs, built drystone walls, planted a small wood and even learned how to make jam. She has now given up her thermals to build a house in an olive grove in Spain, where she produces her own olive oil. She’s published over 35 novels including many bestselling family sagas and historical novels.
To find out more about Freda Lightfoot and keep in touch with her latest books, visit her website and sign up to receive her regular newsletter, or join her on Facebook and Twitter where she loves to chat with readers.
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