Without Sin (46 page)

She turned away. She didn’t want to see any more, didn’t want to see the love in Jake’s eyes when he looked at Meg. But he called to her, held out his arm. ‘Come, Betsy,
let’s go with Meg to the gate. And bring Fleur to say “hello” to young Robbie here.’

Stony-faced, Betsy carried her daughter and watched as the two babies reached out their chubby arms to each other, gurgling and crowing. Jake and Meg looked on fondly, but it took Betsy all her
resolve not to snatch her daughter away.

They walked to the end of the yard and stood awkwardly at the gate. Meg turned to Jake. There were tears in her eyes. ‘I’m so sorry, Jake,’ she said simply. ‘For –
for everything.’

Jake put his arms around her and held her and the little boy in her arms close to him. There was no need for words. His forgiveness was complete and Meg knew it. As Jake stepped back and looked
down into Meg’s upturned face, Betsy felt as if her heart would break. It was torture for her to watch Jake gently wipe away the tears on Meg’s face. She almost turned and ran, yet
something held her there.

‘Be happy, Meggie,’ Jake murmured.

She nodded and whispered hoarsely, ‘You too, Jake. You too.’ For a brief moment her eyes met Betsy’s. ‘Look after him,’ she whispered.

She’s giving him back to me
, Betsy thought in surprise.
She knows she only has to say the word and he’ll go with her, but she’s not going to do that. She’s not
going to take him from me
. Unable to speak, Betsy nodded and moved closer to Jake. She put her arm around his waist, laying claim to him.

Meg nodded, gave one last tremulous smile to Jake and then turned away. She hitched up her little boy to sit on her hip and walked away from them down the lane without looking back.

Jake took Fleur into his arms. She was whimpering and holding out her arms towards the little boy, who was being carried away from her.

‘There, there,’ Jake said absently, his gaze still on Meg as she walked further and further away.

They watched until she turned the bend in the lane and was lost to their sight. Jake let out a deep sigh, as if, finally, he was letting Meg go. ‘She’ll be all right,’ he
murmured softly. ‘She’s a fighter, is Meg. She’ll be –’ his gaze still lingered on the spot in the lane where she had disappeared – ‘fine.’

Then, seeming to shake himself, he pulled Betsy closer and kissed her forehead. Smiling down at her, he asked, ‘Now then, wife, what’s for mi tea?’

A matter of honour. A sense of duty. A time for courage.

Ruthlessly ambitious Ambrose Constantine is determined that his daughter, Annabel, shall marry into the nobility. A self-made trawler owner and fish merchant, he has only his
wealth to buy his way into Society.

When Annabel’s secret meetings with a young man employed at her father’s offices stop suddenly, she finds that Gilbert has mysteriously disappeared. Heartbroken, she finds solace
with her grandparents on their Lincolnshire farm, but her father will not allow her to bury herself in the countryside and enlists the help of a business connection to launch his daughter into
Society.

During the London Season, Annabel is courted by James Lyndon, the Earl of Fairfield, whose country estate is only a few miles from her grandfather’s farm. Believing herself truly loved at
last, Annabel accepts his offer of marriage. It is only when she arrives at Fairfield Hall that she realises the true reason behind James’s proposal and the part her scheming father has
played.

Through the years that follow, Annabel will know both heartache and joy, but the birth of her son should secure the future of the Fairfield Estate. Yet there are others who lay claim to the
inheritance in a feud that will not be resolved until the trenches of a bitter world war.

ISBN: 978-1-4472-3724-2

The Workhouse at Southwell, Nottinghamshire, which has been magnificently restored by the National Trust, is the inspiration for the setting of this novel. However, the
characters and story are entirely fictitious and have no relation whatsoever to any inmates or staff, past or present.

My love and thanks, as always, to my family and friends for their constant support, help and encouragement.

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 twenty-five 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 novel,
Jenny’s War
, was a top twenty best seller.

www.margaret-dickinson.co.uk

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

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

First published 2005 by Macmillan

This electronic edition published 2014 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-0-330-52698-2

Copyright © Margaret Dickinson 2005

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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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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