Read A Second Chance for Free Online Page A

It’s
only natural you want to go up there and see her. You’d better get
on with it before the weather gets bad, I know Frank’s said the
boat can be awful in the rough weather.’
    ‘I’d like to go soon,’ Amy said. ‘I promised
Sarah I’d go as soon as I’d got Charlie’s headstone organised, and
it’s meant to come by the end of the month. But there’s Dave to see
to, that’s the only thing.’
    Now Lizzie was on ground she felt firmly in
command of. ‘Don’t you worry about that—I’ll see to all that
business. Beth’ll be the best one to look after him, I think. Now,
let’s see, getting his meals on, that’ll be the main thing.’
    ‘Are you sure you can spare Beth?’ Frank
said doubtfully. ‘I want you to have your trip and all, Amy, I just
don’t want Lizzie to go wearing herself out, trying to do too
much.’
    ‘Oh, don’t start fussing,’ said Lizzie.
‘Don’t take any notice of him, Amy, you know what he’s like for
worrying over me. I’ll still have Maisie, and Beth won’t be up
there all the time. Anyway, it’d do no harm for me to take more
notice of what those girls get up to with the work, I’ve been
leaving them to their own devices a bit much since Benjy came
along.
    ‘Beth can go up there of a morning, after
we’ve got the breakfast things sorted out here,’ she went on.
‘That’ll give her plenty of time to tidy things up at your place
before she gets Dave’s lunch on. She might as well have her lunch
up there with him. Then she can do a few more jobs and get his
dinner on before she comes home, and Dave’ll be able to dish it up
for himself. I’ll tell Beth to make things she can just leave on
the range for him, stews and suchlike. She can do roasts and chops
for their lunch. Yes, that’ll be no bother at all.’
    ‘It’s very good of you,’ said Amy. ‘I
couldn’t really go otherwise.’
    ‘Well, we’re family, aren’t we?’ Lizzie
said. ‘Now, you just get on with thinking about your trip. We’ll
see that Dave’s well looked after while you’re away. There’s no
need for you to worry about anything.’
     
    *
     
    David carried Amy’s luggage, which consisted
of a case borrowed from Frank and a hat box that Maudie had lent
her, onto the Waiotahi and stowed it in the ladies’
cabin.
    Packing had not taken Amy long. She was
wearing her only warm mourning dress, covered by a blue cloak that
was dark enough to do service as mourning, and the other clothes
that had seemed worth bringing had not filled the case.
    The one garment she owned that she
considered truly elegant was more than twenty years old; she had
worn it as a wedding dress, but before that she had worn it the
night she had lain under the stars with Jimmy. It was old, and
suffused with painful memories, but the fabric was of such quality
and she had looked after the dress so carefully that the years
rested lightly on it. She could not wear the blue silk as mourning,
but it would at least allow her to be well-dressed within Sarah’s
house if the need arose. For outings beyond the house, her warm
black dress would have to do. A plain work dress and the small
amount of underwear she possessed made up the remaining contents of
the case.
    She and David rejoined the little group
assembled on the wharf to see her off. John had appeared
unexpectedly, arriving in his usual quiet, unobtrusive way. He had
muttered vaguely about having to be in town that morning anyway,
but Amy suspected that he had come in specially to farewell
her.
    Frank and Lizzie were there, Lizzie
clutching Benjy to her and casting an occasional suspicious glance
at the sailors as they finished loading goods onto the Waiotahi , as if she half suspected they might steal the baby
if she did not watch him closely. But this claim on her attention
did not hinder her from giving Amy the benefit of her advice.
    ‘Now, you be sure and take care of yourself
on that boat. Don’t go standing too near the edge if it’s rough.
And