Read Red Sky in the Morning for Free Online

way later. I can’t get into town until next market day without it looking odd, but I’ll see what I
can find in the outhouses. There’s always bits and pieces we’ve thrown out.’
    Later that day Eddie’s tractor came chugging down the track with a loaded trailer behind him and pulled to a halt outside the cottage. To Anna, who had nothing, Eddie’s barn seemed
to have yielded a treasure trove.
    ‘There’s a kettle, a few old pots and pans and an armchair. It was me dad’s.’ His eyes clouded. ‘Bertha threw it out the day after he died. And I’ve managed
to get the old feather bed down from the loft when she was in the dairy,’ he added, dragging it off the trailer. ‘It’ll be a bit damp. You’d better let it dry out before you
use it.’
    Remembering her soaking of two days earlier, Anna smiled to herself, but said nothing. She was hardly likely to take harm from a damp bed, she thought. But the man meant well.
    Lastly he unloaded three sacks. ‘There’s potatoes from our own store and a few apples. And I’ve been to the shop for you. You’ll have to let me know if I’ve
forgotten anything you need.’
    Anna stood, shaking her head in wonder. ‘It’s – it’s wonderful. I don’t know how to thank you.’
    ‘No need, lass. You’re working for me now, aren’t ya?’ He glanced at her and winked. ‘And I always look after me employees.’
    ‘I’ll work for you, Mister. Oh, I’ll work as hard as I can, but . . .’ She touched the mound of her belly briefly.
    He nodded sympathetically. ‘Don’t worry about that, lass. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.’
    But what would happen when they did come to that particular bridge, as he put it, even the man dared not contemplate. ‘And now,’ he said, trying to divert their thoughts. ‘I
must see to me sheep.’
    ‘Can I help?’
    ‘No, no, lass. You get ya’sen sorted out. And then – well – we’ll see tomorrow, eh?’
    Anna nodded. ‘All right,’ she agreed in her low, soft voice, ‘but from tomorrow I want you to tell me what needs doing. And if you don’t . . .’ She smiled suddenly
and the man stared at her, unable to take his eyes off her. She was a pretty lass, though a bit thin at the moment to his mind, but when she smiled her whole face seemed to light up. Even so, it
was not enough to drive away the sadness in the depths of her dark eyes. ‘And if you don’t, Mister, then I’ll
find
something.’
    He laughed. ‘Right you are then, lass. It’s a deal.’
    As he drove his tractor and trailer back towards the farm to fetch bales of hay for his sheep, Eddie was still smiling.
    The following morning Anna walked across the meadow in front of the cottage towards the next field, where she could see the sheep contentedly munching long stalks of kale. She
moved stealthily. Sheep were nervous creatures, easily panicked and bunching together in the face of danger and most of Eddie’s ewes would be in lamb; the last thing she must do was to
startle them.
    Shading her eyes, Anna glanced round the edge of the field. There were several gaps in the hedges where the sheep could easily push their way into the neighbouring field. Anna began to smile.
Here was something she could do to repay the farmer for his kindness. When the tractor and trailer chugged down the track later that morning, Anna was waiting for him.
    ‘I don’t suppose you’ve left those holes in the hedges for a reason, have you?’
    ‘No, lass,’ Eddie said wryly. ‘I just haven’t had time to repair them.’
    ‘Right, then. You can bring me a billhook and a hedge knife too. Oh, and a few stakes.’
    Eddie laughed. ‘You’re not going to try plashing, are you?’
    Anna nodded.
    Now he eyed her sceptically. ‘Are you sure you can do it?’
    Anna gave him one of her rare smiles. ‘That’s for you to say when I’ve had a go. I’ll do one small gap first and then, if you’re not satisfied, you can say so and
I’ll let well alone. All