Without Sin by Margaret Dickinson Page A

before had she heard that sobbing? Three, was it, or four? The young girl couldn’t be sure. There had been a couple of times when she had been very little and had not
understood what had happened. Then, when Bobbie had been three and she thirteen, Meg had understood only too well. Her mother’s pregnancy had ended in a stillbirth and Sarah’s raging
tears.
    And now, in this awful place, it had happened again.
    Later, Meg was allowed to sit beside her mother’s bed and hold her hand.
    ‘Just a few moments,’ Matron said gently. ‘Then you must leave her to rest. She’s had a bad time, poor thing.’
    ‘Can Bobbie come and see her?’
    ‘Best not. But don’t you worry about him. I’ll look after Bobbie. He can have his tea with me in my room.’
    Meg smiled wanly, surprised at Miss Pendleton’s kindness.
    ‘I’ll go and find him now and tell him what’s happened. He’s too young to understand. Good thing, really.’
    Meg nodded, a huge lump in her throat and her eyes full of tears. As Miss Pendleton left the room, Meg leant towards her mother. ‘Mam,’ she whispered softly, ‘Mam – how
are you feeling?’
    Sarah, her face flushed from the effort of giving birth and from her weeping when all her efforts had come to naught, lay still, her eyes closed.
    ‘Do you – do you want me to go and find Dad?’ Meg suggested. ‘I could—’
    Now Sarah roused herself. ‘No!’ Her voice was surprisingly strong. ‘No,’ she said again as she sank back. ‘You look after Bobbie. There’s a good girl.
Ne’er mind about your dad.’
    ‘But – but he’ll want to know.’
    Sarah was silent now, her eyes closed.
    ‘He ought to know,’ Meg insisted and when her mother did not answer, she pressed again, ‘Mam?’
    ‘Leave it, Meg. There’s a good girl. Just leave it, will you?’
    Meg sat beside her for a few moments more, chewing her little finger agitatedly. Her dad ought to be told. Whatever had happened, he would want to know. Perhaps he had already found work and, as
soon as her mother was well, they could all leave here and be together again.
    When she could see that Sarah was sleeping, Meg crept away. As she stepped out of the doorway at the bottom of the stairs and into the yard, a figure emerged out of the shadows.
    ‘Hello, again. I thought it was you I saw running across the yard earlier.’
    It was the boy who had spoken to her on the day they had arrived. Now, what was his name? Frowning, Meg tried to remember.
    ‘It’s Jake,’ he said helpfully, grinning at her through the gloom. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already.’
    ‘Sorry,’ Meg smiled faintly. ‘I’m not thinking straight. It’s me mam.’
    At once the boy’s face sobered. ‘Is she poorly?’
    ‘Well, sort of. She – she’s just had a baby, only . . .’ She bit her lip to stop it quivering, but failed. Tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks.
    ‘Aw, don’t cry. A babby’s nice, even in here.’ Awkward with embarrassment, the boy put his arm about her and she rested her face against his shoulder.
    ‘I know, but – but it was born dead.’
    Jake could think of nothing to say to comfort her, but his arm tightened about her.
    They stood together in the empty yard in the growing dusk. Then suddenly, the silence was shattered as a window on the first floor was thrown up and the master leant out.
    ‘Hey, you there. What do you think you’re doing?’
    Startled, the two youngsters looked up.
    ‘Oh heck,’ Jake said, his arm falling away from around Meg. ‘Now we’re in for it.’
    Isaac’s deep voice echoed across the yard. ‘My office now. The pair of you.’
    Then the window was slammed down with such a force that the small glass panes rattled.

Seven
    They stood together outside the door of the master’s office. Jake was trembling.
    ‘What are you so frightened of?’ Meg asked. ‘What can he do to us?’
    Jake glanced at her, then looked down at the floor. ‘It’ll be a beating for me. Or –