Page 43 of A Winter By the Sea
“Come on!” one shouted encouragement.
Halfheartedly, Emily attempted to kick it back. It rolled only a few yards.
“Try again,” Mr. Thomson urged.
She reeled back her half boot and kicked it again as hard as she could, sending the ball a little farther, before an impatient lad came and retrieved it.
“Told you!” Emily called back to him. His warm smile in reply melted away any embarrassment she might have felt.
When Mr. Ward returned, Thomson handed the ball back to the lad who’d originally given it to him. “That’s all for today, I’m afraid. Miss Summers and I must be on our way.”
This announcement was met with more good-natured groans.
“Already?”
“Will you come back and play with us again?”
He glanced at Emily, then placed a hand on the smallest lad’s head and ruffled his hair. “If at all possible.”
The two continued to the poor house. Once inside the neat brick building, Emily went and found Viola, who was just leaving one of the residents’ rooms. “Oh good. You are still here. Mr. Thomson took your advice. Do you have time to show him around?”
“Yes, of course.” She smiled at Emily’s companion. “A pleasure to see you here, Mr. Thomson.”
He bowed. “Thank you for encouraging me to come.”
For a moment, Viola’s eyes glimmered with interest as she looked from one to the other, and then she gestured down the main corridor. “Shall we?”
She led them around, pointing out the residents’ rooms, a small kitchen, and the communal dining room overlooking the River Sid. Viola described the simple rooms and meals, and the society’s efforts to improve the lives of the residents.
The door marked1opened, and Miss Reed stepped out dressed in an old-fashioned gown that had once been fine. Her face still bore the faded pockmarks of smallpox. When she saw them, she smiled, and the expression smoothed her skin. “Mrs. Hutton, it is good to see you, as always. And Miss Emily! This is a pleasant surprise.”
Emily felt self-conscious and a little embarrassed for Mr. Thomson to hear that she was not a regular visitor to the poor house, not as active in good works as her sister.
Even so, she politely returned the woman’s greeting. “Miss Reed. How are you?”
“Better than I ever expected to be again.”
Studying the older woman’s cheerful countenance, Emily wondered if the improvement in her spirits was due to the amount of time she’d spent in Simon Hornbeam’s company in recent months.
After introducing Mr. Thomson, the three moved on, greeting another resident, Mr. Banks, on their way to Mrs. Denby’s room.
Mrs. Denby was Viola’s favorite, Emily knew. The older woman’s sight was dim after years of lace making, but her outlook and smiles were always bright.
Viola knocked, and hearing a muffled “Come in,” opened the door. Viola gestured her sister and guest into the humble room.
Frail Mrs. Denby beamed up at them from her chair.
“Ah! You’re back, Viola. And with Miss Emily too. Let me put on my spectacles so I can see you properly. And who, pray, is this handsome young man?”
Emily spoke up. “This is Mr. Thomson. He is staying with us at Sea View. He oversees the Duke of Kent’s charitable interests and is here to learn more about this place.”
“I see—well, a little,” the woman joked. “Welcome, welcome! Yes, Mrs. Fulford and her committee have been very generous. But it’s Viola here who has stolen my heart and changed my life. If the duke wants to help old folks like me, he’d find a way to make many more dear souls like her! And Miss Sarah has been generous too, with all the baked goods she sends over. And Miss Emily and Miss Georgiana are kind as well. They sometimes deliver gifts on their sister’s behalf.”
Again, Emily felt sheepish at this comparison to her sisters. At least Mrs. Denby made her sound as charitable as Georgie.
Mr. Thomson asked, “And how long have you lived here, Mrs. Denby? If that is not an impertinent question?”
“Not at all, young man. Though I’m afraid it’s many years now. After Mr. Denby died, I shared a pair of rooms with my sister. Sadly, she reached her eternal reward not long after my husband did. My eyesight had grown worse by then, so I was no longer able to take in sewing to pay the rent. I thank God a room here was offered to me, for I had nowhere else to go.”
