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She Knitted for the Orphans in Secret for Five Winters — Then an Earl Showed the Whole Town

She Knitted for the Orphans in Secret for Five Winters — Then an Earl Showed the Whole Town

Chapter 12

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The Earl closed his eyes, just for a moment."She is lying!" cried Mrs. Pratt from the stage. "Anyone could say that! She is a thief and a liar, and she is trying to catch an earl!"The Earl turned and looked up at her. "Then tell us, madam—you are the Blue Star, you say. Why is the point longer?"Mrs. Pratt opened her mouth. She shut it. "It is a slip! A mistake of the needle!""Five winters of the same mistake?" said the Earl. "And while we are here, madam—the £200. Mrs. Green tells me St. Anne's never saw a penny of it. Where is your list?"Mrs. Pratt went white. Cordelia slowly took off the blue hat.And then a small voice came from the line of children: "It's her!"It was Sam. He had broken out of the line. He was standing in the snow in front of everyone with his fists balled up in his gray mittens and tears all down his face."It's Miss Lucy! I saw her! I stayed up all night and I saw her, and I promised I'd never tell! And I didn't—not even when that lady told a lie in front of the church! But you're taking her away, and that's not fair!" He turned to Lucy, crying. "I'm sorry, Miss Lucy. I'm sorry, I had to!"Lucy pulled her arm free from the constable, who let it go. She knelt down in the snow and held Sam tight. "You did right, Sam," she whispered. "You did right."Then, one by one, the children of St. Anne's held up their hands. Forty pairs of hands in forty pairs of mittens—brown and gray and green, made from odd ends of cheap wool. They held them up high in the lamplight so the whole town could see. Nobody said a word. Nobody needed to.Mr. Pike pushed his way to the front. His face was red and his hat was in his hands. "She never took a penny," he said, his voice shaking. "Not once in five years. Mrs. Pratt said she would ruin me. Her maid put the coins in the basket. God forgive me, Miss Ward. I am so sorry."The constable looked at Mrs. Pratt. Mrs. Pratt looked at the crowd. And for the first time in her whole life, nobody in Millbrook looked back at her with anything but disgust. She climbed down from the stage, took Cordelia by the arm, and walked out of the square without a word. The crowd opened to let her go; it did not close again until she was gone.
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She Knitted for the Orphans in Secret for Five Winters — Then an Earl Showed the Whole Town

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