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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 8

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Her mother had written down every child she ever knitted for—names and ages and a few words. Page after page, Lucy turned back and back to the winter of 1827.And there it was, in her mother's neat round hand:Harry, St. Anne's, 8 years old. Fever and a bad chest. Gray mittens with the star. Please God, let him live.Lucy pressed the book to her heart, and she cried as she had not cried since she was a little girl. "He lived, Mother," she whispered. "He lived, and he came back."But still, she did not go to him. He had been looking for an angel for twenty-five years; she could not bear to see his face when he found only her.A few days later, the Earl came to call on Mrs. Pratt. She gave him her best tea in her best cups. Cordelia sat by the window in her new silk dress and tried to look like a painting."Madam," said the Earl, "on Christmas Eve, at the fair in the square, I mean to thank the Blue Star in front of the whole town. I hope you will stand up with me."Mrs. Pratt put her hand on her heart. "Oh, my lord, I would be so honored!""And you will bring a short list, I hope, of how the £200 was spent. Coal, bread, and so on. People like to hear such things."Mrs. Pratt's cup gave a tiny rattle on its saucer. "Of course, my lord," she said. "Of course."When he had gone, she sat very still for a long time."Mother," said Cordelia from the window, "why does he keep going into that hat shop?""What? The hat shop?"
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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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