Free Storm Child by Sharon Sant Page A

for
the pan and placed the peeled carrots into it. ‘Not for me to know, is
it?  Not for you neither if you know what’s good for you.’  She
glanced out at the sky again, dusk now colouring the courtyard in grainy
shadows. ‘We’ll feed Ernesto,’ she said, passing the pan to Annie, ‘I’ll slip
him an extra special tot o’ somethin ’ and then we’ll
see if we can find Isaac.’ Annie shot her a questioning glance and Polly
produced a tiny vial from her apron pocket. ‘Did you really think I was goin ’ to let that useless dolt get a free holiday to
Australia?’ she said with a grin.

 
     
    Eleven
     
    The sky was pink and lilac over the horizon, faint stars
just beginning to show higher in the sky, and Charlotte’s breath now curled
away from her in clouds as the evening became colder. She carried a storm
lantern in her shaking hand to light the way as the rough ground of the heath
was, even now, becoming difficult to see in the gathering gloom.  It took
all her strength not to sit down on the grass and cry.  Mother would be
home by now, wondering where they had both gone, worried and angry at the same
time. Perhaps, even now, her mother was out at neighbouring farms, calling for
help to find them. The thought made guilt tear at her, but she couldn’t deny
that she wanted to be found right now, carried home in strong arms, back to her
warm kitchen that smelt of freshly baked bread and sweet, sticky jam. These
were the times when she missed her father the most.  He had been a
difficult man, serious for the most part, and very strict, but she never
doubted his love for her and she loved him in return. Right now she wanted
someone to come and take care of her, someone to worry about Georgina in her
place.  But Charlotte had to do the worrying, there was nobody else
now. 
    She kept going, calling out for
Georgina, but always no reply. The woods stretched out before her, closer and
closer with every step.  Charlotte didn’t want to go into the woods,
especially as night was falling, but when she had covered as much of the heath
as she could, or at least as far as she thought Georgina could travel, she knew
she would have to. It was the only place left to look.
    The woods thickened quickly once
into them, the trees tightly packed, almost growing on top of one
another.  It was only the efforts of the local farmers, pruning and
chopping every year, which kept them from taking over the heathland and the
nearby houses altogether.  And it was dark properly now, the moon
appearing in silver chinks through the roof of bare branches. Charlotte’s light
was not much help either; the trees were so dense that she could only see a few
feet in any direction, a thick fog made of bark and branches.  Everywhere
she looked, Charlotte’s lantern revealed shapes, creatures flitting away in the
corners of the light so Charlotte could never quite see what they were. And
sometimes, it simply illuminated eyes, round, demon reflections everywhere
watching her from high up, as if the trees themselves were spying on her. The
forest rustled and hooted and scratched and creaked.  All these things
filled her with a kind of dread that was hard to explain. She didn’t dare call
out here, filled with an irrational fear that if the trees heard her they would
snatch her up from the ground and hold her prisoner in thorns and
branches.  But she pushed herself on; the sooner she found Georgina, the
sooner they could get back home.  Mother would be furious, but Charlotte
wanted nothing more than to face her mother’s punishment right now. 
Whatever it was, it was better than being out here.
    It seemed like hours had passed,
and still there was no sign of Georgina.  Charlotte found herself thinking
back to the night she found her. It was such a short time ago, but it was only
now that she realised just how completely the baby had become a part of their
family. Could it be possible that whoever had left her had finally claimed