In case you want a little ramp up, here's where we left off, the last chapter in book one and a half, the novella Ha'penny Jenny.
10 Please don’t go
(last chapter of Ha'penny Jenny)
“Don’t go. Please, Grandpa Jody, please don’t
go,” begged Jenny, her eyes red and brimming, her tears almost—but not
quite—spilling over.
“I’m not goin’ anywhere, lass.” Jody reached
down, picked her up, and swung her in a tight circle. “I have to stay here and
teach ye how to dance.”
“Promise me you won’t leave, please. Pretty
please with honey and candy and flowers and sugar and please, please…”
“What’s the matter, lass? I’ll always be here
fer ye. Yer my family—my granddaughter.”
Jenny shook her head, trying to get the
bloody image to go away, but it wouldn’t leave. She sniffed. She couldn’t tell
grandpa that sometimes she ‘saw’ things before they happened. She’d never tell
anyone that again. She shivered with
the memory.
“Now, dinna be afeart of somethin’ bad
happenin’ to me.” Jody gave her an extra hug of reassurance. “Ye canna go
through life afeart of what’s on the other side of a door, or down the road,
or…”
Jenny nodded rapidly, but even as he spoke
the words, telling her not to worry, she saw him lying in the road, covered in
blood. She squeezed him around the neck, almost choking him. “Well, if you have to go somewhere, be verra careful and don’t go anywhere
alone, okay?”
“All right, I promise. Now, loosen yer grip
about my neck so I can show ye the proper way to dance. That is, with yer feet
on the ground and yer hand on my shoulder—if it’ll reach that high.”
Jenny slid down his body until she was on tip
toes, then reached up as high as she could with her fingertips.
“I’m not tall enough yet, but I will be. Mommy said I’ll grow tall and pretty if I eat my greens every day. But I can’t eat too many, or I’ll get a bellyache, huh?”
“I’m not tall enough yet, but I will be. Mommy said I’ll grow tall and pretty if I eat my greens every day. But I can’t eat too many, or I’ll get a bellyache, huh?”
“Aye, lass. Too much of anythin’, save lovin’
yer family, is seldom a good idea. And I’ll be verra careful whenever I leave
yer presence. Oof! I need to stay around long enough to give ye a few more dancin’
lessons, at least. Yer next partner’s feet may nae be as tough as mine.”
Jenny looked up at him again, squinting hard.
Maybe he’d be okay now that he promised not to be alone.
But maybe not.
The sadness was still there.
But now there was hope. And help.
Someone else was coming to their home, maybe
next month, maybe next week.
And maybe he’d bring a big sister for her,
too.
