Return to Hendre Ddu by Sian James Page B

eldest brother took over his responsibilities.’
    There was a long silence while they both gazed at the baby.
    ‘Were you as surprised as I was about that letter from May?’ Tom eventually asked her.
    ‘Of course I was. Graham and I spent ages trying to think of a rational explanation.’
    ‘But these things are never rational, are they? Falling in love is never rational. As soon as I met May I just seemed to be struck with the awareness that she and I belonged together. I never gave it any thought. It was as simple as that. A thunderbolt. I know some men try to start a relationship before being sent abroad simply because they want someone to write to them but I didn’t even have to ask May to write. I took it for granted that she would.’
    ‘And she seemed so ready to become part of the family,’ Catrin said. ‘We were so happy for you. What could have upset her?’
    ‘She must have decided she couldn’t marry a man who’s lost a leg and is also subject to terrifying nightmares. It’s not altogether surprising, is it?’
    ‘Yes it is. Having seen you two together, I find it completely surprising…. Oh, Tom, she’s waking up. Oh, heavens, she’s going to start crying again. Oh, just listen to her. She’s been fed and bathed and changed, what can she want now? Oh Tom, please help me. Oh, if only Lowri was here. Or Nano. They knew exactly what to do with Mari Elen.’
    The tiny baby’s pathetic little bleats, laa-laa-laaa, seemed to fill the whole room, the whole world.
    ‘What about your little nursemaid?’
    ‘Molly? She was up for such a long time last night, I made her go to bed for a rest.’
    ‘Babies do cry; you just have to accept it. If only I could march about with her over my shoulder – babies like that. But I’m good for nothing.’
    ‘Please don’t start to feel sorry for yourself. You’ve been so wonderful.’
    ‘We’ll send for Mrs Prosser. Ring the bell for Maud, she’ll fetch her in no time.’
    ‘That’s a good idea, Tom. Oh, I feel so hopeless.’
    ‘Well, you’re a very new mother… but please don’t start feeling sorry for youself,’ he added pointedly.
    ‘Maud, could you please go over to ask Mrs Prosser to come here as soon as she can. We can’t seem to stop this little thing crying.’
    ‘Let me take her to the kitchen, Mister Tom. I think she’d like to be swaddled tight in a shawl. I know it’s very warm, Miss Catrin, but small babies always seem to feel safer wrapped in a shawl. Let me do it. I’ll walk about with her. What a dear little doll she is. She’s very like you, Miss Catrin.’
    ‘My goodness, you’ve quietened her,’ Tom said. ‘Maud, how do you know so much about babies?’
    ‘I’ve got seven younger brothers and sisters, Mister Tom, the latest not so much older than this one.’
    ‘Maud, will please you ask Mrs Hopkins whether she can spare you to look after baby Rachel this morning? I’ve sent Molly to have a little rest because she was up such a lot in the night.’
    ‘She’ll get used to it, Miss Catrin. I have.’
    ‘How old are you, Maud?’
    ‘Turned seventeen now, Mr Tom.’
    ‘And you must find the work here very hard?’
    ‘Oh no. This is a good place, Hendre Ddu, everybody knows that. We have comfortable, shop-bought beds and as much food as we want. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.’
    ‘You’re a good girl, Maud.’

    Catrin and Tom were both exhausted after their five-minute ordeal with the baby. Now that she was quiet and in another room, nothing else seemed to matter quite as much.
    ‘Seven children as well as Maud,’ Catrin murmured at last. ‘I’m definitely only having one.’
    ‘Things will seem very different in a few years,’ Tom said.
    ‘I wonder whether things will come right for me,’ he added afterwards. ‘I don’t think so. It seemed too good to be true.’
    ‘May was lovely but no better than you deserve. You’ve been through so much.’
    ‘You’ve been through quite a lot yourself,