They wended their way around narrow tracks and roads she had never seen before. Gradually, she became aware of the biting cold and huddled more closely into her mother’s cloak, glad of its warmth now, even though it was far too long for her. Beside her Molly sat as silent as a stranger, indeed they might have been strangers, so different was she from the chattering, carefree schoolfriend of a few weeks earlier. As the road rose more steeply, the pony walked slower and slower. Every now and then, Mr Foster shouted and wielded the whip, making Janet flinch and huddle closer to Molly, but Molly seemed to be too miserable and forlorn to offer any comfort to her one-time friend.After the chill of the wind, Janet appreciated the warmth and noise of the big, flag-floored kitchen at Braeheights. There was a baby crawling around the floor and a toddler trying to climb onto a stool. He was only slightly bigger than his younger sibling and she learned later there was only ten months between them.
