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Back Plough the Furrow
Chapters (53)
  1. Cover
  2. Title page
  3. Dedication page
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-one
  25. Twenty-two
  26. Twenty-three
  27. Twenty-four
  28. Twenty-five
  29. Twenty-six
  30. Twenty-seven
  31. Twenty-eight
  32. Twenty-nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-one
  35. Thirty-two
  36. Thirty-three
  37. Thirty-four
  38. Thirty-five
  39. Thirty-six
  40. Thirty-seven
  41. Thirty-eight
  42. Thirty-nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty-one
  45. Forty-two
  46. Forty-three
  47. Forty-four
  48. Sow the Seed
  49. Reap the Harvest
  50. About the Author
  51. ALSO BY MARGARET DICKINSON
  52. Acknowledgements
  53. Copyright page

‘Esther, lass, over here.’ In a brief lull in the noise of the wind, she heard Ma’s voice calling to her. Esther looked about her and then felt a grip on her arm and turned to see Ma’s face, for once not beaming, but serious and anxious.

‘Is there any news?’ Esther put her mouth close to Ma’s ear. ‘What’s happening?’

Ma lifted her shoulders and shook her head. ‘We dun’t know nothing. Hours they’ve been gone now.’

It was then that Esther saw Beth standing a little apart from the rest of the crowd; a silent, motionless figure, hugging her shawl around her and gazing steadfastly out across the black, heaving waters.

Who, Esther wondered, filled Beth’s mind? Whose safety twisted at her heart? Her husband’s – or Matthew Hilton’s?

‘A light! There’s a light – I saw it,’ someone in the crowd shouted. Suddenly there was a buzz of excitement and everyone moved forwards, craning to see,

‘There! There it is, did you see it? Only a flash, but it was there.’

‘Aye, I saw it. Come on, lads, they’ll want a hand.’

Men moved forward out of the crowd, splashing into the thundering waves, reaching with willing hands to help the boat – whatever boat it was – coming ashore. Then Esther saw the lifeboat, riding the crest of a wave, being borne almost on to the beach and coming to rest finally in the shallows. Urgent hands grasped the boat and held it steady, reached in to help the crew climb out. Strong shoulders were offered to the cold, exhausted men of the lifeboat. The onlookers surged nearer, holding their lanterns aloft to give more light.

At that moment Esther saw Matthew.

He was half-carrying, half-dragging Robert Eland ashore, his arms grasping him strongly about the waist. Robert Eland’s arms were draped about Matthew’s neck and his head lolled forward in a semi-conscious state. Esther did not need to be told that a few more hours out in his boat would have been the death of Robert Eland.

She saw Beth waiting, still standing in the same place on the sands. Beth had not moved even a step forward. In the eerie, flickering light from the lanterns, Esther could see Beth’s gaze fixed upon Matthew as he brought her husband back to her from the sea.