An Orphan’s Wish: The new, most heartwarming of christmas novels you will read in 2018

The Liverpool address had been crossed out and a new one inserted: Bingham Hall, Bingham, Liverpool.

Subjects: Arithmetic, English, Scripture, Geography, History, Art, Needlework.

Priscilla can speak a little German, taught to her by her aunt whose husband was German. Both subsequently lost their lives in the Liverpool Blitz in August 1940. Priscilla particularly enjoys literature and has played the lead twice in school plays with great aplomb.

Priscilla understandably has difficulty with her school work since her parents sadly were killed in January 1943. It is recommended that she attends Bingham school to sit the last year again, now that she will be living at Dr Barnardo’s orphanage, Bingham Hall.

Once she is able to come to terms with her bereavement, and with her determination, I am sure she will do very well in the future.

Freda Daunton (Miss)

Headmistress

Poor Priscilla. How humiliating for her. Lana skimmed the report again and grimaced when she read that Priscilla could speak some German. She hated the idea of British children learning that language. But it would be useful if Britain lost the war— She brought herself up sharply. How could she possibly think like that? Of course they were going to win. The alternative was too horrible to contemplate.

There was a knock at the door and Mrs Dayton walked straight in and handed her a sheet of paper.

‘You’ll be needing this,’ she said. ‘Your timetable for the term.’ With that, she spun on her heel and was about to leave when Lana stopped her.

‘Mrs Dayton? One moment, please.’

‘Yes.’ The woman still had her back to her.

‘It might be easier if you could face me.’

Mrs Dayton turned, a scowl on her heavy features.

‘In future, would you please knock and wait for me to tell you to enter,’ Lana said crisply, but her heart was beating hard. It was going to take all her grit to be a match for the woman and show her right away who was boss, however nervous she felt inside. She pulled herself up straighter in Mr Benton’s black leather swivel chair. Somehow sitting at his desk gave her a modicum of confidence, and she couldn’t help a wry smile as she looked directly in Mrs Dayton’s eyes. ‘You see, Mrs Dayton, it might not always be convenient for you to walk straight in.’

‘Very well.’

Lana was rewarded by a hard stare from cold dark eyes, but at least this time the woman marched out, slamming the door behind her.

Lana shrugged. No wonder the teachers called her Mrs Danvers. If there was any trouble she was sure it would come from her direction. Sighing, she glanced at the teachers’ timetable. Good. Her first class in English would be the first period after dinner – two o’clock.

She busied herself in the office, studying the curriculum and preparing for her English class. It seemed they were mostly ten- and eleven-year-olds, and as Mr Shepherd had warned her, Priscilla would also attend. They were reading Great Expectations. From what she now knew of the child, at least Priscilla would shine in that class.

Lana was at her desk in the class well before the children filed in at two o’clock. Mentally she counted them. Thirty-two. She smiled.

‘Good afternoon, children. I’m your new English teacher, Miss Ashwin.’

‘Good afternoon, Miss Ash-win,’ they chimed.

Lana noticed Priscilla was in her place at the side, mouthing the words.

‘You may be seated.’ There was a scrambling and scraping of chairs. Lana waited until they were still. ‘What I’d like you to do is to stand up, one at a time, and tell me your name and I’ll repeat it, so I can get to know you all.’ She glanced at a child on the end of the first row, and nodded.

A thin girl got to her feet. ‘Jennifer Sands.’

The child had difficulty saying her “s’s” and a boy sitting close to her sniggered. She’d have a word with him later.

One by one they stood up and stated their names. Priscilla, sitting on the side, was last.

‘Priscilla Morgan.’ She looked round the class silently, warning anyone not to disagree. ‘And I don’t like being called “Pris” or “Prissy”.’

‘Thank you, Priscilla, and thank you to the rest of the class. Now turn to your books. I believe you’re reading Great Expectations.’

‘We’re not reading it.’ A tall boy with challenging eyes shot his hand up. ‘Mr Benton used to read it to us as if we’re all babies.’

‘I see.’ Lana drew in a breath. She was on home ground now. ‘Gregory?’

‘I’m Greg, Miss.’

Lana nodded. ‘Greg, would you tell us where you’ve got to?’

Greg flipped over the pages and ran his finger along one of the paragraphs, miming the words.

‘Page twenty-eight.’

‘Good.’ Lana looked at him. ‘You can have the part of the convict. Now who would like to play Pip?’

She quickly gave out a half-dozen parts to the children who volunteered by raising their hands. Lana noted Priscilla sat as though in a world of her own, but she was sure the girl was taking everything in.

‘I’ll read the narrative,’ Lana said. ‘Any questions before we start?

‘What’s “narrative” mean?’ a child from the back of the class called out.

‘Anybody know?’ Lana scaled the room. To her delight Priscilla raised her arm.

‘The bits in between people talking,’ she said.

Lana smiled. ‘Well put.’ She paused, taking in the children’s response. ‘Do you all understand?’

‘Yes, Miss,’ they chorused.

‘I don’t mind reading the narrative,’ Paul, a tall, red-headed boy volunteered.

‘Excellent. Perhaps you’d like to start us off, then.’

On the whole they were fairly capable readers, though most of them put little expression in their voices. Except one child who read his part as though he was acting on the stage. She couldn’t help but hide a smile. She remembered his name was Robin. His reading was excellent. When she came to write a school play for the children to act, he’d be a good choice for one of the main parts.

She was absorbed in the children’s contributions but kept her eye open for anyone not taking a speaking part who wasn’t following the story. There was always one. To her disappointment it was Priscilla. She was looking towards the window, then must have caught Lana looking at her, as she turned back with that same expression of despair Lana had noticed when she’d first set eyes on the girl during the interview with Mr Shepherd. She was suddenly anxious for the child. There was no time to lose. She had to talk to her after the lesson.

By the end of the hour the children had become far more enthusiastic about Charles Dickens’s novel and if it hadn’t been for Priscilla looking so sad, Lana felt her first teaching hour in the new school was a success.

‘Priscilla, can you please wait behind?’

The girl looked startled, but nodded. She came up to Lana’s desk as the children filed out of the room, one or two looking back to see what ‘Miss’ wanted with the strange older child in their class.