See Chapter 1 first! "I'm sure he'll be back soon, he always is," I said. "I can't leave you here alone, Elizabeth," the man replied. "I'm fine," I protested. "I promise. I've been on my own before, and I'm fine. I never break promises. Ever." "We've searched the whole of town, Miss Elizabeth. He's not coming back any time soon, I'm sorry. If you'll come with me, we don't have much time, please come, you'll be safe with us at the children's home." "Children's home?" "It's temporary, until your father is back." "But... What about Collin? I must stay to look after him!" "We've sorted that out, Miss, now come, we need to go." 'It's only temporary' I thought. 'I'll go and then when Father is back I'll be back and it'll be ok.' I packed quickly, then grabbed the drawing of Father, me and Collin, but in the hurry it tore without me noticing at first. In the black carriage, I looked down at the drawing, realising it was only half of it - the half with me on and Collins's head. I sighed, more upset than I thought I should've been. I stared out the window. For miles, there was grass and trees and plants and insects, but gradually, as the hours went on, they faded away, making way to large stone buildings and men in tall, black hats and women in long, polished dresses. "Why do the men wear such funny hats?" I asked the man, whose name happened to be Mr White. "Well, they're um... Smart, I guess. Top hats." "Smart? Father says it's better to be comfortable and practical than to wear things just so people think you look nice." "If you say so, Miss." Before long, the carriage approached a large white building, them stopped. Mr White helped me off and lead me into the home, into a large room where a lady stood. "Good morning, Miss Elizabeth." The lady smiled. "Welcome to Mrs Hill's Children's Home. I'm sorry about your father -" "It's fine, he'll be back soon," I interupted. "Please do not interrupt, Miss Elizabeth. It'll certainly be helpful to you if you remember that. I'm Miss Cooke, and I'm one of the teachers here. You'll be learning to read and write as well as arithmetic. Today, you'll be excused from lessons so that you can explore the home and settled in." She showed me to a room which I shared with three other girls: Susan, Isabelle and Jane. Susan was allowed out of lessons to show me around. After a day of changes and confusion, I went straight to bed and skipped dinner. I hoped that when I woke up I'd be back in bed, at home, with Father. But when I woke, I was still in that home. I opened the curtains, letting the sunlight pour into the room. I stared out at the people in odd clothes and the tall buildings. "Morning, Mary," I whispered.
