I am really excited to be taking part in The Coffee Pot Book Club's virtual blog tour for Discovery (The Orphan Train Saga, Book One). Today, I am hosting an excerpt post, so have a read of the blurb and the excerpt and if you are interested in picking up a copy of this book you can find it on Amazon's #KindleUnlimited - I know how popular that subscription is with my readers! Anyway, I am going to shut up now - I hope you enjoy the excerpt!
Instead, what she finds are secrets her grandmother has taken to the grave with her. The more Cindy uncovers, the more she wants to know. Why was her grandmother abandoned by her own mother? Why hadn’t she told Cindy she’d lived in an orphanage? And how come her grandmother never mentioned she’d made history as one of the children who rode the Orphan Trains?
Join Cindy as she uncovers her grandmother’s hidden past and discovers the life that stole her grandmother’s love.
Mileta followed behind Clara, who had come to collect her and the two other girls, both of which stood sobbing as they ran their hands through their hair. Her new shoes pinched her toes, but she didn’t care. She loved the way they clicked on the tile floor with each step. She’d never had shoes that clicked before. She followed the girls; she didn’t know their names, as no one had introduced them. No one in this building seemed to care about being polite, something that her papa had always insisted on. Papa would not approve of me being here.
The girls appeared to be close to her age and both sported short, choppy black hair, which made them look more like boys than girls. Mileta ran a hand across her head. Gone were the long locks her mother used to braid before bed each night. She swallowed hard, realizing that she too now looked very much like a boy.
Mama’s going to be mad at them for cutting my hair. Mileta looked over her shoulder, wondering when her mother would return. The procession stopped at the door, and Clara turned to address them.
“It is meal time. You are to get in line, get your tray, and find a seat at the table. There is to be no talking. If you are talking, you can’t eat. If you do not eat, they will take your food away. Understand?” the girl asked glancing at each girl in turn.
Mileta wondered who “they” were, then remembered the lady who took her dress, and nodded her head.
Clara opened the door and led them into a large, open room. The room split into two distinct sections, each side lined with rows of long wooden tables. Children of all ages sat at the tables: girls on one side, boys the other. The girls were all dressed the same as she, in gingham dresses with white aprons. The boys had black knickers that stopped at the knee, white shirts, and matching socks. Some of the children stopped to stare at the new arrivals. Others shoveled food as if they were afraid it would disappear. Mileta’s stomach rumbled as she caught a whiff of freshly baked bread. The yeasty aroma nearly reduced her to tears, the smell suddenly reminding her of her hunger. She followed the other girls and waited her turn, marveling as the woman behind the counter sat a metal tray containing mush along with the end piece of bread and a metal cup half full of milk in front of her. She thanked the woman, but the woman didn’t respond. Her stomach growled once more, reminding her it had been nearly two days since she’d eaten. Even then, all she’d had was a small hunk of cheese, an overly ripe apple, and three crackers. She had tried to share the crackers with her mom, but her mother kept coughing and told Mileta the dry crackers would only make her cough worse. Mileta wished her mother would have eaten some crackers, as her cough grew worse anyway.
Mileta turned and looked for the other girls, but they’d already found seats at a table without room for another. She scanned the room and saw an empty seat next to a blonde-haired girl that looked to be a few years older than she. The girl looked up, tilted her head in invitation, and gave the briefest of smiles. Slight as it might be, it was the first kind gesture she’d seen displayed since her arrival, so she hurried towards the girl. Sitting at the table, she folded her hands as Papa had taught her, and closed her eyes to say a quick prayer.
When she opened her eyes, her bread was gone.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she searched each plate looking for the missing loaf. Anger swept over her when she saw it on the plate of a girl at the far end of the table. Mileta started to get up, but the girl next to her grabbed her arm.
“Leave, and when you come back your mush will be gone too,” the girl whispered. “Eat before it too is taken.”
The girl who took it looked to be more than double her age. Her dark hair was pulled high atop her head and held in place with a wide blue bow. She stared at Mileta as she bit into the stolen bread.
Mileta now knew the “they” of which Clara warned. “Doesn’t she know I am hungry?”
“We are all hungry. It is never enough. Anastasia is the one who took your bread, but there are many others who will steal your food. Now hurry, eat before they take your mush too.”
Mileta shoveled the mush into her mouth so quickly, it was gone in mere moments. Papa would not like that she was eating like the dogs she’d seen on the city streets scrapping over a discarded bone. But Papa was not here, and she was hungry. Sitting down her spoon, she picked up the cup, draining her milk in four quick gulps.
“I’m Mary,” the girl next to her whispered after Mileta finished. “We are allowed to talk as long as we whisper. Remember, never speak until you are finished eating. You have seen what can happen if you do not.”
“Can we not tell on them?” Mileta asked, glaring at Anastasia.
Mary shook her head. “Not if you wish to live. What is your name?”
“Mileta.”
Mary’s blue eyes grew wide. “Listen, Mileta, the last thing you want is to be known as a snitch. That happens and having your bread stolen will be the least of your worries.
You can grab your #kindle paperback and hardback copy of this book over on Amazon UK & Amazon US - remember it is on #KindleUnlimited. Or, you can grab the paperback and hardback over on Barnes & Noble.
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