"Us, and our charge"

"Us, and our charge" by Amy Le Feuvre is a children''s novel written in the early 20th century. It follows Grisel Marjoribanks and her siblings—Denys, Aylwin, Lynette, and little Puff—newly orphaned rector’s children who move from their English rectory to their stern Scottish grandfather’s seaside home, trying to live by their father’s last words, “Hold fast.” Blending family drama, seaside adventure, and gentle Christian moral purpose, it explores grief, loyalty, and courage as the children test rules, make friends, and find their place in a new household. The opening of the story traces the children’s bereavement and upheaval: after their father dies, a kind lawyer reveals an estranged grandfather who offers them a home at Bantock Hall. Narrator Grisel records their anxious journey north, a chilly first meeting with the gouty Colonel Noble and aloof Aunt Isobel, and a tussle over independence versus being treated like “nursery” children. The coast becomes their refuge: a comic escape with the old cart leads to the daring rescue of lively Pat Douglas using the carriage reins, then a sudden scare when Pat’s empty sailboat is found drifting; that night Denys and Aylwin spot a bonfire on the offshore islands, reach Pat stranded in a cave at high tide, and bring him home injured but alive. Alongside these adventures, Puff wins over “Gruffy” (grandfather), and Grisel frames the family’s resolve around their father’s charge to “hold fast.”

"Us, and our charge", by Amy Le Feuvre. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #76827.