Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England Thistle and Rose A Story for Girls By Amy Walton ________________________________________________________________________ A gently moving story for girls. Anna is aged fifteen, and her father needs to go abroad on business for a while. Her mother had died before Anna could remember. Anna is to go to Dornton to stay while her father is away, and she is looking forward to meeting her relatives, including her grandfather, who had been estranged from her father for many years. The grandfather is living quietly in a small house "with no servants" and has a job as organist in Dornton church. He is well-known as an excellent teacher of music, especially the violin. The story goes on from there. The book is not a long one, and the audiobook takes a little over four hours. NH ________________________________________________________________________ THISTLE AND ROSE A STORY FOR GIRLS BY AMY WALTON CHAPTER ONE. THE PICTURE. A countenance in which did meet Sweet records, promises as sweet. Wordsworth. "And so, my dear Anna, you really leave London to-morrow!" "By the ten o'clock train," added an eager voice, "and I shan't get to Dornton until nearly five. Father will go with me to Paddington, and then I shall be alone all the way. My very first journey by myself--and such a long one!" "You don't seem to mind the idea," said the governess, with a glance at her pupil's bright, smiling face. "You don't mind leaving all the people and things you have been used to all your life?" Anna tried to look grave. "I see so little of father, you know," she said, "and I'm sure I shall like the country better than London. I shall miss _you_, of course, dear Miss Milverton," she added quickly, bending forward to kiss her governess. Miss Milverton gave a little shake of the head, as she returned the kiss; perhaps she did not believe in being very much missed. "You are going to new scenes and new people," she said, "and at your age, Anna, it is easier to forget than to remember. I should like to think, though, that some of our talks and lessons during the last seven years might stay in your mind." She spoke wistfully, and her face looked rather sad. As she saw it, Anna felt ungrateful to be so glad to go away, and was ready to promise anything. "Oh, of course they will," she exclaimed. "Indeed, I will never forget what you have told me. I couldn't." "You have lived so very quietly hitherto," continued Miss Milverton, "that it will be a new thing for you to be thrown with other people. They will be nearly all strangers to you at Waverley, I think?"