“It’s alright,” she assured her, “I won’t hurt you.”
The child kept her large eyes fixed firmly on Genevieve’s face, but even her pleasant manner did not seem to be enough to compel the child to feel anything but fear and concern.
Genevieve reached down into her handbag and pulled out a shiny new sixpence.
Upon seeing it, the little girl’s eyes lit up.
Genevieve held it out to her. “Here you are, this is for you.”
The girl switched her gaze back and forth between the coin and her benefactor’s face several times in rapid succession, but still she did not move forward to claim her prize.
Finally, Genevieve reached down and pressed the coin into the little girl’s grubby hand and closed her fingers over it.
“Now you take that and buy something nice for yourself for Christmas,” she instr
