Kitty Neale 3 book bundle
Kitty Neale

Table of Contents

Title Page

A Broken Family

Nobody’s Girl

A Father’s Revenge

About the Author

By the same author

Copyright

About the Publisher

A Broken Family

KITTY NEALE
A Broken Family

Table of Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Eight

In loving memory of George Frank Warren 1925-2012.

A family man, a kind caring man – and a true gentleman who is sorely missed by all those who love him.

Acknowledgements

My thanks as always to my family and friends for their continued support. I would also like to thank some of the kind and helpful people I meet along the way, for instance Advantage, an online company who supply printer cartridges and who went out of their way to come to my rescue when I had problems with my printer.

Chapter One
Battersea, South London, 1956

Lark Rise was cloaked in fog on a cold Sunday in late February, and when someone rang the doorbell, Celia Frost huffed with impatience. Though Celia always ensured that she looked immaculate, she nevertheless patted her light brown, permed hair and then whipped off her apron. A quick glance showed her living room looked immaculate too, her plush, blue sofa and matching fireside chairs standing alongside a mahogany sideboard polished so highly that the surface reflected her cut glass rose-bowl.

When she opened the door, Celia wasn’t pleased to see Amy Miller and from her superior height of five foot six she looked down at Amy haughtily. ‘Yes, what do you want?’

‘Hello, Mrs Frost,’ Amy said. ‘I’ve just popped up to see how Tommy is.’

‘How many times have I to tell you that my son’s name is Thomas and I’d thank you not to shorten it.’

‘Sorry.’

‘Thomas had an unsettled night and he’s still in bed.’

‘Can I see him, if only for a minute?’ Amy appealed.

‘Certainly not! This is a respectable house and I do not allow young women into my son’s bedroom. Also, as I doubt Thomas will be fit to see anyone for several days yet there’s no point in calling again. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m busy preparing our Sunday lunch,’ and with that clipped comment, Celia firmly closed the door.

‘Who was that?’ George Frost asked as he folded his Sunday newspaper.

‘Amy,’ she told her husband, who was six foot tall, his good looks in Celia’s opinion only marred by dark, unruly, bushy hair and eyebrows. She was forever telling him to get his hair cut, and when short it looked a lot tidier.

‘Why didn’t you invite Amy in?’ George asked.

‘I should think that’s obvious,’ Celia answered. ‘Thomas is in bed and in no fit state for visitors.’

‘Amy’s a pretty little thing and seeing her might have cheered the lad up a bit.’

‘She’s as common as muck and totally unsuitable for Thomas.’

‘Don’t talk rubbish, woman,’ George snapped. ‘Amy’s a nice girl and her parents are no different to us.’

‘Of course they are,’ Celia protested. ‘You have your own business whereas Amy’s father works in a factory. As for her mother, well, she’s just a cleaner.’

‘My own business, don’t make me laugh,’ George said derisively. ‘All I’ve got is a small unit and one van.’

‘If you’d accepted my help, you could have expanded, but nevertheless you still work for yourself. We also have a nicer house than the pokey one the Millers live in at the bottom of the hill. Ours is an end of terrace too.’

‘That doesn’t make us any better than them.’

‘Of course it does. We are members of the Conservative Club and enjoy a social standing far superior to that of the Millers. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got lunch to prepare,’ Celia snapped, in no mood to argue. She’d been up half the night with Thomas and was tired. Not only that, she didn’t care what George said, she wanted better than the likes of Amy Miller for her son.

From childhood Thomas had been sickly with a weak chest, prone to bronchitis and attacks of asthma. It was just as well Thomas worked for his father, a self-employed glazier, as with the amount of time Thomas had to have off she doubted he’d find any other employment.

Sighing, Celia placed the joint of lamb in the oven, her thoughts still on her son. Thomas had always been intelligent, yet hampered by frequent absences from school her dreams of him going on to further education and finding a white collar job had turned to ashes.

‘I’m off to the pub for a couple of pints,’ George said when Celia returned to the living room.

‘You can hardly see a hand in front of your face out there,’ she warned.

‘I could find my way to the Park Tavern blindfolded.’

Celia wasn’t amused and complained, ‘It’s like a ritual with you. Every Sunday at noon you go off to the pub while I’m left to cook our Sunday roast.’

‘If you feel like that, there’s nothing to stop you coming with me.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she said indignantly. ‘I can’t leave Thomas and you know I wouldn’t be seen dead in a public house.’

‘It wouldn’t hurt you to loosen your corsets a bit now and then, Celia, and your apron strings while you’re at it. Thomas isn’t a child, he’s a grown man and you should stop mollycoddling him.’

Celia’s lips tightened with annoyance. ‘Thomas might be twenty-one years old, but when ill he needs constant care, nursing. I’d hardly call that mollycoddling.’

‘You’re the same when he’s up and about, fussing over him all the time,’ George snapped and before Celia had a chance of rebuttal, he stomped out.

Celia heard the front door slam and was left fuming. She had married George when she was eighteen and her elder son, Jeremy, was born before she was nineteen. Thomas came along four years later, both boys before the outbreak of the Second World War.

George had been conscripted into the army, and by the time he came home at the end of the war, he was a stranger to his sons. Jeremy had been sixteen then; almost the man of the house and he’d resented being usurped. He and his father had locked horns, and within two years Jeremy had left home.

Celia had no idea where Jeremy got his adventurous streak from, but he’d gone off with a friend saying they were going to travel, to see a bit of the world and it was rare that she heard from him. His last letter had arrived from Greece a year ago, and though she’d replied with all their news, he hadn’t responded.

Now it seemed that George was ready to lock horns with their younger son, but Celia wasn’t going to stand for that. She still had Thomas, and there was no way she’d allow George to drive him away too.

Phyllis Miller thought her seventeen-year-old daughter, Amy, looked upset when she arrived home. Amy had gone to find out how Tommy, her boyfriend was, but she was soon back.

There was no hall in their home, with the front door leading straight into the living room, and a blast of cold air came in with Amy which made the flames in the hearth flicker. It wasn’t a large room, crammed with an old horsehair sofa and two mismatched fireside chairs. A wooden table was pushed against one wall where they sat to eat their meals. On the other side of the room there was an old sideboard, and then a gap, curtained off, where a staircase led up to two bedrooms.

‘How is he, love?’ Phyllis asked.

‘Mrs Frost said he had a bad night. I asked to see him, but as he’s in bed she got on her high horse and wouldn’t allow it.’

‘Frost by name, and frosty knickers would be a good way to describe her,’ Stan Miller commented.

Phyllis was amused, but tried to keep a straight face as she looked at her husband. Amy had inherited his blonde, curly hair and blue eyes, but Stan was five foot eight, a lot taller than both of them. ‘That’s no way to talk about Tommy’s mother,’ she told him.

‘I got told off again for calling him Tommy,’ said Amy. ‘Mrs Frost insists on Thomas, but when I first met him he said he was Tommy and I’ve got used to it.’

‘If you ask me, girl, you should think hard about finding yourself another chap,’ Stan said. ‘If you don’t, you could end up with that stuck-up cow for a mother-in-law and that’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.’

‘Dad, I’ve only been seeing him for a few months. It’s too soon to think about marriage.’

‘Good, I’m glad to hear it. Tommy’s a nice boy, I won’t deny that, but he’s a bit of a weakling, always sick and I don’t see how he’ll ever be able to support a wife, let alone a family.’

‘I think your dad’s right,’ Phyllis said. She too thought that Tommy was a nice boy, but his mother, well, she couldn’t stand her. There were five houses at the top of the hill, cut off from the rest by an alley that led to the adjacent Rook Rise. These five houses were different, bay-fronted with three bedrooms, and as Celia lived in one of them, she felt herself superior.

‘Tommy works for his father,’ Amy said, ‘and gets paid when he’s off sick, but as I said, it’s too soon to think about marriage.’

‘George Frost is a good bloke,’ Stan said, standing up. ‘I’m off for a pint and I might see him in the pub.’

‘Dinner will be ready at two,’ Phyllis told him.

‘Yeah, I know, love, and I won’t be late,’ Stan said, limping as he went to get his overcoat.

Stan had been wounded during the war, taking a bullet in his thigh, but after so many husbands and sons had been killed, Phyllis was forever thankful that he made it home. He’d been a milkman before the war, but now, unable to walk far, he sat at a bench as an assembler in a local engineering factory.

Phyllis knew that Stan felt diminished by his low earnings, yet he hid his feelings behind joviality. He threw her a smile now as he wrapped a scarf around his neck, called goodbye, and let in another blast of cold air as he hurried out.

‘Do you want a hand with the dinner, Mum?’ Amy asked as she ran to pull the draught curtain across the front door again.

‘Thanks, pet. You can peel the potatoes while I prepare the carrots and sprouts.’

They walked through to the scullery where Amy stood at the sink, while Phyllis found a space, hoping as she began to top the sprouts that there would be enough meat to go round. It was only a cheap bit of brisket, and she had to cook it very slowly or it would be tough, yet it was bound to shrink. As long as there was enough for Amy, Stan, and Winnie, the old lady who lived next door, Phyllis would be happy. As she had done many times before she would go without meat herself if necessary and worried about Winnie’s weight loss since she’d been widowed, Phyllis was determined to feed her up.

Next door, on the other side, her neighbour Mabel Povis was known as the local gossip, but despite this, they were good friends. Mabel was always popping in and out with the latest bit of news, but with it being Sunday and her husband at home, there’d be no sign of her today. Mabel’s husband, Jack Povis wasn’t a drinker. He had a good job as a railway guard, but was a rather stern and taciturn man who rarely smiled. He wasn’t Phyllis’s cup of tea, but then she berated herself for these uncharitable thoughts. After all, with what he and Mabel had been through, it was no wonder that Jack had lost his sense of humour.

Stan had his scarf pulled up over his mouth and nose to prevent breathing in the smoky fog, but yanked it down as he limped into the pub. It wasn’t a lot better inside, the air thick with cigarette and pipe smoke, his eyes stinging as he joined George Frost at the bar. ‘Watcha, George. Amy tells me that Tommy’s still rough.’

‘Yes, he is, but hopefully he’s on the mend.’

‘That’s good. What are you drinking?’ Stan asked.

‘I’ll have another pint of bitter,’ he replied, gulping down the small amount left in his glass.

‘Hello, Stan,’ the barmaid, Rose Bridges, said brightly. ‘How’s Phyllis? I haven’t seen her for ages.’

Rose was Phyllis’s cousin and they were around the same age, but Stan knew that his wife didn’t approve of her. It was the way Rose carried on, along with the way she dressed, in tight, low-cut tops. Her make-up was always thick, and her lipstick a slash of scarlet. ‘Phyllis is fine, but as busy as always.’

‘Give her my best,’ Rose said. ‘Now then, what can I get you?’

Stan gave the order and as Rose pulled on the pump he glanced around the pub. Despite the fog and the difficulty in getting there it was busy, with a good few of his neighbours sitting at tables, some playing cribbage and a team of four were at the dart board. The Park Tavern had been his local for as long as he could remember, and as a pint was put down in front of him, he said, ‘Thanks, Rose.’

‘And one for you, darling,’ Rose said to George as she put another pint on the bar, her manner flirtatious.

Rose’s dark roots were showing in her stringy, peroxide blonde hair, yet she wasn’t bad looking. She had lost her husband during the war and was always on the hunt to replace him, so much so that she had lost her reputation along the way. ‘George, I think you’re in there,’ Stan said jokingly as Rose took his money and then moved on to serve another customer. ‘I reckon my wife’s cousin has got her eye on you.’

‘Of course she hasn’t,’ George said sharply.

Stan wasn’t sure if it was temper or embarrassment that made George’s neck redden and he said quickly, ‘No offence, mate. I was only kidding.’

‘None taken,’ George replied, relaxing his tense stance.

For the rest of the time they were in the pub, they chatted about this and that as they were joined by a couple of other men, the conversation mainly about football, but Stan couldn’t help noticing how often George’s eyes strayed to Rose.

Bloody hell, Stan thought, surely they weren’t having an affair?

The landlord rang the brass bar bell, shouting last orders, and as Stan finished his pint, he decided to make it his last. He hoped he was mistaken about George’s interest in Rose, and there was no way he was going to voice his suspicions to anyone. Gossip was rife enough locally, and Stan wasn’t going to add to it. If anyone else got wind of what might be happening, especially their nosey neighbour, Mabel Povis, it would spread like wildfire.

Stan couldn’t imagine how Celia Frost would react if she got to hear any of it, but one thing was certain, all hell was sure to break loose. He called his goodbyes and with the fog still thick he groped his way home, the wonderful, rich aroma of roast beef assailing his nostrils when he limped indoors.

Phyllis greeted him with a smile, her olive skin flushed from the heat of cooking and her straight, brown hair tucked back behind her ears. She was only five feet tall, with hazel eyes that twinkled as he gave her a hug.

‘What was that for?’ she asked.

‘’Cos I love you.’

‘You daft sod. You’re tipsy,’ she said, pushing him away.

‘You wound me, my darling,’ he said, affecting a posh tone. ‘I’m just drunk with love.’

‘Dad, you are funny,’ Amy said, giggling.

‘If he doesn’t take his coat off and sit at the table, I’ll give him funny,’ Phyllis threatened. ‘Dinner is ready, and waiting to be eaten.’

‘Your wish is my command, my Queen,’ Stan said, flourishing a bow.

Phyllis laughed, Amy giggled again, and Stan took off his coat to sit at the table where he picked up his knife and fork, holding them up as he said, ‘Right, woman, feed me.’

Phyllis shook her head, feigning disgust, but Stan could see that she was hiding a smile. Theirs was a good marriage, and though hard-up, they were happy. He wanted the same for his daughter, but now his face straightened as he thought about the Frosts again. If George was having an affair with Rose and Celia found out, the fact that they were related might affect Amy and he didn’t want her taking any flak.

Tommy might be a nice lad, thought Stan, but the sooner his daughter found herself another boyfriend, the better.

Chapter Two

The Sunday roast had been eaten and as her mother stood up to clear the table, Amy saw how tired she looked. ‘Leave it, Mum. I’ll do it. You go and sit by the fire and I’ll make you a cup of tea.’

‘There’s the washing up and I’ve got to collect Winnie’s plate.’

‘I’ll do that too.’

‘Thanks, love,’ Phyllis said gratefully as she took a seat by the fire, kicking off her slippers to rest her feet on the fender. ‘Winnie will want a cup of tea too and tell her I’ll pop round later to help her to bed.’

Amy stacked the plates before taking them through to the scullery. While waiting for the kettle to boil, Amy dwelled on how hard her mum worked. She was up at five every morning from Monday to Friday to do early morning office cleaning, and then did another stint between seven and nine in the evening at a local factory. To help all she could, Amy gave her mother most of the wages she earned from working in a shoe shop, but there never seemed to be enough money to go round. Though she loved her dad, Amy couldn’t help feeling a surge of resentment. If he stopped going to the pub nearly every night he could stump up more housekeeping, but she had never once heard her mother complain.

After giving her parents their drinks, Amy went out the kitchen door and stepped into their small, concrete yard, the back wall so high you had to be over six feet tall to see over it. The fog was still thick and she could barely see the gate, but managed to feel her way along the narrow walkway. The walls on the opposite side were tall too, and the narrow confines felt claustrophobic, but Amy was soon in Mrs Morrison’s identical yard. The old lady was in her eighties, very frail now and as she went in, Amy called, ‘Hello, Mrs Morrison, it’s only me.’

‘Hello, ducks,’ the old lady said.

‘I’ve just popped round for your plate,’ Amy said, seeing it on a small table by the fireside chair, frowning when she saw the amount still on it. ‘Oh, you haven’t finished your dinner yet. I’ll come back later.’

‘I’ve had my fill. Your mother’s a wonderful woman and I don’t know what I’d do without her, but she always gives me far too much to eat.’

To Amy the food looked barely touched, but she didn’t argue. ‘I’ll make you a drink, and Mum said she’ll pop round later.’

‘Thanks, Amy,’ Mrs Morrison said tiredly.

Amy brewed tea again then gave a cup to Winnie before picking up the dinner plate. ‘I’m off now. Bye, Mrs Morrison.’

‘You’re a good girl. Bye, pet,’ the old lady said.

Amy was soon home again, and tackled the washing up, putting everything away before she went into the living room. She smiled at the scene that greeted her. As usual, after dinner on a Sunday afternoon, her parents had fallen asleep by the fire. Amy crept out to visit her best friend, Caroline Cole whose name was always shortened to Carol. She lived two houses down, but to get to her front door you had to pass their neighbour, Mabel Povis. You couldn’t do anything without Mrs Povis knowing about it, and Amy was unsurprised to see the woman peeping out of her window. Despite this she was her mum’s friend so Amy gave her a small wave.

When Carol opened the door she put a finger to her lips to indicate that her parents too were asleep, before she and Amy went upstairs to her bedroom. It was freezing as they dived onto the single bed, pulling the blankets around them. There were magazine cut-outs of singers and film stars on the walls covering some of the pink flowered wallpaper. They were mostly of an American singer called Pat Boone, but Carol had gone off him lately.

Carol asked, ‘Have you seen Tommy?’

‘No, he’s still ill and in bed,’ Amy replied.

‘I don’t know what you see in him. He’s so thin, weedy looking, and when was the last time he was able to take you out?’

‘It was a week ago, and Tommy may be thin, but he’s tall and good looking,’ Amy said defensively.

‘You need a bloke who can show you a good time, not one who’s more often than not too ill to leave the house.’

‘He’s sure to get better soon,’ Amy said.

‘Even if he does, don’t let it get too serious,’ Carol advised. ‘You should play the field a bit first.’

Carol always spoke as if she was worldly and experienced, but though a flirt, she would never let a boy take liberties. To most people Carol appeared older and self-assured, but Amy knew there was another side to her. Underneath the hard veneer she was soft and caring, but with two older brothers to contend with while growing up, it rarely showed.

Amy smiled and said, ‘Thanks for the advice, but you know I’ve been out with other boys and most of them were like octopuses with their groping hands. Tommy’s different, he isn’t like that.’

‘Yeah, all right, I get the picture, but just because Tommy’s sick, I don’t see why you have to stay at home every night. Why don’t you come out with me for a change? We could go down to the youth club to play some records and jive to Bill Haley singing Rock around the Clock.’

‘You’ve been on about that song for months now.’

‘I know,’ Carol conceded, ‘but it’s so catchy. Davy and Paul reckon that big changes are coming, that singers like Alma Cogan and Ronnie Hilton will be out. Our parents can listen to them or Winifred Atwell on the piano, while we dance to rock and roll.’

Amy was an only child and wished that like Carol, she had two big brothers. Dave was twenty-one, Paul twenty-three, both tall with dark hair, and they were protective of their sister. When the boys had lived at home the house always seemed to be bursting at the seams and with only two bedrooms, Carol’s had just been a partitioned-off section of the boys’. Amy had had a crush on both of them, but they only saw her as a kid. When they’d left home to share a flat, Carol had the whole room to herself, but they were always popping home. ‘Have you seen your brothers today?’ Amy asked.

‘Yeah, they came round for dinner, but left soon after, leaving me as usual to help Mum with the washing up. It drives me mad the way they expect to be waited on, and my dad’s the same.’

‘When you’re a girl, it seems to be expected,’ Amy said.

Carol pouted and complained, ‘I don’t see why. When I get married I’m not going to be a slave to my husband.’

‘What’s this?’ Amy asked, smiling. ‘Has someone proposed to you?’

‘Don’t be daft. You know I haven’t got a boyfriend at the moment.’

‘You soon will have,’ Amy said assuredly as she looked at her friend. Carol was pretty, with long, auburn hair, hazel eyes and full lips that tended to pout if she didn’t get her own way. She was also fairly tall, with a willowy figure that Amy envied.

‘I must admit, I’ve got my eye on a bloke.’

‘Have you?’ Amy asked. ‘Do I know him?’

‘You’ve seen him,’ Carol said enigmatically.

Amy frowned. ‘Where?’

‘He’s working on refitting that shop opposite where we work.’

‘I haven’t noticed him,’ Amy said, ‘but it explains why you’ve been hovering at the window instead of serving customers.’

‘Yeah, well, he is a bit dishy.’

‘What does he look like?’

‘He’s cute. Not too tall, beefy, with a round face.’

‘He sounds like your usual type,’ Amy said, unable to share Carol’s taste in boys. It was funny really, Amy thought, considering that she was only four foot eleven she liked tall blokes, whereas Carol preferred them short and stocky.

‘Once the refit is finished he’ll be off. I need to catch his eye before then,’ Carol mused.

‘I doubt he could have missed you,’ Amy commented, aware how striking her friend was. ‘Unless of course you’ve been standing at the window so much that he thinks you’re part of the display.’

Carol chuckled; Amy giggled, and soon the two of them were in fits of laughter. ‘Shush,’ Carol finally gasped. ‘If we wake my parents up I’ll be in trouble.’

Amy managed to stop laughing. She liked Carol’s mum, Daphne Cole. Carol had inherited her mother’s good looks and colouring; however she could be hard on her daughter if she was in one of her moods. ‘Yes, you might get it in the neck from your mum, but you can’t do anything wrong in your dad’s eyes.’

‘Yours is the same, but your mum dotes on you too. I wish I was an only child.’

‘I’d prefer it if I wasn’t,’ Amy said. ‘It can be a bit stifling and you get far more freedom than me.’

‘Yeah, there is that I suppose,’ Carol conceded, ‘though I still have to be home by ten thirty. Talking of freedom, are you coming out tonight?’

With Tommy ill in bed it didn’t seem right to go out dancing and if he got to hear about it he might be upset. Amy desperately sought an excuse. Carol didn’t know that Mrs Frost had turned her away earlier, so she clutched at that. ‘Sorry, I can’t come out with you. I’m going to see Tommy.’

‘Boring …’ Carol drawled.

Amy hated fibbing to her friend, but she was really keen on Tommy, keener than anyone knew. She wasn’t too worried about Mrs Frost; after all, she’d be marrying Tommy, not his mother. Of course there had been no mention of marriage, but Amy had seen the way Tommy looked at her. He hadn’t said that he loved her yet, but she was sure he returned her feelings.

At least she hoped so.

Celia Frost was disappointed to see that Thomas had hardly touched his dinner. She felt his forehead, frowning. ‘You’ve hardly eaten a thing and if your fever hasn’t gone down by tomorrow, I think I’ll ask Dr Trent to call in again.’

‘There’s no need to make a fuss. I feel a little better today.’

‘You don’t look it,’ Celia told him.

‘Has Amy called in to see me?’

‘Yes, but you were asleep and I don’t think she’ll be back. Young girls are so flighty these days and while you’re ill in bed, no doubt Amy’s out and about enjoying herself,’ Celia said, pleased to see a frown cross her son’s features. She had planted a seed of doubt about Amy and she’d leave him to dwell on it. ‘Now rest, darling, and I’ll be up to see you again later.’

Celia carried the tray downstairs, and after washing the plate she went back into the sitting room where she took a seat by the fire, her eyes resting on her husband in the opposite chair. He was asleep, snoring softly and her lips twisted in distaste. She’d had high hopes for George when they married, expecting him to be as ambitious as she was, but instead, with his problem, he’d never attempted to expand the business. There was plenty of work for glaziers, and by now George should have been in the position to employ men to work for him. However, he’d been too proud to accept her offer to help, instead remaining a one-man band.

Of course Thomas worked with him, but that hardly counted. At least George made fairly good money and was generous with the housekeeping, Celia had to admit. Yet they could have had so much more, still could, if George would only listen to her suggestions instead of dismissing them.

With a sigh of discontent, Celia picked up her tapestry frame to continue working on a cushion; the scene a quaint thatched cottage and garden filled with hollyhocks, delphiniums and roses in profusion. She would love a pretty garden, a place in the country away from the smoke and pollution which would be so much better for Thomas.

There was a snort, a grunt and then George’s eyes opened. He yawned then said, ‘I could do with a cup of Rosie Lee.’

‘You sound so common. It’s a cup of tea, George,’ Celia chastised.

The tiredness left his eyes to be replaced by annoyance. ‘When are you going to get off your high horse, woman? You may sound as though you were born with a plum in your mouth, but I know you came from a slum.’

Celia felt the heat rise to her cheeks. She had been born in the East End of London, and when her father died, her mother had been left to bring up eight children on her own. Celia could remember the two small rooms they had been crammed into, the rats, and the bugs climbing the walls. Tuberculosis had been rife, and Celia saw three of her brothers and one sister die of the disease. She’d been terrified that she was going to catch it too, and with that fear came a fierce determination to escape the poverty and filth. Angrily she cried, ‘I may have been born in a slum, but at least I had the ambition to better myself, which is more than I can say for you!’

‘That’s it, bring me down again, but you seem to forget that you only worked in a dress shop when I met you.’

‘It wasn’t just any old shop! I had to improve my diction, posture and dress sense before I could gain a position in Knightsbridge. We catered for the wealthy and fashionable.’

‘Yeah, and you still try to emulate them,’ George said bitterly.

‘No doubt you’d prefer me to sound like a fishwife, but let me tell you I’m proud of my achievements.’

‘If that’s the case, how come nobody around here knows anything about it? Instead you’ve fabricated the story that you were born in Chelsea, of middle-class parents.’

‘I won’t have anyone looking down on me.’

‘No, you prefer to lord it up over them by pretending to be something that you’re not.’

‘You didn’t complain when we met,’ Celia told him, annoyed to find tears welling in her eyes. ‘In fact you said you loved my voice, my poise, and everything else about me. Lately though, all you do is criticise me and I have no idea why.’

George shook his head, sighed, then said, ‘Yeah, you’re right and I’m sorry. It’s just that I wish you’d lighten up; learn to live a little, to have a bit of fun.’

‘We went to the dance at the Conservative Club, and there’s another one in a couple of weeks.’

‘You can’t call that fun. It’s all so formal, dress suits and cocktail dresses. We’re only in our forties, but we’re becoming a couple of old fuddy-duddies, and when was the last time we made love?’

Celia stared at her husband, aghast. George didn’t seem to appreciate that lately she’d been worn out with looking after Thomas, sometimes so worried about him that she slept in a chair beside his bed. She didn’t bother to point this out; George would only say she was mollycoddling Thomas again, so she rose to her feet, only saying, ‘I’ll make you a cup of tea.’

‘Yeah, do that, and then how about a bit of slap and tickle?’

‘George,’ she cried, appalled, ‘what on earth has come over you? It’s four o’clock on a Sunday afternoon.’

‘As prissy as ever,’ he said bitterly. ‘I knew you’d react like that, Celia. In fact the only fun I have with you nowadays is in winding you up. Forget the tea. I’m going out.’

With those words George abruptly rose to his feet, and as he walked out of the room Celia chased after him. ‘George, where are you going?’

‘For a walk,’ he snapped while pulling on his overcoat. Moments later he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Celia just stood there for moment, brows furrowed. George had changed lately, had become sharp in his criticism of her, but she felt that something else was going on, something underlying his odd behaviour. Was it to do with his business? Was George having financial problems and keeping it from her? No, that couldn’t be it, she decided, he was as busy as ever.

Whatever the underlying problem was, Celia was sure that it wasn’t anything to do with their marriage. After all, she was a good wife and mother. It was George who had changed, not her.

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