Family Betrayal Read Online Free PDF Page A

‘I'm cleaning my step and it's about time you had a go at yours.’
    ‘Why bother? The kids are in and out every five minutes and will only muck it up again.’
    Joan's eyes flicked along the alley. ‘Where are they?’
    ‘I gave them their pocket money so they've gone straight to the sweet shop to spend it.’
    No sooner had Sue spoken than the two lads came careering into the alley, skinny legs pumping, six-year-old Robby in pursuit of his younger brother.
    ‘Mum! Mum!’ Paul yelled. ‘Robby's trying to nick my sweets.’
    ‘No I'm not,’ Robby protested, skidding to a halt beside Joan.
    ‘He is, Gran,’ four-year-old Paul insisted, makingsure that, though she was kneeling, his grandmother was between them. ‘He's got his own sweets, but he's after my gobstopper.’
    ‘Look, it's up to your mother to sort this out, not me,’ Joan protested. ‘Go away and leave me in peace. I've got work to do.’
    ‘Yes, come here, boys. After all, you can't come between your grandmother and her housework,’ Sue said sarcastically.
    Joan looked daggers at her daughter-in-law, but she ignored her, dragging the boys inside and slamming the door. Joan shrugged, unconcerned. When the boys had been born her daughter-in-law had expected her to baby-sit, but she'd soon nipped that in the bud. She'd told Sue that she had no intention of looking after her kids whilst she went out gallivanting – she'd done her stint, had six kids, and wasn't prepared to start all over again.
    Joan wrung out the cloth, her mouth grim. Sue resented it, didn't like her, but Joan didn't care. The feeling was reciprocated, but the two women held their animosity in check for Bob's sake. On the surface the marriage appeared fine, but Joan doubted her son was happy. With Sue for a wife and his house a tip, how could he be?

Chapter Three
     
    Back at number three, Sue was grim-faced. Who the bloody hell did her mother-in-law think she was? All right, Sue's own step might be dirty, but there was more to life than flaming housework. When she had met Bob, she had loved the kudos of courting a local villain. She fancied being married to a bloke who had a few bob rather than having to work in a rotten factory, but once they'd tied the knot, things hadn't turned out quite as she'd expected. She had dreamed of being an actress, even a film star, stupidly hoping that being married to a Draper would open doors.
    So much for that dream. The Drapers didn't have any links to showbusiness. Bob had been so keen to have her on his arm that he'd lied, and now she was stuck in the alley, surrounded by his family. She hated it, especially being close to her sanctimonious mother-in-law,
and
that uppity cow next door. Yvonne was another one who was housework mad,and not only that, she was a crawler, always up Joan's arse. Not that she envied Yvonne her husband. Danny might be a good-looking bloke, but she wouldn't trust him as far as she could throw him.
    Sue thought about her own husband, and though Bob wasn't as handsome as Danny, she'd choose him any day. He was placid, amiable, and despite her disappointment, theirs was a happy marriage, with infrequent rows.
    ‘Mum! Mum, tell Robby,’ Paul cried. ‘For Gawd's sake, leave your brother alone,’ Sue yelled, glaring at her elder son. Robby was a handful and though he'd been at school for only a year, he was already in trouble for being a bully. As was tradition, she'd called her firstborn Robert after his father but although they were similar in looks, their natures were the exact opposite.
    ‘I only want a suck on his gobstopper,’ Robby wheedled.
    Sue sighed in exasperation. ‘Go on, Paul. Give him a suck.’
    ‘No, he won't give it back.’
    ‘Yes, he will – won't you, Robby?’
    ‘Yeah.’
    With reluctance, Paul handed the sticky, wet sweet over to his brother, watching in horror as Robby shoved it in his mouth, one cheek bulging like a hamster as he headed for the stairs.
    ‘Mum!’ Paul