Lonely Girl Read Online Free PDF Page B

struggled and failed, the sulkier he got.
    ‘Bugger off, Molly!’ Eventually, pushing her aside, he staggered to his feet, taking a moment to lean on the back of a chair. ‘I’ll have you know … I am quite capable of … woa!’ Giggling, he managed to stand up straight. ‘Like I said … I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.’
    Eager to have them gone, Mrs Benson now took charge. With one hand she gripped Molly’s arm, and with the other she grabbed the man’s shoulder, then marched the two of them across the room, and eased them over the threshold and into the outer foyer. ‘Good night then. Mind how you go.’
    Satisfying herself that they seemed just about capable of walking away, the weary landlady watched them depart, smiling when she saw how Molly took charge.
    The two drunks lumbered along the wide, empty pavement, laughing and joshing and pushing each other onwards. When a lonely dog threatened to cock its leg over her, Molly gave it a swift kick in the nether regions. ‘Dirty hound, bugger off!’
    As she hurriedly closed the outer doors, Peggy Benson heard Molly’s angry departing words.
    ‘Go on, get back inside, you old trout! Call yourself a landlady? Well, I won’t forget this night in a hurry, you see if I don’t! I’ll put word out that you take your customers’ money then chuck ’em out into the night like some old rubbish.’
    ‘You can tell ’em whatever you like, Molly.’ Mrs Benson did not feel threatened. She was used to dealing with difficult customers and staff, especially the formidable Molly Tanner. Over the years, she had learned to take it all in her stride, knowing by now that any aggravation would be forgotten by the morning.
    Molly was irritated to find that while she’d been threatening the landlady her companion had broken rank and was now lolloping along in front, seemingly with no idea of where he might be headed.
    Quickening her footsteps, she caught up with him. ‘Hey, you dozy sod, Tom. Where the devil d’you think you’re going? That’s the wrong way.’ She gave him a shove to halt his progress. ‘You should have turned off back there, down Edward Street. You’ve gone straight past it, you daft bugger!’
    ‘Oh, Molly darlin’, don’t be like that.’ His small bright eyes shone out of a face reddened by too much beer. ‘I must have missed the turning in the dark, that’s all.’ Refreshed by the cold night air, he turned round, and headed back towards Edward Street. ‘It’s all right, though,’ he grumbled sulkily, ‘I get the message. You don’t want me, but that’s OK ’cause I can manage without you. And for your information, I can find my own way home, thank you.’
    ‘Oh, for pity’s sake, stop moaning!’
    Linking her arm with his, she pulled him forward, much to his delight. ‘Hey! Behave yourself, woman!’ he joshed. ‘Anyone would think you were after getting your wicked way with me.’
    There was no doubt that Molly Tanner was still a very attractive woman, with those dark alluring eyes … he looked up at her now, as she walked along. Something she did with her hips reminded him of Marilyn Monroe in that film where she plays the ukulele …
    He felt rather proud – so proud that he felt brave enough to address her with a suggestive wink and a knowing smile. ‘Hey … Molly darlin’ …’
    ‘What now?’
    ‘I’m not ready to go home just yet.’
    ‘What d’you mean? If you’re not going home, where the devil d’you think you’re going?’
    ‘I’ve no idea. When I’m with you, Molly, I can’t even think straight.’ He giggled childishly. ‘I really don’t have a single idea about where I’m going, except … well, I want to go where you’re going because, like I said, I’m not ready for home just yet.’
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘Because you and me, we have unfinished business.’
    ‘Oh, yes? And what kind of “business” would that be, eh?’ As if she didn’t know.
    Tom sniggered. ‘Ah, come on,