Rumours and Red Roses Read Online Free PDF Page B

fought with her conscience and her common sense.
    Silver shoes had to count as the least necessary item in any girl’s wardrobe. They were totally insane and utterly impractical. A little girl’s dressing-up dream and a big girl like her really ought to have more sense.
    By the end of the day, she had bought them.
     

THREE
    B ECKY HAD BEEN wearing the shoes round the house as often as possible to try and break them in a little and so now, getting out of the taxi outside Marina’s flat, she felt fairly confident she could walk in them in a grown-up fashion.
    ‘Move with the shoe,’ her mum had advised, watching her teeter about the house. ‘How many times have I told you not to wear flats so much? You get out the rhythm of it, wearing flat shoes. With high heels, it’s like being in a skid in a car. I’ve nearly gone arse over tip more times than I care to remember but I’ve never ever actually fallen.’
    As her mum had never driven a car, Becky took that advice with a pinch of salt. Go with the shoe? What did that mean? The silver shoes had met with her mum’s approval. She thought they were utterly gorgeous too but they were too big for her so she wouldn’t be borrowing them. Becky had borrowed a short black velvet jacket from her though, to complete her outfit, one of her mum’s rare elegant pieces. She couldn’t fasten the buttons across her chest but that did not matter.
    ‘You’ll knock ’em dead,’ her mum had said, fiddling with her hair before she set off. ‘You should get Ivana to shape the back more, love.’
    ‘She never listens,’ Becky said, touching it self-consciously.
    ‘Will you be back tonight?’ Her mum yawned. ‘Or have you got a hot date?’
    ‘No.’ She blushed, feeling sixteen again under her mum’s amused gaze. ‘Marina’s threatening to fix me up with somebody so it might end up a complete disaster in which case I’ll be back early.’
     
    It was a starry night and she looked upwards as she waited for Marina to answer the door. She hated starry skies. Starry skies reminded heralways of another night. She shivered, even though it was not cold, as the door rattled and Marina’s shape materialized on the other side of the glass.
    ‘Becky!’ Marina drew her inside. ‘You look fantastic. You’re the first one here.’
    ‘Am I? Sorry.’ Becky shrugged off her mother’s jacket and Marina, wearing tight designer jeans and a scooped-neck cerise sweater, hung it up. Becky reflected ruefully that she had never perfected the art of arriving at the right moment, making her mother wait two whole weeks over her due date before putting in an appearance and never hearing the last of that .
    Clutching a drink and finding herself somewhere to sit in the rhubarb-and-cream coloured sitting room, she waited for the other guests to arrive, wishing now that she hadn’t come. Looking round, she realized with some surprise that Marina hadn’t bothered to tidy up for her guests or perhaps this was it, tidied up, which posed the question, What on earth had it looked like before?
    ‘Sorry for the chaos,’ Marina said, popping in and reading her mind. ‘I’ve been left in the lurch by my cleaner. Mind you, she had a good excuse. She’s been rushed into hospital, poor darling.’
    Marina had a cleaner ?
    ‘Shall I …?’ Becky stood up, attempting to move a collection of DVDs from the sofa to a more suitable place. ‘If I pop these on top of the shelf …’
    ‘For Christ’s sake.’ Marina laughed. ‘Leave them. Nobody will give a fly’s fart. Stop fussing and have your drink. You look great, Becky. You really do. Just relax, please.’
    She tried her best, taking a few calming breaths, perching on the very edge of the squashy pale pink sofa, feeling as tight as a coiled spring. Marina was nice with no airs whatsoever but this party wouldn’t be her scene, she just knew it, and she would end up on the edge of everything, sitting there quietly listening in and not