Shadow on the Highway Read Online Free PDF

front of Jacob and I could feel my face getting redder. The atmosphere thickened.
    ‘I’ll be going.’ Jacob downed his beer in one long gulp. ‘Till Sunday,’ he said, already at the door. He turned to wave a hand at me.
    ‘See if you can rally a few more for our cause, won’t you?’ Ralph said, ‘We’re going to give this world a good old shaking.’
    ‘Aye, I will. If you think we’ve not had shaking enough,’ Jacob said, then ducked away out of the door.
    As soon as he’d gone Elizabeth stood in front of me, arms folded. ‘The grand manor not suit you, then?’ The smile that was trying to creep to her lips was only just under control.
    I turned my head away. I wasn’t going to listen to her taunts. I went to the window, and stared out into the orchard, but she followed me, pushing her face in front of mine.
    ‘I knew you wouldn’t last two minutes. What did you do?’
    ‘I haven’t done anything.’ But I knew my face told a different story. ‘Go away!’ I shouted, and turned my back to her.
    But I knew Elizabeth would be talking to Ralph and sure enough when I turned back they were arguing with each other but looking at me.
    ‘I suppose you’ll let her get away with it again,’ Elizabeth said, whispering, thinking I couldn’t make out her words. ‘Abi this, Abi that. It’s always about her. She’s deaf on purpose half the time.’
    I cast her a cold look on my way out, and slammed the door so hard I was sure it would rattle the house. Curse Elizabeth. She’d no idea what it was like to be me. She should try it. See how she liked it. Then she’d know what it was like to work so hard, and strain every minute just to be part of the conversation.
    I picked my way through the bare trees of the orchard down to the chicken shed. The hens were all out, scratching in the dirt, fluffing their feathers, ignoring me. They’d always been my task. Who’d fed them this morning, I wondered. Not Elizabeth, the lazy fox.
    Five minutes later Ralph came after me. I turned my back on him, but he took hold of my shoulder to bring me round.
    ‘Pay no heed,’ he said. ‘She doesn’t mean anything. She’s jealous that’s all. She wanted to go up to the big house herself. She’s got this foolish idea that it’s beneath her to be a serving maid to the apothecary. Even thou gh they pay much more than the Manor.’
    ‘Let her go to the Manor then.’
    ‘What is it? What’s happened?’ His pale blue eyes searched mine.
    ‘I can’t do it. It’s hopeless. I can’t understand them. The Cook doesn’t open her mouth when she talks. Lady Katherine, well she’s…she’s just not what I expected.’ I couldn’t tell him, not even Ralph; that I’d nearly killed my mistress, or that I’d been such a clod as to try to polish spoons with duck paste.
    ‘Did you give them notice?’
    I shook my head miserably.
    ‘Come on then, no harm done. I’ll walk you back. Mother need never know.’
    ‘I’m not going back.’ I felt the words snap from my tongue.
    A shadow crossed his face. ‘Sure you are. You’re a hard worker, they’ll be glad to have you back. You were only gone from here one day and we missed your hands about the place – feeding the chickens and laying the fires.’
    He was coaxing me, holding me by the elbow, and I knew how it worked with Ralph. He flattered people – always got his own way, he had a knack of smoothing everything over so it looked all spick and span when really it was all confusion underneath. He used the same tone when he’d done something bad and wanted to hide it.
    ‘Remember when Mother took you round the village?’
    I cringed. It was the most humiliating experience of my life. Mother thought if people could see how bright and willing I was, how good with my letters, that they’d take me on. Door to door we went, looking for an apprenticeship, or any sort of work, with Mother looking more desperate every minute. Every place we stopped they looked me up and down