Sing as We Go Read Online Free PDF Page B

absolutely true. Harsh though her words were, there was no denying the truth in them.
    ‘So, you want somewhere to stay in Lincoln, I take it?’
    ‘Only temporary, Jemima, just till she finds a job and can afford a place of her own. A little bed-sit or – or something,’ Betty finished lamely. She knew nothing of city life and couldn’t imagine anything worse than being cooped up in a tiny room in a little house in a row of houses with street after street just the same. Give her the wide open spaces of the countryside any day. Sandy Furze Farm and the tiny village of Abbeytoft were all Betty needed or wanted. But, though she couldn’t understand it herself, she could see that the lure of the busy streets and the bright lights were perhaps what the lonely Kathy Burton needed. She just hoped her Amy wouldn’t want to follow her friend.
    ‘You’re very welcome to stay – for a short while,’ Jemima said bluntly. ‘But you’ll have to try to fit in with me and my funny little ways. Taffy – that’s my cat – and I like our routine.’
    ‘Of course,’ Kathy said at once. ‘Just tell me what you want me to do and . . .’
    ‘Oh, I will, make no mistake about that.’ Jemima’s gaze scrutinized the girl once more. ‘And I might be able to help you find a job. There’s a vacancy at the department store where I work. I’ll talk to Miss Curtis – the head of the department – and to Mr Kendall.’
    ‘Oh, thank you. That’s – that’s very kind of you.’
    ‘Kindness has nothing to do with it,’ Jemima said, standing up as if giving a signal that it was time for Betty and Morry to leave and for her to go to work. ‘The sooner you have a job and can earn your own living, the sooner Taffy and I will have our house back to ourselves.’
    Kathy wasn’t sure but she thought she saw – just briefly – the fleeting sparkle of mischief in Jemima’s eyes.
    Her first encounter with the other occupant of the terraced house was more frightening than meeting Aunt Jemima.
    Taffy was a long-haired ginger tom, who padded silently about the house on huge white-tipped paws and glared balefully at the newcomer invading his territory. Their first confrontation happened in the scullery.
    Aunt Jemima, having shown her to the tiny spare bedroom and given her a key for the back door, had left for work. Betty and Morry had gone and now Kathy was alone in the house and wondering what she should do. After being used to working from dawn to dusk – and sometimes beyond – she didn’t know how to handle the hours that stretched emptily before her.
    Perhaps I should go into the city myself and see if I can find work, she mused. But she didn’t want to offend Aunt Jemima, who had promised to enquire about the vacancy at the large department store where she worked. So Kathy looked around the neat house to see if there was anything that needed doing. Then she spotted the breakfast things still left on the table. She carried the used crockery into the scullery to wash it. Standing at the deep white sink, she heard a snuffling and turned towards the round basket in the corner. The cat was stretching and yawning, showing sharp, white teeth and even sharper claws.
    ‘Hello, boy. You must be Taffy. My, you’re a beauty, aren’t you?’ Kathy squatted and held out her hand towards the cat, but he arched his back, his fur bristling, and spat at her. As his paw flicked out towards her, Kathy quickly pulled back her hand, narrowly missing receiving a deep scratch. ‘That’s not a very nice welcome, I must say. Mind you, I am a stranger in your home, so you’ve every right.’
    His green eyes sparked anger and he hissed at her again.
    ‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ she carried on, talking in a soft soothing tone, but she made no attempt to touch the animal again. ‘I’ve just come to stay here for a while.’ She stood up and turned back to the sink, half expecting that at any moment she might feel those vicious claws raking