The Beach Hut Read Online Free PDF

his reaction, but felt that she had pleased him. And it was with eagerness that she picked up his manuscript. She was far more intrigued by Anita Palmer’s plight than Constance Chatterley’s.
    She was gradually getting used to his scrawls, and transcribed them more swiftly. When she came upon words she didn’t know, she pulled down the dictionary from the shelf and looked them up. She had never given any real consideration to words before, and she was amazed to find there were words for feelings she had never pinpointed or identified in her short life. She found herself regretting not paying more attention at school, but none of the teachers had ever made her want to read, or increase her vocabulary. Jane had been a user of adjectives like ‘nice’ and ‘good’ and ‘fun’. Whereas now, in the space of one morning, she had discovered ‘ebullient’, ‘coruscating’, and ‘eviscerated’. Not that she was likely to use any of them on a daily basis, but it was interesting. She felt . . . stimulated.
    Her fingers galloped on. Sometimes Terence invited her to share lunch, and sometimes he didn’t. Gradually she found herself relaxing in his company. His bark was definitely worse than his bite. She found the courage to tidy his desk - she had to do it every morning, but he didn’t seem to mind when she whisked away the empty mugs and glasses - he seemed to drink an awful lot - and emptied the ashtray.
    One afternoon he came into her room to find her with her head in her arms, sobbing. He looked alarmed.
    ‘What is it?’ he asked.
    ‘It’s chapter nine,’ she sobbed in reply. ‘I don’t believe she’d do it. She loves him more than anything else in the world. And she wants a baby more than anything in the world.’
    Anita Palmer and Joe Munden had embarked upon an affair, with inevitable consequences.
    ‘She wouldn’t get rid of it,’ Jane insisted through her tears. ‘You’ve got to change it.’
    Terence pulled her to him and stroked her hair while she sobbed.
    ‘Oh Jane,’ he sighed. ‘I can’t change it. I can’t change it because that’s what happened.’
    She pulled away, staring at him as the realisation dawned on her.
    ‘It’s you!’ she exclaimed. ‘You’re Joe!’
    He nodded.
    ‘’Fraid so.’ He looked away, his eyes screwed up slightly. Was he trying not to cry?
    ‘That’s awful,’ she whispered. ‘That’s terrible. Where . . . where is she now?’
    He shrugged. His expression was bleak.
    Without thinking, she threw her arms around him.
    It wasn’t really him she was hugging, it was Joe. The young, barely formed young man whose whole future had come crashing in on him, whose world had been turned upside down by a woman who should have known better. But Terence seemed to take great comfort from her embrace.
    ‘Oh, Jane . . .’ There was a crack in his voice. ‘Jane . . .’
    He pulled her face up to meet his. She could see his tears through her own. There was a long moment while they gazed at each other, and then . . . he kissed her.
    Jane felt as if she was falling. Every nerve ending in her body crackled; a sensation like the faintest sea breeze skittered over her skin from head to toe. Nothing whatsoever told her to resist. There was no hesitation, no question. It was as meant to be as when Joe met Anita. She remembered reading the words and marvelling at their power. And being envious of their experience. And now here she was, feeling the same thrill, as Terence picked her up and carried her down the corridor through into his bedroom, dropping her gently onto the bed. She lay there, eyes wide, her breathing shallow.
    ‘We don’t have to do this . . .’
    ‘Yes, we do,’ she breathed, and with an unexpected bravery pulled him down to her. She wanted to be part of this man, this man who had felt so much, suffered so much, this man who had made her think for the first time in her silly, superficial life.
    He unbuttoned her dress carefully, kissing each bit of her as