The Grace Girls Read Online Free PDF

silence. ‘You wouldn’t, Heather,’ he said, with a little crack in his voice. ‘Having you could never hold me back.’
    ‘But if you want to go to Australia, things would definitely change.’
    ‘As I’ve said,’ he went on, ‘it all depends on you and me . . . whether it would be worth my while staying in Rowanhill.’
    Heather’s stomach tightened and her gaze now shifted down to the wet, tarmacadam pavement. ‘What do you mean?’
    He moved closer to her, his head bent so close she could feel his warm breath on her face and neck. ‘How serious are you about us, Heather?’ His eyes searched hers, and his arm tightened around her waist.
    ‘I don’t know what to say . . .’ Her voice was low and her eyes cagey. ‘I haven’t really thought about things like that.’
    ‘Look,’ he said, his tone brusque and determined, ‘I’m not going to keep beating around the bush . . . how would you feel about us getting engaged at Christmas?’

    Chapter 5

    There was great laughter going on as Kirsty recounted another of her funny customers’ stories from the chem­ist’s shop, which suddenly halted when the front door sound ed. A few moments later Heather came into the living-room, shaking the raindrops from her black beret and scarf. ‘Hi, Auntie Mona,’ she said politely, before turning to her mother and sister. ‘It’s absolutely bucketing down outside. Thank God I brought the umbrella.’
    ‘Snow all gone?’ Sophie asked.
    ‘Just a bit of slush in at the kerbs, the rain’s washing it all away.’
    ‘You may get used to it,’ Mona said, all joviality now gone from her face and voice, ‘because you’ll do plenty of running in the winter when you’ve to go all the way up that hill to the train station in the freezin’ cold.’
    ‘There’s tea newly made in the pot,’ Sophie interrupted, ‘and some pancakes and crumpets in the bread bin.’
    ‘Great,’ Heather said, turning back to the hallway to hang up her damp outer clothes and to escape any further interrogation from her aunt.
    Kirsty got to her feet now, pushing them into her comf ortable velveteen, embroidered slippers, and tightenin g the loose belt on her quilted dressing-gown. ‘Did you and Liz decide not to go for chips tonight?’ she asked, followin g her older sister into the kitchen.
    If Kirsty was out with her friends, the perfect ending to the night was to stand gossiping in the Italian-run chip shop waiting for their turn in the long queue. The wait enabled them to find out who had been dancing with whom in the various local dance halls, who had fixed up dates, and what romances had come to an expected or abrupt ending. Sometimes the girls found that part of the evening more exciting than the dance, for there was always the chance that some good-looking boys they fancied might just come in for chips as well, and that would prolong the entertainment of the evening.
    Unfortunately, with all her commitments singing with the band, Kirsty lately found herself having to rely on Heather and her friends for the latest gossip.
    ‘It was too wet to go for chips,’ Heather informed her sister as she poured herself a hot mug of tea from the large brown pot and then added milk and half a spoon of sugar. She went over to the cooker and lit the grill with a match and slid a small pancake and a crumpet on the pan underneath. ‘Anyway, I wanted a reasonably early night for work in the morning, I’m a bit keyed up about handing in my notice.’
    ‘Did you see anybody you knew at the pictures?’ Kirsty queried.
    Heather shook her head as she reached up into the kitchen cabinet for a small plate. ‘Nobody that I recognised – nobody from around here anyway.’
    Kirsty poured herself a fresh cup of tea. ‘Well, was the film any good?’ she enquired now, disappointed that there weren’t any snippets of news they could mull over in some depth.
    ‘Actually,’ Heather replied, her serious face breaking into a smile, ‘it was great. You