The Grace Girls Read Online Free PDF Page B

would have enjoyed it – it was a frightening one – The Hound of the Baskervilles .’
    ‘Seen it,’ Kirsty informed her, pulling a chair out at the yellow Formica-topped table. ‘It was brilliant. I bet you ran all the way home from the bus stop without looking round.’ The two girls laughed.
    Kirsty suddenly gave a shiver. ‘It’s bloomin’ freezing in here,’ she said in a low voice, ‘but I suppose it’s better than listening to my Auntie Mona wittering on about what a terrible place Glasgow is.’ She bent over her cup, giggling.
    ‘She’s got a right bee in her bonnet about it, hasn’t she?’ H eather said, tutting. She lifted her hot pancake and crump et from the grill onto the plate and came over to the table to butter it. ‘She’s that obvious, too. She makes out that all the people are terrible and the whole of the city is a dreadful place, when you know fine well it’s all to do with Auntie Claire who we’re not supposed to mention. It’s all because she met up with an older, Protestant man in an office in Glasgow, got married in the register office and went off to live in a posh part of Glasgow.’
    ‘I love keeping Mona going about it,’ Kirsty giggled again. ‘I love it when she gets all aerated and indignant.’
    ‘Well don’t! ’ Heather hissed. ‘It’s me that gets it in the ear every time the word Glasgow is mentioned. Anyway I think it’s terrible the way she’s turned the whole family against Claire. She’s a lovely person, and I always liked her. It would be like everybody trying to turn Lily against one of us in a few years’ time.’
    ‘True enough,’ Kirsty said, suddenly seeing her sister’s po int. ‘I couldn’t imagine us not ever seeing Lily again . . .’
    ‘It’s terrible when you’re young and people don’t give you any say in things,’ Heather moaned. ‘I’d love to see Claire again – wouldn’t you?’
    ‘Definitely,’ Kirsty agreed. She paused for a moment. ‘What about Gerry?’ she asked now, going onto a more interesting subject. ‘Was he all dressed up as usual?’
    Heather gave a little sigh, and her cheeks turned pink. ‘You’re not going to believe it . . .’
    ‘What?’ Kirsty gasped, her blue eyes wide with expectation. ‘What’s happened?’
    Heather hesitated for a few moments, then looked towards the slightly ajar door and motioned her sister to close it over fully.
    ‘Come on!’ Kirsty insisted, clicking the door shut with her foot.
    ‘I’m still in a state of shock,’ Heather said. ‘Gerry asked me if I wanted to get engaged at Christmas –’
    ‘ Engaged? ’ Kirsty repeated in an astonished tone. She looked down into her teacup and then back up to her sister’s face. This was the last thing she had expected. The enormity of all the changes that might lie ahead – weddings, Heather moving out of the house, out of the bedroom they had shared all their lives – had suddenly struck her. ‘What did you say?’
    Heather shrugged then ran both hands through her thick dark hair, which was drying into soft waves around her shoulders. ‘I said I’d have to think about it . . . that I wasn’t sure if I was ready for anything that serious yet. I said it might be better if we had a couple of nights apart from each other – have a break over the weekend just to give ourselves time to think everything over properly.’ She bit her lip. ‘I don’t want to be out dancing with him tomorrow night with this hanging between us. Even though he says he understands . . . I know he wants an answer soon.’
    Kirsty took a sip of her tea, trying to digest this shocking information. ‘A lot of girls think he’s a good catch,’ she said cagily. ‘I know of a few who would love to jump into your shoes. He’s good-looking with nice hair, a good worker . . . a great dancer. I know he’s not exactly the love of your life – but you’d be hard pushed to find somebody better around here.’ She leaned her elbows on the Formica