The Price of Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

he suggested.
    Sam was very quiet as they walked home and he went indoors ahead of Robert and Lucy who lingered on the doorstep to say goodnight to each other.
    ‘I hope we’ve done the right thing in telling him,’ Lucy said worriedly as Robert took her into his arms and held her close.
    ‘We’ve done what Percy asked you to do and now it’s up to Sam to decide what he wants to do. It’s none of our business what the outcome is, so let’s forget it and not talk about it any more,’ Robert told her firmly as his lips sought hers.
    Lucy sighed and said no more but the thought that perhaps Sam was right in thinking that it had been Patsy’s idea went round and round in her head and she wondered if it was the right decision for Sam to make. As a fully qualified mechanic he would be able to work anywhere; as a driver, she wasn’t sure what his prospects would be.
    Learning to drive was something most young men wanted to do but very few had the opportunity so she could understand what a temptation it must be for Sam. Since his hands were still tender after all this time, then perhaps it was a wise decision. If he hesitated, then he might not get another chance and if he ended up with some sort of skin problem from the oil and grease he came into contact with daily, then he would bitterly regret having turned down such an opportunity.
    On the other hand, Lucy mused, if it was simply because Patsy fancied having a boyfriend who always looked clean and spruced up, then it was regrettable for Sam to sacrifice all the years he had spent as an apprentice simply to please her.
    She wished Robert had been prepared to talk about it, but he didn’t seem to understand why she was so concerned. He’d practically said that it wasn’t up to her and that it had to be Sam’s decision and that he should be left to make his own mind up.
    She wondered if Sam would mention it to their parents and if so what her father would advise. He’d always seemed to be so proud of the fact that Sam was learning what he termed a proper trade.
    It was two days before Sam said anything about Percy’s suggestion and then it was to announce to the family over dinner that Mr Carter had arranged for him to have driving lessons.
    ‘Driving lessons?’ Bill Collins’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as he laid down his knife and fork and looked across the table at his son. ‘Why on earth is he doing that?’
    ‘So that I can be a driver,’ Sam said, concentrating on the food on his plate.
    ‘A driver!’ There was a mixture of curiosity and pride in Margaret Collins’s voice as she stopped eating and looked questioningly from Sam to her husband and back. ‘This is all rather sudden, isn’t it? I thought you were helping out in the showroom until your hands were better and you could go back into the workshop.’
    ‘As far as I know we already have all the drivers we need, so why go to the trouble of training you for the job?’ Bill Collins asked. ‘It will only be another couple of weeks or so before your hands are completely all right again and then you’ll be fit enough to complete your apprenticeship.’
    ‘No, Dad. The idea is that I become a driver instead of being a mechanic.’
    There was an uneasy silence as Mr and Mrs Collins both mulled over this piece of news. Lucy wondered again whether it really was Mr Carter’s idea or had Patsy persuaded Percy into suggesting it.
    Her father didn’t appear to be too happy about the arrangement but her mother seemed to think that it was some kind of promotion. She kept saying that Mr Carter must think a great deal of Sam to suggest something like this.
    As the discussion continued Lucy could tell that Sam seemed to be in favour of learning to drive and so, in the end, Lucy didn’t think it fair to spoil things for him. If it was what he wanted, then even though it might have been due to scheming on Patsy’s part, she reasoned that it might be best to leave things as they were.
    At work, Patsy