Two Penn'orth of Sky Read Online Free PDF

rather accusingly. ‘Baby should be dry and comfortable before she is offered a feed.’
    Flushing guiltily, Emmy admitted that she had not yet changed Baby’s nappy, and when this task was done and the nurse had left them, Peter began to talk about fetching Mrs Dickens in a taxi, so that she could spend an hour or so with her daughter. ‘And then I’ll take her out somewhere really nice for lunch,’ he said expansively. ‘You’d like me to do that, wouldn’t you, my dear?’
    Emmy agreed, realising that the moment for questioning Peter about his brother and their quarrel had passed. But what did it matter, after all? It had taken him a long time to unburden himself to her, but now that it had happened she was sure there would be no more secrets. She said as much to Peter just as he was preparing to leave her and he stopped, with his hand on the doorknob, to say laughingly: ‘My darling, I would never keep a secret from you. We must share everything, always.’
    After he had been gone ten minutes, it occurredto Emmy that his last remark was meaningless. He had kept a secret from her, doing so quite deliberately, though she was still not sure exactly why he had let her believe him to be an only child. But I’ll find out, she told herself, snuggling down the bed again. When he takes me to Southampton, I shall jolly well ask Peter’s mama, or perhaps his sister-in-law Josephine, what’s really behind the rift between the brothers. She let her mind play with several conjectures but then slid, easily, into sleep and did not wake until the nurse came in with her lunch tray.
    When Emmy answered the front door, she was delighted to find Beryl and her two small sons on the doorstep, whilst the baby, Beryl’s little daughter, slumbered in the big, old-fashioned pram. She had dropped Beryl a note a week ago, suggesting that her friend should call, and now she ushered them inside, then sent the older children to play with the two-year-old Diana in the garden, and parked the pram under an apple tree. It was a lovely day in early May and Diana was delighted to see the visitors. She thought Charlie, who was five, almost grown up, and joined in the boys’ games with great gusto whenever they came to call.
    ‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ Emmy said eagerly, pulling Beryl into the kitchen, where they could sit on the tall stools and watch the children as they played. ‘I’m so glad you could come, Bee, because I’ve got a bit of a problem. It’s more than two years since Peter told me he had a brother, and almost three since he last saw his parents, but every time I suggest we might visit his relatives, he comes up with another scheme – a week in Llandudno, or Southport, a tripto Blackpool Zoo, even a week in the Lake District. What do you think I should do?’
    ‘I think you should dig your heels in,’ Beryl said frankly. ‘He’s a grand feller, your Peter. I weren’t too sure at first if you were doin’ the right thing, queen, ’cos you and young Johnny Frost seemed made for each other, just about. But I soon saw I were wrong. In a way, Johnny and you were more like brother and sister; I reckon you knew each other too well for a marriage to succeed. By the way, did you know Johnny were courtin’? He met some girl when he were on his holidays and brought her back to introduce her to his folks. I think her name’s Rhian. She’s really nice. She’s norra bit like you, queen, she’s dark an’ rather dumpy, but she’s very lively, always laughing; just right for Johnny, in fact.’
    ‘That’s wonderful; I hope they’ll be very happy, just like Peter and me,’ Emmy said. She found, to her slight surprise, that she meant every word. Johnny had been a good friend, but she realised now that she had never really loved him, whereas she loved Peter with all her heart. Everything she did, she did to please him, and best of all was the way he treated Diana. He was a marvellous father, always ready to play games or tell