Read Online A Daughter's Disgrace by Kitty Neale - Free Book Online Page B

Kenny, sipping the bitter and smacking his lips. ‘Turn up at nine, leave at five, paid on Friday. Not much more to it. How’s yours? Been there a few weeks now, ain’t you?’
    ‘It’s all right,’ Paul said. ‘The boss is ancient and he can’t see what I’m doing half the time. Can’t say it’s anything to get excited about.’ He raised his glass and drank. ‘I might get some fun out of the girl who works in the next shop though.’
    Kenny looked up, interested. ‘What’s she like? Should I be jealous?’
    Paul wondered whether to wind his friend up and make Alison sound more than she really was but decided he would get caught out in the lie too easily if Kenny decided to pay Falcon Road a visit. ‘Nah, probably not. She’s not much of a looker.’
    ‘Then why are you bothering?’ Kenny asked. ‘What else has she got going for her?’
    ‘She’s got good tits,’ said Paul, which he hoped was true, although her mac hadn’t given him more than a rough idea. Still, he’d passed away several boring hours in the hardware shop imagining what might lie beneath. ‘And I reckon she’s got really long legs. She’s tall, see. But her face … no, you don’t want to know about it. Her teeth are horrible and so’s her hair.’
    ‘Bit of a mare then,’ said Kenny. ‘So you better keep yer eyes on her tits and legs if you don’t want to be put off.’
    ‘Well, I can do that easily enough,’ laughed Paul. ‘She’ll be desperate for me, you wait and see. She’ll be begging me for it.’
    ‘Bet you she won’t,’ said Kenny. He’d heard all this before and to the best of his knowledge no girl had ever begged Paul for anything.
    ‘Bet you she will,’ said Paul, suddenly serious. ‘It’s February now and I bet you five bob that before March is over I’ll have had her.’
    ‘You’re on.’
    ‘I shouldn’t even accept that as it’ll be like taking candy from a baby,’ said Paul, finishing his pint with relish. ‘But I know you’ll be offended if I say no. Five bob, end of March, she’ll have been begging me for weeks.’ He was certain he was right. And if she didn’t beg him, he’d have her anyway.
    ‘Nice sandwiches, Mum,’ said Linda. ‘June, have you tried one? Eat something so Granny can see you like her food.’
    ‘Oh, she can have some cake if she’d rather,’ said Cora, giving her granddaughter a cuddle. ‘You’d enjoy that, wouldn’t you, Junie? Try some of this.’ She put a small slice of jam sponge on a plate and June eagerly took it from her.
    ‘What sort of material are you thinking about for our frocks, Hazel?’ asked Linda, who’d spent the last half-hour upstairs with her sisters, getting measured up. ‘Did you have a colour in mind?’
    ‘Something to go with my hair,’ said Hazel, pushing an auburn wave back over her ear. She was very proud of her hair but knew she’d have to avoid reds and pinks. ‘Probably green or blue. Suppose I’ll have to see what Joe Philpott’s got going. He said he’d keep an eye out for something nice for me.’
    ‘He’d do that, he’s got a soft spot for you,’ said Linda. ‘What about your dress? Will he get that fabric too?’
    ‘I’m still hoping I can buy one,’ said Hazel. ‘Of course if Alison hadn’t messed up her job interview at that place …’
    ‘Then you wouldn’t be eating ham sandwiches now,’ said Alison. ‘And we can all enjoy this whereas it’s only you who gets to wear a big white wedding dress.’
    ‘Can I have a special dress?’ asked June. She wasn’t sure what they were talking about but she did like getting new clothes.
    ‘We’ll see,’ said Linda, ‘but you can’t go getting jam over it.’ She wiped her daughter’s face with her handkerchief. ‘That’s better. Maybe you can have a frock trimmed with the same pattern that Mummy and Auntie Alison will be wearing.’
    Hazel knew that June would steal the show if she was a flower girl and couldn’t work out if that would be