Read Online Always And Forever by Betty Neels - Free Book Online Page B

miss it phone here and Josh will fetch you.’
    It was a disappointing day. Amabel went from one agency to the next, and was entered on their books, but there were no jobs which would suit her; she wasn’t a trained lady’s maid, or a cashier as needed at a café, she had neither the training nor the experience to work at a crêche, nor was she suitable as a saleslady at any of the large stores—lack of experience. But how did one get experience unless one had a chance to learn in the first place?
    She presented a brave face when she got back to her aunt’s house in the late afternoon. After all, this was only the first day, and her name was down on several agencies’ books.
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    Back in London, Dr Fforde immersed himself in his work, assuring Bates that he had had a most enjoyable break.
    â€˜So why is he so gloomy?’ Bates enquired of Tiger. ‘Too much work. He needs a bit of the bright lights—needs to get out and about a bit.’
    So it pleased Bates when his master told him that he would be going out one evening. Taking Mrs Potter-Stokes to the theatre, and supper afterwards.
    It should have been a delightful evening; Miriam wasa charming companion, beautifully dressed, aware of how very attractive she was, sure of herself, and amusing him with anecdotes of their mutual friends, asking intelligent questions about his work. But she was aware that she hadn’t got his full attention. Over supper she exerted herself to gain his interest, and asked him prettily if he had enjoyed his few days off. ‘Where did you go?’ she added.
    â€˜York…’
    â€˜York?’ She seized on that. ‘My dear Oliver, I wish I’d known; you could have called on a great friend of mine— Dolores Trent. She has one of those shops in the Shambles—you know, sells dried flowers and pots and expensive glass. But she’s hopeless at it—so impractical, breaking things and getting all the money wrong. I had a letter from her only a few days ago—she thinks she had better get someone to help her.’
    She glanced at the doctor and saw with satisfaction that he was smiling at her. ‘How amusing. Is she as attractive as you, Miriam?’
    Miriam smiled a little triumphant smile, the evening was a success after all.
    Which was what the doctor was thinking…

CHAPTER FOUR
    W HEN Amabel came back from walking Cyril the next morning she was met at the door by her aunt.
    â€˜A pity. You have just missed a phone call from your nice Dr Fforde. He has heard of a job quite by chance from a friend and thought you might be interested. A lady who owns a shop in the Shambles in York—an arty-crafty place, I gather; she needs someone to help her. He told me her name— Dolores Trent—but he doesn’t know the address. You might like to walk through the Shambles and see if you can find her shop. Most thoughtful of him to think of you.’
    Josh drove her in after lunch. She was, her aunt had decreed, to spend as long as she wanted in York and phone when she was ready to return; Josh would fetch her.
    She walked through the city, found the Shambles and started to walk its length. It was a narrow cobbled street, lined by old houses which overhung the lane, almost all of which were now shops: expensive shops, she saw at once, selling the kind of things people on holiday would take back home to display or give as presents to someone who needed to be impressed.
    She walked down one side, looking at the names over the doors and windows, pausing once or twice to study some beautiful garment in a boutique or look at a display of jewellery. She reached the end and started back on the other side, and halfway down she found what she was looking for. It was a small shop, tucked between a bookshop and a mouthwatering patisserie, its small window displaying crystal vases, great baskets of dried silk flowers, delicate china and eye-catching pottery. Hung discreetly