Read Online Eva and the Hidden Diary by Judi Curtin - Free Book Online
Authors: Judi Curtin
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‘Our bad. We seem to have called to the wrong house.’
Then I grabbed Kate’s arm and we ran out the gate and down the road towards the beach.
‘You knew, didn’t you?’ I asked, as soon as we were settled on our favourite spot in the sand. ‘You knew Cathy was going to be there.’
Kate shrugged. ‘I suspected, but I didn’t know for certain sure. I know that Mrs Eades is Cathy’s aunt, and that Cathy stays there a lot in the summer. And I’d heard a rumour that she was going to be back in town soon.’
‘But why didn’t you tell me?’
She didn’t answer.
‘Kate?’ I said.
‘I tried.’
I felt my face going red as I realized that this was true. She’d tried a few times, but I hadn’t listened.
‘But still you came with me,’ I said. ‘You stood outside that door, even though you knew there was a good chance that Catty Cathy was going to open it.’
‘I know what it’s like to have your family break up into little pieces,’ said Kate. ‘My mum and my dad both vanished out of my life when I was little, so I know exactly how Daisy must have felt. I wanted to help to make things right for her again.’
‘You were prepared to face that evil bully, for Daisy’s sake? That’s totally brave and crazy.’
Now Kate’s face turned red to match mine. She hates being the centre of attention.
‘We should go back there,’ she muttered. ‘We should try again – for Daisy’s sake.’
I shook my head. ‘No way. That’s not goingto happen. I want to help Daisy just as much as you do, but not if it means giving Cathy another chance to pick on us. We’ll have to think of something else.’
‘Like what?’
And how was I supposed to answer that?
‘Great news,’ said Zoe when we met her later. ‘I’ve spent hours on the internet. I’ve managed to track Daisy down to a school in Chicago. She started attending there in January 1948.’
‘So Daisy really made it to secondary school,’ I sighed. ‘That’s so great. Maybe her dream of being a children’s nurse came true after all.’
‘Maybe,’ said Zoe. ‘But she left that school in 1950, and I can’t find where she went next.’
‘So is that the end of the trail?’ asked Kate.
Zoe grinned. ‘No way,’ she said. ‘I’m not giving up that easily. This research is really interesting. I’ll find out what happened to yourold friend – it might just take a bit of time, that’s all. Now what about you girls? How did you get on today?’
So Kate and I told her all about Cathy and our failed attempt to get more information about George Eades.
Martha came in and heard what we were saying.
‘You’ve got it all wrong, girls,’ she said. ‘That Eades family in the village are not related to old George Eades at all. They’re blow-ins – they’ve only been around here for thirty-five years or so.’
We all laughed and Martha pretended to be offended.
‘OMG,’ I said, remembering how Cathy had looked at Kate and me like we were total losers. ‘That’s awful news. We totally embarrassed ourselves in front of Cathy, and it was all for nothing.’
‘She must have thought we were completeidiots,’ said Kate helpfully.
I could feel my face going red at the thought of how I’d prattled on to Cathy. She usually bullied us for nothing. Now that we’d acted like weirdos in front of her, there was no telling what she was going to do.
‘So where did George Eades live anyway?’ I asked, changing the subject.
‘He was from Kylebridge at the other side of the bay,’ said Martha. ‘But there’s no point in going looking for him over there – unless you fancy visiting the graveyard. George Eades died donkey’s years ago.’
‘Did he have a family?’ asked Kate, who was looking a lot more enthusiastic now that Cathy was out of the picture.
‘I don’t know who’s left now,’ said Martha. ‘I haven’t been to Kylebridge for years. But George had a couple of sons, so no doubt there’s someone over there
Then I grabbed Kate’s arm and we ran out the gate and down the road towards the beach.
‘You knew, didn’t you?’ I asked, as soon as we were settled on our favourite spot in the sand. ‘You knew Cathy was going to be there.’
Kate shrugged. ‘I suspected, but I didn’t know for certain sure. I know that Mrs Eades is Cathy’s aunt, and that Cathy stays there a lot in the summer. And I’d heard a rumour that she was going to be back in town soon.’
‘But why didn’t you tell me?’
She didn’t answer.
‘Kate?’ I said.
‘I tried.’
I felt my face going red as I realized that this was true. She’d tried a few times, but I hadn’t listened.
‘But still you came with me,’ I said. ‘You stood outside that door, even though you knew there was a good chance that Catty Cathy was going to open it.’
‘I know what it’s like to have your family break up into little pieces,’ said Kate. ‘My mum and my dad both vanished out of my life when I was little, so I know exactly how Daisy must have felt. I wanted to help to make things right for her again.’
‘You were prepared to face that evil bully, for Daisy’s sake? That’s totally brave and crazy.’
Now Kate’s face turned red to match mine. She hates being the centre of attention.
‘We should go back there,’ she muttered. ‘We should try again – for Daisy’s sake.’
I shook my head. ‘No way. That’s not goingto happen. I want to help Daisy just as much as you do, but not if it means giving Cathy another chance to pick on us. We’ll have to think of something else.’
‘Like what?’
And how was I supposed to answer that?
‘Great news,’ said Zoe when we met her later. ‘I’ve spent hours on the internet. I’ve managed to track Daisy down to a school in Chicago. She started attending there in January 1948.’
‘So Daisy really made it to secondary school,’ I sighed. ‘That’s so great. Maybe her dream of being a children’s nurse came true after all.’
‘Maybe,’ said Zoe. ‘But she left that school in 1950, and I can’t find where she went next.’
‘So is that the end of the trail?’ asked Kate.
Zoe grinned. ‘No way,’ she said. ‘I’m not giving up that easily. This research is really interesting. I’ll find out what happened to yourold friend – it might just take a bit of time, that’s all. Now what about you girls? How did you get on today?’
So Kate and I told her all about Cathy and our failed attempt to get more information about George Eades.
Martha came in and heard what we were saying.
‘You’ve got it all wrong, girls,’ she said. ‘That Eades family in the village are not related to old George Eades at all. They’re blow-ins – they’ve only been around here for thirty-five years or so.’
We all laughed and Martha pretended to be offended.
‘OMG,’ I said, remembering how Cathy had looked at Kate and me like we were total losers. ‘That’s awful news. We totally embarrassed ourselves in front of Cathy, and it was all for nothing.’
‘She must have thought we were completeidiots,’ said Kate helpfully.
I could feel my face going red at the thought of how I’d prattled on to Cathy. She usually bullied us for nothing. Now that we’d acted like weirdos in front of her, there was no telling what she was going to do.
‘So where did George Eades live anyway?’ I asked, changing the subject.
‘He was from Kylebridge at the other side of the bay,’ said Martha. ‘But there’s no point in going looking for him over there – unless you fancy visiting the graveyard. George Eades died donkey’s years ago.’
‘Did he have a family?’ asked Kate, who was looking a lot more enthusiastic now that Cathy was out of the picture.
‘I don’t know who’s left now,’ said Martha. ‘I haven’t been to Kylebridge for years. But George had a couple of sons, so no doubt there’s someone over there
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