Read Online Far From Home by Anne Bennett - Free Book Online Page A

even counting the ones she had seen in Birmingham the previous day. His dark blue coat reached his knees and was piped in gold and so were the epaulettes on his shoulders. It was fastened with shiny brass buttons and the belt had a brass buckle; he had a row of medals pinned to hischest, which Kate whispered were from his time spent fighting in the Great War. He also had a shiny peaked military-style cap on his head with an emblem on it, smart black trousers with a razor-like crease and highly polished black shoes.
    â€˜Golly, isn’t he smart?’ Sally said quietly to Kate as they joined the queue.
    Kate nodded. ‘He’s all right, though. I mean, he’s always been nice enough to me, and at least if he’s there you know that no one will try pushing in. That would be really annoying if you had queued for hours.’
    â€˜Oh, I’d say it would,’ Sally said. ‘And I hope we haven’t got to wait too long here, ’cos it’s freezing.’
    â€˜I hope not either,’ Kate said. ‘But I know from experience he won’t let anyone in before he gets the signal from inside that they are ready for us.’
    It wasn’t very long before the doors opened and the crowds began shuffling forward. And when they pushed their way through the doors, Sally felt as if she had been transported to another world, for the foyer was bathed in diamond-bright light from the sparkling chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Kate was shaking her umbrella outside under the cover of the canopy to get the excess rain off, so Sally could stand and stare for a few minutes. She was almost embarrassed to walk with her wet, slightly muddy shoes, on that gleaming floor with patterns set into it, and so she waited for Kate and then followed her to the glass building that  Kate said was the box office where they had to buy the tickets.
    Either side of the box office were wide stairs; these were carpeted and even the brass stair rods shimmeredin the light. Sally mounted the stairs behind her sister and felt her feet sink into the carpet. The walls were decorated with elaborate patterns and it all seemed very grand; she could scarcely believe that soon she would be watching moving pictures.
    Then Kate opened the double doors. Sally stepped into the auditorium and it fair took her breath away. It was so vast, with walls decorated to either side and filled with dark red velvet-type seats. A man was playing an instrument like a piano in front of a thick velvet curtain, all ruched up in folds. A very smart lady in a blue uniform with silver embroidery on the front and shoulders of the jacket, which also had silver buttons and a silver torch fastened to her belt, took the tickets Kate had just bought, ripped them in half and directed them to their seats.
    It was when she turned slightly to go into the row that Sally noticed the gallery above them also filling up with people behind an elegant and ornate balustrade; she was so astonished her mouth actually dropped open. ‘That’s the circle, where the better-off people go,’ Kate said quietly.
    â€˜I don’t care,’ Sally said. ‘I prefer to be down here. I think I would be feared to be up there.’
    â€˜Well, we’d better take our seats wherever they are,’ Kate said. ‘We’re causing a blockage here.’
    Sally obediently shuffled down the row and thought the seats very high and uncomfortable until Kate showed her that they folded down. ‘They’re flip-up seats,’ she said. ‘Then if people want to get past you for some reason you can stand up and the seats flip up behind you and there’s more room for them to get through, see.’
    â€˜Oh, yes,’ Sally said. ‘What a good idea … And who’s the lady who ripped your ticket up?’
    â€˜She’s an usherette,’ Kate said. ‘She shows people to their seats. It’s all right when the lights are on, but if