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Authors: Elizabeth Gill
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was just that we’ve worked so hard and he does nothing but go to school and then he actually complained about how much work he had. I was tired and fed up and I just couldn’t stand it.’
‘But you want to go to the dance with him.’
‘Well . . . I just wanted to go. We don’t get to go far and we’ve worked so hard and I wanted to get dressed up and go out.’
‘I’ll take you.’
‘You don’t want to go. You didn’t mention it. It wouldn’t be fair.’
‘You want to go, don’t you? Say yes quick before I change my mind.’
Annie looked doubtfully at him.
‘Do you dance?’ she said.
‘Of course.’
‘You always say of course you can do everything.’
‘I can.’
‘When did you learn?’
‘When I was little. My grandmother loved to dance. She taught me.’
‘Your grandparents taught you to do a lot of things.’
‘I was all they had.’
* * *
Madge wore yellow to the dance which suited her. Clara wore pink which did not and Annie wore a blue dress which was so much prettier than Clara’s that she almost forgave Alistair for not having asked her to the dance. Madge went with her friends and met Frank there. Tommy spent the evening in the pub getting drunk and Annie was apprehensive about going with Blake because it wasn’t what she had wanted to do, but she soon discovered that the fun of being at a dance was having a partner who could dance well and to her surprise he did. Also, and she hadn’t noticed lately, he was so tall now that he looked older than he was. He held her lightly but guided her properly and it was such a pleasure dancing with him that when she danced with Frank and even with Alistair as she did later in the evening she missed the guiding hand, the sure feet, the confidence. She was happy to go back to dancing with him. She even forgot about Alistair asking Clara instead of her and when the supper was announced and Blake went off to find her a plate and Alistair was somehow beside her she wasn’t as pleased as she had thought she might be when he asked her for the dance after supper.
‘What about Clara?’ she said.
‘Clara dances rather as I think a sack of potatoes might.’
She knew that he did not mean to be unkind, that he only said it to make her laugh but she could see Clara from where she stood and Clara was alone so she didn’t laugh. She just said, ‘I promised the next dance to Blake.’
‘Whatever for? Annie, he’s your farm labourer.’
‘Yes, and I’m your dairymaid,’ Annie said and she followed Blake off to the table where the food was laid out so splendidly. ‘Are you managing?’ she asked.
He handed her a plate heaped with food. Annie was very hungry.
‘Let’s go outside,’ she said and he didn’t say how cold it was or that everybody else was here in the warmth. He followed her outside and it was then that she knew she had been right. The night was shiny with stars, she had her first ever gin and tonic in her hand in a tall thin glass so that the bubbles went on bubbling. It was dark out there and the food smelled better against the cold and he gave her his jacket to sit on.
‘You’ll be frozen,’ she said.
‘No, I won’t. Sit down.’
‘It won’t do it any good.’
‘It’s your dad’s old one. Who cares?’
‘Is it? It looked all right.’
Later Alistair came to her when Blake had gone to get her a drink of lemonade.
‘Will you come riding with me tomorrow?’
‘Why don’t you go riding with Clara, you seem to like her company well enough,’ Annie said and moved away. She thought he was following her and went right out of the way outside but Alistair was still there.
‘Why can’t you be nice to me?’ he said. ‘You know I like you.’
‘I’m as nice as you deserve.’
‘Dance with me then.’
‘I promised Blake.’
‘You like him, don’t you?’
Annie had never considered this.
‘I neither like nor dislike him,’ she said, ‘he’s just there and he’ll be wondering
‘But you want to go to the dance with him.’
‘Well . . . I just wanted to go. We don’t get to go far and we’ve worked so hard and I wanted to get dressed up and go out.’
‘I’ll take you.’
‘You don’t want to go. You didn’t mention it. It wouldn’t be fair.’
‘You want to go, don’t you? Say yes quick before I change my mind.’
Annie looked doubtfully at him.
‘Do you dance?’ she said.
‘Of course.’
‘You always say of course you can do everything.’
‘I can.’
‘When did you learn?’
‘When I was little. My grandmother loved to dance. She taught me.’
‘Your grandparents taught you to do a lot of things.’
‘I was all they had.’
* * *
Madge wore yellow to the dance which suited her. Clara wore pink which did not and Annie wore a blue dress which was so much prettier than Clara’s that she almost forgave Alistair for not having asked her to the dance. Madge went with her friends and met Frank there. Tommy spent the evening in the pub getting drunk and Annie was apprehensive about going with Blake because it wasn’t what she had wanted to do, but she soon discovered that the fun of being at a dance was having a partner who could dance well and to her surprise he did. Also, and she hadn’t noticed lately, he was so tall now that he looked older than he was. He held her lightly but guided her properly and it was such a pleasure dancing with him that when she danced with Frank and even with Alistair as she did later in the evening she missed the guiding hand, the sure feet, the confidence. She was happy to go back to dancing with him. She even forgot about Alistair asking Clara instead of her and when the supper was announced and Blake went off to find her a plate and Alistair was somehow beside her she wasn’t as pleased as she had thought she might be when he asked her for the dance after supper.
‘What about Clara?’ she said.
‘Clara dances rather as I think a sack of potatoes might.’
She knew that he did not mean to be unkind, that he only said it to make her laugh but she could see Clara from where she stood and Clara was alone so she didn’t laugh. She just said, ‘I promised the next dance to Blake.’
‘Whatever for? Annie, he’s your farm labourer.’
‘Yes, and I’m your dairymaid,’ Annie said and she followed Blake off to the table where the food was laid out so splendidly. ‘Are you managing?’ she asked.
He handed her a plate heaped with food. Annie was very hungry.
‘Let’s go outside,’ she said and he didn’t say how cold it was or that everybody else was here in the warmth. He followed her outside and it was then that she knew she had been right. The night was shiny with stars, she had her first ever gin and tonic in her hand in a tall thin glass so that the bubbles went on bubbling. It was dark out there and the food smelled better against the cold and he gave her his jacket to sit on.
‘You’ll be frozen,’ she said.
‘No, I won’t. Sit down.’
‘It won’t do it any good.’
‘It’s your dad’s old one. Who cares?’
‘Is it? It looked all right.’
Later Alistair came to her when Blake had gone to get her a drink of lemonade.
‘Will you come riding with me tomorrow?’
‘Why don’t you go riding with Clara, you seem to like her company well enough,’ Annie said and moved away. She thought he was following her and went right out of the way outside but Alistair was still there.
‘Why can’t you be nice to me?’ he said. ‘You know I like you.’
‘I’m as nice as you deserve.’
‘Dance with me then.’
‘I promised Blake.’
‘You like him, don’t you?’
Annie had never considered this.
‘I neither like nor dislike him,’ she said, ‘he’s just there and he’ll be wondering
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