wooden table. ‘One thing yer have to be thankful for, sweetheart, you’ve had plenty of wear out of it.’ She ran a clean cloth under the tap, then wrung the excess water out. ‘If it had been a good coat, I would have agreed with David that yer should have let the bloke buy you a new one.’
Poppy was leaning against the sink, watching. ‘I could never do that, Mam; my pride wouldn’t let me. Anyway, there’s no point in dwelling on it: what’s done is done and we can’t turn the clock back. At least I was knocked down by a very handsome toff, and not a scruff.’
Eva lifted her eyes from the coat she was wiping down. ‘Oh, so he was handsome, was he?’
‘Yes, I’d say he was. And his girlfriend was beautiful. Welldressed, make-up perfect, and the perfume she had on certainly wasn’t one and eleven a bottle like the one I use. But for all that, both of them were really nice to me. They were genuinely upset by what happened, and even asked me if I would like to go with them to get cleaned up.’
Eva showed her surprise. ‘You didn’t mention that before, sweetheart! Where were they going to take you?’
‘I couldn’t tell yer that, Mam, because I just wanted to get away as soon as possible. They came out of one of the office buildings, but I was so embarrassed I couldn’t tell yer which one, except it was in Castle Street, on the left hand side going up.’
‘Don’t you think yer were a little hasty, sweetheart? You weren’t pushed over on purpose. It was an accident.’
‘I know that, now I can think straight. But it wasn’t exactly pleasant lying flat on the pavement and having people gathered around me. I felt really stupid. Hysterical, really. I even started laughing, so yer can tell how hysterical I was. And I took it out on the man and his girlfriend. I was really rude to them, and I’m sorry now. But it can’t be helped; it’s over and done with.’
Eva lifted the coat off the table and held it up for inspection. ‘I’ll stand in front of the fire with it while you’re getting washed. It’s come up all right, so no one will ever notice.’
‘You’re an angel, Mam.’ Poppy gave her a hug. ‘I’ll run up and get meself ready ’cos I’m late already. I’ll wear me blue dress; it’s me favourite.’
Peter Broadhurst had been standing by the bus stop for twenty minutes and was giving up hope. Three buses had stopped while he’d been there, and each time he’d had to stand back so the driver wouldn’t expect him to jump on board. He wasa nice-looking man, over six foot and well built. With black hair, deep brown eyes, a dimple in each cheek and healthy teeth, he was never short of girlfriends. And he wasn’t used to being kept waiting. He looked at his watch now and saw it was nearly eight o’clock. He’d never waited this length of time for anyone before. But this date was one he’d looked forward to, and he was disappointed. The girl he’d arranged to meet, who’d said her name was Poppy, was the most attractive girl he’d ever seen. And she wasn’t coy or fawning like some girls, which he couldn’t stand. Poppy, if that was really her name, had refused when he’d asked her for a date, and it had taken all his powers of persuasion to talk her round. He gave a sigh of disappointment, because he’d been looking forward to seeing her again. Still, he’d been let down and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. He turned the collar of his overcoat up and was about to walk away when he saw her hurrying towards him.
‘I’m sorry I’m late,’ Poppy said, slightly out of breath with walking quickly. ‘I had an accident with my coat, and I almost didn’t come because I didn’t expect you to wait so long.’
Peter was studying her face as she was speaking, and he told himself she was exactly the same as the vision he’d had of her in his mind since he’d met her at the Grafton. He’d never been as attracted to any girl as he had been to her, and now,
Poppy was leaning against the sink, watching. ‘I could never do that, Mam; my pride wouldn’t let me. Anyway, there’s no point in dwelling on it: what’s done is done and we can’t turn the clock back. At least I was knocked down by a very handsome toff, and not a scruff.’
Eva lifted her eyes from the coat she was wiping down. ‘Oh, so he was handsome, was he?’
‘Yes, I’d say he was. And his girlfriend was beautiful. Welldressed, make-up perfect, and the perfume she had on certainly wasn’t one and eleven a bottle like the one I use. But for all that, both of them were really nice to me. They were genuinely upset by what happened, and even asked me if I would like to go with them to get cleaned up.’
Eva showed her surprise. ‘You didn’t mention that before, sweetheart! Where were they going to take you?’
‘I couldn’t tell yer that, Mam, because I just wanted to get away as soon as possible. They came out of one of the office buildings, but I was so embarrassed I couldn’t tell yer which one, except it was in Castle Street, on the left hand side going up.’
‘Don’t you think yer were a little hasty, sweetheart? You weren’t pushed over on purpose. It was an accident.’
‘I know that, now I can think straight. But it wasn’t exactly pleasant lying flat on the pavement and having people gathered around me. I felt really stupid. Hysterical, really. I even started laughing, so yer can tell how hysterical I was. And I took it out on the man and his girlfriend. I was really rude to them, and I’m sorry now. But it can’t be helped; it’s over and done with.’
Eva lifted the coat off the table and held it up for inspection. ‘I’ll stand in front of the fire with it while you’re getting washed. It’s come up all right, so no one will ever notice.’
‘You’re an angel, Mam.’ Poppy gave her a hug. ‘I’ll run up and get meself ready ’cos I’m late already. I’ll wear me blue dress; it’s me favourite.’
Peter Broadhurst had been standing by the bus stop for twenty minutes and was giving up hope. Three buses had stopped while he’d been there, and each time he’d had to stand back so the driver wouldn’t expect him to jump on board. He wasa nice-looking man, over six foot and well built. With black hair, deep brown eyes, a dimple in each cheek and healthy teeth, he was never short of girlfriends. And he wasn’t used to being kept waiting. He looked at his watch now and saw it was nearly eight o’clock. He’d never waited this length of time for anyone before. But this date was one he’d looked forward to, and he was disappointed. The girl he’d arranged to meet, who’d said her name was Poppy, was the most attractive girl he’d ever seen. And she wasn’t coy or fawning like some girls, which he couldn’t stand. Poppy, if that was really her name, had refused when he’d asked her for a date, and it had taken all his powers of persuasion to talk her round. He gave a sigh of disappointment, because he’d been looking forward to seeing her again. Still, he’d been let down and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. He turned the collar of his overcoat up and was about to walk away when he saw her hurrying towards him.
‘I’m sorry I’m late,’ Poppy said, slightly out of breath with walking quickly. ‘I had an accident with my coat, and I almost didn’t come because I didn’t expect you to wait so long.’
Peter was studying her face as she was speaking, and he told himself she was exactly the same as the vision he’d had of her in his mind since he’d met her at the Grafton. He’d never been as attracted to any girl as he had been to her, and now,
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