Read Online Paradise Park by Iris Gower - Free Book Online Page A

the track beside one of the navvies. Her time was near and he wished he could have stayed with her this morning. The man walking beside him coughed, jarring Bull out of his thoughts.
    â€˜Good thing you spotted that cracked bit of track, Seth,’ Bull said, ‘or we could all have been in deep trouble.’ He tapped the toe of his boot against it. ‘This piece of line will have to be replaced.’
    â€˜Aye, sir, this broad-gauge track, it’s no good, yer know. Before long all railways will be using the narrow gauge – I’ll wager my week’s pay on it.’
    â€˜Maybe you’re right,’ Bull said, ‘but for now this line needs maintenance. Get the men on to it right away and remember to tell the signalman to switch tracks from here to Swansea.’
    Bull left the trackside and made his way towards the high street: he was meeting several of the Great Western Railway shareholders. He was getting used to lunching at the Mackworth in the company of the town’s elite. It surprised him even now to realize how far he’d come from his old life as a navvy. Yet he’d enjoyed those days – days of challenges when he’d thought the line from Chepstow to Swansea would never be finished. His thoughts turned to Rhiannon: she was a lovely girl who had made the best of her life in spite of the bad start she’d had. After old Cookson died she’d found a place with Mrs Jayne Buchan and was doing well, he’d heard.
    â€˜Hello, Bull.’ He looked up and blinked.
    â€˜Why so startled? I’m not a ghost. It’s me, Rhiannon – you know, the girl you used to live with.’
    He smiled at the irony in her words. ‘I was surprised to see you, that’s all. I was just thinking about you.’
    She was fresh and lovely, her dark hair, free of her bonnet, lifting in the wind. He remembered how intimate they’d been, but he had no regrets: now he had his Katie, his beautiful wife, and he would never want any other woman.
    â€˜You look well, Bull, and how is Katie?’
    â€˜She’s getting rather big now,’ he smiled, ‘and she can’t wait for the baby to be born. She’s set her heart on having a girl so I hope she’s not disappointed.’
    â€˜Once it comes she’ll love it whatever it is. That’s the way we women are.’
    Bull looked at Rhiannon with fresh eyes. Had she ever borne a baby? How little he knew of her in spite of the months they’d spent together.
    â€˜I hear you’re working for Mrs Buchan now, Rhiannon. Are you happy?’ He watched her shrug her shoulders and frown. She had often told him that happiness was an elusive goal that she would never reach, but she seemed content with her life.
    Her next words confirmed what he’d been thinking. ‘I’m secure there, well fed and clothed, and with a nice warm bedroom all to myself.’ She flashed him a smile. ‘There was one tricky moment, though. When Mrs Buchan found out about my past she was going to dismiss me.’
    â€˜What stopped her?’
    â€˜It’s almost as if she admired me for getting out of that old way of life.’
    â€˜She’s not alone in that. I admire you too, Rhiannon.’
    Her colour rose. ‘Do you, Bull?’
    He took a deep breath. ‘If I wasn’t in love with Katie I’d be proud to have you on my arm, Rhiannon. Any man who wins your heart will be a lucky fellow.’
    â€˜My heart is already taken.’ He knew she wasn’t being coy, that she was just telling him the truth. ‘But I know you well enough by now not to expect anything. You’re an honourable man, Bull, perhaps the only honourable man I’ve ever met.’
    â€˜You just haven’t moved in the right circles, Rhiannon. There are plenty of good men about, if you look in the right places.’
    â€˜Where am I likely to meet any?’ Rhiannon asked. ‘I’m tied to