Read Online The House by Princes Park by Maureen Lee - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Maureen Lee
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she never would in Kirkby where there wasn’t another house in sight.
‘I’ll come back,’ she whispered to herself. ‘I’ll come back tomorrow or the next day, and one of these days, I’ll come back for good.’
She got off at the tram sheds and walked up and down the tiny streets. Women sat contentedly on the whitened steps outside their neat houses, enjoying the brilliant sunshine. Children swung from the lamp-posts, played hopscotch on the pavement, whip and top, or two-balls against the walls.
Ruby sighed enviously and supposed she’d better be getting home.
On Saturday night, Emily went to the theatre wearing a new grey silk costume and a little matching hat with a veil, her fox fur laid casually around her shoulders despite the gloriously hot day.
‘You’ll be all right won’t you, dear?’ she said worriedly. ‘You can read a book or listen to the wireless. I’ll tell you what the play was about when I get home.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ Ruby said stoutly.
As soon as Emily had gone, she went upstairs and changed into the spotted dress from Blacklers. It clung to her thin body and, she was pleased to note, emphasised her small breasts, making her look very grown-up, particularly when she piled her black hair on top of her head, securing it with a slide.
She went into Emily’s room, searched through the jewellery box on the dressing table which had been left in a terrible mess, and helped herself to a pearl necklace and earrings – Emily had gone out wearing her ‘good’ pearls. She tried on a pair of red, high-heeled shoes. They were only a bit too big.
Downstairs, she switched on the wireless and was met by a thunderous blast of classical music which she turned off in disgust, deciding to play one of her favourite records instead: a selection of ballads sung by Rudy Vallee, and so hauntingly lovely, they made her go all funny inside.
Ruby began to sway as she watched the record spin around. ‘Goodnight, Sweetheart’ was one of her favourites. Unable to resist, she kicked off the shoes, flung her arms in the air, and danced around the room, very slowly, hugging herself. The music was causing a sweet, nagging ache in her tummy, it always did, making her want things she couldn’t define. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine someone in the room with her, a man. They were dancing together. She was being kissed by invisible lips in a way she’d never seen people kiss before. Ruby had no idea where the thoughts came from. She must have been born with them.
Rudy Vallee began to sing ‘Night and Day’, and still Ruby danced, losing herself completely in the glorious, romantic music, unaware that she had an audience.
Outside the window, Jacob Veering, his face shiny after a thorough scrubbing, wearing his one and only suit, didn’t think he had ever seen anything so beautiful as the strange young lady fluttering like a butterfly across the room. Hehad never known anyone like her. His tongue would form a lump in his throat whenever she spoke to him, and it was all he could do to answer.
Jacob already had a girlfriend, Audrey Wainwright, whose father owned a farm much bigger than Humble’s. There was an unspoken agreement that they would marry one day and he would transfer his labour from Humble’s farm to Wainwright’s, where he would live and work for the rest of his life. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to the future, but nor did he regard it with dread. As long as he could work on the land, have a place to live, enough to eat, and no one abused him, Jacob would be content, if not happy. Being a man he would need a wife and Audrey Wainwright would fill this role. He assumed she felt the same. The word ‘love’ had never been uttered during their relationship, but if either had noticed they didn’t seem to mind.
But now, as he watched Ruby dance, sensations he’d never felt before were causing tremors in Jacob’s normally stolid heart. It was pounding for one thing, so
‘I’ll come back,’ she whispered to herself. ‘I’ll come back tomorrow or the next day, and one of these days, I’ll come back for good.’
She got off at the tram sheds and walked up and down the tiny streets. Women sat contentedly on the whitened steps outside their neat houses, enjoying the brilliant sunshine. Children swung from the lamp-posts, played hopscotch on the pavement, whip and top, or two-balls against the walls.
Ruby sighed enviously and supposed she’d better be getting home.
On Saturday night, Emily went to the theatre wearing a new grey silk costume and a little matching hat with a veil, her fox fur laid casually around her shoulders despite the gloriously hot day.
‘You’ll be all right won’t you, dear?’ she said worriedly. ‘You can read a book or listen to the wireless. I’ll tell you what the play was about when I get home.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ Ruby said stoutly.
As soon as Emily had gone, she went upstairs and changed into the spotted dress from Blacklers. It clung to her thin body and, she was pleased to note, emphasised her small breasts, making her look very grown-up, particularly when she piled her black hair on top of her head, securing it with a slide.
She went into Emily’s room, searched through the jewellery box on the dressing table which had been left in a terrible mess, and helped herself to a pearl necklace and earrings – Emily had gone out wearing her ‘good’ pearls. She tried on a pair of red, high-heeled shoes. They were only a bit too big.
Downstairs, she switched on the wireless and was met by a thunderous blast of classical music which she turned off in disgust, deciding to play one of her favourite records instead: a selection of ballads sung by Rudy Vallee, and so hauntingly lovely, they made her go all funny inside.
Ruby began to sway as she watched the record spin around. ‘Goodnight, Sweetheart’ was one of her favourites. Unable to resist, she kicked off the shoes, flung her arms in the air, and danced around the room, very slowly, hugging herself. The music was causing a sweet, nagging ache in her tummy, it always did, making her want things she couldn’t define. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine someone in the room with her, a man. They were dancing together. She was being kissed by invisible lips in a way she’d never seen people kiss before. Ruby had no idea where the thoughts came from. She must have been born with them.
Rudy Vallee began to sing ‘Night and Day’, and still Ruby danced, losing herself completely in the glorious, romantic music, unaware that she had an audience.
Outside the window, Jacob Veering, his face shiny after a thorough scrubbing, wearing his one and only suit, didn’t think he had ever seen anything so beautiful as the strange young lady fluttering like a butterfly across the room. Hehad never known anyone like her. His tongue would form a lump in his throat whenever she spoke to him, and it was all he could do to answer.
Jacob already had a girlfriend, Audrey Wainwright, whose father owned a farm much bigger than Humble’s. There was an unspoken agreement that they would marry one day and he would transfer his labour from Humble’s farm to Wainwright’s, where he would live and work for the rest of his life. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to the future, but nor did he regard it with dread. As long as he could work on the land, have a place to live, enough to eat, and no one abused him, Jacob would be content, if not happy. Being a man he would need a wife and Audrey Wainwright would fill this role. He assumed she felt the same. The word ‘love’ had never been uttered during their relationship, but if either had noticed they didn’t seem to mind.
But now, as he watched Ruby dance, sensations he’d never felt before were causing tremors in Jacob’s normally stolid heart. It was pounding for one thing, so
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