Read Online The Toll Bridge by Aidan Chambers - Free Book Online

stop moaning. There aren’t many most of the day now. Hardly worth collecting at all.’
    â€˜I’m not happy about this, Mr Norris.’
    â€˜No, well, who is. Life’s like that, you’ll find. Just get on with it or do the other thing. And I’ve no more time to waste chewing the rag with you. The builder will be in tomorrow. There’ll be a van out this afternoon with the gear you’ll need. Get started as soon as it’s been. Do the outside first while the weather’s as good as it’s going to be.’
    3
    â€˜He’s in a really filthy mood,’ Tess said two days later when she stopped off on her way from school. I was stripping down the window frames at the front. ‘He’s upset with what’s happening. He’s even talking of looking for another job. He’s too young to retire, but he’s probably too old to find anything else. He’s worked on the estate all his life. And Grandad before him. Mum says it would kill him if he had to leave.’
    â€˜He was pretty ratty with me this afternoon, that’s for sure. Not enough done, and what was done not done right. He’s never been like this before. It’s hopeless on my own, but he won’t listen. And besides that, the bloody builder expects me to be his labourer.’
    â€˜I’ll give you a hand at the weekend.’
    â€˜You’ve got your own job on Saturdays. You need the money. And I don’t care what your dad says, I’m taking Sundays off.’
    â€˜A couple of Saturdays won’t matter that much. It’s hellish boring anyway.’
    â€˜It’s not exactly a laugh a minute decorating this place.’
    â€˜More fun than Tesco’s though. I couldn’t stand it at all if it wasn’t for the other girls.’
    â€˜Wouldn’t mind if I was doing it for a good reason. But so they can sell the place! You know what Brown-and-Greasy said? “Make a nice little bijou residence, major, for a London weekender.”’
    â€˜What’s a bijou residence?’
    â€˜I didn’t know either.’
    â€˜But you looked it up.’
    â€˜Something small and elegant and tasteful, and then in italics:
often ironic
.’
    â€˜Piss-taking, you mean?’
    â€˜It’d be a crime. I know it needs doing up, but not like that. I mean, there’s a whole history here. I hadn’t thought about it till this happened. Hundreds of years of people crossing the river, millions of them, probably, by now. Talk about ghosts! I mean, think of it, all those feet tramping across the bridge. And people living in this house watching them coming and going and taking the tolls, hundreds of thousands of pounds, and hearing the gossip and the news and keeping the bridge in good shape and watching the river and the boats going up and down, and the river flooding and even freezing sometimes, and being part of all that. So now what do they want to do? Turn it into a tarted-up Wendy house for some part-time prat with moneyto burn who couldn’t care less about what it’s been, what it
stands for
. Something to be bought and sold and pulled down or chucked away or made into whatever the owner wants. This house and your dad, they’re no different really. They’ve both been here all their lives. But that doesn’t matter any more. Because what it all comes down to in the end is money and who has it and who doesn’t, and how you get more of it, and if you can’t or you don’t want to, hard cheese, get stuffed.’
    Tess was staring at me, all surprised eyes.
    â€˜Haven’t seen you so worked up before.’
    â€˜No, well, haven’t felt so strongly about anything for a bit.’
    â€˜Almost like you’re enjoying it. I didn’t think this place meant that much to you.’
    â€˜Neither did I till this week and having to stand there and watch Brown-and-Greasy poking about. It was obscene. I wanted to hit