Read Online Yew Tree Gardens by Anna Jacobs - Free Book Online
Authors: Anna Jacobs
Tags: Saga
Ads: Link
us. I know it’s a long time away still, but it’s something to look forward to. I think of it whenever I feel down and it cheers me up.
Work hard and make a good life for yourself.
Nell always finished her letters like that. Renie sighed and brought the paper up to her face, cuddling it against her cheek. She worried about her sister. What if Cliff hurt Nell? She wouldn’t put it past him to thump her as some men did. She knew how short of money he kept her.
Renie didn’t try to send money to her sister, though. She guessed he’d take that. But she did occasionally find some piece of clothing for her niece or sister on one of the market stalls. She was becoming an expert at finding bargains, yet thanks to her tips money, she was still able to save something each week.
Wouldn’t Mattie stare to hear that? Her eldest sister had often told her off for spending any money she got as soon she laid hands on it. Pennies that had been. Her father had taken nearly everything she earned. Well, Renie was saving shillings now. Every single week. And they soon added up to pounds.
Having some money behind her made her feel safer when she walked the streets of London and didn’t know a single face in the crowds.
In spite of being careful, she’d managed to buy herself some nice clothes second hand, real bargains, impossible to resist. No one would think she came from the country now. She took pride in looking smart when she went to church or out for a long walk on fine Sundays. She was waiting impatiently for the longer summer evenings when she could stay out for a while after work. She wanted to see so many of the famous places in London and you could stay out untilhalf past eight on working nights or until dusk, whichever came first.
She’d made a list and was ticking the items off one by one: the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace headed it. She’d already seen those, but was going back to see them again. It’d take several visits to see Westminster Abbey properly. How wonderful it felt inside the old building. So much space, so much beautiful stonework.
Sometimes, if the weather was fine, she walked round Yew Tree Gardens after work, sighing over the poor yew trees, which were struggling to thrive. Their dark foliage wasn’t all that cheering, but the flower beds always looked good. Someone took a lot of trouble to keep the garden neat and tidy, but she rarely saw hotel guests there, or the posh people who lived in the square. It was mainly nursemaids and servants who used it.
It was reading books that had made her realise she wanted to live in a village in the country, and a pretty one, too. Surely they weren’t telling lies about what life was like in such places? That had become her secret dream, to live in a village where she knew everyone and they knew her. Not like London, where everyone you passed in the street was a stranger.
Was a village too much to ask? Why not? It didn’t cost anything to dream. And ideally, of course, her sisters would live in the same village. How wonderful that would be!
She didn’t know what she’d do for a job in such a place, though. She didn’t want to work as a housemaid in a private home. You were like a slave when you did that, hardly allowed out of the house, even in your free time. She’d heard some of the women talking about it.
Other girls dreamt of marriage, and spoke of those dreams sometimes, but Renie remained adamant that shewasn’t rushing into marriage. One day, perhaps, she might think of it. If she met a very special man. She had plenty of time before she need worry. She’d turn nineteen in August, and that was hardly on the shelf.
Since leaving Swindon, she’d grown up quickly. Strange how life changed you. She now understood how Mattie had had to grow up suddenly when their mother died and left her eldest daughter to bring up her half-sisters Renie and Nell.
People said dreams never came true, but Renie had already got herself a
Work hard and make a good life for yourself.
Nell always finished her letters like that. Renie sighed and brought the paper up to her face, cuddling it against her cheek. She worried about her sister. What if Cliff hurt Nell? She wouldn’t put it past him to thump her as some men did. She knew how short of money he kept her.
Renie didn’t try to send money to her sister, though. She guessed he’d take that. But she did occasionally find some piece of clothing for her niece or sister on one of the market stalls. She was becoming an expert at finding bargains, yet thanks to her tips money, she was still able to save something each week.
Wouldn’t Mattie stare to hear that? Her eldest sister had often told her off for spending any money she got as soon she laid hands on it. Pennies that had been. Her father had taken nearly everything she earned. Well, Renie was saving shillings now. Every single week. And they soon added up to pounds.
Having some money behind her made her feel safer when she walked the streets of London and didn’t know a single face in the crowds.
In spite of being careful, she’d managed to buy herself some nice clothes second hand, real bargains, impossible to resist. No one would think she came from the country now. She took pride in looking smart when she went to church or out for a long walk on fine Sundays. She was waiting impatiently for the longer summer evenings when she could stay out for a while after work. She wanted to see so many of the famous places in London and you could stay out untilhalf past eight on working nights or until dusk, whichever came first.
She’d made a list and was ticking the items off one by one: the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace headed it. She’d already seen those, but was going back to see them again. It’d take several visits to see Westminster Abbey properly. How wonderful it felt inside the old building. So much space, so much beautiful stonework.
Sometimes, if the weather was fine, she walked round Yew Tree Gardens after work, sighing over the poor yew trees, which were struggling to thrive. Their dark foliage wasn’t all that cheering, but the flower beds always looked good. Someone took a lot of trouble to keep the garden neat and tidy, but she rarely saw hotel guests there, or the posh people who lived in the square. It was mainly nursemaids and servants who used it.
It was reading books that had made her realise she wanted to live in a village in the country, and a pretty one, too. Surely they weren’t telling lies about what life was like in such places? That had become her secret dream, to live in a village where she knew everyone and they knew her. Not like London, where everyone you passed in the street was a stranger.
Was a village too much to ask? Why not? It didn’t cost anything to dream. And ideally, of course, her sisters would live in the same village. How wonderful that would be!
She didn’t know what she’d do for a job in such a place, though. She didn’t want to work as a housemaid in a private home. You were like a slave when you did that, hardly allowed out of the house, even in your free time. She’d heard some of the women talking about it.
Other girls dreamt of marriage, and spoke of those dreams sometimes, but Renie remained adamant that shewasn’t rushing into marriage. One day, perhaps, she might think of it. If she met a very special man. She had plenty of time before she need worry. She’d turn nineteen in August, and that was hardly on the shelf.
Since leaving Swindon, she’d grown up quickly. Strange how life changed you. She now understood how Mattie had had to grow up suddenly when their mother died and left her eldest daughter to bring up her half-sisters Renie and Nell.
People said dreams never came true, but Renie had already got herself a
Similar Books
