A Tangled Web by Ann Purser Read Free Book Online Page B

it?' said Ellen, as they trod their measured way through the short dry grass. She leaned back, shading her old eyes from the glaring sun. 'You can hear it, but you can't see it,' she said. 'Must be a lesson to be learned there, Ivy.'
    'Don't know what you ... ouch!' yelled Ivy, jumping to one side with a sudden hop and skip.
    'What's the matter with you, Ivy?' said Ellen, unmoved.
    'Got a flea in yer knickers?'
    'I been stung, that's what's the matter,' said Ivy, leaning down and rubbing her leg through her stocking.
    'Prob'ly a horse fly,' said Ellen. 'Them things'll bite anything, they ain't fussy.'
    Crossing the road, they came to the gate outside Victoria Villa. 'You offerin' me a glass, then, Ivy?' said Ellen.
    'Certainly not,' said Ivy. 'I'm going to get something on this bite, it's driving me crazy. Go next door and get yourself a drink of orange. Pushy Peg'll take pity on you.' And she marched smartly up her path and into the house, shutting the door firmly behind her. Ellen Biggs shrugged. There wasn't nothin' nice to be said about old Ivy, she thought, try as you would, nothin' nice at all.
    She struggled up the steps and into the shop. Peggy had drawn the blinds, and it was cool and airy, a flow of air coming in through the open kitchen door.
    'You couldn't oblige me with a drink of water - perhaps a splash of squash in it, could you, dear?' Ellen said to Peggy.
    My goodness, she thought, she's looking better, lost all that peaky look what came on after her Frank died.
    Peggy smiled, and went off to make a drink for Ellen. She put two tinkling cubes of ice in the glass, and returned to the shop. 'Why don't you sit down on that stool and have a bit of a rest before you go back home?' she said kindly. Frank had put a stool by the Post Office window for the pensioners who had to wait for a few minutes for their money.
    ' 'Ave you 'eard about the woman vicar, then, Peggy?' Ellen said, comfortably settled. 'Our Ivy was full of it, but you can't always go by what she says. A grain of truth turns into a large loaf of gospel with our Ivy.'
    'I did hear that some distant female relation of Mr Richard's had gone into the church,' said Peggy. 'But even if she does apply, there'll be probably be others, and the decision is not just Mr Richard's. There'll be a meeting in the village, I'm sure, so everybody can sum up the hopefuls.'
    'What if the Standing woman is the only one?' said Ellen gloomily, but then she brightened. 'Still, it wouldn't 'alf make our Ivy mad,' she continued, 'that'd be something to witness!'
    'Ellen Biggs,' said Peggy, 'you're a wicked woman.' She nodded to Colin Osman, who had just sprung athletically up the steps and into the shop. With one bound, she thought, Colin leapt clear. 'Morning, Mr Osman,' she said, 'lovely morning.'
    Colin Osman was a tall, sporty young man. His fair, springy hair was cut short and his greenish eyes were lively against tanned skin. He and his young wife had recently moved into the village, and he was very anxious to enter into local activities in a big way. He had wanted to buy the shop when Peggy thought of selling after Frank's accident, but now he had transferred his enthusiasm for village life to schemes for resurrecting the cricket team and for forming a youth club to, as he put it, 'keep the young people off the streets'.
    'Having a well-earned rest, Mrs Biggs?' he said, with an all embracing smile. Ellen stared at him over the top of her glass. 'When you get to my age, young man ...' she muttered.
    'What can I get you, Mr Osman,' said Peggy. 'I expect you're in a rush as usual!'
    Colin Osman was not a sensitive young man, and he nodded brightly. 'Just a couple of bars of soap, please, Peggy,' he said.
    'She's Mrs Palmer to you, young sprig,' said Ellen under her breath. She'd nearly finished the squash, and swirled a sliver of ice round the bottom of the glass, making it last.
    'Wonder if you'd put up this notice of the cricket meeting for me' Colin Osman said,