Blue Moon by Pam Weaver Read Free Book Online

said Ruby. ‘Girls don’t have that luxury. Girls are expected to get married. They won’t have a lot of time for anything else, once children come along.’
    ‘One day you will get your chance to follow yourdreams,’ said Jim. ‘Just be sure of what you want, and don’t let anything get in the way.’
    ‘You sound like one of those agony aunts in magazines,’ Ruby chuckled.
    They stood quietly side-by-side, and Ruby began to think of other things. Was Jim still stepping out with Martha? The last she’d heard, Martha had got a well-paid job with a titled family and was saving hard, because she and Jim were practically engaged. She chewed the inside of her mouth anxiously. In the end she had to ask him. ‘How is Martha? Does she still write to you?’ But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Ruby could have kicked herself. Why did she have to bring up Martha Greenway?
    ‘She’s fine,’ said Jim. ‘She’s coming back to Worthing in a couple of months.’
    ‘It’ll be good to see her again,’ said Ruby. As a matter of fact she didn’t really care one way or the other, but it was something to say. Although she had nothing against Martha, she and Martha Greenway had never been the best of pals.
    ‘I guess so,’ said Jim with a shrug.
    His remark puzzled Ruby. He’d made it sound as if he wasn’t bothered if he never saw Martha again.
    There was a shout, and they knew it was time to go back to the tea rooms. Ruby shivered and rubbed her bare arms.
    ‘Cold?’ asked Jim.
    ‘It is a bit chilly,’ she conceded. He took off his coatand threw it over her shoulders. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
    ‘You’re welcome,’ he said.
    As they walked back to the mill, Ruby pulled the sleeves around her. Jim’s coat was lovely and warm, and it smelled of him.

CHAPTER 3
    The little concert was a great success and everyone agreed that it had been a lovely day. With the proceeds from the raffle as well, they had raised £4 19s. 6d. Of course May had been disappointed that her father wasn’t there to hear her sing her solo, but the encouragement and praise she got from everyone else more than made up for it. On the way home she fell asleep on Bea’s lap on the coach, and Albert Longman carried her back into the cottage, almost falling over a suitcase left by the front door. Ruby carried it into the scullery and put her sister to bed. By the time she’d done all that, Albert had gone and she was ready for bed herself. She had to be up at five the next day to make sure she was at the hotel by six. It wouldn’t do to upset Mrs Fosdyke.
    Ruby began her new day at Warnes Hotel by cleaning the front step as usual, followed by the dining room and the hallway. After using the Vactric, she had to dust every piece of furniture, straighten every cushion and, in the winter, lay the fires. Now that it was summer, she had to dust around the big flower arrangement in the hearth and pick up any cigarette ends that the guestshad thrown into the empty grate. As she worked, a couple of flowers fell out of the vase. Winnie, the florist, wasn’t due in that day, so Ruby stuffed them back as best she could. She was sure Winnie would have made a much better job of it, but it was the best she could do.
    Ruby enjoyed this part of her work the most, because she wasn’t alone. The other cleaners and chambermaids joined in and they all worked together. Few people were up at that time of the morning. Breakfast wasn’t until eight-thirty, unless a guest specifically asked for an earlier one, so even the kitchen staff didn’t appear much before seven. As part of her privileged position, Mrs Fosdyke didn’t come on duty until eight forty-five, so the girls could chat as they worked. There was too much to do to indulge in frivolity, and Ruby kept them in line, but at least they could catch up with everybody’s news.
    Most girls were about Ruby’s age, although Phyllis Dawson had been in the hotel for more than twenty years. They