Elm Tree Road by Anna Jacobs Read Free Book Online

shilling.’
    ‘You shouldn’t buy anything you don’t need.’
    ‘I did need it! I only had a headscarf. I’m not getting married in a headscarf.’
    ‘What does that matter? Anyway, I’ll decide what we need in future. Give me the rest of your money.’
    And though she’d expected him to want that, planned to give him a few shillings just to keep the peace, something in her rebelled.
    ‘No.’
    He gaped at her in shock.
    ‘If you don’t trust me with money, you shouldn’t be marrying me at all. I’m not having you treat me like Dad did, taking everything I earned and doling out money a penny at a time. I’ll work hard. I’ll find a job and I’ll keep your house clean, but I won’t ask you for every penny I spend!’
    He took a jerky step forward, one hand twitching as if he itched to slap her.
    ‘If you ever lay one hand on me, Cliff Greenhill, I’ll leave you, married or not,’ she said loudly. ‘I won’t put up with beating, not now, not ever.’
    He looked down at his hand, and even in the dim light, she could see a flush stain his cheeks. But it seemed a long time before he apologised.
    ‘I’m sorry, Nell. Of course I won’t hit you. I’m just … worried sick about money.’
    She moved across to him. ‘I know. But I’m not a waster or a fool and you shouldn’t … treat me like one.’ Her voice wobbled and she clapped one hand to her mouth, wanting to cry.
    He repeated what she’d been saying to Renie. ‘It won’t always be like this. I promise you it’ll get better, Nell.’
    That comforted her as little as her own assurances had comforted Renie, but at least he’d spoken to her more gently. She glanced across the room to see her sister already lying on their makeshift bed on the rug, with the three thin blankets they’d been given piled on top and her back turned to them.
    Cliff smiled at her briefly, then moved to extinguish the lamp and go to his temporary bed which was now in the kitchen, because Pauline wasn’t having him sleep with the girls.
    He didn’t try to kiss Nell, didn’t even give her a quick hug. She wished they could be alone. They’d not had a real chance to talk since they’d left Swindon. You needed privacy to make up your quarrels, she thought as she got into bed with her sister. Only then did she let the tears fall.She made no sound, but Renie must have known, because she reached out to brush away the tears with her fingertips, then hugged Nell close.
    But that only made it worse. It should have been Cliff hugging her.
    Her last thought before she fell asleep was that it was her wedding day tomorrow and her oldest sister wouldn’t be there. Mattie had been so much a part of her life, a second mother to her and Renie.
    It had all gone so wrong.
    And why had Cliff told the minister he had no family? She’d wanted to ask that, but he’d looked so unhappy, she’d not spoken out.
    Tomorrow might be her wedding day, but she’d never been so unhappy in her life.
     
    As Nell and her sister got ready for the wedding, which was to take place in the afternoon, she had to concentrate hard on self-control or she’d have wept. Her wedding outfit consisted of a navy serge skirt and a rather crumpled white blouse, with her everyday navy coat over them. It was three-quarters length and showed off the mended tear in her skirt, which had been good enough for work, but oh, she wished she had something better to wear today.
    The chapel in Milnrow was just off Dale Street, and was even smaller than the one in Rochdale. In fact, it looked more like a small warehouse than a chapel, and perhaps that’s what it had been originally.
    They were the first to arrive, a bit early, but she’d been too nervous to wait any longer. They found the door open, so went inside, standing just inside thedouble doors. The place was so empty that when Nell moved forward, her footsteps echoed. She walked slowly to the front, past the six rows of benches, to stand by the plain table which