Megan of Merseyside by Rosie Harris Read Free Book Online Page A

what our dad said about going to the Stork,’ Megan reminded her.
    ‘I know, but I could still manage to get out to meet him if you helped me.’ She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. ‘If I said I was coming to night school with you …’
    ‘No! I’m not scheming like that,’ Megan told her emphatically. ‘I know you too well. You wouldn’t come back on time and I would be the one left to make excuses.’
    Despite Lynn’s pleading, Megan remained adamant. As it was, she suspected that Lynn was still going to the midday sessions at the Stork Club. She was only a kid still and she could so easily be led astray by someone like this Flash, she decided.
    Megan’s glum mood when she arrived home after her gauche mistake with Miles brought a barrage of prying questions from Lynn, but Megan refused to confide in her even though Lynn kept on pestering her until Megan felt she would scream.
    It was three days before she saw Miles again and he didn’t even bother to smile or speak to her. She felt terribly upset; she was positive it was because she hadn’t accepted his invitation to go out with him.
    By Saturday, she could hardly bring herself to go to work she felt so miserable. Much as she longed to see Miles, and knew he usually came into the office on Saturday mornings, she couldn’t bear the thought that he might ignore her again.
    ‘It’s only for a few hours, luv,’ her mother sympathised when she complained of not feeling well. ‘Try taking a couple of aspirins, that should help.’
    When she left the office at midday, and saw Miles waiting at the corner of Old Hall Street, Megan’s heart missed a beat. For a moment she was tempted to turn and walk the other way. Then commonsense prevailed. She would have to face him sooner or later so she might as well get it over with now.
    ‘Hello, Megan. Sorry I had to ignore you the other day. My father has been lecturing me about being too friendly with the office staff, so I decided I’d better be a bit more careful,’ he explained with a grin.
    ‘Oh, I thought it was because I didn’t accept your invitation to go out with you.’
    ‘You little goose.’ He laughed. ‘So when are we going to have a night out together, then? What about Monday?’
    Megan’s face flamed. ‘I go to night school on a Monday night.’
    ‘Give it a miss. Go on,’ he urged, ‘it won’t hurt to skip one lesson.’
    Megan hesitated. She had dreamed of going out with Miles ever since their first meeting but Monday was out of the question. This particular Monday evening there was an end of term test and such a lot depended on her marks.
    ‘I really am sorry, Miles, but it’s impossible. You see …’
    ‘Oh come off it! Of course you can if you really want to,’ he said impatiently.
    ‘No, really I can’t. I am free tonight,’ she added hopefully.
    ‘Well I’m not,’ he told her curtly. He looked at his watch. ‘I must be off,’ he said abruptly. ‘See you around sometime!’ He raised his hand in a brief wave and was gone.
    Megan stood staring after him, her eyes blurred by tears, a lump in her throat. If only he had given her a chance to tell him why she couldn’t skip night school on this particular Monday, she was sure he would have understood.
    She brooded about it all over the weekend, explaining her moodiness away by saying she was worried about the forthcoming tests.
    ‘You’ll do fine,’ her mother consoled her. ‘Anyway, what does it matter if you don’t?’
    ‘It’s important that I get good marks because they’ll send an end of term report to Miss Pearce and she will probably show it to Mr Walker.’
    ‘Well, you can’t be expected to know very much yet, you’ve only been going to these classes for a couple of months,’ her mother pointed out. ‘It must take years to learn shorthand. All those silly squiggles! I don’t know how you can ever remember what they are supposed to mean.’

Chapter Six
    THE OPPORTUNITY TO sort things out with