Paradise Park by Iris Gower Read Free Book Online Page A

you to put a cushion on the floor for me. You’ve saved my toes from dropping off, with the cold coming up from the flags. I suffer enough bone ache as it is.’
    â€˜How do you know Rhiannon did it?’ Hetty asked. ‘It might have been me or Vi.’
    â€˜No fear of that.’ Mrs Jones pulled on her stockings. ‘Neither of you would think of anything so kind.’
    â€˜Oh, I forgot,’ Hetty said. ‘Our Rhiannon is perfect, isn’t she? How can we hope to live up to her?’
    â€˜No,’ Mrs Jones said severely. ‘Rhiannon is not perfect but she’s a kind, thoughtful girl and you two would do well to learn from her.’
    â€˜How to please the men, you mean?’ Hetty said, and Violet nudged her arm in an effort to shut her up.
    â€˜Oh, you’ve heard, then?’ Mrs Jones’s voice was heavy with sarcasm.
    â€˜Heard what, Mrs Jones?’ Hetty was grinning.
    â€˜Heard that Rhiannon was once Bull Beynon’s woman and lived in a hut on the side of the railway track.’ Mrs Jones rested her arms on the table and stared across at the two girls. ‘Look at home before you judge folk.’
    â€˜I don’t know what you mean,’ Violet said huffily. ‘I’m a respectable girl and so is Hetty.’
    â€˜Well, for a start Hetty was an early baby, and we all know what that means, don’t we?’
    Violet stared at her, blinking rapidly. ‘
I
don’t know what it means, Mrs Jones.’
    â€˜It means her mam and dad had a shotgun wedding. And you, Vi, your father ran off with Joe the Milk’s daughter when you were a baby. Your mam calls herself a respectable widow and we all keep quiet about that.’ She sank back in her chair. ‘Don’t forget that I’ve lived in Swansea all my life, worked in a dozen houses, some big, some not so big, and I hear any gossip that goes around. I’d go so far as to say I hear the gossip before everybody else.’
    Violet looked down at her hands and Hetty was biting her lip, her cheeks flushed bright red. Rhiannon felt almost sorry for the girls but they had only got what they deserved.
    The next few hours flashed by in a whirl of activity. Supper was served, course by course, and it seemed as if the meal would go on all night. But at last the well-dressed guests had finished and slowly began to drift into the other rooms, leaving the table littered with napkins and empty plates.
    Rhiannon sighed. There was a mountain of dishes to be washed – she’d be lucky to get to bed by midnight.
    When she returned at last to the kitchen she saw that Mrs Jones’s plump arms were folded over her ample bosom. ‘Now then,’ she said, ‘you two girls can see to the dishes. Me and Rhiannon done most of the cooking and carrying.’
    Hetty claimed her back was aching but Mrs Jones soon put her in her place. ‘Don’t you think we’re all tired, girl?’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t know what you think you get your wages for but it’s not turning your nose up at doing dishes.’
    â€˜All right, then, don’t go on about it.’ Hetty glared at her but vanished into the back kitchen.
    â€˜Riddle out the fire, Rhiannon,’ Mrs Jones said, ‘and then you can go up to bed. You look fair washed out.’
    The next day, after luncheon, Mrs Buchan sent for Rhiannon.
    â€˜Good Lord!’ Mrs Jones frowned. ‘What can she want with you?’
    â€˜Only one way to find out.’ Rhiannon undid her apron. ‘I’ve got a funny feeling that Hetty has a hand in this.’
    â€˜Why’s that? I know she’s a cheeky little madam but I don’t think she’d go running to Mrs Buchan with tittle-tattle.’
    â€˜We’ll see.’ Rhiannon made her way up the stone steps towards the hallway, her mind racing. What was she going to do if she was dismissed? Where would she go? She would never find a