So Long At the Fair by Jess Foley Read Free Book Online

it makes all the difference in the world.’ She bent again over her lace. ‘Anyway, you decide what you want out of life and try to get it. And if you want to study you must make up your mind to do it.’
    As the days passed Abbie thought more and more of what Mrs Carroll had said. It was true, she would need to set her mind to it if she really intended to study and do something with her life. But going into service would be only a temporary thing, she was determined on that; she had no intention of spending years and years making beds and cooking and cleaning for other people, no matter that it was what so many other girls did. There had to be something better.
    Frank Morris came back from Bath again at the weekend, and following midday dinner on Sunday afternoon he and Abbie walked together with Lizzie and Iris to Sunday school. After seeing them inside the little church hall they continued on, leaving the village behind and taking a footpath through the fields.
    The afternoon was warm with a brilliant sun shining out of a cloudless blue sky. They walked through a pasture where cattle grazed, and then beside a hedgerow where hazelnuts, blackberries and elderberries were ripening. On the other side of the hedge grew a field of wheat, its gold splashed here and there with the scarlet of poppies. Reaching the far side of the field they came to a little thicket and sat down in the shade of an oak. As they did so three white doves, momentarily alarmed, fluttered up on rattling wings and then descended to settle again on their perches. Out in the grass of the meadow a blackbird was feeding its young.
    ‘So,’ said Frank Morris, pulling at a blade of grass, ‘next Saturday when I get back you won’t be here.’
    ‘No, I shan’t.’
    ‘How d’you feel about it – going away?’
    She shrugged. ‘A bit nervous – but I reckon that’s only natural.’
    ‘You’ll let me know at once if things ain’t right, won’t you? If anybody mistreats you or anything like that, you let me know. I won’t have you staying in a place where you’re unhappy.’ He sat with his arms resting on his knees, hands clasped low. His hands were broadened by years of manual work, the edges of his fingernails ingrained with the stains of soil and mortar that no amount of scrubbing on a Saturday would shift. ‘It’ll be strange without you,’ he said. ‘But there, you’ll be back some weekends – and you’ll come and spend your summer holiday back home, won’t you?’
    ‘Oh, ah, I’ll do that. And when I come I’ll try to bring you a nice present.’
    ‘No, no,’ he said, ‘don’t you go spending your money on me. My God, you’ll have worked hard enough for it and you’ll need it for yourself.’
    She didn’t say anything to this.
    ‘You’ll see,’ he went on, ‘your year at Eversleigh will soon pass, and then you’ll be able to move on to something better. Have a chance to work your way up.’
    She looked at him. His words surprised her. Was he accepting the possibility that she would spend all her working life in service? ‘Don’t you think it’s a good idea,’ she asked ‘what we talked about? About my studyin’ to be a teacher?’
    He was silent for a moment, then he said, ‘I only want what’s best for you, Abbie. But I suppose we’ve got to realize that what we want is not always to be had. If things could be different . . .’ He shook his head. ‘But they’re not different – no matter how much we might wish ’em to be.’
    Abbie felt her spirits sink.
    ‘But you’ll be happy,’ he said. ‘I’m sure you’ll make the best of whatever comes your way.’
    She nodded, disappointment welling in her. Turning to face him again she could see the hurt in his eyes. ‘Don’t worry about me, Father,’ she said. ‘I shall be all right. And one day I’ll make you proud of me.’
    ‘I already am.’
    Silence fell between them, broken only by the sound of birdsong. Abbie was suddenly aware of how much