The Girls in Blue by Lily Baxter Read Free Book Online Page B

sir. She’s off on one of her wild schemes again. It’ll be worse than her plans for growing watercress in the bathtub.’
    ‘I really don’t think this is a good idea, Maggie.’ George ran his hand through his mop of unruly grey hair, leaving it standing on end so that he looked even more like Miranda’s idea of a mad professor. If her grandfather was puzzled, then so was she. Why her grandmother had taken it into her head to ask Rita to stay with them at Highcliffe was baffling everyone, including Annie whose bottom lip was sticking out so far she could have balanced a half-crown on it. Rita had her head down and was apparently studying her feet. Miranda stared from one bemused face to the other not daring to say a word. Granny might be easy-going but she would not appreciate her decision being challenged by anyone. Miranda could only hope that this would be one of the rare occasions when Grandpa put his foot down, but her heart sank as she saw his expression change subtly even though he was smiling. Granny was used to getting her own way and woe betide anyone who dared to challenge her authority. A quick glance at her grandmother’s set jaw and the determined tilt of her chin was enough to convince Miranda that this battle of wills had already been won.
    ‘George, darling, it’s just a temporary arrangement. I’ve told Rita that she can stay with us until Mrs Proffitt gets out of hospital. It seems the least we can do for the poor child.’
    This last remark brought Rita’s head up with a jerk. ‘Don’t talk about me as if I wasn’t here, and I ain’t a kid; I can look after meself. If the old girl’s still in hospital after a stroke the chances are she’s not going to get well enough to take me in. So if you’ll run me to the station, guv, I’ll get the next train back to London.’
    ‘But where would you go?’ Miranda could keep silent no longer. It was obvious that Rita was close to tears despite her attempt at bravado. ‘You told me that you didn’t have anybody else.’
    ‘I’ll get a job in a munitions factory, or maybe I’ll go to the film studios at Ealing and see if I can find work there. I could be one of them starlets you read about in
Picturegoer
and
Picture Show
. I love them magazines, don’t you?’
    Maggie gave her a pitying look. ‘But you’re little more than a child, Rita. You need someone to look after you.’ She nudged her husband in the ribs. ‘Say something, George. You know that Rita’s a minor; she shouldn’t have to fend for herself. I can’t see what objections you could possibly have to her staying here on a temporary basis.’
    ‘We need to talk about this, Maggie.’ He drew her aside.
    Miranda waited anxiously for their decision. She had not warmed to Rita from the start and nothing she had said or done had changed that first impression, but a small voice in her head was telling her not to be so mean. She was seeing her with new and slightly more sympathetic eyes. When they met this morning she had thought her rather common and a bit annoying, but looking at her now, with her skinny arms clasped tightly around her equally scrawny frame, Miranda felt a sudden surge of sympathy. Not only was Rita’s cotton dress faded and grubby, it was at least a size too large, suggesting that it was second-hand. Her cardigan was in holes where her bony elbows had worn through the wool, and her shoes were scuffed and down at heel. All that she owned was packed in that battered cardboard suitcase and, even worse, Rita was all alone in the world.
    ‘What do you think, Miranda? Wouldn’t you like to have someone of your own age to keep you company? We both feel that you should have a say in this.’
    Miranda came back to the present with a jolt to find her grandmother waiting eagerly for her response. She knew what was expected of her. ‘Yes, Granny.’ She turned to Rita with an attempt at a smile. ‘Please stay with us until Mrs Proffitt is well enough to leave