Threads of Silk by Roberta Grieve Read Free Book Online Page A

choice.
    Dad kept on about how much she could earn working for Tommy Green and had even managed to convince her mother that the new club was a respectable place where Ellie would be mixing with a better class of people.
    It was easier to give in, to let her parents think she’d accepted the situation. Besides, in some ways, she didn’t care. Since receiving Harry’s letter with its devastating news, Ellie felt that life couldn’t hold any more disappointments. She tried hard to tell herself she was happy for him – if he was happy, so was she. But deep down, the hurt remained.
    She was worried about her grandmother too. With the exams, she hadn’t visited the old lady as often as she’d have liked and Mum had said she wasn’t well.
    It had stopped raining and Ellie decided to go round to Gascoigne Terrace. She cut across the bombsite as usual, pushing her way along the overgrown path between the clumps of rosebay willow herb and bright yellow ragwort. Clouds of insects and the occasional small butterfly rose in front of her, and she thought of Judith, off to spend the summer holidays with relatives in the country. If only she could go with her, she thought.
    But she had to start work, although she was determined it wouldn’t be for ever. Daft as it seemed, she couldn’t quite quell the hope that, when her exam results came through, Dad would see that she deserved her chance at college.
    Gran was in her tiny patch of garden. Most of the houses in the terrace only had paved yards, but Grandad, who’d died when Ellie was just a baby, had built raised beds round the edge of the yard. During the war he’d grown tomatoes and runner beans, a few cabbages and carrots.
    Now, the garden was aglow with nasturtiums, pansies, and pinks, which Gran grew from seeds bought for a few pence in the market.
    ‘It looks lovely, Gran,’ Ellie said as her grandmother straightened painfully, rubbing the small of her back.
    ‘Yeah, but it’s all getting a bit too much for me, love. Still, I can’t let it all go to pot. I don’t know where the weeds come from.’ She waved her hand at the bombsite beyond the fence. ‘Perhaps when they get rid of that lot, it’ll be a bit better.’
    ‘You should’ve waited for me. I’ll do the weeding for you – and the watering,’ Ellie offered.
    ‘I don’t mind. I like to keep busy – you know that. But my knees are playing up something shocking.’ Gran bent over and plucked another weed from the soil.
    ‘Leave it, Gran. I said I’d do it.’
    ‘All right, all right – I heard yer.’ Gran laughed and the laugh turned into a cough.
    Ellie turned to her in concern. ‘Let’s go inside. I’ll make you a cup of tea.’
    ‘Fetch a couple of chairs out here, love. Might as well make the most of this sunshine,’ Gran said.
    Ellie settled her grandmother in one of the chairs and went back inside to fetch the tray. She balanced it on the low wall and poured out two cups. As she sat down opposite the old lady, she apologized for not coming more often.
    ‘You don’t want to worry about that. Your mum comes round a couple of times a week and Vi pops in. I’m not lonely. Besides, you’ve got better things to do than spend time with an old woman – what with all your school work and all.’ She took a sip of her tea and put the cup down. ‘How did you get on with your exams, Ellie?’
    ‘I won’t know till the results come in.’ Ellie managed a smile. ‘Anyway, school’s finished now. I’ve got a job.’
    ‘Work? I thought you were set on going to college?’
    ‘Didn’t Mum tell you? They can’t afford to let me stay on so I’ve got a job at Tommy’s new club.’
    Gran pulled a face. ‘What’s your mum thinking of, letting you work in a place like that?’
    ‘Dad says it’s not like the Riverside. This is a posh place up West. I’m going to be a receptionist.’
    ‘Let’s hope it’s as legit as he claims.’
    Ellie didn’t answer and Gran patted her hand. ‘Don’t