Wait For the Dawn by Jess Foley Read Free Book Online Page A

it, then, I suppose.’
    Lydia got up from her seat and moved to her shopping basket on the side table. From it she took the lamp base and handed it to her father. Carefully he lifted off the cloth wrapping. He held the lamp in his hands, turning it around and studying the mended section.
    ‘What do you think?’ Mrs Halley said. ‘It looks very good, don’t you think?’
    He nodded. ‘Ah, it looks all right.’
    ‘A new wick’s been put in as well,’ Lydia said. ‘Which the young man didn’t charge for.’
    ‘How much did he charge for the repair?’
    ‘Tenpence.’
    ‘Tenpence,’ Mr Halley said. ‘I should think it ought to be good work for that money.’ He set the lamp on the table, then fumbled in his trouser pocket and brought out his small leather purse. ‘And how much were my collars?’
    ‘A shilling.’
    He opened his purse, shook out coins and counted them out. ‘Get my debts settled,’ he said, ‘before anything else is done.’
    Lydia held out her hand and he dropped the coins into it. As he put his purse away, Mrs Halley stepped to the table and said to him, ‘May I, Father?’ and reached out and took up the lamp. Carefully she set it before her, turning it so that the light caught the cherubs and the roses. ‘Why, you can barely see the joins,’ she said. ‘That young man, Mr Hammondson’s son, he’s clearly a very clever young man.’
    ‘Oh, he is,’ Lydia said, ‘and proud of his work too. Rightly so as well.’
    ‘Yes, rightly so,’ Ryllis said, leaning over. ‘Look at that rose. I swear that if you didn’t know it, you’d never think it had ever been broken.’
    Delicately with one finger she touched the tip of one of the mended rose petals, and then at once came her father’s voice saying, ‘Well, don’t test the break, girl. Unless you want to see it broken all over again.’ He looked around. ‘Where’s the shade and the funnel? We might as well put it all together.’
    ‘I’ll get them.’ Lydia went to the cupboard under the stairs, and brought out the lampshade and the funnel and set them on the table. She also brought a container of oil, from which she filled the reservoir. Carefully she set all in place, and soon the lamp was complete again.
    A few minutes later Mrs Halley set before her husband a plate of salad and cold meat, with potato salad, cheese and pickles. Then fresh tea was made and a mug was placed at his right hand. He ate in silence for a minute or two, and then said to Lydia, ‘Was it busy in the centre at Merinville today?’
    ‘Quite busy,’ Lydia said.
    ‘There are some days when it can get unbearable. Mind you, that’s usually on a Thursday, market day. Did you see Cranbrook in his shop when you got the collars?’
    ‘Yes, he was there.’
    ‘Did he have his dog with him?’ Mrs Halley said. ‘He often does.’
    ‘Tinny, yes. He was there with him.’
    ‘He doesn’t have the dog in the shop, does he?’ Mr Halley said.
    Lydia said, ‘Yes, he does. He has a basket there in the back.’
    Mr Halley shook his head in disapproval. ‘It doesn’tsurprise me. I’ll never understand the man.’
    At this Mrs Halley spoke up. ‘I know you don’t care for him, Father,’ she said, ‘but he was so very kind to me that time, when I got stung by the bee.’
    ‘Well, that’s as maybe,’ Mr Halley said. ‘He didn’t do anything that anybody else wouldn’t have done.’
    ‘I don’t know about that. He was very kind, and I’ve always found him to be extremely pleasant.’
    ‘Have you now?’ he said. ‘Well, I never liked the man. His wife neither. That busybody of a woman, and one who showed little respect at times, always ready with a sharp comment if things weren’t to her liking. I do believe she used powder on her face. Sometimes I wondered how they kept their customers.’
    ‘Oh,’ Mrs Halley said, ‘it’s a very successful business.’
    ‘I know it is,’ said her husband. ‘It’s amazing how success can sometimes