Wartime Sweethearts by Lizzie Lane Read Free Book Online Page A

said her father.
    The aroma began to swell in much the same way as the loaf itself until it felt as though they were breathing in its taste.
    Her father beamed at her.
    ‘Now you’d better go and wash that flour from off your nose!’ He dotted her nose with his finger just as he had when she was a child.
    Mary laughed. All these years of baking and she was still getting flour on her face.
    She was still smiling to herself when she encountered her sister coming out of the bathroom. Ruby looked pale and there were dark circles under her eyes.
    Mary’s smug contentment disappeared. If her sister wasn’t feeling happy then she wasn’t either.
    ‘Are you in trouble?’
    Ruby’s lips were slightly parted, her eyes heavy with contemplation. ‘No. I’m just not feeling very well.’
    Mary felt a nervous churning in her stomach. At the same time she prayed that her sister was not pregnant.
    ‘It’s not what you’re thinking,’ said Ruby on noticing her sister’s alarm. ‘I wouldn’t let him.’
    Mary heaved a sigh of relief. ‘Thank goodness for that.’
    ‘The trouble is …’ Ruby began. It was difficult to put her thoughts into words or even to admit the possibility of what she was thinking. Still, it had to be done.
    ‘I’m afraid I might reconsider – well – not reconsider exactly, I mean I might not be able to help myself if he should come after me. I still feel drawn to him – ever so slightly,’ she added.
    ‘Perhaps Charlie should have a word with him.’
    Ruby shook her head. ‘No. Anyway, there’s no point in doing anything unless Gareth does come after me.’ Ruby sighed. ‘It’s so hard to switch off my feelings. Have you ever felt like that?’
    Mary wanted to give her sister a big hug, but held back. Ruby was in no mood to be patronised. ‘I haven’t had those sorts of feelings for anyone yet, so I’m hardly the right person to ask,’ Mary said, a touch more feebly than usual. ‘You know he’s no good.’
    Ruby’s wry smile only added sadness to her eyes. ‘I read somewhere that you can love somebody despite them being no good.’
    ‘So I hear. But do you really want to end up like Mrs King?’
    Mrs King was married to a slaughterer who worked at the abattoir. Her husband Ned King was a big drinker who put the meat on the table – mainly offal he got free with his job – but frequently beat his wife and kids, until the eldest grew taller than he was and hit him back. It hadn’t stopped him from still slapping his wife around, so the village gossips said.
    Ruby considered saying that Gareth had never hit her and she didn’t believe he ever would, but stopped herself. Gareth drank heavily. She wasn’t aware of it at first, but over the six months she’d worked for him she’d noticed it more and more and who knew how things might progress as he got older?
    Ruby stood with her back against the wall, head bowed as she considered her options. Gareth Stead could be a thorn in her side if she stayed in the village. She voiced this to Mary.
    ‘Then you have to ignore him—’
    ‘No,’ Ruby said abruptly. ‘I’m not sure I’m strong enough.’
    Mary shrugged her shoulders. ‘What then?’ There was a furtive look in Ruby’s eyes. Mary guessed there was something on her mind.
    Ruby took a deep breath because she was about to ask her sister to do something dishonest. She’d been thinking it over all night.
    ‘Mary, I want to win this baking competition. I want to go to Bristol and then London. I need to win that prize. I need you to let me put my name to the apple loaf. I want to win. I want to leave Oldland Common.’
    Mary stared at her in disbelief. She, too, wanted to win this prize. She’d won in other years, but this year was special. The prize money would certainly help them out as a family, but more than that, this year it wouldn’t be just the judgement of the local area, it would be nationwide – if she won this round.
    ‘What about your apple pie? You stand a