Elm Tree Road Read Free Page B

husband to look after and wouldn’t be able to work full-time. That left jobs like cleaning or doing people’s washing privately, which didn’t pay much. She sighed. Cliff wasn’t the only one who’d come down in the world. The supervisor at the laundry in Swindon had said she was a good worker and might be put in charge of two other girls soon. She’d lost her chance at that now, as well as everything else she’d dreamt about. And it was all his fault.
    After an hour, the man who’d spoken to them before came to stand nearby, so they left the library, to find it still raining steadily outside.
    ‘We can’t just walk the streets,’ Renie said. ‘I’m soaked already. Surely Cliff’s cousin will let us wait in the house?’
    They went back, but when Pauline opened the door, she didn’t invite them in, just kept them standing on the doorstep.
    ‘I wonder if we could shelter in your house?’ Nell asked. ‘Cliff’s gone to somewhere called Milnrow and we’ve nowhere else to go.’
    ‘You should have been more polite to your landlady.’
    ‘Polite? She refused to give us any tea or breakfast. And it was Cliff who quarrelled with her because of that, not us.’
    ‘She told me you’d turned up your nose at bread and marg.’
    Nell drew herself up and said quietly, ‘Not one crumb was offered, and she didn’t give us a cup of tea, either. But if you’d prefer to believe her, I can’t stop you. Don’t let us prevent you from getting on with your housework.’ She turned away and put her arm round Renie, who was shivering. ‘Come on, love.’
    ‘I suppose you’d better come in.’
    ‘Not if we’re unwelcome.’ Nell began walking away, calling over her shoulder, ‘We’ll be back at six. Cliff should be home by then.’
    ‘You should have gone in, even if she was unfriendly,’ Renie said. ‘I’m so c-cold.’
    ‘Not when she thinks we’re immoral and liars. And she hasn’t called us back again, has she? She’s just let us walk away.’
    ‘What are we going to do for the rest of the afternoon?’ Renie asked.
    ‘Find shelter, if it’s only at a bus stop. Cheer up. Things will get better once Cliff finds a job.’
    ‘He looks at us as if he hates us.’
    ‘He’s worried about money, isn’t himself at the moment.’
    ‘We’ve lost our jobs too.’
    ‘It’s different for a man.’
    ‘I don’t see why,’ Renie muttered.
    ‘Because he’s the breadwinner.’
    ‘We all have to buy food. And I’m starving hungry again.’
    ‘Don’t let’s argue, love. Now, keep your eyes open. There must be somewhere we can shelter.’

Chapter Two
    Cliff found the upholsterer’s shop he’d been told about and stopped in dismay. It was an upholsterer’s all right, but it was small and looked run-down. There was a roughly written sign saying, ‘Man wanted, must know the trade’, so he went inside.
    An older man shuffled out from a door at the back. ‘Yes?’
    ‘I’ve come about the job.’
    ‘Know anything about upholstery?’
    ‘Yes. I’ve served my apprenticeship.’ He pulled his papers out of his inside pocket.
    The man barely glanced at them before handing them back and saying, ‘Got your own tools?’
    ‘Of course.’
    ‘Come through, then.’ He led the way into a much larger workshop at the back, which was in chaos. ‘Sorry about the mess. I’ve been without help for weeks, except for my grandson here, and he’s not up to much, poor soul.’ He tapped his head and indicated a spotty youth with a dopey
    expression, who was sweeping up half-heartedly. ‘I’m Don Rayner.’ He offered his hand.
    ‘Clifford Greenhill.’
    ‘Where have you been working?’
    ‘On railway upholstery for Great Western in Swindon.’
    ‘Good job, that. Why did you leave?’
    Cliff hesitated, then decided on the truth. ‘I got a girl in trouble and her father’s a brute. I had to leave town quickly.’
    Rayner frowned at him. ‘Nay, I don’t want someone working here who’d leave a lass in