Private Sorrow, A Read Free

looking after him. Billy loves going to his house because John has kept all his toys from when he was a boy and you should see them Molly – all pre-war. He’s got loads of Dinky cars with a super wooden garage, toy soldiers and a marvellous train set, plus lots of books and jigsaws.’ She laughed. ‘I might not manage to get him away from all those toys.’
    Molly said, ‘He seems to be getting bigger every time I see him.’
    Edna agreed. ‘He’s coming up for seven now and I think he’s going to be as tall as his father.’ Molly nodded. Edna was barely five feet in height but she had heard that Edna’s late husband Will had been almost six feet tall.
    Marigold came over. ‘You’ve transformed this place, Molly, but I’ll miss you when Archie and Nancy go away back to Australia. But I do understand your reasons for not wanting to cross the river every day. This will be really handy for you.’
    Molly was pleased by all the compliments. ‘If you want to come over to do any shopping or whatever, Marigold, you can stay here for the night. The studio couch makes a grand bed.’ She turned to Edna. ‘I’ve got Marigold to thank for the lovely wallpaper.’
    ‘Well’ said Marigold. ‘I’ve had it in my cupboard since 1932. There was never enough to do my own rooms but I’m glad to see Ronnie has had enough to do all the walls in here.’
    Edna was impressed with the quality. ‘It’s lovely and expensive looking. I like the creamy background with those bright gold leaves, and the narrow border at the top matches the colour. You can’t buy wallpaper like this nowadays with everything still having the quality control mark.’
    Mary came over with Irene. ‘I hear you’ve hired an actress on the domestic side,’ said Irene. ‘Is she very glamorous?’
    Molly said she was. ‘Her name is Deanna Dunn and she just wants some work in between looking for her next big part in the theatre.’
    Mary looked impressed. ‘Imagine, a real-life actress working alongside us.’ Molly just smiled and hoped she had done the right thing adding this domestic side to the agency. Still, time would tell.
    Archie and Nancy came over to say goodbye. ‘We’ve got to catch the last ferry, Molly. The place is looking great and we hope you settle in.’ Nancy turned as she was putting her coat on. ‘Mind and come over for your dinner tomorrow, Molly, and you can maybe stay for the afternoon.’
    Marigold was leaving as well. She laughed. ‘You had better come over to see Sabby. She’s missing you.’ Sabby was the McQueen’s cat and it was a family joke that she had never taken to Molly.
    With the departure of her parents and Marigold, the other guests slowly dispersed and by half-past ten Molly was clearing up the plates and cups. She was tired and ready for her bed. The noise from the street carried up to her window and she found it hard to go to sleep in spite of her weariness. Her bedroom in Newport looked over the back garden and everything was silent at this time of night. Still, this was her home now and she would have to get used to it.

    The next day turned out to be quite warm and sunny. Molly loved autumn. She loved the trees when they were beginning to turn to gorgeous shades of brown, russet and gold and, although winter wasn’t far away, on a sunny day like today it felt as if summer was still clinging on.
    Thankfully, the river was calm and she found her parents sitting out in a sheltered spot in the garden. Marigold was tidying up a huge mound of leaves and she called out over the garden fence, ‘I hate all these leaves, they get everywhere.’
    ‘The dinner won’t be long,’ said Nancy. ‘I’ve made a steak pie and rice and stewed apples for pudding.’ Molly, who had made a cup of tea and a slice of toast for her breakfast, was starving as the aroma of the cooking wafted out. Suddenly she felt bereft. Her parents were leaving for Australia in ten days’ time and although she had planned this move to