A New Dream, Maggie Ford [books to read romance txt] 📗

‘It’s such a gorgeous morning,’ Julia went on.

‘I’m going out this afternoon,’ Virginia said. She, bless her, had already started preparing Sunday lunch, which people around here called dinner, making Julia feel selfish for having slipped off to help Simon.

‘Not on your own, surely!’ Her mother was immediately anxious.

‘No, Mummy, with a friend from work,’ Virginia replied patiently.

‘What friend?’ cried her mother and a look passed between Julia and her sister.

‘Just a girl from work,’ Virginia said evasively and went hastily back to cutting the cabbage while Julia peeled potatoes for baking around the small piece of pork.

As they washed up the dinner things together afterwards, Virginia whispered, ‘Actually we’re seeing a couple of boys whom we met during the week. There’s nothing in it, they’re just a couple of boys, but don’t tell Mummy.’

‘As if I would,’ Julia laughed, and they leaned towards each to hide their suppressed giggles.

As another week crept by Julia knew she would soon have to disclose her plans to the family. It was Friday. By next week everything would be up and running. Then she must face her mother, who was already asking questions.

‘You’re surely not going out again, Julia?’ she appealed, letting her crocheting, now her favourite pastime, fall on to her lap as Julia put on a summer hat and picked up her handbag.

‘Just for a walk,’ Julia told her. ‘I won’t be long.’

‘But you’ve been out nearly every morning this week. I can’t see why you need to go out so often, dear.’

‘I need to get some fresh air,’ she said, hating the lie. ‘It’s such a lovely day.’

She and Simon now had the window ready for some of the silks to be tastefully draped. By next week the fabric would all have to be taken downstairs, and there was still the shop counter to be properly cleaned, some brass to be brightened up and the floor to be scrubbed. Together they had disposed of most of Simon’s rubbish. The moment everything was up and running, she would tell the family, but not too soon – next week perhaps.

This morning she had washed up the breakfast dishes, swept and tidied the rooms while her mother sat crocheting, apparently not thinking to help. Julia had never condemned her for her thoughtlessness. She was after all still only recently bereaved and had been brought up to expect others to wait on her. And Julia acknowledged that at forty-three her mother was probably too old now to change.

Ginny sometimes grumbled when she was expected to do household chores after working all day but for the most part she was always ready to help. Stephanie, on the other hand, did as little as possible, protesting that housework spoiled her hands and damaged her nails, which would jeopardize her job. James had been ready to lend a hand but Julia knew their mother would have been horrified. In her eyes a man simply did not do housework!

Now Victoria regarded her daughter thoughtfully, her crocheting idle on her lap. ‘How long do you think you are going to be, dear?’

Julia’s heart began to race a little. ‘I’m not really sure, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.’ She avoided her mother’s gaze.

Victoria suddenly cast aside her crocheting. ‘Do you know, dear, you are right,’ she said. ‘It is a lovely day and here I am sitting indoors in this dark flat day in and day out. Perhaps, if you don’t mind, I can come with you. It’s time I ventured out and became used to the area we are forced to live in. I could never go out on my own but with you I should feel safe.’

Her mother’s words hit Julia as if she had been punched. Before she knew it she had cried out, ‘No!’ Hastily she modified her voice as she fought for an excuse. ‘Not today, Mumsy. I was thinking of going to Victoria Park and it’s a tidy walk from here. It might be too far for you. You’d get tired.’

‘Not if we go by taxi.’ Her mother’s small face had lit up – the first time since losing her husband.

‘We’ve no money for taxis, Mummy,’ Julia said gently. ‘And you wouldn’t want to travel in a bus.’

The light died in her mother’s eyes and she wanted to run and cuddle her as Victoria said, ‘I expect you’re right, dear. I feel safer inside. I don’t like the people round here. So rough and uncouth, they frighten me. I hear them at night coming out of pubs, laughing and shouting and quarrelling.’

Julia surveyed her. She was like a little mouse, afraid of the world, hiding away behind a dark skirting-board. Would she ever change?

‘I’ll be home as quickly as I can,’ she promised and hurried out of the room, through the kitchen and out on to the landing.

There she took a deep fortifying breath and immediately felt better.

Simon was waiting in his shop. It was looking so much brighter since she had got to work on it. The counter gleamed and sunshine now poured through a clean, uncluttered window. Soon it would display her lovely bright materials, tastefully draped, perhaps with a few of Simon’s better brooches and trinkets carefully placed as extra decoration.

As Julia entered, his handsome features broke into a wide grin. ‘There you are! I wondered if you’d decided not to come.’

‘I was talking to my mother,’ she said, explaining without going into too much detail what had transpired. The smile left his face.

‘You’re sure we’re doing the right thing?’

‘At this late stage, of course I’m sure,’ she said hotly.

‘But you still haven’t told your mother, or any of your family.’

‘I just don’t want to provoke too many questions yet. Mother will only fret.’

She didn’t add that her mother would be sure to disapprove strongly of her relationship with him. She didn’t care what the others thought; it was her mother she worried about.

‘I think they’ll be only too glad to see the stuff gone. They’ve