that?’
‘I don’t know,’ Ellen said, looking at the light grey saloon on the farm track down from the road. ‘I’ve never seen it before.’
Curious, they began to run, but stopped short just outside the fence around the front garden as they saw their mother at the open front door.
‘Oh no,’ Ellen gasped.
Josie said nothing, but her face had blanched.
‘So this is what you do all day while I’m away,’ Mum shouted as they came in through the gate. ‘Off swimming. Clothes left all over the floor. Beds not made. Come on in at once and go upstairs to put something decent on. It’s a good job I came back to get Josie. I knew I couldn’t trust you two to take care of her.’
With that the girls saw their father was in the kitchen, looking tense. Another man was there too; he was short and stout, wearing a dark suit.
‘Hello, Mum,’ Josie said nervously. ‘How’s grandma?’
‘Very sick,’ Mum said tersely. ‘And this is your Uncle Brian. I had to ask him to drive me over and get you, because it was clear to me you need supervision.’
‘Violet, they’ve both been fine,’ Dad said, his voice tight with anger. ‘They broke up from school today and it’s hot. Why shouldn’t they go swimming?’
‘Upstairs now.’ Violet pointed to the stairs and kept her hand up as if intending to clout them both as they passed her. ‘Get your clothes together, Josie, we’ll be leaving in a few minutes. I’ve kept Brian waiting for long enough.’
Upstairs the girls wriggled out of their wet swimming costumes and into their clothes. ‘I can’t go with her, I’ll just die there,’ Josie whispered. ‘What shall I do?’
Ellen was horrified too. They had their new job to start on Monday, and there were all the other plans they’d made. She couldn’t bear the thought of being separated, but it would be much worse for Josie.
‘I’ll try and get Dad to stop her,’ Ellen said hurriedly.
But as they went back downstairs again, Ellen realized that Mum and her brother had already been here for some time, and that their dad had already told Mum about the job, because she began ranting about it.
‘No daughter of mine is going to work in a beach kiosk,’ she shouted. ‘Whatever are you thinking of, Albert? Her place is with her mother and grandmother.’
‘Don’t make her go.’ Ellen was so anxious she forgot Violet hated the sound of her voice. ‘She’ll be miserable in Helston and there’s nothing wrong with working at the beach. Most of the other people working there are students.’
‘Miserable with her mother?’ Violet screeched, her usually pallid face flushed with anger. ‘I’m giving her a chance to meet her real relatives, her aunts, uncles and cousins. You might be happy to spend the rest of your life mucking out cow sheds like your father, but I have much bigger plans for my daughter.’
‘Josie’s my daughter too and I say she stays here where she belongs,’ Albert snapped at her. ‘Your bloody relatives in Helston have never given a damn about you, why should they suddenly care about Josie?’ He caught hold of both the girls’ arms and bundled them outside, telling them to make themselves scarce.
‘Look here, woman,’ he shouted as he went back in, ‘I know what this is all about. You want to parade Josie round like a prize trophy, I expect she’s the first real beauty ever to enter your bloody family. Well, you aren’t going to make her miserable doing that. Or turn her head with all that praise. Get on back to your bloody mother, get whatever kicks you can out of being her nurse, but I’ll be buggered if Josie’s got to watch it.’
The two girls clung to each other outside, both scared now, for when their father was angry enough to string more than a few words together, he could do anything.
‘Violet has a right to have her daughter with her,’ Brian chimed in, his tone measured as if trying to calm down his sister and brother-in-law.
‘You stay out of
‘I don’t know,’ Ellen said, looking at the light grey saloon on the farm track down from the road. ‘I’ve never seen it before.’
Curious, they began to run, but stopped short just outside the fence around the front garden as they saw their mother at the open front door.
‘Oh no,’ Ellen gasped.
Josie said nothing, but her face had blanched.
‘So this is what you do all day while I’m away,’ Mum shouted as they came in through the gate. ‘Off swimming. Clothes left all over the floor. Beds not made. Come on in at once and go upstairs to put something decent on. It’s a good job I came back to get Josie. I knew I couldn’t trust you two to take care of her.’
With that the girls saw their father was in the kitchen, looking tense. Another man was there too; he was short and stout, wearing a dark suit.
‘Hello, Mum,’ Josie said nervously. ‘How’s grandma?’
‘Very sick,’ Mum said tersely. ‘And this is your Uncle Brian. I had to ask him to drive me over and get you, because it was clear to me you need supervision.’
‘Violet, they’ve both been fine,’ Dad said, his voice tight with anger. ‘They broke up from school today and it’s hot. Why shouldn’t they go swimming?’
‘Upstairs now.’ Violet pointed to the stairs and kept her hand up as if intending to clout them both as they passed her. ‘Get your clothes together, Josie, we’ll be leaving in a few minutes. I’ve kept Brian waiting for long enough.’
Upstairs the girls wriggled out of their wet swimming costumes and into their clothes. ‘I can’t go with her, I’ll just die there,’ Josie whispered. ‘What shall I do?’
Ellen was horrified too. They had their new job to start on Monday, and there were all the other plans they’d made. She couldn’t bear the thought of being separated, but it would be much worse for Josie.
‘I’ll try and get Dad to stop her,’ Ellen said hurriedly.
But as they went back downstairs again, Ellen realized that Mum and her brother had already been here for some time, and that their dad had already told Mum about the job, because she began ranting about it.
‘No daughter of mine is going to work in a beach kiosk,’ she shouted. ‘Whatever are you thinking of, Albert? Her place is with her mother and grandmother.’
‘Don’t make her go.’ Ellen was so anxious she forgot Violet hated the sound of her voice. ‘She’ll be miserable in Helston and there’s nothing wrong with working at the beach. Most of the other people working there are students.’
‘Miserable with her mother?’ Violet screeched, her usually pallid face flushed with anger. ‘I’m giving her a chance to meet her real relatives, her aunts, uncles and cousins. You might be happy to spend the rest of your life mucking out cow sheds like your father, but I have much bigger plans for my daughter.’
‘Josie’s my daughter too and I say she stays here where she belongs,’ Albert snapped at her. ‘Your bloody relatives in Helston have never given a damn about you, why should they suddenly care about Josie?’ He caught hold of both the girls’ arms and bundled them outside, telling them to make themselves scarce.
‘Look here, woman,’ he shouted as he went back in, ‘I know what this is all about. You want to parade Josie round like a prize trophy, I expect she’s the first real beauty ever to enter your bloody family. Well, you aren’t going to make her miserable doing that. Or turn her head with all that praise. Get on back to your bloody mother, get whatever kicks you can out of being her nurse, but I’ll be buggered if Josie’s got to watch it.’
The two girls clung to each other outside, both scared now, for when their father was angry enough to string more than a few words together, he could do anything.
‘Violet has a right to have her daughter with her,’ Brian chimed in, his tone measured as if trying to calm down his sister and brother-in-law.
‘You stay out of
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