indignant. ‘It just shows ye. Ye canna trust onybody these days. But ye’ll easy get another lodger, Annie, an’ wi’ the money from the shop, ye’ll be . . .’ Maggie stopped in dismay when she saw Anne’s set expression.
‘There’ll be nothing from the shop, Mother, we’ve had to give it up.’
‘Gi’e it up? But that was jist plain daft. Why in the name o’ heaven did ye gi’e it up?’ Anne had to tell her the whole truth then, but hastened to explain that the debt was all settled.
‘Annie, ye shoulda tell’t me at the time – we’d ha’e tried to help ye. What a worry ye musta had.’
‘It was pretty bad,’ Anne admitted, ‘but it’s past now.’
‘How are ye goin’ to manage, lass? Ha’e ye got somebody else for his room?’
‘Not yet, but Jack’s still trying.’
‘Ye’ll ha’e to put an advert in the . . .’
‘I can’t afford it.’
‘Oh.’ Maggie stared at her hands for a few seconds, wondering what she could do to help. ‘Look, I think I’ve got a pound in my purse.’ She opened the old black handbag which she’d carried around with her for years.
‘No, Mother. You can’t afford it, either.’
‘Ye could answer some adverts then, like the last time?’ The older woman closed her purse and replaced it in the bag.
‘I can’t think straight about it yet, and that’s a fact.’ Anne was near to tears now. ‘Something’ll turn up.’
‘Tak’ this, ony road, it’ll buy something for ye to eat.’ Maggie pressed into her daughter’s hand the pound note she’d slyly slipped out of her purse a minute before. ‘Nae arguin’, noo, me an’ yer father dinna need so muckle nooadays.’
Knowing that her mother would be offended if she refused to take the money, Anne accepted it gratefully. It would enable her to stock up her store cupboard, which was almost empty, so they wouldn’t go hungry for a few days yet.
At teatime, Jack Thomson blurted out his good news before he was properly inside the room. ‘The yard manager asked me this morning if my landlady could take in a new apprentice that’s starting a week on Monday. His mother had asked the yard to find digs for him.’
Anne’s jaded eyes lit up with relief. ‘Oh, Jack, that’s good. Did you say it would be all right?’
‘I did that, and he gave me their address. You’ve to write and let the laddie’s mother know, and tell her your terms.’
Anne’s letter was answered by return. The boy’s mother thanked Mrs Gordon for writing, and asked if she could possibly make room for her other son, who had been working with the same firm for a few months, but wasn’t too happy with his present lodgings and would prefer to be with his brother.
‘They would be willing to sleep in a double bed, like they do at home,’ her letter finished up.
Anne looked rueful when she folded up the sheets of paper. ‘I’d easily manage to take the two of them if I’d only got another single bed.’
‘You could get one on the instalment plan,’ Renee suggested.
‘I’ve never done anything like that in my life!’ Anne was outraged. ‘We weren’t brought up like that. Your granny never got anything unless she could pay cash for it.’
The girl laughed derisively. ‘That’s old-fashioned. A lot of folk buy on tick nowadays. It’s no disgrace, and you’d be able to pay it up seeing you’ll have an extra lodger.’
‘I suppose so.’ Anne sounded none to sure about it, but an even better plan had just occurred to her daughter.
‘If you got a double bed, like their mother says, I could have the single one – it was mine once anyway – and we could shift the furniture round in the loft to make room for it.’
Anne’s troubled eyes softened. ‘Oh, I see what you’re getting at. You want a bed to yourself again?’
‘Please, Mum?’
‘But it would be dearer, and . . . well, all right. I’ll go and see about it tomorrow.’
A brand new double bed was obtained on a deposit of half a
‘There’ll be nothing from the shop, Mother, we’ve had to give it up.’
‘Gi’e it up? But that was jist plain daft. Why in the name o’ heaven did ye gi’e it up?’ Anne had to tell her the whole truth then, but hastened to explain that the debt was all settled.
‘Annie, ye shoulda tell’t me at the time – we’d ha’e tried to help ye. What a worry ye musta had.’
‘It was pretty bad,’ Anne admitted, ‘but it’s past now.’
‘How are ye goin’ to manage, lass? Ha’e ye got somebody else for his room?’
‘Not yet, but Jack’s still trying.’
‘Ye’ll ha’e to put an advert in the . . .’
‘I can’t afford it.’
‘Oh.’ Maggie stared at her hands for a few seconds, wondering what she could do to help. ‘Look, I think I’ve got a pound in my purse.’ She opened the old black handbag which she’d carried around with her for years.
‘No, Mother. You can’t afford it, either.’
‘Ye could answer some adverts then, like the last time?’ The older woman closed her purse and replaced it in the bag.
‘I can’t think straight about it yet, and that’s a fact.’ Anne was near to tears now. ‘Something’ll turn up.’
‘Tak’ this, ony road, it’ll buy something for ye to eat.’ Maggie pressed into her daughter’s hand the pound note she’d slyly slipped out of her purse a minute before. ‘Nae arguin’, noo, me an’ yer father dinna need so muckle nooadays.’
Knowing that her mother would be offended if she refused to take the money, Anne accepted it gratefully. It would enable her to stock up her store cupboard, which was almost empty, so they wouldn’t go hungry for a few days yet.
At teatime, Jack Thomson blurted out his good news before he was properly inside the room. ‘The yard manager asked me this morning if my landlady could take in a new apprentice that’s starting a week on Monday. His mother had asked the yard to find digs for him.’
Anne’s jaded eyes lit up with relief. ‘Oh, Jack, that’s good. Did you say it would be all right?’
‘I did that, and he gave me their address. You’ve to write and let the laddie’s mother know, and tell her your terms.’
Anne’s letter was answered by return. The boy’s mother thanked Mrs Gordon for writing, and asked if she could possibly make room for her other son, who had been working with the same firm for a few months, but wasn’t too happy with his present lodgings and would prefer to be with his brother.
‘They would be willing to sleep in a double bed, like they do at home,’ her letter finished up.
Anne looked rueful when she folded up the sheets of paper. ‘I’d easily manage to take the two of them if I’d only got another single bed.’
‘You could get one on the instalment plan,’ Renee suggested.
‘I’ve never done anything like that in my life!’ Anne was outraged. ‘We weren’t brought up like that. Your granny never got anything unless she could pay cash for it.’
The girl laughed derisively. ‘That’s old-fashioned. A lot of folk buy on tick nowadays. It’s no disgrace, and you’d be able to pay it up seeing you’ll have an extra lodger.’
‘I suppose so.’ Anne sounded none to sure about it, but an even better plan had just occurred to her daughter.
‘If you got a double bed, like their mother says, I could have the single one – it was mine once anyway – and we could shift the furniture round in the loft to make room for it.’
Anne’s troubled eyes softened. ‘Oh, I see what you’re getting at. You want a bed to yourself again?’
‘Please, Mum?’
‘But it would be dearer, and . . . well, all right. I’ll go and see about it tomorrow.’
A brand new double bed was obtained on a deposit of half a
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