Читать книгу Millie Vanilla’s Cupcake Café - Georgia Hill - Страница 25

Maybe it was the enclosed space that made Biddy’s words louder. Or maybe she had her hearing aid adjusted incorrectly and felt she had to yell. Whatever the reason, the statement bounced off the wall behind her and out into the small group. All eating ceased as they, as one, turned to her.

Silence.

‘Sorry Biddy, you were a what?’

Biddy starred at Millie, owlishly. ‘Thought you knew. Don’t make no secret of it. I was in charge of a house in south London.’

‘A house of –’

‘Ill repute they likes to call it.’ Biddy shrugged and the gesture made her seem much younger and altogether far more mischievous.

The penny dropped. ‘Your girls! The ones you talk about –’

‘Ah! My girls. Had twelve of them working for me. Some for nearly twenty years. Good times.’ Biddy suddenly became loquacious. ‘Had some very eminent clients, we did. Although we had a real problem when the gardener decided to chop the nettles down.’ She leaned nearer but didn’t bother to lower her voice. ‘Some of the clients liked a good thrashing with them. Never saw the attraction of it myself, but each to his own.’

For once Millie had absolutely nothing to say.

‘Way to go, Biddy!’ Zoe cackled.

‘Don’t you “way to go” me, young lady.’

‘No indeed.’ Millie rose, stunned. ‘I’ll make some tea, shall I? And find some lemonade. I made some earlier.’ She rushed for the sanctuary of her kitchen. Splashing cold water onto her burning face, she giggled. Who would have thought it? She was beginning to see Biddy in a whole new light.

Unfortunately, it seemed, so was Arthur. When she returned to the little group outside, bearing a tray of drinks, it was to uproar.

Zoe took a glass of lemonade from her and muttered, ‘Biddy and Granddad are having a mega row. Turns out Biddy loaned Granddad some money for Daisy’s op and he’s got some beef about it coming from her,’ at this Zoe made speech marks with her fingers, ‘ill-gotten gains.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘As if!’

‘My good man,’ Biddy was roaring, ‘that money came from an ISA!’

‘I want no part of it. You can have it back.’

‘Come on, Granddad, if it means Daisy can have the operation,’ Zoe coaxed.

‘No, Zoe, I’ll return it.’ Arthur pulled himself up to his full five-feet five. ‘I’d rather take out a loan on the house than take dirty money.’

Biddy stood up, sewing materials dropping unheeded. Millie was relieved to see Jed grab Trevor’s collar and try to soothe him. The dog was dancing around, over-excited at the raised voices and she didn’t want a needle embedded in his paw.

‘Dirty money, you say,’ Biddy screeched, to the alarm of a family strolling on the prom. ‘Dirty money! Ah, yes, there’s always those who take that attitude. The ones who walk past you in the street, hanging on the arms of their wives and sneering at you. And you can be sure they’re the same men who come knocking at your door, wanting to be dressed in a nappy and bottle-fed!’ She gathered her stuff and shoved it into a plastic bag. ‘Millie, I will continue my sewing at home, if I may. I know where I’m not wanted!’

Whistling for Elvis to follow, she swept off, her nose in the air and scraps of material dangling out of the bag and sweeping a trail on the sandy pavement.

‘Granddad!’ Zoe cried. ‘Honestly, how could you?’

Arthur turned on her. ‘I do not want to take anything from a woman like that.’

‘What do you mean? She’s your friend. What she did in the past doesn’t change that.’

Not for the first time Millie admired Zoe’s wise, old head. Feeling the need to calm everything down, she said, ‘Come on, let’s sit down and have a cup of tea. Jed, can you take this tray, it’s making my arms ache.’ She nodded to the only other table they hadn’t got around to painting yet. ‘Put it on there, would you?’

He came to her and, relieving her of it, whispered in her ear, ‘What a shame Biddy’s gone. I’d rather hoped to hear more about what she did with the nettles.’

Millie gave him a withering look. ‘Sit down, Arthur, and have some tea. There you go,’ she passed him a mug. ‘It’s just how you like it. Strong and sugary.’

‘It all goes on in these seaside towns, doesn’t it? Who would have thought it of Biddy, of all people?’ Jed sat on the wall, looking highly amused.

‘I would for one,’ Zoe put in. ‘Have you seen the size of her house?’

Jed shook his head.

‘It’s the big one on the hill, just past the newsagents. You need to have done something interesting to bring in the filthy lucre to pay for that.’ She gave a knowing wink. ‘Hey, I guess we really are talking filthy lucre.’

‘Zoe, my girl, I would prefer you to stop talking like that,’ Arthur said, sharply.

‘Sorry, Granddad.’

The group sat in silence once more, reviewing their opinion of Biddy.

‘Wonder if she used dogs? In the business, I mean,’ Zoe piped up. ‘She said she’s always owned one.’

‘Zoe!’ Arthur roared.

‘Not helpful, Zoe,’ Millie admonished. She motioned for the girl to have another sandwich in the hope of shutting her up.

‘Is Daisy’s operation very expensive?’ Jed asked unexpectedly. He helped himself to a glass of lemonade and emptied it in two swallows.

Millie thanked him silently for changing the subject and then cursed as the question appeared to upset Arthur even more.

‘Yes,’ was the only answer Arthur could manage.

Millie saw his hands shake as they gripped his mug of tea. Some of it slopped out onto the white concrete. Sean and Ken, having grabbed a drink, edged away and went to sit on the wall at the far end of the terrace, ostensibly watching an impromptu cricket match taking place on the beach.

‘It’s likely to be about five thousand quid,’ Zoe said, when it became obvious Arthur couldn’t trust himself to explain further.

‘Jeez.’ Jed’s eyebrows rose. ‘I had no idea it would cost so much.’

Arthur remained silent for a long time, drank his tea and visibly pulled himself together. Then he began to speak. It was as if he was relieved to talk about something else, no matter how equally distressing. ‘The X-Rays show that the old girl’s lump is in an awkward spot.’ He chewed his lip. ‘It’s one reason I missed it. It’s growing quickly now, for some reason. They don’t know why. And the tests have come back, but they’re inconclusive. No one knows if it’s malignant.’ He shuddered. ‘We won’t know until she’s had the operation and they examine the tumour.’

Millie sat next to him and put an arm around his thin shoulders. ‘That’s awful. Poor, poor Daisy.’ She went on, as gently as she could, ‘But why did you need to borrow from Biddy? Are you sure your pet insurance couldn’t cover the cost?’

Arthur sniffed, removed his glasses and polished them busily. His face looked strangely naked without them. And vulnerable. ‘Daisy’s only chance of survival is to go to a specialist surgery unit in Bristol. It’s beyond my policy.’

‘They have such places? For dogs?’ Jed asked. ‘I never knew.’

Trevor put his front paws on Millie’s lap and, for once, she didn’t tell him to get down. She reached for his curly head and tickled under his chin for comfort. She was pretty sure Trevor understood every word of what was being said. His excitement at the shouting had dissipated and he was as dejected as the rest of them. She gazed into his brown-button eyes. He was so dear to her. She could only too easily imagine the pain of being in Arthur’s position. Maybe she could forgive the man’s harsh words to Biddy. He must be worried out of his mind. The trouble was, he’d now lost his only chance to pay for the operation. She wished she were in a position to help.

‘Let’s just hope the tumour is benign,’ she said, going for briskly optimistic, the words sounding hollow, even to her.

The group sank into yet another silence. An even gloomier one this time.

‘Which vet do you use, Arthur?’ Jed asked.

Arthur began to explain. Millie only half-listened. Jed had been wonderful today. Refusing to take money for the paint, labouring until he was hot and grubby-looking and now he was taking a real interest in Arthur and poor Daisy. He seemed really concerned about them. Love for him blossomed. As Arthur talked, she drank in Jed’s beautiful face and the warmth in his dark eyes. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. If she’d thought she’d been in love before, with other boyfriends, the feelings she’d felt for other men paled into insignificance to how she felt about Jed. This was on a whole other level. Despite all her worries, a joyful love for Jed filled her. It was both scary and exhilarating. And yet, a little wormy voice of caution inside her warned, you’ve only known him for a few weeks! She silenced it. ‘I don’t care,’ she muttered. ‘I love this man. I could love him with my whole being. Spend my life with him. Have his children.’ Realising her mouth was dry she reached for a glass of lemonade and drank it down in one. She was suddenly very, very hot.

‘You okay, Mil?’ Zoe asked. ‘You’re a bit flushed.’

She gave the girl a tight grin. ‘I’m fine. I hate to say this and I hate to be unsympathetic about Daisy, but I suppose, if everyone has eaten, do you think we ought to go back to work?’

And, to good-natured groans and mutterings of what a slave driver she was, they did.

Once everyone had said weary goodbyes, with the promise to return the following day, Millie turned to Jed and offered to cook him supper. To her disappointment, he refused, saying his parents were staying in Lyme and they expected him for dinner.

She went up to the flat, her entire being on fire from Jed’s goodbye kisses. Trevor, worn out from all the excitement, trailed up the steps behind her, his tail drooping. It had been an exhausting day, even without the emotional fallout from Arthur and Biddy’s argument. Millie prayed they’d make up. Zoe had promised to pop over to Biddy’s in an attempt to build bridges.

Too preoccupied to eat, Millie opened a bottle of wine and drew her favourite chair to the picture window, which was the best feature of the flat. It mirrored the ones in the café below and looked straight out, across the beach, to open sea.

The days were lengthening. No matter how wild and wet a winter they’d had, spring was usually quick in coming to this part of the coast. Millie opened a window. Along with the chatter of people wandering past below, the breeze brought in warm salty air from the sea and the distant cackles of gulls before they settled for the night. Trevor came to her and rested his head on her knee, giving a heartfelt sigh.

‘Know what you mean, Trev. It’s been quite a day.’ She tugged gently on his woolly ears and enjoyed the warmth of his little body against her leg. Maybe it was just tiredness but she’d never felt more content. However, any relaxation was short-lived. Stretching out muscles stiff from painting, Millie got up, ignored Trevor’s grumbles and took her wine to the kitchen. She had work to do.