Pack Up Your Troubles by Pam Weaver

Author:Pam Weaver
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Tags: Sagas, Fiction
ISBN: 9781847563620
Publisher: Avon
Published: 2013-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Nineteen

Connie had the weekend off and on her way back home, she planned to post another letter to Roger. He’d only written a couple of times but she wasn’t too worried. He’d told her in one of his letters that he wasn’t very good at letter writing.

As soon as she walked in the door, the family showed off their new telephone. It had been a mammoth task to persuade Ga to have it installed and Connie was thrilled.

‘We’ll be able to take orders over the phone now,’ said Gwen.

‘A great deal of expense for nothing if you ask me,’ Ga murmured.

‘It’s time to join the twentieth century, Ga,’ Connie said light-heartedly and was rewarded with a cold stare.

Connie had hardly settled in the door before Clifford wanted her to come and see Reuben. To her surprise, the old man wasn’t in his caravan in Titnore Lane. Clifford took her instead to the Frenchie’s workshop. Eugène opened the rickety door and stepped back to let them in. He looked as handsome as ever and Connie’s heartbeat quickened as soon as she saw him. He smiled and held his arm out to indicate where Reuben was. Connie looked up and saw the old man lying on an old horsehair sofa at the back.

‘What’s he doing here?’ she asked. She hurried to him and touched his forehead. It was cold and clammy. His skin was grey and he was struggling to breathe. She listened with mounting horror as Clifford told her about Isaac going to jail and the police search of his caravan. ‘I’m really annoyed that they did nothing to help him,’ said Clifford. ‘They must have seen the state the old boy was in.’

‘Then it’s a good job he has friends nearby,’ said Connie, taking Reuben’s pulse.

‘That was all down to Pip,’ said Clifford. ‘He kept sloping off and we couldn’t find him for hours. Then a couple of nights ago we could hear this dog howling in the distance. Mandy knew it was him straight away so I went to look for him.’

‘No sign of Kez and the others then?’ said Connie.

‘Moved on some time ago.’ Clifford shook his head. ‘I found Pip outside Reuben’s canvas tent howling his head off. If I hadn’t turned up, the poor man would have been dead by now. He hadn’t even had a drink for God knows how long.’

‘But Kez usually turns up this time of year,’ said Connie, clearly puzzled.

Clifford nodded. ‘And when someone’s ill, somehow or other, they all turn up from nowhere but not this time. With Isaac locked up, the poor old boy was on his own. He refused to let us take him to the doc. We didn’t know what to do for the best.’

Reuben’s eyes were fixed on the wooden wall and it didn’t take Connie long to realise he was staring between the planks where the daylight made its watery way inside. His chest sounded awful and she could see that he had been coughing up blood.

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