Rosie by Lesley Pearse

Author:Lesley Pearse [Pearse, Lesley]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Somerset 1945
ISBN: 9780141910697
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2011-09-01T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Thomas ushered Miss Pemberton up the stairs and into his living-room before saying anything more than the usual pleasantries. Mr Bryant was about to close the shop, but he was an inquisitive man and Thomas didn’t want his employer quizzing him about who she was, or listening to their conversation.

A week had passed since Rosie came to Thomas with her shocking story and although he and Miss Pemberton had spoken twice on the telephone in that time, she hadn’t given him any warning that she was coming up to London today. He was even more taken aback by her rather fetching appearance. When they had met at Easter she had looked the embodiment of a social worker, middle-aged, a touch masculine in a tweed suit and stout shoes. But today she looked ten years younger in a very feminine lilac short-sleeved summer dress, dainty shoes and a pretty straw hat.

‘If I may be so bold, you look stunning, Miss Pemberton,’ Thomas said once he’d closed his living-room door. ‘And I’m very grateful to you for coming all this way.’

‘If you’re bold enough to say I look stunning, you are quite bold enough to call me Violet,’ she said with a smile. She liked Thomas Farley. Although she had only met him in person once before and the rest of their acquaintance was through telephone conversations and letters, she found him rather alluring. This quality had come across without seeing him, via the interesting and intelligent statements in his letters and the rich, deep tone of his voice. It grew stronger still when she saw his warm brown eyes, and the way his full lips curved into a half smile while she was talking to him, as if he was secretly amused by her. She very much liked the lines on his face because they told tales of hardship, adventure and experience and also confirmed why he had this wealth of compassion and sensitivity. He was amusing too; somehow he’d managed to hang on to that irreverent, sharp humour that East Enders were renowned for. In truth he was more of a real man with just one leg than most able-bodied ones. And if she’d been fifteen years younger she’d have been tempted to make a play for him.

‘I don’t know why you should be grateful I called. It is I who am indebted to you, Thomas, for helping Rosie in her hour of need. Besides, I like to think we are friends,’ Violet added.

Thomas grinned at her forthright statement. It evoked good memories of other equally plain-speaking Queen Alexandra’s nurses he’d known. He owed his life and sanity to such determined women. He was touched she considered him a friend.

‘Do sit down,’ he said, removing a shirt from one of his two chairs. ‘Had I known you were calling I would have tidied myself and this place up a bit. Would you like some tea? Or something stronger?’

‘Tea would be lovely,’ she said as she sat down and removed her hat.

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