The Scarlet Sisters by Helen Batten

Author:Helen Batten
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781473502697
Publisher: Ebury Publishing

Dora

Bertha and Grace

The happy foursome took full advantage of all these delights. Not exactly the romantic idyll expected today, but still a lot of fun. Hands were held and kisses snatched. Grace couldn’t help but notice that Alice and Joseph couldn’t leave each other alone, which was interesting – everything going well, then. Bill also noticed the fizzing sparks between the new Mr and Mrs Davidson.

Grace couldn’t wait to get home and quiz Alice for the gory details, although she didn’t hold out much hope – Alice was annoyingly discreet when it came to things like that.

A giant Haunted Snail had taken Bill’s eye. It was like a ghost train, except people had to walk through the insides. Entrance was via its mouth, which was set in a sinister, Cheshire-cat-like grin. He wouldn’t rest until Grace had agreed to go in there with him. They walked into the huge mouth, holding hands and giggling. As they went further inside, it got darker. They were all on their own. They pushed their way through cobwebs, spectres jumping out of cupboards, spiders falling on their heads and ghoulish wails assaulting their ears. It was almost pitch-black. Suddenly, Bill grabbed Grace and kissed her so passionately that her feet came off the floor. She returned his kiss and then, remembering herself, pushed him off with a squeal.

But Bill got down on one knee and said, ‘Grace, will you do me the honour of marrying me?’

And before she had time to think, the word was out of her mouth: ‘No.’

‘No? Are you serious?’

‘Yes.’

‘So it’s yes.’

‘No. It’s a no.’

Bill was dumbfounded. ‘Why?’

‘I don’t know, it’s just not right. This snail … On their honeymoon … It don’t feel right.’

‘Oh, what, so if I’d given you roses and an orchestra and a diamond, you would have said yes?’

‘I don’t know. I’m sorry.’

And with that Grace ran out of the Haunted Snail past a bemused Alice and Joseph, leaving Bill alone in the dark bowels of the snail, still on his knee.

A tricky few hours followed, with Alice and Grace holed up in the newly weds’ bedroom, drinking cups of tea and crying, and Joseph and Bill stationed in the pub, drinking. Messages were ferried backwards and forwards.

Bill was furious. He felt he had been led on and made a fool of and if they weren’t getting engaged, then they were finished. It was one or the other.

Alice and Joseph met halfway on the pier and swapped messages.

Joseph was insistent. ‘We’ve got to get this sorted out by tonight, because I’ll die if we can’t share a room tonight.’

Alice felt a lurch in her stomach that was very much like when she had gone over the top of the scenic railway. ‘Let me go and have another word with her.’

Back in the room she asked the one question that mattered: ‘Why did you say no?’

‘I don’t know. It’s just what came out. It had nothing to do with my brain, it was just down here,’ Grace said, pointing at her stomach.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.