Trevallion by Gloria Cook

Author:Gloria Cook
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Books
Published: 2019-07-24T16:00:00+00:00

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Loveday was in Truro, taking Tamsyn’s bridesmaid’s dress to the steam laundry to have it professionally cleaned. Despite her watchful eye and exhortations, Tamsyn had managed to get a mixture of chocolate and motor oil on the dress. Her next stop was Louise’s Drapery to pick up a dress Mrs Fiennes had ordered. Loveday was shown the finished creation and thought it too racy; but then her mistress liked to show off as much flesh as she could. Loveday thought it a scandal that the woman was buying yet more clothes, spending a good deal of the Major’s money, when her wardrobe was already bursting at the seams. With the box held stoutly under her arm, she walked up the hill of Lemon Street on the last of her errands to hand in a letter from the Major to the offices of Drayton, Handley and Faull, Solicitors.

With that done, she started down the hill again. A small stone got into her shoe and she stopped by the railings outside St John’s Church to eject it.

‘Oh, my dear Mrs Wright,’ came the voice of Mr Drayton, who was coming up the hill. ‘What has happened to you? Have you twisted your ankle?’

‘Mr Drayton!’ she exclaimed, her face colouring as she straightened up and explained what she’d been doing.

‘I’m so glad to hear you did not take a fall. I was thinking hard as I climbed the hill and did not realise it was you coming towards me until you stopped.’ He picked up the dress box leaning against the railings. ‘May I see you to somewhere?’

‘I’ve just come from your office. I delivered a letter there for Major Fiennes. I said I would as I was coming into town, to save him having to post it.’

‘How kind of you. I haven’t seen Major Fiennes since he arrived. I’m afraid he’s rather elusive. Um, where are you going now, if I may ask?’

‘I’ve got an hour and a half before my bus home. I was thinking of having a cup of tea somewhere.’

Mr Drayton’s face turned bright red. ‘I… I… have some spare time. Would you care to take tea with me, Mrs Wright?’

Loveday looked down shyly at the ground. The invitation was totally unexpected. She hadn’t gone anywhere with a man since Stanley’s last leave. In fact Stanley had been the only man she had ever gone anywhere with. She’d met him at school and back then he’d been the only boy she’d felt comfortable with. As a youth he was cheerful but not noisy or over-enthusiastic. He didn’t wolf-whistle at women or make crude remarks about them. She had accepted Stanley’s courtship and his quick proposal of marriage because, in the only way that Loveday could consciously put it, there had been something about him that ‘felt right’. She still missed him about the house; folk would be amazed to learn she missed him in the bedroom too. Stanley had been kind, gentle and understanding. She looked up at Mr Drayton.

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