Village Rumours (Turnham Malpas 18) by Shaw Rebecca

Author:Shaw, Rebecca [Shaw, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General and Literary Fiction
Publisher: Orion
Published: 2014-08-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Becky Braithwaite couldn’t put in any more hours than the three she already did every Friday morning up at Nightingale Farm. She wished she could do more for them, but there simply were not enough hours in her busy week for her to do so. Since the Fitches had moved in a transformation had begun that must have cost a fortune – but the result so far was a breath-taking kitchen. She looked around her own while she waited for the kettle to boil and wished … oh, it wasn’t that it needed decorating or needed new units, they were all new when she moved in, but they were so plain! So plain that even though they’d only been in use three months they were already on the verge of looking slightly shabby. But they’d have to wait. She still had the bedrooms to furnish properly, especially her own, but that would all come in time.

Becky counted herself lucky that she and Ben had been allocated this flat by the council. To live in such a beautiful place was something neither of them had ever imagined was possible. They had lived in the rough end of Culworth all their lives but when her father died the council agreed to re-home her and Ben in these new flats in Turnham Malpas and there was nothing more certain than the fact that here in the village he didn’t get tormented like he had been in Culworth. There had been endless stories of him being surrounded by bullies with nothing better to do than think up punishments for him, or they’d steal his money or his sweets.

He loved his sweets, did Ben. Ben, with a bag of sweets in his hand, was the happiest man on earth. Well, not man, boy, really, because he’d never be a man. Becky poured the hot water into the teapot, calling out, ‘Ben! Want a biscuit?’

This was their ritual, as soon as he came home from the College. Four-thirty prompt the taxi always drew up outside the house, he would have tea and two biscuits then he’d sit and watch children’s TV until his evening meal was ready, then he watched the soaps and then he went to bed and what was left of the evening was hers. Saturdays, no College, so they went to the market in Culworth, had lunch in the chippy, went for a walk in Sykes Wood during the afternoon if it was fine, had something a bit special for their evening meal it being Saturday, then Sunday she went to church if she could persuade Ben into going too, but sometimes he was too stubborn and couldn’t or wouldn’t be persuaded.

But Becky never complained about caring for him; for one thing, he was the only living relative she had that she knew of and so he was precious. She’d faced up to not marrying whilst ever he was alive and the day she’d accepted that, really acknowledged the fact deep down

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