Land Girls at the Wartime Bookshop [The Wartime Bookshop #2] by Lesley Eames

Author:Lesley Eames
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Historical Saga, War Saga, WW2
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Published: 2023-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Kate

Kenny stuck his chin out as though anticipating an argument he had no intention of losing. ‘Ruby needs a day off,’ he announced.

‘She has a day off,’ Kate pointed out. ‘Sunday, as well as half of Thursday.’

‘The buses don’t run often on Sundays, and she needs a full day to travel to her little brother and back. He isn’t happy where he is, and he’s missing her.’

‘What’s this?’ Ernie demanded, not wanting to be diddled out of a penny of the money he paid the land girls in wages.

‘Ruby needs a day off and I’ve told her she can have one,’ Kenny said. ‘Don’t worry. She’ll make the time up.’

‘Make it up when?’ Ernie demanded.

‘She’ll work all day today instead of taking the afternoon off and she’ll work for a few hours on Sunday too. You won’t lose out.’

If Ruby’s little brother was truly unhappy, Kate felt for him and would have had no problem with adjusting his sister’s hours of work to accommodate a visit – had Ruby been a better worker and trustworthy too. But now Ruby was confident she had Kenny for her champion she’d given up entirely on pretending to please Kate and her work had slackened off even more. She still worked some of the time and kept up an act in front of Ernie – she wasn’t stupid – but there was no doubt in Kate’s mind that Ruby was taking advantage of Kenny’s enchantment with her as well as Pearl’s loyalty in covering up for her.

Kate even wondered if the brother’s unhappiness was another invention to give the girl an excuse to down tools. Ruby might not intend to visit her brother at all but have a jaunt to London in mind.

Was it mean-spirited to harbour such suspicions? Kate hated feeling this way but couldn’t shift the idea that Ruby had a motive for becoming a land girl that had nothing to do with farming or patriotism.

‘Which day do you want off?’ Kate asked.

Ruby had schooled her features into an expression of regret but couldn’t hold back the triumph from her eyes. ‘Friday.’

In other words, tomorrow.

‘I only pay for work that’s actually done,’ Ernie reminded her sourly.

‘Of course, Mr Fletcher, I wouldn’t dream of not working hard.’

Kate walked away before she said something she might later regret.

‘I’m going into the village,’ Kenny announced the following morning. ‘I’m out of Woodbines, and we’re running low on oil for the tractor. While I’m there I can do the shopping for Kate if we need any. Save her a job.’

It would be the first time ever that Kenny had been moved to save Kate a job, but he was simply trying to get her on his side. The person he really wanted to help was Ruby. ‘I can give you a lift on the cart,’ he told her.

‘How kind.’

The conversation sounded rehearsed and Kate guessed they’d agreed the arrangement in advance.

‘No work, no pay,’ Ernie grunted.

‘It’s ever so kind of you to let me visit poor Timmy,’ Ruby told him.

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