The Beekeeper's War by Deborah Carr

Author:Deborah Carr [Carr, Deborah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008534578
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

The following morning, Pru woke to Jean giving her forearm a gentle shake.

‘Happy Christmas, Pru,’ she said.

Pru rubbed her bleary eyes and pushed herself up against the metal headboard of her bed. She had taken a long time to fall asleep the previous night, unable to still her mind after what she had heard. ‘What time is it?’

‘Seven o’clock. I know it’s a little early for us to get ready for our shift but I wanted to give you this first.’

Pru yawned. Then, seeing the small, neatly wrapped packet in her friend’s hand, she smiled. ‘I have something for you, too.’ She leaned across to her small bedside table, opened the cupboard door and took out two packets, one for Jean and the other for Gladys. Gladys was still on duty so she would have to hand hers to her later.

‘Here’s yours,’ Pru said. ‘I hope you like it.’

‘Likewise.’ Jean placed her gift in Pru’s hands.

They both opened their gifts carefully, untying the ribbon and unfolding the valuable paper that they would each use for the next birthday or special occasion.

Pru waited for Jean to look at the polished wood picture frame she had bought her from the village the previous week. ‘I thought you could keep a photograph of Monty in it.’

Jean held the frame to her chest and beamed at Pru. ‘Thank you. I love it.’ She pointed to Pru’s gift. ‘I hope you like what I’ve bought you. I had no idea what to buy, when there’s so little to choose from near here.’

Pru folded back the last piece of paper and picked up the delicate grey leather gloves. ‘They’re beautiful,’ she said, stroking them. ‘And so much smarter than my knitted ones.’

Jean smiled. ‘I hoped you might like them.’

‘I love them.’ She leaned forward and kissed Jean’s cheek. ‘Thank you.’

They put their gifts away and Pru caught her friend watching her. ‘Is anything the matter, Jean?’

Jean frowned. ‘I was hoping you’d tell me.’

Confused, Pru tried to imagine what her friend meant. ‘I’m sorry, I’m not sure…’

Jean glanced at the bedroom door, then taking Pru’s hands in her own, leaned forward and lowered her voice. ‘Are you pregnant?’

Pru snatched her hands back and gasped. ‘What?’

Pru watched an apologetic look cross Jean’s face. Then, shaking her head, Jean narrowed her eyes. ‘No. I won’t be sorry,’ she said almost to herself. ‘I’ve noticed you’re unwell and have been for a few days, even maybe weeks now. You’re eating far less than you usually do and I can’t ignore how pale you go when dealing with blood.’

‘What do you mean?’ Pru asked.

Jean narrowed her eyes. ‘I saw how you blanched and changed your mind about taking out those bloody dressings in those kidney bowls.’

Jean was right. Now that she thought about it, the smell of blood agitated her and had done for weeks now.

‘I remembered my mother saying how sensitive her sense of smell was when she was pregnant with me,’ Jean said, giving Pru a pleading look.

Surely she couldn’t be carrying a baby? She thought back to when she and Jack had made love in the folly.

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.