A Brighter Tomorrow - Maggie Ford (thriller novels to read .txt) 📗

to take up as many of her evenings as possible, taking her out and about, watching her face light up at the money he would spend on her. He would look good in her eyes by doubling her allowance. Meanwhile he would quietly let her see that Michael was from a totally different background from her – one upon which she would never be allowed to encroach He’d let her see that this young man was only dallying with her until the day when he would marry someone of his own sort.

She would be furious, feel used. Arguments would ensue, accusations fly, recriminations be batted back and forth; love’s bliss would disintegrate, and who knows? – it might take just a single stern word from his father to make a disgruntled Michael Deel return to the bosom of his family. No need to dismiss him and no cause for ill feeling between himself and the boy’s father. It was a good plan.

Ellie had never felt so cosseted. She’d never had so many clothes bought for her or been taken to so many places – even to the music hall, which she liked the most. Even her allowance had been substantially increased.

‘I’m saving most of it,’ she told Dora in secret. ‘It’ll be a tidy sum by the time I’m ready to leave here.’ The only fly in the ointment was Doctor Lowe taking so much more interest in her than before. But so long as he gave her money she had to go along with it. After all, this was what she had planned for. More and more, however, these little outings were falling on the evenings Michael should have been coming.

She knew he was getting irritated as the weeks went by, asking what was going on. All she could say was that in time Doctor Lowe would tire of these needless outings. ‘It won’t be for much longer,’ she coaxed. ‘Then we’ll be together again.’

But now he was openly impatient. ‘How much longer?’ he had asked the previous week in a tone that rather took her aback. ‘You could try to get out of it sometimes.’

‘We still see each other on odd occasions, don’t we?’ she reminded him. ‘I can’t very well upset him. He’s been kind to me and he means well.’

But Michael had become quite annoyed, refusing to see her point. It was a side of him she’d never seen before and she in turn had been huffy with him. They’d parted company that evening without him suggesting they sneak out together, and on Monday he hadn’t appeared, a note arriving to say he was feeling a little under the weather, though she knew he was still angry.

She could see his side of it. She too missed their times together, but nothing could be done about it if she wanted to avoid suspicion of something going on between her and Michael.

She felt sure no one knew of their secret meetings and it did add a delicious touch of intrigue, her stomach churning with excitement every time she crept out of the back door into Michael’s arms. Twice this month she’d made an excuse to Doctor Lowe that she had a terrible headache.

Doctor Lowe, now seeing himself as her guardian and asking that she call him by his given name in private, couldn’t have been more concerned. On both occasions he had given her aspirin powder, told her to rest and had cancelled the evening’s arrangement. But she couldn’t play on that one too often. He had been so trusting and sympathetic that, in a strange way, it hurt to deceive him. She was aware that his fondness was becoming obsessive. If he found out about her and Michael, he might become bitter. If he sent her packing, her plans would fall apart. She couldn’t expect Michael to keep her. She needed to stay here until she chose to leave.

To tell Michael her plans would involve explaining about her father. Nor could she explain why she needed to remain in the Lowe household. What if he realized that she was using the man, and turned against her? If she lost him, her world would fall apart.

Dora’s voice interrupted her thoughts. ‘I don’t know why you want to leave. I like it here. Mrs Lowe’s awfully kind. She gives me nearly anything I want. And you don’t do so bad out of the master,’ she added slyly.

Dora, coming up to fifteen, was growing up quickly. Soon she would be having her hair up; the hemline of her skirts would be allowed to flare and sweep the floor. Whether she could constrict her waist to the extent some women were doing to achieve the new hour-glass figure would be up to Mrs Lowe.

‘I know I’m still considered employed,’ Dora pouted, ‘but I get almost as many privileges as you do.’

Ellie, though, knew Dora would never be as spoiled as she herself was. She knew she should be grateful – now with a tidy bank balance and anything she asked for within reason instantly given to her. She wasn’t, of course, able to come to the dining room with the master and mistress – Mrs Lowe saw to that; but she ate what they ate, meals brought by Florrie, who seemed to have forgotten that the girl she attended had once worked below stairs. They even talked together these days, Florrie sitting on the bed chatting while she ate, even helping herself to titbits off Ellie’s plate, making them both giggle.

It was good to have her as a friend again. She was almost tempted to tell her about Michael but thought better of it. Florrie had a wagging tongue, and if Mrs Jenkins got wind of it, she’d be straight up to tell Doctor Lowe.

It was as if Florrie had read her mind this evening, as they sat side by side on Ellie’s comfortable bed in the elegant room that had once belonged to the Lowes’ daughter. They had been