that still tortured her. She and Jack had lost their only child, a little boy, to measles when he was only three years old. They hadn’t had any more children, and though no reason could be found, it was as though something in Mabel had died too.
Phyllis had always wanted another child too, but though trying, Amy had remained the only one. At least she had her daughter, while poor Mabel had been left childless. Few remained on Lark Rise who remembered what Mabel had been through, or if they did, any sympathy they had once felt had long been forgotten.
With a sigh, Phyllis just wished Mabel would find something else to do with her time, something that could be meaningful, but after all these years she’d run out of suggestions. ‘All right, Mabel, as you’re keen to tell me, what have you heard?’
‘That cousin of yours, Rose, has got her eye on someone.’
Phyllis’s lips tightened. Rose was always the subject of local gossip and she said, ‘Don’t tell me it’s a married man again.’
‘To be honest it was only a snippet and no names were mentioned. Of course she’s had her eye on the landlord’s agent for ages, so it might be him. If it is, I don’t know what she sees in the ugly sod. I told him that my roof is leaking ages ago, but he still hasn’t got the landlord to sort it out.’
‘Keep on at him,’ Phyllis advised.
‘Yeah, I will. My back bedroom is in a right state and every time it rains I have to put a bucket under the leak. It’s just as well I don’t use it,’ Mabel said, her expression saddening.
As it had been the one that Mabel’s little boy had slept in, Phyllis understood, but it also gave her an idea. ‘If you can get the agent to have a word with the landlord about fixing the roof, you could let that room. It would give you a few extra bob a week.’
‘It’s an idea,’ Mabel mused, ‘but to be honest, I don’t think my Jack would stand for it. You know how he likes his privacy, and anyway, with him being a railway guard, we ain’t too bad off.’
Phyllis’s suggestion hadn’t been to do with money, though she had passed it off as such. A lodger might have given Mabel something to focus on, someone else to look after instead of spending all her spare time watching all the comings and goings on Lark Rise to feed her insatiable need for gossip.
They continued to chat and when the pot had been emptied, Mabel rose to her feet. ‘I’d best get my washing in. Do you want me to give you a hand with yours in the morning?’
‘Thanks for the offer, but I can manage.’
‘Right then, I’m off. See you tomorrow.’
‘Bye, love,’ Phyllis called as she left. She knew that few of their neighbours could stand Mabel, that they found her harsh and opinionated; but Phyllis would always stand by her friend, no matter what.
Amy and Carol were on their way home, Carol going on and on about her date on Friday. ‘Did I tell you that Roy’s got a car?’
‘Yes, several times. Tommy can drive, but his dad won’t let him use the firm’s van out of working hours.’
Carol gave a little skip. ‘I’ve never been asked out to dinner before and I want to find something special to wear. What about my hair? Do you think I should wear it up, or down?’
‘I like that French pleat, it makes you look older, sophisticated, but it looks nice when you curl it onto your shoulders too.’
Carol didn’t think that was much help, and her mind drifted to what she was going to wear again. It still seemed ages to Friday, but if she went to the Nelson Café for lunch tomorrow, she could see Roy again before that. The idea was appealing at first, but then she decided against it. After all, she didn’t want it to look like she was chasing after him.
As they turned into Lark Rise, Carol saw that Amy was looking at Tommy’s house, and said, ‘Why don’t you go and see if he’s any better?’
‘If I didn’t have to face the dragon, I would. Mrs Frost made it clear on Sunday morning that Tommy wouldn’t be up to seeing anyone for a good few days.’
Carol frowned. ‘Hang on, you told me you were with him last night.’
Amy’s face went bright red and she stuttered, ‘Yes … yes … I was.’
‘If you’re going to be a liar, you should make sure you’re a good one. You’re rubbish at it, Amy.’
‘I … I’m sorry.’
‘If you didn’t want to go out dancing with me, you only had to say no. You didn’t have to invent an excuse.’
‘I … I didn’t want to upset you.’
‘It wouldn’t have. I met up with some of the other girls at the club, though I would like to know the real reason why you didn’t want to come out with me.’
Amy hung her head, saying nothing, and Carol urged, ‘Come on, spit it out.’
‘I was worried about Tommy. If he found out I’d been out having a good time, it might have upset him.’
‘Tough. He doesn’t own you.’
‘I know that. It’s just that I really like him,’ Amy said as they carried on down the hill.
Carol just couldn’t understand what Amy saw in Tommy Frost. For her, Roy was all man, not a thin weakling, but she didn’t voice her thoughts, instead saying, ‘Look, Mabel Povis is on her doorstep again. I don’t know why she doesn’t put her bed on it. She’s more outside her house than in it.’
‘Mrs Povis is a bit nosey, but she’s all right really. My mum thinks a lot of her.’
‘Mine doesn’t,’ Carol said as she watched Mabel trotting up to them.
‘Amy, I’m glad I caught you,’ the woman said. ‘Your mum’s so worn out that she passed out this morning.’
‘What?’ Amy cried. ‘She fainted?’
‘Yes, but thankfully she’s all right now. You, my girl, should do more to help her around the house.’
‘Yes, yes, I will,’ Amy said, pale as she hurried indoors.
Unlike Amy, Carol wasn’t scared of confrontation and she glared at Mabel. ‘You had no right to have a go at Amy. She works full time, and on top of that she already does a lot to help her mother.’
‘She can do more,’ Mabel snapped and turning, she marched back into her own house.
Carol was left fuming, and her parents heard all about it as soon as she walked into the living room.
Frank Cole was listening to his daughter as she ranted and raved about Mabel Povis. He wasn’t in the mood for this. After a hard day at work maintaining the noisy machines in the printing factory, all he wanted was a bit of peace and quiet. Daphne, his wife, was of course listening avidly while Frank wondered what it was with women and gossip.
‘She was obviously waiting for Amy and had the cheek to tell her to do more to help her mother,’ Carol said angrily.
‘Well, Phyllis does have it hard,’ Daphne mused, ‘and I’m a bit worried to hear that she fainted.’
‘You should have seen Amy’s face. She went as white as a sheet,’ Carol continued.
‘I’ll pop along to see Phyllis in the morning,’ said Daphne, ‘though I doubt I’ll get in the door before Mabel turns up. It’s like the woman has some sort of radar system.’
Frank sighed and tried to divert his wife. ‘Daphne, what are we having for dinner?’
‘What we always have on a Monday,’ she replied. ‘Meat left over from the Sunday roast with bubble and squeak.’
Frank licked his lips in anticipation of a nice tasty dinner. To his relief,