A New Dream by Maggie Ford (world of reading .TXT) 📕

they’d been welded together. ‘She’s there – with him! The lights are on in his rooms, so where is she? I’ll tell you where she is, she’s with him!’

James was philosophical. ‘There’s not much we can do about it. She’s over twenty-one and can do as she pleases, though I hardly think she’ll get much of a welcome up here from any of you!’

He deliberately excluded himself from his family’s censure. Now that he had a girlfriend he knew how hard it could be for young people to rein in strong feelings. But he wasn’t prepared to let these outraged women into his private affairs so he merely allowed himself to put on an indignant expression and went hurriedly off to bed.

‘She certainly won’t get any welcome from us,’ Stephanie said after he’d gone. ‘In fact she should be ashamed to show her face.’

‘But she still lives here,’ Virginia reminded her. ‘And she’s done so much for us and as James said, it is her business what she does.’

‘You mean you condone her behaviour?’

‘No! I just… well, she’s…’ Before her sister’s glare she shrugged and let it go.

Sleep that night, at least for Stephanie and her mother, was disturbed by vivid imaginings of Julia’s improprieties. It was worse for Victoria, who had brought up her daughters to respect their purity until marriage. When she finally slept it was only to dream of turning her daughter out. She woke up on Sunday morning to find her pillow wet with tears.

Later, when Julia came upstairs to tell them joyfully that Simon had proposed to her and they were planning to get engaged as soon as possible, she was met with total silence from her mother, her good news ignored. From Stephanie came the caustic remark, ‘I suppose you’ve had breakfast with him as well!’ to which Julia made no reply.

The only friendly words came from Virginia, who whispered, ‘How exciting! An engagement! Congrats, Julia, I’m so pleased for you,’ and then probably a little guilelessly, ‘I will still be your model, whatever happens.’

There had been friendliness too from James, whose wry, knowing grin made her wonder what he, now eighteen, got up to when he was with his girl, Georgina. He appeared to be going steady with her, although he’d not yet brought her home to meet them.

It was an uncomfortable morning, one she was glad to see the back of. She and Simon planned to take advantage of a fine September day to have Sunday lunch out (she couldn’t have borne to eat here at home), later to take a stroll in Hyde Park, dine out and spend the rest of what promised to be a fine evening wandering along the Embankment.

Last night had been so wonderful; he had shown such concern for her, making her feel safe in his hands. They had not yet decided on a date for their wedding. With a business to run it would have to be fitted in outside the busy times, such as the build-up to Christmas. Maybe in the spring, although that too was a busy time; so in fact was summer. Still, it was something wonderful to look forward to and she felt entirely at ease with whatever the future held. Even so, staying the night with him should not be a permanent situation; she had her family to consider. She ought to have known what their reaction to last night would be, and had to admit they were justified in their feelings about it.

She told him her decision as they ate lunch. To her surprise and relief he agreed. ‘I don’t want to come between you and them. After all, in time I’ll be an in-law. Can’t start off on the wrong foot, can I?’

‘But we will be together some of the time until then?’ she pleaded, in sudden fear that it might be a while before last night was repeated.

He took her hand across the lunch table. ‘That must be left up to you, my darling. I want us to be together every night of the week, but think carefully. It would cause enmity between you and your family and I wouldn’t want that. Only know that I love you.’

His declaration made her tingle with happiness yet his warning also made her think as they lounged on the grass in Hyde Park, surrounded by other couples and families with children, all taking advantage of the September sunshine. But she and Simon hardly noticed the others as she lay on her back, her head resting in his lap, each of them entirely at ease with the other. How different it was from the only other time they’d made love, last year, when they’d both felt so awkward afterwards.

He began tickling her lip with a short grass stem he’d just plucked, making her turn her face aside and brush the stem away. ‘Now I suppose I must get you an engagement ring,’ he said suddenly.

‘Not if you don’t want to,’ she said with mock haughtiness, pushing aside a silly twinge of uncertainty at the odd way he had spoken.

‘I suppose it will have to be a good one,’ he went on lightly. ‘None of my shop junk.’

‘I hope not.’ She broke off the banter to gaze up at him in sudden foolish doubt. He was joking of course, yet it seemed to her he’d been a little too quick off the mark in telling her to be wary of going against social decencies and hurting her family. ‘You are going to get an engagement ring though?’

Still being playful, he bent over and kissed her lightly on the nose. ‘I suppose I’ll have to. What would you fancy – a solitaire, a band, a cluster?’

Hardly giving her time to answer, he lifted her up from where she lay, and taking her in his arms, he kissed her, a lingering kiss, in full view of everyone.

‘I love you,’ he said deeply as they broke away, then instantly became playful again. ‘OK, hopefully tomorrow when