A Brighter Tomorrow by Maggie Ford (read with me .txt) 📕

wallet. That will take us nowhere. I don’t intend you to use your savings for us. I’ll get money somehow, but I have to go home if only to face my father. I can’t walk away from my family without so much as a goodbye. We’re a close, loving family.’

‘Close, loving,’ she mumbled. ‘That’s because you’ve never ever done anything to upset them.’

‘I will do all I can to make them understand. My father has always had my happiness at heart. He wouldn’t wish to see me unhappy.’

‘When you tell them about us, you’ll see how just close and loving they are,’ she said with bitter sarcasm.

‘I’ll make them see how much I love you. I’ll make them realize that I could never live without you,’ he returned, none of his enthusiasm dimmed by her words. ‘When they come round to my way of thinking, we might not need to run away from anything.’

And I’ll be rich beyond my wildest dreams, came the thought, but it was an empty one. His father, shocked at his son consorting with a girl from her sort of background, would talk him round to the wisdom of continuing the life he’d always been used to, perhaps even resorting to all sorts of emotional blackmail that would make Michael look about him and think twice about leaving it all behind.

‘I shall be back before you know it,’ she heard him say. She said nothing and, after a moment’s faintly puzzled hesitation, he continued, ‘I’ll be back here tomorrow evening without fail after I’ve had a chance to talk to my parents. Doctor Lowe never need know about this evening, and of course Mrs Lowe will say nothing. I’ll make sure we have enough money. I wouldn’t dream of you financing us. And there’ll be no need for you to pack everything – just a few items, as I can buy whatever you need. If you come as you are, no one will suspect anything out of the ordinary. I will be waiting for you at the end of the road, nine o’clock tomorrow evening.’

‘What if you’re not there?’ she couldn’t resist asking.

He seemed a little taken aback. ‘Of course I will be there. Everything is going to be all right. I love you, Ellie. We’ll go far away from here, and we’ll be married and be together for the rest of our lives. Nine o’clock, darling, I shall be there, don’t worry.’

But she was worried – by an insidious thought that wouldn’t go away. He’d be reminded of his folly, persuaded to come to his senses. She’d be left standing at the end of the road for someone who would never come. And would he come here next Monday as usual, apologize for not having turned up, make excuses, new promises; would he say he needed just a little more time to persuade his parents? She didn’t think so. His father would never allow him to enter this house again.

Bertram Lowe would say nothing. If she asked, he would tell her that circumstances had changed and he had decided she needed a better tutor. She would be expected to continue her life here as if nothing had happened, he no doubt assuming she had no knowledge of his meeting with Michael’s father. Mrs Lowe’s plan to be rid of her once and for all hadn’t worked. She could very well be in danger of continuing to be saddled with her enemy’s presence in the house. That, if anything, was the only consolation Ellie felt, though it was hardly one to make her smile.

No, she would not go and stand at the end of the road tomorrow evening to wait in vain as the hours ticked on. But she would leave. She would pack all she could carry into two large canvas bags she’d seen lying in the corner of the kitchen downstairs. She would wait until nine before creeping out of the house. She might hover for a short while at the appointed place. If no one came, she would walk off, find somewhere to sleep for the night, even if only some dark niche. Life had taught her that the body could accommodate itself to any situation if required to. At this moment it seemed that sleeping away a few hours on a darkened street held no terror for her.

Or perhaps she could go to her old neighbour, Mrs Sharp. She would not see her left out on the street and there’d be a warm place to sleep if only on an old mattress on the floor. Maybe Ronnie Sharp would be there. It had been a long time since she’d seen him or even thought about him.

Ellie chased him firmly from her mind, needing to think clearly. As soon as it was daylight she’d say her farewells and be off – go first to the bank and draw out all her savings: Bertram Lowe mustn’t be able to trace her through her drawing it out little by little; then find a room somewhere.

After that the future was hazy, but one thing was certain: she’d have to make her own way in the world, buy a few painting materials. Her room would be her studio; what she painted she would sell to keep herself going. Meanwhile she would search for her father. He still had to be somewhere in London. She couldn’t imagine him ever wanting to go elsewhere. London was his home. His haunts had always been here, his women local; who else would have him? There still lingered that moment when she had been sure he was there right behind her at the opening-of-Parliament procession.

It might take years – her whole life even – to trace him, but she would eventually. That she promised herself.

As Michael took her in his arms to enforce his promises, she realized that all these thoughts had taken only seconds. Swept back into the present she found herself wanting with all her heart to have him waiting