The Nightingale Girls - By Donna Douglas Page 0,69
seen much of it, stuck behind that machine all day. Honestly, it could be blowing a gale or anything outside, and we wouldn’t know about it . . .’ She chattered on, oblivious to the fact that Nick had stopped listening.
He was lost in his own thoughts, still thinking about Dora.
He would give her the money himself. It was as simple as that. He had always made a strict rule not to take anything out of his American fund, but he knew Dora would pay him back. And besides, his dream was still a long way off. Dora needed the money now or her dream would be over.
‘Are you listening to me, Nick Riley?’ Ruby blocked his path, hands planted on her rounded hips.
‘What?’
‘I knew it. You haven’t listened to a single word I’ve said, have you?’ Ruby pouted her full lips. ‘Here I am, giving you the chance that a lot of men round here would give their right arm for, and you’re not even paying me a bit of attention. I’ve a good mind to tell you to forget it.’
‘Forget what?’ He frowned at her.
‘Taking me out, of course.’ She raked her scarlet-tipped hand through her blonde curls. ‘I’m free tonight, as it happens. Do you fancy taking me out dancing?’
‘I don’t like dancing.’
‘Maybe you just haven’t found the right partner?’ She flashed her eyes at him. Nick moved past her and went on walking.
Ruby fell into step beside him again. ‘Oh, all right,’ she said. ‘If you don’t fancy dancing, how about the pictures? They’re showing the new Errol Flynn down at The Rialto. I love Errol Flynn, don’t you?’ she sighed.
‘He’s not my type,’ Nick muttered.
Ruby laughed and batted him playfully on the arm. ‘Oh, you’re a funny one, you are, Nick Riley! Come on, let’s go to the pictures. I’ll even sit on the back row with you, if you like?’
He looked her up and down. She was everything a man could ever want, with her pin-up girl curves and saucy smile. She was right, there were a lot of men in Bethnal Green who would love to get an offer like that from Ruby Pike.
But not him.
‘Some other time,’ he said.
As he walked on, Ruby called after him, ‘How do you know there’ll be another time? I might change my mind, you know.’
But I won’t change mine, Nick thought as he headed home, Dora’s charm still clenched in his fist.
Chapter Twenty-One
DORA SQUEEZED HER eyes shut, trying to memorise the bones of the foot.
She paused, trying to make the words sink in, but they just seemed to fall away into nothingness.
‘Each toe has three phalanges – proximal, middle, and distal – except the hallux, or big toe, which has only two – proximal, and distal. The hallux . . . proximal and distal . . .’
Across the room in the darkness she could hear Millie and Helen’s soft breathing as they stept. She longed for sleep too, but the PTS exams were two days away, and there was still so much to learn.
At least she had her books now. She’d been surprised when Nick gave her the money. Old Mr Solomon had been more generous than she’d hoped, giving her enough money to afford brand new books.
But that was where her luck had run out. The past week had been spent reading far into the night, trying desperately to catch up and cram her brain with all the information the other girls had been able to study for the past three months.
All the time, the picture of her family haunted her, smiling through their disappointment as they welcomed her back home. Just like Jennifer Bradley’s parents had as they bundled her into the car that day.
And then there was Alf. It didn’t even bear thinking about, being back under the same roof as him.
Dora lay back on the bed and rubbed her eyes. They felt gritty and sore from studying. How blissful it would be to just let them close and allow herself to drift away . . .
The squeak of the doorknob shocked her awake. She sat up quickly as the door opened and Alf Doyle stood there. His looming dark bulk filled the doorway.
Dora’s mouth went dry with fear. ‘Go away,’ she whispered. ‘You don’t belong here.’
Alf leered at her. ‘Not until I get what I’ve come for,’ he said softly. ‘You know what I’ve come for, don’t you, Dora love?’