Read The Girls in Blue for Free Online

range which was belching smoke. ‘You’ve let the ham boil dry, you stupid woman,’ she said angrily. ‘That was our meat ration for a week. Now we’ll have to eat fish every day and you know that the major isn’t partial to seafood.’
    Annie glanced over her shoulder. ‘Well take the pan off the hob then. Can’t you see I’m busy? I can’t do everything round here. You said wash the nets, not watch the pot.’
    ‘You’re just being difficult. Those nets needed a good wash.’ Maggie moved warily towards the stove and wrapped her apron round the handle. Lifting the pan and holding it at arm’s length she hurried out into the yard leaving a trail of smoke in her wake. She returned moments later with a resigned smile. ‘Oh well. That’s that. At least the hens are laying well. I checked on them and all present and correct. Besides which we should have plenty of potatoes if your grandfather hasn’t used them all up in his silly experiments.’
    Miranda exchanged puzzled glances with Rita, but before she had a chance to question her grandmother as to the nature of the experiments, Maggie had gone off on another tack. ‘Annie dear, would you be kind enough to fetch the girls’ cases? They had to leave them in your garden when that Toop boy left them to fend for themselves.’
    ‘I’ve only got one pair of hands, Mrs B. I’ll go as soon as I’ve hung out the washing, which I’m about to do now, unless you’d like me to sweep the chimbley first or climb up on the roof and replace a few tiles.’
    ‘No, my dear. That will be all for now,’ Maggie said calmly. ‘I’ll get the girls something to eat and drink and then we’ll see about finding where Rita is to be billeted. I’m sure the major will know the woman who is going to take her in. He knows almost everyone in town.’
    ‘Everyone who’s committed a crime.’ Annie tossed the nets into a wicker laundry basket. ‘I’ll go and see if Elzevir is home. Even I can’t carry three suitcases at once. You might treat me like a workhorse, Mrs B, but I’ll thank you to remember that I’m a woman just like you.’
    ‘Oh, get on with you. Do as you please, Annie. You always do.’ Apparently unruffled by her domestic’s uncompromising attitude, Maggie shooed her out of the kitchen.
    Mumbling beneath her breath, Annie took the laundry outside, leaving a wet snail-trail behind her as water leaked through the loosely woven wicker.
    ‘She’s getting worse,’ Miranda said severely. ‘You oughtn’t to let her speak to you like that, Granny.’
    Maggie laughed and shrugged her shoulders. ‘Oh, she’s all right. I don’t take any notice of Annie Shipway. We’ve been together for what seems like a lifetime. She was all sweetness and light today. You should see her when she’s in a bad mood. Anyway, forget about her and I’ll make you a sandwich or something. You must be starving.’ She went to the pantry and Miranda could hear things being moved about in an apparently random manner.
    ‘Mad as a blooming hatter,’ Rita muttered beneath her breath.
    Miranda raised a warning finger to her lips. ‘Shh. She’ll hear you.’
    Carrying a large china jug and a plate of cakes, Maggie backed out of the cupboard and laid her finds on the table. ‘My special homemade lemonade and the rock cakes I baked this morning,’ she said proudly. ‘Miranda, dear. Find some tumblers, will you? I can never remember where Annie keeps them. In fact, I’ll swear she changes the contents of the cupboards just to confuse me and to underline the fact that this is her domain and not mine.’
    Miranda knew exactly where to find the glasses. They had been on the same shelf for as long as she could remember, but she realised that this was a mere detail as far as her grandmother was concerned. Granny’s mind was always somewhere else when it came to domestic matters. She poured the lemonade and gave a glass to Rita before sipping hers. It was delicious, but it was common