Read The Mill Girls of Albion Lane for Free Online Page B

foot back into her shoe. Then she cast a critical eye over Ernie’s new dance partner as they attempted the complicated steps of the foxtrot. ‘Yellow’s the wrong colour for her. It makes her look washed out,’ she concluded.
    â€˜Do you fancy this dance?’ Lily asked Sybil, partly to get away from moaning-minnie Hilda.
    â€˜Not half,’ Sybil agreed. And they were back on the floor, smiling at members of the band as they passed the stage, skirts flaring as they twirled.
    By half past nine, after three hours of non-stop dancing, Lily’s face was hot and her feet ached but she’d had a marvellous time.
    â€˜You’re not leaving already?’ Annie called from the arms of her handsome mechanic as they slow-waltzed by. They made a perfect couple – Robert with a lock of his slicked-back hair curling down on to his broad forehead but otherwise dapper; Annie with flushed cheeks, one slim hand raised and resting lightly on his shoulder, the other clasped firmly by her partner, who seemed to have no intention of ever letting go.
    Lily pointed to the clock on the wall. ‘I have to catch the next tram home, remember.’
    â€˜Poor you,’ Annie commiserated. Her father was dead and her worn-down mother was way past caring what time she got home.
    Sybil too was happily being swept off her feet again by the commercial traveller, so it was Ernie and Harry who offered to ride the tram with Lily.
    â€˜Don’t bother about me,’ she told them, handing over her ticket to collect her coat. ‘I’ll be fine, thanks.’
    â€˜Who says we’re bothered about you?’ Ernie countered as he loosened his tie, undid his top button then took out a packet of cigarettes. ‘It just so happens we’re on our way too.’
    â€˜What’s the matter, Ern – did Hilda warn all the other girls about your two left feet?’
    â€˜Say what you like to me, Lily Briggs, it’s water off a duck’s back.’ Undented, Ernie offered his cigarettes to Lily and Harry who both shook their heads. ‘As a matter of fact, Harry and me fancied getting back for a pint at the Cross before closing time.’
    â€˜The foxtrot was too much for you both, was it?’ As they came down the steps of the Assembly Rooms into the fog and heavy drizzle, Lily turned up her coat collar for the cold wait at the nearby tram stop. ‘Never mind, I’m sure the girls of Overcliffe Assembly Rooms will get over their disappointment in time.’
    The easy conversation between Ernie and Lily flowed on while Harry stayed noticeably quiet until the tram appeared and they stepped on to the platform for the short journey home. The tram was crowded, so Lily stood in the aisle between Ernie and Harry. When the rocking motion on the bend at Chapel Street threw her against Harry, he steadied her with a hand and she gave him a grateful smile. What’s come over me? she secretly wondered. Why am I so hot and bothered every time Harry Bainbridge looks at me in a certain way?
    â€˜Here’s our stop,’ Ernie said at last, peering out into the rain-soaked night. Harry pushed ahead along the gangway, making space for Lily and Ernie to follow. The conductor pressed the bell, the tram stopped and the three of them alighted.
    â€˜How about fishcake and chips on me?’ Harry offered as they stood outside Pennington’s at the top of Raglan Road and he felt inside his trouser pockets. ‘I reckon I can scrape the pennies together.’
    Ernie looked put out. ‘I thought we’d agreed on a pint?’
    â€˜And anyway I have to get back home,’ Lily said quickly, though with a pang of regret. ‘Thanks, Harry – maybe next time.’
    So Harry and Ernie walked Lily down Raglan Road, through the alley on to Albion Lane where they deposited her at her house then walked on to the Green Cross.
    She waited a while, letting their footsteps recede, staring