‘No, really, it’s fine,’ said Jilly. ‘I’m pretty quick now. Will I see you over the weekend, Alice, or do you have extra dancing?’
‘Only for some of it. Come round tomorrow afternoon. Little’s baked shortbread.’
Jilly looked at the ground. ‘Sorry, Alice – Mother’s hosting the Red Cross ladies tomorrow and I’m to take all the knitting to the depot when they’ve finished.’
Now it was Alice who was blushing. Peppermint Grove was filled with ladies who knitted and sewed for the soldiers, and put on fetes and balls to raise money. But since the war had started four years ago, Alice’s mother hadn’t stitched a sock or rolled a bandage, and everybody knew it. Mama said she didn’t believe in fighting – that it all came to no good for anyone – and even when Papa Sir had gone to war, she wouldn’t change her mind. Jilly’s mother said that was a disgrace.
‘Go and see Teddy,’ said Jilly. ‘You mightn’t be able to for much longer.’ As soon as she said it, Jilly winced as if she wished she hadn’t.
Alice stopped sharply. ‘You’re not talking about the war, are you? You know Teddy doesn’t believe in fighting.’
‘Sorry Alice, I overheard Mother talking, that’s all. Teddy’s seventeen soon, and, well . . .’
Alice started to walk very quickly, not minding the thump of her ballet bag against the backs of her knees. ‘That’s just rubbish.’
‘But your father went – Papa Sir, I mean.’
‘Not to fight, Jilly. He’s a doctor – he went to help people, not kill them.’
Jilly looked uncomfortable.
‘As if Teddy would hurt anybody,’ Alice continued. ‘And he’s too young, anyway – you can’t enlist before you’re eighteen.’
‘But lots of boys do and no one seems to mind,’ panted Jilly earnestly, trying to keep up. ‘My brothers did. And you know how people treat cowards round here – white feathers in the mail and whatnot.’
‘No. Teddy’s staying here to take care of us.’
And though it made her heart hurt to think of Jilly milking alone, the idea of life without Teddy was so unbearable that Alice sprinted off into the twilight, hoping that if she ran fast enough, she’d leave it behind forever.
ouraustraliangirl.com.au
Want to find out more?
To play games, enter competitions and read more
about your favourite characters, visit our website.
We’d love to hear from you!
PUFFIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (Australia)
707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008, Australia
(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada)
90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Canada ON M4P 2Y3
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL England
Penguin Ireland
25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
(a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd
11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ)
67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)
Penguin Books (South Africa) Ltd (Pty)
Rosebank Office Park, Block D, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin (Beijing) Ltd
7F, Tower B, Jiaming , 27 East Third Ring Road North, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, China
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2013
Text copyright © Penny Matthews, 2013
Illustrations copyright © Lucia Masciullo, 2013
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserve d above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Design by Evi O. and Tony Palmer copyright © Penguin Group (Australia)
Cover portrait copyright © Tim de Neefe
‘Moore’s’ advertisement: (1930, December 20). The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954), p. 15. Retrieved December 4, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page5311330
penguin.com.au
ouraustraliangirl.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-74253-686-6
Meet Ruby Page 9
