by Lesley Eames
Estelle Huxtable had been born the following year and rapidly acquired the nickname of Star. Fair-haired and pretty as a picture, she was full of mischief and ran the Dellamore boys ragged.
Ruth’s own son, Arthur – Arty for short – was a few weeks younger. In looks he had Ruth’s auburn hair and Johnnie’s blue eyes. In disposition he was kind and understanding.
‘Like you,’ Ruth had told Johnnie.
‘Like you,’ Johnnie had told Ruth.
‘Like both of you,’ Grace had said, settling it.
The fifth anniversary of Silver Ladies gave Ruth the chance to take more photos for her album because all four families gathered in the office to celebrate with a party. They often had parties these days – noisy affairs with much chatter and laughter.
It was later, as the party settled down, that Ruth noticed Grace looking thoughtful and went to stand beside her.
‘I was thinking how quickly five years have gone,’ Grace said. ‘We’ve seen some changes, haven’t we?’
Five years ago, Shepherds Mews had been spider-infested and filthy. Now it was smart and the business was thriving. But it was the difference the intervening years had made to their personal lives that was most remarkable of all.
‘It felt like the end of the world when we were dismissed and we never did get an apology from Mrs Arleigh. But look at us now. Happy and fulfilled,’ Ruth said.
They looked round at all the people who’d helped to make that possible.
Harry was holding a giggling Star high above his head while Johnnie took a photo. Hux and Lydia had the twins swinging round their necks while Owen and Jenny were making plasticine animals with Arty and Gareth.
Old Mrs Lavenham was there, much healthier these days and beaming broadly. So too were Ruth’s brother, Jimmy, and his wife, Ellen, regular visitors these days and proud parents to a new-born daughter. Even Frank Grey was present alongside Lady Violet who terrified him but also brought out the best in him because she forced him take part in conversations instead of allowing him to sit in corners.
There were so many people in their lives now. And there were more on the way. Both Ruth and Grace were pregnant again.
‘We’re going to need extra help now we’re expecting our second babies,’ Ruth said.
‘And buying a second car.’
They were expanding the business as well as their waistlines because the Silver Lady was in constant demand. Regular recommendations were made by Owen’s garage and existing customers, while Johnnie often used the Silver Lady in advertisements and portraits. The racing careers of Lydia, Harry and Hux all helped to make Silver Ladies both well-known and glamorous too. These days the business even had a waiting list of customers. Grace took a notebook from her pocket. ‘We should start thinking about the sort of girls we’d like to employ.’
Lydia and Jenny walked over. ‘What’s this?’ Lydia asked.
‘We’re thinking about the new staff we’re going to need,’ Grace explained.
‘Good idea,’ Jenny said.
From the pretty way her cheeks flushed, Ruth guessed it wouldn’t be long before the Huxtables were expecting another baby too.
‘I’d like the new girls to have ambition,’ Grace said, writing ‘Ambitious’ into the notebook.
‘They’ll need to be hard-working,’ Ruth pointed out, and Grace wrote ‘Hard-working’ too.
‘With good driving skills,’ Jenny suggested.
‘And charm,’ Lydia added. Then she laughed and threw her hands up. ‘I’m not suggesting I’ve got charm. We all know I haven’t. But the three of you have.’
That was the thing about Silver Ladies, Ruth realised. About their friendship too. All four of them were different, but whether it was charm, ambition, hard work or a passion for motoring, they all contributed qualities that enriched their business and friendship alike.
So perhaps they shouldn’t be too narrow in their requirements looking forward. If they kept their minds open, who knew what talents and personalities the new girls might bring to Shepherds Mews?
One thing was certain. It was going to be exciting.
We hope you enjoyed this book.
Lesley Eames’ next book is coming in spring 2019
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Acknowledgements
About Lesley Eames
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Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Caroline Ridding and the team at Aria, and to my agent, Lisa Eveleigh, for believing in my writing and helping to shape this book. One of the key themes of the book is friendship and I consider myself blessed to have some wonderful friends in my life. This list is by no means exhaustive, but special thanks go to: Judith (friend since the age of eleven and fellow writer of stories while on the school bus); Sandra and Sionaidh (long-term cheerleaders of my writing); Sue Johnson and Lynda Dunwell (beta readers, kick-arse friends and fabulous writers too); Liz (wine ’n’ whinge putting the world to rights friend); Noreen, Chandra, Morag, Bloss, Lucie and Sarah (the hot-tub girls), all the other St Albans friends, everyone at the fabulous Verulam Writers, the Leeds Uni gang… We’re never too old to make new friends, so another shout-out is due to Kerena Swan, my creative writing student turned terrific writer turned friend. You’re all amazing.
About Lesley Eames
Born in Manchester but currently living in Hertfordshire, Lesley’s career has included law and charity fundraising. She is now devoting her time to her own writing and to teaching creative writing to others. In addition to selling almost 90 short stories to the women’s magazine market, Lesley has won the Festival of Romance’s New Talent Award and the Romantic Novelists’ Associations Elizabeth Goudge Cup.
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Addictive Fiction
First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Lesley Eames, 2018
The moral right of Lesley Eames to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781788545716
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