Chapter 32

The skittles on Tuesday and the dancing on Friday were thoroughly enjoyable again. Edward and Becca's goodnights on both occasions were tender and prolonged. Becca's tingles were becoming more intense.

The Damsels' job did not run so smoothly later in the week. Jane's team on the ground floor ran into trouble. When they started to move items of equipment in the school kitchen they found that the walls behind and the floor under them were filthy. It was not good enough for The Damsels merely to clean down the walls and conveniently forget about the floor. Besides the dirt was greasy and slippery and might have caused an accident. The result was that they had to come in for two hours on Saturday morning. Mrs Bentham was most apologetic and promised she would never allow that state of affairs to occur again. Jane and Becca smilingly brushed her apologies away. Typical of The Damsels' team spirit, Penny and Kathy volunteered to come in too.

Becca was concerned at the delay. She and Nell had built in half a day's leeway into the work plan at the end of the final week but that was for last minute emergencies and was not intended to absorb delays in the first two weeks. The last thing Becca wanted was to be delayed going away for the weekend with Edward. Fortunately her ride with Steven this Saturday was not until eleven so they were still able to make that. She and Nell got their heads together on Sunday but were unable to come up with any time savings in the coming week.

When the girls gathered on Monday morning at the school Becca gave them a pep talk. "I don't want to have to work on Good Friday morning," she ended up, "as I'm going away for the weekend with Edward."

There were catcalls and whistles except from Nell whose Easter also promised to be exciting. They responded though and everyone really put their backs into it. There was no extra work in the evenings.

On Tuesday morning, Maisie rather shyly asked Becca whether she and Edward were skittling that evening.

"Yup! I have to have my weekly dose nowadays."

"Would it be all right if Peter and I came along?"

Becca looked at her with her eyes twinkling. "As long as you behave yourselves. No snogging in public."

"Becca!" Maisie blushed scarlet.

Becca screamed with laughter and hugged her. "We'd love you to come. I wonder whether Tom and Nell want to too."

Nell was enthusiastic but said that Tom had imposed a strict regime on himself of not going out on working day evenings. "He really is working very hard," she said proudly.

"Come on your own then."

"No thanks, Becca. I ... I sit with him while he's working."

"On his knee?"

"No! I'm doing a postal accountancy course so I work at that."

"Good for you, love."

The skittles were fun. Peter turned out to be a clown and there was a lot of laughter. He and Maisie did not join Becca and Edward for supper. Still being at school, Peter did not have that sort of money. Edward was silently delighted. It meant he would have Becca to himself. He had fallen in love with her. Unless the weekend went disastrously wrong he planned to tell her so at the end of it. She was quite lovely to look at. She was full of life. She was compassionate and caring. She had overcome the most hideous childhood. Despite her lack of education she had a quick and able mind. She was a go-getter. He could not find a fault in her. He just hoped that when he declared his love it would be enough to swing her from friendship to love. He knew though that she would not commit herself unless she was sure in her mind and heart.

The result was that at one stage during supper he lost the conversation and just stared at her in adoration.

"Moo!" said Becca with a slightly embarrassed giggle.

Edward flushed. "Sorry," he said, "but you are so lovely that I got carried away."

It was Becca's turn to blush and she looked down shyly. Edward took her hand.

"Don't be embarrassed," he said softly. "Be proud."

Becca smiled at him. "Thanks," she said equally softly.

"I can't wait for the weekend. I shall be able to spend four whole days with you."

"And be bored to sobs half way through."

"I don't think so one bit."

"Nor do I. I'm looking forward to it very much indeed. I'm getting teased something wicked by the girls."

Edward laughed. "They'll probably want a blow by blow account."

"They can whistle."

She was very excited about Easter weekend. For a start, apart from her trips with Steven she had never been away from her home town. Shropshire was going to be like another country. Would she understand the dialect? More important what would Edward's parents think of her Yorkshire accent? Admittedly, she was aware that it had diminished in strength since living with Uncle Steven but it was still quite strong. Would they hold that against her and look down on her? After all, they were professional people, upper middle class, and she was a lower class orphan and the daughter of a prostitute. She was frightened. On the other hand, Edward had accepted her for what she was. Would his parents be equally tolerant of her background? She hoped and prayed that they would. She was really becoming very, very fond of him. Funny that she had not really understood that word when Uncle Steven first used it to her but now she knew what it meant: a warm feeling for someone without the full force of love. For Edward it was a very warm feeling. Could it be love? She pondered on it on and off all the time. It was not the same as what she felt for Uncle Steven. For him she would do anything to make him happy. She would go a long way for Edward but not, as she realised, anything that might severely disrupt her own life or happiness.

"No," she thought. "I'm not in love with him and this weekend's not going to change that. It might come in a few months' time when I've been away from Uncle Steven for a while."

Then she wondered whether she might be leading Edward on and giving him false hopes. She hoped not. Their goodnights were becoming more ardent but that was largely because he was showing the physical attraction that Uncle Steven denied himself. Was she being forward? No, she had not made the running. Well, not really! It was just the same as asking for a second helping, wasn't it? Wasn't it? She was actually quite keen to find out about having sex with someone voluntarily instead of having some lecher force himself on her but she knew that Edward did not look on it like that. Certainly he was keen on her but she knew that he would respect her and not take advantage of her. It would hurt him beyond words to give herself to him physically and then turn his love down because she was pretty sure he was in love with her: his gentleness, the calf's eyes, his patience not to mention the shudders and groans when they were saying goodnight. She must not, not lead him on.