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BOOK 4
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Being Yours BOOK 4
The chatter stilled to the required silence. The bell shrilled through it, but the class waited.'That's it, then,' Amy said. 'Off you go.'They straggled to the door, and she checked round the room. Kate Campbell, the head of English who also taught a little drama, worked here next. Partly because she liked Kate and partly out of pride, Amy made a point of leaving everything in good order for her. Blinds up, lights off, blocks against wall, chairs piled; yes, everything was fine except for this piece of junk mail on the floor where it had dropped out of her notebook. She had no idea why she had put it there, but then she hadn't been herself this morning when that thing came in the post.She stooped quickly and picked up the bold-printed envelope, then called to the last pupil drifting out. c Jill!'Overgrown, sallow Jill Gann trailed back, returning the packet of crisps to her bag.'You know you aren't supposed to eat in here,' Amy reminded her gently. 'Is that your lunch?'Jill nodd
Being Yours BOOK 4
'The trouble is,' she went on, returning to the task of excusing and explaining her involvement with Robert, 'a lot of men have a bit of the bastard in them.'Kate pursed her lips, not about to express an opinion.'Which makes it harder to pick out the real psy . . .' she bit off the ugly word '. . . the real bastards,' she finished lamely.'Well, anyway, you're clear of him,' Kate comforted. 'That's the main thing.''If only I could be sure!'Kate blinked at the force of the outburst, then put her head on one side. 'There's more, isn't there?'Amy nodded.'More and worse?' Kate asked.Amy clasped her hands tight on her lap, while Kate stubbed out her cigarillo in the ashtray. 'Whenever you're ready, my dear.''It ... it might be nothing . . .' She told of what Robert had shouted from his window, his outline dark against the lit curtains.Til get you for this, Amy Hammond, 9 he'd said. Til get you if it takes me forever. 9At the time she had felt nothing but relief, right through the
Being Yours BOOK 4
'Yes, Miss. Sorry, Miss.' Tim bowed his fair head over his scrawled page in good-natured resignation. He had the highest total of wasted lesson time in the class. That still left him well short of the thirty minutes which would earn him a lunch-time detention, but the threat kept him working. The rest of the class, having briefly enjoyed his defeat, settled back to their find-the-noun exercises.'How d'you spell "saddle", Miss?' asked serious Jenny.That meant she had finished her exercises and started her story. Amy sighed at the thought of having to read yet another piece about a horse, wrote the word on the blackboard, and turned to survey the rows of virtuously bowed heads. Now that she had them writing she mustn't hover and distract them. On the other hand they might need her help any time, so she couldn't begin any work of her own.Half past three, she noted, and stifled a yawn. This was another thing that didn't happen in drama lessons, these spells when you couldn't do anythin
Being Yours BOOK 4
'Are you all right?' The man had followed her through the open gate.Amy tried to scramble to her feet. 'I'm fine.'But she wasn't. A sharper pain stabbed one knee as she unfolded it, and she hadn't put any weight on it yet. She gasped, dropped back to half-sitting, and tried to calm herself with a long, ragged breath.'Let's see if I can help you stand.' He bent to her with hands outstretched.'I'll manage.' She levered herself up with a huge effort. The chill concrete pressed her bruised hands and a fiery line of pain shot through her knee as, with the iron gate post cold beneath her clutching fingers, she stood lopsidedly upright. Casting round forsupport she found herself steadied by a leather-clad arm which had somehow got itself round her, its hand supporting her elbow.Have you got your keys?''Of course I've . . .''Right, then let's get you indoors.'As she hobbled through the darkness, his arm at her back urging her forward, she wondered how on earth she had got into this.
Being Yours BOOK 4
Perhaps she should have asked him to take the conker as well, and the stocking, and the drawing of an eye. Oh, how she longed to be done with them and forget them. But no, the Clarks said she must keep them; that though they weren't in themselves criminal evidence, they might help later, if other, worse things should happen.Amy shivered and felt queasy at the thought. Paul had wanted to take out Dave's chicken bones as well, but she had said no, some dog might eat them and hurt itself, or else the seagulls would throw them messily about. She wished now that she had let them go anyway; she could smell their greasiness from here.Ah, that was better. Harold had poured delicious-smelling coffee from his thermos.'I could have made you some fresh,' Amy felt bound to protest.'This is as good as fresh.' Harold bent to his bag again, and came up with a tiny bottle half-full of milk. 'My mum buys it special. Besides,' he added, uncapping the little milk bottle and adding its contents to his
Being Yours BOOK 4
'There.' He was back in the doorway, waving what she presumed was her own heavy black torch. 'I took this from the kitchen window sill. D'you want me to put it back there?'Amy nodded. 'I . . . I keep it there . . .' Oh dear, if only her voice would settle down and sound normal '. . . for emergencies.''How sensible . . .''Don't condescend to me!'There, that was more like it; she had managed to speak with real fire at last. And she had impressed him, she could tell by the way he blinked. For a second he stared at her, his placid brows drawn together in a small frown. Then he spoke, softer than ever.'I wasn't condescending, honest. Only admiring your common sense. Now,' he went on before she could answer, 'do you trust me enough to sit yourself down and give that knee a chance?'Amy stayed on her feet, holding on to her new hardness. 'Why did the lights go out?'He shrugged. 'It happened when I plugged in the kettle.''But Dave checked that. . . Oh.' Almost she wanted to laugh, mayb
Being Yours BOOK 4
'You see.' In the howl-filled dimness outside the front door, Paul had to shout close to Amy's ear. 'It's only a dog.''Are you sure?' She peered down the garden, making what she could of the shadow by the gate. 'It looks more like a wolf.'The creature had quieted, she supposed at the sound of their voices. Its blackness merged with the rustling, twig-fretted dark so that she could see little of its size or shape, but the odd glimmer here and there showed it sitting on its haunches, its great wolf-head silhouetted against the pallor of the inn car park and weirdly framed by the wrought-iron patterns of the gate. It must know they were there; it seemed to be turning towards them.'I suppose,' Amy observed from her knowledge of the Moor Fell dogs, 'it sees in the dark far better than we do.''I should think so.' Paul didn't sound at all disturbed at the idea.'So it can see us better than we can see it.''Smell us, too, of course, given what a keen sense of smell dogs . . .''I know ab
Being Yours BOOK 4
'All in good time.' He took up the plastic bowl from the hearth. 'Before I do anything else, I'm going to fetch some clean water, and wash that paw.''But you'll get chilled . . .'No use, he had already disappeared to the kitchen. Amy lifted her foot to rest on the cushioned raffia stool, sighed, and closed her eyes. When she opened them she found Jim standing before her, his round brown eyes gazing expectantly up into hers.What a huge, strongly-built creature he was, to be sure. Her little room had shrunk about him; he stood almost as high as her dining table and made it seem spindly in comparison. Now that she could see him in the light, she realized that she had been deceived by that first sight of his silhouetted head with the stand-ing-up, pointed ears; in truth he hardly looked alsatian at all. For one thing his head was too broad and rounded between the ears; for another his hair was far too long and too fine. It was beautiful, that hair, hanging like dark-gold silk from his
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