The Waiting Hours by Ellie Dean EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Ellie Dean
- Language: English
- Genre: 20th Century Historical Romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 6 MB
- Price: Free
Devon
The sun had barely risen over the eastern hills when Carol set out from
Coombe Farm with the horse and cart. Dressed in the land-army uniform of
beige sweater, shirt and khaki dungarees beneath the standard-issue
gabardine mac and thick scarf, she was insulated against the cold, though she
knew she must look rather ridiculous with her fair curls tucked beneath the
hand-knitted tea cosy-style hat.
Carol had always liked these early hours when she made the milk delivery,
especially at this time of year when the steep-sided coombs were shrouded in
mist. The dew glittered on the freshly ploughed earth, and a hush lay over the
scattered huddles of villages and the patchwork quilt of fields and grazing
pastures. Her work as a land girl suited her perfectly, and the fact that she
could go home to her cottage every night was an added bonus, for she
guarded her privacy and independence fiercely.
Hector the shire had plodded patiently along the winding cobbled streets,
where thick-walled thatched cottages nestled against one another like loaves
on a baker’s tray, and the housewives came out with their billycans to collect
their milk ration and make a fuss of him. He’d negotiated the narrow lanes
winding between high banks to stop by farm gates atop lonely hills and
waited stoically as she’d exchanged empty churns for the heavy full ones, and
then carried on with a whicker of pleasure as they’d approached Slapton
village, for this was where he would head for home and a well-deserved
breakfast.
Carol held the reins loosely in her gloved hands and let her thoughts
wander. There was no need to guide Hector as he’d been doing this round for
years, and she enjoyed these quiet moments after the earlier hectic activity in
the milking shed, the silence broken only by the sound of the heavy clomp of
his hooves on the stony tracks, the jingle of harness and the occasional cry of
a sea bird.
Carol’s dreamy mood was broken by a familiar sound and she looked out
towards the distant seashore and the freshwater lake that glittered in the early
sunlight behind its shingle bar. With a smile of pleasure she watched the
flock of geese rising from Slapton Ley, their honking conversation echoing in
the stillness as they formed a chevron and flew towards Kingsbridge estuary.
It was a sight she’d seen many times before, but still it entranced her,
confirming once again how very lucky she was to live in this special part of
England.
For More Read Download This Book
EPUB
