Authors: Linda Finlay

The Royal Lacemaker (41 page)

BOOK: The Royal Lacemaker

11.41Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

âOf course, if you were to marry someone like Nicco, you'd never have to worry about money,' Jenna whispered, as ever picking up on her friend's thoughts. âHe's taken a real shine to you, Merry. What with him being set to take over the fish factory when his father retires, if you were to be nice to him, well . . .' She winked outrageously and Merry shuddered. Nicco with his oily black hair and staring eyes gave her goose bumps.

âNeed to concentrate, Jenna,' she muttered, not wishing to be drawn, for hadn't her mother said much the same, only she'd put it more delicately, of course? The one good thing about the pilchards being late was that she didn't have to encounter him. Knit two, purl six and twist the wool, she silently intoned as she began forming the little shells that had become the mark of her work. With fingers flying and their pins clacking, the little group were hushed as they pondered whether to try to meet the extra target or resort to damping down, as Kelys suggested. They all knew what the penalties were if they were to be caught fiddling.

A jab in her side jolted Merry from her thoughts.

âLook who's coming,' Jenna whispered, jerking her head. As Merry followed her gaze, she saw the ebony-haired Nicco strutting up the hill towards them. Her heart sank. And she'd thought the day couldn't get any worse.

âMust go,' she muttered, jumping to her feet and disappearing into the warren behind.

THE BEGINNING

Let the conversation begin â¦

Follow the Penguin
Twitter.com@penguinUKbooks

Keep up-to-date with all our stories
YouTube.com/penguinbooks

Pin âPenguin Books' to your
Pinterest

Like âPenguin Books' on
Facebook.com/penguinbooks

Listen to Penguin at
SoundCloud.com/penguin-books

Find out more about the author and
discover more stories like this at
Penguin.co.uk

PENGUIN BOOKS

Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin
Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London
WC2R 0RL
, England
Penguin Group
(USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group
(Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M4P
2Y3
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Ireland, 25
St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
Penguin Group (Australia), 707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008, Australia
(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11
Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi â 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) (Pty) Ltd, Block D, Rosebank
Office Park, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, Gauteng 2193, South Africa