Work in progress

To make up for the bad form of posting a long, self-obsessed post, I thought I'd post this shorter, self-obsessed post.

Basically, I've been quiet, but I have been working, and this is a sneaky-peak at the new novel.

Please be aware that this is a first draft, needs some pretty heavy editing, some lines and colour putting in, and the finished version might look quite different. I think what I'm saying is; don't judge me too harshly! I am very much a novice!

Pip xxx

Gren Peppard: Chapter 1

Marie Fletcher smiled nervously at Madame Sylvia Peppard, as she sat at the opposite side of the table.

“Lovely weather we’re having for September,” Marie said.

“Yes.”

She was sitting in the shadows and Marie couldn’t make out much of her face beyond the wide eyes, heavily outlined in kohl.

Marie glanced around the room and brushed her well-manicured fingers through her perfectly set hair. The window of the room was too small for it’s size, and it had been covered over with long, patterned, coloured silks. There was a small lamp on the table to her left, but it had been knocked slightly so the little puddle of light shone onto her own hands. She wrung them slightly, but then noticed what she was doing so sat on them instead. She resisted the urge to straighten the lamp.

Madame Sylvia had clearly spent enough time examining her, and she stood and walked to the shelves behind her. Marie watched the light catching the sequins on the long, full skirts. There were bare feet sticking out the bottom and she suddenly realised that Madame Sylvia was quite short and slender.

There was a small, wooden, set of drawers on the shelves, and Madame Sylvia opened three of them, and took a deck of cards from each one. She came back to the table, glancing at Marie as she did so.

Marie smiled nervously again, and reminded herself it was rude to stare. She looked over at the smoking incense burner behind on the fireplace instead.

Madame Sylvia sat down and lay down the three decks of cards in a row.

“Choose a deck,” she said.

Marie instinctively started towards the plain, new and nicely clear cards, but at the last moment, she pointed to the ancient, colourful cards next to them.

She smiled at Madame Sylvia, and was rewarded with a frown.

The other cards were removed from the table and Madame Sylvia briefly shuffled the cards, and then lay them down on the table again. She spread them into a fan.

“Choose seven.”

Marie startled. “Oh, I was thinking, could I perhaps go for the full Celtic Cross? Have you the time? I’ll pay for the full hour.”

Madame Sylvia nodded.

“My friend, the one who recommended you, Lisa, said that I should cross your palm with silver. I’ve been polishing fifty pence pieces.” She giggled.

“Lisa was ripping the piss,” Madam Sylvia murmured.

“I’m sorry?”

Madame Sylvia cleared her throat. “There’s no need for silver. You can pay in the shop for the extra time.”

“Oh. OK.”

“Choose nine cards.” There was an edge of impatience in her voice now.

Marie obeyed and with a slightly shaking hand, she started slowly pulling cards out of the deck.

Madame Sylvia picked them up, and laid them out on the table in a pattern. She put her head in her hands for a moment.

“Is everything OK?” Marie whispered.

“What? Oh, yes.” Madame Sylvia looked up again and gave her a somewhat uncomfortable smile. “You have a pet. A new one.”

“Yes! Charlie’s a Yorkie! He’s lovely!”

“Yes. He’ll give you much joy, he’ll be a constant companion and will live a long life.”

“Oh that’s nice!”

Madame Sylvia shifted in her chair slightly and frowned at the cards. Marie suddenly realised that she was a lot younger than she’d previously thought. Beneath the heavy make-up and ridiculous clothing, she was little more than a child. She’d put her at 22 on the outside.

“Yes. Er, what else…” she looked at the cards for a moment and glanced at Marie again. “You don’t need to worry about money.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, I know. I mean; you’ll never have to worry about money.”

“A windfall?”

“No, that’s not what I mean.” Madame Sylvia glanced about the room for a moment and sighed before looking at Marie again. “Look, I think one of the things you need to bear in mind, is that some people worry about money constantly. They don’t know how to feed their families, they can’t answer the phone or the door for fear of debt collectors. Every time there’s a minor mishap and their child loses their coat or something, they want to cry because they simply don’t have the funds to replace it.”

Marie stared at Sylvia blankly. Sylvia leaned across the table and spoke earnestly to her.

“What I’m saying is, that whatever happens, you need to keep in mind that that will never happen to you. You need to keep that in mind, you don’t have to worry about money. You won’t be minted, but you won’t be poor, and in this world that counts for a lot. OK?”

Marie frowned and nodded slightly.

“Er, are you saying I should be giving more money to poor people?”

Madame Sylvia drooped her head and sighed.

“No. I’m just saying; you don’t have to worry about money. Whatever else might happen, money issues will be fine.”

Marie brightened and smiled. “Well you’re very good, aren’t you! I don’t ever worry about money, I never have! David deals with all of that!”

Madame Sylvia rolled her eyes and sighed again.

“For goodness sake, Marie, David’s having an affair!” she snapped.

Marie sat quite still, her eyes wide.

“What?”

“Affairs! David! Your husband! He has them! Two, in fact, at the moment! For goodness sake, how can you not know that?”

Marie didn’t move.

“Look, I’m sorry!” Sylvia went on. “From my point of view it’s not a big deal. So, he’s not faithful, now you don’t need to be either. You might see that as a good thing! Clearly you can do much better!”

Marie seemed to come to her senses. She looked at Madame Sylvia with angry tears in her eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I think that making these vile, baseless accusations is utterly wicked!”

“Fine, he’s not having an affair then. Whatever. It makes absolutely no difference to me!” She stared at the cards on the table. “Do you want me to finish the rest of the reading?”

“No! I think you’re a nasty, vicious piece of work, and I will not be paying you for any extra time.”

Sylvia glanced at the clock. “You haven’t had any extra time.”

“I want a refund then! I will not darken your door again.”

She stood up haughtily and stormed from the room, sniffing and wiping her eyes.

Gren sighed and rubbed her face for a moment and drummed the table with her fingers. After a moment she shook herself out of it and pulled the headscarf from her head and brushed her hands through her long hair. She stood up, unbuttoned the skirt, which dropped to the floor and rubbed the mark on her side where the waistband had dug in slightly. She retrieved a pair of jeans that had been stuffed behind an armchair cushion. She hopped and jumped across the room while pulling them up, then headed towards the shop.