Always and Forever, chapter 8

Although I think Oliver is being lamentably slow about wooing Amabel, I'm far happier with Always and Forever than I was with All Else Confusion. That's a relief; I feared that familiarity would breed contempt with every Betts title, but now I've realized that I have a special level of contempt for the dreadful Jake.
But I digress. When last we left our heroine, she was being stalked by Miriam, and Oliver was in love with her. Both of those things are still true here. Miriam comes to call on Lady Haleford, who is frail enough to see visitors for only a few minutes at a time. She suggests that Miriam and Amabel go on a walk; in the course of the walk, Miriam persuades Amabel that Miriam is about to marry someone named Oliver, a doctor in London who likes to help the less fortunate - in fact, he just helped some pathetic girl get a job. The level of detail here, and the idea that this would come up in a 10-minute conversation, would make me suspicious; Amabel swallows it hook, line and sinker.
However, this conversation has a silver lining (at least for the impatient reader), because after it Amabel realizes she's in love with Oliver. She's upset that he apparently loves Miriam, and refuses to listen when he tells her there's "a great deal I wish to say to you" (p. 221). He soon hears that Miriam has come to visit, so I imagine he'll straighten everything out in chapter 9. But in the meantime, he'll have to rescue Amabel again; her mother gets pneumonia, and Keith insists that Amabel come home to take care of everything. (This scene is reminding me of the end of Lois Duncan's Daughters of Eve, when Jane's mother is in the hospital and her abusive father says Jane will have to take over now. Sadly, unlike Jane's father, Keith won't be feeling the business end of a cast-iron skillet anytime soon).

Always and Forever, chapter 7

Amabel has settled in with Lady Haleford, though Lady Haleford wakes her up every night for several hours because she wants someone to talk to. Oliver comes to visit occasionally, and learns that Amabel has bought a new dress. Lady Haleford encourages Oliver to take Amabel to dinner (which he had intended to do anyway), and they have a great time eating and dancing. Amabel is depressed when Lady Haleford is smug about how she invited Oliver to ask out Amabel, because Amabel assumes that Oliver pities her. As it turns out, he's in love with her, and waiting for her to figure out that she is in love with him.
In other news, Miriam has taken to stalking: she often calls Oliver, despite his lack of interest in her. She drives out to the village where Lady Haleford lives and stops Amabel as she walks the dog so that she can scope out Amabel. She even goes to the local church and chats with the vicar, hoping he'll tell her about Lady Haleford and her new companion. He even mentions that he saw Oliver and Amabel walking the dogs, which makes Miriam jealous. The plot thickens - but not too much, as we only have two more chapters to go!

Always and Forever, chapter 6

Oliver takes Amabel to his great-aunt's house. His great-aunt, Lady Haleford, is 87 and has just had a stroke. She doesn't need a nurse, but Oliver and Mrs Fforde want a companion for her. Amabel settles in and is happy enough. Miriam is still chasing after Oliver, despite his obsious disinterest, and when she discovers that a young woman is looking after Lady Haleford, she jumps to all the right conclusions. The chapter ends as Miriam is planning a visit to see Lady Haleford, so she can see Amabel for herself.

her person

For the first time since I started this blog (so, okay - a book and a half), Betts uses the phrase "her person" (as in, "Amabel was conscious of a warm glow deep inside her person", p. 116). I always find this phrase amusing. Of course, I know what the phrase means, but to me it always sounds as though she's got a minion. Better yet, the "doctor's large person" comes through the door a few pages later; does he have a small person, too? Who's Amabel's person? How did she get one, and where do I get one?

Always and Forever, chapter 5

Amabel and Oliver enjoy an evening and an afternoon together (not staying with each other overnight, of course!). Amabel answers Dolores's questions about this, not realizing that Dolores is not as kind as she seems. Miriam persuades Dolores to fire her, asking her to do so for several days, and even lying that Miriam and Oliver had recently spent the night together, because Miriam Is Wicked. Dolores does this with a cruelty and dispatch that Miriam would have approved: she gives Amabel notice in the morning, and expects her to be packed and out of her room within an hour or two of the end of the workday. Amabel's aunt is away, so she's forced to rent a shabby room (for a high rate, because of the pets). She has to leave there a day or two later, and then she's almost reduced to the free beds at the Salvation Army. She goes to a little medieval church that she had pointed out to Oliver on one of their walks, so she can try to figure out where to go next. Luckily, Oliver finds her there.

Always and Forever, chapter 4

Oliver lets Amabel know about the job in York (the job in a shop that Miriam's friend, Dolores, owns), and Amabel gets it. She gets only half the going rate for such a job, and (gasp!) has to work almost 50 hours a week. On the other hand, hardly anyone comes to the store, and Dolores gives her a room (complete with kitchenette, loo, and enclosed space outside where the pets can go during the day) to stay in. So on balance, Amabel has done well for herself, but she doesn't see it that way. She spends most of her wages on making the room nicer, which can't be a good idea for one that has no savings.
Miriam has been possessive lately, and their friends have taken to treating them as a couple, so Oliver goes up to York to see Amabel. It's mind-boggling that Oliver can't understand the reasons for this behavior, but Dolores does. She calls Miriam to warn her about how friendly Oliver and Amabel are. At the end of the chapter, Oliver even quotes a Nigerian proverb ("Hold a true friend with both your friends") at Amabel, holding both her hands and telling her that he's her true friend. This always strikes me as hilarious; could he be any more literal-minded?

Shades of Enid Blyton!

In chapter 3, p. 77, Great-Aunt Thisbe serves Oliver and Amabel a high tea which even an Enid Blyton character would have cherished: "The table was elegantly laid, the teapot at one end, a covered dish of buttered eggs at the other, with racks of toast, a dish of butter and a homemade pate. There was jam too, and a pot of honey, and sandwiches, and in the centre of the table a cakestand bearing scones, fruitcake, oatcakes and small cakes from the local baker, known as fancies."