More Than Riches

by More Than Riches (retail) (epub)

  ‘What are you saying, Rosie?’ He reached out, the tips of his fingers stroking her face. Her skin felt soft as velvet beneath his touch. Her obvious reluctance to accept the growing affection between them only made him more determined to have her. ‘Have I offended you? Are you saying you don’t ever want to see me again?’

  Rosie sighed. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him. In fact she had a very soft spot for Robert. ‘All I’m saying is this… if the circumstances were different, I’d be delighted to go on seeing you. I like you, you must know that.’ But she didn’t love him. She loved Adam and always would. ‘But we can’t forget I’m a married woman. Even more important, I have Danny to consider. Tongues are already wagging. It’s got out that we’re seeing each other, and now here you are, turning up at the door, laden with presents. You’ve been seen, you can rely on that. And your visit here will be common knowledge all over Blackburn before the week is out.’ Anger rose in her, and her brown eyes darkened. ‘I’m not blaming you, but that’s the way it is.’

  ‘Do you want me to go?’ Whatever her answer, he had no intention of leaving.

  ‘I didn’t say that.’ All the same, she would have felt better if he’d stayed away. Some neighbours would understand, and others would make a meal of it. Malicious gossip could lead to all kinds of trouble.

  ‘Say you’re pleased to see me then?’

  ‘All right. I’m pleased to see you.’ Oddly enough, she was regretting having been too honest just now. Robert had been good company. He’d taken her out when she was at a low ebb, and restored her faith in herself as a woman. It wouldn’t do any harm to make him feel welcome today. Besides, what woman wouldn’t enjoy a good-looking man wanting to spend some time with her? Just as long it stayed within certain limits.

  She ushered him through to the living-room. ‘Of course I’m glad you’re here. What’s more, if you have nothing else to do, you’re welcome to stay all day.’ God! What was she saying? When would she learn not to let her tongue run away with her like that?

  He stared about the room. It was warm and cosy, and the small Christmas tree for which Rosie had paid half-a-crown at the market stood bright and sparkling in the corner. He wrinkled his nose. ‘Something smells delicious.’

  ‘It’s a turkey I bought for me and Danny. I left it cooking all night on a low light, and at six o’clock it was done to a turn.’ The air was warmed by all manner of aromas; the newly baked mince pies, the simmering brandy pudding, and the bacon rolls lying crispy and hot atop the turkey. ‘I hate leaving everything ’til the last minute,’ Rosie explained. It had been hard work to get everything done, but it had been a labour of love.

  ‘You’re a real little homemaker,’ he declared, seeing the blazing fire in the grate.

  Excited, Danny leaped up from the rug where he’d been sitting cross-legged with his new jigsaw. ‘It’s you!’ he cried, flinging himself into Robert’s arms. In a minute he was being swung into the air as Robert sat him on his shoulders, nearly knocking the ceiling light down in the process. ‘Your mam says I can stay all day if I like,’ he told the excited boy. ‘What do you think, Danny, shall I accept?’

  ‘Yes, yes!’ the boy cried, and the argument was won.

  ‘In a little while, Danny and I have to play Father Christmas to the Lewis family,’ Rosie explained, ‘so you’ll either have to amuse yourself here while we’re gone, or you can come with us. Which is it to be?’

  ‘I’ll come with you, of course.’ He thought it might be a good time to let the neighbours know he had staked a claim on Rosie.

  Peggy was delighted when she saw Rosie at the door, but her smile fell away when she saw who was with her. ‘You know Robert Fellows?’ Rosie said as they all entered the hallway. Danny ran ahead, but Rosie stayed with Robert. She sensed Peggy’s hostility and felt the need to protect him.

  ‘Rosie kindly invited me to share Christmas Day with her,’ he said in his most endearing manner. ‘I hope you don’t mind my coming along?’

  Peggy merely nodded, her face stiff. Turning her back on him, she led the way to the living-room. Behind her, Robert glanced at Rosie, and she returned a reassuring smile. Unbeknown to him, Rosie had already suffered a warning from Peggy where he was concerned. ‘He’ll bring you nothing but trouble, gal!’ she’d said. But Rosie paid little mind. Instead, because she suspected Peggy’s warning was not without a touch of envy, she explained how there was nothing serious between her and Robert. In fact, they were more good friends than lovers.

  Peggy’s mam was up to her elbows in baking. ‘It’s like feeding a bloody army!’ she chuckled. ‘I’ve been at it since yesterday morning and there’s still the chicken to gut and stuff.’

  ‘Away with you, our mam,’ Peggy chided. ‘You know very well you love it.’ Turning to Rosie, she added, ‘Honest, she’s like a great kid at Christmas. I’ve told her I’ll do the chicken and veg, but do you think she’ll let me, eh?’

  ‘’Cause you’ve done your share, that’s why,’ her mam argued. ‘If it weren’t for your wages, happen we’d be having sparrer instead of a fat juicy chicken. So you look after your friends and leave me to do woman’s work.’ With that, she pushed the rolling pin over the pastry and began singing.

  ‘There’ll be no talking to her for hours yet,’ Peggy laughed. ‘What with her singing and that lot creating bedlam in the front room, I don’t know whether I’m on my head or my feet.’ It sounded like all hell was let loose in the front room. ‘They opened their presents at four o’clock this morning,’ Peggy groaned. ‘You should see it in there. Honest to God, Rosie, it’ll take a week to clean up the mess.’

  She handed over her parcels. ‘The more the merrier,’ she said. ‘But you can always hide them ’til next year.’

  ‘What! That would be more than my life’s worth.’ Taking the presents, Peggy put them under the tree, all except her own. When she opened it and saw the pretty pearl-drop ear-rings there, she hugged Rosie hard. ‘They’re lovely,’ she said. In fact, they were the very ear-rings she had admired in Slater’s shop window when she and Rosie had taken a walk during one lunch break. ‘You never forget a thing, do you, you bugger!’ she said, eyes shining with affection.

  Rosie’s presents were from the whole Lewis family; a bottle of perfume and a pair of sheer stockings. She was horrified at what they must have cost. ‘Oh, Peggy! How lovely. But I dread to think how much they were. I’d have been delighted with just one.’

  ‘I know that!’ Peggy exclaimed. ‘And what they cost don’t matter.’ She shook her head and grinned. ‘Anyway, it’s me own fault for having a friend with expensive tastes, ain’t it, eh?’ Suddenly her mood was serious. Gazing fondly at Rosie, she said softly, ‘You’re the best friend in the whole world, Rosie gal, and after all you’ve been through, I wanted to get you something really special.’

  Rosie was speechless. Her brown eyes softened with tears as she looked on Peggy’s dear face. Choking back her emotion, she flung her arms rond her friend and hugged her hard. ‘I love you, you bugger,’ she whispered. When Peggy suggested they should get a drink from her mam’s secret hoard of gin, tears turned to laughter.

  Robert gave a slight embarrassed cough, and Rosie was mortally ashamed. ‘We’re neglecting our guest,’ she told Peggy.

  ‘He ain’t my guest,’ Peggy said stiffly. But when Rosie gave her a pleading glance, she relented. In a warm voice which hid her true feelings, she told him, ‘But you’re welcome to a drop o’ the old stuff, if you don’t mind drinking out of a cup. You see, we don’t drink in this house as a rule, and we only ever had two glasses. Our kid broke them when he was searching for his presents, so I’m afraid it’s cups for now.’

  Sensing her hostility, he decided that if he wasn’t going to alienate Rosie, he had better play along. ‘Thank you, a cup will be just fine.’ His smile was devastating.

  When the bottle of gin appeared, so did Peggy’s mam. ‘You little sod, our Peggy!’ she exploded. ‘I thought I’d hid that good a
nd proper.’

  ‘Do you want a drop or not?’ Peggy asked her, slyly winking at Rosie.

  Before you could say Jack Robinson she’d scurried into the kitchen and fetched out a mug. ‘And don’t be mingy with the measure!’ she warned, holding it out. When Peggy was too cautious with her pouring, her mam tipped the bottle in her own favour. ‘That should warm the cockles of me old heart,’ she chuckled, returning to the kitchen with her good measure of gin. In no time at all she was singing louder than ever. ‘Canny as a barrow-load o’ monkeys, is our mam,’ Peggy said. And Rosie was glad to have them for her friends.

  Half an hour later, Pegy showed her visitors out. ‘Don’t forget we’re going to the sales in the morning, kid,’ she reminded Rosie. ‘There are only one or two shops open on Boxing Day, so we’d best be away by eight if we’re going to snap up the goodies.’ Then she shot a last speculative glance at Robert and closed the door.

  ‘I don’t think she cares much for me,’ he said as they walked back to Rosie’s little house. What Peggy Lewis thought didn’t worry him the slightest, but he didn’t want that silly little cow setting Rosie against him.

  ‘It isn’t you personally,’ Rosie explained. ‘It’s what I was saying before. The neighbours have started to gossip, and Peggy’s worried it might backfire on me and Danny.’

  ‘I can see she’s a good friend.’ There was a bad taste in his mouth when he uttered these words. All the same, he knew them to be true.

  ‘The best.’

  ‘I care for you too, Rosie, and I wouldn’t do anything to harm you or Danny. You must know that?’

  Rosie didn’t want to be drawn deep into conversation just now. So she was immensely grateful when Danny commandeered Robert to ‘Play with my new jigsaw’, leaving her to bustle about preparing the lunch.

  Everywhere she moved his eyes followed, unsettling her, making her wish she hadn’t opened the door to him. Yet, for all that, she found a certain comfort in the idea that, on this special day, Danny had a father figure in the house. The two of them made a heartwarming sight, sitting on the rug together, finishing the jigsaw, with Robert looking like any loving father with his son.

  In one quiet moment Rosie paused by the kitchen door, observing them together. The jigsaw depicted a giant and a boy, and Robert was telling Danny the story of David and Goliath. She wondered whether she had been too hard on Robert. She couldn’t know that even at that moment he was play-acting, aware that she was watching, and hoping to get to her through her son.

  ‘Up to the table, you two.’ Lunch was ready. Decorated with parsley and wearing white frills, the turkey was laid on a large flowered plate in the centre of the table. Round the rim of the plate the bacon rolls made a colourful contrast. There were numerous deep dishes, one with crispy baked potatoes, another containing small round Brussels sprouts, and a third filled to the brim with fluffy mashed potatoes. Alongside stood a small shallower dish holding six tiny Yorkshire puddings, and nearby a pretty floral-patterned jug filled with rich brown gravy. The delicious aroma permeated the air. ‘I’m starving!’ Danny exclaimed. Robert said it was no wonder when they were faced with such a wonderful spread. And Rosie took all the compliments like any woman would, with a knowing smile and a large pinch of salt.

  During the meal, she relaxed her rule of no talking at the table, and the excitement of Christmas spilled over. Danny laughed and giggled, he chatted and threw his arms in the air when relating to Rosie the tale Robert had told him of David and Goliath. Robert was his usual good company. When, after picking at his food as he always did, Danny declared he didn’t want any more, Robert persuaded him he should eat up all his greens and grow as big as the giant. Danny’s eyes grew wide at the thought, and Rosie couldn’t help but laugh.

  When the meal was over and the table cleared, she realised that she had thoroughly enjoyed herself. In fact, she felt more relaxed than she had for a very long time. ‘You don’t have to do this,’ she told Robert when he picked up a tea-towel and began drying dishes.

  ‘And you didn’t have to invite me in,’ he said fondly.

  As the day wore on, Rosie came to believe that she had done the right thing. Certainly Danny loved Robert, and he appeared to feel the same affection for the boy. She was torn two ways. When the time came to shut Robert out of their lives completely, it was bound to be a real jolt for Danny. Conversely, how could she deny him the relationship that was already growing between these two?

  The afternoon went quickly, and soon it was evening. Everyone was still too full up to want any tea, so while Danny insisted that Robert should finish the jigsaw with him, Rosie listened to a Sherlock Holmes mystery on the radio. Now and then she glanced at the two on the rug, and a warm feeling came over her. A little wry smile covered her face as she wondered whether it was the gin she’d downed at Peggy’s house.

  ‘I’m tired, Mammy.’ At half-past nine, Danny rubbed his bleary eyes and fell into her lap.

  ‘I should think so!’ Rosie declared. ‘It’s way past your bedtime, young man.’ Taking him into the kitchen, she undressed him and washed him all over. Normally she would have had a fire burning in the tiny grate, but what with all the baking and the oven remaining hot for some time yet, it wasn’t needed.

  ‘Can I help?’ Robert got up from his chair when he saw Rosie carrying the sleeping child.

  ‘He just keeled over,’ she replied, her smile soft and loving as she gazed on the boy. ‘But he does weigh a ton, so yes, I’d be grateful if you could carry him up for me.’ Carefully, she delivered her son into his arms, and the three of them went out of the room and on up the stairs.

  As she led the way, Rosie wished it had been like this with Doug. Even more so, she wished she had not lost Adam. Suddenly she brought herself up sharp. Who was she fooling? She had lost Adam. And even by the longest stretch of imagination it had never been like this with Doug.

  To her surprise, she found herself wondering whether it would be so bad if she was to continue seeing Robert. Defiance grew in her. After all, she had no intention of ever living with Doug again. And if the neighbours gossiped, so what? It wasn’t them who had to live her life. It was her. She was responsible for her own actions, and she was responsible for Danny. She had asked nothing from nobody, and while she had a strong back and two strong hands, she never would.

  But when she looked at Danny, lying there in his bed, all her doubts came back. It did matter what the neighbours said, because gossip had a way of reaching the school playground and there was no one more wicked than children if they had a mind to bully. With Danny starting school after the holidays, she didn’t want anything to go wrong. Then again it was common knowledge how his grandma had been stabbed to death, and that his daddy was in prison for it. So he already had his cross to bear.

  ‘Penny for them.’ Robert had laid the child in his bed before turning to see Rosie deep in thought.

  She gave no answer, merely smiled, took him by the hand and led him out of the room. Once outside she closed the door and whispered, ‘Thank you.’

  He was pleasantly surprised. ‘For what?’

  ‘For making this Christmas Day so special for Danny.’

  ‘And have I made it special for you?’ His voice was soft, sensuously persuasive.

  She thought a moment and then answered truthfully, ‘Yes, I think so.’ He was looking at her in that certain way again, and it made her tremble inside. In the half-light, his eyes seemed darker. The very nearness of him was intoxicating.

  ‘I love you, Rosie.’ Reaching out he put his hands around her face and kissed her on the mouth.

  ‘No!’ Her voice was strong, but inside she was weakening. It was so long since she had been with a man in that way, and like any woman she was hungry for love. The feel of his mouth over hers had awakened something in her, something she couldn’t deny any longer. More than that it brought back tender memories of Adam, and with the memories came a kind of rage. The rage became passion, and passion blinded her to reason.r />
  ‘Don’t push me away, Rosie.’ He kissed her again, and this time she responded. Encouraged, he murmured sweet endearments, tickling the inside of her ear with the tip of his tongue to set her pulses racing.

  The need in her was as great as his own. ‘Not here,’ she said, glancing worriedly at Danny’s door. Curling her fingers into his, she led him down the landing to her own bedroom. The room had been hers and Doug’s. Now it was newly decorated, with a brand new bed and two pretty rugs that were soft underfoot. It was as though Doug had never been there. But none of that mattered now. He was out of her life and she was her own mistress.

  Inside the room, she half drew the curtains, some deep instinct in her making her ashamed. Slowly, she undressed. He watched her; first the straight blue skirt that showed off the shapeliness of her ankles, then the cream blouse with its deep revers and pearly buttons. Then her full-length slip with the lacy hem. Now the see-through brassiere and flimsy knickers.

  While she took them off one by one, he watched lasciviously, apreciating the slim and lovely form that was being temptingly revealed to him. At last she stood there in all her naked glory, and he gasped aloud. He had never seen such beauty. He knew he never would again.

  Quickly now, all reserve gone, he threw off his clothes and took her in his arms. The small taut breasts touched the hardness of his chest, making his skin stand up in goose-pimples. ‘You’re magnificent,’ he breathed. She didn’t answer. She wanted him, and was not ashamed. He swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed. There he laid her down. All tenderness was gone now. Like a wild animal he cried aloud, gathering her to him and driving deep inside her. Hard and penetrating, he took her to himself in a frenzy, frantic she would escape him. And she returned his passion with the same ferocity.

  Afterwards they lay, side by side, bathed in sweat and clinging to each other. ‘I knew you would be wonderful,’ he murmured. In bed, in the throes of lovemaking, she’d been as wild as he.

  Rosie climbed out of bed. She dressed with haste, a sense of guilt overwhelming. Before he could realise her intention, she went from the room and made her way downstairs. The guilt went with her, the awful shame of what she had done.