A Winter Baby for Gin Barrel Lane

by Lindsey Hutchinson

  After checking the files, the officer said, ‘There’s no reason that I’m aware of that would prevent you having the building. No one has come forward to claim the land and building so…’ The man left the sentence hanging before adding, ‘There would be a small administrative charge, of course, for us to amend our records.’

  ‘How much?’ Dolly asked pointedly.

  ‘Oh, say ten pounds? I think that would cover it.’

  Dolly nodded and, digging into her purse, she handed over the money and received a receipt in return.

  ‘Nice doing business with you,’ the man said, tucking the money into his pocket.

  ‘Likewise,’ Dolly said as she shook her head at his brazen actions.

  In the cab on their way back to Mr Sharpe’s office, Dolly laughed. ‘It’s unbelievable! That man pocketed the money right in front of us!’

  ‘There’s corruption everywhere, Dolly, you just have to keep your wits about you.’

  Thanking him for his help, Dolly then went to see the sign-writer. Explaining what she wanted, she was pleased when he said he would accept the job. In the meantime, he would put a temporary sign up on the gates. Once the work was complete he would invoice her.

  Dolly returned home a happy woman and the owner of a large building with a broken roof. The thought made her laugh, and she hoped Jack would approve of her rash decision and actions.

  51

  Later that evening, Dolly explained to Jack about her visit to the council with Mr Sharpe. She laid out her plans to eventually get the roof fixed and get the brewery up and running again. She enthused about possibly having their own distillery for the gin as well as brewing beer as Ezra had.

  Jack did thoroughly approve, although his words tempered Dolly’s excitement somewhat.

  ‘Good thinking, my love, but I ain’t sure how we can get that roof mended, though,’ he said.

  ‘I know. I’m worried we are now in the same position Ezra was.’

  ‘We’ll think of something. At least it’s yours now and no one else can lay claim to it.’

  ‘It’s ours, Jack,’ Dolly corrected. ‘All we have to do now is find the money to fix it up.’

  ‘Have a word with Mum, she might know.’

  ‘Good idea. I’ll take Joseph with me tomorrow, she always loves to see him.’

  After his mid-morning feed the next day, Dolly pushed Joseph in his carriage across to the Crown. She explained everything and asked Nellie and Nancy for any ideas they might have.

  ‘I don’t know, lovey,’ Nellie said as she rocked the carriage.

  ‘Could the bank help, do you think?’ Nancy asked.

  ‘That’s a good thought, Nance! Maybe Mr Blessep could increase your mortgage on the Emporium,’ Nellie said.

  ‘Possibly, but I don’t want to over-extend myself. I need to be sure I can cover the costs.’

  ‘Have a word with him and see what he says,’ Nellie encouraged.

  ‘It wouldn’t hurt, I suppose.’

  ‘You gonna take little man with you?’ Nancy asked.

  ‘It would probably be best if I don’t. Would you mind looking after him for an hour?’

  ‘Mind? We’d love it, wouldn’t we, Nance?’

  ‘Definitely.’

  ‘I always keep a fresh bottle with me when I go out and there’s a napkin in the carriage too.’

  ‘We’ll see to him if he wakes up,’ Nellie replied.

  Dolly left them, happy in the knowledge her son would be well taken care of for a short while.

  Arriving at the bank, Dolly was soon shown into the manager’s office.

  ‘Mrs Larkin! How lovely to see you. Come in. Do sit down,’ Jonah Blessep said with a beaming smile. ‘How can I be of service today?’

  Dolly explained about taking over the brewery building, and her tentative plans for the business.

  ‘I heard your name plate was on the gate,’ he said. ‘It’s a very brave thing you are doing, especially with the roof as it is. However, you would firstly need to get an estimate for the work to be undertaken. We could then add that amount to your existing mortgage facility if the costs were reasonable.’

  ‘I don’t want to end up like Ezra, being unable to make repayments and losing everything I’ve worked so hard for.’

  ‘Naturally, therefore my advice would be to get that estimation of repair costs then work out whether you can afford it,’ Jonah said.

  ‘Thank you. That seems the best course of action for now.’

  Dolly left, feeling a little better, and on the way home asked the cabbie to stop at Hodges’ yard.

  Eli readily agreed to look over the property. ‘I’ll have to smash the lock off the gate first though, but don’t worry, I’ll fit a new one and give you the keys.’

  ‘Would you do me another favour, please, and check the safe for the deeds? They might be better in my keeping than left there.’

  ‘I will. If I find them I’ll drop them into the Palace with my estimate.’

  ‘Thank you, Eli. Oh, by the way, Joseph is very happy in his cradle your son made.’

  ‘I’m glad to hear it, and my lads will be as well. They was very proud of that there cradle!’

  The cabbie drove Dolly home and thanked her for her tip. Going to the Crown to collect her son, Dolly shared her news with Nellie and Nancy.

  ‘This little ’un has been golden while you were out,’ Nellie said with a sigh.

  ‘I hope that doesn’t mean he’ll have me up all night,’ Dolly said with a smile.

  ‘If he still grizzles after his feed, give him a little drink of sugar water, that should settle him right down,’ Nellie suggested.

  ‘Thank you, I will.’

  That night, Jack was praising Dolly’s efforts saying, ‘I’m so glad you’re getting out and about. It’s nice for Mum and Nancy to have Joseph an’ all. You don’t mind that, do you?’

  ‘Goodness, no! I love that they’re so interested in him. I want them to be part of his life as he grows up.’

  Then, right on cue the little one let out a wail. He was hungry – again!

  A few days later, Eli arrived with his estimate. ‘I found these too. You were right, they were in the safe. It’s a good job I looked an’ all cos the safe wasn’t locked.’ Eli handed over the deeds to the property.

  ‘Thank you, Eli,’ Dolly said.

  ‘Righto, let me know what you decide,’ he said and bade her farewell.

  Dolly looked over his figures quickly. She and Jack could go over them more fully when he got home.

  ‘It’s a lot ain’t it?’ Jack asked.

  ‘It is. We would have to put the building to good use to justify spending so much on it,’ Dolly replied.

  ‘How? Other than storage, what could we do with it?’

  ‘We could open it as a brewery again.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Hear me out first, then tell me what you think,’ Dolly said and laid out her plan. ‘We could hire the original workers who would know how to get the place going again. If we contacted the same suppliers we could agree a contract with them. I’m sure the foreman would know all these things.’

  ‘Dolly, we don’t know anything about brewing beer!’

  ‘Not as yet, but we could learn. Besides, the workers will do all that. What we would need to do is find some buyers for the beer.’

  ‘Oh, that easy, eh?’ Jack laughed.

  ‘No, but it would be a start. If we kept our prices down I know we could do it.’

  ‘What about transport?’

  ‘The draymen will probably be keeping the horses, but we’d need to find out.’

  ‘Dolly, this could cost a fortune! There would be fixing the roof for starters, then employing workers and draymen, buying in supplies of hops and the like!’ Jack ticked off the list on his fingers.

  ‘I wonder where Ezra kept his account book,’ Dolly mused.

  ‘At home would be my guess,’ Jack said. Then seeing her look he gasped, ‘Oh no! You can’t,
it would be trespassing!’

  ‘The house is empty, Jack, and it has been ransacked and looted already, but people wouldn’t want a book full of numbers.’

  ‘I’m not having you go over there, it could be dangerous! You don’t know who could be hanging around!’ Jack was adamant.

  ‘But Jack, we would need to know prices and costs!’ Dolly pleaded.

  ‘No, Dolly!’ Seeing her face fall he added, ‘I’ll go instead.’

  Dolly flung her arms around him. ‘I love you, Jack Larkin. Take someone with you, just in case.’

  So it was that in the early hours while the town slept, Jack and Danny Whitehouse stole through the empty streets to Drury Lane. There was no one around but they still kept a wary eye out. Going around to the back of Ezra’s abandoned house, Jack tried the back door and to his relief it opened. They went in quickly and closed the door behind them. Everything must appear the same to anyone glancing out of a window.

  ‘Bloody hell! It’s been stripped bare!’ Jack whispered.

  ‘It’s no wonder with the amount of poverty,’ Danny whispered back.

  ‘Right, where would this damned book be?’

  ‘I’ll look upstairs,’ Danny said, then added, ‘Jack, stay away from the windows, else you might be seen.’

  Jack nodded and began his search. He found nothing. Hearing Danny’s light tread on the stairs, he asked, ‘Any luck?’

  ‘Is this it?’ Danny handed over the ledger.

  A quick look inside told Jack it was and he nodded with a grin. ‘Let’s get home before we’re caught and hauled off to jail!’

  They slipped out quietly and stepped along smartly, nodding to passing miners who were on early shift at the coal pits.

  Indoors at last, both men sighed with relief.

  ‘Thanks, Danny.’

  ‘No problem. I wasn’t about to let you go on your own.’

  ‘What were you doing up so early anyway? Jack asked.

  ‘Needed to pee! Then when you said what you were about, I thought I’d tag along.’

  ‘Well, I appreciate it and Dolly will too.’

  ‘It’s a good job I took Dolly’s advice and moved in so I could let out my house,’ Danny said. ‘The money is useful and I’ve rented it to a family who were desperate.’ He put the kettle to boil and prepared the cups.

  ‘I’m glad for you,’ Jack said. ‘It makes sense you being here.’

  ‘Jack, can I ask what you want with that book?’

  Over tea Jack explained, in confidence, what they had in mind.

  ‘I won’t breathe a word, I swear,’ Danny said.

  ‘Good man.’

  After breakfast, Jack kissed his wife and son and left for work and Dolly spent the morning poring over Ezra’s ledger. She was surprised at what she discovered.

  52

  Aggie was kicking her heels up in the bar when Dolly called her through to the kitchen.

  ‘I’m glad you got the brewery,’ Aggie said as she took the seat offered.

  ‘Thanks to you, Aggie. I would never have thought of it otherwise, but there’s something I want to ask you.’

  ‘Oh, ar, and what would that be?’ the old woman asked as she accepted tea from Alice with a nod.

  ‘Was it you who started the rumours about me looking for another pub?’

  Aggie sighed and nodded again.

  ‘Why?’

  Taking a breath, Aggie began her story. ‘Do you remember years ago, an old fella by the name of Pickles?’

  ‘Yes, I recall Nellie saying about him.’

  ‘Right, well, Jed Pickles was in his eighties and he gathered wood which he sold in bundles. He borrowed some money from Moreton and paid it back a penny a week.’

  Sadie and Alice sat down to listen too.

  ‘He needed it for his daughter’s wedding, I believe,’ Dolly said.

  ‘He did. She moved away with her new husband and old Jed took ill so he couldn’t collect his wood.’

  ‘So he couldn’t pay Ezra back!’ Sadie put in.

  ‘That’s right. Now, when he told Ezra this, that bugger cut off his little finger with his cigar cutter!’

  ‘Oh my God!’ Sadie said, her hand going to her mouth.

  ‘But I thought that was never proved,’ Dolly said.

  ‘No, but the doctor found it in his lap when he found his dead body. Ezra Moreton left Jed to die for all he cared, but his heart gave out first.’

  ‘How do you know all this?’ Dolly asked.

  ‘Because one of my spies saw it all!’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Through the window. He was about to visit old Jed to see how he was doing, but when he saw Ezra and his goons, he hid.’

  ‘Why weren’t the police brought in?’

  ‘An urchin’s word against a pillar of the community? Who would the coppers have believed?’

  ‘She’s right,’ Sadie said.

  ‘What has this to do with anything?’ Dolly asked.

  ‘Jed Pickles was my cousin and I swore then I would see Moreton pay!’

  ‘Oh, Aggie! I’m so sorry.’ Dolly could hardly believe her ears.

  ‘The only way I could see to do it was with the rumours. I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist buying those pubs. I’m sorry it had to involve you, lovey, but I knew he wouldn’t be bested by a woman again, not after Nellie did for him by getting her gin elsewhere after she paid him off.’

  ‘What would have happened if a builder had taken on the job?’

  ‘I made sure none of them would.’

  ‘But the bank lent him money!’

  ‘Yes, but Jonah Blessep was wise enough to word the agreement so, no matter what, Ezra would lose out.’

  ‘How did you find that out?’

  ‘The bank teller was in on it an’ all, so that’s how I got to know.’

  Dolly blew through her teeth and shook her head. ‘I had no idea.’

  ‘It had to be that way in case Ezra got wind of it,’ Aggie said. ‘Now, when my time comes, I can die a happy woman.’

  ‘Poor Mr Pickles,’ Alice said quietly.

  ‘All for a tanner,’ Aggie replied. Seeing the puzzled looks she explained. ‘Sixpence was all that was left to pay on Jed’s loan.’

  ‘God almighty!’ Sadie whispered.

  ‘Well, that’s one bloke Ezra won’t be seeing, he’s going downstairs where he’ll burn for all eternity,’ Aggie said with a toothless grin.

  ‘No more than he deserves,’ Sadie muttered.

  ‘Thank you for being honest, Aggie,’ Dolly said, ‘and be assured your secret is safe with us.’

  Sadie and Alice nodded in agreement.

  Dolly requested a tiny cask be filled with gin for Aggie to take home with her.

  ‘You have a good heart, Dolly Larkin,’ Aggie said, ‘I just want you to know how much I admire you, gel. It’s a rare thing to have a true friend such as you, but I’ve been lucky enough to have three. You, Jack and Nellie.’ She smiled as she returned to the fireplace in the bar.

  Dolly frowned as she watched the old woman begin conversation with those around her. What was all that about? Was Aggie trying to tell her something? She didn’t realise Aggie thought of her as a friend and was surprised by the revelation. It did, however, give her a warm feeling to be told as much.

  ‘Well, I’ll go to the foot of our stairs!’ Sadie said.

  ‘I’m not sure it’s all true, but we have to keep our word to Aggie and say nothing,’ Dolly emphasised.

  ‘Cross my heart and hope to die,’ Alice said and Dolly shuddered at the oath.

  That night she had a lot to tell her husband and Jack gaped in disbelief as the tale of Jed Pickles was told. Then Dolly brought out Ezra’s ledger.

  ‘Look at these figures, Jack! No wonder he was wealthy!’

  ‘How did he get away with it? Next to nothing going out and all this coming in!’ Jack pointed to the columns of figures.

  ‘Clearly he had a hold over a lot of people,’ Dolly answered.


  ‘How does this help us, though?’

  ‘Well, now we know what he paid for supplies and what he charged for his beer.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘We have to work out how much we could do it for.’

  ‘That’s your area, I’m no good with sums.’

  ‘I’ll need to visit Mr Blessep again. He’ll help me to see if it’s worth trying.’

  ‘Fair enough. I’ll leave it in your capable hands.’

  As they climbed the stairs to bed, Dolly felt the excitement build in her. This pipedream might actually come to fruition after all.

  The next day, before Jack went to work, he whistled for a runner. The bedraggled boy stood in the kitchen of the Palace, listening carefully.

  ‘Have you got all that?’ Dolly asked.

  ‘Find brewery foreman and workers. Tell them to come and see you tomorrow at nine in the morning,’ the boy repeated.

  ‘Good lad.’ Dolly handed over a shilling and off the lad went, the coin clutched tightly in his hand.

  Dolly took Joseph across to the Crown, asking Nellie if she would look after him for an hour. ‘I have an errand to run.’

  Nellie agreed enthusiastically.

  Dolly called to a cabbie to take her to the bank. In her bag were the deeds to the brewery site, Ezra’s ledger and Eli’s estimate. As the cab rolled away, Dolly hoped and prayed Mr Blessep could help her work out how much it would cost to set up business once the roof was repaired. She didn’t particularly want to borrow more money, but at least she’d have an idea of what would be needed when she could afford it.

  Jonah Blessep and Dolly spent a couple of hours over their discussions and poring over the figures and when Dolly left she had mixed feelings. She wasn’t able to procure another mortgage, and to extend her present one would see her just beyond her limit. She was sad about the delay, but she also had a better idea of what she needed to save. She was sure Jack would be pleased but relieved she had not agreed to sign anything that might jeopardise their livelihood.

  After spending an hour with Nellie and Nancy, she took her baby son home in order to rest her aching leg. She was right, of course. Jack simply said it would be a good project for the future.

  The next day, the brewery workers turned up on Dolly’s doorstep on the dot of nine. Over tea and cake, she explained what she was trying to do but that she could not afford it as yet.