The Children from Gin Barrel Lane

by Lindsey Hutchinson

  ‘You said—’ John began but at a look that could burn him to a crisp, the man clamped his mouth shut.

  ‘Having trouble with your staff, Ezra?’ Nellie asked before her booming laughter caused everyone to take note of the confrontation.

  The noise in the bar turned to some low voices asking what was going on and others saying they didn’t know.

  Aware of the sudden quiet, Ezra kept his eyes on Nellie. In his peripheral vision, he saw Jack drag Dolly up the bar towards his mother. Then two young men appeared from the back room. These would be the brothers he’d been told about if he was not mistaken.

  ‘Everything all right, Nellie?’ Noah asked.

  Nellie nodded as the room now held an eerie silence.

  ‘Mr Morton has come to visit Poppy but as you know she don’t want to see him.’ Nellie saw Ezra clamp his jaws together in frustration as she spoke.

  ‘You’ve made your point, Nellie,’ Ezra said through clenched teeth.

  ‘Not quite, Ezra. You see this here is a gin palace, so if you ain’t drinking then maybe you should leave.’ Nellie tilted her head towards the door. Fred and the Dempsters stepped forward in a show of unity.

  ‘You’ve not heard the last of this!’ Ezra ground out and as he spun on his heel he knocked into his bodyguards. ‘Get out of my way!’ he yelled, pushing them aside.

  ‘Hey!’ Nellie called out and Ezra stopped. ‘If you two blokes fancy a change of employment, I could do with some help.’

  The two men grinned but Ezra scowled as he dragged them from the place.

  ‘Think they’ll come to work for you Nellie?’ Fred asked.

  ‘I’ve a feeling they might,’ she answered with a smile.

  Poppy, in the meantime, had been kept in the kitchen by Nancy. They had heard the raised voices and therefore knew exactly who was out in the bar and why.

  Now the room was back to its usual noise level with shouting and singing as more gin was consumed rapidly. Some were discussing the conversation between Nellie and Ezra, delighting in the prospect of passing on the gossip once they left The Crown.

  ‘Oh, Nancy, I knew this would happen. I should never have gone out with Ezra in the first place!’ Poppy wailed.

  ‘No, you shouldn’t. That Ezra bloody Morton! He’s a swine! We tried to warn you against it but you wouldn’t listen,’ Nancy replied sharply.

  ‘Don’t be too hard on her, Nancy, she has to learn, same as we all do,’ Fred said quietly as he walked into the kitchen.

  Nancy nodded. ‘Ar well, what you need is a nice young man to be walking out with then…’

  ‘Like me!’ Noah laughed as he pushed his head around the door.

  ‘Or me!’ Matthew said, jostling his brother out of the way.

  Poppy couldn’t help but smile at their antics.

  Fred sat down at the table next to Poppy and took her hands in his. ‘You don’t have to be afraid, cos me and Noah and Matt will look out for you.’

  ‘I know, Fred, and I thank you, but I feel like I’m in gaol! I daren’t go out in case I bump into him and I can’t live my life cooped up in this place!’

  ‘I understand. That’s why when you do go out, one of us will come with you.’ Fred said with a comforting smile.

  ‘Fred, you can’t babysit me forever!’ Poppy retorted.

  ‘True and one day we won’t have to. There will be a time when your own young man will protect you, but until then – we are your bodyguards,’ Fred answered with a quiet forcefulness.

  ‘That said, you lot bugger off out of my kitchen cos I’ve work to do!’ Nancy put in, her grin belying the sharpness of her words.

  It was then that Nellie came through followed by Jack and Dolly. Nancy rolled her eyes. Now what?

  ‘I’ve shut up shop for an hour,’ Nellie said, ‘we need a meeting.’

  Nancy sighed as she set the kettle to boil, at this rate she’d never get their lunch prepared.

  When all were sat at the table with tea mashing in the huge brown pot, Nellie eyed her family.

  ‘Right. Something has to be done about Ezra Morton – and soon!’

  28

  ‘Are you going to invite us in?’ Elizabeth Murray asked, seeing the colour drain from the face of the man calling himself Gabriel Short.

  ‘I—’

  ‘We can always discuss our business out here on the doorstep if you prefer,’ Elizabeth said before he could answer.

  Standing aside, Arthur in his guise as Gabriel, held the door open and the three women stepped into the untidy kitchen.

  Arthur was thinking rapidly, questions rolling through his mind one after another. How did they find him? Were they all friends? Did they know what he was up to? What did they want with him? Should he come clean and admit to his shortcomings? Would they call in the constabulary and have him arrested?

  ‘Now then, Mr Short, if that is indeed your real name, I think you have some explaining to do!’ Elizabeth snapped.

  ‘I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,’ he answered tentatively. Arthur knew if he was to come out of this unscathed, he had to play the innocent. His best bet was to turn this around and lay it all at the feet of the interfering Elizabeth Murray.

  ‘Come now, we are all aware of what you’ve been up to,’ Elizabeth responded with a look that would sour milk.

  ‘Mrs Murray, if you would care to explain what it is you think I’ve done—’

  ‘Mr Short! Don’t play games with me, sir!’ Elizabeth’s temper exploded. ‘You have courted these two ladies at the same time. You have taken goods and money from both—’

  ‘Gifts, Mrs Murray,’ Arthur cut in.

  ‘You cajoled Mrs Bradshaw and my mother into giving you those gifts, sir, with – in my opinion – a view to getting your hands on their businesses and fortunes!’ Elizabeth was beside herself with anger as she saw he planned to wriggle out of the situation he found himself in.

  ‘In your opinion,’ Arthur repeated, his confidence beginning to grow. ‘However, that opinion is quite wrong.’

  ‘Gabriel, you said you loved me,’ Ann Bradshaw said, her eyes misting over.

  ‘And you said the same to me too,’ Sylvia added.

  ‘And I do, I love you – both of you.’

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ Elizabeth’s voice rasped like a glede under a door.

  ‘Mrs Murray, it is possible for a man to be in love with two women at the same time.’ Arthur was playing for time in the hope the women would tire and leave his home.

  ‘You are a charlatan, Mr Short, and I for one do not believe a word of it!’ Elizabeth spat.

  ‘That is your prerogative, madam. Now, what passes between myself and these fine ladies is none of your concern so I’ll thank you to leave my property before I fetch a constable.’ Arthur was on the attack now and saw the change in Elizabeth’s demeanour.

  ‘I saw you in the market, Mr Short. I watched you steal from those poor people,’ Elizabeth countered.

  ‘You are mistaken, madam. I have not been to the market for some months.’

  ‘I most certainly am not mistaken! I saw you with my own two eyes!’ Elizabeth felt him getting the better of her and she knew it was her word against his.

  ‘Mrs Murray, I say again you have mistaken me for someone else. Now if you have quite finished invading my home and privacy, I would ask you to please leave – NOW!’

  Elizabeth took a step backwards at the outburst she clearly had not expected.

  ‘Pigsty more like! Come, ladies, I don’t think we will get any further with this lying cheat. I warn you though, Mr Short, if I find you anywhere near my mother again, I will see you in gaol for the rest of your days!’ Elizabeth cupped the elbows of Ann and her mother and marched them away from the house.

  Arthur closed the door and slumped down on a kitchen chair, sweat pouring down his face. That was a close shave and now because of that damned woman he would have to find yet another wealthy widow to court. Picking up a dirty cup from the table he thre
w it against the wall in a temper.

  Whilst Arthur was facing his accusers, Ezra and his men had returned to the brewery works. At his desk once more he fumed with disgust at Nellie’s treatment of him in the bar. Something would have to be done about that woman and her gin palace. Rubbing his top lip with a forefinger, Ezra breathed heavily. He could burn the place down with them all inside – but no, Poppy lived there too. If he was to take such a drastic measure he would have to entice her out first and there was no chance of that now she was surrounded by her minders. Besides, he had set his sights on finding a way to acquire The Crown for himself.

  With a huge sigh his hand left his face and landed on his desk with a thud. Tapping his fingers, his brain wound spirals trying to find a solution to the problem of Nellie Larkin.

  She had embarrassed him yet again in front of his men as well as the dregs of society who frequented the place. Nellie showed him no respect and he could not let that pass. The woman must be made to understand that he – the great Ezra Morton – still ran this town.

  Although unsure how he would achieve this as yet, he was certain he would eventually bring Nellie to heel.

  Meanwhile, the two men who had accompanied Ezra to The Crown were now off duty and on their way home. John and Jim Jenkins were the sons of Joan and Joshua. They had a sister called Juliet and another by the name of Janice. Jonah and Jocelyn were the young twins. The family had been the laughing stock of the street because of the names the mother had chosen until the eldest boys had begun to work for Ezra. Only then did the gossip and teasing cease.

  ‘I’m fed up with being treated like dirt,’ John said as they strolled along the street.

  ‘Me an’ all. Bloody Ezra, he won’t stop ’til he gets that wench in his bed,’ Jim answered.

  ‘It ain’t just that though, brother, is it? I mean, all this threatening folk to pay back the money they owe,’ John stated.

  ‘It’s hard enough for us, but imagine what’s it’s like for them as has to pay. I’ve no idea what it must be like to be poor enough to have to borrow money from a man like the boss,’ Jim replied.

  ‘Ar, I know, but Ezra don’t give an inch. He don’t give folk any leeway – remember old man Pickles?’ John asked.

  Jim shivered and nodded before he said, ‘I think it’s time to get out of all this, mate, what do you say?’

  Both big lads, their suits fitted beautifully on their muscular bodies. With their dark hair and swarthy skin, they could have been taken for gypsies had they been dressed differently.

  ‘I wonder what work Nellie was talking about when she called to us,’ John picked up again.

  Jim shook his head. ‘I dunno, but I tell you what, it might be better than putting up with Ezra.’

  ‘Money won’t be as good,’ John said.

  ‘Peace of mind would be better and mum would be happier an’ all,’ Jim answered.

  ‘What do you reckon then?’ John asked.

  ‘We can always ask. If we don’t fancy it, we can say no thanks and not be any worse off.’ Jim shrugged his shoulders.

  ‘As long as Ezra don’t find out,’ John said out of the side of his mouth.

  ‘He’ll have to if we go to work for Nellie,’ Jim answered with a little sigh.

  Veering off down Vauxhall Street, the brothers crossed Gin Barrel Lane and headed for The Crown Saloon. They thought it a good idea to strike while the iron was hot.

  Inside The Crown, everyone was sitting at the kitchen table waiting to hear what Nellie had to say.

  ‘Now then,’ she began, then rolled her eyes at a bang on the front door. ‘Fred, lovey, go and tell whoever it is that we’ll be open in an hour. Say – we’re just putting on a new gin they can try.’

  Fred grinned as he left the kitchen.

  ‘Jack, remind me to change the label on the Ladies Delight. We’ll put White Satin on instead.’

  ‘I’ll do it for you now, Nellie, while we wait for Fred, then it won’t be forgotten,’ Dolly said as she grabbed her walking cane.

  ‘Ta, sweetheart.’ Nellie watched the young girl hobble out to the bar. In a moment she was back followed by Fred and the two men in smart suits.

  Nellie squinted at them as she wondered what message Ezra was sending now – so she asked.

  ‘What’s Ezra after this time?’

  ‘Nothing, Mrs Larkin, he don’t know we’re here,’ Jim answered.

  ‘You said as how you might have work for us if we quit Ezra,’ John said.

  Nellie nodded.

  ‘Well, we was wondering what sort of work…’ Jim began.

  ‘And how much money?’ John interrupted.

  ‘Same work as you’re doing now in a way. Bodyguard, thrower-out and helping Fred in the cellar shifting barrels. Anybody misbehaving, you chuck ’em out; any of us going anywhere – you come along. You’ll earn same as Fred here and I have one spare room left at the back of the house if’n you need it. I expect Joan will be glad of two less mouths to feed if you take me up on my offer.’ Nellie grinned. She’d known the Jenkins family for years and had watched John and Jim grown into fine, strapping young men.

  ‘Would it be all right to let you know tomorrer, Mrs Larkin?’ John asked respectfully.

  ‘Certainly, lads. Talk it over between you cos I’m sure the money will be less than you’re earning now. Weigh it up – will the change of job be worth the cut in wages?’ Seeing them exchange a glance she added, ‘Think about it then and I’ll await your answer.’ Nellie turned her attention to Fred who was hovering in the doorway. ‘Fred, when you see ’em out, tell ’em what they’ll be earning – same as you’re getting.’

  ‘Fred chatted with his old friends as he saw them off the premises and returned to the kitchen and the meeting.

  ‘Right, let’s try again, shall we?’ Nellie said as everyone quietened down.

  29

  The following morning Nellie sat in the kitchen recalling the discussions which had taken place the previous day and had brought forth no answers. There was no way the little band could put Ezra out of business, that was for sure.

  Fred answered the persistent banging on the front door and returned with John and Jim in tow once more.

  ‘Hey up, lads, come to a decision, have you?’ Nellie asked.

  The young men nodded. ‘We’d like to join you,’ John said.

  When do we start?’ Jim asked.

  ‘As soon as you’ve told Ezra you’ve finished with him. It’s only polite after all. Then if you want, you can move in here with us,’ Nellie replied.

  ‘Thanks, Nellie,’ John said with a grin.

  ‘Our mum says to tell you hello and thanks very much for taking us on,’ Jim added.

  ‘I bet she’s glad you won’t be working for that toe-rag any more,’ Nancy put in.

  ‘She is,’ they chorused.

  They left and chatted and laughed with Fred on the way out. With a sigh, Nellie returned to the thoughts that were swirling in her brain before she was interrupted. Poppy was adamant she would be having nothing more to do with the man and was grateful they were all looking out for her.

  The coterie had grown by two more now – the Jenkins brothers, and Nellie wondered if any more would defect. If so, how could she employ them and could she afford to do so? Certainly, she couldn’t house them as all the rooms were now taken.

  ‘Nellie, there’s a public house across the street and it ain’t doing much business,’ Fred volunteered as if reading her thoughts.

  ‘How do you know?’ Nellie asked.

  ‘John Jenkins just told me. It seems they went for a beer the other night and the place was empty. The landlord is proper fed up an’ all.’

  ‘Well, I haven’t the money to buy it if that’s what you’re thinking, Fred,’ Nellie answered.

  Fred nodded his understanding.

  ‘You could though, with a loan from the bank,’ Dolly said quietly.

  ‘It ain’t likely they would loan me money, gel. Besides, why would I nee
d another property?’ Nellie said kindly.

  ‘They might if you took Mr Sharpe with you,’ Dolly went on.

  ‘That solicitor fella?’ Nancy asked.

  ‘Yes. He would know the right questions to ask and the correct answers to give. It might be worth discussing it with him. Then, if any more of Ezra’s men come calling, you can employ them at the new place.’

  ‘Do you think any more will detect?’ Nancy asked.

  ‘I can’t just up and buy a pub on the off-chance Ezra’s men defect,’ Nellie emphasised the word as she glanced at her friend, ‘and come looking for work with me! It would be a hell of a gamble and I ain’t sure the risk is worth it.’ Nellie was weighing everything up in her mind as she spoke.

  ‘It wouldn’t be simply to employ Ezra’s men, it would be a sound investment,’ Dolly said. ‘Two places – twice the takings.’

  ‘And twice the wages,’ Nellie replied.

  ‘Yes, but offset outgoings against earnings and you’d come out on top.’

  ‘Another question – what makes you think we could make a go of it? Fred’s already said it ain’t doing so well.’ Nellie wanted as much information and discussion as she could get before even thinking about it.

  ‘If it’s kept as a pub, I believe it wouldn’t do any better than it does now, but if it was turned into a place like this…’ Dolly spread her arms, ‘it would be a roaring success, I’m sure.’

  ‘What, two gin palaces opposite each other? You must be kidding! There wouldn’t be enough business to keep both running,’ Nellie said but her brain was already considering the idea.

  ‘Nell, I think Dolly could be right. You know yourself how busy it gets in here, especially in the summer. It’s so packed they spill out into the road to drink that bloody awful cack!’ Nancy put in.

  Jack and Dolly laughed at the expression, then Nellie spoke again.

  ‘That’s true, but anyway we don’t even know if the pub is for sale,’ Nellie said.