by Annie Groves
‘But I was legally married to him,’ protested Kathleen.
‘And I gave him full marital rights, make no mistake about it. What’s a piece of paper anyway? He promised me he’d leave you and marry me. So I deserve it every bit as much as you do.’ Her voice was growing ever more vicious. ‘I’m not greedy, I’ll split it down the middle with you. But I want half and I’m going to get it.’
Kathleen felt faint at the idea. Just when she’d finally got something like enough to live on, here was someone threatening to take it away from her again. She couldn’t let it happen. She had to fight for Brian’s rights as well as her own. The thought of her son gave her strength.
‘No you’re not,’ she breathed. ‘I’m the legal widow and I am entitled to the money. I need it for my son.’
‘Hah! Where is he then? I’ve heard all about him too,’ the woman spat. ‘Suffocating little brat that wouldn’t stop crying, that’s what I heard he is. Not like my boy. Yes, you heard me.’ She took in Kathleen’s horrified face. ‘That’s right, you aren’t the only one with a boy to bring up, a boy who won’t ever have the loving support of his daddy. That’s why I need the pension just as much as you do. Ray wouldn’t have wanted our boy to go without. So it’s just a matter of us coming to an arrangement.’ The woman stepped even closer and Kathleen realised she was all but backed up against the fireplace. For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then, just as Kathleen thought the woman would actually hit her, there was another knock on the front door. This time it opened immediately, and Mattie stepped inside.
‘Hello, Kath, just wondered if you had any …’ Mattie came to an abrupt halt, taking in the scene before her.
Kathleen pushed herself upright and pushed back her hair. ‘This is … I didn’t catch your name.’
‘Elsie,’ said the woman. ‘Elsie Keegan. Or should I say, Elsie Berry.’
‘Elsie was just leaving,’ said Kathleen, getting her confidence back now that Mattie had turned up. She moved to the door and held it open. ‘Weren’t you, Elsie?’
Elsie regarded her steadily, her grey eyes cold behind their heavily mascara’d lashes. ‘I’m just off, yeah. I don’t want to stick around here any longer than I have to. But I’ll be back. You’ll be hearing from me.’ With that she swept out, slamming the door behind her.
Mattie turned to her friend in utter bafflement. ‘Blimey,’ she said, ‘who was that?’
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘Nurse! Nurse! Over here!’
Edith slammed on her brakes and expertly swung herself off the bike, assuming it was an emergency. Then she saw the waving arms of the small figure and realised it wasn’t. At other times she might have been cross to have been called to stop for anything non-medical in the midst of her shift, but now she gave a wide smile of delight.
‘Freda! And Vinny, is that really you? Look at you, aren’t you doing well?’ She crouched to the little boy, who was clutching the hand of his not-much-bigger sister, twisting shyly.
Mrs Bell, their mother, came hurrying up. ‘Oh, Nurse Gillespie, how nice to see you. You don’t mind stopping, do you? Freda was so excited when she spotted you cycling by.’
Edith shook her head. ‘It’s always a pleasure to see a former patient,’ she assured the anxious woman. ‘He’s much better, isn’t he? Vinny, how do you feel now?’
The little boy gave a grin. ‘Very well, thank you,’ he said quietly, shuffling his feet in their scuffed plimsolls.
Freda took charge. ‘He got better, just like you said he would, Nurse. His spots have nearly all gone. He don’t scratch nearly so much neither.’
Vinny nodded. ‘The spots all went away.’
Edith made a show of checking his face. ‘You’re right. I would hardly know it was the same boy, except your hair hasn’t changed.’ She knew he’d made a good recovery as he seemed so lively, and his eyes were bright with interest rather than fever. She turned to his mother.
‘You did a grand job there,’ she said. ‘I know it was a right royal palaver to keep everything disinfected and preventing contamination to the rest of the house, but look at him now. Are all your other children all right?’
The woman gave a heartfelt sigh. ‘Yes, thank the Lord. I can’t praise you enough, Nurse. You showed us what to do – we wouldn’t have known without you.’
Edith shrugged. ‘That’s what they train us for, you know.’
‘I suppose so.’ The woman nodded decisively. ‘Freda, do you want to tell Nurse our good news?’
For a moment, Edith thought that she meant there was yet another child on the way, and wondered if that could really be good news, given the number of little Bells already in that house. But Freda soon put her right.
‘We’re goin to the countryside. Me and Vinny and Ma,’ she said. ‘We ain’t stopping round here no more. Some of me big brothers might come, but Da and the eldest don’t want to go.’
‘That’s right,’ said Mrs Bell. ‘We’re ever so excited, aren’t we? Me brother found somewhere out near Northampton where we can all go together, only my Terry says someone has to stay behind and look after the house. Besides, he don’t want to lose his job, and he’s started fire-watching. But I don’t want the young ones in the filthy air no more. That was what did for Vinny before.’
Edith opened her mouth to start explaining that wasn’t quite the whole story, but the woman went on, dropping her voice. ‘Anyway, if what everyone says is true and Hitler’s got his sights set on London, I’m not letting them stay here. We’ll be safer out of the way. So we’re off next week.’
Edith nodded in acknowledgement. Even though the news was full of the RAF holding the Luftwaffe at bay, everyone still expected an invasion. ‘That’s probably for the best. Who knows what’s just around the corner. Sorry,’ she pulled her bike upright once more, ‘I’ll have to be off, but I’m so glad to see you. Vinny, you’ve made my day.’
The little boy came over all shy again as she waved to him, but Freda waved back enthusiastically. ‘We’ll send you a postcard!’ she called out as Edith cycled off.
‘So that’s what she said.’ Kathleen fell back into her one comfortable chair, exhausted by the effort of explaining to Mattie the outrageous but terrifying claims that Elsie Keegan had made. ‘You saw her, Mattie. She means business. She wants money for her son and sees me as the quickest way to get it.’
Mattie rested against the table top, her hands across her swollen stomach. Brian, now released from the kitchen, pulled at her dress for a cuddle but Mattie shook her head. ‘Sorry, Brian, not now. I can’t reach you properly any more. Go to your ma.’ She frowned. ‘Look, Kath, we don’t even know that she’s got a son, let alone that it’s Ray’s. This could all be nothing but a load of lies.’
‘I know.’ Kathleen tipped her head back and shut her eyes. ‘But there must be something to it or why would she bother? She’d pick on someone with more cash for a start, if she was just after getting rich quick. She must be able to see there’s nothing going spare round here. That’s why I can’t give her any.’
Mattie sat up. ‘No, you won’t give her any because she doesn’t deserve any. That pension is all yours, Kath, and you’ve paid for it already by putting up with Ray for so long. God knows you deserve a fortune for doing that. Anyway, she didn’t claim to be his first wife, did she? She knows she hasn’t got a leg to stand on. She’s just trying her luck.’
Kathleen could feel the tears pricking at the back of her eyes as the depths of her late husband’s possible betrayal began to sink in. ‘How could he? He told me he was on a ship nearly all the time, that’s why he couldn’t send money home regular … when really he was shacked up with her. God knows where, not round here.’
‘She sounds like she’s from Liverpool,’ said Mattie. ‘Didn’t you pick it up? It’s the same accent as Alice’s but much stronger. That was where he used to dock a lot of the time, wasn’t it? That’ll be it, then.’ She got up. ‘I’ll make us some tea, that always helps.’<
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Kathleen flapped her hand ineffectually at her friend. She didn’t think she could ever touch food or drink again. She was totally drained. She realised she was shaking, the shock now beginning to hit her properly. Ray had been cheating on her with that awful woman, leaving her high and dry with hardly any money, but with her believing at least that he was off doing his best for his family. To top it all, he had another son. That meant … Brian had a brother somewhere out there. Or at least a half-brother. The thought made her feel sick, and she dashed from the room through the kitchen to the privy in the back yard.
When she came back in, white-faced and weak, Mattie had the tea ready. ‘Come on, drink some, it’ll do you good,’ she cajoled, stirring a precious teaspoon of sugar into one cup. ‘We’ll make a plan. We’ll all help, you know we will.’
Kathleen shook her head. It was hard to speak without sobbing. ‘Is this some kind of punishment for not taking the kids to be evacuated?’ she wondered. ‘We could have done it, you and me, gone somewhere with Brian and Gillian. Should we have? Should we think about it now?’
Mattie spread her hands. ‘Not with me like this. Anyway, I don’t want to be far from Ma. We ain’t had any of those raids they talked about, and the news on the wireless says our planes are keeping the Jerry ones back. We should stay put, Kath. It’s not some kind of punishment, it’s just Ray still causing trouble from beyond the grave. Typical, if I may say so.’
Kathleen almost smiled at that. ‘And I don’t want to go away on me own. I can’t manage without you lot. Besides, Brian would miss Gillian something awful.’
Mattie shifted to try to get more comfortable. ‘So let me help you now with this Elsie creature.’
‘But I can’t ask you to, Mattie. You’re due in a few weeks now. You can hardly walk through the door, let alone see off the likes of Elsie.’
‘Well, I wasn’t thinking of fighting her,’ Mattie pointed out. ‘We need information, that’s what. Forewarned is forearmed. We have to find out just how much of her hokum is complete lies, or if any of it is based on the truth.’
Kathleen nodded slowly. That made sense. Mattie was thinking more clearly than she was.
‘We need someone who’s out and about, who knows everyone round here. So we ask Billy,’ she said simply. ‘He’d do anything to help, Kath, you know that.’
Kathleen shut her eyes briefly. That was true – he’d said so often enough. She’d spent too long avoiding him recently. She had to put aside her guilt and mixture of feelings to find some way out of this trouble. She sensed the threat was real – and not only to her but to Brian. For that, she would overlook any feelings of her own discomfort.
‘Yes. We’ll ask him.’ She set down her teacup decisively.
Mattie paused for a moment. ‘I know he’ll help. I’m sure of it. Only …’ It looked as if she was debating whether to say something or not.
Kathleen frowned. ‘What is it, Mattie?’
Mattie twisted her hands together. ‘It’s probably nothing. But I bumped into Clarrie queuing for tripe a couple of days ago, and she said someone at the factory had seen him out one night, walking along with a young woman. A nurse, he thought she looked like. A tall one.’
Kathleen blinked in surprise. ‘A tall nurse? What, Alice, you mean?’
‘I don’t know. She didn’t have many details. But I’m sure I’d have heard if it was Alice.’ Mattie shrugged. ‘There’s most likely nothing in it.’
‘Were they … you know? Holding hands or something?’ A cold sense of dread started to creep through her bones.
‘Oh, I don’t think so. I’m sure Clarrie would have asked and said if that was what they were up to. On no, I don’t think it was like that. Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.’ Mattie’s face fell as she realised the impact of her words on Kathleen.
Kathleen tried to put a brave face on it. ‘Don’t be silly. Anyway, I’d rather know, rather than put my foot in it. That would be far worse.’ She found she was gripping her hands together.
‘Right.’ Mattie put down her own teacup. ‘You and Brian had better come home with me. I don’t want you here worrying about that horrible woman coming back, I know what you’re like. Pack an overnight bag and put everything you need in the pram. Then you can help us cook tea. You’ll be doing us a service. After that, we can ask my father to speak to Billy. They’re on duty together this evening. That’s what we’ll do.’ She nodded firmly at her friend. ‘What are you waiting for? Get your things.’
Relieved at the idea of being protected by the Banhams, Kathleen did as Mattie asked. But the thought went round and round in her head: what if she had left it too late? What if Billy had found someone else, just when she was in her greatest hour of need?
Fiona pursed her lips as she reread the costs of the lease for the flat next to the nurses’ home. What had seemed a simple transfer had gone on far longer than she had wanted, but now it looked as if the place was finally theirs to let out to the two Irish nurses who had been waiting to join the North Hackney team. The two rooms had been redecorated. What had once been a living room was now an airy bedroom, and they had the luxury of a small kitchen and bathroom to share between just the two of them. If all was well with the trains, they would be arriving that very evening.
‘And not a moment too soon.’ Fiona realised she was speaking out loud. The threat of Nazi attack was growing ever stronger, as the RAF airfields were now becoming targets. What would be next? Logically it would be the cities. She needed all her staff ready and fully prepared for what was to come. On paper the two new recruits looked excellent, but Fiona had no idea how they would settle in, or whether they had ever left Dublin before. Then there was the question of how they would fit with the other nurses. Some had no problems, while others were homesick, found the rigours of working on the district too tough or simply went wild when set free from the limitations of living in a big hospital. Experience had taught her that it was impossible to predict which way it would go.
Still, the obvious thing to do was to enlist the services of one of the experienced nurses who had fitted in most quickly. Rising from her desk, she set off for the top floor of attic bedrooms, and knocked on Alice’s door.
Alice had been taking advantage of finishing her shift early for once, and for the best of reasons – a regular patient no longer needed her, having made a full recovery. She’d gone to the house, finished off the report for the doctor and waved the old man goodbye. She sighed with satisfaction at a job well done. If only they all had such happy endings.
Now she’d had a drink of lemonade with Gladys in the common room and come up to read the letter that had arrived with the morning’s post, but which she hadn’t yet had time to open. She was just reaching for the slim paper knife she kept on her bedside table when she heard the knock on her door. Before she could finish saying ‘come in’, the superintendent had already done so.
‘Alice! Glad I caught you.’ Fiona sat down on the bed.
Alice had long since given up being surprised at Fiona’s lack of formality, in such marked contrast to every other matron she had ever worked for. Fiona simply had no time for any of that. She was far too busy getting things done. True to form she launched straight in.
‘We have two new nurses arriving from Ireland today, travel arrangements permitting, and I would appreciate it if you could give them a hand settling in,’ the superintendent began, her grey eyes bright with enthusiasm.
‘They’re the ones who’ll be living next door?’ Alice asked.
‘Yes indeed. And a very nice little flat it is too,’ said Fiona proudly. ‘So, now, their names are Bridget and Ellen, and they’ve come from a big hospital in Dublin. They will be new to working on the district. Therefore they might well need help making that transition.’
Alice nodded. ‘I’ve been to Dublin. My father took me to see Trinity College once as a friend of his had studied there.’
Fiona smiled. ‘Excellent. You’ll have something to talk abou
t then. Of course, you’re from Liverpool. I expect you could get across easily before the war broke out, couldn’t you? Yet another thing that will have changed for the worse. Ah well, can’t be helped. You can explain to them how we go about things and iron out any little problems, can’t you?’
‘Of course.’ Alice smiled. ‘The biggest problem that I remember is trying to ride those bikes. I had a shocker when I started.’
‘Ah, yes.’ Fiona came as close as she ever would to looking guilty, and patted her copper hair. ‘Still, cope with that and you can cope with anything. We have two new bikes ready and waiting in the rack. I say new. New to us.’
Alice raised her eyebrows. With all the money needed for the upkeep of the house and staff, she knew that expenditure on bikes was well down the list of priorities. She just hoped the brakes worked.
‘Will you be in this evening? I shall let you know when they’re here if so. Good.’ Fiona rose. ‘And sorry to have interrupted – I see you have a letter.’
Alice picked it up from where she had dropped it. ‘Yes, it’s from Joe Banham.’
‘Such a lovely family.’ Fiona sat on a committee on which Stan Banham represented the ARP, and greatly admired his steadiness and refusal to become involved in the petty infighting that frequently threatened to break out. ‘So sad about Harry. But Joe is well, I hope?’
Alice blinked in acknowledgement of Harry’s loss, but said, ‘Yes, so far at any rate.’
‘Quite so. Well, I shall leave you to his news.’ With that Fiona swiftly left Alice in peace once more.
She once again picked up the paper knife and carefully slid it along the envelope, drawing out the pages of the letter. She loved this moment, the delicious anticipation of news, the way Joe’s writing sounded just like his voice. It was as if he was in the room talking to her. The letters were unlike anything else in her life, and she valued their arrival more than she cared to admit. She spread out the pages to flatten them and then gasped in delight as one phrase leapt out at her.
