A Daughter's Courage

by Kitty Neale

  ‘Don’t lecture me, Adrian. Do you think this wheelchair stops me from finding women? Well, newsflash, it doesn’t, and the tackle is all in good working order. There’s plenty out there who’d take pity on a poor cripple, so don’t think for one minute that I couldn’t have kids if I want them, but I don’t. So I’m telling you, I’m not being lumbered with one on the word of that tart. As far as I’m concerned, that bastard Yvonne’s carrying has nothing to do with me.’

  Before Adrian could protest any further, Robbie wheeled himself to his room and slammed the door shut. He sat in his chair in the darkness and clenched his fists. Fuck them all, he thought to himself. Adrian had plenty of money, he could look after Yvonne and her child. In fact, it was the least his brother could do, seeing as it was Adrian and his bitch of a wife who’d caused his accident in the first place.

  He didn’t want the responsibility of a child, especially as nowadays he was having so much fun. It had taken him a while to adjust to life in his chair, but Adrian was generous with his weekly allowance and it afforded him a good lifestyle, one in which he didn’t have to work for a living and could drink and gamble to his heart’s content. There was no way he was about to give all that up for that whore.

  Robbie smirked. No, the dirty slag could go take a running jump, and preferably down the stairs.

  Chapter 46

  Dorothy yawned and stretched as she waited for the kettle to boil. It was a Friday morning at the end of May and she was making Adrian a cup of tea to have in bed before he came down for his breakfast. It wasn’t quite seven o’clock so she’d just make tea for the two of them, leaving her father and Yvonne to sleep in for a while. They were planning a rare day out to Battersea Park and Dorothy hoped the memories of where her father used to work would help with his rehabilitation.

  It had been two weeks since Adrian had spoken to Robbie about the baby and nothing had changed. Robbie still refused to accept that the child was his, even when the doctor said that she was already over four months pregnant. It had come as a shock to Dorothy who thought that morning sickness only lasted for the first three months, but Yvonne was proving to be the exception to the rule.

  Deep in her thoughts, Dorothy nearly jumped out of her skin when Robbie’s door flew open. She hadn’t expected him to be awake yet – he didn’t usually emerge from his room until about midday.

  She was aghast when she saw a dishevelled young woman stood in the bedroom doorway wearing Robbie’s robe. The woman looked about the same age as her, but her brown hair had the appearance of a bird’s nest on her head, and dark mascara was smudged under her eyes. Her skin was deathly pale, and Dorothy thought the woman could have walked straight out of a ghost film.

  ‘Good, I thought I heard the kettle going on. I’m bleedin’ gasping,’ the woman said, and walked into the kitchen, dragged a chair out from under the table and flopped onto it. ‘I’ll have a spoonful of sugar in mine.’

  Dorothy was astounded. ‘Who are you and how did you get in here?’

  ‘I stayed the night with Robbie. I’m his girl, Violet, and you must be Dottie. Ain’t he told you about me? He’s told me all about you.’

  ‘No, he’s never mentioned you.’

  ‘Oh, well, nice to meet you. Any toast going with that cuppa?’

  What a cheek, thought Dorothy, her nerves grating at Violet’s squeaky and shrill voice. ‘No, I’m only making tea.’

  Violet pulled a roll-up from the pocket of Robbie’s robe and went to the gas stove to light it from under the kettle. As she passed, Dorothy wrinkled her nose at the pungent smell of body odour and alcohol emitting from her body.

  ‘You ain’t got a pair of stockings I could pinch off you, have you? Only mine got caught last night and laddered all the way up,’ Violet asked as smoke wafted over Dorothy’s face.

  ‘I’ll see what I can find,’ Dorothy reluctantly answered, and after pouring three cups of tea she put one in front of Violet before heading upstairs. Adrian was still asleep when she placed a cup next to him, but she gave him a gentle shake. ‘Adrian, wake up.’

  His eyes slowly opened and he smiled at her. ‘Good morning, darling.’

  Dorothy didn’t greet her husband with any morning niceties. Instead she said angrily, ‘Honestly, I’m gobsmacked at the audacity of your brother!’

  ‘What’s he done now?’ Adrian asked tiredly.

  ‘He brought a woman home with him to stay the night and she’s sitting in my kitchen as bold as brass.’

  ‘Well, darling, we’ve never laid any ground rules. It’s Robbie’s home too, so he has every right to invite someone to stay, within reason of course.’

  Dorothy huffed. ‘It would have been nice to have been consulted,’ she said sulkily, ‘and what about Yvonne? She’s carrying his child so how is she going to feel about him bringing a woman home?’

  ‘I don’t know, love. It’s a funny situation. Yvonne keeps out of Robbie’s way as much as she can, and if he sees her, he acts as if she doesn’t exist.’

  ‘Well, I’m not happy about him bringing strange women back to my house,’ Dorothy snapped. But then when Adrian looked at her intently, she quickly looked away. She was genuinely thinking about Yvonne’s feelings, but she also recognised her own jealousy. She just hoped Adrian hadn’t picked up on it, and prudently decided to say no more on the subject.

  An hour later, Robbie was trying to ignore Violet’s annoying voice, but she wouldn’t shut up. ‘For Christ’s sake, woman, I’m trying to sleep,’ he eventually said through gritted teeth.

  ‘But, Robbie, they’ve all gone out now. I heard them leaving,’ Violet said and shook Robbie’s shoulder.

  ‘So what,’ Robbie snapped, giving up on getting any more sleep.

  ‘Now they’re gone we can have a root around upstairs.’

  ‘What for?’ Robbie asked, not quite with it yet.

  ‘Well, it ain’t ’cos I’m nosy, silly, I want to see if there’s anything worth nicking.’

  ‘Hold on. I don’t know about that. It wouldn’t be difficult for them to work out who’s pinched their stuff.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m not stupid. I’ll just take a couple of bits, you know, stuff they could have mislaid. I ain’t talking about wiping them out!’ Violet said and pouted. ‘Oh, come on, Robbie, it’ll be a laugh.’

  Robbie rolled his eyes, ‘You seem to have forgotten that I’m in a wheelchair.’

  ‘Oh, blimey, yeah, sorry. Well, never mind, I can do upstairs on my own, and you can keep a lookout in case they come back.’

  Robbie heaved a sigh and pulled on some clothes. He then hauled himself onto his chair and wheeled it into the living room, where he positioned himself at the bay window. He could see up and down the street and if he spotted them coming home he’d be able to give Violet plenty of warning.

  While Violet poked around upstairs, Robbie drummed his fingers on the arm of his wheelchair, and realised he was excited at the possibility of getting caught. It had been a while since he’d felt adrenalin in his veins, and he found he was enjoying this daring antic. It made him feel alive.

  Before long Violet rushed into the living room and Robbie eyed her up and down, taking in her slim figure, ruined by her scruffy appearance and matted hair. Her crooked smile revealed several missing teeth, but when he’d met her he’d been fuelled with beer. It was true that alcohol turned you blind, he thought wryly, but she was good in bed and had been happy to be on top doing all the work. Now, though, seeing what a mess Violet looked, he regretted his drunken decision to bring her home. Dorothy had met her and he could imagine her reaction. She probably thought that Violet was dirty and common – but hold on, why did he give a toss about what Dorothy thought?

  ‘Look, Robbie, I found this watch in a drawer. It looks like it’s worth a bob or two. And this ring, I reckon it’s gold, a bit old-fashioned, but I’m sure I could flog it down the hock shop.’

  Robbie instantly recognised Adrian’s Rolex watch with its gold rim and brown leathe
r strap. He saw that the strap was broken, which explained why Adrian wasn’t wearing it, but surely he would notice it was missing. The gold ring wasn’t familiar to him, but it probably belonged to Dottie, and for a moment he had second thoughts about stealing the items. Still, Violet kept yapping on about how much the Rolex could be worth and Robbie gave in.

  ‘All right, pipe down, will you? Get yourself tidied up and I’ll come with you down to the pawnbrokers.’

  ‘You cheeky sod. I don’t need tidying up, I’m ready to go!’

  Robbie regretted saying he would accompany Violet; the woman looked like a vagabond. He didn’t want to be seen with her, let alone have her push his chair, but if he wanted a share of their spoils, he’d have to put up with it. He wouldn’t trust her to split the profits without him keeping a watchful eye.

  Chapter 47

  At the end of the day Adrian closed the office and drove home, looking forward to a nice dinner and a peaceful evening in front of the television. However, he’d barely walked through the door when he heard Dorothy calling from upstairs.

  ‘Adrian … Adrian, is that you?’

  Adrian thought she sounded irritated and called back, ‘Yes, sweetheart.’

  ‘Can you come here, please?’

  He trudged upstairs and entered their bedroom. Seeing Dottie’s pale face he asked anxiously, ‘What is it, darling?’

  Dorothy was surrounded by scattered items that she was frantically pulling from her bedside drawers. ‘My mum’s ring, I can’t find it. It … it’s missing.’

  ‘It must be there somewhere,’ Adrian said soothingly. ‘Where did you last see it?’

  ‘In my top drawer. It’s always been in my top drawer, but when I opened it to get my make-up out, I noticed that my things aren’t how I left them. It worried me so I checked to see if my mum’s ring is still in the box, but it isn’t. It’s gone!’

  ‘Are you sure that’s where you left it?’

  ‘Yes, of course I’m sure! I’ve never worn it so why would I take it out of the box? I’m telling you, Adrian, it’s not here. I bet that bloody woman has been up here. I knew there was something dubious about her.’

  ‘Calm down, Dottie, you can’t go jumping to conclusions.’

  Dorothy put her hands on her hips defiantly. ‘Check your things then. See if there’s anything missing,’ she said.

  Adrian began rifling through his drawers and it wasn’t long before he noticed his watch was missing too. He turned to Dorothy. ‘Looks like you’re right,’ he said regretfully. ‘I can’t find my Rolex.’

  ‘I told you! I’ll bloody kill her when I get my hands on her. My mother’s ring – oh, Adrian, I know it wasn’t very valuable, but you know how much it means to me,’ Dorothy said and then slumped onto the bed as her tears began to fall.

  Seeing the state that Dottie was in, Adrian’s anger flared. ‘Don’t cry, I’ll sort this out,’ he said, and marched downstairs, cursing Robbie all the way. He hammered on his brother’s door but there was no answer.

  It wasn’t long before Dorothy appeared, dashing tears from her face. ‘I could have told you he wasn’t in. They’d both gone out by the time we arrived home from the park. I don’t suppose Robbie will turn up again until he’s drunk, or maybe he’ll be too guilty to show his face here again and that suits me just fine.’

  ‘Robbie feeling guilty? Huh … never in a million years,’ Adrian answered, trying to contain his anger. Losing his temper would achieve nothing, but that didn’t stop him feeling bitter. Though Robbie hadn’t deserved it, he’d given him a roof over his head, money in his pocket – and this is how he’d repaid him.

  Adrian breathed deeply to steady himself. He wasn’t going to stand for it. This was the final straw, and Robbie would find that out when he came home.

  Robbie had been glad to see the back of Violet, thankful that she hadn’t hung around for long once they had sold the goods. He thought the pawnbroker had ripped them off, offering them a fraction of the worth of the items, especially the Rolex, but, with no proof of purchase or ownership, they’d reluctantly accepted his offer.

  Robbie’s cheeks puffed. It was after eleven and, despite the work he’d put in, the muscles in his arms were burning as he wheeled himself home. Bugger this, he thought, and decided he would try to persuade Adrian to buy him one of those new electric chairs.

  At last he arrived home and as he reached up to turn the key to the front door, Robbie regretted his extravagant bets over the card table. He’d blown the money he got from the pawnbroker, but, sure that he could recoup his losses, he’d got into more debt with Brian. He wasn’t too worried about it as he’d be getting his allowance from Adrian on Monday, and that would enable him to pay back some of the money he owed, at least enough to keep Brian quiet for a while.

  He pushed open the living-room door, deciding to help himself to a whisky from Adrian’s decanter, but then paused on the threshold. ‘Well, well, what are you two doing up?’

  His mind was a bit fuddled with drink, but he could see that Dottie looked angry, while Adrian was looking at him with an expression of disgust. It was Adrian who spoke.

  ‘My watch and a ring are missing. Show some dignity by not trying to deny your involvement, Robbie.’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘You know full well. Granted you couldn’t have got up the stairs, but that girlfriend of yours certainly could. I can’t prove you were in it together, or if she took it upon herself to steal from us, but either way, I want our things back, especially the ring. It belonged to Dottie’s mother and means a lot to her.’

  Robbie hid a smirk. As Adrian had pointed out, he couldn’t get upstairs so they had nothing on him. ‘Firstly, Violet isn’t my girlfriend, and secondly, it’s got nothing to do with me if she’s pinched things that don’t belong to her.’

  ‘I expected you to deny any involvement, but it doesn’t wash with me, Robbie. My watch is very valuable, you know that, but Alice’s ring is priceless to Dottie and I don’t how you could stoop so low as to steal from your own family.’

  ‘I told you, I didn’t have anything to do with it. It’s Violet you should be talking to, but I haven’t a clue where she is, so good luck finding her.’

  ‘Robbie, my mum’s ring is all I had left of her,’ Dorothy interjected tearfully.

  ‘What a shame,’ he sneered, and for a brief moment Robbie thought Dottie was going to jump from the sofa and launch herself at him in a blind fury. Instead she lowered her head and he knew she was crying. Unexpectedly he felt a surge of compassion towards her and wished now he hadn’t sold the ring.

  Adrian put a consoling arm around Dottie as he said, ‘I don’t believe you weren’t involved, Robbie, and until our things are returned I’m cutting your allowance in half.’

  Robbie suddenly went from confident to a state of panic. Adrian couldn’t cut his money; he had debts to pay. ‘You can’t do that! Why should I be punished for a crime I didn’t commit?’ he asked furiously.

  ‘I didn’t get off the last banana boat. I know full well you and that woman were in cahoots. Either return the goods or live with the consequences. If you’re desperate for money you could always find employment with Remploy. Just because your legs don’t work, there’s no reason why you can’t work with your hands.’

  The pompous bastard, thought Robbie, talking to me as if he’s my father. He wanted to punch his brother’s lights out, just the same as Brian would do to him if he couldn’t pay the man back.

  ‘And another thing … as you’re obviously such a poor judge of character, I don’t want you bringing any more women back to my house.’

  Robbie couldn’t give a toss about the women. His main concern was the beating he could expect from Brian. He knew his brother and could see that he wasn’t going to change his mind, and after stealing Alice’s ring he doubted Dorothy would be a soft touch. Perhaps Brian would settle for some minimal payment each week? If the man agreed it would mean cuttin
g out the booze and cards for a while, but it would be worth it to keep him off his back. He might as well ask – after all, his face was pretty much all he had going for him, so he didn’t want Brian’s heavies messing it up.

  ‘If you’ve finished with your accusations, I’m going to bed,’ he snapped, wondering what on earth he was going to do if Brian didn’t agree to his offer.

  Chapter 48

  It had been a month since her mother’s ring had gone missing, and Dorothy had given up any hope of seeing it again. It upset her, but now she had other things on her mind to worry about too.

  She’d noticed Yvonne had been moping around the house for a couple of weeks now. At first, Dorothy had thought it was the girl’s hormones playing havoc with her emotions, but now she wondered if there was something more to it. She glanced at the clock. Yvonne would be home soon, and she decided to try to get to the bottom of what was troubling her friend. Yes, she thought, she considered Yvonne a friend now, albeit a very young one.

  Just as the kettle began to whistle, Yvonne walked through the door. Right on cue, thought Dorothy with a smile. Yvonne’s reliability was one of the qualities Dorothy liked about her. ‘Hello, love. You look hot. Sit yourself down and I’ll get you a cold drink.’

  ‘Ta, Dottie,’ Yvonne said as she sat at the kitchen table, her head low.

  ‘What’s the matter, love?’ Dottie asked as she gave her a glass of orange squash. ‘You look so sad and have done for a while now,’ she added gently.

  ‘The … the mistress saw my tummy and … and I’ve been sacked.’

  ‘I’m surprised she hasn’t noticed it before this, but it doesn’t matter as I was going to tell you to leave anyway. You’re six months gone now and I think doing cleaning is too much for you.’