A Daughter's Courage

by Kitty Neale

  ‘It’s you who’s the liar, Robbie. You see, someone was in the pub last night and saw you with Sid. He also heard every word that you said to him.’

  Robbie’s eyes flicked to Malcolm and as they narrowed suspiciously he said, ‘So that’s why you’re here. Well, whatever you’ve told Adrian, it’s all lies.’

  ‘You little shit,’ Nelly spat, breaking her silence. ‘My Malcolm has told the truth and if you don’t apologise to him I’ll knock your bloody block off.’

  ‘Not if I get to him first,’ Malcolm growled.

  ‘Robbie, enough of this!’ Adrian said, his voice rising. ‘You can’t bluff your way out of this, so just get out. I’ve told you, I no longer have a brother, so just go, or I’ll be forced to call the police. I’m sure they’d be interested to hear about the jeweller’s in Knightsbridge.’

  Robbie gritted his teeth and quickly moved forward, surprising them all with his strength as he rammed himself into Adrian’s legs. ‘No!’ Dorothy screamed.

  Malcolm flew across the room, and before Dorothy could fathom what was going on, she saw that Adrian was all right as between them he and Malcolm picked up Robbie’s chair, with him in it, and marched him down the hallway.

  ‘You can’t do this,’ Robbie was ranting. ‘You can’t do this … you fucking dicks, put me down.’

  With that the front door slammed closed, but Dorothy could still hear him screaming outside. ‘Let me back in or I’ll smash this door down! I’m warning you, Adrian, I’ll have you fucking killed, I will, and that fucking bitch of a wife!’

  ‘Ignore him,’ Adrian said. ‘Nelly, can you throw Robbie’s stuff in a case, or anything else you can find?’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Nelly answered.

  ‘Blast, I should have taken his key,’ Adrian said as they heard a key in the lock.

  ‘I’ll make sure he doesn’t come in,’ Malcolm said as he rushed from the room.

  Dorothy heard Malcolm scuffling with Robbie on the doorstep. Then the door slammed again, and she heard the letterbox open.

  ‘You’re dead, do you hear me? You and Dottie … I’ll make sure you die slow and painfully, then what’ll happen to your precious bastard baby, eh? I’ll do what I fucking like with her, that’s what! Who gives a shit about a whore’s child? She’s nothing, just like her mother, and soon she’ll be used just like her too.’

  Dorothy felt like a knife had stabbed her in the heart at the thought of anything bad happening to Rosie. Robbie’s words repelled her and, as though a veil had suddenly lifted from her eyes, she realised that he repelled her too. He was an animal, despicable and revolting. A shiver ran through her as she finally saw Robbie’s true colours. She hated him – but she hated herself even more for ever loving the man in the first place.

  Robbie finally calmed down and gave up. He realised Adrian wasn’t going to let him back in, and then anxiety struck him.

  He wheeled himself onto the pavement and scanned the street. Some neighbours were on their doorsteps, others were twitching curtains. Considering the scene he’d created, it was little wonder the nosy parkers were out in force with wagging tongues. He managed to hold back, but almost told them all to bugger off and mind their own.

  He checked his pockets, but was sorely disappointed when he found he had no money. Feeling helpless, he headed towards Cynthia’s. She’d help him, she always did, but then he realised there wasn’t much she could do. The woman never had any money and she wouldn’t even be able to offer him a bed for the night, not with all the stairs in her building that he’d have to contend with.

  He could go back to the girl he had left earlier, he thought, trying to recall her name. Maybe he could spin her another yarn and she’d put him up for a few days or longer. He needed some time to collect his thoughts and work out what to do. One thing he knew for sure was that, no matter what, he would not be going into any hospital or asylum.

  ‘What do you want me to do with his stuff?’ Nelly asked.

  ‘Just leave it where it is, thanks, Nelly,’ Adrian replied. ‘I think Robbie has gone for now, but he’ll no doubt be back, with his tail between his legs.’ Not that Adrian was prepared to forgive his brother.

  ‘I think we should call the police, Adrian,’ Dorothy said.

  ‘No, it’s all hearsay. I despise the man, and there’s nothing I’d like more than to see him behind bars, but at the end of the day I think fate will deal him a fair blow.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Dorothy asked.

  ‘Well, there’s not much left for him. I can’t see anyone else putting him up, so he’ll either be living on the streets or he’ll have to go into the infirmary. Let’s face it, it’s not a nice choice. In fact, I think I would rather be homeless than live in one of those places. It’s only his body that’s broken, his mind is all there, but he’ll be locked up with all sorts of disturbed people,’ Adrian replied.

  ‘I don’t like to think of anyone in one of those sort of places, but Robbie doesn’t deserve any better,’ Dorothy said. ‘I’m just so glad Rosie slept through all the shouting,’ she added. ‘But now I could really do with a cuddle.’

  Adrian walked over to his wife, and though he wasn’t usually demonstrative in front of people, he pulled Dorothy from the sofa and held her to him. ‘You can have a cuddle any time you like, Mrs Ferguson,’ he said.

  Dorothy smiled and whispered, ‘A cuddle from Rosie, I meant, but I like this one too.’

  ‘Oi, you two,’ Nelly interrupted, ‘time and place.’

  ‘Don’t be such a prude,’ Dorothy teased her friend over her shoulder, ‘I’m allowed to cuddle my lovely husband.’ She faced Adrian again and said, ‘Unhand me, kind sir, I need to check on my dad.’

  Adrian felt proud to hear Dorothy speak about him like that, and it was nice she was smiling again too. She’d looked horrified when Robbie had been shouting his threats and abuse. Hopefully she’d put it behind her, and they could resume a happy family life, just the three of them and Bill.

  Chapter 58

  Robbie’s uncertainties had disturbed his sleep, and he woke up feeling exhausted. Not only was he worried about where he was going to live and what he was going to live on, worse was the thought of the money he owed Brian.

  After sticking a note through Sid’s door to tell him the job was off, he’d managed to find his way back to where he had stayed the previous night. He’d eventually remembered her name, Eileen, and he could hear her in the kitchen clattering around. She’d seemed pleased to see him when he had turned up, but he hadn’t yet broached the subject of staying for longer. Her flat was tidy and comfortable, and, once she’d moved a few bits of furniture around, access with his wheelchair was relatively easy, though she had to help him over the front step.

  Eileen walked into the bedroom carrying two cups of tea.

  ‘Here you go, love,’ she said, and handed Robbie one.

  ‘Cheers, Eileen,’ Robbie said, and wondered if now would be a good time to mention staying for a while.

  ‘I’ve got to go to work soon so you’ll have to leave.’

  ‘I was hoping you’d let me hang around here and wait for you to come home,’ he said, and rubbed his hand up her bare thigh.

  ‘Oh, I see. Thing is, Robbie, it’s … awkward, if you get my drift.’

  ‘What’s awkward about it? You fancy me, don’t you?’

  ‘Yeah, of course I do, but … I’m married,’ Eileen said quietly.

  Robbie hadn’t seen any sign of a man living in the flat and he thought maybe Eileen was telling fibs. He frowned. ‘So where’s your old man?’

  ‘He’s banged up in Wandsworth nick doing a three year stretch. Silly bugger got caught turning over some posh gaff in Chelsea,’ Eileen answered.

  ‘When’s he due for release?’

  ‘In a couple of months.’

  ‘In that case, we’ve still got plenty of time,’ Robbie said and winked at Eileen.

  ‘No, sorry, I don’t want a proper relationship. I don’t mi
nd the odd one-night stand here and there – I mean, a girl’s got her needs – but I have to draw the line at that.’

  Robbie could tell Eileen wasn’t going to budge, so decided to come clean. ‘I’ll be honest with you. I don’t have anywhere else to go. I was staying at my brother’s house, but we had a bit of a falling out and he asked me to leave. Can I just stay here for a few days until I get myself straight?’

  Eileen didn’t look too pleased. ‘You’re an old soldier with war wounds and there’s places for people like you.’

  ‘Well, that’s not strictly true,’ Robbie told her, deciding to come clean. ‘I was never a soldier. I was too young to fight in the war.’

  ‘But you told me …’

  ‘Yes, I know and I’m sorry. I was trying to impress you, but the truth is I broke my back by falling down some stairs.’

  Eileen’s brow knotted into a frown, but then her face softened. ‘We’re as bad as each other. I didn’t tell you I was married so I suppose that makes us even.’

  ‘Can I stay then?’

  ‘Yeah, for a few nights, but that’s all.’

  ‘Thanks. One more thing … could you lend me a few bob? I’ll pay you back …’

  ‘You’re taking the bleedin’ micky now. I’m scrubbing floors five days a week to keep this place going for when my Charlie gets out and I ain’t got money to throw about,’ she said, and walked out of the bedroom, huffing as she went.

  Robbie drained the last dregs of his tea. He was still penniless but at least he had a roof over his head for a few days.

  Eileen poked her head back into the room. ‘I’ve got to go. If you want something to eat you’ll have to make yourself some toast, assuming you can manage that.’

  ‘Thanks.’ He paused. ‘I’ve got to go out for a couple of hours. Have you got a spare key?’

  ‘Yeah, there’s one on the hall table. Bloody hell, I must be mad,’ she said, her parting shot as the front door closed behind her.

  Robbie pursed his lips. Now that he had opened up to her, Eileen wasn’t being quite as friendly. Not that he was bothered. He had other things on his mind, starting with a visit to Adrian’s. He needed some clothes, and his record player might earn him some money from the pawnshop, enough to at least offer Brian a couple of quid.

  Malcolm climbed into the cab of his truck feeling unusually refreshed. For the first time in a long while, he’d slept the whole night through, and hadn’t been plagued by nightmares about Robbie Ferguson. It’d be a long time before he lost any more sleep over that scumbag, he thought, and turned the key in the ignition.

  Malcolm was happy whistling a Sinatra tune as he drove through the streets of Battersea on his way to Tooting to do his first pick-up of the day. Though his job was mostly solitary, he enjoyed it, and thought Adrian was a terrific boss. Even so, there was no guarantee Adrian would agree to Nelly cutting her hours, or even continuing to work once the baby was born.

  He was a bit worried about the future and wanted to know how they would stand financially. The sooner his wife told Dorothy, the better, and with it out in the open Nelly would be able to sort things out with Adrian. He’d have a word with her tonight, see if he couldn’t persuade her to get a move on.

  He chuckled to himself. Blimey, he thought, it wasn’t like Nelly to keep her mouth quiet about anything!

  Dorothy took Rosie up to her dad’s room. She’d normally put her in her cot, but she had no intention of leaving her alone for even a minute.

  ‘Morning, Dad. I’m just going to lay Rosie here next to you for a minute whilst I pop back downstairs to get your breakfast. You OK keeping an eye on her? She normally dozes off at this time,’ Dorothy said as she tucked Rosie in next to him.

  ‘Vonnie … baby …’

  ‘Yes, Dad,’ she said, pleased to see the beaming smile on his face. He had loved Yvonne and now seemed equally enamoured with her baby. He reached out his hand and Rosie clasped his finger, happily gurgling.

  Satisfied they were both comfortable, Dorothy dashed downstairs to the kitchen. It had been a difficult day yesterday, and she’d worried that all the noise had upset her father. He must have heard Robbie shouting, but thankfully he’d seemed unaffected by it and this morning he looked alert and happy.

  Dorothy took a bowl of beef dripping from the larder, and noticed how empty the shelves were. She’d have to do some shopping later, which meant she’d need to ask Mrs Hart to come round to keep an eye on her dad. It wasn’t ideal, but she had little choice.

  As she lathered two slices of bread, her nose wrinkled. She hated the smell of beef dripping, and she wouldn’t normally give it to him for breakfast, but it was quick to make and one of her dad’s favourites.

  She put the plate on a tray with a cup of tea, and, hoping that her dad was still all right with Rosie, she hurried up to his room. She missed Yvonne terribly and hadn’t realised how much she’d come to rely on the girl. Maybe it was time to admit defeat and allow Adrian to hire some help.

  If there was one thing that Cynthia detested, it was shopping, especially with the hangover from hell. She was out of tea and milk so missed her usual morning cuppa, something she’d kill for now, she thought as she trudged along the High Street.

  She’d wrapped a scarf around her head to hide her unkempt hair, and donned a fashionable pair of dark sunglasses to cover her bleary eyes. It wasn’t often she ventured out before eleven in the morning, and she was just thinking that there ought to be a bloody law against it when, to her horror, she saw Robbie coming towards her. She darted into the butcher’s, hoping he hadn’t seen her, and looked through the window, hoping he’d pass by.

  ‘Morning, missus, what can I get for you?’

  Cynthia spun round to be greeted by a counter displaying cuts of raw meat. Her stomach churned at the sight and she felt like throwing up on the sawdust-covered floor. Bile rose in her throat and, quickly flinging open the door, she stumbled outside. Closing her eyes, she leaned against the doorframe and breathed in gulps of fresh air that instantly made her feel better.

  ‘Hello, Cynthia, fancy seeing you here,’ Robbie said.

  Her heart sank. She didn’t want to be seen talking to him, so without saying a word she quickly walked away.

  ‘Cynthia, what’s up? Hang on, slow down.’

  She picked up her pace, wanting to get as far away from Robbie as possible. There had been rumours about him flying around the pub last night. A bloke at the bar had heard it from his mate, who had heard it from his sister, who had heard it from her mate who lived in the same road as Robbie. It didn’t take long for word to spread, and everyone had been disgusted to hear that Robbie had been involved in some sort of seedy scam to sell his own daughter, and when Cynthia had heard it, she’d cringed and wished for the pub floor to open up and swallow her.

  News travelled fast, so without doubt most of Battersea knew by now and Cynthia deeply regretted taking Robbie to Jack’s Yard.

  He hadn’t told her the full story, but even so, if anyone found out that she was implicated in any way she’d be ostracised and unable to walk into any pub in the area again.

  Robbie didn’t seem to be giving up easily, and, wheels spinning, he continued to follow her along the High Street. ‘Cynthia, why are you trying to run away from me?’

  Cynthia realised that she wasn’t going to get rid of him, and turned to face him. She quickly looked around to make sure nobody was in earshot and then hissed, ‘Leave me alone, Robbie. I don’t want anything to do with you now. The cat’s out of the bag. Everyone’s saying you was going to sell your baby to a perv and they reckon you must be one too. Just piss off and keep me out of it.’ With that, she turned and ran back towards home, forgetting all about the tea and milk, and not looking back to give Robbie so much as a second glance.

  Stupid old cow, thought Robbie as he watched Cynthia race away from him. She was nothing more than a washed-up old tart. So what if people were talking, they couldn’t prove a thing, and, as it happened, he hadn
’t done anything.

  Now he had all the more reason to be nervous though. It wouldn’t just be Brian’s heavies vying for his blood, so would half the blokes in Battersea. They didn’t take well to men they thought were kiddie-fiddlers, and from what Cynthia had said it appeared that’s how he had now been branded.

  How ridiculous, he thought; he’d never touch a child. The trouble was, he wouldn’t be given the chance to explain his defence, not once the local hard nuts heard about him.

  He looked around nervously and decided to forget his clothes and the record player. He would have to keep his head down and go straight back to Eileen’s instead. No one knew he was there and he felt it would be safe, but by the time he arrived the muscles in his arms were screaming. He was worn out and sweaty, and, as Eileen was still at work, he cursed as he struggled to get his chair over the front step.

  He finally managed it and wheeled himself into Eileen’s living room, but, now exhausted, he slumped in his chair. With little rest the night before, and waking early that morning, Robbie closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  ‘Wake up, you bastard!’

  Robbie woke with a start to see Eileen hovering over him, a snarl on her face. He was still half asleep and his throat dry as he croaked, ‘What’s up?’

  ‘What’s up?’ she yelled. ‘I’ll tell you what’s up. You failed to tell me that you were thrown out of your brother’s ’cos you was gonna sell their kid to some … some … Gawd, I can’t even bring meself to say it!’

  Shocked that the gossip had already travelled this far, he blustered, ‘It isn’t true, I swear,’ and reached out to grab her hand.

  She jerked it away and slapped him hard across his face. ‘I’m not listening to any more of your lies. Get out of my flat, Robbie. I just hope nobody knew you were here, because, inside or not, if my Charlie hears about what you’ve been up to your life won’t be worth living, and nor will mine. Go on, sling your dirty hook,’ Eileen snapped.

  Robbie could see that he wouldn’t be able to make her change her mind, but didn’t want to venture outside, not with everyone talking about him and many probably out to get him.