by Kitty Neale
‘Bernie! Bernie’s been in here? But how did he know where to find me?’
‘Wake up, love. You’re not exactly invisible, and it seems several people saw you running from the café. A quick word with the market traders soon led him here.’
‘What did he say?’
‘Only that Madge hasn’t come back from the doctor’s and they need you back at the café.’
‘I can’t go back. I just can’t.’
‘After what you’ve told me, I don’t blame you, but if you’re determined to keep that bun in the oven you’ll have to face them soon or later. Blimey,’ she added, cackling with pleasure, ‘I’d like to be a fly on the wall when Dolly Dolby finds out she’s gonna be a grandmother. The woman thinks she’s a cut above the rest of us, but I can tell you something that’ll give you a bit of ammunition when you face her.’
Pearl paled at the thought. ‘I don’t think I can ever face her.’
‘Well, girl, you’re gonna have to toughen up. If you show fear, Dolly will walk all over you. Anyway, if she gives you a hard time here’s that bit of ammunition I mentioned. You can remind her that Kevin arrived only six months after her wedding.‘
It took a while for the penny to drop, but when it did, Pearl gasped. ‘You … you mean … ?’
‘Yeah, she too was up the spout before she got married. It was common knowledge around here at the time, but there ain’t many left in the area who’d dare remind Dolly of the facts. She scares the life out of most people, even her old man, and that’s something she’s cultivated over the years. If you manage to get Kevin Dolby to own up to his responsibilities, you’re gonna have her as your mother-in-law, and as I said, the only way to stop her walking over you is to stand up for yourself from the start.’
Pearl knew she’d never have the courage to follow Bessie’s advice, and hung her head. ‘I’ve got to tell Kevin first and somehow I’ve got to catch him on his own.’
‘Even if he agrees to marry, you’d be mad to take him on. That young man will come to no good one day.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve got a funny feeling about Kevin Dolby. He might be a handsome bugger, but I reckon he’s a bad ’un. Now then, don’t look at me like that. I may be wrong, and anyway, I still think he’ll try to squirm out of it.’
Pearl stared at Bessie, her heart sinking. Yes, she knew about Kevin’s character and feared his reaction to the news too. But it was his baby, their child, the blame his as much as hers. Oh, surely he’d marry her, and once settled with a wife and child, surely he’d change. But what if Bessie was right? What if he tried to get out of it?’
Kevin Dolby heard the gossip as soon as he walked into the kitchen. His mother told him that Pearl was pregnant, and went on to say that it wasn’t Derek’s baby. He listened as she continued her tirade.
‘I’m not happy that Pearl walked out and if Madge doesn’t come back soon, we’ll be in a right old fix. Pearl’s staying with Bessie Penfold, but when your father went over there she refused to let him speak to the girl.’
Gertie pulled a face. ‘Yeah, Bessie can be a right old dragon, but I wonder if she knows who the father is.’
‘It’s got to be someone from round here, and from what we’ve been hearing, Derek Lewis is out for blood.’
Kevin blanched. Christ, if Pearl said it wasn’t Derek’s, it had to be his! So far it seemed that Pearl hadn’t named him, but for how long? He shuddered. When Derek found out he’d be mincemeat.
‘Are you all right, Kevin? You look a bit pale.’
‘It’s just a touch of asthma,’ he lied, relieved when Madge came into the kitchen, diverting his mother’s attention.
‘Well, it’s about time too,’ she snapped. ‘What did the doctor say?’
‘Huh, it was a waste of time. He said I’m on the change and have to expect hot flushes. I ain’t that old and couldn’t believe it, but it seems that some women start early.’
‘I hardly think this is a subject for my son to hear,’ Dolly snapped, but then she exhaled loudly. ‘Still, at least it’s nothing to worry about. I should have guessed. After all, I seem to be surrounded by Mrs Neverwells. I’m glad you’re back, Madge. As you can see, Pearl ain’t here so you’ll have to manage the lunchtime rush on your own.’
‘Pearl ain’t here. Why’s that?’
‘Mum, I’m going upstairs,’ Kevin interrupted.
‘Yeah, all right, son, and if your asthma is playing up, you’d best take it easy.’
Kevin nodded, leaving the kitchen before his mother told Madge about Pearl. Head down, he ignored his father as he headed upstairs. Christ, Derek would be out for blood soon. What was he going to do?
Kevin paced the room, finally deciding there was only one thing he could do, and that was to tell his mother.
He watched the clock, time ticking slowly until the café closed, and as she came upstairs, he blurted, ‘Mum, I’m in trouble, big trouble.’
Her face blanched. ‘What sort of trouble?’
‘Derek Lewis will be after my blood. He’ll make mincemeat out of me.’
Her broad forehead creased, the penny failing to drop. ‘Huh, I’d like to see him try. It’d be over my dead body, but why is he after you?’
‘Mum, do I have to spell it out? It’s Pearl. When Derek finds out, he’ll kill me.’
Dolly finally got it, her eyes rounding like saucers. ‘What! Don’t tell me that you’re the father?’
He nodded, seeing his mother stagger across the room before flopping onto the sofa. For a moment she rubbed huge hands across her face, her voice a growl. ‘I’ll kill that bloody girl.’
‘It isn’t Pearl who’s worrying me, Mum. It’s Derek Lewis.’
‘She’s having your baby and all you can say is you’re worried about Derek! Christ, son, get your priorities right.’ She shook her head in disgust, pinched her bottom lip between forefinger and thumb, then said, ‘Look, we need to think this through. How can you be sure you’re the father?’
‘Because I’ve had her and she’s already said it ain’t Derek.’
‘Don’t be crude. Anyway, she could have been with any number of men. If you ask me that girl has turned out to be nothing but a tart.’
He knew his mother was wrong, knew that Pearl was a virgin when he’d taken her. ‘She ain’t a tart, Mum. I was the first.’ Even as the words left his mouth he cursed himself. Pearl couldn’t prove he was the father and he should have kept his mouth shut. The trouble was he’d been too hung up about Derek Lewis to think straight, and now it was too late.
‘It could still be Derek’s.’
‘Leave it out, Mum. If Derek was the father she’d have said so.’
‘My God, this has come as such a shock and I can’t get my head round it. I need time to think, to work out what we’re going to do, and for that I need a bit of peace and quiet. Make me a cup of tea, and by the time you come back maybe I’ll have sorted something out.’
With a small nod Kevin left the room, feeling somewhat safer now. His mother wouldn’t let Derek Lewis touch him. He placed the kettle on the gas ring, thoughts now turning to Pearl and the baby. His mother said she’d sort something out, but would she make him marry the girl? No, surely not!
Dolly buried her head in her hands. Pearl was pregnant, Kevin was the father – and she was still struggling to accept it. The bloody girl had probably thrown herself at him and, like all men, when it was handed out on a plate he found impossible to resist. Damage control, that’s what she had to think about now, but the thought of losing her son to marriage made her groan in despair.
Dolly was desperate to find a solution, yet something Kevin said refused to go away. She tried to lock it behind a door in her mind, but it forced its way out. Kevin said he’d been the first, Pearl a virgin. Not only that, Pearl said with assurance that Derek wasn’t the father, and that meant she hadn’t slept with the man.
Dolly shook her head in despair again. She wanted to think the girl a tar
t, one who had set out to trap her son, but deep down knew it wasn’t true. Yet could they still bluff it out? Maybe they could accuse the girl of lying – but even as the thought crossed her mind, Dolly doubted it would work. Pearl had only been in the area a short time, but she was well liked and the locals might not take kindly to a denial. Dolly wasn’t stupid; she knew that, unlike Pearl, she wasn’t liked and many would be glad to see her brought down.
As her mind continued to work, Dolly came to the sickening conclusion that they had no choice. When Pearl named Kevin, he would have to face up to his responsibilities.
Once again Dolly groaned, dreading the idea of losing her son, yet as she closed her eyes against the thought, she was struck by a way to keep him by her side. Kevin would have to marry Pearl, but she could see that they remained close by. In fact, there was no reason why they couldn’t live here. Without a job, Kevin couldn’t support a family, and Pearl could continue to work in the café.
Dolly exhaled loudly. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a workable solution.
‘Here you are, Mum,’ Kevin said as he returned with a cup of tea.
‘Right, sit down and let’s talk. Firstly, I don’t want people to think that you’re to blame, so keep your mouth shut about Pearl being a virgin. It won’t hurt to cultivate the idea that she threw herself at you.’
Kevin’s face reddened. ‘All right, Mum.’
‘Now, like it or not, you’re gonna have to marry the girl.’
‘Marry her! But—’
‘Shut up, Kevin. You’ll do as I say, and this is how we are going to handle it…’
Bernie came into the room a little later, his face blanching when he heard that Kevin was the father of Pearl’s baby.
‘I’m ashamed of you,’ he spat. ‘How could you take down that nice, innocent girl?’
Dolly reared to her feet, face suffused with colour. ‘Don’t you dare say that! Pearl threw herself at Kevin, and when it was so easily offered, how was he supposed to resist?’
‘Yeah, well, I didn’t, that’s for sure.’ As soon as the words left his mouth, Bernie stepped back, but Dolly was already advancing towards him. Christ, he was so upset about Pearl that he’d spoken without thinking, but he was too late to avoid Dolly’s huge hand, the slap across his face making his ears ring.
‘Don’t put me in the same class as Pearl Button,’ she yelled.
‘Sorry, love,’ Bernie placated as he rubbed his cheek, knowing that if he didn’t defuse the situation more of the same would follow. He should stand up to her, and should’ve done so from the start of their marriage, but she’d been pregnant with Kevin and, anyway, he couldn’t hit a woman. Oh, there had been times when he’d been tempted over the years, but despite everything she’d laid on him, he just couldn’t do it. Instead he found it easier to allow Dolly to rule, preferring the quiet life. ‘I shouldn’t have said that. You’re nothing like Pearl Button.’
‘Huh, I should think so too.’
Bernie exhaled with relief as his wife sat down again, secretly thinking that the girl’s qualities were far superior to his wife’s. In the short time Pearl had been working for them he had come to admire her soft, gentle nature. She’d had a rotten life so far but she wasn’t bitter, yet as he listened to the plans that Dolly had made, his heart went out to the girl. Dolly would get her own way as usual, and Pearl didn’t stand a chance.
Unable to resist, he said to Kevin, ‘So, Pearl threw herself at you?’
‘Well … yeah. She fancies me and made it plain.’
Bernie eyed his son with distaste. Since childhood, Kevin blinked rapidly when lying, a dead giveaway, and he was doing it now. ‘I wouldn’t fancy being in your shoes when Derek Lewis finds out.’
‘Mum’s going to sort him out.’
‘Yes, you leave him to me,’ Dolly said. ‘I’ll go round to his place as soon as the market closes, but for now my head’s splitting and I’m off to have a lie-down. In the meantime, Bernie, it’s about time you dusted this room.’
As the door closed behind his wife, Bernie saw the look of scorn Kevin threw at him. ‘Don’t look at me like that, son. After all, this shows you ain’t any better than me. Instead of facing Derek Lewis, you’re letting your mother fight the battle for you. I reckon you’re more a chip off the old block than you realise.’
‘I’m nothing like you! I wouldn’t let a woman lay a hand on me, and that’s something Pearl Button will find out.’
Bernie swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. He didn’t doubt that Pearl would suffer at Kevin’s hands, and when she did, it would be his fault. Kevin had seen too much – witnessed him being beaten and humiliated, so much so that he was determined not to suffer the same fate. His eyes closed. Oh, Pearl, what have I done?
23
‘What do you want?’ Connie Lewis asked when she opened the door to see Dolly on her doorstep.
‘I’d like a word with Derek.’
Connie’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Derek had come home from the market in an awful state, and she cursed Pearl Button. Just as she had feared, the girl had broken his heart, but even she’d been unprepared when he told her that Pearl was pregnant by another man. Now Dolly Dolby had turned up wanting to talk to Derek, and astutely she knew there could be only one reason.
‘I can guess why you’re here. Pearl’s pregnant and I reckon your no-good son is the father.’
‘Watch your mouth, Connie Lewis. That girl threw herself at my Kevin.’
A voice roared from behind Connie and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
‘What did you say?’ Derek demanded, thrusting his gran to one side.
‘Look, I ain’t having a slanging match on the doorstep,’ Dolly said, imperiously pushing her way past Derek and into the small hall. She looked around swiftly before marching into the kitchen, Connie scurrying after her and Derek following with his fists clenched at his side.
‘If Kevin’s the one who got Pearl pregnant, I’ll bloody kill him!’
‘It takes two, Derek, and as I said, Pearl threw herself at my son.’
‘I don’t believe you.’
‘Did she say he forced her?’
‘She didn’t tell me who the father is.’
‘That isn’t what I asked, Derek.’
His eyes glared, but then he sighed heavily. ‘All right, Pearl said she wasn’t forced.’
‘Well, there you are then. If you ask me we’ve all been taken in by Pearl Button and she isn’t the innocent she pretends to be. You should count yourself lucky.’
‘Lucky?’
‘Yes, lucky. After all, she could have named you as the father and then you’d be raising another man’s child.’
‘She’s right, Derek,’ Connie said.
‘Leave it out, Gran. She couldn’t have named me. We never …’ His face reddened. ‘Well, you know what I mean.’
Connie sighed with relief. ‘Thank Gawd for that.’
‘As I said, she fooled us all,’ Dolly said bitterly. ‘I think the girl was looking for a meal ticket and thought my Kevin would be a better catch. He soon sussed her out and told her he wasn’t interested.’
‘Huh, how come he got her pregnant then?’
‘She invited him up to her room, threw herself at him,’ the lies tripped off Dolly’s tongue, ‘and told him she intended to give you the elbow.’
Derek’s face stretched with shock. ‘Pearl said that?’ He slumped onto a chair, face in his hands for a moment, but then his huge head rose, anger in his eyes. ‘He still shouldn’t have slept with her. It ain’t right.’
‘Oh, Derek, you can’t blame Kevin. With Pearl saying she was going to break things off with you, he thought the coast was clear. He’s a man and, all right, maybe a weak one, but now he’s got to face the consequences and marry the girl.’
‘Marry her! He’s gonna marry her?’
‘She’s carrying his child so he doesn’t have much choice. I came round here to explain the situation and hoped to allay an
y nastiness between you and Kevin. I would hate you to fall out over Pearl Button.’
‘Huh! Well, I still think he deserves a slap.’
‘Now what good would that do?’ Connie said, laying a hand on Derek’s shoulder. ‘As Dolly said, the blame lies with Pearl.’
Derek rose to his feet, his voice strangled. ‘I don’t want to talk about it any more. I’m going upstairs.’
Connie waited until he was out of sight before speaking to Dolly. ‘Like Derek, I reckon your son deserves a slap or two.’
‘How dare you? It’s Pearl who’s to blame, not my son.’
‘I’m not as gullible as my Derek and can read between the lines. How come you’ve just accepted that Kevin is the father? I mean, if Pearl is such a tart, it could have been any number of men.’
Dolly’s face suffused with colour, but her stance was rigid. ‘Just what are you accusing me of?’
‘Bending the truth, but don’t worry, I’ll talk Derek round. I don’t want him going down for giving your son a beating, even if Kevin deserves one.’
Dolly leaned forward, towering over Connie. ‘Good, we understand each other then.’
‘Yes, we do, and now I’d like you to leave.’
‘Don’t worry, I’m going,’ was Dolly’s parting shot as she sailed out, the street door slamming behind her.
Connie sat down, gripping the edge of the table, her mind cursing the lot of them – Pearl Button, Dolly Dolby, and her bloody no-good son. Bitter thoughts raged. What a mug she’d been, allowing herself to become fond of Pearl, the girl becoming like a daughter. She’d welcomed her into her home, made her a part of the family, when all the time the bitch was sleeping with Kevin on the side. Derek had been made a monkey of and, God, she’d like to get her hands on Pearl bloody Button.
Connie looked up as Derek came back into the room, his face looking haggard and drawn. ‘I know you’re hurt, love, but you’ll get over it.’
‘No I won’t, Gran. I love Pearl … still love her.’
‘Derek, she ain’t the girl we thought she was,’ Connie said bitterly. ‘She’s just a tart.’
