by Dilly Court
‘And can I have ice cream again?’
‘You shall have all you can eat.’ Phoebe turned to the nurse. ‘Thank you for all you’ve done for her.’
‘It’s all in a day’s work, miss.’ The nurse drew her aside. ‘But she’ll need to rest and mustn’t do anything too strenuous until she’s fully recovered. What I mean to say is that she shouldn’t be put to work for several weeks yet.’
‘I understand, and I’ll take good care of her.’
‘I’m sure you will, miss. You’ve got a kind face. I’d say she’s a lucky girl to have a friend like you.’
Phoebe took Dolly by the hand and led her out of the ward and through the maze of corridors to the main entrance.
‘Me legs is a bit like jelly, miss,’ Dolly murmured, leaning heavily on Phoebe’s arm. ‘I don’t think I can walk very far.’
Phoebe helped her to a chair by the door. ‘You won’t have to walk anywhere. I’m going outside to hail a cab.’
‘What? Me riding in one of them hansom cabs?’ Dolly’s pale blue eyes lit up and her lips curved into an excited smile. ‘I ain’t never rode in a cab afore, miss. And can I have ice cream as soon as we gets to your castle?’
Phoebe smiled. ‘Of course you can, but it’s hardly a castle. It’s just a house in Saffron Hill and it’s not grand.’
‘It will be a castle to me, miss.’
Outside the hospital, Phoebe was lucky enough to catch the eye of a cabby who had just dropped off a fare. She asked him to wait while she went to fetch Dolly, and she was just about to help her into the cab when a loud voice behind them made her turn with a start. She found herself looking into the irate face of Amos Snape.
‘Where d’you think you’re taking that girl?’ he demanded angrily.
Cowering, Dolly uttered a cry of distress. ‘Don’t let him take me, miss. I won’t go with him, no matter what Ma says.’
‘What has this got to do with you, Mr Snape?’ Phoebe slipped her arm around Dolly’s trembling shoulders. ‘How do you know this child?’
‘She ain’t a child,’ Snape said through gritted teeth. ‘I paid her mother good money for her and got nothing for it.’
‘How dare you speak like that in front of a young person?’ Thoroughly incensed, Phoebe faced him fearlessly. ‘You were trying to get off with my mother the last time I saw you, Mr Snape. If your intentions towards this girl are what I think, then shame on you.’
‘Mind your own bloody business, you interfering trull.’ Snape made a grab for Dolly but Phoebe stepped in between them.
‘She’s just come out of hospital. Can’t you see that she’s been injured, you stupid man?’
Snape abandoned his attempt to grab Dolly, who was now clinging to the wheel of the hansom cab as if her life depended upon it. He seized Phoebe round the neck, shaking her like a terrier with a rat. ‘I paid for her services and I’m entitled to my money’s worth. The simpleton is only good for one thing and that’s what I bought.’
She could hardly breathe. A red mist blotted out Snape’s florid face. She was within seconds of losing consciousness when suddenly the pressure was relieved and Snape went spinning onto the cobblestones.
Chapter Five
DAZED AND GASPING for breath, Phoebe found herself being supported by strong arms.
‘You’re Annie’s daughter.’ It was a bald statement of fact, spoken without rancour or emotion. Ned Paxman set her back on her feet, eyeing her curiously. ‘You want to keep away from the likes of him.’ He aimed a savage kick at Amos, who was kneeling on the cobblestones clutching his corpulent belly. The blow caught him on his flank and he let out a howl of pain and rage.
‘I’ll have the law on you, Paxman.’ Shaking his fist, Amos moved out of reach, shuffling on his knees through the piles of straw and horse dung that covered the cobblestones.
Dolly started to giggle but she covered her mouth with her hands when Amos lurched to his feet and turned. ‘You won’t find it so funny when I get you home, my girl.’
Dolly cowered away from him, her eyes wide with fear. ‘No, I ain’t going with you, mister. You can’t make me.’
‘No, he can’t,’ Phoebe said, moving to her side. ‘You’re coming home with me, as promised.’
‘I’ve paid for her,’ Amos snarled. ‘Either she comes with me or she gives me back my money.’
Ned took a step towards him. He did not have to fist his hands in order to look menacing. His dark eyebrows were lowered in a frown and his mouth was set in a hard line. ‘It seems to me that it’s Ethel Fowler you should be dealing with, Snape. She took your money so you get it from her, if you can. Now clear off before I really lose me temper.’
Straightening his rumpled clothing, Amos shot him a withering glance as he backed away. ‘I’ll remember this, Paxman. You see if I don’t.’
‘I’m shaking in my shoes, cully.’
Amos hunched his shoulders and walked away, limping slightly and casting a malicious glance over his shoulder at Dolly, who was clinging to Phoebe’s hand as if she would never let go.
Ned fixed his attention once again on Phoebe. ‘So where’s your ma then, girl? I’ve been waiting for her to come and see me. Has she found another bloke?’
Phoebe shook her head. ‘No. Nothing like that. She’s been ill.’
‘What’s wrong with her? She was well enough last time we was together.’
‘Smallpox,’ Phoebe said in desperation. ‘She’s over the worst but she don’t want to be seen in public.’ She touched her cheek as if to indicate an unsightly blemish left by the disease.
‘Perhaps I’ll call on her sometime.’
‘No.’ The word slipped out before she had time to think, but she realised immediately that she had said the wrong thing. The stubborn set of Ned’s jaw made him look disturbingly like his elder brother. ‘I mean, not yet,’ she said hastily. ‘Ma wouldn’t want anyone to risk catching the disease, especially you, Mr Paxman. She speaks very highly of you.’
His lips curved into a pleased smile. ‘So she should. We were good together and to tell the truth I quite miss her. She made me laugh, and we had a lot in common.’
The cabby, who had been watching the scene with some enjoyment, thumped his hand on the cab roof. ‘If you’re hiring me then get inside, ladies. I’m losing money all the time I’m stuck here listening to your chit-chat.’
Ned tossed a coin at him. ‘That’ll cover your costs, cully. I ain’t quite finished speaking to the young lady.’
The cabby tipped his hat. ‘All right and tight, mister. No offence meant.’
‘I must get Dolly home,’ Phoebe said, assisting her frightened charge into the cab. ‘I’ll be sure to pass on your good wishes to Ma.’
Ned caught her by the arm. ‘Tell her to come to the Three Bells as soon as she’s feeling fit. If she don’t turn up soon I’ll be knocking on your door. I know where you live.’
Cold fingers of panic clutched at Phoebe’s belly. Ma was beginning to show. So far she had managed to conceal her thickening waistline, but when the family had left for Italy it was going to be difficult to keep her condition a secret. ‘Ma is thinking of going to Italy for the winter,’ she said in desperation. ‘Nonna is getting older and she needs a younger woman to help in the house.’
Ned threw back his head and laughed. ‘Well, she’s not going to get that from my Annie. She’s either up for a good time or else she’s summoning up spirits. Those that don’t talk to her go straight down her throat. I never met a girl who could hold her liquor like Annie Giamatti. Tell her I miss her.’ He seized Phoebe round the waist without giving her a chance to protest and lifted her bodily into the cab. ‘Drive on, cabby.’ He stepped aside as the vehicle moved slowly forward.
Phoebe heaved a sigh of relief as the cabby urged his horse to a smart trot, putting a safe distance between them and Ned Paxman, but she realised that the respite was only temporary. She had not credited him with having genuine feelings for her mother, but now she could see t
hat she had been mistaken. He might only think of Annie Giamatti in terms related to his own selfish pleasure, but he did appear to have a genuine concern for her welfare. What, she wondered, would he do if he found out that he was to become a father? Once again the more pressing problem raised its ugly head. What would the Giamattis do if they discovered that their beloved Paulo’s widow was carrying a criminal’s child? A muffled sob broke through her train of thought and she turned to Dolly with a feeling of guilt. ‘Are you all right, Dolly?’
‘That nasty man, miss. He can’t come and get me, can he? I never said I’d go with him. Honest.’
Phoebe patted her hand. ‘Of course not. You mustn’t give him a second thought. No one is going to make you do anything that you don’t want to. You’re going to be safe in Saffron Hill. I’m going to look after you.’
* * *
Maria looked up from kneading the pasta dough. She pointed a floury finger at Dolly’s bandaged head. ‘What happened to her?’
Phoebe slipped a protective arm around Dolly’s shoulders. ‘I told you, Nonna. Dolly had to have an operation after the accident.’
‘They cut off me hair, missis,’ Dolly said plaintively. ‘Can I have some ice cream now?’
Maria angled her head. ‘Is she a bit simple?’
Embarrassed by her grandmother’s forthrightness, Phoebe shook her head. ‘She’s not recovered fully, but the doctors say she will in time. I promised her some ice cream.’
‘Hokey-pokey,’ Dolly said hopefully. ‘A penny lick.’
Maria thumped the dough with her fists. ‘You’ve taken on something there, Phoebe. Go and see your grandfather. He’s in the cellar making up another batch of the stuff. I can’t abide it myself, but the boys can’t keep up with demand in this hot weather.’
‘It’s all right with you if Dolly stays, then?’ Phoebe needed to have her grandmother’s approval. Her word was law and if she took against poor Dolly nothing would make her change her mind. ‘She’ll help around the house.’
‘I like scrubbing floors,’ Dolly murmured dreamily. ‘I’d rather do that than let him fumble me tits.’
‘What?’ Maria’s eyes opened wide. ‘What did she say?’
Phoebe grabbed Dolly’s hand. ‘She’s a bit confused, Nonna.’ She tapped her head, indicating the site where Dolly had been injured, and made a hasty retreat before her grandmother could start asking awkward questions. As soon as they were out of earshot, she stopped. ‘It’s best not to mention Amos Snape and men like him in front of my family. It would make them very angry to think that someone would take advantage of a girl like you.’
Dolly’s eyes clouded and her bottom lip trembled. ‘Did I say something wrong?’
‘No, but try to remember what I just told you. Now we’ll go downstairs to the cellar and see if Nonno has some ice cream ready.’
‘I’m going to like it here,’ Dolly said happily. ‘I could eat ice cream all day, and all night too if it come to that.’
Phoebe noted with pleasure that her grandfather and Dolly were almost instantly on the best of terms. Fabio was delighted to find someone who would willingly spend the day tasting the ice cream and giving him her honest opinion. Dolly appeared to have the palate of a wine connoisseur when it came to sampling each batch of strawberry, vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Fabio was experimenting with many different flavours which he hoped one day to sell all year round. It was his ambition to have a café similar to that established by Carlo Gatti, where he would sell ice cream, pastries and good coffee in an attempt to wean the English from their addiction to tea. Fabio took Dolly under his wing, teaching her the rudiments of making the confection she loved, and in return she cleaned the cellar room and scoured the milk churns. She was kept busy all day, although he allowed her to rest as soon as she grew tired. This left Phoebe free to look after her mother and to continue her séances in the front parlour. Sometimes, when she felt well enough, Annie conducted the sessions, but more often than not she took to her bed, complaining of the heat and fretting because Ned had not made any attempt to see her. Phoebe had refrained from mentioning her meeting with him or the fact that he had shown concern for her mother’s health. She was only too aware that a mere mention of his name might encourage her mother to seek him out. It did not take much imagination to foresee the disastrous consequences of that meeting.
The heat wave continued throughout August and into September. Fabio put off their departure date several times. The demand for ice cream and water ices continued and the family were making too much money to give up until the weather broke and the autumn gales and rain put an end to their trade. The days were growing shorter and the evenings and early mornings cooler, and with this subtle change in the weather Annie’s health began to improve. Phoebe knew that it was only a matter of time before her grandmother guessed the truth, and her mother’s secret would become public knowledge. The shame and bitter recriminations would be almost impossible to bear.
Annie was already threatening to tell Ned. She seemed convinced that he would do the right thing and make an honest woman of her. Phoebe tried to tell her that this was wishful thinking, but Annie refused to listen. Instead, she hitched the top hoop on her crinoline cage a little higher and laced her stays as tightly as possible while still allowing herself to breathe. Phoebe caught her one day just as she was about to set off towards Wilderness Row. She knew instinctively that her mother was heading for the Paxmans’ house and that she must stop her, but Annie slapped her restraining hand away with a petulant frown. ‘Leave me be. You don’t tell me where I can go and who I see. It’s my business.’
Phoebe glanced anxiously over her shoulder. They were attracting the attention of a group of Italian women who were chatting to each other on the street corner. ‘Ma, keep your voice down. Gino’s mother is watching us and she’s with that Tartaglia woman. You know how she gossips.’
‘I don’t care. I have to see him, Phoebe. You must understand that.’
‘It would be fatal, Ma. He only wants one thing and it isn’t marriage. At best he’ll deny that it’s his, and at worst,’ Phoebe shuddered. ‘It doesn’t bear thinking about.’
‘He loves me. He’ll marry me and I can get away from the Giamattis forever.’
‘Please don’t do this.’
Annie’s lips curved in a smile. ‘You worry too much, my little one. I’ve seen eternal happiness in the crystal ball. I’ll have a strong and healthy son and Ned will be proud of us both.’
There was a feverish gleam in her mother’s eyes and suddenly Phoebe was more than afraid. A cold shiver ran down her spine and she clutched her mother’s hand. ‘Forget him, please. Come inside out of this heat.’
‘Don’t be daft, girl.’ Annie pulled away from her and almost bumped into Amos Snape, who had appeared suddenly like an evil genie from a lamp.
Phoebe held her breath. This was something she had not anticipated. She drew herself up to her full height, ready to defend her mother and Dolly from his unwelcome advances. The only trouble was that Annie did not seem at all displeased to see him. She bridled coquettishly. ‘Amos, love. I ain’t seen you for weeks.’
His scowl melted into a fawning grin. ‘Where’ve you been, Annie? I missed our little chats at the pub.’
‘Oh, I don’t go there no more, ducks. I’ve been a bit poorly but I’m well now and I made up me mind not to frequent them common taverns, although I could manage a bite to eat in a chop house, if you was to offer.’
Amos proffered his arm. ‘Of course, my angel. It’s me dinner time anyway, and I’m famished.’ He led her away, casting a triumphant look in Phoebe’s direction.
She could do nothing other than watch them sauntering down the street arm in arm, but at least Amos’s arrival had diverted her mother’s attention from Ned Paxman, even if it was only a temporary distraction. There were times when she despaired of her wayward parent and this was one of them. Why her mother could not see that Amos was a hateful person Phoebe was at a loss to un
derstand. She could only hope that they did not bump into Ned, or anyone who would tell him that they had seen Annie Giamatti looking unscarred by the dreaded smallpox, if not in the pink of health.
Phoebe went indoors to set up the room for a table tipping session. One thing was certain and that was her need to earn enough money to keep them through the winter. She had Dolly to think of now, and Ma was not in the first flush of youth. She would be almost thirty-seven when she gave birth after a gap of almost twenty years. There would be expenses involving a midwife and possibly a doctor if there were complications.
That evening, she shared her anxieties with Gino. They had gone for a stroll down to the river in the hope of catching a breath of air on Blackfriars Bridge, regardless of the stench emanating from the polluted waters of the Thames. It was hot and sultry with the threat of a thunderstorm hanging over the city in a sulphurous cloud. The river snaked sluggishly between the wharves on either bank and the ships tied up alongside bobbed up and down on the incoming tide.
‘What is it that bothers you tonight?’ Gino asked gently, laying his hand on Phoebe’s as it rested on the railings. ‘Is it your mamma?’
She stared down into the curdled tea-coloured waters. ‘I can’t seem to make her understand the need for absolute secrecy. Today she went off with Snape as if she had not a care in the world. She wants to see Ned Paxman and confront him with the news that he’s to become a father. I’ve tried to tell her that it would be a terrible mistake, but she won’t listen.’
‘My poor Phoebe. Why don’t you leave her and come with us to Italy? She’s a grown woman and she made this problem for herself. It shouldn’t be for you to get her out of this mess.’
Phoebe managed a weak smile. ‘Sometimes I think that Ma is more of a child than Dolly.’
‘Leave them together, cara. They can look after each other. Marry me and let me take care of you.’
There was no doubting the sincerity in his voice or the tender expression in his eyes, but to abandon her mother and Dolly was unthinkable, and Phoebe could not commit herself to such a promise. She shook her head. ‘You are a good man, Gino. But I must do what I have to do.’
