by Tania Crosse
Hillie gave a wry grimace. ‘I reckon he thinks it’s a small price to pay for having a housekeeper for the princely sum of ten bob a week.’
‘Is that all he pays you?’ Jessica looked utterly shocked.
‘Dolly said he paid her twelve and six, but she might’ve been lying. Anyway, that’s what we agreed, and I’m just happy to know my family’s being properly cared for.’
‘But that must be far less than you earned at the factory. Are you managing all right moneywise? I mean, Dad gives me a generous allowance, and I could—’
‘Goodness, you’re a true friend, Jess, but we’re managing fine. Jimmy’s not badly paid at Price’s, and you know he does shifts at the pub on Saturday and Sunday now, and sometimes during the week as well. And he does a bit of work on the side for some chap called Jackson, too. So, all in all,’ she assured her friend, ‘we’re doing quite well. And I certainly don’t miss standing at the factory workbench all day, I can tell you!’ she grinned mischievously.
‘No, I bet you don’t,’ Jessica chuckled. ‘Oh, yes, that’s very good, Frances,’ she said, turning her attention back to the little girl on her lap. ‘What colour are you going to do the butterfly?’
‘I miss being with Gert all day, mind,’ Hillie went on, smiling across at little Frances whose tongue was stuck out of the side of her mouth in concentration. ‘But we still see a lot of each other. I’m often at a loose end when Jimmy’s doing his extras, so I see her then. Unless she’s out with Rob, of course. I play gooseberry sometimes, but I can’t do that all the time. And sometimes Belinda and I go to the flicks or whatever together. But that’s enough of me,’ she said decisively. ‘Does your mum know you’re here? I’m surprised she lets you come so often.’
‘Yes, she does know. And she’s not that happy about it. But Dad says you’re not that bad and we should show some compassion. So as long as your dad’s not here, I can come. Well, of course, they still think he’s your dad, anyway. But they draw the line at Gert’s house, which I think’s rotten.’
‘Huh, well, so do I. Salt of the earth the Parkers are, all of them. But if your dad’s being a bit more lenient, d’you think he might be OK about Patrick? You are still seeing each other?’
‘Oh, yes!’ Hillie saw the other girl’s face light up like the sun. ‘The more we see of each other, the more we grow to love each other. We seem to think the same about everything. And he’s so interesting. He shows me all the letters he gets from home, and sometimes there are photos as well. I feel I know all his family already. And they’re quite happy about his English rose, as he calls me. He’s asked me to go with him next time he goes home, whenever that might be. Don’t you think that’s exciting? Imagine, me in Africa!’
Her eyes were shining with excitement, and Hillie’s heart bled for her. She clearly adored Patrick, but realistically, could there ever be any future for them?
‘And… what about your own parents?’ she hardly dared to ask. ‘I assume you haven’t told them yet?’
Jessica lowered her eyes, her face saddened. ‘No. Not yet. You know I told you we decided to wait until I’m twenty-one? And that’s not till the end of this year. We want to get married, but I’m so scared of what Mum and Dad’ll say. They’re still my parents, after all, and I do love them whatever happens.’
‘Yes, I understand that,’ Hillie murmured, thinking how much she’d loved her own mother and had felt so guilty about marrying Jimmy in secret. If only her mum was still there instead of lying deep in the grave that Hillie visited once a week, taking a little bunch of flowers when she could afford it. ‘But you’ve got to do what’s right for you,’ she went on. ‘If I’d been stronger and stood up to Harold a bit more in the past, none of this might’ve happened. So learn by my mistake, and don’t leave it too late.’
She almost wished she hadn’t spoken as Jessica twisted her head in a silent groan of anguish. But Jessica had become a good friend and Hillie didn’t want to see her trapped in a situation like she was herself. Joan wasn’t yet thirteen, and even if she left school at the earliest opportunity, Hillie couldn’t see her being able to cope with running the house straightaway, and she’d feel guilty at saddling Joan with everything, anyway. It wasn’t that she wanted to abandon her siblings, but it would be nice to have a life of her own one day. But for now, she was probably just as stuck as she’d been before Jimmy had rescued her.
But at least he’d be home that evening to comfort her, and they could cuddle up on the settee together and listen to the radio, and let their cares drift away.
‘I know it’s cold, but if we wrap up warm, d’you fancy a quick walk in the park when we’ve finished this?’ she asked Jessica brightly.
*
Hillie closed the door to the flat behind her and put her shopping bag on the floor while she hung up her coat. Damn. Jimmy’s old work jacket wasn’t there. He usually beat her home by about five minutes – unless he called in for a swift half at the Falcon. Only it wasn’t always so swift if Mr Jackson was there or had sent a messenger to look for Jimmy. It was all very well the extra cash Jimmy got for the errands he ran, but sometimes Hillie wished the suspicious Mr Jackson would disappear off the face of the earth. But there again, these regular windfalls made more bearable the drastic drop in Hillie’s wages so that she could take care of her family, so she supposed she should be grateful.
With a deep sigh, she went to the kitchenette and put the cheap, tasteless sausages in the little lead-lined cupboard with its marble base that served as their cold larder. Jessica had told her that in the semi-basement kitchen at Number Three, they had one of those new-fangled electric fridges that kept meat fresh for several days and vegetables for nearly a week. How wonderful it’d be to have one of those! But since Hillie had to shop every day for her family and did her own shopping at the same time, it didn’t really matter. But it didn’t hurt to dream.
But what was that? An extra package already in there. Hillie knew it hadn’t been there this morning. She carefully unwrapped it. A thick, beautifully lean lamb chop, the expensive sort Hillie would never contemplate buying. So where had it come from?
It was only then that she spied a note in Jimmy’s untidy scrawl on the table. Don’t wait up. Working for Mr Jackson. Little present for you in the larder. Love you, Jimmy xx
Hillie drew in a disappointed breath. Jimmy must have popped in just before she’d got home. So she could only have missed him by a few minutes. Oh, she’d been so looking forward to a nice cosy evening together, and bitterness filled her as she put a match to the fire she’d laid that morning. It was March, and the winter was seeming so long. There was little sign of spring, except in the park where daffodil buds were bravely beginning to unfurl, but everywhere else was so grey. Grey streets, grey houses, the very air seemed grey, especially when all the factories and now the first two chimneys of the new giant power station were spewing out smoke. A relaxing evening in with Jimmy might have brought a little brightness into her life, and now she had been denied even that.
Hillie stayed on her knees in front of the fire as she coaxed it into life. The scrunched-up newspaper and kindling caught instantly, and she expertly added some coal, a little at a time. She waited while the growing flames licked about the black lumps until they were burning, too, and then she added a little more fuel to build up a good heart so that there was no danger of the fire going out.
Just to be sure, Hillie remained by the hearth, and anyway, she didn’t have the heart to start cooking straightaway, even if the thought of the juicy chop was enticing. She just wished Jimmy was there to enjoy the evening with her. She hadn’t expected married life to be like this. Lonely. She’d expected to share her life with Jimmy. She appreciated how hard he worked and that it was meant to be for their future. But, quite honestly, the dream of leaving London behind and moving to a pretty cottage in the country with chickens at the bottom of the garden and fresh, clean air to breathe was fading into the ether.
She finally dragg
ed herself away from the fire and went to cook the chop. They didn’t have a grill or a proper oven. Just two gas rings. So she fried the meat to perfection over a moderate heat while a couple of potatoes boiled on the other ring, and finally she lightly cooked some cabbage while she prepared the mash. Placing the meal on a tray, she sat down in a chair by the fire to eat it. The meat was delicious and succulent, but Hillie didn’t enjoy it as much as she knew she should. It would have tasted so much better if Jimmy had been there to share it.
She washed up and then prepared Jimmy’s sandwiches for the next day. She turned the radio on for a bit of company, but she wasn’t really listening to it. She sat down for a while, darning a pair of Jimmy’s socks. There was other mending to be done, but she couldn’t settle to it. Instead she made herself a cup of tea and lost herself in a book.
Ten o’clock. Well, it was an early start in the morning, and time for bed. Jimmy had put in his note that she shouldn’t wait up, so she wouldn’t. Still feeling disgruntled, she made herself a hot-water bottle, got herself ready for bed and climbed in between the sheets.
Heaven knew what time it was when Jimmy fell into bed beside her, and within a few minutes, he was breathing heavily in a deep sleep. His arrival woke Hillie up and she turned over huffily, cursing him as she waited for sleep to overcome her again. The extra money was all very well, but they both had a proper job to get to in the morning!
Hillie woke again at the normal time and went to get the day started. She’d leave Jimmy asleep as long as she dared, and only wake him at the last minute. It wouldn’t do for him to be falling asleep at Price’s! It was, after all, their main source of income.
It was then that she noticed something draped over the back of the settee. A beautiful Fair Isle cardigan in the softest wool, a silk petticoat trimmed with lace and a couple of pairs of silk stockings. Everything appeared brand new, and then Hillie spied another note in Jimmy’s hand. A present for my darling Hillie.
Hillie stared at the items of clothing. Were they really for her? They certainly were lovely, but surely they should be spending their money on more important things or saving it for their future? She didn’t know whether to be cross with Jimmy or delighted.
She got herself ready and had breakfast on the table before she shook Jimmy awake. He came to, bleary-eyed, but grinned at her almost at once.
‘Did you find the things I got for my girl?’ he demanded, leaping out of bed. ‘You’ll look a proper treat—’
‘Jimmy, we can’t afford things like that,’ Hillie interrupted him. ‘It’s a waste of money when—’
‘Course we can,’ Jimmy insisted, pulling on his trousers and disappearing into the bathroom. ‘I told you, Mr Jackson pays us well.’ His voice came to her through the partly open door and she could hear water sloshing about in the basin. ‘And I wanted to get you something to make up for being out so late.’
‘So, what were you doing, then? And are you sure this is all above board?’
‘Well, more or less. Last night it was a card game. Gambling. Serious stuff.’ Jimmy emerged from the bathroom, naked to the waist after his wash. ‘I’m not exactly sure how legal it was. But everyone there obviously wanted to be. No bad blood or anything. A lot of money changed hands, though. Mr Jackson won loads and gave us another wodge of notes.’
‘So what were you doing there?’
‘Serving drinks,’ Jimmy shrugged, pulling on his vest and shirt. ‘Just as well, ’cos I don’t know nothing about card games.’
‘Don’t you?’ Hillie eyed him suspiciously. ‘I’d’ve thought—’
‘Nah, never interested us. So don’t you worry,’ Jimmy said, stuffing toast and cheap streaky bacon into his mouth and slurping down a mug of tea. ‘Now, you enjoy being spoilt once in a while. Pretty as a picture you’ll look in those, my princess. Well, time I was off. See you tonight, angel, and I promise I’ll be in all evening.’
He dropped a kiss on her hair, collected his packet of sandwiches and then scuttled out of the flat door, plonking his cap on his head and shrugging into his jacket as he went. Hillie watched him leave, holding her breath in exasperation.
She hoped to goodness he knew what he was doing!
Chapter Nineteen
‘Right, girls, stand back. I’m bringing the big saucepan across.’
Daisy and Frances at once stopped leaping about in anticipation of the fun they were going to have, and obediently stepped back. And just to make sure, Trixie put a restraining hand on each of their bare little shoulders.
It was June, and Friday evening, so time for the weekly ritual of the bath. Joan had helped Hillie lift the galvanised tin tub from its hook on the wall out in the yard, but today there was no need to drag it inside and place it in front of the fire. It was so warm that even though the yard was mainly in shadow, there was still one sunny patch where the girls could enjoy their bath outside and splash around to their hearts’ content. But they would still want warm water, which needed to be heated on the gas stove in the kettle and every available saucepan.
‘There. That feels about right,’ Hillie announced, testing the temperature of the water. ‘In you get.’
The two little ones had already stripped off and clambered over the sides, although Frances had to be helped. Hillie gave them both a good wash with some nice soap Jimmy had brought home from Price’s. Rejects that had been handed out to the staff, he’d said. At first, Hillie had been inclined not to believe him and suspected him of pilfering. But Gert had confirmed there’d been a batch where the colour hadn’t mixed in properly, and it had been a bit of a bun fight among the women to grab one of the handouts. As Jimmy had been the one to distribute them around the factory, it was no surprise he’d nicked an entire box for himself and Hillie first.
But why did Hillie feel the need to distrust him, she asked herself with a distressed sigh?
She left the girls playing with a rubber duck that had seen better days, and went indoors to prepare the family supper and heat up another consignment of water for when it was Joan and Trixie’s turn. Hoots of laughter reached her from the yard as she cut slices of bread. It was only going to be a simple meal that night – baked beans on toast with a poached egg on top – as Hillie needed all the bathing to be over by the time Harold and Luke got home from work, and tea on the table as they came in the door, enabling her to make her exit immediately. She still felt that the least time she spent in Harold’s company the better.
‘Come on, you two, out now,’ she ordered with a chuckle as she went back outside. ‘We’ll get you dry and into clean clothes, so you make sure they stay that way until bedtime.’
‘Oh, just five more minutes,’ Daisy begged.
‘No, sorry, love. Your sisters’ve got to have theirs before your dad and Luke get in. Come on. Let’s see which one of you can get dry and dressed first,’ she said, turning it into a game.
She wrapped them in towels and topped up the hot water so that the two older girls could have their baths, each holding up a large towel for the other in order to provide privacy from any prying eyes from the other houses!
By the time their father and brother got in from work, all four sisters were clean and respectable, the bathtub was hanging back on its hook in the yard, and tea was on the table.
‘That’s everything done, then,’ Hillie told Harold curtly as he sat down in front of his meal. ‘I’ll be back in the morning, so you’ll have your dinner waiting on the table as usual when you get in from work. And don’t forget to have my wages ready.’
Harold looked up at her darkly, his mouth in a disgruntled bunch. But he said nothing as he stabbed his knife and fork into the beans.
‘I’ll see you out,’ Luke said, leaping to his feet.
Hillie saw Harold glare at his son, but then he couldn’t really protest. Luke could easily walk out, taking his pay packet with him, and Harold wouldn’t want that, would he, Hillie grimaced to herself?
‘Everything OK, Luke?’ she asked as her half
-brother came down the hallway with her.
‘Yeah. As good as it can be without Mum,’ Luke answered. ‘In fact, in some ways, Dad’s not as bad-tempered as he used to be. I mean, he rants and raves about you sometimes. But he knows which side his bread’s buttered, I reckon, so he’s not going to stop you coming to do all the housework and everything.’
‘No, I don’t suppose he is,’ Hillie agreed, and then she frowned. They were standing now on the front step Hillie had donkey-stoned that morning, and Luke appeared to be hovering as if he wanted to say something but didn’t have the courage. ‘Is there anything else?’ she asked. ‘Only Gert and me are going out this evening, ’cos Jimmy’s working at the pub and Gert’s not seeing Rob tonight.’
‘Oh. Well,’ Luke faltered. ‘Actually, there was something. I… I thought you ought to know. I heard Jimmy being told off at work today. Sounded like he’d nodded off on the job.’
‘What!’ Hillie’s heart crashed to her feet, her earlier semi-contentment fled. ‘Oh, Lordy. I keep telling him he’s working too hard with his shifts at the pub,’ she told Luke, covering up. For, somehow, she didn’t want anyone knowing the truth about Jimmy’s activities with the mysterious Mr Jackson! ‘Oh, I’ll have to tell him to cut down.’
‘I… I did right to tell you, then? I didn’t want to worry you, but—’
‘No, thanks for letting me know.’ Hillie squeezed Luke’s hand. ‘Now, you get back and eat while it’s still hot. And I’ll see you tomorrow lunchtime.’
‘Yes. Thanks, Hill,’ Luke said, and went back inside.
The smile faded from Hillie’s face as she stepped along the pavement to Gert’s house. That side of the street was still bathed in evening sunshine, the smell of heat and dust coming off the tarmac. Summer was the best time of year, no matter what one was doing, and Hillie had felt light of heart as she was about to leave the house. She couldn’t bring her mum back, but she’d managed somehow to create a happy atmosphere in the home for her sisters, at least. And she’d been looking forward to her evening with Gert. A stroll in the park, or maybe going to the flicks.
