A Mother's Love

by Katie Flynn

  There was a brief knock on the door. ‘Come in!’ they chorused.

  Arla’s mother poked her head round the door. ‘Mr Bent has brought your bouquet, love. He got some pink and blue cornflowers; they really are beautiful. Do you want me to keep hold of ’em till you’re ready?’

  Arla nodded. ‘Thanks, Mam.’ She turned to Ellie. ‘Try to think positive. I know you’re a bit superstitious about countin’ your chickens an’ that, but just because it went wrong for your mam doesn’t mean to say it’ll be the same for you.’

  There came another brief knock on the door, followed by the voice of Arla’s father. ‘It’s time to go, queen.’

  The morning after the wedding Ellie and Gwen had arranged to meet Aidan and Connor for an early lunch.

  ‘I’m having haddock and chips,’ Connor decided after a quick glance at the menu. ‘I’m starving after all that dancing last night. Don’t you ever get tired?’

  Gwen laughed. ‘I think it must have been all the excitement of the wedding. I felt fine at the time but when I woke up this morning my poor feet felt as though I’d spent the entire day square-bashing.’

  ‘It was good fun, though, and Arla looked beautiful. Even Archie scrubbed up well. I thought it was lovely the way everyone saved up their coupons and pitched in with the wedding breakfast,’ said Ellie.

  ‘Why do they call it a wedding breakfast when it’s served at lunchtime?’ Aidan asked. ‘They did the same at my cousin Jean’s wedding, and I didn’t have anything to eat all morning thinking we’d be having breakfast at the wedding.’

  ‘Poor Aidan.’ Ellie laughed. ‘They call it a wedding breakfast because it’s the first meal you eat as a married couple.’ She patted his tummy. ‘Just you be grateful they didn’t get married late in the afternoon.’

  A waitress hovered by Aidan’s shoulder, her pencil poised on her notepad. ‘Are you ready to order?’

  ‘Everyone want tea?’ said Ellie, not taking her eyes off the menu.

  There was a general murmur of agreement. Gwen put her menu down on the table. ‘Sausage roll and peas, please. It’s not as if I’ve gorra watch me figure.’

  Connor frowned. ‘There’s nothing wrong with your figure. I dunno why you women are so obsessed with your weight. Every chap I know would prefer a girl with a bit of meat on her bones who can dance the night away, not faint halfway through ’cos she’s half starved.’

  Ellie added her menu to the others in the middle of the table. ‘I’ll have baked beans on toast, please.’ She looked across the table to Connor. ‘You’re not courting anyone, are you, Connor?’

  Connor shook his head and was about to reply when a blushing Gwen broke in. ‘Is anyone interested in going for a wander around Paddy’s Market? I’m not after anything in particular, I just love having a good old nose.’

  ‘Can I order fishcake and chips first?’ Aidan said, his tone a touch wounded at the thought he might miss out on a meal.

  ‘Oh, sorry, Aidan. Don’t worry, we didn’t forget you,’ Gwen chuckled.

  Ellie smiled at the sudden change in the conversation. She had watched Gwen and Connor dancing at Arla’s wedding and had remarked to Aidan how well suited the two were.

  ‘She’s all he’s talked about since your visit,’ said Aidan. ‘I was quite surprised, as I didn’t think she was his sort, not after Evie; the two are polar opposites. I did mention it to him, but he fobbed me off, saying that they were just pals and he enjoyed her company.’

  Ellie had cocked her head on one side as she watched the pair swirl around the floor. ‘Maybe he’s right, maybe they are just friends. Seems a bit of a shame, though.’

  Later that night, when the girls were tucked up in bed, Ellie had prodded the underneath of Gwen’s bunk. ‘You and Connor had a good time tonight. Everybody thought you were a couple.’

  There was a considerable pause before Gwen answered. ‘Really? I am surprised. He’s awfully good fun and I like him a lot, but I don’t think of him that way.’

  It was the pause, Ellie thought to herself now; it was too long before she replied.

  Connor’s voice brought her back to the present. ‘I’m up for that. Crikey, I’ve not been to Paddy’s Market for years. You mean the one on Great Homer Street?’

  ‘Here’s your tea. I’ll bring your food over in a mo.’ The waitress started distributing cups and saucers.

  Full from their lunch, the four of them headed towards Great Homer Street, where they strolled along the pavement looking at the various stalls. Ellie and Gwen walked on whilst Aidan and Connor stopped to barter over a set of golf clubs, until Ellie spotted a beautifully beaded kiss-lock purse. Picking it up, she looked around for the stallholder.’

  ‘She’s just nipped to the lavvy, luv; she won’t be long,’ the man on the next stall told her. ‘I’d serve you meself, but I can see there’s no ticket on it.’

  ‘Do you mind if I carry on whilst you wait?’ Gwen asked.

  ‘You go ahead. I’m sure she won’t be long.’

  As Gwen ambled off, Ellie was pleased to see a plump woman hurrying towards her. ‘Sorry about that, darlin’, but I’m a martyr to me bladder. What can I do for you?’

  Holding up the small purse, Ellie noticed that some of the beads were missing and others were decidedly loose, so putting it back down she selected another one similar to the first, but in better condition. ‘How much?’

  The woman smiled. ‘Tell you what, how about I do you a deal on the two? I can see the other one’s seen better days, so I’ll let you have the two for sixpence.’

  ‘What would I want two purses for?’

  ‘You could give the other one to a pal, or your mam …’

  Ellie laughed. ‘Nice try, but I only want the one.’

  Shrugging, the woman fished out the ticket that was inside the purse. ‘That’ll be fourpence ha’penny. You sure you don’t want the other one?’

  Handing the money over, Ellie shook her head. ‘Me mam’s dead, so she’s not in much need of a purse, and Gwen’s already got one.’

  Blushing, the woman hastily apologised. ‘Sorry, luv. Me and me big mouth. My Bertie allus said I should think before I speak.’

  ‘No harm done.’ Looking round the stalls, Ellie could see Aidan and Connor walking towards her with the set of golf clubs, so she smiled a farewell to the woman and went to meet them.

  ‘We wore him down in the end.’ Aidan laughed. ‘I thought if Connor carried on much longer he was going to start throwing in free golf balls just to get rid of us.’

  ‘Where’s Gwen?’ said Connor. Hefting the bag on to his shoulder, he pointed a finger past Ellie. ‘Forget that. I can see her, and judging by the smile on her face she’s bagged herself a bargain.’

  Beaming, Gwen held out a necklace. ‘What do you think? It’s got some feller’s picture inside but that should be easy enough to remove.’ She handed Ellie the locket.

  Ellie carefully clicked the little clasp open, and focused on the picture inside. Looking up sharply, she spoke urgently. ‘Who did you get this from?’

  ‘Some old feller. Why?’ Gwen was clearly taken aback by her friend’s brusque manner.

  Ellie handed the locket back. ‘Remember when we went to Lavender Court and Mr Rogers told us that Mrs Burgess had been killed in the bombing?’ Gwen nodded. ‘Well, this is her locket, and the picture is of her husband, Arnie Burgess. She never took it off, so I’d like to know who you bought it from and how they came across it. Can you remember whereabouts they were?’

  Gwen looked down the lines of stalls. ‘I think so. It was a scruffy-looking man, covered in scars, sort of tucked away between two stalls. He’d not got a table, just an old wooden box.’

  As Ellie turned, Connor caught her elbow. ‘Hang on a mo. You don’t know that her kids didn’t sell that locket. It’s perfectly possible, you know: times are hard and folk need the money.’

  ‘Very true, but not with his photograph still inside. They’d have taken that out,’ said Ellie evenly.
‘Besides, I only want to see who sold it to Gwen. Once I’ve done that I’ll make my mind up what to do next.’

  Aidan clasped her hand. ‘We’ll come with you. If this feller has come across it by foul means I don’t want you wading in on your own.’

  They set off down the long line of stalls, Gwen taking the lead. After a few minutes she turned to Ellie. ‘I think we must’ve gone past him; I’m sure I didn’t come this far down. Either that or he’s already gone.’

  Ellie heard a familiar voice that cut through her body like a knife.

  ‘That’ll be sixpence, love, cheap at ’alf the price. This is the only one I got, take it or leave it.’

  Ellie glanced at Connor, who had also recognised the voice. He mouthed the word ‘Sid’, and Ellie nodded. Pulling her cap down, she lowered her eyes to the ground, then glanced sideways to see if she could spy the foul beast of a man. Swivelling round, Gwen looked to where Sid Crowther stood, and turning back she nodded to Ellie.

  Aidan pulled gently at Ellie’s elbow. ‘Not here,’ he hissed, taking her to one side. When they were out of earshot Ellie spoke hotly.

  ‘The lying beast of a man! He never tried to save Mrs B, he bloody well robbed her.’ Tears trickled down her cheeks. ‘And now after all this time, he’s making money out of his wicked deed. We need to tell the police. Everyone should see him for what he is: a lying, thieving coward.’

  ‘And they will,’ Aidan assured her, ‘but we can’t take any chances. We’ve got to make sure he doesn’t run off before the scuffers get here. The two of us will keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn’t leave.’ Turning to Connor, he continued, ‘You and Gwen must go and find the nearest scuffer, explain the situation, make sure he understands, then bring him back here.’

  Nodding briefly, Connor and Gwen headed off in search of a policeman. Aidan turned back to Ellie. ‘Stand here beside me and pretend to be interested in something on one of the stalls. Don’t look at him or he might get suspicious.’

  Connor and Gwen pushed their way through the crowded pavement until they found a policeman leaning against the wall as he rolled a cigarette. Connor smiled. ‘PC Downey!’

  Looking up, the man beamed at Connor. ‘Bless my soul, if it ain’t little Connor Murray. Blimey, you in the RAF now, are ya?’ Glancing at Gwen, he added, ‘Got yourself a pretty young woman too, I see.’

  Connor waved a hand. ‘I’m afraid I’m not here for a chat.’ He went on to explain about the locket and Sid Crowther, and was pleased when the man tucked his cigarette into his top pocket and straightened his jacket.

  ‘You are sure it’s him, are you? Only no one’s seen hide nor hair of him since the bombing.’

  Connor nodded. ‘He’s covered in scars, but even so it’s him all right. Come and see for yourself.’

  The constable shook his head gravely. ‘Lead the way, young Connor. If what you say is true and that locket belonged to Mrs Burgess, then Sid Crowther’s got a lot of explaining to do.’

  An approaching policeman overheard Sid’s name being mentioned and cut in.

  ‘Sid Crowther, did you say? I thought that old git had long gone. Don’t tell me he’s still knocking about. What’s he done this time?’

  Back at the market, Ellie must have looked at the same wrench fifteen times before the stallholder eventually approached her. ‘D’you know what that’s for, love? Only you seem a bit distracted.’

  She looked up from the wrench in her hands. ‘What? Oh yes, sorry, I’m trying to make my mind up.’

  A couple of stalls up from Sid’s was a woman selling all manner of ladies’ items. ‘Perhaps we’d better go up there. It’d look more natural if you were looking at women’s wear rather than spanners,’ said Aidan.

  As they passed Sid, Ellie could not resist the urge to look at him, and was horrified when their eyes locked.

  ‘You!’ Sid growled. ‘I thought I’d seen the back of you a long time ago, you thievin’ little tart.’

  Fixing Sid with a steely glare, she eyed the network of scars on his face, and the patch that covered one eye. ‘I see the bomb improved your looks. Tell me something, do you know what a thief is? I do. It’s someone who takes lockets from around a dead person’s neck – that’s if Mrs Burgess was dead when you took her jewellery. Or perhaps you just left her for dead?’

  Leaping to his feet, he grabbed the black cloth containing his wares and stuffed it into his pocket.

  ‘No you don’t!’ Aidan shouted.

  Eyeing Aidan’s walking cane, Sid laughed scornfully. ‘Who the bloody hell’s going to stop me?’ As he made to push past Ellie, Aidan took a step forward, and raising his cane brought it round in a sweeping motion. The hooked handle caught Sid’s ankle and sent him crashing to the floor. Landing heavily on top of him, Aidan twisted his arm up behind his back. ‘Ellie is neither a thief nor a tart. You, on the other hand, are in it up to your neck.’

  ‘Well, well, well, it really is you, Sid. Still up to your old tricks, I see.’ Leaning down, PC Downey swiftly cuffed Sid, who was trying to scramble to his feet. The constable turned to Gwen. ‘This the feller what sold you the locket, love?’

  Gwen nodded. The policeman held the locket in front of Sid’s good eye. ‘Recognise this?’

  Sid glared menacingly at Gwen. ‘Never seen it before in my life.’

  PC Downey lowered his voice. ‘Only the picture inside is of Arnie Burgess. He were a family friend was Arnie; his missis, too. She wore this necklace all her life, never took it off … So how come it ended up in your possession?’

  Sid’s face contorted as he struggled in the policeman’s firm grip. ‘It’s got nowt to do wi’ me. I never seen it before in my life. She’s a bloody liar, that’s what she is.’

  A small crowd had started to form and one of the women stepped forward, holding a hand out to the constable. ‘May I?’

  Nodding, he handed her the locket. Clicking it open, she nodded her head. ‘She’s not lyin’. You tried to sell me this locket no more than half an hour ago. I told you I didn’t want a locket with somebody else’s picture in it. Especially not some old feller. My ’Arold’d think I were ’avin’ an affair!’

  Gripping him by the collar, PC Downey slid a hand into Sid’s pocket. ‘Let’s see what else you have for sale, shall we?’

  Trying to duck out of his grasp, Sid began to shout and swear, but nothing he could say or do was going to stop the inevitable. The policeman pulled out the piece of linen that contained Sid’s wares and passed it over to the other constable, instructing him to look through the contents. Ellie let out a cry.

  ‘That’s her wedding ring; I’d recognise it anywhere. It’s made up of a band of tiny forget-me-knots, and if you look closely their names and the date of their wedding are inscribed on the inside!’

  Bellowing with rage, Sid lunged at Ellie, only to be hauled back by his captors. Ellie was too angry to cry. Instead she fixed Sid with a look of pure hatred. ‘You didn’t even try to save her, did you? Was she …?’

  Sid spat on the ground. ‘Why would I put my life in danger for some old biddy who owed me rent? I lost everything in that bombing, or doesn’t that matter?’

  It was all too much. Ellie brought her hand round hard against Sid’s face with such force that they both cried out.

  ‘Brutality! You all saw that! They allowed her to attack me—’ His last words were lost in a yelp of pain as PC Downey yanked on the cuffs.

  ‘Time to go, Sid, ’cos when word gets round that you robbed a dying woman instead of trying to save her like you told everyone you did we’ll have a lynch mob on our hands, and even though I’m sworn to protect you I won’t be able to do a damned thing to stop them.’ He glared at Sid from the corner of his eye. ‘God help me, Sid Crowther, but I’ll be damned if I’ll be caught in the crossfire trying to save the likes of you from this lot.’

  Sid eyed the sea of angry faces. ‘Lies,’ he mumbled, but he no longer fought as the constable led him away.

  Ellie turned
to Aidan, her eyes brimming with tears. ‘Do you think he did leave her to die?’

  Holding her in his arms, he pressed her cheek close to his chest and kissed the top of her head. ‘Try not to think about it, alanna. We’ll never know the truth, so no good can come from dwelling on it.’

  Lifting her head from his chest, she looked into the warmth of his gaze and murmured, ‘Thank you for stopping him getting away. I couldn’t have done it without you.’

  Smoothing her hair down, he smiled reassuringly. ‘I’ll always be here for you when you need me, Ellie, don’t ever forget that.’

  Connor cleared his throat. ‘Can we get a shuffle on? Only I want to see if I can find a golf bag.’

  Ellie started to giggle. ‘You and your golf clubs! If you’d been here five minutes earlier you could’ve used one of them to pan Sid out.’

  Aidan chuckled. ‘He’d have more chance of hittin’ Sid than he has of hitting a golf ball.’

  The change in conversation was just what they needed, and it was a happy group that made their way round the rest of the market, although word soon spread and no matter which stall they visited the owner had already heard of the heroic arrest. Connor even got a half-priced golfing bag from their good deed. But even through the smiles, Ellie could not break her thoughts away from the fact that the boys would be leaving for Lincoln in a few hours, and in a few days they would be off to Africa.

  As the two men made their way towards the Lancaster Lass, Connor glanced at his cousin. ‘I hope you’re not goin’ to be moping the whole time we’re in Africa. I was looking forward to visiting the pyramids, so cheer up, for goodness’ sake.’

  Aidan forced a smile. ‘It’s all right for you. You haven’t got a woman like Ellie waitin’ for you.’

  Connor rolled his eyes. ‘Thanks a lot, pal, remind me again how I’ve lucked out in love for the whole of the war so far.’ He wiggled his eyebrows. ‘Although I might have women throwin’ themselves at me in Egypt. The lads have come back with some blindin’ stories about mysterious eastern temptresses with silky black hair, seductive dark eyes and’ – he waved his hands in the air – ‘curves in all the right places.’