Break of Dawn

by Rita Bradshaw

  When Sophy was ready, she stared in amazement at the woman staring back at her from the mirror.

  ‘Oh, Sophy.’ Harriet was openly emotional. ‘He’ll be bowled over when he sees you.’

  ‘Not again, I hope,’ said Sadie dryly, who had come up to see the end result.

  ‘Sadie,’ said Harriet reproachfully, but the black humour broke what had suddenly become a tense moment for Sophy. She wanted Kane to ask her to marry him, she was living for the moment but, at the same time, she was as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof now the possibility was about to become a reality.

  The front doorbell rang, causing Sophy to swing round from the mirror. The look on her face brought Sadie stepping forward to take her hands as she said, ‘It’ll be fine, just fine. Harriet, go and let Mr Gregory in and tell him Mrs Shawe will be down directly.’ However informal the three women were together, Sadie and Harriet made it a policy to give Sophy her full title when referring to her in front of visitors, even Kane. ‘Now’ – as Harriet hurried downstairs, Sadie chafed Sophy’s cold hands – ‘this is Mr Gregory, remember? And he worships the ground you walk on, anyone can see it. You’re going to be very happy, ma’am. I feel it in me water.’

  ‘Oh, Sadie.’ Sadie and her water. The expression was used for everything, from her suspicions that the butcher wasn’t above diddling his customers now and again, to predicting changes in the weather. Smiling, Sophy hugged the older woman, careless of her dress. ‘What would I do without you?’

  Sadie forgot the mistress/servant role she adopted most of the time and hugged Sophy back. ‘I think the boot’s on the other foot.’ Harriet wasn’t the only one who was aware of how different her life would have been if Sophy hadn’t come across her. Then, gently pushing Sophy away, she said, ‘Go and have a wonderful evening. You deserve it and so does he.’

  Kane was waiting in the hall as Sophy descended the stairs, her coat over her arm. The expression on his face made her suddenly shy, and to cover her confusion she said quickly, ‘I’m sorry to keep you waiting, is the cab outside? I didn’t mean to—’

  ‘You look beautiful.’ He cut through her babbling, his deep voice husky, and then turning to Harriet and Sadie who were watching them with beatific smiles, he said, ‘I shall look after her, so don’t worry.’

  He could have been referring to their evening out but Sadie knew better, and as her smile widened, she said, ‘I know that, Mr Gregory. She couldn’t be in better hands.’

  The Ballets Russes was breathtaking. The technical brilliance of the Russian dancers, led by Vaslav Nijinsky and Anna Pavlova, electrified the audience, and the choreography went far beyond the vocabulary of classical steps, stressing the male dancer’s role. Nijinsky seemed to defy gravity in his airborne leaps, his muscular energy stunning, and the decor and costume designs were like nothing London had seen before with their boldness and brilliant, exotic colours. It was a new experience for all the spectators at the theatre and one that would have normally had Sophy spellbound. As it was, in spite of the incredible performance on stage, her senses were almost completely tied up in the big dark man sitting quietly at her side.

  Kane had always looked good in evening dress – his brooding air lent itself well to formal attire, but tonight there was something about him which caused her to tremble inside. He was altogether a very masculine man, as different in stature and build to Toby’s slight, slim physique as chalk to cheese.

  He had ordered refreshments to be brought to their box in the interval – ice-cold champagne and strawberries – partly, she supposed, because he would have found it difficult to mingle with the crowd, still being a little unsteady on his legs, but also so the poignant, almost tangible emotion between them would not be broken. They talked of inconsequentials while they sipped the champagne and ate the strawberries, their eyes holding for long moments.

  Just before the second half began, Kane leaned across and took her hand, turning it over, palm uppermost, as he kissed the pulse beating in her wrist. ‘I’ve dreamed of being with you like this every night in that damn hospital bed,’ he murmured against the scented warmth of her skin. ‘But the reality is so much better than the dream.’

  The second half was even more spectacular than the first, and the curtain went up and down several times before the audience let the performers retire, the stage strewn with flowers the crowd had thrown. Sophy and Kane waited until most of the throng had dispersed before making their way out of the theatre. Once they were standing on the pavement, a cool night wind ruffling tendrils of hair across Sophy’s flushed cheeks, Kane drew her hand through his arm. It was only a two-minute walk along Cranbourn Street to Leicester Square, and when they arrived at the restaurant, their table was waiting, tucked away in a quiet corner of the glittering room. Kane ordered more champagne, ignoring Sophy’s protest that she would be tipsy, and after the waiter had left them to peruse the heavily embossed menus, he again took her hand. ‘I was going to do this at the end of the meal,’ he said softly, ‘but I find I cannot wait. However, one thing I must make very clear before I continue. I’m aware I’m no catch for a young and beautiful woman, a woman of substance’ – when she would have spoken, he raised his other hand, palm facing her – ‘and there is the matter of age to consider. I will not hold you to anything you might have said when I was in hospital and you were feeling sorry for me, and nothing you say tonight will prevent us con tinuing as friends.’

  She stared into his craggy face. Now the moment had come her mind was clear. Her only regret was for the wasted years when they might have been together, but she would make up for them, she told herself fiercely. She would love him as no man had been loved before.

  ‘I love you, Sophy. I think I have loved you from the first moment you put Horace in his place, to the delight of everyone in the café. I knew then my life would never be the same because, until then, I had never fallen in love. I am a man, I have needs and they have been met on occasion, but love is a thing apart. I will devote the rest of my life to making you happy, I can promise you that, and I will never do anything to hurt you. Forgive me for not kneeling but I fear I may not be able to rise again,’ he added with a fleeting smile as he brought a small box out of his jacket pocket. ‘Sophy, will you do me the great honour of becoming my wife?’

  ‘Yes, oh yes.’ She didn’t have to think about it, neither did she care that throwing her arms round his neck and pressing her lips against his wasn’t the done thing in public. And apparently neither did he, for his arms came round her like a vice and he kissed her until the breath seemed to leave her body.

  ‘Oh my love, my love.’ The formality with which he had previously spoken had fallen away and he suddenly looked ten years younger as they eventually parted. ‘Here.’ He slipped the engagement ring on to the third finger of her left hand. She looked down at the sparkling stones. It was a gold band with five large diamonds set into it, and it felt heavy on her finger. She had stopped wearing her other rings the day after Kane’s accident, handing them to Sadie and telling her to sell them and give the proceeds to the men and women who ran the soup kitchens down on the Embankment.

  ‘It’s beautiful, Kane.’ She raised shining eyes to his.

  ‘You’re beautiful.’ He touched her slightly parted lips with the tip of his finger and then straightened as the waiter appeared at their side.

  Sophy never could remember what she ate that night but as Kane put it, they feasted on love. They sat close together in the cab which took them back to Berkeley Square where Sadie and Harriet were waiting. Without a word, Sophy held out her left hand, secretly hoping Sadie wouldn’t say, ‘I told you so.’

  She didn’t, of course. There were oohs and ahhs from both women, and then Sadie made a quaint little speech which she and Harriet had obviously rehearsed, wishing them both happiness and long life.

  Kane had kept the cab waiting so he only stayed for a few minutes, but after Sadie and Harriet had discreetly disappeared into the kitchen his kiss goodbye was eve
rything Sophy could have wished for. She stood on the doorstep and watched the cab until it disappeared, then glanced down at the ring on her finger. He had called her a woman of substance and she supposed she was, in a way. Certainly that would be how the rest of the world saw her, even Kane. But she didn’t feel like that in her heart.

  She closed the door slowly and then leaned against it. Give me a child until it is seven and I have it for life. That was what the Jesuits had said. And until she was seven, and beyond, she had lived knowing she was of no account and barely tolerated within her family home. Would she ever rid herself of the feeling, deep, deep inside, that she didn’t know where she fitted in the world? She had thought her career, then her marriage, even her involvement in the League and women’s rights would settle the issue, but somehow it hadn’t.

  But she was going to be Kane’s wife. As the door at the end of the passageway opened and Sadie and Harriet appeared, beaming all over their faces, she straightened and went to meet them, smiling. This, on top of all her other blessings, was enough. She would make it enough.

  They were married nine weeks later on the last day of the year. The wedding was a quiet affair, they’d both wanted it that way, but as Sophy glanced about her at the reception held in the same restaurant where Kane had proposed, she knew that everyone she cared about was there.

  Patience, John and Matthew and their respective families – Matthew and his wife now had a baby daughter – had made the journey from Sunderland, along with Tilly, of course, whom Sophy wouldn’t have seen forgotten. Sadie, Harriet and Ralph – who was Kane’s best man – and Dolly and Jim, along with a few personal friends, made up the party, and it was a merry one. David, still in Egypt, had sent a telegram expressing his good wishes and congratulations, and there had been others from work colleagues too.

  Sophy looked quietly radiant in a pale peach dress and jacket with matching hat, and Kane – as Sadie eloquently put it – was most definitely the cat that got the cream, unable to wipe the smile off his face the whole day.

  They were honeymooning in Brighton for two weeks and when, mid-afternoon, everyone accompanied them to the station to wave them off, they left amid hugs and kisses and a shower of confetti. Sophy’s last sight was of Ralph holding little Josephine high above his head as the child waved with all her might, although she probably wasn’t sure what the day was all about. She settled back in her seat and snuggled close to Kane, who put his arm about her. She was Mrs Gregory. And what more could she wish for in this life?

  Chapter 26

  The honeymoon was a blissfully happy one. Kane proved to be a caring and tender husband, a generous and passionate lover and an amusing companion. The weather threw everything at them – rain, hail, sleet and snow – but it didn’t matter. It was two weeks out of time, a magical interlude when they got to know each other as man and wife and cemented a union which had been thirteen years in the making.

  The happy couple returned home knowing huge changes were in front of them. Ralph, Sadie and Harriet had all agreed to accompany them in a move up north, and in the weeks preceding the marriage, Kane had wound up his agency business. Both Kane and Sophy’s houses were up for sale and offers had been made on each of them which were more than acceptable. For the time being, until the legal formalities were finalised and monies exchanged, it had been agreed that Ralph would continue living in Kane’s house and deal with boxing up any items of personal value and furniture his employer wanted to keep. Kane would join Sophy in what would be their marital home until the move.

  Patience and William, on hearing their plans, had volunteered to look for suitable accommodation in Sunderland for them. Patience had undertaken this task with relish, thrilled that Sophy was returning to her roots.

  A letter from Patience was waiting for Sophy and Kane when they sat by a roaring fire checking their post on the day they got home. She and William had found the perfect place, Patience had written excitedly. It had just dropped into their laps as though it was meant to be. A doctor friend of William’s had converted a farmhouse some years before, about half a mile west of where they lived. He’d sold most of the land to a neighbouring farm, but the place had a wonderful garden and a couple of terraced cottages set in what had been the farmyard. These were in a state of some disrepair but it wouldn’t take too much time or money to bring them up to scratch, and they would be snug little homes for Ralph, and Sadie and Harriet. The doctor, who had been offered a wonderful post in a large Edinburgh hospital, was anxious to sell immediately and would therefore take a reasonable offer. Could Sophy and Kane come up and see the house as soon as possible? Time was of the essence, Patience had urged.

  The next letter they opened was one from an actor-manager Kane knew who now ran a touring theatre company based in the north. Kane had written to him asking him to spread the word within the industry that a buyer was looking to purchase a theatre Sunderland way. It appeared he’d heard of two possibles, one in Seaburn which was a very nicely presented music hall at present, and another in Bishopwearmouth itself which had recently suffered fire damage and was something of a wreck. He’d been assured, he added, that this would be reflected in the asking price of the building.

  ‘Oh, Kane, we have to go and see them both, the house and the theatre in Bishopwearmouth. It’s a sign, don’t you see? Them both coming to our attention on the same day and both at a reasonable price.’ Sophy, swept away on a flood of excitement, looked at her husband with shining eyes.

  Kane, ever the pragmatist, was less enthusiastic. ‘We don’t know what “a reasonable price” is in either instance,’ he pointed out. ‘What the seller may consider reasonable is quite different to what the buyer thinks is a good price.’

  Sophy wouldn’t be dampened. ‘You didn’t think Ralph and Sadie and Harriet would want to up sticks and move away from London, did you? But they do, all three of them. That was the first sign this was meant to be. This is the second. We have to go without delay before the house or the theatre are snapped up by someone else.’

  ‘What about the one in Seaburn?’

  ‘No.’ Her voice was adamant. ‘It’s the one in Bishopwearmouth we should have, I know it. We must go straight away, Kane.’

  ‘We’ve just walked in the door, sweetheart. We’ll need a day or two sorting out here. We’ll go next week sometime, I promise.’

  They left the next morning. Ralph arrived as Sophy was saying goodbye to Sadie and Harriet in the kitchen, and as Josephine – who had learned to walk the month before and was now running her mother ragged – saw him, she waddled towards him, face beaming and arms raised to be lifted. And Ralph whisked her into his arms as though it was an everyday occurrence, his tough face tender as he murmured, ‘And how’s my big girl then?’

  Sophy glanced at Harriet who was watching the tableau with a fond expression, then at Sadie who nodded her head in the direction of the hall. When the kitchen door was shut, Sadie whispered, ‘He’s been round every day since you’ve been gone on some excuse or other. I’ve thought for some time he’s had his eye on Harriet.’

  ‘And what about Harriet?’ Sophy asked, bemused.

  ‘Oh, she’s taken with him, that’s for sure. And he’s absolutely marvellous with Josephine.’ Sadie smiled. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he says something soon, but he’s a bit bashful, is Ralph. Bless him.’

  Sophy stared at Sadie. She’d had no idea anything was going on, but it would be wonderful for little Josephine to have a father and for Harriet to have someone to love and protect her. Knowing how close Sadie and Harriet had become, she said hesitantly, ‘You wouldn’t mind? If they made a match of it?’ It would inevitably mean Sadie would be alone in the evenings when the work was done, as Harriet and Ralph would want to live together in the other cottage – if they bought the farmhouse near Patience, that was. Or perhaps Sadie could live in the main house, but then she’d still be by herself once Harriet had gone home. It wasn’t what Sophy wanted for Sadie, who was a garrulous soul who thrived o
n company and could talk the hind leg off a donkey.

  ‘Mind? Of course not,’ Sadie said stoutly. ‘A pretty young thing like Harriet doesn’t want to live the rest of her life with an old crone like me, and besides, the child needs a father. No, I don’t mind.’

  Oh dear. Sophy gave Sadie a hug. Kane was calling her: the cab had arrived to take them to the station so she said no more. When she broached the matter of Ralph and Harriet to Kane on the way to the station he was as surprised as she had been, but told her, in typical man fashion, that what would be, would be, and if it was to be, he thought it was an excellent state of affairs.

  Sophy didn’t mention her concern over Sadie. The latter would be the first to say she was an old woman who had lived her life, and Harriet must have her chance at happiness, Sophy knew that, and of course it wasn’t as if there wouldn’t be folk around Sadie most of the time. It was just . . . not what she’d imagined for her friend.

  The house was perfect, right down to an indoor privy in the bathroom upstairs which the doctor had had converted from one of the five bedrooms, leaving four. But four was enough, Sophy assured Kane excitedly, and if they ever needed more in the future there was always the possibility of building a new wing on to the original building. Downstairs comprised of a typically large farmhouse kitchen, a separate dining room, a large sitting room with a huge walk-in fireplace, and a study. The doctor’s wife showed them round the property and made them very welcome, and over a cup of tea in the sitting room told them she was sorry to leave because it was a quiet, peaceful house and they had been very happy there. The theatre was a different kettle of fish. It turned out to be situated in Holmeside, not far from the Olympia Exhibition Hall which had closed the year before. Sophy remembered the Olympia from her childhood when, unbeknownst to her aunt and uncle, Bridget had taken her there one day for a forbidden treat which would have cost her her job if the deception had been discovered. The giant Pleasuredrome had been a wonderful place to Sophy the child, the roundabouts and gondolas brightly painted, and the circus and skating rink it held providing endless hours of entertainment for Wearsiders. She had never forgotten the magic of that day and she felt sad the Olympia was no more. However, Holmeside was still a bustling, busy place with the museum, the newly-extended Victoria Hall and plenty of shops in the area, like Piper’s the grocer’s shop where Bridget had bought her an orange before they had gone home. She still remembered the smell of coffee beans, the barrels of butter and the little blue bags of sugar lined up on the counter, and the taste of the orange on her tongue as they had walked home. She felt that a theatre, advertised properly and run well, would thrive in the hurly-burly of life in Holmeside.