Eve of the Isle

by Carol Rivers

  ‘Is it really necessary?’

  ‘Yes, Sister Mary, it is.’

  ‘By missing confession they are not in a state of grace,’ the nun objected, ‘and ready to receive the body and blood of Our Lord. Now, do you want them to be good Catholics?’

  ‘Yes, but—’

  ‘Their spiritual welfare must come first.’

  ‘I’ll see they go to confession this week.’

  ‘Also their Latin is poor. But then what more can be expected if they don’t attend Mass on a regular basis?’

  How long was this list going to be, Eve wondered impatiently. But before she could reply Sister Mary continued.

  ‘But my main concern is that they are so often ill.’

  ‘They only had colds,’ said Eve. ‘I wrote a note.’

  Sister Mary narrowed her tiny eyes. ‘I received one, but that was before they were absent again.’

  Eve opened her mouth then shut it. She felt herself going red. ‘I must have lost track.’

  ‘Four days in all, Mrs Kumar.’ Sister Mary pleated her fingers. ‘And when I asked for confirmation in writing, Albert told me that you were too ill to write.’

  Eve tried to look unsurprised. ‘I caught their cold,’ she said feebly.

  Sister Mary’s astute eyes didn’t move from her face. ‘No wonder their work is deteriorating. With such erratic attendance their work is bound to suffer.’

  ‘It won’t happen again.’

  Sister Mary sat up stiffly in her chair. ‘Samuel and Albert could be good scholars, Mrs Kumar, if they were given the support at home. The potential is there for them to excel at their work. And there are only places available at St Saviour’s for those who wish to learn and – most importantly of all – to follow the church’s teachings.’

  ‘Yes, Sister Mary.’ Eve was trying to digest everything she had said, but the news of the twins’ absences had left her shocked.

  ‘Our Sunday worship and daily Mass are the most important things in our lives.’

  Eve nodded once more but she was hardly listening.

  ‘That’s all for now.’

  Eve left the classroom, her mind in turmoil. She had felt about ten as Sister Mary had lectured her. Why had the boys been absent from school and told Sister Mary their mother was too ill to write a note?

  Her anger mounted, both with the boys and herself as she hurried home. The boys for being deceitful and herself for allowing them to shirk their studies and miss school.

  But when she got home Samuel and Albert were waiting for her with news of their own. ‘We’ve seen Charlie, Mum,’ Albert cried excitedly the moment she walked in.

  ‘What?’

  ‘We saw Charlie.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Up the park.’

  ‘So that’s where you’ve been?’

  They nodded. ‘Peg said we could. Charlie was there playing football. It was his day off and he was practising for a match.’

  Eve wondered if the boys had been with him on the days they had been absent from school.

  ‘He said to give you this.’

  Eve took the crumpled paper from Albert. ‘What is it?’

  ‘Dunno. He said he’d had it in his pocket for a few days.’

  Eve walked into the front room and sat down. She read the careful, upright handwriting.

  Dear Mrs Kumar,

  The Tarkay docks at Tilbury in May, later than expected. Somar Singh may be on it, or not. Perhaps you will want this information, perhaps not, but I thought I’d write it anyway. Please let me know if I can be of help to you in the matter.

  Kind regards,

  Charlie.

  Eve read it again.

  ‘What does it say?’ Albert asked as they stood beside her.

  ‘It’s the name of the man your dad might have known and the ship he sails on.’

  ‘Is Charlie taking us to see him?’

  Eve felt light-headed and strange. Even the matter of the truancy had taken second place to this. What was she to do with the information? Why hadn’t Charlie come to see her instead of writing a note? Should she go and see him?

  Joseph came in the door. ‘Eve, are you all right?’

  ‘Charlie’s given us the name of a man that knew our dad,’ explained Samuel.

  ‘I see,’ said Joseph sitting beside Eve on the couch. ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘I don’t know, Joseph.’ Without Charlie’s help to find the ship, there really wasn’t much she could do.

  ‘What else did Charlie say?’ she asked the boys.

  ‘Nothing. He was playing football with a mate. We was hoping they would let us play too, but Charlie didn’t ask.’ Albert looked glum. ‘S’pose he didn’t think you’d let us.’

  ‘Is it with Charlie you’ve been on the days you didn’t go to school?’

  They both went red.

  ‘I’ve just spoken to Sister Mary.’

  Samuel and Albert looked at one another. Eve sat back in the chair. ‘So, what have you got to say for yourselves?’

  ‘We was going to tell you,’ said Samuel, tears filling his eyes. ‘But it wasn’t Charlie we was with. Today is the first time we saw him.’

  ‘So what did you do for four days?’

  Albert shrugged. ‘Just mucked about.’

  Eve couldn’t believe they had been so naughty. ‘And why did you say I was too ill to write a note? That was a deliberate lie.’

  ‘You was ill,’ said Albert, ‘but not as ill as we said.’

  ‘That wasn’t the truth, was it?’

  ‘We didn’t think it was a lie.’

  ‘It was a lie for no reason.’

  ‘But there was—’ began Albert before Samuel nudged him.

  ‘There was what?’ Eve looked at them sternly.

  They dropped their heads.

  ‘Boys, please help your mother,’ urged Joseph quietly. ‘She is only trying to understand.’

  Samuel wiped his eyes. ‘We was afraid to go to school.’

  ‘Afraid?’ Eve frowned. ‘Of Sister Mary?’

  They shook their heads.

  ‘Who then?’

  ‘The other boys. They called us names.’

  ‘What sort of names?’

  ‘The ones like they called us before. Them rude ones.’

  ‘Well, just as I told you before, you mustn’t take any notice. They don’t know what they’re saying.’

  Eve was furious. She looked at her precious sons and their lovely dark hair and skin as smooth as milky chocolate, and Charlie’s words came back to her. Sooner or later the twins would have to fight their own battles. She couldn’t protect them forever. But to her they were still little babies and she loved them so much.

  That night after the boys had gone to bed, Eve and Peg sat with Joseph in the front room discussing what had happened.

  ‘I don’t reckon they deserve to be punished,’ Peg said after Eve had told them what happened.

  ‘I said they can’t go up the park or play in the street.’

  ‘Poor little buggers.’

  ‘I had to do something. It won’t be for long.’

  ‘But it was those older kids’ fault,’ Peg protested. ‘They wanted money from the twins. Even knocked them about when they didn’t get it.’

  ‘I’m going up the school tomorrow to complain to Sister Mary,’ said Eve defiantly. Although she had punished her boys, in her heart she felt they didn’t deserve it. They had been hiding from the bullies, that was all.

  ‘I would think twice about that, my dear.’ Joseph looked concerned.

  ‘Why’s that?’

  ‘Because she has no control over those boys outside of school.’

  ‘Samuel and Albert ain’t big for their age. It’s not fair, they can’t fight back,’ cried Eve.

  ‘The kids to blame think our lads have got money from the flower-selling,’ said Peg with a slow nod. ‘So we know the cause of the trouble.’

  ‘So what am I to do? Stop Samuel and A
lbert from coming with me to learn the trade? Why should my boys be threatened for doing something worthwhile?’

  ‘It might be worth a try, just for a few weeks.’ Peg looked at Joseph.

  He raised his shoulders and held out his hands. ‘It is for Eve to decide.’

  ‘I could give it a try,’ said Eve reluctantly. Then she smiled. ‘They can go to confession instead.’

  Peg laughed. ‘They won’t like that either.’

  ‘Sister Mary is always saying they don’t go enough.’

  ‘Them kids is all innocence,’ replied Peg with a sniff. ‘Confession indeed! What they got to confess?’

  Joseph chuckled. ‘They are good boys. As they grow older they will grow strong and wise.’

  But would they? Eve wondered anxiously. She was worried the name-calling had begun again. It wasn’t surprising that Samuel and Albert didn’t want to go to school.

  That night Eve lay awake in the dark still worrying about the boys. Perhaps she should do what Sister Mary advised, make them concentrate on their schoolwork and be good Catholics. Though the flower-selling was important, their immediate welfare came first.

  Then her thoughts turned to the note. Did she have enough courage to find the ship and speak to Somar Singh herself? Five years ago, she would have done anything to find out what had happened to Raj, but now she wasn’t sure if that was what she wanted. Standing in the morgue and looking at that dead man had brought back all the unhappiness.

  The next day Eve waited for Albert and Samuel at school. But it was raining and everyone sped through the gates, eager to get home. Eve searched the boys’ faces, wondering which ones were the culprits.

  Albert and Samuel trudged out alone. They didn’t look pleased to see her. The rain trickled down Albert’s round face.

  ‘Have you got your homework?’

  They nodded. They knew they couldn’t go to the park or play in the street and there was silence all the way home.

  ‘Come on get dry,’ said Peg when they walked in. ‘You all look like drowned rats.’

  Joseph was cooking in the kitchen. ‘The borsch is nearly ready boys!’

  When tea was over, they went into the front room. Eve inspected their books. ‘Albert, you’ve got more crosses than ticks.’

  He chewed the end of his pencil. ‘I don’t like the times tables.’

  ‘Do you know them?’

  They both looked at each other. ‘No,’ admitted Samuel.

  Eve pulled back her shoulders. ‘It’s easy; if you learn them properly, it’s like riding a bike. Once you do it properly you never forget again.’

  Her sons looked unimpressed but Eve was determined that things were going to change. She was even going to send them to confession on Saturday instead of flower-selling.

  Jimmy Jones put on his brakes so fast that he almost went over the top of the handlebars. ‘Eve! What are you doing here?’

  She stepped off the cobbles by the factory gates. ‘Selling me flowers of course. Where have you been all this time, Jimmy?’

  ‘With me mate at Shoreditch.’

  ‘We’ve been worried about you.’

  He stood his bike against the wall. ‘Lovely flowers you got here. Are you selling on the island then?’

  ‘Yes. I took a chance.’

  ‘It’s a long way from Aldgate and Seven Dials.’

  ‘Yes, but closer to home. Jimmy, why have you stayed away?’

  He looked embarrassed as he slipped off his cap. All his spiky brown hair stood on end. ‘I changed me job.’

  ‘You’re not at the paint factory?’

  ‘No, they rumbled me.’

  Eve rolled her eyes. ‘What did you do?’

  ‘Nothing much. Just got hold of a few pots of paint from the flood and flogged them off cheap. Someone blew the whistle and I almost got me collar felt. But I was sacked instead.’

  ‘Oh, Jimmy, you must be careful.’

  He grinned. ‘Anyway, I got a new job, down at the PLA. Running for some of the bosses.’

  ‘Do you know much about the ships that are docked there?’

  ‘’Course. Why?’

  ‘It’s a long story.’

  ‘I’m on me dinner hour. Do you fancy a ’apporth of chips?’

  ‘I’ll have to eat them here.’ Eve glanced at the big factory gates. ‘They’ll all be coming out in a minute.’ She dug in her money bag tied round her waist.

  ‘Don’t need that. I know where I can get them free.’

  ‘I don’t want you getting in trouble on my behalf. And I can afford it now.’

  Jimmy’s eyebrows rose. ‘Blimey, who’s coming up in the world then?’

  Eve laughed and gave him the money. Jimmy pedalled furiously off to the fish shop. When he came back Eve decided to tell him all that happened with Charlie. She was going to confess that he was a policeman and was following Raj’s case. If Jimmy knew some of the ships that were in, he might know of the Tarkay. She had the note in her pocket and brought it out ready to show Jimmy when he returned.

  ‘I’ve seen the ship,’ said Jimmy as he passed the note back to her. ‘She’s docked in the Pool.’

  Eve’s heart leapt. ‘How would I get on board?’

  ‘Don’t know as you would. They’re foreign.’

  Eve served a customer with a pretty bunch of lavender.

  ‘Don’t let your chips get cold.’ Jimmy was wolfing his.

  Turning, Eve discreetly nibbled at the delicious hot food hidden behind one of her baskets. Although it was a warm May day, she hadn’t eaten since early morning and the chips began to sustain her.

  ‘You say Charlie is a copper?’ Jimmy looked from side to side as though someone could overhear their conversation. ‘Was he after me?’

  ‘’Course not.’

  ‘What’s he want with you, then?’

  ‘He thinks more should have been done about Raj.’

  Jimmy looked surprised. ‘A copper with half a brain, eh? Do you think he’s kosher?’

  Eve nodded. ‘But I sent him away.’

  ‘Blimey, gel, why did you do that?’

  Eve went red. ‘Because of the boys. You know what people round here think of the law.’

  ‘So what did the nippers say?’

  She looked down. ‘They liked him. He said he’d take them to a football match and I told him not to put ideas in their heads.’

  Jimmy screwed up the oily newspaper. ‘It don’t seem to me that he’d get anything out of saying that if he was legit. If Charlie is just a good sort, p’raps you’d do well to keep in with him.’

  ‘I never thought I’d hear you say that.’

  ‘He seemed fine to me. Mucked in and didn’t ask no questions. Thought he was all right meself.’

  ‘I don’t think he’ll come round again.’ Eve shook her head fiercely. ‘Or he would have told me about the ship himself.’

  Jimmy stepped back as a group of young women walked out of the factory gates. They wore overalls and turbans and crowded round Eve’s basket. ‘Could you save me some roses for when I clock off?’ asked one, getting out her purse. ‘And for me,’ said another.

  ‘You’ve got a nice little business here,’ observed Jimmy as she dropped her takings into her bag hidden under the folds of her skirt.

  ‘I hope so.’

  ‘You deserve a bit of luck. What with the flood and having to put up at Bambury Buildings with Peg’s two miserable dopes.’ He shook his head slowly. ‘I cycled by number three the other day and saw the tarpaulin. How long is it gonna stay up there?’

  ‘Until the council finish the repair. Jimmy?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Could you ask at the docks about Somar Singh?’

  Jimmy hesitated. ‘Dunno about that. Lascars keep themselves to themselves. Don’t like mixing. Like long lines of ducks they are, all following each other.’ He saw Eve’s expression. ‘Sorry, gel. No disrespect to your old man.’

  Eve glanced away. Even Jimmy could say hurtful things
in an unguarded moment.

  ‘If I was you, I’d find that copper.’

  ‘What? Go to the station?’

  ‘Don’t you know where he lives?’

  ‘Only that his dad has a shop up the Commercial Road. And anyway, Jimmy, if I knew I wouldn’t ask.’

  Eve was determined not to ask Charlie for help. It was obvious he was not interested any more. She had her pride.

  ‘Tell the boys and Peg I’ll be seeing them soon,’ said Jimmy shrugging. ‘When are you moving back to number three?’

  ‘Soon I hope.’

  ‘I’ll help you.’

  ‘What about Sunday?’ Eve said eagerly.

  ‘Sunday it is.’ Jimmy jumped on his bike. ‘Do I get me room back an’ all?’

  ‘’Course you do.’

  Eve watched him cycle away, his feet going fast on the pedals. Would they really be back home on Sunday?

  She didn’t want to get up her hopes after being disappointed so many times before.

  Chapter Twelve

  At last it was moving day. It was a beautiful early May morning, soft and bright, like a true May day should be, Eve thought as she looked out of the window. She hoped Jimmy hadn’t forgotten his promise to help and she wondered whether he had news of the grain ship and Somar Singh.

  Eve dressed as the others slept. Downstairs she found Joseph, as usual, making tea. ‘I’ll miss our little chats,’ she told him as they sat down at the table.

  ‘Are you sure you want to go?’ Joseph looked sad.

  ‘It’s time we did and we’re only over the road.’

  ‘Yes, that is true.’

  ‘You can have your friends to stay now.’

  ‘I think of you all as my friends. I am always here should you need a shoulder – is that the right expression?’

  She laughed. ‘Yes, and I’ve already leaned on it.’

  ‘I’ll cook something nice for tonight. Perhaps an okroshka, a good vegetable stew?’

  ‘Sounds lovely.’

  There was a knock on the door, and Eve jumped up to answer it. ‘Jimmy, you’re early.’

  ‘Know what they say about the early bird.’ He was all smiles as he stepped in.

  ‘Where’s your bike?’

  ‘At the cottage. I had a quick shifty round. Blimey, it’s in a bit of a state still.’

  She smiled. ‘Have you changed your mind about coming back?’