Fallen Angels

by Val Wood

  Mrs Ward clasped her hands together. ‘They’re alive! Oh, praise ’Lord. But that wicked man – mekking out they were dead!’

  ‘That’d be so he didn’t get found out,’ John Ward said slowly. ‘Though I’m not sure if there’s a law against selling your wife.’ He looked up and then blanched at his wife’s fierce glare. ‘Well, yes, I expect there is,’ he added humbly. ‘Or at least if there isn’t, there ought to be.’

  ‘So where’ve you been all these weeks?’ Mrs Ward asked him. ‘Did you go looking for your ma? Was that it?’

  ‘When Fowler went ower ’edge I thought I’d killed him,’ Ted confessed. ‘So I let out ’livestock, and hoped as you’d feed ’cow; I took ’owd hoss and rode into Hull.’ He told them of his chance meeting with his sister, of selling the horse and trying to find a ship. ‘I finished up on a keel going to Driffield. It was all right,’ he said. ‘But I was laid off and decided to come back here, and …’ He hesitated. Would he still want to stay in Seathorne if Fowler was here? ‘Well,’ he continued lamely, ‘I was going to ask if you’d give me a job.’ He gazed earnestly at them. ‘I’m not bothered about wages if I could just have a bed and a bit o’ dinner of a night, and a bit o’ breakfast,’ he added hastily.

  John Ward silently nodded as he considered. He scratched his chin and rubbed his nose and then looked at his wife, who nodded back at him. ‘I think we could manage that,’ he said. ‘I can’t afford to pay you. There’s no money in dairy and we’re losing more and more land – at least ’maister is. I wouldn’t mind tekking it a bit easier, though,’ he added. ‘Owd bones are playing me up.’

  ‘I like working on ’land,’ Ted said eagerly. ‘I could mek you a vegetable patch.’

  ‘Aye, I know that. I had a gander at yourn when I went ower to Fowler’s to see what had happened to ’owd cottage. He’s gone to Withernsea,’ Mr Ward said. ‘Been rehoused by ’parish, so they say.’

  ‘We’ll all have to be rehoused afore long, at ’rate ’cliff is going ower,’ Mrs Ward said gloomily. ‘I remember ’owd church going ower ’edge when I was just a bairn. My da took me to see it – there was coffins and owd bones and skulls scattered all ower ’sands. A terrible sight to see; not one I’ll forget.’

  ‘There’s nowt much in Withernsea,’ Ted chipped in. ‘Onny an owd pier.’

  ‘Not yet, there isn’t,’ John Ward responded. ‘But it’ll be bigger than Seathorne. They’ve got plans.’ He nodded again in a significant manner.

  Ted had finished eating his plate of mashed potatoes and turnip and Mrs Ward was about to make a pot of tea when a knock came at the door. ‘Why, who’s this at this time o’ night, Mr Ward?’ She paused with the kettle in her hand. ‘Are you expecting somebody?’

  From his chair by the fire where he was lighting his pipe, he said that he wasn’t. ‘Go see who it is, lad,’ he said to Ted. ‘You might as well mek yourself useful if you’re going to stop.’

  Ted unbolted the wooden door and opened it. It was dark now and drizzling with rain. A man stood there with rain running down his hair and face. He wore no hat but was wearing a dark coat with the collar turned up.

  ‘Is this John Ward’s house?’

  ‘Yeh,’ Ted said. ‘Shall I get him?’

  ‘Who is it?’ Mrs Ward called.

  ‘A man, lookin’ fer Mr Ward.’

  John Ward got to his feet. ‘Tell him to come in then,’ he said testily. ‘There’s a draught blowin’ in.’

  The stranger gave himself a shake to rid himself of the rain and carefully wiped his feet on the mat before stepping inside.

  ‘I’m sorry to disturb you at this time o’ night,’ he said. ‘But I was told you might be able to shed light on some distressing tidings that I’ve come by, regarding a family by ’name o’ Fowler.’

  Ted looked again at the stranger. He was lean, with a craggy weathered face. Nobody that he knew; somebody Fowler knew, perhaps.

  ‘I might be,’ John Ward said. ‘We’ve just been discussing Fowler, as a matter o’ fact, but why come to me? I’ve nowt to add about that beggar. Nobody believed what I had to say in any case.’

  ‘I’ve come from Hollym,’ Johnny said. ‘They said at ’hostelry that if I wanted ’truth I should come to you. And that’s what I want, no matter how painful it might be.’

  Ted looked at the stranger. ‘Are you from ’police?’ he asked. ‘Cos if you are, I can tell you about Fowler and what he’s been up to.’

  Johnny shook his head and gave a slight smile. ‘No. I’ve come home to Hollym after being abroad with ’army.’ His eyes clouded. ‘Onny I discovered that my family weren’t there. My wife thought I was dead and married again. And now,’ he rubbed his hand wearily across his forehead and took a breath, ‘they’re saying that she’s dead. That they’re all dead. And I don’t know which way to turn.’

  There was a silence in the room, all eyes on the stranger. Mr and Mrs Ward knew little of Lily’s background, though they had heard that Fowler had married a soldier’s widow. Ted had turned quite pale. His stomach churned and his ears buzzed. He barely remembered his father; he had been less than five the last time he had seen him, though he vaguely recalled being taken by him to a low-lying meadow to look at frogspawn in a dew pond. But could this be him? And how could it be? His mother had been told that he was dead. Suppose he was an impostor?

  ‘Wh-what’s your name?’ he croaked, and put his hand on the back of a chair to steady himself. There was no one else he knew who used a middle name; his mother always said it was a hyphenated surname, but he didn’t know what that meant. If this man used it, why then, it could mean …

  ‘Leigh-Maddeson,’ Johnny said. ‘John Leigh-Maddeson, though everybody’s always called me Johnny.’ He gave a slight embarrassed shrug. ‘Leigh-Maddeson’s a hyphenated surname,’ he said. ‘My da and grandda said we should allus use it.’

  Ted felt tears welling up in his eyes and he took a breath. He mustn’t cry. He was too big to cry, though he’d wanted to several times recently, but now he was suddenly overwhelmed by emotion.

  Mrs Ward broke in. ‘I think you’d better come and sit down, young man. There might be summat you want to discuss wi’ this lad. Mr Ward,’ she said, ‘I’d like you to give me a hand out at ’back.’

  ‘Aye.’ John Ward nodded. ‘Tek my chair and warm yoursen. And when you’ve talked things ower, Mrs Ward will mek us all a pot o’ tea and we’ll think on what to do next.’

  Johnny looked from the old couple, who were heading towards another door, to Ted, who was snivelling and rubbing his nose on the back of his hand. He hesitated about sitting down, though he moved nearer the fire. Then he turned to Ted. ‘What’s up, lad? What’s upset you? It’s not me, is it?’

  Ted fished in his trouser pocket and brought out a grey rag that served as a handkerchief. He blew his nose hard. ‘Might be!’ He inhaled. ‘What’s it mean – hyphenated?’

  Johnny looked puzzled, and then explained. ‘It’s – a sort of bridge between two names – a connection, or – joining together.’

  ‘Oh!’ Ted said slowly. ‘I’ve allus wondered.’

  ‘Have you?’ Johnny wrinkled his brow. ‘Why’s that?’

  Ted looked directly at him. ‘Cos that’s my name as well. I’m Ted. Edward Leigh-Maddeson.’

  Johnny returned his gaze but he put his hand to his face which had paled in its turn, while Ted’s had now flushed scarlet. ‘Ted?’ he whispered. ‘My lad? They said over at Hollym – they said – that ’rumour was that you’d disappeared and were probably dead along with Lily – your ma, and Daisy.’ He sat down abruptly, and then got up again and put out his arms. ‘Is it really you?’

  Ted came towards him but didn’t get too near. ‘It’s me,’ he said hoarsely. ‘But where’ve you been?’ His voice rose and he clenched his fists. ‘Ma was told you was dead. Why didn’t you write and tell her that you was alive?’ Tears began to fall and he didn’t do anything to stop them. ‘She married that blackguard Fowler who when he
wanted rid of her took her to Hull and sold her!’

  Johnny took a step back, dropping his arms. ‘I did write!’ he said hoarsely. ‘Whenever I could; but I could never be sure that ’letters would get to England. I wrote from Afghanistan and ’Punjab. Didn’t she get any of them?’

  Ted shook his head. He was too full up to speak. He swallowed and mumbled, ‘Onny when you first went out there. That’s what Ma allus said, anyway, cos I was too young to know. Then one day she said to Daisy and me that she didn’t think you’d be coming home again. That you’d been killed out in a foreign land.’

  He started to sob and Johnny was reminded that he was still only a boy.

  ‘An’ I wanted you to come home,’ Ted grieved, hiccuping in his weeping. ‘I wanted to have a da that’d be here, and I didn’t want her to be married to Fowler who I hate!’

  ‘What did you say?’ It was as if the facts had just registered in Johnny’s mind. ‘He sold your ma? Sold Lily! What manner of man is it that can sell a woman?’ He looked down at Ted and felt his own eyes prickle. ‘But she’s not dead. So we’ll find her and fetch her back, from wherever she is,’ he vowed. ‘And what I want you to remember, Ted, is that even if your ma’s married to somebody else, you and Daisy still belong to me. I’m your father and allus will be, and you are my son.’

  He held out his arms again and this time Ted went to him and put his face into his chest, to be encircled in his father’s embrace.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  ‘Miss Lily! Good day to you.’ The voice was pleasant but low.

  Lily glanced over her shoulder. She had paid her fine and was making her way from the clerk’s office at the magistrates’ court towards the door. Leo was inside a half-open door, beckoning to her to come inside.

  Slowly she walked back. She inclined her head and dipped her knee. ‘Good day, sir.’

  He opened the door wider, inviting her into his room. ‘Come to pay your fine?’ he asked, and when she said she had he replied, ‘Good. Best to let the authorities know you’ll pay your dues on time.’

  ‘I hope there won’t be another time,’ she stated. ‘I don’t even know why I was called this time.’

  ‘Somebody reported you,’ he said softly. ‘It could have been one of the other women in the square, or someone closer to home.’ He took hold of her hand and pressed it to his mouth. ‘You’re a fine-looking woman, Lily. There will be any number of people jealous of you.’

  ‘Jealous of me?’ She tried to withdraw her hand but he held it fast. ‘I don’t see why.’

  ‘Don’t you?’ He released her hand and invited her to sit down, which she did. ‘Some of the women in the square will have seen the kind of customers who are coming to the house. A better kind of client than those who come to them. They might even have recognized some of them.’ He gave a slight sardonic smile. ‘Kendall for one.’

  And you for another, she silently added.

  ‘I’m sorry about the fine,’ he continued. ‘But I have to be seen to administer justice. You paid promptly. Did Jamie give you the money?’

  So it wasn’t you, she thought. So who was it? ‘It wasn’t Jamie,’ she said bitterly. ‘He wouldn’t give a copper towards it.’

  ‘Of course not.’ Leo smiled. ‘He’d want you to keep on working in order to pay it. But you got the money together very quickly. Does that mean – does that mean that perhaps you are now taking clients yourself? Because if you are – well, I’d be very interested.’

  Lily rose from her chair. ‘No, it doesn’t, Mr Leighton. I have no intention of selling myself in order to keep body and soul together.’

  He shrugged. ‘But there’s a need! The oldest profession, you know!’

  ‘It’s a man’s need,’ she retorted. ‘None of ’women who work for me have a choice. They’re doing it under sufferance.’

  He lowered his eyes and looked at her from under the eyelids. ‘But someone like you, Lily. Someone with your bearing, your style, you could be set up somewhere and make a good living. Think of it: plenty of money, clothes, a place of your own, and you could choose who to entertain.’ He reached out and stroked her cheek. ‘If you should change your mind …’

  ‘I won’t,’ she said, turning her head away. ‘I shall be out of this business as soon as I can.’

  ‘And what about your girls? What about the lovely Lizzie and sweet little Alice, let alone the innocent Cherie.’ He gave a knowing smile. ‘They’d be back on the streets without you.’

  ‘Lizzie has found another occupation,’ she said. ‘I’ll take care of Cherie, and as for Alice …’ She spoke slowly in order to let her words sink in. ‘As for Alice …’ She swallowed, her throat aching as she held back the abuse she wanted to hurl at him and all men like him. ‘Alice is dying. She won’t be in this world for long. She’s been deprived of a home and food and fresh air for too many years and now she’s lost ’chance of a fulfilled life as well.’

  She watched him pale. ‘Not Alice,’ he whispered. ‘What’s wrong with her? Has she seen a doctor?’

  ‘Not until it was too late,’ she said abruptly. ‘What hope has a girl like Alice of paying for a doctor? She’s got consumption,’ she said, and had the satisfaction of seeing him start and involuntarily rub his hand on his chest.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘Really sorry! It’s a sad state of affairs, I agree, but you can’t help the whole world, Lily. There’ll always be some who fall by the wayside.’

  ‘Yes,’ she choked, knowing that she wanted to blame someone for life’s misfortunes and Leo just happened to be there.

  She left him abruptly and walked slowly across town towards the Market Place. The traders were packing up, though some were still shouting their wares and selling them off cheap. ‘Last minute bargains,’ one called and Lily stopped to buy a bunch of asters. She buried her head in them and breathed in. A smell of autumn, she thought. The year will soon be over.

  ‘Ma! Ma!’ Lily turned swiftly and a smile broke out on her face as Daisy came hurtling towards her. She opened her arms and Daisy fell into them. ‘Oh, Ma! I’m so glad to see you.’ Daisy’s face was puckered up as if she was about to cry. ‘I’ve missed you so much. Ma, Mrs Walker says she wants to adopt me so I can live with her and Mr Walker. And I don’t want to. I like being her maid, but I don’t want to be her daughter and live with her for ever.’ She blinked to stave off her tears. ‘I want to live with you!’

  Lily hugged her. ‘She can’t adopt you unless I say so, and besides, it can’t be so easy to adopt somebody. Not a nearly grown-up girl, anyway. I dare say it’s different wi’ a babby. But listen, Daisy. Right at this minute you can’t live wi’ me. I’ll explain why when you’re older. But will you be patient for a bit longer? Then when I’ve sorted out a few things, I’ll come and see Mr Walker and tell him that you’re leaving his employ.’

  Daisy nodded. ‘I’ll be sorry about that,’ she sniffled. ‘I like working for him – he’s really nice to me.’

  ‘Is he?’ Lily said suspiciously. ‘In what way is he nice?’

  ‘Well, he lets me help him in ’shop. I keep bottles dusted and count out ’tablets for him. He says I’m a good organizer.’

  ‘Ah! That’s all right then.’ Any misgivings Lily had concerning Mr Walker were mollified, though she was very uneasy about what Mrs Walker had told her of her husband’s morals. ‘Off you go then, Daisy. Are you out on an errand?’ Daisy said she was, so Lily urged her to go, with the promise that she would see her again soon, and then walked reluctantly back to Leadenhall Square.

  She put the flowers in a jug of water and took them into Alice’s room. ‘Here you are,’ she said cheerfully, though she didn’t feel cheerful when she saw how pale and listless Alice was. ‘Look what I’ve brought you.’

  Alice turned her head. ‘How lovely. You’re so kind, Lily. You shouldn’t spend your money on me.’

  ‘They were being given away,’ she lied. ‘I couldn’t resist them.’ She smiled at her. ‘We’ll have a spot of su
pper before I get changed for the evening.’

  ‘What if Jamie asks for me?’ Alice gave a cough as she spoke. ‘He’ll be getting suspicious.’

  ‘Oh, I’ll think of something to say,’ Lily said airily. ‘He doesn’t scare me.’

  Just before supper, Mary arrived with her baby, Aaron. He was a quiet curly-haired child and Cherie immediately fell in love with him. ‘After you’ve fed him can I get him to sleep while you get ready?’ she asked. ‘And then if he wakes up when you’re busy, he’ll know me.’

  ‘If he wakes up, give him some pobs,’ Mary said. ‘And if he’s restless, give him a drop o’ Godfrey’s. That’ll send him back to sleep.’

  Cherie glanced at Lily, who gave a gentle shake of her head, remembering Betty’s story of her child who had died because of taking laudanum. ‘I’d rather not,’ she said. ‘I’ll sing to him.’

  Mary shrugged. ‘Suit yourself. He’s generally good anyway.’

  ‘Just keep him out of sight in case Jamie comes,’ Lily told her. ‘Which he no doubt will.’

  They all changed into their evening gowns after supper; Mary wore Lizzie’s red gown which was a rather tight fit as she was much more buxom than Lizzie. She undid the fastenings on the bodice to show a tantalizing glimpse of white bosom. Lily stopped herself from disapproving. After all, she thought, this is why the customers are coming. They’re not really coming for the wine and conversation.

  The evening became busy. Mary and Sally were very merry and Cherie served the men with drinks as they waited their turn and Lily chatted to them. Then the door bell rang and a young woman stood on the step. ‘Angelina,’ she said to Lily. ‘I believe you’re expecting me?’

  She didn’t need to change her gown. She was already wearing a most presentable low-cut dark blue satin, which rustled as she walked; a sparkling necklace was clasped round her throat. ‘Don’t introduce me to anyone rough,’ she said haughtily, ‘because I’ll refuse.’

  ‘We don’t have rough,’ Lily reproved her. ‘They’re mostly gentlemen or high class trade.’