When the drizzle thickened to a torrent, Lizzie found shelter under an aged oak tree, its outstretched branches protecting her from the weather like a giant umbrella.
She looked across the valley and thought how beautiful it was. The rain poured down, and right there before her eyes, the grass began to sparkle clean and bright, glinting under the darkening skies, like an endless carpet of shining emeralds.
As quickly as it had started, the rain stopped and the skies cleared. The air smelled fresh and everywhere was newly cleansed and sharper to the eye.
Lizzie continued her journey along the valley’s edge and up towards the brow of the hill. In the far distance she could see the sheep grazing, their heads bent and their bellies swollen with the weight of new life. Seemingly content with their lot, they relentlessly moved along, a white mass of munching machines.
At the top of the hill, Lizzie paused for breath; the sense of weakness was creeping back. ‘Tek your time, Lizzie!’ she chided herself. ‘You might wish you were a young lass, but you’re not. You’re a silly old fool, with no right to be tackling this long trip across the fields.’ She wished now that she had gone down the lane. At least that would have been firm underfoot, and there were no hills to climb. It was high time she learned that she couldn’t do what she used to. Like it or not, them days were long gone.
Taking a moment or two to regain her composure, she roved her quiet gaze over the landscape. She was a fortunate woman to be living amidst such beauty. There were many folk who would give a lot for just a glimpse of this little piece of God’s Heaven.
From where she stood, the view went on for miles. She could see her own little cottage tucked into the ring of trees like an egg in a bird’s nest, and beyond that she located Potts End farmhouse, with its smoking chimney and pretty orchard – and oh, look there! Surely that was Danny the milkman, striding out across the fields.
She walked on a little way and stopped again, her legs feeling like a ton weight; although she was without the patchwork counterpane, the bag was beginning to weigh heavier at every step. She wondered if she should leave it behind and fetch it later, when she felt more able. Or maybe that nice young man Danny would pick it up tomorrow, when out on his morning rounds.
Her thoughts switched to Emily. First thing tomorrow, she must go and see Aggie. There were things the other woman needed to know. With that in mind she struggled on, pausing every now and then to rest awhile.
Her cottage lay away to the right, across Aggie’s top field then over the little bridge. Thrilled at the prospect of being back in her own home, Lizzie quickened her pace.
Coming up from the farm, Danny saw her – a small figure in the distance, wending her way across the fields, and seeming to find it hard work. Concerned as to what Lizzie was doing out there in the middle of nowhere, he set off towards her.
He didn’t see Clem Jackson until he’d gone across the bottom field, but then he straightaway recognised the burly, upright figure pushing across the hills, with his fearful dog Badger walking obediently by his side. Whenever the animal began to trot off on its own, it was soon brought back under control by a whack of the thick birch-stick in its master’s iron fist.
‘Somebody should put that stick across his own damned back!’ Danny said aloud. Angered by Jackson’s cruelty, and seeing how Lizzie was not too far from crossing that madman’s path, Danny broke into a run. ‘LIZZIE!’
She didn’t hear him. Too far away and intent on her journey, Lizzie pushed on, eager to be home and in her own cosy parlour.
‘LIZZIE, WAIT ON!’ Danny’s voice was carried by the heightening breeze, but still she didn’t hear him. Nor did she see Clem Jackson coming up behind her.
Skirting the spinney, Danny was unable to see exactly what was happening, though when he emerged, he was horrified to see the dog bounding towards Lizzie. He saw how she cowered, her arms across her face, and Jackson running up, waving the stick and shouting, though Danny could not make out what was being said.
His first instinct was that Jackson had set the dog on Lizzie. ‘JACKSON, YOU BASTARD!’ This time his voice was heard, and as he came on them, Jackson was dragging his dog off Lizzie, who by now was on the ground.
Danny’s first instinct was to help Lizzie. Thrusting the other man aside, he fell to his knees, greatly relieved to see she was not badly mauled. All the same, she was frighteningly pale and shaking uncontrollably. Sliding his arms round her, he sat her up, his face turned now to the other man. Enraged, he demanded, ‘What the hell were you thinking of, you mad bugger, setting your dog on a helpless woman! What kind of monster are you?’
He would have gone for Jackson, but Lizzie put her hand across his arm. ‘No! He didn’t set the dog on me,’ she lied. ‘The dog saw me stumble and he wanted to play. I just fell over.’ She managed a smile. ‘It was nobody’s fault. Look, I’m all right. I just need to get home. Please. Get me home.’
Falling back into his arms, she closed her eyes. ‘I’m tired, that’s all … so tired.’ She had been terrified out of her wits when Jackson sent the dog after her. She heard: ‘Look ’ere, boy, we’ve a trespasser. Mekking for my field, are you, old woman? It seems to me you need teaching a lesson.’ With one, swift command he had sent the dog hurtling towards her.
In the moment she was knocked to the ground, Jackson heard Danny’s voice, and quickly called the dog to heel. ‘Keep your trap shut, you stupid old fool,’ he warned her. ‘Unless you want more trouble than you can handle.’
The last thing Lizzie wanted was trouble, either for herself, or for Aggie’s family. Besides, she was so relieved to see Danny, the attack didn’t seem important. She wasn’t hurt, and apart from a few bruises and a quickening heart, there was no harm done that she could see.
Danny wasn’t convinced by Lizzie’s explanation, but he could see she was ill. ‘I’ll get you home,’ he promised.
Collecting her bag from where it had fallen, he then gently lifted her into his arms, at the same time giving the other man a stark warning. ‘If I thought you had set the dog on her, you’d be a sorry man, Jackson!’
Jackson merely grinned in that unbearable, sly manner he had. ‘You’d best mind yer mouth, Williams,’ he said. ‘You heard what the old woman said. Nobody touched her. She fell over … the dog thought she wanted to play – didn’t yer, Badge? – and he ran across. There’s nowt more to it than that.’
He watched them leave; Danny holding Lizzie close, and Lizzie glancing warily backwards. He deliberately winked at her, laughing when she wearily turned away. ‘You’re a wise old owl,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘You’ll keep your trap shut all right.’
By the time Danny had got to the door of the cottage, Lizzie seemed to have revived a little. ‘Put me down, please, son.’
With the same tenderness with which he’d picked her up, Danny put her down, noting how unsteady she was on her feet. ‘If you tell me where the key is, I’ll unlock the door for you.’
Lizzie pointed to the bag. ‘Look in the purse at the side,’ she instructed. ‘You’ll find it in there.’
Danny found the key and, opening the door, led her inside. As they entered the parlour, the cold air struck damp. ‘I’ll have a fire going in no time,’ he said. ‘Then I’ll make you a hot drink before I fetch the doctor.’ Leading her to the armchair he sat her down.
‘I don’t want no doctor.’ Lizzie had no time for that sort of thing.
‘You’re proper poorly, my love. Even I can see that.’
Being as Lizzie had already set the fire for when she returned home, Danny soon had it lit and crackling away. ‘By!’ He rubbed his hands together and held them up against the flames. ‘That’ll soon warm your bones,’ he told her.
Next he went to the scullery and, on Lizzie’s instructions, located everything he needed to make her a brew of cocoa. There was no fresh milk, so he used boiling water and a grating of nutmeg to pep it up. He found a tiny bottle of old-looking brandy and added a teaspoon of that, too.
‘Sip it gently,’ he urged, ‘but drink it all down.’ Which she did.
‘Now then, where will I find a blanket? You need something to keep out the cold until the room warms up.’
Lizzie didn’t argue. ‘Upstairs in the chest of drawers – front bedroom, bottom drawer,’ she said, her teeth chattering.
He was up the stairs and back down in a matter of minutes. Tucking the blanket tightly about her, he asked worriedly, ‘Wouldn’t it be better if we got you up to your bed?’
‘No. I’ll be fine where I am, thank you all the same, Danny.’
He sighed through his smile. ‘Are you always this stubborn?’
‘Some might say so.’
‘Right! Well, you sit tight while I fetch the doctor.’
‘Didn’t I already tell you, I don’t want no doctor!’
‘Now look here, Lizzie.’ He tried to reason with her. ‘You’re not well. Let him look you over, that’s all I’m asking.’
‘No.’ She spelled out her words slowly and deliberately. ‘NO DOCTOR.’
‘Oh, what am I going to do with you, eh?’
‘Fetch Aggie.’
‘Is that what you really want?’
‘It’s what I said, isn’t it?’
He was relieved that at least she was admitting she needed somebody, if not the doctor. ‘And will you be all right while I’m gone?’
Reaching out, Lizzie placed her hand in his. ‘You’re a lovely man,’ she said gratefully. ‘You’ve brought me home just as you promised, and you’ve made me warm and comfortable. I thank you for that, but now, I’d be obliged if you’d please fetch Aggie.’
Lizzie was fond of Danny. In her heart she believed she had done him a terrible wrong, just as she had wronged Emily, John and Rosie, for they were all caught up in a mess of her making.
That was what she truly believed. And that was what she must confess, God help her! For some reason, it seemed vitally important that she did it this day – this minute, even.
Before he left, Danny made her promise that she would not move, or try to do anything, until Aggie got there. Once he had secured that promise, he was on his way, running across the fields as though his own life depended on it. Stubborn as a mule, she was. Didn’t want a doctor … wanted Aggie instead. He chuckled to himself. The old dear certainly knew her own mind.
When he burst in through the kitchen door, Aggie almost leaped out of her shoes; as it was she dropped the cabbage she was slicing, and the knife with it. ‘Danny! What’s wrong, lad?’
‘It’s Lizzie,’ he answered breathlessly. ‘She collapsed near the top field. I carried her home and made her comfortable.’ For the moment he said nothing about Clem Jackson and the dog. ‘She really ought to see a doctor, but she won’t. It’s you she wants. “Fetch Aggie”, that’s what she said, and if I were you I’d get up there a bit sharpish. The poor old dear doesn’t look at all well.’
Running to the door, Aggie took her coat from the hook and, throwing it on, began doing up the buttons as she went. ‘I’ll make my way up there now,’ she said. ‘You’ll find Emily in the barn sorting out the cabbages. Ask her to put the stew on, and I’ll be back soonever I can.’ She gave a swift look around, then grabbed a can of milk, a pan of stewed apples, a couple of eggs and a small loaf of freshly-baked bread. ‘Happen she’s got no food in.’ She quickly stowed them in her brown basket and set off.
Danny followed her out. ‘I’ll see Emily, then I’ll come up to Lizzie’s. You might need me.’
‘That’s a good idea,’ she said, ‘but give us a minute or two. Lizzie’s a very private person. I don’t know why she’s asked for me, unless it’s to stay with her until she feels better, but it might be best when you get back, if you don’t come into the cottage straight away.’
Danny nodded. ‘I understand. But I’ll not be far away, you can be sure of that. If you need me, just yell and I’ll be there in the wink of an eye.’
While Aggie hurried to the cottage, Danny went in search of Emily and Cathleen. He looked in the barn and they weren’t there. He peered into the other buildings and there was still no sign of them, not even when he called their names across the yard.
Growing anxious, he went in search of them further afield. And there they were, the two of them, playing in the orchard. Little Cathleen was running round the trees, screeching with delight, while her mammy came after her, making animal noises. Just then, Emily swept Cathleen into her arms, pretending to bite her. ‘No, Mammy! NO!’ Cathleen was in fits of laughter.
On seeing Danny she squirmed out of Emily’s grasp and ran to him. ‘Don’t let Mammy get me!’ She clung to his leg. ‘She wants to eat me all up!’
‘You’d best run then!’ Dropping her carefully to the ground he watched her run and hide behind a stack of straw, her little face peeking out and her eyes shining with merriment.
While she hid, Danny told Emily what had happened. ‘I’d best go up there,’ Emily said. ‘It might be that we’ll need to get the doctor after all.’
Danny persuaded her otherwise. ‘No. Your mam said to give her a few minutes then I was to go after her. I’ll go up there with Cathleen, my love. We’ll be back soon enough. Don’t worry.’
For the sake of the child, Emily agreed. ‘All right, but if you need me, come and get me.’ She felt guilty about Lizzie. It was rumoured in the village that she had not been too well of late, and yet she had still gone to visit John, though no one was sure where John was these days.
‘She’s had letters postmarked Liverpool,’ the postmaster had gossiped, but that was all anyone knew. Apart from something Lizzie had let slip to the man. ‘She said as how John had sent her the money to go and see him – some special event, from what I can make out, but she wouldn’t say no more than that. She only told me that much because she wanted me to take care of the stray cats while she was away, and she gave me a key to open the windows so the cottage wouldn’t get too damp.’
Emily had thought about John ever since. In the long, lonely years since he’d been gone, Lizzie had made her so unwelcome, that in the end she had given up trying to visit. But now the old woman was poorly, and she wanted to help if she could.
Apart from that, she needed so much to talk with Lizzie. In the morning, if all was well, she would go and see her, and maybe this time, John’s aunt would give her news of him at dear last. Emily hoped so, because for a long time now, she had been desperate to know how he was.
By the time Aggie arrived at the cottage, Lizzie was sound asleep. At first when there was no answer to her knocking, Aggie feared the worst, and when she inched open the door to find Lizzie slumped in the chair her heart sank to her boots. ‘Lizzie?’ She gently shook her. ‘It’s Aggie, come to see you.’ She shook her again. ‘Lizzie!’
Startled out of a deep sleep, Lizzie opened her eyes. ‘About time an’ all!’ To Aggie’s great relief, she sat up straight. ‘You took an age getting here, lass.’
‘I rushed over as quick as I could,’ Aggie told her. ‘But never mind that, I’m here now. So what have you been up to, eh? Travelling to God knows where and wearing yourself out. And why won’t you let the doctor come and see you?’ She was pleased to see how Lizzie had some colour in her cheeks and her eyes were bright enough, she thought. But there was something about Lizzie that worried her. ‘Where do you feel ill, love? Do you hurt?’ Waiting for an answer, she held Lizzie’s hand.
The other woman shook her head. ‘I’m just tired. Me every bone aches.’ Her old eyes twinkled. ‘And me feet are terrible sore. By! It was a long hard trek to get home.’
‘You shouldn’t have walked across the fields,’ Aggie chided. ‘Old Tom only lives a stride from the tram-stop. He’d gladly have brought you home on his cart. All you had to do was ask.’
Lizzie managed a laugh. ‘I’ve seen his old cart, and I wouldn’t fancy being jolted down the lane on that. It wouldn’t have been me feet that hurt, it would have been my poor backside. And you know how he likes to josh with the women
. No, lass. I’m too old for all that.’ She pointed to her empty cup. ‘Is that milk you’ve got there, Aggie love? Ooh, I’d love a cup of tea! Get yourself one, while you’re at it.’
Aggie was puzzled. ‘Is that all you wanted me for, to sit and drink tea with you?’ she asked. ‘I ran all the way here when Danny told me you were badly. Lizzie, are you sure it’s me you need, and not a doctor?’
Lizzie nodded. ‘I told Danny I didn’t need no doctor, and I don’t. It’s you I need. Now then, do as you’re told, lass. Get the two of us a nice cuppa tea and sit yerself down. Yer’ll find biscuits in the tin wi’ the late Queen on the front, God bless her. That’s right, it’s in the pantry … Then come right back in, Aggie. There’s summat I have to tell you, and it can’t wait no longer.’
Intrigued, Aggie quickly did as she was bid.
Bringing the tea, Aggie gave Lizzie her cup and sat herself on the chair beside her. ‘No, lass. Go an’ sit on the sofa where I can see you,’ Lizzie instructed.
When Aggie moved to seat herself on the sofa opposite, Lizzie asked outright, ‘Do you think your Emily is happy, wed to Danny?’
Momentarily taken aback, Aggie thought for a minute. There had been many a time when she had asked herself that same thing. ‘She seems happy enough,’ she said guardedly.
‘Does she ever mention John?’
‘Sometimes, when the two of us are on our own. Though I’m sure he’s on her mind all the time.’
‘Do you think she and John would have been happy together?’ Lizzie needed to find out the answers to what was plaguing her.
Taking a deep breath, Aggie sighed. ‘She still loves him, I’m sure of that. But it’s no good speculating as to what might have happened, is it, Lizzie? If this … if that. What’s the use of it? John’s not here. Emily’s married to Danny, and they’re raising Cathleen as his daughter. Things would have been different, of course, if only John hadn’t done what he did. It was a great shock to Emily and I truly don’t think she’s ever got over it. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s all water under the bridge.’
Lovers and Liars Page 29
