Lovers and Liars

by Josephine Cox

  Seeing it and fearing that everyone else might sense that same magnetism, Aggie got out of her chair and bade the accordionist to keep on playing. ‘Something bright and cheerful, Bob!’ she urged, and going to John, she warmly shook his hand. ‘Come on in! It’s so good to see you, lad,’ she said, ‘after all these long years. Michael told me he’d invited you. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. I reckon my Michael owes you his life, and for that we’ll never stop being grateful. Come away in, all of you, and welcome to Potts End!’

  Drawing his gaze from Emily, who he thought to be even more lovely than he remembered, John thanked her in return. Then, bringing Rosie forward, he introduced her. ‘This is Rosie, my wife.’

  Rosie gave her a kiss. ‘Thank you so much for inviting us, Mrs Ramsden.’

  ‘Nay!’ Aggie protested. ‘The name is Aggie. You call me that and I’ll call you Rosie, if I may.’ And so it was settled, and the two women liked each other straight off.

  ‘And this rogue here is Archie!’ Propelling the old chap forward, John explained, ‘He was my mate at sea, and he’s been my good mate ever since. In fact, I don’t know what I’d do without the old rascal.’

  ‘Well now, my dear, I never expected to see such a fine-looking woman, no I never!’

  Charming as ever, Archie bent to give her a kiss, and was jokingly chided by Michael, who had just approached. ‘Steady on, Archie! Mind how you handle my wife,’ he mocked, and the friendship between them all was sealed for ever. Archie gallantly escorted Lizzie to a chair and set about fetching her some of the buffet.

  Considering it to be his duty, Danny limped over with Emily to greet the Hanleys. ‘Of course I know of you,’ he said, ‘but I don’t recall ever having made the acquaintance.’ He shook hands with John and Rosie. ‘I’m pleased to meet you.’

  ‘Likewise,’ answered John.

  Rosie and Emily also shook hands politely, both thinking that the other was attractive, and had a certain aura. When Emily briefly shook hands with John, she was dazzled by his good looks and his confidence as a self-made businessman. He and Rosie made a lovely couple, she realised, and the knowledge stabbed at her.

  In spite of their outward politeness, there was a certain wariness between the two men, that had not gone unnoticed by Lizzie, who was quietly watching from her seat by the fireplace, where Archie was plying her with a glass of elderberry wine.

  ‘Come and have some food.’ Aggie broke the mood. ‘You must be famished.’

  ‘Thank you, Aggie, yes, I am.’ That was Rosie.

  ‘Me too!’ Archie chipped in as he rejoined them. ‘Me stomach’s playing a tune to set all our feet a-tapping,’ he joked – with a hearty laugh that had them all smiling.

  As they walked away, Rosie saw the possessive way in which Danny was holding Emily, with his arm round her waist and one foot before hers. She knew well enough what had happened here, because John had told Archie everything, and Archie, being the good friend he was, had told her – though John had already let her know enough for her to realise that there was still a measure of love in his heart for Emily.

  ‘Danny!’ Rosie called him away. ‘I wonder if you wouldn’t mind helping me to choose something to eat, and afterwards we might even dance?’ She was bold because she knew he was on the verge of breaking up the talk that John and Emily so desperately needed.

  Being the gentleman he was, Danny could hardly refuse. ‘Will you be all right?’ he asked Emily. ‘I’ll be back soon as I can.’

  ‘You go and keep Rosie company,’ she said warmly. ‘I need to talk with John … if that’s all right with you?’

  He looked into her face and he saw the love there; love for him – yes, but love for John also, and it was that love which bothered him. Yet he was sensible enough to know that if he took her away now, he might live to regret it for the rest of his life.

  ‘Danny!’ Rosie called him again. He looked round and in her eyes he saw a warning. She knows, he thought. She knows how it is between these two, and she’s telling me to give them the time they need.

  ‘All right.’ He gave Emily a kiss on the lips. ‘Talk with John if you must.’ He had no choice – he knew that. ‘It’s all right by me.’ Addressing John now, he told him kindly, ‘I’m sure there are things to be ironed out.’ His meaning was clear enough: Say your piece and be gone … leave Emily to me. That was what he had in mind, but he didn’t say it. How could he?

  As he walked away he glanced back to see the couple walking out of the door, and his heart was broken.

  ‘Right then!’ Aggie was off in search of her own wandering husband. ‘Danny will take care of you,’ she said. ‘If you need me, I’ll be around.’ Her first stop was the barn. It was where Michael always went whenever he felt nostalgic, and lately, he was deeply regretting every minute he had spent away from his beloved family.

  Aggie understood. There were times when even she needed to get away on her own, where she might peaceably contemplate past and future.

  When John led Emily out to the garden, it was all Danny could do not to hobble after them. ‘Leave it be,’ Rosie warned him kindly. ‘I know how you feel, but they knew and loved each other long before we came on the scene. If we interfere now, we’ll only drive them away. Anyway, I hear you’ve only just come out of hospital. Let’s have a bite together, and I’ll tell you all about me barges.’

  For the next half-hour, Danny stayed with Rosie. They ate and drank, and all the while their glances kept going to the door. Though she wouldn’t say as much, Rosie felt every bit as apprehensive as Danny. ‘I don’t know what I’d do if he left me,’ she confided when they were seated away from the others. ‘John didn’t really marry me for love. We were both lonely and working long hours together. We just drifted together.’

  Her smile said it all. ‘I love him, though. We’d only been married a few weeks when I realised I could never imagine being without him.’

  ‘It’s the same with me and Emily,’ Danny replied softly. ‘She was honest enough with me. She told me she still loved John and was only waiting for him to come back. I’ve loved her for ever,’ he imparted shyly. ‘It were me as persuaded her that John wasn’t ever coming back. I talked her into marrying me, and o’ course there was little Cathleen to be considered. I love that darling little lass.’

  ‘But she’s yours, isn’t she?’

  He smiled. ‘She is now!’

  At his remark Rosie was made curious, but sensing there was more to it than met the eye, she wisely said nothing.

  Walking in the twilit orchard, strangely shy and awkward in his company, Emily listened to what John had to say.

  ‘I came back for you that day,’ he told her softly. ‘I had the money in my pocket and the dream in my heart, and then I saw you with the child, and Danny, and I knew I’d lost you.’ He bowed his head. ‘It was the worst day of my life.’

  Close to tears, Emily slid her hand into his, warmed and content when he curled his strong fingers about hers. ‘If only you hadn’t gone away,’ she told him. ‘Things may have been so very different.’

  A yearning came into his expression. Suddenly she was in his arms and he was holding her so close she could hardly breathe. ‘She should have been my child … not Danny’s!’

  For a while, Emily made no reply. She was relieved for him to believe the child was Danny’s. Now though, she felt his fleeting rage and it was a frightening thing. As she felt his grip loosen she looked up to see him gazing down on her, his eyes dark with emotion. ‘I never stopped loving you,’ he told her fiercely. ‘There were times when I thought I’d go crazy without you.’

  Bending his head he cupped her face and for a long, wonderful moment he just looked on her; seeing those familiar features and gazing into those wonderful eyes, feeling that he was home at long last.

  Emily saw he wanted to kiss her and she raised herself to him. Locking her arms round his neck, she softly pressed her lips to his, thrilled when he drew her closer.

/>   It was a passionate, hungry kiss – the kind of kiss that neither of them would ever forget, and yet there was something else. Some other emotion that neither of them had ever experienced before.

  Peering out of the window with trepidation, Danny and Rosie saw it happen and they were afraid. When Danny stepped forward to end it, Rosie pulled him back. ‘No!’ she whispered, and held onto him.

  He stayed, gaining strength and comfort from her, some deep instinct telling him she was right and he was wrong. ‘Let’s leave them, Danny.’ Older and wiser than her years, Rosie ushered him back to the kitchen, where she got him a hot drink and sat chatting quietly with him.

  Taking her by the hand, John led Emily to the bench, where they sat for a long time, she curled into him, and he with his arm round her, holding her close, as he had yearned to do all these years. ‘Are you happy, sweetheart, with Danny?’

  Emily took a moment to think about it. ‘I believe so.’ She didn’t look up, nor did she move. There was that special closeness between them that allowed her to stay in his arms the way they were. ‘And what about you, John?’ she murmured. ‘Are you happy with Rosie?’

  He smiled. ‘She’s kind of grown on me, I suppose.’

  Emily smiled at that. ‘They’ve been watching us from inside.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘They’re both good people.’

  ‘I know that, too.’

  She drew away. In the quietness of evening with the skies above and the stars twinkling down on them, it was as though they were the only two souls in the whole world. ‘John?’

  He looked at her then, his eyes roving her face and thinking how deeply he loved her. ‘Yes, sweetheart?’

  ‘I’ll always love you.’ A single tear ran down her cheek.

  ‘I know that.’ He wiped it away. ‘And I’ll always love you.’

  They kissed again, only this time it was more gentle, more of a binding, lasting thing. ‘Are you ready to go back now?’ he asked gently.

  She nodded, but didn’t speak. Her heart was too full.

  They walked back arm-in-arm, easy and content in each other’s company. This was the night they would carry with them for all time. This night, this love, and the knowledge that the love would always be there, drawing them together, yet keeping them apart. It was how it should be.

  As they approached the farmhouse door, Danny was there, with Rosie by his side. They saw Emily and John, and for a moment were afraid again. But then they saw the easy smiles, and realised how it was; and the joy in their hearts was almost too much to bear.

  When Emily came towards him, Danny clasped her close. ‘I thought I’d lost you,’ he said brokenly. ‘Oh Emily, I wouldn’t want to live without you.’

  Rosie said nothing. She just walked to John and, looking at him with tears glittering in her eyes, she smiled knowingly.

  ‘It’s all right,’ he murmured. Then he slid his arm round her shoulders, and took her inside.

  As Emily and Danny came up the path, Aggie was rushing out of the door. ‘Have you seen Lizzie?’ She seemed frantic. ‘She’s not been seen for a while, and we can’t find her anywhere!’

  A search got under way. The entire party went out into the farm, hunting in every nook and cranny; even Grandad hobbled about, pausing every now and then to hold on to something or to sit down while he got his breath back. ‘Lizzie!’ His voice sailed on the night air. ‘Where the devil are you, woman?’

  It was Bob who found her, sprawled out in the orchard. She seemed lifeless. ‘She’s ’ere! For God’s sake, hurry!’

  Once they got her inside, it was Aggie who discovered what the problem was. ‘She’s drunk!’

  ‘Never.’ Leaning down, Archie took a sniff of her breath. ‘Well, the old bugger,’ he laughed. ‘She smells like a brewery!’ Everyone laughed at that, until Emily reminded them, ‘She’s been lying out there half-unconscious and she feels cold. We’d best get a doctor all the same.’

  At which point Lizzie opened her eyes. ‘Don’t want no doctor! Why does everybody allus want me to see a ruddy doctor? I’d be better off wi’ another measure o’ that elderberry wine.’

  When the laughter was over and everyone had drifted away, Grandad leaned down to give her a telling-off. ‘How much ’ave yer drunk, you devious little bugger? And what the devil were you doing out there?’

  Reaching up, she took hold of his coat collar and drew him down. ‘It’s all right,’ she hissed. ‘I saw them together, and it’s all right.’

  He realised what she was saying, and his old heart was thrilled. ‘Oh Lizzie,’ he kept his voice low, ‘is that what you were doing – so worried that you were knocking back the good stuff? An’ then yer follered ’em outside to see how it might all turn out?’

  She nodded, but then groaned suddenly. ‘I don’t feel well now.’

  Thomas Isaac laughed. ‘What am I gonna do with yer, eh?’ he said out loud, and people’s heads turned to listen. They were highly entertained when he answered his own question. ‘I shall ’ave to marry yer, I can see that.’

  Smiling, Lizzie nodded again, and everyone cheered. ‘Go to it, Grandad!’ somebody called out.

  When he gave Lizzie a kiss, they clapped until the little farmhouse shook.

  Two weeks later, Grandad and Lizzie were wed. ‘We’re too old and decrepit to have a long courtship,’ Grandad joshed, and hugging him tight, Lizzie agreed. She had always got on well with Tom and his wife, Clare, and she knew he was a good man.

  At their own request, there was just the family present: Michael and Aggie, Emily and Danny, and little Cathleen – the intelligent and loving child who had sprung like a miracle from a brutal and incestuous rape. The name of Clem Jackson was never spoken. His remains had been interred in a churchyard on the far side of Blackburn, and the very air in Potts End Farm seemed the purer for his absence.

  Lizzie’s beloved nephew John was there too, of course, back down from Liverpool with his wife.

  Rosie had been feeling proper peaky ever since the night of Danny’s welcome-home party. It was worse in the early mornings, and she’d gone right off the taste of tea … She hadn’t told John yet, but in her heart she knew their first bairn was growing inside her and in her wisdom, she also knew that it was the completion he needed.

  Archie and Harriet were there too, both considered members of the extended family. Many unsubtle jokes were made about marriage, and when John saw Harriet looking coy, he slapped Archie on the back and sprinkled bridal rice on his old shipmate’s shrivelled pate.

  The ceremony took place in the same church where Danny had married Emily. It was a quick service, given with a blessing, and afterwards a little tea in the local inn, at Grandad’s expense. ‘It’s not every day I tek a bride,’ he announced. ‘Besides, I’ve allus ’ad a bit put by for a rainy day.’

  ‘You’d best save a bit more if you’re coming to live at my cottage,’ Lizzie quipped. ‘I need new curtains, and the sofa’s started sagging in the middle, and –’

  ‘Stop right there!’ Grandad told her, and when she went quiet, he put his arm round her. ‘You can ’ave yer curtains,’ he said, ‘but the sofa can wait, ’cause I mean to tek you away.’ Brandishing two tickets, he told her proudly, ‘We’re off to Blackpool for a couple o’ nights. I’ve booked us into a little guest-house on the front. The journey’ll probably kill me, with me arthritis an’ all, but what a lovely way to go.’ He laughed naughtily and ducked when Lizzie turned to swipe him.

  Several months after the wedding, Michael and Aggie received news that ownership of the farm had been rightfully restored to them. Once the paperwork was safely completed, Michael told Danny and Emily that he and Aggie had drawn up plans to build a cottage for them in the orchard. ‘We know how much you love this place, and we want you to have your own home, near us,’ Aggie said.

  ‘Oh, Dad! That’s wonderful!’ Emily cried with joy. She and Danny and Cathleen immediately went outside to look at ‘their spot’. While the child danced on
ahead, Emily went more slowly, leaning on her husband who was now her support, as she was seven months pregnant.

  The orchard had always held some special magic for her.

  When a year later the cottage was ready, Emily and Danny moved in with Cathleen and their ten-month-old son, George Isaac – ‘Georgie’. ‘A little brother for you,’ Emily had told Cathleen after the baby’s birth upstairs at Potts End. Her daughter held the child in her arms. ‘He’s lovely, Mammy,’ she said.

  And so are you, Emily thought.

  Now, as she looked out of the window of Orchard Cottage, Georgie on her shoulder having his back gently rubbed, in her mind’s eye she could see herself and John, young and carefree, running across the fields and swimming in the brook. She could see the place where they had shared their very first kiss, and the place in the orchard where, on the night of their reunion, they had shared their very last one.

  At that moment, down in the meadow, where the lambs chased each other, watched by a curious hare, the sun caught on a gold locket that had lain hidden in a path of flowering clover through many seasons, and for a second, the glow was dazzling. And then the sun’s rays encompassed the whole field, and the farm – and the entire vale. And up in the cottage bedroom, a baby cried, and the woman dreaming at the window turned to comfort him.

  She would never forget her first love. They had been two young people setting out on life’s journey. Two lovers who had shared a dream and lost it, but in the losing had found something else. The love that had grown between them was still there, but it was a different love now. It was a strong, binding love that would go on for as long as they lived.

  The love of friendship.

  A precious thing, after all.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book was written during a time in my life when I needed friends and family like never before, and thankfully you were there for me, as always.