Dreams Can Come True

by Vivienne Dockerty

  Maggie toyed with the silver ink well that Betty had given her one time as a present. Such a long time ago now – nearly twenty years. The dressmaker had been the only one in the village of Neston to give the raggedy Irish immigrant girl a chance. Without her, Maggie would never have risen to the status she was enjoying now. She would probably still be a farm labourer’s wife, giving birth to a child each year.

  Poor Betty. The harsh winter had brought down the young and the elderly. Though Selwyn Lodge was quite a warm place, Betty would still insist on venturing out in her dog cart to play canasta with her elderly friends from the church. She had caught a chill and too weak to throw it off and she had died. Maggie had felt like a wounded animal; she had felt her friend’s death more than she had mourned when her own dear mother had gone. She still looked at the chair that Betty had sat in, expecting her to be sat in it, still thought she heard Betty’s tread on the stairway, still expected to greet her friend at breakfast each morning and still looked out into the garden to see if she was pottering there.

  It had been the company that Maggie and Betty had started, that had kept her sane over that following year: that and the inheritance that her friend had left her. So much to sort through and so much to gain. Selwyn Lodge had been given to Maggie, with a request that it be loved as much as Betty had loved it. A thousand pounds from the good lady’s bank account and every thing that was Betty’s share, in all that they owned together. Thus, Maggie became the outright owner of the Sheldon Loan and Property Company. She couldn’t believe how her initial investment had grown.

  At seventeen, she had entrusted Miss Rosemary with the secret contents of the feather mattress that she had brought with her from her old home. Little did she know that the mattress held her ex-employer’s Granddad Filbey’s savings, until she came across the money while stitching up a loosened seam. The dressmaker had started a small company for Maggie which had gone from strength to strength, giving her protégé’s money out as loans. Then she had merged it with her own rental interests and the Sheldon Loan and Property Company had been born.

  “ Mrs. Haines,” Olive, her maid, knocked urgently on the door.

  “Cook wants ter know if the Master will be in for supper. Do yer know if he’s coming back tonight?”

  Maggie opened the door to her maid, glad of the interruption. Maybe she should go and wallow in a hot bath, then lay herself down for an hour.

  “I think so, Olive, I didn’t ask him this morning. But he probably will be, he’s only gone to Chester today.”

  The maid bobbed a curtsey and ran off down the stairs to the kitchen. She had only been working at Selwyn Lodge for a week or so and Maggie felt she had a lot to learn. Mary, the maid before Olive, had been a faithful servant from the start, but had gone back home to nurse her mother. Things had changed so much since Betty had died. She felt bereft now that her friend wasn’t there.

  Maggie lay in her comforting bath and thought back to when her husband had made his reappearance. It had been a few years after she had said goodbye to Johnny, the sea-going son of her friend from Killala, who had marriage to her on his mind. He hadn’t known that her husband, Jack was still alive and living in America, so had set his sights on Maggie. The house, the businesses and easy living were what attracted him. Neither of them were sure that it was love they felt for each other.

  Johnny only really loved his mother and when she had died, he had looked for a comfortable berth. Maggie was drawn to his handsome looks and became confused with his attention, thinking that perhaps one day she may fall in love. Throughout it all was Betty, the voice of Maggie’s conscience.

  “You must tell him that you’re not free to marry. It isn’t fair for you to lead him on.”

  So, the next time Johnny came back to Neston, Maggie had told him her story. How Jack had got a young woman into trouble and the pair had gone to America to start a new life. To save a scandal, she’d had to keep a secret – that his disappearance had been because of his untimely death.

  Talk about a woman scorned! Johnny had exploded, angry that he had discharged himself from the shipping company, just to be with her! The next thing she knew, the tale was all round the village, spread by Johnny’s sister in law, Madeline. Of course that was the end of the relationship with Maddy, as Betty sacked her from her job as a designer at the dressmaker’s shop.

  Sadly things started going down hill at “Anne Rosemary’s”. Nobody in the village wanted to associate with the two women, who they had been told were a pair of liars. The older woman must have become inveigled; look how she had taken the Irish one to live in that grand house of hers. But though it was heartbreaking for Betty to close her business down, they had the loan company to give them an income and no one knew that Maggie had a share.

  Then one day Alice, Jack’s mother, received a letter. Since the story of Jack’s disappearance had got around the village, things hadn’t gone well between her and her daughter-in-law. Though Alice still went to St. Winefred’s Church on a Sunday and was involved in some of the activities there, she had quickly let it be known that they had been told Jack was dead by his landlady and they had only just found out that he was still alive! He had sent her a letter to say that all was well and he was living in America. That story seemed to satisfy her friends amongst the congregation, but Alice let rip at Maggie, saying that it was all her fault that this uproar had occurred. The relationship cooled, not that it bothered either of them as they didn’t have a lot of love for one another, until the day that the letter came to Seagull Cottage and everything began to change.

  “I’ve had enough of the fighting game,” the scribe had written on Jack’s behalf. “I’ve made enough money to live comfortably, so I’ll be settling my affairs and be coming home.”

  That had put the cat amongst the pigeons. Alice was overjoyed at her son’s homecoming, but Maggie was dreading her husband’s return.

  “He’ll be able to move in with you all at the big house,” Alice had said. “Mikey will get his father back and you your husband as well. He’ll be able to take over that company you make such a fuss about. Change its name ter Haines!”

  No mention of Hannah; surely Jack would be a father to her as well. And the thought of Jack interfering with the business gave Maggie palpitations. It was Betty’s company too! She walked round in dread for days on end, though Betty said there was nothing that Jack could do. The business had been started with Maggie’s own money. He had gone away hadn’t he, leaving her and Mikey to fend for themselves?

  Maggie smiled to herself as she wrapped a towel around her body and then walked into the bedroom that the pair of them shared. Jack had been delighted with her good fortune, pleased as punch that she accepted him back again and spent all his waking moments showing her how much she was loved. She wished she could get rid of this listless feeling, because life at the moment should be very good. She had just received the statement from the bank, showing the amount lodged by the railway company for the land they had bought. With what she had in the account already, becoming a millionairess got nearer every day!

  Maggie put on her loose-flowing gown that she liked to wear when she was relaxing. She had made it herself on the treadle machine that they had brought to Selwyn Lodge from the dressmaker’s shop. It was a pretty shade of blue and she had matching slippers on her feet. She brushed her hair until it shone, then tied it up with ribbons on the back of her head.

  She glanced at the clock on the bedroom mantelpiece. Still another hour before Mikey or Hannah would make an appearance. Mikey only had to walk from the village, while Hannah came from Chester on the train.

  She had given the responsibility of overseeing the Sheldon Loan and Property Company to Mikey. His private education had equipped him to give orders and to be her front man. Maggie still had problems being accepted as a business woman, men still thinking that a woman’s place was in the home. Mr. Arlington, Betty’s right hand man still worked for them, though he was getting on in years. Mr. Peel, w
ho was younger went out to get the business. Mikey was the man at the company’s helm. They had moved into premises across the High Street, when Betty had closed the shop and rented out the original to a woman who sold handmade baby clothes.

  Maggie took a peek into her cheval mirror. She didn’t look so bad for a woman of nearly thirty seven. A slim figure still and not too many facial lines – though she didn’t like the look of those smudges that sat drearily under her eyes. Maybe she should take a holiday, somewhere distant, somewhere warm. Jack was always saying the family should go on holiday together, but he was talking of foreign lands like France or Italy. Maggie was thinking of somewhere nearer; she had heard that the south of England could be very warm.

  “The master’s here,” shouted Olive, her voice floating up from the bottom of the stairs. Maggie’s heart skipped a beat. Jack had come home earlier than she had thought he would. She walked demurely down to greet him.

  “Thought I would surprise yer me darlin’ girl. P’raps we could sit together in the conservatory and have our afternoon tea. See to it Olive, if yer would. Now, tell me, Maggie, what yer’ve been doing with yer day?”

  Jack smiled at her happily. His wife was looking a picture and sure that colour suited her. Maggie had a lot of style. He mourned the time that he had been away from her, thinking only of his selfish needs. He had been a proper eejit leaving her to go in pursuit of his dreams. Though they wouldn’t have their Hannah if he hadn’t have done so. She was the spit of her mother, Kitty May and pretty and bubbly with it and the kindest heart for a girl so young. Maggie had been a princess taking another woman’s child on like she had. Not that Hannah knew that Maggie wasn’t her mother. What was the point of dragging up the past?

  Jack had changed since he had come home to Maggie. Facially he was still the same, with the crooked nose and the pale blue eyes, though his skin wasn’t weather-beaten anymore. And, underneath his fine clothes lurked a roll of fat around his waist, where before he had been hard with muscle. He wore his fair hair in the fashion of the day, parted in the middle with long bushy side burns and a pencil thin moustache. But his personality had mellowed. He had been so grateful that Maggie had given him a second chance that he would have moved heaven and earth for her. And when she had said he could move in with her at Selwyn Lodge – well, what more could he have had? He had even been welcomed by the lady who was known as Miss Rosemary. Not a trace of bitterness was shown by her, even though she must have felt he was an intruder in her home.

  Jack smiled to himself as he thought back to when he had arrived at Seagull Cottage. He had stared in disbelief at Alice, when she had told him that Maggie and Mikey didn’t live there anymore.

  His mother had been triumphant, telling him that they had gone to live with the dressmaker at a grand place on Burton Road, but he was welcome to stay with his parents for as long as he chose. What had he expected, she asked him? That his wife was sitting waiting, nursing his two children, everything going to be as it was before. Then when she told him of what had gone on to cover his disappearance, he felt mortified. What purgatory his wife must have gone through, to shield scandal from the family name. He was determined to make things up to her. His promoter days had brought him wealth that now they both could share. She wouldn’t have to work again; they’d buy a pleasant house on the sea front and Maggie could sit on the window seat and dream like she had before.

  Jack had been unprepared for the shock he felt when he found the place where she was living. It was the same house he had coveted when they had walked passed it all those years ago. He had felt glad he had donned the best clothes in his wardrobe; his long tan double breasted jacket, matching tie and light brown trousers, which brought out the fairness of his hair.

  He had hung around on the corner waiting for some courage to appear. Then there Maggie was, walking up the road towards him, with two darling children linked into her arms. A solemn-looking boy of twelve or thirteen and a pert and pretty doll of a girl.

  Jack’s heart had been awash with the sentimentality of the occasion and he could only stand and stare.

  Maggie had just smiled when she noticed him, saying softly that she knew he would come back one day. Not an ounce of censure, not a trace of bitterness; she just introduced the children and said it was their father who had returned from overseas. What a wonderful person, to be so forgiving after the way she had been treated. Though he found out later, the reconciliation didn’t come without strings!

  Jack turned to look upon Maggie as she showed him a letter that had come from the Bank Manager. He still couldn’t read, but saw that the letter looked official. She told him that a meeting had been requested, at any time convenient to her.

  That had been one of Maggie’s conditions before she agreed to take him back again. She had managed without a husband and without his input for many years, employing Mr. Arlington who had taken her businesses into serious growth. There was no room for another boss; he would have to like it or lump it. Jack chose to like it, as financially he didn’t care. He had plans of his own that involved the training of race horses. He already knew a man called Paddy Fearon, who he had met on the fighting circuit in Chicago. The man had agreed to use his contacts back home in Ireland, to make Jack an even wealthier man!

  “So, what I was thinkin’, Jack,” Maggie’s voice chimed into his thoughts. “I was thinkin’ of starting up a building company. It could be incorporated into Sheldon Property. What do you think? Would it work? I’ll need a foreman and his gang of men, something similar to when they were building the railway. I need another sort of investment, rather than leave it all in the bank account. Betty was always saying that money made money and it’s true. This statement says I’m on me way ter becomin’ a millionaire. When I think that I found seventeen pounds in that dirty old mattress and that was just the start of it. And don’t go saying it was your money. I made six little sacks fer your money to go in!”

  It was said with pride, because Jack was always teasing her. If he hadn’t got the mattress off Alice for her when they’d all come over in the boat, she’d still be a tatty young woman working hard for her bread.

  “Let’s forget about you and yer millions, why don’t we go upstairs and do what a loving couple should be doing?” Jack dropped a kiss on the side of Maggie’s neck, then leaned his head toward hers. She moved away, pretending to swat a fly that was passing overhead. He laughed at her as she began to look a bit self-conscious.

  “You weren’t turning away from me in bed last night, when I tickled yer tummy and other places I could name. Come on now, me sweet colleen, an afternoon of passion will do us both good and put a bit of sparkle in those eyes of yours.”

  “Jack, will ye give over. Mikey will be here in half an hour and Hannah will be on her way too. What will Olive and Joan be thinkin’ if we disappear off ter bed in the middle of the afternoon?”

  “Yer an old misery, woman. All yer think of is countin’ yer money. Well, wait ‘til I get yer alone tonight, I’ll be makin’ up fer all our lost time!”

  That had been another condition of their proposed reconciliation. There had been no question of him taking his place in her bed. It was a proper courtship that Maggie had wanted and he had to stay at Alice’s house, until she was ready to have him back again. She’d been adamant, there was no way that she could be sweet-talked out of it and because Jack loved her, he took on the role of a gallant swain.

  They had taken the train to Chester, a place he hadn’t been to before. Maggie had shown him around the cathedral, they had walked the city walls and had tea at a little cafe at the side of the River Dee. He had bought her a pretty ring, a cluster of garnets and diamonds, with a necklace and earrings to match. She had never before been given jewellery. “You deserve them,” Jack had said, “for continuing to be my wife.”

  Finally, she succumbed to his advances, but one further deed was to be done, before he could claim her as his own. They had to spend a weekend at the newly opened Grosvenor Hotel.
It bit quite a lot into Jack’s hard-earned savings, but it would be worth it in the end.

  Or so Jack thought.

  The last condition was voiced as they had prepared for bed in the sumptuous marital suite and Maggie announced there were to be no more babies. To give birth again after thirteen years was too much to ask of her. If he wasn’t happy about it, then she would go back to Selwyn Lodge.

  But Jack had been speaking to his friend Paddy, thinking that this situation might arise. Paddy knew about these things or so he had said and gave Jack a tip for this first night with his reclaimed bride.

  “Maggie, me darlin’, light of me life,” Jack had whispered, planting little kisses on to her sweet-smelling hair. “I know exactly how to stop yer from expectin’ a wee one. Have yer got a handkerchief in yer bag?”

  Chapter 2

  At exactly five o’clock, the train pulled into Neston Station and a young attractive girl alighted. She was slimly built, average height, with tawny kitten eyes in a pale oval face. She wore a dark blue travelling coat over a floor length gown of the same hue and on her brown glossy head of soft curls was a blue bonnet trimmed with matching ribbon. She glanced from left to right as she stood on the platform, as if she was looking for someone she knew. This done, she walked slowly out of the station gate on to Raby Road.

  “Hannah, wait!” she heard someone shouting and looked behind to see a young man running up the hill.

  Hannah looked over impatiently, then continued walking. The young man caught up with her, out of breath for a moment, but trying unsuccessfully to take hold of her arm.

  “What are you doing, Eddie? You know my train comes in at five o’ clock. I cannot hang about waiting for you. My mother will be expecting me in the next ten minutes. Now, do get out of my way. Do.”