Mary Ann’s brows knitted. ‘He did once tell me he wanted to go to America, that was afore him and Lizzie Baxter …’
‘And you never said a word to me?’ William John felt angry and hurt that his wife had known this all along. ‘That’s it! Do you nae see? If his mind was set on America, that’s where they’ll be, for he got everything he wanted – you made sure o’ that. He’d have thought the infant would hold them back, and Lizzie would have done anything for him, even gi’e up her bairn.’
Mary Ann gulped. ‘And now we’ve lost Katie, and all.’
Her husband regarded her thoughtfully. ‘I aye wondered why you tell’t folk they were both dead.’
‘They were dead to me,’ she defended herself, ‘and it was best that naebody could tell Katie different. It was a good thing our William John didna set up house wi’ Lizzie Baxter in Cullen, so folk here didna ken he wasna lost at sea and she didna die after the bairn was born. It was the only thing I could think on to explain why we had Katie, and they took it for gospel.’
‘I wouldna be ower sure about that, you ken what the folk round here are like, and I still think you should have told Katie the truth.’
‘I could never’ve done that to her. Nae that it makes much difference now, for we’ll likely never see her again.’
‘Maybe she’ll come back some day.’ He regretted letting her see how pessimistic he had felt earlier. His Katie couldn’t be dead! She just couldn’t!
When the urgent knocking started, Beth Morton sat up in bed, startled and puzzled. She had sent Dennis away well over an hour ago because she didn’t feel well, so it couldn’t be him. Getting up, she opened the bedroom window and called down, ‘Who is it?’
‘It’s Dennis! Let me in!’
Wondering why he’d come back, she slipped on her dressing gown and went down to open the door. When she switched on the light in the sitting room and saw him properly, she gasped, ‘What’s wrong? You look awful.’
‘I feel awful,’ he muttered.
‘Did that Katie girl throw you out?’
On his way to Queen Street, Dennis had invented what he deemed to be a credible explanation. ‘Remember I told you I slept with her brother? He’s not right in the top storey, and he turned on me tonight for nothing. If I hadn’t managed to run out, he’d have killed me.’
Knowing his capacity for lying, Beth did not believe this. No man, however soft in the head, would turn on anybody else without provocation, and Dennis must have done something to trigger the poor soul off. He’d been angry when she sent him away, so he’d likely gone home and taken it out on the girl, which could have annoyed the brother. Not feeling up to arguing, however, she said, ‘So you’ll have to go back and live in at the hotel again?’
‘Could I not stay here?’
She had given quite a lot of thought to this since their association started, and had decided against it. ‘I’ll let you stay tonight, that’s all. I like being my own mistress and pleasing myself what I do and when I do it, and I’m not giving up my freedom.’
He sighed hopelessly. ‘That’s telling me.’
She gave a light laugh. ‘Oh, Dennis, you’re priceless. You thought I’d take you in? I know you, don’t forget. I know you can’t keep away from the ladies, but this lady’s got a splitting headache and wants to get back to bed. You can sleep in the spare room or on the sofa, whichever you like, but only for tonight.’
‘The sofa, I suppose,’ he mumbled, ungraciously.
‘Right, I’ll throw you down some blankets. Goodnight.’
She had let him see where he stood, she told herself as she went upstairs, and it was up to him now. If he promised to reform and asked her to marry him she probably would, and if he didn’t? She’d likely just let things go on as they were, though it was coming up to Christmas, and the festive spirit might encourage her to take them a few steps further.
It was impossible for Katie to remain angry with Sammy. He had looked so chastened when he came through in the morning, she had almost put her arms round him to assure him that she didn’t blame him for what he had done, but it would only have been asking for more trouble. The one thing she would have to do before she would feel easier with him was to make him understand how wrong it was for him to even think about her in any way other than as a sister, which would be far from easy. Not only that, would he remember?
Neither of them spoke over breakfast, and they walked to the Salutation together in silence. She could tell that he was waiting for her to say something, and it would do him good to be kept waiting for a while yet. When they came to the bakery, she said, ‘I’m going in to speak to Lottie for a minute. I’ll catch you up.’
Opening the door, she walked past the customers and leaned across to whisper to her friend. ‘It worked, Lottie.’
Mrs McRuvie gave a wide smile as she wrapped a high plain loaf in tissue paper. ‘Thank heaven for that.’
‘But something else happened and I can’t tell you here, and not in your house in front of Bob.’
‘I’ll come and see you when you get home. Dennis won’t be in tonight, will he?’
Katie shook her head sadly. ‘Dennis won’t be there.’
Sitting in the staffroom to ease her feet that forenoon, she told herself that she should be thankful for having a decent job and a house to live in, after what she had done. She had made Sammy run away, which made her worse than he was, because she had known what she was doing and the poor soft thing had just done what she told him. Not only that, she had struck at Mr Gunn with her scissors when he maybe hadn’t been going to kill her at all. He could have been after something else and she’d been too innocent at the time to realize it … though he must have killed his wife.
Confused, she wished she had someone to lean on. If she could speak to her grandfather, he would take all her fears and worries away … but she only had Sammy, who was the root of them. Even Dennis hadn’t lived up to her expectations. She had loved him so much, and he’d sworn that he loved her, yet he hadn’t believed her last night. She had thought he would ask her to marry him once they had been together for a while, and it was obvious now that he’d had no intention of that … but she would still take him back if he asked.
She gave her head an abrupt shake. She would manage to survive without Dennis; she had done it before. It was more than two years since she left Fenty with Sammy, and the police would never find them now. They would gradually get back to the old footing of brother and sister, and be as happy as they had been before Dennis came into their life … but the trouble was that Sammy couldn’t control his emotions. Anger, jealousy, lust, he gave in to them all.
When she went home that night, Sammy was sitting with his head down, and she knew that she only needed to say a kind word to him and his shame would be forgotten, but she was determined to keep him in suspense for a little longer. It was the only way to teach him a lesson.
When his head rose, slowly and uncertainly, the entreaty in his eyes was too much for her. ‘Oh, Sammy,’ she sighed, ‘what am I going to do with you?’ The softness of her voice made his face brighten and she went on, musing to herself, really, ‘I wish there was still somebody at Fenty for me to take you to.’
‘Fenty?’
He obviously didn’t remember his real home, and probably it was just as well, she thought. ‘I should really put you away,’ she gulped, ‘but not to Fenty.’
‘Don’t put Sammy away.’
He was speaking in his old babyish way, which proved how distressed he was, and her heart cramped at the thought of him in a Home. She would never rest easy if she had him committed, and, in any case, the minute any institution got a hold on him, the powers-that-be would make enquiries about where he came from. It would be as good as putting a noose round his neck. ‘You’ll have to behave yourself if I let you stay with me,’ she told him, very firmly.
‘Sammy can behave.’
‘You don’t always.’
His eyes filled with tears. ‘When
Dennis went away, you said it was my fault. Was Sammy bad, Katie?’
‘Very bad, but I suppose you couldn’t help it, and I’m sorry I was nasty to you. I was upset about Dennis.’
‘Will he be coming back?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Will it be just me and you again?’
‘Yes, just us, and you’re my brother, remember that, and brothers don’t touch their sisters. No kissing, no anything at all. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
He nodded vigorously. ‘No touching, no kissing.’
‘And no anything else … especially no anything else. That was the worst, Sammy, and if you try it again, I will have to put you away.’
‘No touching, no kissing, no anything else.’
‘Don’t forget, then, for I mean what I say.’
He lowered his head for a moment, then looked up with an impish grin. ‘No touching, no kissing, no anything else, no Dennis! Eh, Katie?’
‘That’s right,’ she agreed, sorrowfully, ‘no Dennis.’ Christmas was only two weeks away, and she’d been looking forward to spending it with Dennis, but there would be no celebrations now.
Lottie McRuvie came in just after nine, having waited until she knew Sammy would be in bed. ‘What’s troubling you, lass? I’d have thought you’d be pleased you managed it.’
Tearfully, Katie gave her a detailed account of what had taken place the previous evening. ‘So I don’t know if it was the castor oil that did it, or the row,’ she finished.
‘It doesn’t matter, does it, as long as you got rid of it? And you’re better off without Dennis. I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could spit, and that’s not far.’
‘I still love him, Lottie, and it must have been a shock to him when Sammy told him …’
‘I’m sorry, lass, but it doesn’t change the way I feel. I think he was getting cold feet and he goaded Sammy into a fight to get an excuse to leave you.’
Katie gave a deep sigh. ‘You could be right, Lottie.’
‘Ach, cheer up, lass. You’ll meet somebody else.’
‘I don’t want to meet anybody else.’
‘Eh … I don’t like to say this, but are you sure you’re safe with Sammy? Now he knows how to get his thrills, he could jump on you any time. Maybe you should have reported him to the bobbies for raping you. It would be a worse crime seeing he’s your brother.’
‘No, no, I couldn’t tell the bobbies! He understands now that brothers and sisters can’t do that, and I’m sure he’ll not touch me again.’
‘I hope no.’ Lottie shook her head. ‘Poor devil, I can’t help feeling sorry for him.’
That was her problem, too, Katie reflected, as her friend went out. She would never feel properly safe with Sammy now, but she was so sorry for him she couldn’t send him away. At least he’d be happy with the tie she’d bought weeks ago for his Christmas.
***
In his old room at the Temperance, Dennis was wallowing in self-pity. It had all been going perfectly for him; he had been on top of the world until that bloody awful night, and now he wouldn’t touch Katie Mair with a barge pole. It was disgusting to think she’d been having it off with her idiot brother when he wasn’t there. She’d pretended to be little Miss Prim, and all the time she … ach, he should put her out of his mind. If only he could get round Beth Morton. He was practically sure she was waiting for him to say one word – marriage – before she let him take up his abode at Queen Street, and maybe that was his best bet.
He wouldn’t even have to go through with it. Once he had his feet under her table, as the saying went, she’d find it damned difficult to get rid of him, not that she would want rid of him. If she suspected he was seeing other women, she would likely bribe him not to leave her.
He sometimes wondered where Beth’s money came from. She didn’t work, yet she never seemed to go short, and she had the best of clothes and jewellery. Her late husband must have been rolling in it to leave her so well heeled, and maybe he should take the plunge and marry her.
At nine that night, he gave the old da-di-di-da knock, smiling sardonically when Beth flung her arms round him as soon as she opened the door; he had purposely stayed away for over a week knowing that she would miss him.
‘Where have you been?’ she asked, when she sat down beside him on the sofa.
‘John Leith’s had me working like a slave over Christmas and the New Year. My waitress is off ill, so I’ve had to do all the meals on my own, and I totter downstairs to my room every night not fit for anything.’
‘Oh, poor Dennis. Let Beth massage your tiredness away.’
Her supple fingers, rubbing his shoulders and down his back as far as his buttocks, were almost his undoing, and he had to fight back the urge to grab her and show her that he wasn’t in the least bit tired.
‘Is that better?’ she asked, as the grandmother clock in the corner gave a silvery chime for the half hour.
‘Oh, yes,’ he breathed, wondering, wryly, just who he was punishing most by his little charade, Beth or himself? ‘But I’ll have to go in about ten minutes, worse luck.’
‘Oh, Dennis, not already?’
Her farewell kiss was loving, not passionate, but he went back to the Temperance Hotel feeling triumphant. It would only take a few more nights like that, and he’d have Beth Morton exactly where he wanted her.
Since Sammy’s young assistant had exhausted his very limited knowledge of girls, they now discussed the comics they read, played marbles in their short breaks, or wrote down unusual registration numbers on the guests’ cars. Katie was glad that Jackie was introducing Sammy to the boy-world he had missed out on; it was a welcome change from old Hairy’s reminiscences, sprinkled too liberally with oaths. He, like Jackie originally, had been a bad influence on Sammy. Her own situation was far from happy, however. Keith Robb had been unfriendly to the point of rudeness for weeks, and just lately he had begun to find fault where none existed. Not only that, he often jogged her elbow when she was passing, thus making her spill whatever she was carrying.
Aware that he still resented her having the job instead of his girlfriend, Sally, and that he would have her sacked if he got half a chance, Katie held back her protests, though she could tell that most of the people in the dining room could see what was going on and were on her side.
As she said to Lottie one night, ‘Most folk keep out of arguments with the management, and I don’t suppose they’d stick up for me if it came to a showdown.’
Lottie gave the fire a poke with the toe of her shoe to break up the coals. ‘You should look for another job.’
‘If I leave, Mr Noble would likely make Sammy leave, and all, and he loves his job. It would be a shame to spoil it for him, and he wouldn’t get another job as easy as me.’
‘Aye, I grant you that. Can you not tell Mr Noble what’s going on? If you got your word in first, he’d believe you.’
‘I don’t think he would. Keith’s been there a lot longer than me. No, I’ll have to put up with it, for Sammy’s sake.’
‘Well, I admire you for that, after what he did to you.’
A frown of annoyance creased Katie’s brow. ‘I’m trying to forget about that.’
‘Aye, I’m sorry. He’s lucky he’s had you to look after him since your mother died. Not many lassies would take it on.’
Going towards her own house, Katie wished she could tell her friend why she was tied to Sammy, but it was far too dangerous. Lottie wouldn’t mean to, but she could easily let the story slip out to somebody in the shop. It only needed to reach the ears of the police, and she and Sammy would be arrested.
He looked up with a smile when she went in. ‘You’ve been a long time. Did you go in to speak to Lottie?’
‘Aye, and I couldn’t get away. You know what she’s like.’
It being Saturday, when Sammy only worked until one, he had the kitchen as neat and shining as a new pin, and a fire crackling merrily in the grate. Katie looked round the room
in approval. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’
His childish pleasure at this made tears come to her eyes. In spite of what he had done, in spite of her fear of him, she still held a deep affection for him, and she was duty-bound to keep protecting him from … She was almost sure that the danger was past, but now and then, in the stillness of a night when she couldn’t sleep, she wondered what she would do if she opened the door to a knock and found a bobby on the step. She could almost feel the dryness of her mouth, the panic in her breast, and saw herself standing in front of Sammy with her arms flung wide to shield him. They would have to shift her before they could get at him …
She shook her head at her own foolishness. She could do nothing to save him if the police came, but they would never come now … would they?
Chapter Fifteen
1926
On his way to his room after the lunches, Dennis spotted Freddie, the porter, showing two policemen into the new manager’s office and bending down to listen at the keyhole after the door closed. Waiting until he moved away, Dennis asked him what was going on.
The porter shrugged. ‘All I heard was something about a girl and a boy missing from somewhere near Huntly.’
This did not interest Dennis. ‘Is that all? I thought it would be some sort of crime.’
‘They said she’d been a servant, and the son had abducted her. That’s kidnapping, isn’t it? That’s a crime.’
Dennis gave a scoffing laugh. ‘What do they think he’s done to her? Taken her into white slavery?’
Not having much of a sense of humour, Freddie said, quite seriously, ‘I’m not sure they think it was white slavery. He was just two years older than her.’
‘Love’s young dream, then?’
‘It wasn’t that, either. One of the bobbies said he was just sixpence to the shilling, so he must be a bit soft.’
‘A bit soft?’ This did engage the waiter’s interest. ‘What else did you hear?’
‘Nothing else.’
‘Did they mention any names?’
‘Not that I heard.’
When he reached his room, Dennis sat down on the bed to think. It couldn’t be Katie and Sammy – they were brother and sister. Lifting a slim electro-plated case from the high chest of drawers, he took out a cigarette and tapped it on the case before putting it in his mouth. Flicking the lighter Beth had given him at Christmas, he inhaled deeply.
The Three Kings Page 16
