Jessie's Promise

by Rosie Clarke

‘You must ask me if you need more money for the children. I came to tell you that I have just telephoned to make an appointment with a doctor in London for Catherine on the tenth of next month. I wanted to wait until after Christmas, because it will throw all my wife’s arrangements out otherwise. I shall need you to accompany me to take care of her. My wife has other arrangements – a visit with some friends of hers in Kent, I believe. I understand Nanny is feeling well enough to keep an eye on Jack.’

  ‘Can’t I come too?’ Jack asked. ‘Please, Father. I shan’t be any trouble, shall I, Jessie?’

  She looked at his pleading face and smiled. ‘Your father knows best, Jack. I expect it will mean a lot of sitting about and waiting. It wouldn’t be much fun for you.’

  ‘We could take him if you didn’t mind looking after both of them,’ Harry said, surprising both her and himself. ‘It will mean staying overnight at the London house, of course. We can’t do both journeys in one day and it might be too much for Nanny to have Jack all that time. She is better, I know, but not completely well again.’

  ‘Will you promise to be good?’ Jessie asked and laughed as she saw Jack’s eager face. ‘Then I think we might take you. I’m not sure if we shall have time to do anything more than visit the doctor but if we do, where would you like to go?’

  ‘Can we see the guards changing at Buckingham Palace? And the zoo?’ Jack asked and his father smiled.

  ‘Perhaps Jessie will take you to the zoo while I take Catherine to the doctor.’

  ‘Catherine want zoo,’ a little voice piped up and Harry felt a tug on his trousers. ‘See elphant.’

  Harry looked at Jessie over her head. ‘Did you tell her that?’

  ‘I read a story to them this morning about an elephant at the zoo,’ Jessie said. ‘Catherine has a good memory, don’t you, darling?’

  ‘She has certainly improved enormously these past few weeks,’ her father said. He reached down to take the little girl onto his knee. She looked at him solemnly, having seldom found herself in this position before, then made a chuckling sound as she reached up to pat his face. ‘So you want to go to the zoo, do you? We had better take you and Jack then.’ He looked across at Jessie and smiled, making her heart lurch at the touching picture of father and daughter together. ‘It may mean an extra day in London, but what does that matter?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter to me, sir.’

  ‘You might visit your aunt one evening,’ he said. ‘That’s settled then – and now I want to see your sums, Jack.’ He put Catherine down and she scampered across the floor on her hands and knees to where she had left her dolls earlier.

  Jessie turned away. Her heart was racing at the thought of spending three whole days with the children and their father.

  *

  Jessie got some odd looks when she told the others what was happening. Carter muttered something she couldn’t hear and hid behind his paper when she looked at him. Maggie gave a little scream of envy and asked if she could change places with her. Alice lifted her brows as she left the kitchen and Cook gave her a straight, hard look.

  ‘I hope you know what you’re doing, Jessie.’

  ‘I’m not doing anything except my job,’ she replied feeling a bit annoyed but determined not to show it. ‘Captain Kendle can’t see to the children himself, and Mrs Kendle has arranged to visit some friends in Kent.’

  ‘Will she be travelling with you part of the way then?’

  ‘I’ve no idea,’ Jessie said. ‘I wasn’t consulted about the travel arrangements. I suppose we shall go on the train. There’s nothing very terrible about that, is there?’

  ‘I wish it were me,’ Maggie said looking at her enviously. ‘Can’t you say you need help and take me too, Jessie?’

  ‘I would if I could,’ Jessie said to please her. ‘I was thinking we might have an afternoon off together one week, Maggie. We could go to one of those tea dances Carter told us about. If you’d like that – and if Nanny would look after the children on a Thursday instead of a Monday.’

  ‘Would I just!’ Maggie said. ‘I don’t mind if we go to the pictures or a dance. I hardly ever bother going into town on my own, but it would be fun with you.’

  ‘Why don’t we do it next week then? I’m sure Nanny wouldn’t mind having the children – especially as we’ll be away for several days next month.’

  ‘Will you ask her?’ Maggie said, her face lighting up. ‘Carter will take us and fetch us – won’t you?’

  ‘Don’t see why not,’ he said and grinned at her. ‘I want a dance though, Maggie, as my reward.’

  Maggie giggled and looked at Jessie. ‘Should I let him come with us, Jessie?’

  ‘I don’t mind,’ Jessie said, though she did and half regretted making the offer. She hadn’t expected Carter to invite himself along. ‘I’ll talk to Nanny. I’m sure she won’t mind.’

  ‘As long as Madam doesn’t find out and make a fuss because you’re both gone at the same time,’ Cook said. ‘Still, you haven’t taken all your days off so she can’t say much.’

  ‘I can’t see what difference it could possibly make,’ Jessie said. ‘Maggie doesn’t do much for the children except to take their tea up, and it wouldn’t matter if Alice did that for once, would it?’

  ‘What are you asking for Alice to do?’ the girl asked as she came back into the kitchen and then nodded agreeably as Jessie explained. ‘I don’t mind for once – and I’d like to have Monday afternoon off next week, if that’s all right with you, Cook. I’ve spoken to Mrs Pearson and she says I can if you’ve no objection.’

  ‘All this changing about,’ Cook grumbled. ‘I suppose it’s all right if Mrs Pearson agrees, though I can’t see why you need to change, Alice.’

  Alice had gone pink, her eyes looking beyond Cook as she said, ‘I have to see someone, that’s all.’

  Cook muttered something but Jessie could see it was just a case of having her routine changed, nothing more. She helped Maggie with the washing up as she often did, and by the time the kitchen was to rights Cook had recovered her usual goodwill.

  ‘So what will you wear to this dance then, Maggie?’ she asked. ‘You’ll want a pretty dress but nothing too fancy; it’s afternoon not evening.’

  Maggie pulled a face. ‘I’m not sure I’ve got anything suitable.’

  ‘Are you any good at sewing?’ Jessie asked and Maggie nodded. ‘Come up to my room and have a look in my wardrobe. I’ve got a couple of dresses you can choose from, but you’ll need to alter the hem on the one you want to borrow.’

  ‘Can I really wear one of your dresses?’ Maggie’s face lit up. ‘I couldn’t borrow that green one you wore this afternoon, could I?’

  It was one of her favourites, but Jessie smiled and said that of course she could if it was the one she wanted. Cook said Maggie could go up with her now so they went upstairs together, and Maggie took the dress away to try on. Jessie went down the hall to make sure that Lady Kendle was comfortable.

  She took the drinks up later as usual and spent some time talking to Nanny, who said that it made no difference to her what afternoon she looked after the children.

  ‘I’m feeling a lot better than I was before you came,’ she told Jessie and smiled. ‘I shall soon be able to help you more than I have until now. There’s no need for Alice to bring the children’s tea up. I can quite well carry it up myself.’

  ‘You let Alice do it if she has time,’ Jessie said. ‘You’ve been doing too much for too long, and you deserve to take things easy.’

  It wasn’t until she was ready for bed that Jessie had time to read the letters she’d found waiting for her on her return from her trip to Torquay. There was a long, chatty one from her aunt, who seemed to be as busy as ever, and a shorter one from Archie just to say that he hoped she was keeping well and settling in nicely at her job.

  Jessie was relieved that he hadn’t written anything more intimate, and she tucked the letters away in her writing case before putting off the light and going
to sleep.

  *

  Maggie was like a little girl waking up to find that Father Christmas had been and left her a sack full of presents. She was wearing Jessie’s dress, which she had altered to fit herself, a new pair of shoes that her mother had bought her for an advance birthday gift, and she’d had her hair in papers to curl it all morning.

  ‘Do I look all right?’ she asked Cook and Jessie. ‘I don’t look daft, do I?’

  ‘You look pretty,’ Jessie said and it was true. The green dress suited Maggie as well if not better than it ever had Jessie and she decided to make her a gift of it, though she wouldn’t say anything yet. Maggie had a birthday in a few days and it would be a surprise for her to be told she could keep the dress she liked so much.

  ‘Very smart,’ Cook said giving Maggie a straight look. ‘Just you behave yourself, my girl. Don’t do anything your mother wouldn’t approve of. I don’t want you getting into trouble and leaving me in the lurch.’

  Jessie heard a little gasp and turned round to find that Alice had just come into the kitchen. She had an odd expression on her face, but she smiled as she saw Jessie looking at her.

  ‘You look nice, Maggie,’ she said. ‘Have a good time.’ She reached into her pocket and brought out a small bottle of lavender water. ‘Here, I was going to give it to you for your birthday, but you might as well have it now.’

  ‘Oh, Alice, that’s ever so good of you,’ Maggie said and unscrewed the cap to dab some behind her ears.

  ‘Come on then, time’s a wasting,’ Carter said from the door. He was wearing a pale-grey suit and smart shoes and looked very different with his hair slicked down with perfumed oil that was so strong Jessie could smell it across the room.’

  Maggie was in a hurry to get off. Jessie lingered a moment after them and was told not to let her get into trouble.

  ‘She’s a good girl but daft,’ Cook said. ‘I don’t want anything to happen to our Maggie.’

  ‘It’s an afternoon dance,’ Jessie said. ‘I imagine it will be very staid and ladylike, Cook. Besides, Maggie has Carter and me to look after her.’

  ‘Yes, I know, but keep an eye on her. Make sure she only drinks tea.’

  Jessie agreed with a smile. Cook seemed to think they were going to a den of iniquity, but Jessie thought it would probably be a little boring. Still she wasn’t going to spoil Maggie’s big treat by saying so.

  Maggie was already in the front seat of the car when she arrived. Jessie thankfully slid into the back, pleased that she didn’t have to sit beside Carter. She listened to Maggie’s excited chatter all the way to the small hotel on the seafront where the tea dances took place.

  The room had only three couples dancing when they went in, but it was early yet and Carter assured them that it would fill up later. He had secured a table for them by the time they returned from hanging their coats in the little cloakroom, and he asked Maggie for a dance straightaway.

  ‘You don’t mind, do you, Jessie?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course not. I’m happy to watch,’ Jessie replied.

  However, she hadn’t been sitting by herself long before a man walked up to her and asked her if she would care to dance with him. Jessie said thank you, because he looked respectable, and when they got talking she discovered that he was employed by the management to dance with any lady that came in and sat alone.

  Jessie was secretly amused that he had taken pity on her, but she hid her smile. When Carter brought Maggie back to their table, the little room had begun to fill up and Jessie saw that some men and women had come in in a group. They weren’t in couples although they were together and before she had hardly sat down, Jessie was asked to dance by one of the newcomers. She agreed and she saw that Carter was dancing with Maggie again.

  After the second dance, the waitress came to take their order and Maggie was asked to dance by the young man who had just partnered Jessie. Carter asked if she would like to dance and she thought she might as well get it over so she agreed with a smile.

  Carter was quite an accomplished dancer and when she complimented him he told her he had been in for several competitions when he was younger, and won some of them.

  ‘You might think I’m just a nobody,’ he said. ‘But I’ve had my moments.’

  ‘I am sure you have,’ she replied. ‘I think we should try to be civil to each other, don’t you? For the sake of peace in the kitchen.’

  ‘Suits me,’ he said and shrugged.

  After their dance the tea was brought and Carter excused himself, going off to dance with a lady some years younger than himself who he obviously knew well. Maggie was asked to dance again, and Jessie found herself sitting alone for a few minutes.

  ‘Would you like to dance or would you rather have your tea?’

  Jessie looked up and gave a little gasp of surprise. It was the man from the train!

  ‘Mr… Smith,’ she said. ‘If that is your name?’

  ‘It’s Paul,’ he replied and gave her an odd smile. ‘The rest of it changes from time to time for convenience sake – and you’re Jessie, aren’t you?’

  ‘Yes.’ She wasn’t sure whether she was pleased to see him or not and her next question was rather demanding. ‘Why are you here?’

  ‘I’m travelling on business,’ he said, answering her equably. ‘I work for the Unions and I give talks all over the country. I’m giving one at a hall in Torquay this evening.’

  ‘You told me you sold ideas.’ She couldn’t help it that her voice sounded accusing.

  ‘It’s true in a way. I sell the idea that the working man has the right to freedom, that he doesn’t have to lie down and let the bosses walk all over him. All we need to do is unite. A man can’t stand up to his employer alone but if he is part of the union he has a chance of being listened to. It’s slow going but we are gradually getting that idea across to the working man.’

  ‘You’re a political agitator,’ Jessie said. ‘I’m not sure I approve of you, Paul Smith.’

  ‘I’m sorry about that,’ he said and frowned. ‘Perhaps I’d better go away and stop bothering you.’

  ‘Yes, perhaps you had,’ Jessie replied. ‘My friends will be back in a moment and one of them might recognise you from the picture in the paper.’

  ‘Excuse me,’ he said and gave her a curt nod. ‘I made a mistake. I thought you were one of us…’

  Jessie watched as he walked away. She felt a bit sorry that she had sent him off like that, but he had lied to her and she was almost sure that he had ridden on the train without paying for his ticket. At the time she had condoned it, but if he was working for the unions that changed things. She couldn’t see the point of making all this unrest amongst the working men, when there was so much unemployment. Besides, if Carter had recognised him from the newspaper photograph she could just imagine what he might have said.

  Carter and Maggie returned to have their tea. When they had finished, Carter asked Maggie to dance with him again and a young man approached Jessie, telling her his name was Alan Griggs.

  ‘Would you like to dance?’ Alan asked and smiled at her.

  ‘Yes, thank you,’ Jessie replied and stood up. Across the room she saw Paul Smith watching her and scowling. She avoided meeting his eyes and smiled up at her partner.

  ‘I didn’t expect it to be as busy as this here.’

  ‘Oh yes, these dances are very popular,’ he told her. ‘I come every Thursday because it’s my day off. I go to the Imperial Ballroom on Friday evenings. It’s where they hold the big competitions once a year. Have you ever entered a competition?’

  ‘No, I haven’t, Jessie said. ‘But Carter has – he’s the man we came with this afternoon.’

  ‘Oh, yes, I’ve seen him before,’ her companion said. ‘But you haven’t been here until now, have you?’

  ‘No. I came for Maggie’s sake really,’ Jessie said. ‘She is dancing with Carter now. This is her first dance.’

  ‘You’re not courting, are you?’

&nbs
p; ‘My fiancé was killed in the war,’ Jessie said. ‘I don’t go out much.’

  ‘I see. I was just wondering if I might see you here next week.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Jessie replied and smiled because he looked disappointed. ‘My afternoon off is usually on a Monday.’

  He nodded, looked gloomier than before and returned her to her table as the music ended. He asked Maggie to dance next, and Jessie sat down to finish her tea.

  ‘She wants to watch that one,’ Carter said, his eyes following the pair. ‘Different girl every chance he gets.’

  ‘He said he’d seen you here before.’

  ‘I come when I can.’

  ‘I think we should be going soon,’ Jessie said. ‘We ought to be back by six just in case.’

  ‘In case of what?’ Carter asked. ‘We’ve only just got here. Not bored already, are you? Or isn’t there anyone here posh enough for you, Miss Hale?’

  ‘I thought we were going to call a truce?’

  ‘I’m only warning you for your own good,’ he said. ‘Never trust the gentry. They don’t mix with our sort, oil and water. You’ll get your fingers burned if you don’t watch out.’

  ‘Thanks for the warning,’ Jessie said. ‘But it wasn’t needed. I’m in no danger of falling into that trap.’

  ‘You can’t always help yourself,’ he said. ‘I’ve got nothing against you, Jessie. It’s just that I’ve seen it all before.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  He shook his head. ‘I’m going to dance with a friend. We’ll leave at a quarter to six. We shan’t be late back. Besides, you’re entitled to be out until seven on your afternoon off.’

  There was nothing Jessie could do but accept his decision. She wasn’t due back before seven, and she didn’t want to spoil Maggie’s afternoon. Yet there was a niggling worry at the back of her mind, though she had no idea what was worrying her.

  Chapter Eight

  Cook gave them an odd look as they walked in the kitchen door but it was Alice who immediately dropped the bombshell.

  ‘There’s been a right kick up upstairs,’ she said. ‘Madam was furious when she was told both you and Maggie were out this afternoon. Lady Kendle was taken bad and we had to have the doctor. Mrs Pearson couldn’t leave her ladyship and Madam had friends visiting. It took me two trips to carry in all the tea things, and when she rang for more hot water I was seeing to the doctor. That didn’t suit her, I can tell you.’