Love or Duty--A saga set in 1920s Liverpool

by Rosie Harris

  He also conveyed a message from his own parents to say how relieved they were that she was now almost fully restored to health. They hoped that she would be well enough to visit them very soon.

  Arnold also brought a bottle of a special brandy liqueur for Penny’s father, which pleased Captain Forshaw immensely.

  Penny was taken aback to see him and immediately wondered if his visit had been engineered by her father in the hope of bringing about some sort of reconciliation between herself and Arnold.

  If that was so then it had been a mistake, she thought. She recalled only too well the way Arnold had treated her throughout the previous summer and the abrupt way in which he had ended their engagement. She also remembered his total rejection of Kelly. Not only that but they had been apart now for so long that she was a different person and no longer had any feelings whatsoever for him.

  She received him coolly and was aware that for a brief moment, when he handed her a box of expensive chocolates, Arnold seemed slightly embarrassed by their encounter.

  As they gathered in the drawing room to have a glass of sherry before dinner was served she noticed that he avoided speaking directly to her whenever possible.

  As they were about to move into the dining room they heard the doorbell ring. A few minutes later Mary came into the drawing room to say that there was a gentleman at the door asking for Miss Penny.

  Much to Penny’s astonishment she found that it was Bryn Cash.

  ‘We haven’t spoken for such a long time that I thought I owed you a visit,’ he greeted her. ‘I was hoping that I could take you out for a meal somewhere and we could catch up with all our news,’ he added.

  ‘Oh dear, I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible. We were about to start dinner and we have a guest.’

  ‘Oh, I am sorry. I should have telephoned to let you know I was coming,’ Bryn admitted with a rueful smile. ‘So when will you be free?’

  Before Penny could answer her father came out into the hall to find out why she was detained. He frowned heavily when he saw who their unexpected visitor was.

  ‘Bryn came to take me out,’ Penny explained. ‘I was about to suggest that he should join us for dinner.’

  There was a moment’s hesitation before Captain Forshaw agreed. It was done in such a very grudging manner that Bryn quickly refused and said that he would contact Penny the following day.

  ‘If you’ve come all this way then of course you must stay and have dinner with us,’ Penny insisted. Linking her arm through his she propelled him towards the dining room.

  As she introduced Arnold and Bryn to each other Penny saw a look of irritation on Arnold’s face. Remembering her father’s reluctance to ask Bryn to stay to dinner, she was even more convinced that her father had inveigled Arnold’s visit to try and get them back together again.

  Arnold regaled them over dinner with details of the play staged by the Amateur Dramatic Society in which he had performed the lead role and how brilliant the girl who had played opposite him had been. He then went on to tell them about the many other social activities that he had indulged in since he had last seen them.

  Penny was well aware that he was doing this on purpose to make her realize how much she had missed out on over the past few months.

  Throughout the meal she found herself comparing Arnold with Bryn Cash. They were about the same age and both men were tall and good-looking but in many different ways.

  Arnold had a long face with chiselled lips beneath his trim moustache. He had an elegant appearance and a somewhat supercilious manner that could be irritating.

  Bryn was more sturdily built with wide shoulders, square features and a firm jaw and he was far more reserved and pragmatic.

  Their backgrounds were equally different, she reflected. Arnold’s father was a prosperous shipping magnate and Arnold had enjoyed a very privileged and cosseted background. He’d been sent to private schools from a very young age and always made aware that he was a very special person. As an only child his mother had doted on him and he’d been thoroughly spoilt. From his very earliest days he’d been given everything he asked for and indulged in every way.

  The moment Arnold left the expensive private college he’d been sent to he was appointed to a position in his father’s company; one that gave him both power and authority. He was also given a company car and a generous business allowance as well as his salary.

  Bryn came from a farming family in North Wales and had known a hard realistic childhood. They had lived in a stone farmhouse south of Beddgelert at the foot of the majestic Snowdon mountain range. His father had bred sheep which had roamed the nearby mountainside.

  Bryn had three brothers. They were all older than him and from the time he was eight years old he had been expected to do his share of chores on the farm. This had included tending the sheep and helping to herd them down from the mountainside every year at the start of winter.

  Bryn had grown up self-resilient and sturdy. He was not afraid of hard work but unlike his brothers he wanted something more from life than merely being a sheep farmer. When he was given the opportunity of going to university and then later on of studying to be a doctor he had accepted the challenge with alacrity.

  Nevertheless he was extremely proud of his Welsh background and he was steeped in local folklore about Mount Snowdon and the numerous legends of King Arthur and Merlin that were associated with the area.

  He had related many of these legends to Kelly and her favourite had been how the village he came from had earned its name. She never seemed to tire of hearing him tell it to her time and time again.

  According to legend Prince Llewelyn ap Iorwerth decided to go on a hunting trip and left his infant son in the charge of his faithful dog Gelert. When the Prince was greeted by Gelert on his return, he noticed that the dog’s muzzle was soaked in blood, and his son was nowhere to be seen.

  Outraged that the dog he had loved and trusted had betrayed him Llewelyn attacked the dog, and it fell to the ground gravely injured. However, within minutes the prince heard a cry and stumbled through nearby bushes to find his son, safe in his cradle. Beside the cradle lay the body of a giant wolf covered with wounds, the result of a fight to the death it had fought with the hound Gelert.

  ‘So why did they call the village Beddgelert and not just Gelert?’ Kelly asked each time he told her the story.

  ‘The word “bedd” means grave and it is where the dog’s body was buried,’ Bryn would remind her patiently.

  Patience was one of his strengths, Penny reflected. She had witnessed it not only with the way he treated Kelly but also with the way he spoke to patients whenever she had attended his clinic at the hospital.

  He had told her that one day he hoped he would be able to afford to buy into a family practice or even have a practice of his own. Until then he was quite prepared to work in a hospital.

  He’d aimed for one in a large working-class area because he felt that afforded him a greater degree of experience than a smaller hospital would have done. He also felt that living as well as working in the same area gave him a deeper insight into understanding the specialized needs of local people.

  Arnold on the other hand, was so self-opinionated that he never considered other people’s viewpoint to be of any value. Whenever someone tried to tell him anything he would listen impatiently and then dismiss what they said as being of no interest.

  She wondered what Arnold was like at work and whether his colleagues found him overbearing. Since he was the boss’s son they probably kept their opinions to themselves. Most of them would fall in with his wishes and try to please him no matter what he asked them to do.

  Remembering his comment about thinking of it as delegating responsibility when she had jokingly complained that her mother seemed to be intent on making all their wedding arrangements she suspected that delegating was what he did most of the time.

  He was far too impatient to deal with trivial matters so he probably left all those to hi
s secretary who, or so he said, was extremely efficient and couldn’t do enough for him.

  During dinner as she compared Arnold’s inconsequential chatter about his own personal activities to Bryn’s calm, direct, straightforward answers when he was asked a question, she realized how shallow Arnold was.

  The thought of being married to him was now quite repugnant and far from feeling hurt or sad because he had broken off their engagement she was aware of an overwhelming sense of relief.

  It was almost as if she was now freed from an invisible yet overpowering threat that had hung over her like a grey cloud. Now she was completely free and could do whatever she wanted to do. Once again she was heart-whole and had the opportunity to make a new life for herself.

  This time, she promised herself, she would make quite sure that she made the right choice and not let herself be talked into any arrangement that didn’t suit her.

  As she looked up and saw Bryn looking at her across the dining table she felt the colour staining her cheeks. She wondered if he had sensed what she’d been thinking.

  Once again she found herself comparing him with Arnold. He was so much more concerned with other people and their problems than he was with himself. His work was far from easy yet she had never heard him grumble or ever heard him say that he had delegated responsibility.

  She looked round the table and saw how they were all listening to Arnold who was glowing with pleasure that he was so popular. Even her own parents seemed to be under his spell and were avidly interested in what he was telling them.

  Or were they? Or were they merely being polite, she wondered.

  Remembering what her mother had said about her father and William Watson amalgamating their companies when they both retired, she suspected that her father was most definitely counting on a reconciliation between her and Arnold.

  She knew he dreamed of the day when this would be possible and he could retire. Had it not been for the motoring accident and her involvement with Kelly she knew she would have accepted his plans; what was more, she would have felt that it was her duty to do so.

  Now she felt a shudder go through her as she realized what the outcome would have been. Arnold would not only have had supreme power and control over both companies but over her as well.

  Sixteen

  Penny chose a Saturday for her visit to Liverpool. It was the one day of the week when she knew she could rely on her father being at home to keep her mother company.

  She bought the biggest chocolate Easter egg she could find to take as a present for Kelly. It was wrapped in brightly coloured shiny foil and she could imagine how Kelly’s eyes would light up when she saw it.

  In the spring sunshine Cannon Court looked even more grimy and dismal than she remembered it. Mrs Murphy was wearing a stained dark red dress and her hair was straggling around her face when she answered the door after Penny had knocked several times. As usual she was clutching the baby in her arms, and the other two were hanging on to her skirt. She frowned darkly when she saw who her visitor was.

  ‘Young Kelly ain’t here, she’s out somewhere with her brother Paddy,’ she stated before Penny could even greet her.

  ‘I see. Do you have any idea where they may have gone?’

  ‘No, as I just said, they’re out somewhere,’ Mrs Murphy repeated. ‘That something for her?’ she asked staring at the large brown paper bag Penny was carrying.

  ‘Yes, it’s an Easter egg but I was hoping to give it to her myself,’ Penny said, as rather reluctantly she handed the bag over to Mrs Murphy.

  Penny watched helplessly as Brian grabbed at it and snatched it from his mother’s hand. Lily joined in and the egg tipped out on to the floor. They both scrabbled for it, pushing and giggling. As they started to tear at the bright shiny foil Ellen Murphy cuffed them both over the ears and retrieved the egg and put it back in the paper bag.

  ‘You will tell Kelly that I will be calling back later because I very much want to see her and to find out if she has settled back in.’

  ‘She’s had to hasn’t she,’ Mrs Murphy said tartly. ‘Took her a bit to drop all her airs and graces, though. You spoilt her something rotten while she was living with you at your place, didn’t you?’

  Penny didn’t answer. There seemed to be no point in entering into an argument with Mrs Murphy. With a tight smile she said goodbye.

  As she was walking away Mrs Murphy called after her, ‘If you’re lucky you might find them somewhere in town. I think that’s where Paddy said they were going.’

  Penny was on the point of asking why they would go there but decided it was probably a waste of time to do so.

  As she made her way back into Scotland Road, picking her path through the litter that seemed to be strewn everywhere, she wondered if it was Mrs Murphy’s way of getting rid of her. It was obvious that she didn’t want to invite her in and have her hanging around on the off-chance that Kelly would soon be home and she wondered if it was because she didn’t want her to meet up with Kelly for some reason.

  It made her all the more resolute to do so. It was such a lovely spring morning that she decided that a walk into Liverpool city centre would be no great hardship. If, as Ellen Murphy had said, that was where Kelly and her brother had gone then she might meet them on their way back.

  Lord Street was busy with shoppers and as Penny approached the Kardomah Café in Church Street she stopped in surprise when she spotted Kelly standing outside the doorway singing. A gangly looking lad that she assumed must be Paddy was with her and he was passing his cap around and taking a collection of coins from the small crowd of bystanders that had gathered to listen to Kelly.

  To her dismay Penny saw two policemen approaching and she dreaded what might happen next.

  Kelly and her brother had also spotted them. As the two children tried to make their escape a man in the crowd stopped them. He grabbed Kelly by the arm but her brother managed to avoid his grasp and within seconds was lost in the maze of nearby streets.

  Penny stepped forward and touched the policeman’s arm as he was about to march Kelly away. ‘Don’t worry, officer, I know who she is and I’ll take her home. I’m sure it was simply a childish prank. I’ll make sure she doesn’t do it again.’

  The policeman stared from Kelly in her torn dress and grubby bare feet to Penny in her neat dark green suit and crisp white blouse. He frowned as though trying to establish a connection between the scruffy little street urchin and the smartly dressed well-spoken young lady.

  ‘Come along, Kelly, it’s time for us to go home,’ Penny said with a forced smile. She reached out and took hold of Kelly’s hand to lead her away but the policeman’s hand tightened on Kelly’s shoulder.

  Recognizing her, Kelly grinned broadly as she twisted away from the policeman’s grasp and then grabbed tight to Penny’s hand.

  The policeman looked slightly bewildered then raising his eyebrows commented sternly, ‘Very well, miss, I’ll overlook it on this occasion but make sure you don’t let her do this sort of thing again.’

  Once they were clear of the crowd that had lingered to see what was going on Kelly squeezed Penny’s hand. ‘Have you come back for good because your ma is better?’ she asked hopefully her small face wreathed in smiles.

  ‘No, I came over to visit you because I wanted to make sure that you had settled in with your family and that you were well and happy.’

  Kelly’s face clouded. ‘I hoped you were back for good and I could live with you at Ma Reilly’s house again,’ she said in a sulky voice.

  ‘I’ve brought you a present, an Easter egg, a really big one,’ Penny told her. ‘I’ve left it with your mother.’

  When Kelly didn’t answer Penny said brightly. ‘Shall we go and see Mrs Reilly before I take you back to Cannon Court?’

  Kelly stubbed her toe against a lamppost angrily. ‘No,’ she shouted, ‘If you are not coming back for good and you aren’t going to let me live with you then I never want to see Ma Reilly or you ever again.’


  Before Penny could stop her Kelly had scampered off down the road dodging among the crowds and in seconds she was lost to view.

  Penny hesitated wondering if she should try and follow her but realized it would be futile. Kelly probably knew all the backstreets to get home and would reach Cannon Court well ahead of her.

  Feeling defeated Penny made her way to Blenheim Road to see Ma Reilly. As they enjoyed a cup of tea in Ma Reilly’s warm cosy kitchen Penny related what had happened.

  ‘Perhaps you should forget all about her,’ Ma Reilly advised. ‘You did your bit looking after her all those months after the accident. It was a sight more than most folks would have done.’

  Over the next few weeks Penny tried to put Kelly out of her mind but it was not very easy. Her mother was making such good progress that she required less and less attention. She had reached the stage where she wanted to do things for herself and it meant that Penny was beginning to find time hanging heavily on her hands.

  Several times she thought of asking her father if he would have a word with Miss Grimshaw about her returning to her teaching post but her courage failed her. At the moment things were going so well between herself and her parents that she didn’t want to stir up the past.

  The highlight of her week was when she went out with Bryn Cash. Usually she met him in Liverpool and once the tennis season restarted they played tennis at his club. If it was raining they went for a meal or to the pictures instead.

  When he came over to see her they either went for a walk along the promenade at New Brighton or out to a restaurant for a meal.

  She toyed with the idea of taking him to the tennis club she belonged to in Wallasey but there was always the chance that they might bump into Arnold. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since the evening he had come to dinner and he and Bryn had met. Although she no longer had any feelings for Arnold she thought it might be embarrassing for all of them if the two men met again.

  Each time she and Bryn met she asked after Kelly. He always said that as far as he knew she was all right and not to worry about her. Now that Kelly no longer had to attend his clinic at the hospital the only time he saw her was when he caught sight of her out in the street.