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

by Rosie Harris

  Penny followed and helped to tuck her in. For a moment they stood there looking down at her, each immersed in their own thoughts. Then Bryn touched Penny on the shoulder and together they left the room, quietly closing the door behind them.

  ‘I bet you’re ready for something to eat and drink yourself?’ he murmured as they went along the passageway into his small galley kitchen.

  ‘I think I ought to pop round to Cannon Court first and let Ellen Murphy know that Kelly is safe and sound. While I’m there I can collect some clean clothes for Kelly. I’ll put this horrid blue dress into the bin. I’m quite sure she will never want to wear it ever again,’ she chuckled.

  ‘Hold on, she may have to do so,’ Bryn frowned. ‘We have to let the police know that we’ve found Kelly and they will probably insist that she goes back into care.’

  Penny looked shocked. ‘You mean she will have to return to St Saviour’s Remand Home?’

  Bryn nodded, his face grim.

  ‘We certainly can’t let that happen,’ Penny protested.

  ‘I don’t see how we can prevent it,’ he told her quietly.

  ‘Well, for a start, we don’t tell the police that we have found her or that she is here.’

  ‘We can’t do that, Penny. At this very moment there are probably dozens of them scouring Liverpool looking for her.’

  ‘Let’s think about it,’ Penny pleaded. ‘Let’s talk it over while we are eating.’

  ‘Very well,’ Bryn sighed. ‘Do you want to cook or shall I get something ready?’

  ‘I’ll leave it to you to prepare the meal while I nip round to Cannon Court.’

  Kelly was awake when Penny returned; awake and crying.

  ‘Whatever is the matter,’ Penny asked sitting down on the side of the bed and putting her arms around the little girl’s shaking shoulders.

  ‘I woke up and you weren’t here and I thought you’d gone away again,’ Kelly snuffled.

  ‘Of course I haven’t,’ Penny assured her, holding Kelly’s trembling body closer. ‘I went round to your home to let your mother know that we had found you and that you were safe.’

  ‘What did me mam say? Did she want me back there with her?’ Kelly asked wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

  ‘We’ll talk about all that tomorrow,’ Penny prevaricated.

  ‘You ain’t going to send me back to St Saviour’s are you?’ Kelly asked suspiciously.

  ‘Come on, let’s go and eat; it smells good doesn’t it,’ Penny exclaimed as the savoury smell of bacon and cheese wafted into the bedroom.

  ‘You’d better put on one of the cotton dresses I bought you because you can’t sit at the table wrapped up in a blanket,’ Penny went on as she opened the suitcase and brought one out.

  Bryn had prepared a dish of macaroni cheese and topped it with rashers of crisply grilled bacon. He had uncorked a bottle of wine for himself and Penny, and for Kelly there was some lemonade.

  All three of them ate hungrily and mostly in silence. When they did talk, Penny and Bryn avoided mentioning anything about what was to happen to Kelly.

  While Bryn cleared away after their meal, Penny persuaded Kelly to go back to bed. As she tucked her in and kissed her goodnight Penny was more determined than ever that she would do everything in her power to stop Kelly being taken back to St Saviour’s.

  She stayed in the bedroom for several minutes smoothing the creases out of the clothes as she unpacked them from her case and laying them out ready for next morning.

  Bryn was still in the kitchen. He had prepared a tray with a jug of coffee, cups, sugar, milk and biscuits.

  ‘We need to talk. Come and make yourself comfortable in the sitting room and I will bring this in,’ he told her as he rolled down his shirtsleeves and picked up the tray.

  Penny chose the red armchair near the fireplace and after carefully placing the tray down on a low table Bryn settled himself on the settee. Leaning forward he poured out the coffee, added milk to both cups and placed one within reach of Penny. Then he held out the sugar bowl so that she could help herself.

  Penny sipped her coffee and looked at Bryn speculatively. She admired his innate honesty and down-to-earth manner so much but this was one occasion when she felt it would be easier if he was not so conscientious. She knew he was right and that it was their duty to let the authorities know that they had found Kelly and, in due course, they would return her to St Saviour’s if ordered to do so.

  The thought of how unhappy Kelly had been there and her fear of the nuns and dread of going back again made Penny anxious to find some way to contravene that course of action.

  Perhaps if she and Kelly moved away to some other part of the country, or even over to Ireland, she could avoid the arm of the law.

  She needed money to do that, of course, and she had only a few pounds. Would Bryn lend her the money to carry out her plan, she wondered?

  Putting down her coffee cup she cleared her throat and put the proposition to him.

  Bryn stared at her in silence, his dark eyes unfathomable. He drained his coffee and put his cup back on the tray.

  ‘It would only be a loan. I would pay you back as soon as I was able to find work and was on my feet again,’ Penny promised.

  ‘How would that be possible when you would have the police of both countries hot on your heels? It would not only be Kelly they were looking for but you as well. You would probably be accused of kidnapping or abducting her, and also find yourself on the wrong side of the law.’

  ‘Then I’ll take her to France or Spain or even to America. I don’t mind where it is as long as Kelly doesn’t have to go back to that awful place. I went there to see her and it was so grim that I haven’t been able to put it out of my mind. The older girls bullied her and those nuns, in their sombre garb and their faces framed by stiff white wimples, were so cold and unsmiling that they even frightened me.’

  Bryn ran his hands through his thick dark hair. ‘No, Penny, I can’t go along with your idea because it’s far too risky.’

  ‘I’d pay you back, I promise,’ Penny insisted.

  ‘It’s not the money! I don’t give a damn about that. If I thought your plan would work I’d let you have every penny I could raise.’

  ‘Then trust me. We must do something and I am sure it is the only way we can ensure that Kelly is safe.’

  ‘It’s you and your future I’m concerned about; you mean far too much to me, Penny, for me to let you do this and put yourself on the wrong side of the law.’

  Penny stared at him in disbelief, wondering if she had heard aright.

  He stood up and crossed to the armchair and looked down at her. Then pulling her to her feet he held her so close that she could feel the heat of his body through her own clothes.

  ‘You must know how I feel about you,’ he said softly. Placing a hand underneath her chin he tilted her head back so that he could look into her eyes. ‘I live in hope that someday you will feel the same way about me,’ he whispered softly.

  For a long moment they gazed at each other and then, as he read the answer he wanted, Bryn bent his head and kissed her firmly on the mouth.

  Twenty-One

  Penny woke to find Bryn placing a cup of tea down on the small table by her bedside.

  ‘I thought I’d better warn you that I have a clinic at the hospital this morning so I will be leaving very shortly,’ he told her.

  Penny rubbed sleepily at her eyes and smothered a yawn. ‘What time is it?’

  ‘Half past eight. There’s no need to hurry,’ he murmured. ‘Have another sleep if you feel you need it, I merely thought I should let you know what was happening just in case you had forgotten where you were and were startled by all the noise from the newsagent’s shop downstairs.’

  Penny pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked bewildered for a moment. She ran a hand through her tousled hair, pushing it back from her face.

  ‘Where’s Kelly?’ Bryn asked


  Penny had slept deeply but now as the events of the night before came rushing back and as she became aware of the empty space in the bed beside her she felt a frisson of alarm.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘How strange; I haven’t seen anything of her.’ He frowned.

  ‘She’s probably in the bathroom.’

  As she spoke Penny threw back the bedclothes, intending to go and look, then conscious that she was only wearing her brief slip she pulled them back over her again. ‘Bryn would you go and see if she is in there, please?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course, but I’m pretty certain she isn’t,’ Bryn stated.

  As soon as Bryn left the room Penny pulled the coverlet off the bed and wrapped it round her before going out on to the landing.

  ‘Have you found her?’

  ‘No!’ Bryn looked perplexed. ‘She’s not in the bathroom and I’m sure she’s not in the living room but I’ll check to make sure.’

  Penny went back into her bedroom and hurriedly pulled on the clothes she’d been wearing the night before. She felt a sense of dread as she heard Bryn coming back.

  ‘She’s not there,’ he said, shaking his head in bewilderment.

  ‘You’re sure you’ve looked everywhere?’

  ‘Yes, I’ve looked in every room in the flat, even the airing cupboard; everywhere except in my bedroom.’

  Penny followed him to the door of his room. Like all the other rooms in the flat it was sparsely furnished and contained only a single bed, a washstand, a bedside table and a fitted wardrobe. There was absolutely nowhere for Kelly to hide.

  As he was about to come out of the room Bryn stopped by the bedside table.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘I left some money there last night; it was about three pounds in small change.’

  They looked at each other their eyes full of unasked questions knowing that there was only one person who could have taken it.

  ‘Wait a minute.’ Penny went back into her own bedroom and then came out again almost immediately.

  ‘Her clean clothes are gone. I think she’s run away again,’ she said uneasily.

  ‘It certainly looks like it. Why? Why on earth would she want to run away when she has found you?’

  ‘Maybe she overheard us talking about her last night and you saying that we must inform the police and that she would be taken back to St Saviour’s Remand Home again.’

  ‘You could be right,’ Bryn agreed. ‘I wonder where she’s gone this time?’

  ‘I have no idea at all. It means we’ll have to start looking for her all over again.’

  ‘I can’t do anything this morning because I have patients waiting to see me,’ Bryn reminded her. ‘All I can do is telephone the police and let them know what has happened.’

  ‘Don’t do that, not yet. Give me a chance to look for her,’ Penny begged. ‘I’ll go round to the Murphys and see if they can help. Even if Ellen doesn’t know, young Paddy may have some idea where she might be.

  It was almost mid-morning before Penny went to see Ellen Murphy. First of all she called round to see Ma Reilly and question her about where Kelly might be hiding out.

  ‘Well she’s not here,’ Ma Reilly assured her. She frowned in concentration. ‘I can’t think where on earth the little varmint would be. Have you asked her mother?’

  ‘No, I’m on my way there now but I wanted to speak to you first and see if you had any ideas,’ Penny explained.

  ‘Well, you’d better come on in and have a cuppa while we talk about it. I might be able to think of somewhere.’

  Seated in Ma Reilly’s clean and comfortable kitchen drinking a cup of tea, Penny felt some of her tension ease.

  ‘Now, why would young Kelly scarper again,’ Ma Reilly ruminated as she stirred some sugar into her tea and looked questioningly at Penny.

  ‘I have no idea why she’s gone or where she is,’ Penny stated.

  ‘I wonder if she’s gone over to Wallasey, back to your place?’ Ma Reilly asked.

  ‘She certainly wouldn’t do that,’ Penny said quickly. ‘She didn’t settle there,’ she added by way of explanation.

  ‘No, so I gathered,’ Ma Reilly said with a grim smile. ‘From what she told me your folks thought she was a little guttersnipe.’

  She took a mouthful of tea then placed her cup back in its saucer. ‘Have you told the police about what’s been happening?’

  ‘No!’ Penny shook her head vehemently. ‘Not yet we haven’t.’

  ‘You intend to do so though?’ The old woman’s sharp eyes demanded the truth.

  ‘We were talking about it last night but I persuaded Bryn to put off doing it until today. Then this happened,’ Penny admitted, her voice trailing off uncertainly.

  ‘Do you think that Kelly might have heard what the two of you were saying?’

  ‘I don’t think she did. She was tucked up in bed and we had gone into the sitting room. As far as I know she was asleep.’

  ‘As far as you know!’ Ma Reilly smoothed down her skirt. ‘She’s a crafty little thing. I’d bet my last tanner she was listening and heard every word you said.’

  Penny frowned. ‘And you believe that is why she has run away?’

  Ellen Murphy was no help at all. She came to the basement door with the baby clutched in her arms and peered through her curtain of bedraggled hair at Penny in a suspicious manner.

  ‘Well, what is it you want this time,’ she asked ungraciously, making no attempt to ask Penny to step inside.

  ‘Has Kelly been here or do you have any idea where she might be?’ Penny asked bluntly.

  ‘I haven’t seen sight nor sound of her. You called last night to say you’d found her,’ Ellen said irritably. ‘What with you and the rozzers banging on the door asking me questions about her I don’t get a minute’s peace.’

  ‘Have the police been here today?’ Penny asked ignoring Ellen’s sullen manner.

  ‘Course they have; they’re still looking for her aren’t they or so they says.’

  ‘You didn’t tell them that she was staying at Dr Cash’s place with me did you?’ Penny asked in alarm.

  ‘What sort of nark do you take me for?’ Ellen asked huffily. ‘I’ve spent too many years protecting my lot from the rozzers to do a daft thing like that. Anyway, why’ve you come here asking me where she is; she’s with you isn’t she?’

  ‘Kelly’s run away again.’

  ‘When she do that?’ Ellen scowled, humping the baby on to her shoulder and patting its back.

  ‘We’re not sure. She was sharing a bed with me but when I woke up this morning she’d already gone. She’s also taken some money belonging to Dr Cash.’

  ‘Bigger fool him to leave it lying around when he knew he’d got a little tea leaf in the place,’ Ellen Murphy chortled.

  ‘I’ve been round to Mrs Reilly’s but Kelly’s not been there; she’s not seen her.’

  ‘So? What do you want me to do about it?’ Ellen Murphy asked belligerently. ‘You said you’d look after her the same as you did last time and look what’s happened again.’

  ‘Have you any idea where she might have gone?’ Penny persisted, ignoring the taunt.

  ‘I’ve already told you that I haven’t seen her and don’t know where she is. Now go away and leave me in peace.’

  ‘What about Paddy, would he know where Kelly might be?’ Penny asked as Ellen Murphy made to shut the door.

  ‘How the hell can he know anything about where she is when he’s locked up in a remand home?’ Ellen countered.

  ‘Sorry that’s true. What about his friends, would Kelly have gone to one of them to help her?’

  ‘He ain’t got any friends. Now bugger off and leave me and mine alone. There’s trouble of one kind or another every time you comes here.’

  Resignedly, Penny climbed the basement steps back into Cannon Court. As she walked away and turned into the main road someone touched her on the arm.

  ‘I know where Kelly Murphy is,’ a vo
ice muttered softly.

  ‘You do?’ Penny stopped abruptly and looked searchingly at the scruffy youth who had approached her. He was down at heel and wearing a ragged striped shirt and dirty grey flannels. His face was pockmarked from acne and she noticed that one of his front teeth was broken.

  ‘Tell me then, where is she?’

  ‘What’s in it for me?’ he asked eyeing her up and down in a calculating way.

  ‘I don’t understand what you mean?’ Penny asked hesitantly.

  ‘Make it worth my while and then I’ll tell you.’ He grinned, moving so close to her that she felt intimidated.

  ‘You mean you want me to pay you for the information?’ she asked as she drew back to get away from the smell of his foul breath.

  He nodded and held out a grubby hand.

  Penny opened her handbag and took out her purse. She looked at him questioningly; she had no idea how much she ought to offer him.

  ‘Give us a tenner,’ he demanded.

  ‘Ten pounds!’

  ‘Go on, you can afford it,’ he leered.

  Penny hesitated. She wasn’t sure about handing that much money over to him without some proof that he really did know where Kelly was. She had a feeling that once he had the money in his hands then he would probably make off and she’d never see him again.

  ‘Ten pounds,’ she repeated slowly. ‘I tell you what: I’ll give you half now and the other half when you take me to Kelly,’ she offered taking a white five-pound note from her purse.

  ‘No, I want it all now, up front,’ he said in a surly voice. ‘I ain’t going to be seen going over to New Brighton with the likes of you.’

  ‘Why ever not?’

  ‘Rozzers would think I was going to nick something off you and would pick me up before we even got as far as the Pier Head.’

  Penny looked thoughtful. She knew there was a grain of truth in what he said but she still wasn’t sure if he really knew where Kelly was. If he did, then could she trust him to tell her the truth, she wondered.

  She looked down at the money she was still holding in her hand. He had made no attempt to snatch it from her, she reasoned, so perhaps she was judging him too harshly simply because of his appearance.