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

by Rosie Harris

  ‘Leave it for a while; at the moment I want Kelly to be able to devote all her energies to her school work,’ Penny insisted.

  ‘Oh, very well,’ her mother sighed. ‘You can still start planning where you will live. It will probably take several months for all the legal details to be settled and you haven’t even looked at any houses yet.’

  ‘I’m leaving the house-hunting to Bryn.’

  ‘That’s fine of course but you must at least have a look at it before he buys it and make sure it is the sort of house you want.’

  ‘Your mother is quite right and you need to make sure that it has a garden for Kelly to play out in and also a garage for your car.’

  ‘My car!’ Penny looked bemused. She hadn’t driven since the accident when she’d knocked Kelly down.

  ‘You’d better take it out for a spin now the better weather is here again, not leave it standing there idle and taking up space in my garage,’ her father said gruffly.

  ‘Yes, I’ll do that,’ Penny promised. ‘I’m sure Kelly would enjoy having a ride in it.’

  The thought of driving her Baby Austin once again pleased her. When her father had first forbidden her to drive again she had missed the convenience of being able to go everywhere in Bluebell. In the months that followed, because she had spent a great deal of time in Liverpool and had so many other things to worry about, she had put driving the car out of her mind. Now she wondered if she had the courage to drive again.

  The accident hadn’t been in Bluebell but in her father’s great big Humber, she reminded herself. If she had been driving Bluebell then she was sure it would never have happened.

  Mary O’Donovan the little Irish maid and Martha Davies the housekeeper were also involved in all the wedding preparations. They had both taken Kelly to their hearts and were often called upon to keep an eye on her so that Penny and Bryn could spend time together choosing their new home.

  The house they finally decided was right for them was a newly built one in Belgrave Street and only a short distance away from Penkett Road.

  ‘I suppose I’d better bring mother along tomorrow so that she is the first to see it,’ Penny said with a smile.

  ‘Yes, do that. Perhaps you should wait until your father is at home and then he can drive her here, it might be too far for her to walk.’

  ‘I can bring her in my car. Yes,’ she went on quickly when she saw the surprised look on Bryn’s face. ‘My father has said I ought to be driving it again and he is quite right.’

  ‘So that is why you were so concerned about making sure that there was a garage,’ Bryn said with a laugh. ‘What does Kelly think about your car?’

  ‘Oh, she loves it, especially when I told her that it was called Bluebell.’

  When she took her mother and Kelly to see the new house the next day Penny was surprised to see a Rolls Royce parked outside.

  ‘My goodness, the estate agent must be doing very well out of all the new property being built,’ she commented as she parked behind it.

  As they went inside she stopped and gave a gasp of annoyance. Standing in the front room gazing round at the fittings was Arnold.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked coldly.

  ‘How nice to see you, and you too, Mrs Forshaw,’ he said blandly, extending a hand to Leonora.

  ‘Why are you here without my permission?’ Penny demanded.

  ‘I was thinking of buying one and renting it out to one of our workers,’ he smirked. ‘The builder said this was the only one that was ready for occupation and so I asked if I could have a look round.’

  Penny bit down on her bottom lip. She could think of nothing to say except to tell him to get out and she didn’t want to do that because she knew it would upset her mother.

  ‘So you are contemplating making this your home when you get married in April are you,’ Arnold commented in a supercilious voice. ‘Very cosy! I hope you will find it comfortable. I must be off; I don’t think it is suitable for any of my staff as it is far too poky.’

  He stood in the doorway and raised his brown trilby in Leonora’s direction. ‘It’s so completely different from the sort of house I was planning on buying for Penny,’ he said with a disdainful smile. ‘We would have lived in Warren Drive, which of course is considered to be the very best address in Wallasey,’ he added almost as if she was a stranger to the area.

  Thirty-Two

  Penny and Bryn’s wedding date was set for the fourth of April and although it was some time away Penny found the days were flying by so fast that she was concerned in case everything would not be in place in time.

  First and foremost was her concern about Kelly settling at school. It seemed to take her forever to do so even though this time the situation was very different from when she had taken her there before. This time Kelly’s attendance at the private school had been arranged by Captain Forshaw and was treated accordingly not only by Miss Grimshaw, the headmistress, but by the rest of the staff as well.

  Penny made sure that Kelly was wearing school uniform so that she wouldn’t feel out of place but even so Kelly was so nervous on the first day that she could barely answer when spoken to.

  The other girls in the class tried to befriend her but it took almost a week before she was relaxed enough to talk to them and confident enough to join in whatever they were doing.

  It was much the same with her work in class. For the first week she appeared to be quite hopeless, then, as she became more at ease with the people around her, it seemed that her brain began to function. To Penny’s great relief, by the end of the first month she was almost on a par with all the others in the class.

  During the half-term holiday period Penny divided her time between coaching Kelly with extra lessons and dealing with her own wedding preparations. She wanted to make sure that her mother was coping well with everything even though April was still a long time away.

  Kelly listened avidly to all their talk about the wedding and the part she would be playing. ‘It sounds a bit like one of those fairy stories you sometimes read to me at night before I go to sleep,’ she told Penny.

  Sometimes Penny felt much the same. Bryn was her Prince Charming and once they were married all would be right with their world, she kept telling herself whenever her mother raised some fresh problem about the invitation list, or catering problems, or the hundred and one other details that seemed to crop up as April drew ever nearer.

  To her relief Kelly was quite eager for the new half term to start so that she could get back to school and meet up again with the new friends she had made in her class.

  She had worked very hard at the extra lessons Penny had given her while they’d been at home and when school restarted both of them were delighted to find that she had managed to catch up with all the others.

  Kelly was now looking forward to Christmas because not only did she have a part in the end of term play but she had been invited to a number of parties that had been planned by her new friends.

  As soon as the Christmas holiday started Penny insisted that they went over to Liverpool to visit Kelly’s family.

  ‘We will take over some Christmas presents for them; you can choose presents for Lily and Brian and the baby; whatever you think they would like,’ Penny told her when she pulled a face and said that she would rather not go to see them.

  ‘I don’t have to stay there do I?’ Kelly asked anxiously as they packed up the toys for the three younger children and Penny added a box of fancy biscuits and some chocolate and sweets for the whole family.

  ‘Not unless you want to do so,’ Penny told her.

  Kelly shrugged but didn’t commit herself. Instead she asked about what she had to wear.

  ‘Well, you don’t want to wear your school uniform, so what about a jumper and skirt and your new winter coat with the fur collar? You have a fur hat and gloves to go with it so you will keep nice and warm.’

  ‘I really don’t have to stay there do I?’ Kelly asked again anxious
ly.

  ‘I’ve already told you, not unless you decide you want to do so,’ Penny assured her. ‘If you would like to spend Christmas Day with your mother and your brothers and sisters then you can and I’ll come over and collect you afterwards.’

  This time their visit was very different from other occasions. When Penny knocked on the door a burly middle-aged man with black curly hair and vivid blue eyes opened it.

  ‘Da! You’re home.’

  ‘My little darlin’! Sure it does my heart good to see you again,’ the huge man greeted Kelly warmly, sweeping her up off her feet and hugging her close and kissing her before directing his attention to Penny.

  ‘I’m Shamus Murphy and you must be this Penny Forshaw I’ve been hearing so much about,’ he said as he held out a massive hand and gave her a hearty handshake.

  As they went in Penny was aware that Ellen Murphy seemed to have changed her ways completely. Not only was she tidily dressed and her hair combed but she was no longer clutching the baby to her chest. Indeed, the baby was now a toddler and making its way around the room by moving from one piece of furniture to the next.

  The other two children, Lily and Brian and had also grown apace and seemed prepared to talk to her. Brian confided that he had now started school and liked it.

  ‘Sit yourself down now and the wife will be making a pot of tea for us all,’ Shamus said cordially, almost as if she was an old family friend.

  While Ellen did as he asked, Shamus, his melodic Irish voice laced with gratitude, started to thank Penny profusely for all she had done for Kelly.

  ‘Treated her like one of your own so you have,’ he said, his handsome face expanding into a broad smile. ‘I was heartbroken when I received a letter from Father O’Flynn to say the poor child had met with an accident. When he said she had broken her leg but you were going to look after her and even taking her into your own home to care for her until she was better my heart was overflowing with relief, so it was.’

  ‘Yes, she is quite better now and attending a school in Wallasey where I am one of the teachers,’ Penny told him.

  ‘She looks happy enough,’ he murmured as he stroked Kelly’s head. ‘Are you looking forward to coming home to spend Christmas with us, me darlin’?’ he asked, directing his question at Kelly.

  Kelly looked uncertainly from her father to Penny and back again. ‘I don’t know,’ she said in a small voice.

  ‘Sure now, but you must be wanting to be here my darlin? You must want to be back with us all, your ma and da and your brothers and sisters?’

  Kelly wriggled uncertainly, edging closer to Penny and linking her arm through Penny’s.

  ‘Aah, Miss Penny, it’s easy to see you’ve won my child’s heart so you have,’ Shamus said with a deep sigh. ‘Well, I can’t say I’m surprised, a lovely lady like you.’

  Penny decided that probably there would never be a better moment than now to ask if Kelly could stay with them for good. Taking a deep breath she said, ‘I was wondering Mr Murphy how you and Mrs Murphy would feel about letting Kelly come to live with me. I’m getting married quite soon to Dr Bryn Cash and we would both very much like Kelly to come and live with us permanently.’

  ‘Live with you permanently?’ He drew in a deep breath that made a whistling sound. ‘You’re meaning on a steady basis; working as a young skivvy in your grand home is it?’

  ‘No, no, of course not,’ Penny said quickly. ‘Kelly would live with us as part of our family. In fact, we … we would like to adopt her.’

  ‘Adopt her!’ Shamus Murphy’s vivid blue eyes widened in astonishment and his voice rose high in a mixture of amazement and anger. ‘Am I hearing aright? Are you saying that you and this doctor fellow want to adopt my little daughter. Whatever for? You’ll be having little ones of your own in next to no time and then what happens to my little darlin’ after that? She’ll be the cuckoo in the nest so she will: the little drudge who’ll be expected to fetch and carry and act as a sort of nursemaid to your little ones while you get on with living the high life.’

  There were high spots of colour on Penny’s cheeks as she faced him. ‘That is most certainly not why we want to adopt Kelly, Mr Murphy. The real reason is that I have grown very fond of Kelly and I feel she deserves a better life than what she can expect to get living here in Cannon Court. For one thing, I will make sure she attends a good school and is properly educated. Kelly is bright and intelligent and she deserves to have the chance to make something of her life.’

  They stood there looking at each other for what seemed to Penny to be eternity. Then running a hand through his thick dark hair Shamus glanced across at his wife who had been listening to every word they said, but remained silent throughout their exchange.

  ‘Well now, Ellen, what would you be thinking about a proposition like that?’

  His question hung on the air. Again the silence seemed to be interminable and then Kelly broke the spell that seemed to have rendered them all speechless.

  ‘I want to stay with Penny, I don’t never want to come back here ever again.’

  ‘It’s not what you want me darlin’, there’s the rest of your family to think about,’ her father told her. ‘How do you think your ma is going to manage all on her own?’

  ‘She’s managed quite well while Kelly has been in my care and that is well over a year,’ Penny reminded him quickly.

  ‘I’ve had to but only because Kelly’s not been here to help me because of her broken leg after you knocked her down with your great big motor car, and then you went and let her break her arm while you was looking after her,’ Ellen stated sullenly.

  ‘That’s true enough, so it is.’ Shamus nodded in agreement. ‘There’s also the future to think of as well,’ he added with a deep sigh. ‘I’m not as young as I look. Very soon I’ll be too old to go to sea and what’s going to happen to us all then?’

  ‘If Kelly is living with me then you will have one less mouth to feed,’ Penny said crisply.

  ‘I can see you’ve got an answer for everything,’ Shamus retorted. ‘Let me remind you miss that young Kelly is coming up to the age where she’s about to be of some value to me; another couple of years and she’ll be ready to earn a bob or two, if you get my drift.’

  ‘Kelly is eight years old. She has another seven or eight years at school before you can even think of sending her out to work. If she is living with me then it will be a lot longer because if she continues to progress as she is doing now there is no reason why she shouldn’t go to university.’

  ‘University!’ Shamus let out a great belly laugh. ‘Giving her airs and graces she don’t need,’ he said in a disparaging voice. ‘She won’t be needing a university degree to scrub floors and believe me that is what she’ll end up doing.’

  ‘Only if she stays here.’

  Shamus shook his head in disbelief. ‘You don’t think for one minute do you that because you’ve dressed her up like a china doll in a coat with a fur collar and put a fur hat on her head and given her fur gloves to go with it and got her to talk in a lah-di-da voice that you’ve turned her into a lady?’

  ‘I’ve certainly shown her that there is more to life than scrubbing floors,’ Penny retaliated.

  Penny felt her stomach tighten as Shamus looked questioningly at Kelly. Before he could speak Kelly said, ‘I want to stay with Penny; I never want to come back here ever again, Da.’

  Once again his booming laugh filled the small room. ‘Go on take her, the ungrateful little baggage. Bring her up the way you think is right. I’ve plenty of other kids.’

  Penny breathed deeply and tried to keep her voice from trembling. ‘For good? There will be papers to sign to make it all legal,’ she went on when he didn’t reply.

  ‘Send them to Father O’Flynn.’

  ‘You’ll have to be the one to sign them.’

  ‘Send them to Father O’Flynn; he’ll check them over and then I’ll put my name to them if he thinks it’s the right thing for me to do so, eve
n though it will break my heart to be losing my precious daughter.’

  ‘And what about what I think about all this?’ Ellen butted in.

  ‘Ah hush yourself, woman. You’ve never had a good word to say for the child since the day she was born.’

  Penny sensed that the atmosphere in the room had changed to one of hostility and as soon as she possibly could she took her leave.

  Kelly remained silent until they were on the ferry boat and Penny was too concerned sorting out the jumble in her own mind to talk to her. She wondered if she had done the right thing in broaching the matter or whether she should have waited and let their solicitor make the approach.

  ‘Am I really going to live with you for ever and ever?’ Kelly asked as they took their seats in one of the inside cabins out of the cold.

  ‘I hope so,’ Penny told her, and she put an arm round Kelly and pulled her closer.

  ‘I’ll be really good and work hard at school and I’ll never run away again.’

  Penny’s face clouded. Kelly seemed to have forgotten that her case was still under consideration. Would Kelly still feel the same way if she found she had to go back to St Saviour’s and finish out her sentence, Penny wondered.

  Penny had had so many anxious moments over the past few weeks, ever since Shamus Murphy had agreed that he was willing to let them adopt Kelly. She had been on tenterhooks from the moment he had said he would sign the relevant papers to make Kelly’s adoption legal in case he changed his mind.

  She couldn’t comprehend how any father and mother could willingly part with their own child. Even though Shamus had agreed to the arrangement she was worried that Ellen would try to persuade him to change his mind.

  There had also been the question of whether or not Kelly would have to go back to St Saviour’s.

  Her father had brushed aside her fears and assured her he would deal with that side of things. She’d been dubious though, wondering whether he had sufficient authority to be able to persuade his fellow magistrates that this was permissible and the right thing to do.