Secrets of the Shipyard Girls

by Nancy Revell

  Bel had never seen her so upset. Never seen her – ever – so emotionally raw. She hadn’t got a good feeling about the way her mother had left so abruptly. There was something about it that had felt very final.

  As though her mother had no intention of coming back.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  ‘Welcome home, Mr and Mrs Elliot!’

  Polly had been playing with Lucille in the front bedroom before she was due to do an afternoon of overtime. Thompson’s, like every other yard in the whole of the country, was going full steam ahead to get ships repaired, built and launched. Overtime was no longer a choice, but expected – even on a Sunday.

  On seeing her brother and sister-in-law through the window Polly had grabbed Lucille and hurried to open the door for them.

  ‘Mammy … Doey … Daddy!’ Lucille stretched her arms out towards Bel and Joe as they stepped into the house. It was freezing outside and Joe put their overnight bag and gas masks down on the ground, rubbing his hands together before taking his niece – now his stepdaughter – from Polly.

  Joe looked across at Bel. They had not discussed whether or not Lucille would be allowed to call him ‘daddy’. Bel gave Joe a resigned look.

  ‘Well, cheeky Charlie,’ she said, turning her attention to her daughter and squeezing her little button nose gently, making her giggle. ‘Your ma has to thank Aunty Polly here for the best wedding present ever.’

  Bel looked at her sister-in-law. ‘God, Pol, it was amazing. How the other half live, eh?’

  Polly laughed. ‘I know. You should have seen Dorothy’s and Angie’s faces when we went into the room. Their eyes were out on stalks. As were mine,’ she chuckled as she thought how the three of them had stood in the room just gawping, before they’d got to work, sprinkling the confetti about and setting out the candles and miniatures of brandy.

  ‘Well, it was gorgeous, Pol. Out of this world. Joe and I can’t ever thank you enough.’ Bel gave her sister-in-law a big hug.

  ‘I hope what happened yesterday didn’t spoil it for you,’ Polly mumbled quietly.

  Joe stepped forward. ‘Never in a million years,’ he reassured his sister, giving her another hug and whispering, ‘Thank you, little sis.’

  Bel took Lucille from Joe. ‘Best go and find Nana then?’ But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she could see by Polly’s face that something was up.

  ‘Erm,’ Polly said, ‘let’s all get a nice cuppa down us, eh?’

  In the kitchen they found Agnes seated by the range, supping her tea from her saucer with Ronald perched next to her on a stool, warming his hands in front of the fire.

  ‘Ma not in?’ Bel asked as she put Lucille down, who immediately toddled off in search of Tramp and the pup.

  ‘Come and sit yourself down, pet,’ Agnes said as Ronald got up and gave her his place by the fire.

  Bel sat down and looked at Agnes.

  ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘Nothing’s happened,’ Agnes said, trying to keep her voice upbeat. ‘It’s just that your ma didn’t come back last night.’

  Bel looked at Ronald, who looked downcast.

  Polly and Joe sat down at the kitchen table and poured out three cups of tea and handed one to Bel.

  ‘You know your ma,’ Joe said, ‘she’s probably been on a bit of a bender and gone off with some bloke.’ He looked at Ronald, ‘Sorry mate, no offence meant.’

  Ronald didn’t look put out by Joe’s comments. He knew Pearl; knew what kind of woman she was. Joe might well be right. In a strange way he hoped he was, but he knew that Pearl had really been laying off the booze lately. And – as far as he was aware – men too. Last night he presumed that Pearl had simply gone off and got legless after Maisie had pulled her stunt at the pub, but when he’d come round here this morning and she wasn’t out the back, chain-smoking and nursing a raging hangover, alarm bells had started to ring in his head.

  ‘I thought I’d do a recce of her favourite haunts when they’re open,’ Ronald said. ‘I’ll bring her straight back if I find her.’ Ronald tried to sound upbeat. He looked at the clock. ‘I might as well get cracking then.’ He stood up, and grabbed his coat and muffler off the back of one of the kitchen chairs. ‘I’ll start at the Tatham. Bill’ll be getting ready to open up. You never know, he might have already heard something.’

  ‘Thanks, Ronald,’ Bel said.

  ‘And come round for a bit to eat when you’re done,’ Agnes added, getting up from her chair by the range. ‘I’m making a stew so there’ll be plenty to go around.’ It was Agnes’s way of showing her appreciation. She too was getting a little tetchy about Pearl’s whereabouts. She had checked Pearl’s bedroom early this morning and it was obvious she hadn’t been back; everything was exactly as it had been when they’d all left for the wedding: curlers and make-up everywhere, the bed still half made – but what had really given her cause for concern was that the few clothes that Pearl possessed were still hanging in her wardrobe. That meant only one thing – she must still be wearing her blue velvet dress.

  ‘She didn’t come back to get changed, then?’ Bel asked, as if reading her mother-in-law’s thoughts.

  Agnes shook her head.

  They all knew how much Pearl loved her mother-of-the-bride dress – that she had not only been overjoyed to be wearing it yesterday, but was chuffed to pieces that Kate was planning on displaying it in her shop window alongside Bel’s wedding dress. The least Pearl would have done, even if she was going on an all-nighter, was to come back and get changed.

  ‘She’s never stayed out all night since she got here.’ Bel spoke her thoughts aloud.

  Joe took hold of Bel’s hand. ‘Ronald’ll probably find her propping up one of the bars in town this afternoon and drag her back home.’

  Bel took another slug of her tea. The niggling worry she’d had in the pit of her stomach since yesterday was now developing into an ache.

  ‘You know what,’ she said, trying to disguise the growing sense of unease she was feeling, ‘I think I’ll nip and see Kate in the shop … go and thank her …’ She put her cup of tea down on the kitchen table.

  ‘Agnes, can I leave Lucille here with you?’

  Bel’s mother-in-law gave her a quick hug. ‘Of course you can, pet. I’ll be nipping next door to see Beryl, so I’ll take her with me. She’ll get spoilt rotten like she always does there.’

  ‘I need to get off and see the Major about a few things,’ Joe chipped in, taking a final sup of his tea and standing up to leave.

  Just then Arthur came down the stairs and popped his head round the kitchen door. He was wearing his flat cap, scarf and coat.

  ‘And I’m guessing Arthur’s out gallivanting as well,’ Polly said as she spotted the old man.

  Arthur smiled.

  ‘You off up the allotment?’ Joe asked.

  ‘Aye, I thought I’d go and get some more veg and see Albert while I’m at it.’ Albert looked across to Bel and then at Joe. ‘Lovely wedding, you two. Brought a tear to my eye, it did – and I don’t mind admitting it.’

  Bel smiled back. ‘Ah thanks, Arthur, and thank you for the lovely flowers … and for giving me away.’ Her voice warbled with emotion.

  ‘It’s me that’s the thankful one,’ Arthur said, tipping his cap. ‘Now I’ll get myself off,’ he said, turning to make his way down the hallway.

  As everyone shouted their farewells, Joe turned to Bel and gave her a kiss. ‘I’ll get away now as well. I’ll see you later on. And,’ he added sternly, ‘no worrying, all right? Your ma’ll be fine. That woman’s as hard as nails.’

  Bel nodded her compliance and kissed her new husband back.

  ‘I’ll follow you out, Joe,’ Polly said, grabbing her bag and gas mask. ‘I volunteered for the afternoon shift, so I better get a move on.’

  A few minutes later, after Bel had put her overnight bag in her room, and taken out her dress and put it on a hanger so it wouldn’t crease, she said her goodbyes to Lucille and Agnes a
nd hurried into town.

  Ten minutes later, when Agnes had cleared away the cups and saucers, she picked up her granddaughter and the pair of them went next door to see their neighbour.

  For the next few hours the Elliot household was unusually still, with only Tramp and the pup left indoors, happily curled up in their basket by the side of the range, enjoying the warmth from the dwindling fire, and a rare bit of peace and quiet.

  Bel, Joe, Agnes, Arthur and Polly may have been truthful about where they were all going, but none were being particularly honest about their reasons why.

  Of course, they all knew that Bel’s decision to go and thank Kate for the wonderful dress she had made for her wedding day was really an excuse for her to head into town and go walkabouts looking for her ma, but none of them admitted that they too were visiting places and people that might well help in the search for Pearl.

  Joe had gone to see Major Black – not about matters pertaining to civil defence but because he wanted to put the word out to the Home Guard to keep an eye out for a skinny, middle-aged woman, who was probably half-cut and wearing a fancy blue velvet dress; if such a woman was spotted, they were to immediately report her whereabouts, or better still, haul her back to Tatham Street.

  Arthur had headed over to the Town Moor to see Albert so that the pair of them could check out the area’s public houses, and in particular any places they knew Pearl had connections with. They too were going to put the word out that Bel’s ma had gone AWOL, and that there’d be a box of veg should anyone spot her and tell them where she had got to.

  Agnes had nipped next door to see Beryl, who, despite rarely leaving her house, always seemed to be privy to just about every bit of gossip doing the rounds on the town’s grapevine. If there was any news about Pearl, Beryl would be one of the first to hear.

  Even Polly, on her way to work, had popped into a few of the taverns and inns along the south dock and asked the licensees to put the word out that the family were concerned about Pearl.

  Polly would also have liked to have made a trip over to Ashbrooke to give Maisie a good tongue lashing. She knew her sister-in-law and her brother better than anyone, and they hadn’t pulled the wool over her eyes. Yes, they might well have been eternally grateful to her for shelling out a week’s wages to spend one night in the Grand, but there was no getting away from the fact that Maisie had cast a dark cloud not only over their wedding day – but also their first night as a married couple.

  Polly was not best pleased – nor was she the only person to be furious with Maisie …

  The front door of the bordello slammed shut.

  ‘Where’s Maisie?’

  The call sounded out down the hallway and was loud enough to rise up to the third floor.

  Lily immediately stopped what she was doing in the back reception room. A frown appeared on her forehead as she walked towards the doorway and into the main hallway.

  ‘Kate, is that you?’

  ‘Yes, Lily,’ Kate’s voice softened a fraction, but not much. ‘I’m looking for Maisie, do yer know where she is?’

  Lily was a little taken aback. She had given Kate a number of elocution lessons and was pleased with the result, but today, for some reason, she had fallen back into her old ways and sounded exactly as she had when she’d first arrived at the bordello, fresh from the doorway of one of the town’s department stores.

  ‘Ma chère,’ Lily said, going over to Kate, ‘are you all right? You seem … upset?’

  Lily looked at Kate – her shoulders were hunched up to her neck and her fists were in balls. Her hair was a mess, and from her flushed cheeks and dishevelled clothing, she looked like she had just run the half a mile from town.

  Before Kate had time to answer, Maisie appeared from the back parlour. Her voice sang out as if she were answering the telephone without a care in the world.

  ‘Maisie here, Kate. Whatever is the matter?’ Maisie wore a mustard and black print dress with three-quarter-length sleeves, and her hair had been pulled into a roll, kept in check by two hair combs. Her face was made up with the pale-coloured foundation she normally wore. As always, she looked stunning.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Kate’s skinny arms swung as she marched over to where Maisie was standing.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she repeated, still breathless as she had, in fact, run from the shop in town to the bordello.

  Before leaving the Maison Nouvelle Kate had spent half an hour with a very upset Bel, who had come into the shop to say thank you for the dress, but when Kate had asked her how she was – and how Pearl was – she had promptly burst into uncontrollable tears.

  ‘I’ll tell yer what’s wrong …’ Kate was almost snarling as she spat out her words.

  Lily stood in the hallway in shock. She had never seen this side of her petit enfant before.

  ‘Thanks to you,’ Kate was now shouting, ‘Pearl’s gone missing … She’s not come home and everyone’s worried sick about her.’

  Kate drew breath. ‘And it’s all your fault, Maisie. Yer selfish cow. Oh, but I forgot, poor old Maisie …’ she said with a heavy dose of sarcasm, ‘… got adopted out and now she has to come back and punish everyone.

  ‘Well, let’s just hope Pearl turns up – otherwise you may well have blood on yer hands … And worse still – it’ll be yer ma’s blood.’

  Kate’s voice was reverberating round the house and had caused some of the girls to come out of their rooms and start peering down at the scene below.

  Kate turned dramatically on her heels and stomped over to the coat stand by the front door; she yanked her coat off, then grabbed her woollen hat and her long knitted scarf and gloves.

  ‘I’m going out to try and find her. And if you’ve got anything about ya, you’ll get yourself over to the Elliots and beg forgiveness fer completely ruining yer sister’s wedding day – then you’ll get yer sorry backside back out there and look fer Pearl yerself. She won’t survive another night out in this weather – not with just that soddin’ velvet dress on her.’

  Lily’s mouth had dropped open. Her head was swinging from Kate to Maisie.

  ‘Wait!’ Finally Maisie found her tongue.

  She ran the length of the hallway and grabbed her own coat – a beautiful brown muskrat fur – off the stand, along with a matching fur hat.

  ‘I’m coming too.’

  Kate looked at her before yanking the heavy front door open and hurrying down the steps and along the path.

  As Lily tottered to the door she caught Kate and Maisie as they disappeared out the gate and on to the main road.

  ‘Mon dieu,’ she mumbled, shutting the door. She looked up at the girls and waved them away with both hands.

  ‘Show’s over, everyone,’ she shouted out.

  As she headed towards the kitchen in search of a stiff drink, she muttered under her breath, ‘Let’s hope to God the old girl turns up – otherwise there’s going to be war on.’

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  As Maisie ran through the town centre, trying to remember the directions that Kate had barked at her as to how to get to the Dun Cow as quickly as possible, she felt the first real stab of genuine remorse.

  What had she done? This hadn’t really turned out the way she had expected.

  She had never imagined the consequences of her long-sought-after retribution would be this serious. She had wanted to humiliate her mother – to shame her – to scream and shout at her. But not for one minute had she ever wanted to cause her mother serious harm.

  She certainly hadn’t expected her to go missing. It was bloody freezing – and if Kate was right, and she only had a dress on … and had been out all night. Well, that did not bode well.

  As she rounded the corner, she saw Bel

  ‘Isabelle … Sorry – Bel … Stop … It’s me … Maisie!’

  Bel was just marching away from the Dun Cow on High Street West. It was one of Pearl’s favourite pubs in town. Not because of its beautiful copper-domed tower, or its plu
sh Edwardian interior, but because she knew Max the landlord from way back, and he would always give her a few on the house.

  Maisie ran to catch up with Bel, who had stopped on hearing her name called.

  ‘Kate told me …’ Maisie said breathlessly as she reached Bel, ‘that you were coming here …’ Maisie was clutching her chest as her lungs felt as if they were burning.

  Bel looked at Maisie and for the first time she saw the resemblance to her ma. She looked different to yesterday. Her curly hair had been reined in by the fur hat she was wearing, and she had plastered the make-up on. Her skin now looked much paler, giving a mere hint of her true ethnicity.

  ‘What do you want, Maisie? Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble as it is?’

  Maisie looked at her half-sister and could tell she had been crying. She had faint smudges of mascara around her eyes, but she still looked pretty. Maisie marvelled at her ivory-coloured skin untouched by even a speck of powder, and she felt a stab of envy.

  ‘I know … and I’m sorry, Isabelle. Sorry – Bel,’ Maisie quickly corrected herself. ‘Honestly, I am. Really sorry. I didn’t expect this to happen. I didn’t know what to expect …’ She paused before adding, ‘Actually, I didn’t really think about what would happen after …’ Her voice tailed off.

  And it was true. She’d put a lot of time and effort into finding her mother, and thinking about what she would do and say when she finally confronted her, but she hadn’t really thought beyond that. Which, with hindsight, had always been her way: Act first – think later.

  Bel turned and started to walk away. ‘Well, the damage is done now, Maisie,’ she shouted back over her shoulder.

  Maisie ran and caught up with Bel, matching her fast march.

  ‘I want to help.’ Maisie coughed, she wasn’t used to such ice cold air. It was quite literally breathtaking. ‘I want to help you look for …’ Maisie hesitated, not knowing how to refer to the woman who had given birth to her, ‘… our ma.’

  Bel stopped in her tracks and swung around to glare at her half-sister.

  ‘Help?’ she spat the word out. ‘Why would you want to help someone you clearly hate with a passion? The way you talked yesterday I would have thought you’d have been glad to see her six foot under!’