Shoddy Prince
Page 12
The man looked over his shoulder. ‘You can trail up and down as much as you like, you won’t get a ride!’
The lead donkey reached the allotted turning point and began its journey back. The others followed suit, so did Nat and his friends. Each time a group of children were taken for a ride the posse trailed them. Their presence finally became too much for the donkeys’ owner. ‘What do you think you’re larking at?’
‘You said we could trail up and down as much as we like,’ said an innocent-looking Galton, still dragging the strand of seaweed.
The man raised his stick again, the group stopped in their tracks… but when he moved on, so did they.
Towards the middle of the afternoon there was a lull in business and the donkeys stood idle, heads drooping from their labours. After several nudges the group of boys edged forward again. ‘You haven’t got many customers now, have you, mister? You could let us have a ride… your donkeys look a bit fed up.’ Galton offered a donkey his seaweed to eat.
‘Fed up? Fed up!’ The man descended on Galton with his stick. ‘I’m bloody well fed up of you lot pestering me!’ And he brought the stick down hard on Gabon’s shoulders.
‘Aagh! He’s broken me arm!’ Galton fell but was soon up again as the man repeatedly hit him whilst his friends made a hasty retreat.
‘Bastard!’ he puffed on catching up with them, gripping his arm to his side. ‘I’m gonna get me own back, you see if I don’t!’ And the rest of the afternoon was spent concocting revenge which resulted in an evening raid on the larder.
It took a lot of patience and subterfuge but it was worth the wait. The rhubarb powder that Galton managed to slip unseen into the donkey’s feeding bags was most effective, polluting yards of golden sand and rendering the donkeys out of action. Overjoyed at the outcome, Galton chuckled with his partners in crime and reached triumphant arms at the bright blue sky. ‘Avast, boys! The sun shines on the righteous!’
The weather remained clement for the duration of the holiday, allowing the boys access to similar clandestine fun. Nat felt sure that these sins would have to be paid for, yet in his final address Mr Raskelf was to tell the assembly that the boys’ behaviour had been exemplary, and added hearty congratulations. ‘I have not had one single complaint!’ he beamed. ‘Not one!’
‘The folk round here must be bloody daft,’ smirked Galton as he picked up his bag and joined the unenthusiastic exodus to the station.
The homewards trip was subdued as each boy reflected on the lovely time behind him and the much longer term ahead. There would not be another treat until Christmas. One tiny compensation remained in the grains of sand which lingered in their clothes and bedding for weeks afterwards. Every night Nat religiously tipped the contents of his boots into a jar. ‘If we all do this we might have enough for a sandpit!’ The others gave up after a while but he persevered; even if he never accumulated enough for a sandpit he would keep the jar of sand as a memento of his holiday, a holiday that had been the making of him, as Mr Chipchase had observed to another officer. ‘Twenty-seven’s a changed boy, much more amenable, much more.’
This latter part was true. Some time during that fortnight Nat had grasped the concept that would serve to make his time here a fraction easier. Maybe it was the buffeting motion of the sea that had knocked sense into him, teaching him how useless it was to try and fight against the greater strength. Don’t buck the system, give the powerful ones what they wanted to see and they might leave you alone. How long this state of affairs would last Nat could not say, but for now he felt able to portray the image that those in charge required; that of a model inmate.
Nat’s mother, too, noticed an improvement in him from the last time she had seen her son. He appeared to be more settled – even happy. Maria was astonished and delighted by his excited chatter as he told her all about his lovely time in Scarborough.
‘Old Bramble Conk said our behaviour was ex – exemplary. What does that mean?’
Maria looked unsure. ‘Did he look mad when he said it?’
Her son shook his head. ‘No, he were smiling.’
‘Then I suppose it must mean you were all very good.’
‘Oh…’ Nat looked thoughtful. ‘Yes, he said he hadn’t had no complaints from people. They can’t have seen Cobbins puking over a lady’s wall. He ate ten saucers of cockles!’
‘Ugh, them snail things? I can’t imagine anything more horrible.’ Maria grimaced.
‘And you know them donkeys what take people for rides on the beach?’
‘Don’t know, I’ve never been to the seaside,’ said his mother. ‘God love us, I think I ought to get meself locked up in here! It’s a poor show when people who are meant to be in here for punishment have more fun than we do on the outside.’
‘I’ll take you when I’m grown up,’ promised Nat, wanting to make up for the way he had behaved on her last visit. ‘Well, they have these donkeys and Gabon tried to give ’em seaweed to eat and the man whipped him with his stick, so Galton put rhubarb powder in their food…’ Indeed, the holiday provided a topic of conversation for several visits to come.
On none of these visits was Kendrew ever mentioned. Maria had no inclination to douse the new enthusiasm in her son and Nat himself still clung to the shred of hope that his mother’s companion had departed.
* * *
Nat’s eleventh birthday was marked by unexpected visitors. Bright and Mr Maguire turned up, bringing him some toffee. The rest of that year passed more quickly than the previous one. Outwardly, Nat was responding well to the discipline and was deemed trustworthy enough to be hired out to a local resident for cleaning boots, chopping wood and polishing cutlery. After his second holiday in Scarborough it was decided to grant him an early release date. Mr Chipchase passed on the good news to Nat, who was elated. Only one thing marred the thought of his homecoming. Would Kendrew still be there?
* * *
Nat’s two-year absence had certainly helped Kendrew. Without the pressure of having to endure Maria’s truculent bastard, life with her had become very cosy indeed. He was without work at the moment, having lost his job at the hospital, but Maria had voiced her willingness to look after him until he got another.
‘The trouble is,’ Sep’s face creased in anxiety, ‘there’s a lot of unemployment about. I might have to try another town.’
Maria responded as he had hoped. ‘That’s fine by me, as long as you take me with you, mind!’
Kendrew was much amused. ‘Of course! You don’t think I’d move without my little sweetheart, do you? Truth be known, I’ll be glad of the opportunity to take you away from this life. You deserve better.’
A matter of weeks later Sep heard that there was work on the docks at Hull and borrowed the fare from Maria to go and find out if it was true. When he arrived all the jobs had been taken, but by chance he met a man who offered something better: not only a job but also a rent free cottage to go with it. The post was one of gardener to a big house. Sep had never turned so much as a shovelful of earth in his life but managed to convince the man that he was an expert in this field.
When he went home and told Maria, she could not believe that her luck had finally changed and kept grabbing him in excitement and saying there had to be something to ruin what appeared to be a perfect situation: there was. Like her, Sep was eager for them to start this new life in Hull, but he didn’t want Nat to go with them.
‘Oh…’ She ceased dancing and bit her lip. ‘Maybe if I tell him this is his last chance…’
‘Anyone can see it’ll never work between the pair of us, sweetheart.’ He held her by the upper arms and spoke fondly. ‘I’ve tried to be a father to him – you’ve seen how hard I’ve tried, haven’t you? He just won’t bend.’
Maria reviewed the twenty-five years of her life and had to agree with Kendrew that most of her troubles were due to Nat. Oh, she loved him, but his attitude towards Sep made her so angry. Why after all she had done for him did he deny her the one chance
of happiness she’d ever had? Deep in thought, she wandered over to the fireplace. Nat’s little watch sat upon the mantel; Maria had failed to carry out her son’s instruction to give it to Bright. She picked it up now and rubbed the cheap face with a thumb.
Kendrew continued persuading her, speaking kindly. ‘You’re only a young lass, Mari. You’ve a right to your own life. You’ll never tame that lad o’ yours, he’ll end up a real villain and he’ll drag you down with him. You’ve done your best, you can’t do any more – and I don’t see why you should.’
‘But, I can’t just leave him.’ She gripped the watch tightly in her palm.
‘Why not? He gets fed at the Industrial School, doesn’t he?’
‘He won’t be there for much longer.’ The slight pause before she had answered encouraged Kendrew. She was weakening.
‘Won’t he? D’you think when he comes out of there he’ll have learned his lesson and go quietly to proper school like a meek little kitten? No, he’ll be back in there quick as a flash. And mixing with the type o’ boy you get in them places, well, I reckon he’ll be gaol fodder, a burden for the rest of your life. I’ve seen plenty of lads like him, with good parents like you. He’d let you give him the skin off your back and he still wouldn’t appreciate it. Anyway, I doubt they’ll allow him to come back here. I mean, they might not consider it a suitable home.’
‘The cheeky devils!’ Maria was outraged. ‘Who are they to say a thing like that after the way they treat him in there? I’ve given that lad everything…’
‘I know, I know!’ Kendrew shared her objection. ‘That’s exactly what I’m saying. Why don’t you think of yourself for once in your life?’
Yet there came excuses. ‘But he’s only eleven.’
Sep was quietly blunt. ‘You won’t get another chance like this, you know. No other man’d take you as I’m doing, knowing your line of work. What’s the alternative? Keep hawking your body about and become old before your time?’
‘I’ve years in me yet,’ objected Maria, looking at the mirror for confirmation.
Kendrew’s hands beseeched. ‘But do you want it for years?’
She shook her head, remembering last night when a client had ordered her to urinate over his face. Oh, it was not the first time, but she had never become accustomed to it and could almost vomit now at the memory.
‘Then marry me – if only to get rid of that bloody awful name you’ve got.’
She looked at him. He was quite obviously fond of her – must be, to accept her for what she was – and she returned that fondness. Oh, but did it have to be like this: torn between the two of them? Why, oh why wouldn’t Nat understand? She’d sacrificed her youth for him. Instead of getting rid of him she had grovelled and scraped to feed the two of them, for what reward?
The tin watch dug into her palm. After a great deal more agonizing, she capitulated and replaced the toy on the mantel, rubbing nervously at the imprint it had left on her palm. ‘All right then, I’ll go with you – but I’ll have to make provision for Nat. I can’t just abandon him.’
Sep put his arms round her, smiling. ‘By, lass! You do have a low opinion of yourself. All the stick you’ve taken on his behalf… you’re not abandoning him, for pity’s sake. The authorities have made him their responsibility by taking him away from you, haven’t they? Weren’t they the ones who took you to court ’cause he was truanting?’ Maria thought about this and gave an indecisive nod. ‘Well then!’ cried Sep. ‘You leave it all to me. I know it’ll be painful for you. I’ll go down to the school and make arrangements for when he’s released, try to get him put with somebody who’ll look after him as well as you do.’
Maria felt a mixture of emotions: shame, guilt, remorse… but at the same time excitement about the new life that lay ahead of her. Here was her chance to be happy. You must take it, you must.
‘I’d make sure he’s in good hands.’ Sep was very plausible. ‘But of course if you want to do it…’
‘Oh no… no, I’ll trust your judgment.’ Maria was grateful that he was willing to divest her of this responsibility; she hated dealing with officials. ‘You promise he’ll go to good people, though?’ A shadow of guilt crossed her face – she was talking about her son as if he were a worn-out horse!
‘Promise.’ Kendrew cupped her cheeks in his hands, his expression grave. ‘But I can also promise you that he’ll be back inside as quick as you can blink. I doubt they’ll be able to do any more with him than his own mother could. Stop scourging yourself, Mari. I shan’t ask you again, you know. I’m not one to keep getting down on my knee just to be rebuffed.’
She found a smile then and punched him lightly. ‘You’ve never been down on your knee!’
‘Haven’t I?’ Kendrew feigned surprise. ‘Then it’s high time I did it.’ He kneeled down and clutched her hand. ‘My darling Maria, pray, will you marry me?’
She simpered and giggled with pleasure. ‘I will!’
Nat’s future was sealed.
5
‘Ah, good day, Mr…’
‘Kendrew, sir,’ provided Sep, and shook hands with Superintendent Raskelf into whose office he had just been shown. ‘I’ve come with regard to Nat Smellie.’
‘Pray, be seated.’ Mr Raskelf indicated a chair and himself took the one on the other side of his desk.
‘Thank you, sir.’ Sep felt uncomfortable here and fingered his grubby collar. ‘I’m acting on behalf of Nat’s mother, she’s too upset to come herself. The thing is, sir… she’s very worried about his release.’
‘Ah, yes.’ Mr Raskelf opened a ledger and flicked through its pages. ‘I believe Smellie is due to go home very shortly…’
‘Well, that’s just it, sir,’ blurted Sep. ‘She doesn’t want him home – I mean, she understands her responsibilities but well, you know how much of a handful he is, refusing to go to school and everything, well, the truth is, he’s just too much for her to manage and she was wonderin’ whether you could find him a suitable place with folk who could keep him in order.’
‘I see.’ Raskelf looked up from his ledger, his face thoughtful.
‘She thinks it would be better for all concerned,’ added Sep.
‘Yes…’ Raskelf gave a pensive nod, then looked down at his ledger again to see the exact date of twenty-seven’s release. ‘You know that young Smellie’s behaviour has greatly improved this last year? You see normally it’s only those in moral danger who are not returned to their home.’
‘But he is in a way,’ burbled Sep, twisting his hat. ‘I don’t know if you’re aware of his mother’s profession – I mean, I know I’m acting as her representative but I’m not exactly a friend or anything an’ I don’t agree with… well, what I mean to say is…’ he trailed off lamely.
On consulting Nat’s records Mr Raskelf saw what Kendrew meant.
‘Ah yes, this has been discussed and I did have misgivings about sending him back, but the boy was only in here because of truancy, Mr Kendrew, and several of my officers have testified that he and his mother are very close. I find it somewhat contradictory that she does not want him back. It’s rather short notice for us to find a home for the boy. Perhaps it would be an idea if I were to reassure Miss Smellie myself…’
‘It wouldn’t do any good, sir!’ His plan in danger of going awry, Kendrew racked his mind for another tack. He contemplated doing nothing, just pretending to Maria that he had made arrangements for Nat’s welfare before taking her off to Hull, but then the authorities might try to contact her and she would find out that he had lied. Better for both parties to be satisfied as to the boy’s whereabouts. ‘I’ve tried to persuade her myself but her mind’s made up, and to be frank I feel that Nat needs a father and a proper family who’ll repair his moral fibre before it’s too late.’ An idea came. ‘I wonder, would it help if I were to suggest a suitable home? I know some good people who might be willing to take him. They’re very Christian folk, and I know they’d do the boy a world of good.’
‘I’ll have her do that, sir.’ Kendrew rose and took his leave. ‘And I’ll send my friends to see you as soon as possible.’
* * *
On the morning of his release in late summer, 1892, Nat was called to the superintendent’s office. Besides Mr Raskelf there was another man and a woman present, both seated by the window. Nat glanced at them, but after this paid little heed.
‘Now, twenty-seven,’ began Mr Raskelf, without looking up from the paper in front of him. ‘Shall we see you again?’
‘No, sir,’ replied Nat.
‘I sincerely hope that we will not.’ Raskelf looked up briefly. ‘And I trust that you will not let Mr and Mrs Rawlinson down.’
Presumably this must be the couple by the window but Nat, itching to be away, did not waste time asking. However, Raskelf confirmed his supposition by indicating the visitors. ‘Mr Rawlinson has kindly consented to accept you into his home. If you continue to behave as you have been doing lately and to work hard at school then I am advised by Mr Rawlinson that he would be willing to give you permanent employment in his household when you are of age.’
Nat was stunned. They were trying to keep him from his mother! But if he had learned anything at this establishment it was that it was futile to argue. He could soon remedy the matter once he was outside. Without the ceremony that this occasion deserved, his tin whistle was returned – only when he asked for it – and he was handed over to the couple. Even as he was being ushered from the office Nat was contemplating methods of escape.
To his amazement however, all these were totally unnecessary. Barely had they reached the top of Marygate than Rawlinson said, ‘Right, sling your hook.’