Family Betrayal

by Kitty Neale

  ‘Where's Pet?’ Chris asked.

  ‘She's in the kitchen making the dinner. I don't know what I'll do without her when she goes back to school in September.’

  ‘You'll still have Yvonne to give you a hand, and what's the matter with Norma and Sue? They've offered to help out too.’

  ‘I've told you before, I don't want those two in here. Your dad is fond of Yvonne and doesn't mind her helping out, but he ain't so keen on the others.’

  ‘Chris, what's wrong with your face?’ Pet cried as she came into the room.

  ‘I tripped over in the yard and caught my face on the edge of a pile of bricks.’

  Pet's face paled. ‘Oh, Chris …’

  ‘Look, it's nothing. I don't know what all the fuss is about.’

  There was a grunt, hand waving, and Joan berated herself. ‘Come on, darling,’ she said, ‘let's get you to the bathroom.’

  Dan closed his eyes in frustration. He hated being helpless, hated being trapped in a body that wouldn't respond. The worst thing was being taken to the bathroom, his wife having to help him onto the toilet and afterwards wiping his arse like a bloody baby. It wasn't dignified, and though Pet or Yvonne left the room as soon as he was lowered onto the toilet, he still felt that he was no longer a man, ashamed that either Yvonne, or worse Pet, would see his willie, or what was left of it.

  He was useless now, incapable of speech, incapable of telling his wife that it wasn't the bathroom he wanted, it was to know what the bloody hell was going on. Chris had come in with his face cut, but Dan doubted it was an accident – more like the boys treading on Garston's toes. But what sort of films were they making? Now that he couldn't stop him, had Danny persuaded the others to use children?

  There were times like this when his mind was clear, but others when he felt woolly, as though his brain wasn't functioning along with his body. Lately it was these woolly times that he sought, preferring it when he couldn't think clearly – couldn't worry about Danny and what he was doing with the business.

  Dan groaned, unable to protest as he was wheeled to the bathroom. At least this time it was Chris who was helping and not his daughter. Pet was his pride and joy and he only felt calm when she was around him. Joan drove him mad, talking to him as if he was an imbecile, or talking over him as if he couldn't hear her every word.

  He wasn't a bloody idiot, he still had a brain, but only Pet seemed capable of seeing this. Despite Joan telling the girl not to bother him, Pet would read him the morning paper, picking out articles that she knew he'd enjoy. His daughter was his one solace, but she'd be going back to school soon. Without her Dan knew that the house would close in around him, that he'd have to listen to his wife's inane chatter until she came home again.

  ‘Here we go, Dan,’ Joan said as she and Chris heaved him onto the toilet.

  Dan bellowed in frustration, but as usual, he was ignored.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Summer passed, then came the autumn. One day at the beginning of November Pet was on Lavender Hill, shopping for her mother. She had little free time now, her days spent at school, evenings and weekends helping at home. She had given up trying to find out what her brothers were up to, preferring to believe that they were just running the family business. It was easier that way – easier than thinking about the alternative.

  With her bags full of groceries she lugged them into the butcher's to join the queue, and her ears pricked when she heard two women gossiping ahead of her. They both reddened when they saw her, but Pet couldn't wait to get home, staggering indoors with her load to say excitedly, ‘Mum, I've heard that Linda's had her baby.’

  ‘Has she now?’

  ‘Yes, and can I go to see her? Please, Mum.’

  ‘You might not be welcome, and if you ask me, if Linda wanted us to know, she'd have told us herself.’

  ‘Oh, Mum, she's too frightened of George to come here.’

  ‘Leave it out. She must know that he's missing.’

  ‘You can't be sure of that. Please, can I go to see her?’

  Pet watched her mother's lips purse, holding her breath, but at last she said, ‘All right, I don't suppose it would hurt, but you'll have to ask Yvonne to call round to give me a hand with your dad.’

  Pet ran to get her coat. She gave her father a swift kiss on the cheek and was about to hurry out when her mother called, ‘Don't be long. We've got a lot to do today.’

  ‘All right,’ she said, swiftly closing the door behind her. After passing on her mother's message to Yvonne, she left the alley. It was cold and Pet stuffed her hands into her pockets, but she was also smiling. It was nice to have a bit of freedom. Oh, she didn't mind helping her mother, but it was all she did nowadays. She helped in the morning, after school and every weekend. In fact, this was the first time she'd been out on a Saturday for ages.

  It was a long walk to Linda's house, and by the time she approached it, Pet was a little nervous. She was unsure of her welcome, and tentatively rang the doorbell.

  Enid Simpson looked puzzled when she opened the door, her head cocked to one side.

  ‘Mrs Simpson, it's me, Petula Draper. I've come to see the baby.’

  ‘Petula. My goodness, I didn't recognise you – but then again, I've only seen you a couple of times.’ She poked her head outside. ‘You've come on your own?’

  ‘My mother couldn't come. She can't leave my father.’

  ‘Yes, well, I heard what happened to your dad. How is he?’ Without waiting for a reply, Enid Simpson stood back. ‘Oh look, you'd better come in.’

  Pet followed the limping woman into the living room, but as soon as Linda saw her she jumped to her feet, the colour draining from her face.

  ‘It's all right, Linda, she's on her own,’ Enid said. ‘She's come to see the baby,’ and then turning to Pet, she added, ‘As you can see, Linda is still a nervous wreck.’

  ‘I heard that George was missing … but he hasn't turned up again, has he?’ Linda gasped.

  ‘No, no, we haven't seen him, and after what he did to my father, I doubt we ever will. My brothers have been searching for him, but he's nowhere to be found.’

  ‘Are you telling the truth?’ Enid snapped. ‘Linda has filed for divorce, but without knowing where he is, it isn't going to be easy. Are you sure you haven't got his address?’

  Pet shifted uncomfortably, wishing now that she hadn't come. ‘I'm telling the truth, Mrs Simpson. We really don't know where George is.’

  ‘You can't be sure that he won't come back. Please, Pet, make sure he stays away from me. I don't want him near my baby!’

  ‘Linda, you've got to calm down. It's no wonder that you can't breast-feed. Now isn't it time for Louisa's bottle?’

  Her mother's words seemed to have some effect. Linda looked to a crib that was placed near the fire. ‘Yes, she's just waking up.’

  ‘All right, I'll make her bottle.’

  ‘I'll do it, Mum. I can see that your hip's playing up.’

  ‘I can manage. What about you, Petula, can I get you anything?’

  ‘No, thank you, Mrs Simpson.’ As the woman left, Linda moved to take the baby from the crib.

  ‘Louisa,’ said Pet. ‘It's a lovely name.’

  Holding the baby, Linda seemed calm, and sitting down, she moved the shawl aside to reveal the baby's face. ‘It was my grandmother's name.’

  ‘She's beautiful,’ Pet whispered. ‘Can … can I hold her?’

  Linda swiftly held the baby close to her chest. ‘No, no, you can't, and anyway, I think she needs changing.’

  ‘I won't hurt her.’

  ‘You're a Draper, aren't you? Oh, I'm sorry, please don't look at me like that. It … it's just that since having the baby my emotions seem to be all over the place. One minute I'm fine, then the next I find myself down in the dumps. Look, come and sit down and once I've changed Louisa you can hold her.’

  Pet perched on the edge of the sofa, watching as Linda changed the baby's nappy. When the pin was in plac
e, she held her out. ‘Here, you can have her now, but make sure that you support her head.’

  With the baby in her arms, Pet smiled. Louisa was so pretty, and after all her nephews, this was her first niece.

  ‘I wrote to tell Ivy that I've had the baby and she replied this morning,’ Linda said, nodding towards a letter on the table. ‘She certainly seems to have taken to life in the country.’

  ‘Ivy! You're in touch with Ivy?’

  ‘Well, yes, of course I am. We saw a lot of each other when I lived in the alley, and we're still friends, even if distant ones.’

  ‘We haven't heard a word from her since she left.’

  ‘I know, she told me, but she always speaks well of you, Pet.’

  Ivy had left without saying goodbye, and it had always puzzled Pet. Her mother refused to talk about it and her brothers were the same. It was obvious that they didn't have any time for Ivy, but she didn't know why. Ivy had always been nice to her, as had Steve, and she missed Ernie and Harry, even though they were a pair of scallywags.

  ‘I'd like to write to Ivy. Can I have her address?’

  Linda shook her head. ‘I'm sorry, but Ivy has asked me not to pass it on.’

  ‘But why?’

  Linda was quiet for a moment, small teeth chewing on her lower lip, then said, ‘Look, all I know is that she doesn't want anything to do with you Drapers.’ The baby began to whimper, then cry, so Linda took her from Pet's arms. ‘She's hungry and I don't know why it's taking my mother so long to make her bottle. I'll be back in a tick.’

  When Linda left the room, Pet's eyes were drawn to the envelope on the table. She leaned forward, picking it up, and after just a moment's hesitation, she drew out the letter. Her eyes had only scanned the address when the door opened again, and guiltily she looked at Linda.

  ‘Oh, how could you? Ivy will go mad if she finds out.’

  ‘I … I'm sorry.’

  ‘Did you see the address?’

  ‘Yes, but that's all.’

  ‘You mustn't tell Ivy. Don't write to her, and for God's sake don't tell anyone else that you know where she is.’

  ‘But why?’

  ‘What's going on?’ Enid asked as she walked into the room.

  ‘It's Pet, she read my letter.’

  Enid's lips curled. ‘What do you expect? She's a Draper, ain't she, and they're all the same.’

  ‘But … but I didn't mean any harm.’

  ‘Look at the state of my daughter! If you ask me, you've done enough harm just by coming here. I shouldn't have let you in and now I want you to leave. Tell your mother and the rest of your family that they're not welcome here, and you, miss, don't show your face at my door again.’

  Pet fled the room, wrenched open the front door, ran outside, and kept on running until she was out of breath. Oh, it had been awful, dreadful. All right, she shouldn't have looked at Linda's letter, but surely they had overreacted?

  By the time Pet arrived home, she had calmed down and looked composed as she walked inside.

  ‘Oh, Pet, I'm glad you're back,’ Yvonne said, her upper lip beaded with perspiration. ‘I'm not feeling too well and think I've caught a chill, but I didn't want to leave your mum to manage on her own. How was Linda? Did you see the baby?’

  ‘Yes, I saw her, and Linda has called her Louisa.’

  ‘That's nice. Anyway, I'm off.’

  Her mother waited until the door had closed behind Yvonne, and then said, ‘Babies are always a touchy subject with Yvonne, and if you ask me, she's got more than a chill. I thought the poor girl was gonna pass out. Now then, tell me what happened at Linda's.’

  Pet hesitated. If she told her mother the truth, it would only cause more bad feelings, so instead just said, ‘There's not much to tell. Linda was fine and I saw the baby, but I didn't stay long.’

  ‘Did she know that George is missing?’

  ‘Yes, but she's still frightened that he'll turn up so I doubt she'll come here.’

  ‘Well, with your father ill I can't leave him to go there, so I don't suppose I'll see the baby. Now then, come on, Pet, the bedrooms need turning out so you'd better make a start.’

  Pet said nothing. She knew her mother had little time for her brothers' children, so wasn't surprised that she was showing little interest in the new baby.

  She went over to her father, saying, ‘I'll just get the bedrooms sorted and then I'll read you the paper.’

  He managed a lopsided smile, but then hearing her mother's huff of impatience, Pet hurried upstairs. As she stripped her mother's bed, Pet's mood was low. She couldn't help thinking about Linda and the baby. Louisa was her niece, but it was unlikely that she'd ever see her again. Unexpectedly her eyes filled with tears.

  * * *

  As Pet went upstairs, Joan was glad to leave the bedrooms to her daughter. Pet was still turning out to be a godsend, helping her after school and at weekends. She'd be leaving school soon and, instead of her getting a job, Joan had decided that she could stay at home, helping out full time. In the meantime, Yvonne was good, coming round every day to give her a hand, but with Danny and her own house to look after, it didn't seem fair. When Pet was at home all day, it would no longer be necessary, and it would be nice not to feel beholden to her daughter-in-law. Norma and Sue still offered to muck in too, but she didn't want those two floozies in her house, chatting all the time and upsetting Dan. She hardly saw them these days and that suited her fine. She didn't want Dan disturbed any more than necessary, and that meant keeping her grandchildren out too, but with Paul's birthday coming up later this month, she'd better think about getting him a present.

  She didn't want to think about Linda, or the baby, but was unable to push them from her mind. George was a father now, with a daughter, but unless he turned up again the child would grow up without ever knowing him. It didn't seem right somehow, and surely one day, he'd show his face.

  Chapter Twenty

  Steve Rawlings thanked his lucky stars that they'd left Drapers Alley. He hadn't gone back to totting, but didn't mind. Almost as soon as they'd moved in, their nearest neighbour told him about a job going on a local farm. He'd been doubtful at first, but had taken it on, and he'd found that he loved it. Though it was early in November, there had been a dusting of snow and the farmer had shaken his head, forecasting a hard winter with worse to come.

  Steve trudged home, glad to arrive. In the porch he kicked off his boots before going into the living room to find Ivy sitting by the fire. The room was a mess, the housework untouched.

  ‘What's the matter, love?’ he asked, sinking onto a chair opposite her.

  ‘Nothing's the matter.’

  ‘Come on, Ivy. I know you ain't yourself.’

  ‘It's nothing, just a bit of a tummy ache, that's all. I think it was that pie I ate last night.’

  ‘You've been down in the dumps lately. If you're not ill, what is it? Did that letter from Linda to say that she's had her baby unsettle you?’

  ‘No, but we got on well and there's times when I miss her.’

  Steve frowned, sure there was more to Ivy's funny moods than that. ‘Do you regret leaving Drapers Alley?’

  ‘Leave it out, of course I don't.’

  ‘I wonder how the family that swapped with us are getting on.’

  ‘They didn't move into the alley.’

  ‘What? How come we still got the swap?’

  Ivy looked into the fire, then said, ‘If you remember, they had already moved back to Battersea, living with the woman's mother until the exchange was agreed. It had just gone through when the mother was taken seriously ill. She needed constant care so they decided to stay with her instead of moving into our place.’

  ‘Oh, yeah, and how do you know all this?’

  ‘I got it from the old biddy in the village post office. She was a friend of the family and said that they're still in touch.’

  ‘So our old place could still be empty.’

  ‘I've no idea, but with a shortag
e of housing, I doubt it.’

  ‘I wonder if they've found George.’

  ‘Bad pennies always turn up. Anyway, why are you so interested?’

  Steve shrugged. ‘I'm not, but they're still your family.’

  ‘You and the boys are my family. As far as I'm concerned, I don't care if I never set eyes on the Drapers again.’

  ‘You've never told me why you hate them so much.’

  Ivy looked into Steve's eyes, her expression thoughtful for a moment, but then she said, ‘I don't suppose it would hurt to tell you now. When my father died, I was just a kid, but Uncle Dan took me and my mother under his wing. He would turn up in his posh car, flashing his money by topping up my mother's war widow's pension. I grew up hearing the gossip about the Drapers – that they were thieves, my father and Uncle Dan both good at cracking safes. It was when he bought the builders' merchants that I became suspicious of my Uncle Dan's so-called generosity, even more so when I became an adult and he continued to help me.’

  ‘Suspicious of what?’ Steve asked.

  ‘Where do you think he got the money to start up the business?’

  ‘I have no idea, but what's that got to do with anything?’

  ‘It's got everything to do with it. You see, I think he got the money from the last job he did with my father, but instead of coming back from the war to his share, my father was killed in action. Uncle Dan should have given the money to my mother – money that would have ensured that she died in comfort instead of poverty. But no, he didn't do that. Instead he must have kept the lot.’

  Steve shook his head. ‘I think you're wrong. Dan might have done some dodgy things, but to him family is everything. He's got a code, a strict one, and though he might rob others, he would never rob his own.’

  ‘OK, so what happened to the money from the last job he did with my father?’

  Steve was quiet as he ruminated on Ivy's words. Then he said, ‘Ivy, you were a child when your father was called up. How do you know they did a job?’