But her father was a grocer. In trade. Not good enough for the snobbish tastes of my father, even though he himself came up from nothing. A self-made businessman. I believe he spoke to her, went on and on about how she’d be “dragging me down” although she never admitted as much. The pressure made her ill and drove her to call the wedding off. In the end…’ He paused, as if fighting to control his emotion. ‘In the end she killed herself.’
‘Oh, no! How?’
‘Her family took her on holiday to Torquay to recuperate, and she flung herself off a cliff. I shall never forgive my father for that. Never!’
Ruby took some moments before answering. She wanted to ask him what sort of father could consider it beyond the pale for him to marry a grocer’s daughter, and what his mother had had to say on the matter. But somehow, with a man like Bart, it felt like prying. Then, without thinking, she crept closer and wrapped her arms about his hunched figure. ‘Revenge only hurts them what harbours it. It solves nothing.’
‘That’s easy for you to say, Ruby.’
‘No it isn’t, as a matter of fact. There’s been nothing easy about my life. I understand the feeling right enough.’ Sensing the tension in him, she smoothed a hand over his naked back, soothing, comforting. ‘There have been people I would’ve liked to get me own back on. Sister Joseph for one, not to mention that lot at the reformatory who were far worse. And I could have killed you stone dead once over, without a second’s thought.’
‘Once over?’
‘Well, still could, given half a chance, I suppose.’ She felt the vibration of his laughter and chuckled along with him, still stroking his back, but it didn’t occur to her to wonder why her threat sounded so hollow.
‘You make me quake in my shoes, Ruby McBride.’
‘You said you’d stop calling me by that name, once we were - you know - man and wife proper.’
‘Ah, but we’re not exactly, are we? It takes more than mere coupling to make a proper marriage, don’t you think?’ He turned to see her face, and Ruby nodded, her mind a turmoil of confused emotion. How was it he could tug so at her heartstrings?
‘Anyroad, you should stop and think before you do anything you might regret. You don’t really want me to play the whore with your own father, do you? Not just so you can blackmail him. What good would that do?’
He gathered her into his arms, holding her close. ‘How very sweet and caring you are all of a sudden, Ruby.’
‘Oh, I’m a proper little angel, me, when I want to be.’
‘I prefer it when you play the devil.’
Pulling her beneath him, he pushed her back on to the bed to spread out her arms, capturing her hands in his. But he didn’t start to make love to her as she expected, half hoped that he might, nor even to kiss her. He simply looked deeply into her eyes. Ruby found herself gazing back; a long, serious, thoughtful look, assessing, appraising, evaluating, as if each was seeing the other for the first time. Never had she known him to divulge so much information about himself, or for him to be so tender towards her. She felt sure he must sense the slow, hard beat of her heart, read her inner thoughts and secrets, her plans to leave him. It was this last awesome prospect which brought her from her trance.
‘I thought I’d go early to the house, at the end of this week.’
He looked momentarily surprised, as well he might since the change of subject had been startlingly abrupt. Ruby could have kicked herself, but didn’t attempt an explanation for fear of making it worse.
‘Is there any particular reason?’
‘Not really, only I need to rinse those net curtains through. I’m ashamed to have them on show.’ The talk of net curtains in the midst of all this intensity of emotion seemed incongruous, almost laughable. She could see the shutters coming down over his rugged features, fixed firmly back in place before he coldly responded.
‘Of course. If that’s what you would like, Ruby.’
‘It is. And you’ll come on Friday, as usual?’ By which time she would be long gone, heading west to Canada. Strangely, she felt a tinge of regret.
Over the following days Ruby became increasingly jumpy. Each morning she half expected Bart to put his blackmail plan against Pickering into effect, yet he did not even refer to it. This gave no relief, however, since she was far too concerned about her own reckless plan. Escaping from Sister Joseph seemed mild by comparison with the agonies she was now experiencing.
When Thursday evening finally arrived, Ruby stuffed a few belongings in a carpet bag, just as if she were really were going to their house on Quay Street, as she’d claimed, and cheerily waved goodbye.
‘See you tomorrow,’ she called. ‘Goodbye, Bart.’
Perhaps it was the unexpectedly formal farewell which alerted him, but he looked up from where he was cleaning the decks, narrowing his eyes as she leapt from the tug on to the quay, her movements as graceful and fluid as ever. There had been moments in recent weeks when he’d fancied that he might be reaching her but in this last day or two she’d grown oddly distant again, rarely speaking to him and yet jumping in a startled sort of way whenever he spoke to her. He didn’t attempt to detain her now, merely remained on deck, a thoughtful frown creasing his brow as he watched her wave and smile, and stride away. Something wasn’t right. He couldn’t put his finger on what it might be but watching her walk away, some inner instinct told Bart that, in spite of all his efforts, he had lost her. Or more accurately, he’d never quite had her.
Glancing back, Ruby saw him standing on the tug, a breeze ruffling his red-gold hair, feet astride. He looked rather as he had on that first day he’d brought her here, when he’d waited for her to choose. Not that she’d much of a choice to make. Either to go along with the inevitable, or starve.
Now he stood watching almost as if he knew this was the last he would ever see of her. A fanciful notion, she told herself, since how could he know? As she strode away along the quay, Ruby felt a sudden and unexpected lump come to her throat. How would he manage without her? Who would cook his meals and wash his clothes? Who would occupy his bed? For goodness sake, what was wrong with her? This was no time for sentiment. What if they had known a few moments of pleasure? He was still the man who had forced her into marriage and controlled her ever since, making her take all manner of risks which could well have landed her in jail, and all to further a campaign for revenge against his own father. The very idea.
Would he succeed? She wondered. Would he find a lever to use against the man? Was it possible to force the all-powerful Giles Pickering to recognise the unions and improve the pay and conditions of the men on his pay roll? Somehow, she rather thought that it might be. The baron was not one for giving up, not until he got what he wanted. For all he’d been the bane of her life ever since she’d first clapped eyes on him, Ruby had to admire his tenacity. But then neither was she a quitter, and wouldn’t she soon have what she’d always wanted?
When she had vanished from sight around the struts of the bridge, Bart set down his cleaning rag and reached for his coat.
She hurried through the quiet streets, past Coal Wharf, under the viaduct and out along Chester road, constantly glancing back over her shoulder, anxious in case he should choose to follow her. She jumped at every shadow, her fancy making her nervy. She almost leapt from he skin when once a dog ran across her path, another time as a youth stepped out in from of her before sidling guiltily off, clearly up to no good. But she saw no one.
Not until a pair of figures loomed out of the mist that hung over the water.
‘Pearl?’ Ruby stopped in her tracks, unable to quite believe her eyes. Could this be her little sister? This voluptuous beauty with the craziest of red hair, a sweeping feather in the broad-brimmed straw hat, a jacket and skirt in the loudest purple and maroon stripes imaginable. Where was the plump, pretty girl with the dandelion mop whom she had loved so dearly?
‘Goodness, you’ve changed. Is it really you, love?’
‘Last time I looked it was.
’
Ruby’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Oh, I’m that pleased to see you. It’s been so long. There’ve been times when I thought I’d never find you. I can’t really believe it even now. Oh, come to Ruby, pet. I’ve missed you so much.’ And she held out her arms, just as Mam would’ve done, ready to soothe the prodigal child, to offer love and comfort to her sibling. After a moment’s hesitation, Pearl stepped forward and allowed herself to be hugged.
Ruby saw at once that her little sister had indeed changed, that something about her had gone forever. But then, was it any wonder after what she’d been through? Heaven alone knew what had happened to her after Ruby had no longer been there to protect her. She’d been damaged already, even before her elder sister had left the reformatory. Her mood swings had been increasingly erratic and she’d found it hard to trust anyone, ruthlessly disposing of friends, always leaving them before they left her. Perhaps she blamed her sister, as well as her mother, for abandoning her. It would take time, Ruby guessed, to restore that confidence.
She stroked back the garish red locks and smiled into the pale face. ‘It’ll be all right, chuck, don’t worry. We’re together now and nobody is ever going to part us again.’
Pearl said nothing, having had it forcibly impressed upon her by Kit that she mustn’t start to argue, blame or contradict her sister the minute they met. It was vital, he’d told her, that they all get on that ship together, or how else could he get his hands on that dratted ruby pendant? Thinking of this, she managed a tremulous smile.
‘Has Kit told you the plan?’ Ruby asked, glancing anxiously back over her shoulder, checking they hadn’t been followed, wondering how they were doing for time.
‘Yes.’
‘And are you willing to come with us, to find our Billy and start a new life?’
Pearl nodded, and, suddenly overcome at the prospect of all her dreams being on the brink of coming true, Ruby squealed and grabbed her close in a suffocating hug of delight. ‘Come on then. Let’s get on with it.’
Getting on board was laughably easy. Such men as were still working on the loading were concentrating far too much on the job in hand to pay proper attention to what was going on behind their backs. Their minds were fixed firmly on the welcome beer that would be waiting for them, once the ship was underway.
‘In here,’ Kit hissed, and lifting the tarpaulin that covered a lifeboat, he urged the two girls to climb inside. They did so, crouching in the bottom of it, hardly daring to breathe in case anyone had heard them, for what may have been hours. It certainly felt like it.
‘I don’t know what I’m doing here in this dratted boat, messing up me best frock,’ Pearl complained, quite unable to keep quiet any longer. ‘Only you, Ruby, could come up with such a daft notion.’
‘This is a new beginning for us all,’ Ruby whispered. ‘I can’t tell you how thrilled I am. I’ve dreamed of this moment for years.’
Pearl dusted some flecks from her gown. ‘If you’d ever considered anyone other than yourself, you’d’ve come looking for me sooner, instead of settling down all comfy with that rich husband of yours.’
‘Don’t start, Pearl. Bart isn’t rich, and from now on I shall no longer consider him to be my husband. I never did really, since I’d precious little say in the matter if I was ever to get out of the reformatory and escape jail. As for searching for you, I’ve tried and tried over the years. How Kit managed it, I shall never know, but I’m so grateful he did.’
Pearl gave a loud snort of derision. Kit quickly intervened before she was tempted to blurt out the truth: that they’d been living together for months. ‘Have you brought the pendant?’
Ruby smiled. ‘Don’t worry. Everything is taken care of. I have it safe.’
‘It would be safer with me. I’m the man after all.’
Pearl said, ‘He’s right Ruby. You shouldn’t be in charge of something so valuable.’
‘It’s my pendant.’ She paid no attention to the peevish note in her sister’s voice. That was just Pearl, being Pearl.
‘Yours, is it? And you say your husband isn’t rich?’ Again she gave a puff of contempt, which Ruby duly ignored.
Kit held out his hand, as if implying Ruby should hand the pendant over without delay. It looked faintly green in the dim light of their strange surroundings and she stared at it, confused, uncertain what to do.
She could feel the weight of the ruby pendant nestling between her breasts, pricking the soft flesh. If anyone got their hands on it tucked down there, she’d have far more to worry over than a flippin’ pendant. She was so delighted to have found Pearl at last, and to be with her beloved Kit. At the same time, that didn’t mean she must abandon all responsibility and allow others to take control over her life. Not ever again. Wasn’t this the moment of freedom she had always longed for? She’d no wish to fall out with Kit, who was only trying to take care of her, after all, but he needed to understand that she was perfectly capable of managing her own affairs. She’d grown up a lot since last he’d known her.
‘I’ll show it to you soon as we get to Canada,’ she said with a smile. ‘In the meantime it’s safe enough where it is.’
Even in the dim light of the lifeboat she saw his frown. ‘Don’t you trust me?’
‘Of course I trust you, Kit. Only I am quite capable of looking after it myself.’
‘Oh, Ruby,’ Pearl said crossly. ‘Why do you always have to stubbornly argue and rebel?’
‘Hush, what’s that?’
‘Don’t tell me to hush,’ Pearl protested loudly.
‘But I heard something.’
‘I think we’re moving!’ Kit said.
Just as their nerves seemed stretched to breaking point, and their patience well-nigh exhausted, they felt, rather than heard, the unmistakable vibration of the ship’s engines starting up, heard the churning of water as she prepared to leave her berth. Led by a pair of tugs the great vessel would be turned about in the central basin before making her stately progress out of Manchester Docks towards the sea and a new future for them all.
‘Quickly, give me the pendant, Ruby, then I’ll stow it safely in the pouch on my belt. If anyone tries to get it, they’ll have to kill me first. You know you can trust me with your life.’ And Kit pulled her close to kiss her, smoothing one hand over her cheek.
A quiver of longing ran through her. For years Ruby had dreamed of this moment, when she and Kit could slip away and begin a new life together, when she’d find Pearl and go looking for Billy. Now it was all coming true and it was so exciting. Pearl was right, she really mustn’t spoil it with her usual display of rebellion, not after all their effort. She unbuttoned the top of her frock and drew the silver chain of the pendant over her head. Holding it out to him, it spun around in her hand, its normally fiery sparkle dulled to a deep purple in the eerie gloom beneath the tarpaulin.
And then it was as if the whole world exploded into light. Ruby cried out, put her hands to her eyes to shield them from the sudden brightness.
‘Who goes there?’ Someone was shining a powerful torch right into the lifeboat. ‘I know you’re in there. I heard you talking. Let’s be having you.’ And then the tarpaulin was ripped aside and Ruby knew that everything was lost. She’d never get to Canada now. Never find Billy.
Chapter Twenty
The pendant lay on a table in the dock manager’s office. Guarding it was a bulky policeman, while beside Ruby stood Kit and a weeping Pearl. All three of them were in handcuffs. Ruby could feel Kit’s nervousness and her sister’s fury despite the tears and protestations of innocence. Their resentment was palpable. They hadn’t yet spoken a word to her, but it was as if they were accusing her of letting them down yet again. It seemed pointless to remind them that if Pearl hadn’t started the argument, the seaman would never have discovered their hiding place; that if Kit hadn’t insisted on Ruby’s handing over the pendant, they wouldn’t now be accused of trying to steal it.
‘You’re trying to make us believe that
this valuable ruby pendant was a present?’
‘Yes.’
The policeman and dock manager exchanged disbelieving glances. ‘More likely the lawless life of the street proved too tempting for you to resist. Incorrigible, that’s what you reformatory hooligans are.’
It did not surprise Ruby that they should brand her a liar. It had taken no time at all for their respective histories to be revealed and who would ever credit ex-reformatory inmates with telling the truth? It was well known that such unfortunates were constantly picked up by the police at the slightest provocation and many lost heart, finally being driven to steal for lack of any alternative way of making a living. Ruby reminded herself that despite the mistakes she’d undoubtedly made in her desperate need to care for her family and find happiness, she still possessed more stamina than most, and was innocent of this particular crime. She lifted her chin. ‘The pendant was given to me by my husband.’
‘Your husband?’ This declaration was greeted with hoots of laughter. The policeman nearly lost his helmet as he put back his head and roared, while the manager wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. ‘By heck, that’s a good one. that is. Best excuse I’ve heard in a long while to try and wriggle out of being sent to the Bridewell.’
‘It’s the truth.’
‘Trouble is, love, who’d this rich husband be who’s daft enough to spoil a no-good ruffian like you with such a fabulous gift?’
‘Me.’
All eyes swivelled to the door. The manager was so startled, he half rose out of his chair before falling back into it in stunned disbelief. ‘Barthram Stobbs?’
‘As I live and breathe.’
Ignoring the policemen completely, Bart walked over to Ruby and put his arm about her. ‘Up to mischief again, my love? I thought I had tamed that adventurous spirit of yours.’ Smoothing a hand over the nape of her neck, he commented drily. ‘You haven’t lost that pretty pendant I gave you, have you, my dear?’
Ruby McBride Page 20
