Tiger Bay Blues

by Catrin Collier

  ‘Will we see you for lunch tomorrow?’ His mother asked when Edyth sat next to her.

  ‘Of course they won’t, Florence.’ Alice leaned back in her seat so the waiter could refill her wine glass. ‘You can’t expect them to come and see a couple of old crocks like us on the first day of their honeymoon.’

  ‘You’ll never be old, Aunt Alice, not if you live to be a hundred.’ Peter handed her one of the carnations from the vase in front of them.

  ‘Thank you, gallant sir.’ Alice simpered like a young girl, but the gesture was so theatrical that people laughed in amusement, which was exactly what Alice had intended.

  ‘When will you visit us?’ Peter’s mother didn’t raise her voice, but there was steel beneath the sugar coating and Edyth knew it was a demand.

  ‘Soon, Mother,’ Peter replied.

  ‘We have a lot of things to discuss, Peter.’

  ‘I know, Mother. I promise you, Edyth and I will come to see you at the beginning of next week.’

  ‘The children can telephone us from their hotel to let us know when they’re coming, Flo. That’s if you’re worried about laying on a good spread for them,’ Alice consoled.

  ‘I’m not worried about food, Alice. Your cook has proved herself perfectly capable of coping with any number of unexpected guests.’

  Lloyd leaned towards them. ‘Sali and I would be delighted if you would both come back to our house after the reception. You’d be most welcome to stay the night, Mrs Slater, Mrs Beynon.’

  ‘Edyth did pass on your kind invitation, Mr Evans, but my sister and I are of an age where we prefer to sleep in our own beds,’ Florence Slater said.

  ‘Speak for yourself, Flo.’ Alice dug her elbow into her sister’s ribs and rolled her eyes suggestively.

  ‘But both of you will come back to the house after we have seen Peter and Edyth off at the station?’ Lloyd pressed. ‘I will drive you to the station myself afterwards, to make sure that you catch your train.’

  ‘We’re booked on the half past six train out of Pontypridd,’ Mrs Slater answered.

  ‘But we can always catch a later one if it suits. I hate to miss a good party. Be warned, Mr Evans, you don’t get that many invites in old age.’ Alice was loud, tipsy, and looked ready to stay the week if Lloyd asked her.

  ‘I don’t believe that of you, Mrs Beynon,’ Lloyd complimented.

  ‘Appearances can be deceptive, although I do have my moments, even now.’ She gave him a scurrilous wink. ‘Flo wanted to return to Swansea on the same train as the honeymooners, but I told her straight, mother or no mother, there’s no muscling in on young lovers. They need their privacy, don’t they, Edyth?’ She gave Edyth a wink all of her own. Edyth blushed, but she caught sight of herself in the mirror on the wall and noticed that Peter had turned a deeper shade of crimson than her.

  ‘Are you ready to go to the house to change, Edyth?’ Embarrassed by his aunt’s innuendo and over-familiarity with Lloyd, Peter rose to his feet.

  ‘I am, but Harry was to have driven me to the house and he’s not here. I can hardly walk through town dressed like this.’ She held out the skirt of her wedding dress.

  ‘You might start a new fashion, Edyth.’ Bella waved to Toby when she caught sight of him walking through the door. He made a bee-line for Edyth.

  ‘Harry told me he promised to drive you to the house to change, and back down here afterwards to say goodbye to everyone before taking you to the station. But, as he’s otherwise occupied, I told him that brother-in-law Toby will step in and save the day. Just tell me when you’re ready to go.’ He set his hands on Edyth’s shoulders as he made his way to his seat next to Bella.

  ‘How is Mary?’ Edyth, Bella and Sali cried in unison.

  ‘In labour,’ Toby said shortly. ‘Harry was in such a state I thought I’d better fetch the midwife from Hopkinstown myself. If I hadn’t, I don’t think he would have survived the time it would have taken her to bicycle to the house. I left the maid boiling water and Harry running up and down stairs like a demented dervish. But the midwife seems a capable soul. I’m sure she can cope with both the maid and Harry.’

  ‘Mrs Morris?’ Sali asked.

  ‘That was her name.’

  ‘I told you Mary would be in good hands,’ Lloyd said to Sali. ‘She delivered Glyn and three of the girls,’ he explained to Toby.

  ‘I think I’ll go up to the house with you. As Mari’s here, the maid may need help.’ Sali rose to her feet.

  ‘Could you drop me off at the vicarage on your way, please, Toby?’ Peter asked. ‘It will only take me a few minutes to change out of this morning suit. It’s bound to take Edyth longer, so I’ll pick up my suitcase and walk on up to the house and meet you there. That way Edyth and I can travel back down here together to say our goodbyes and thank everyone for coming.’

  ‘What do you mean, “it’s bound to take Edyth longer”?’ Edyth demanded in mock indignation.

  ‘I can see Harry and I are going to have to give you a few tips on handling women, or more specifically wives, Peter.’ Toby filched a piece of wedding cake from Bella’s plate.

  ‘Really, darling?’ Bella drawled sceptically. ‘Tell me, just who has given you the tips to pass on?’

  ‘We have no time to spare if Peter and Edyth want to return here before catching the train.’ Toby reached into his pocket for his car keys.

  ‘Men!’ Bella looked at Edyth. ‘They don’t understand the art of having a good quarrel. Particularly if they grew up as only children, like Toby – and Peter – or so I hear.’

  ‘Peter may have been an only child, Mrs …’

  ‘Ross.’ Bella smiled at Peter’s mother but the gesture wasn’t returned.

  ‘But I can assure you, he certainly wasn’t spoiled or indulged as a child.’

  ‘Certainly not by you, Flo.’ Alice drained her glass.

  ‘For the life of me I can’t see the fun in quarrelling,’ Toby observed.

  ‘The fun is in the making up,’ Bella said archly, with a sly glance at Edyth. ‘If you are very good, darling, I may teach you how to do that later on tonight.’

  ‘You’ll be back, Peter?’ His mother laid her hand over his when he pushed his chair under the table.

  ‘Yes, Mother.’

  ‘Stop fussing, Flo. Your little boy’s grown up and he’ll soon have little ones of his own. See you later, lovebirds.’ Alice picked up her empty wine glass and waved it at the waiter.

  Peter bent his head and kissed his mother.

  ‘Edyth?’ Florence Slater prompted.

  ‘See you shortly, Mother,’ Edyth kissed her mother-in-law’s cheek, but she was glad to follow Peter out through the door.

  Toby parked his car by the front door of the Evanses’ house. Before he had time to switch off the ignition, Sali was out of her seat and in through the door. It took a few minutes and the combined efforts of Toby and Bella to help Edyth, who was terrified of tearing the veil or her dress, out of the back seat. They went into the hall to find Harry sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, his head in his hands, talking to Sali. He looked up and gave them a tired but triumphant smile.

  ‘Are you ready to be introduced to the newest Evans?’

  ‘Mary has already had the baby?’ Edyth cried out in surprise.

  ‘Less than an hour after she left the New Inn. And that’s the last time I’ll listen to her when she tells me she only fainted because the room was warm.’

  ‘How many more do you intend to have so she can fool you?’ Bella questioned in amusement.

  ‘That’s not up for discussion until I’ve recovered from the strain of having this one.’

  ‘You’ve recovered?’ Bella exclaimed.

  ‘How are they both? What is it? How much did it weigh? Have you given the baby a name yet?’ Edyth demanded impatiently.

  ‘One question at a time.’ Harry smiled at his mother. ‘It’s a boy and we’ve decided to call him William Lloyd Evans, after Granddad and Dad, but because Billy i
s too much of a name to live up to in this family, we’ve decided to call him Will. And both of them are in better shape than me.’

  ‘They couldn’t be in worse.’ Toby reached into his pocket. ‘Have a cigar. I bought them to celebrate Edyth’s wedding but now they’ll come in doubly handy. You deserve one.’

  ‘What for?’ Bella asked. ‘Mopping Mary’s brow when she is in pain?’

  ‘And braving the midwife,’ Harry added. ‘Mary insisted she wanted me there. We both told her that I held Mary’s hand when Ruth was born, but she kept muttering, “it’s disgraceful to have a man cluttering up the room at such a time.”’

  ‘Is it all right if we go up and see them?’ Edyth stepped on the stair that Harry was sitting on.

  ‘Go ahead. The midwife’s in the kitchen having a cup of tea. I said I’d get one for Mary.’

  ‘I’ll make it, Harry,’ Sali offered. ‘You go on back up with the girls; Edyth only has a few minutes to see her new nephew.’

  Mary was lying in the middle of Harry’s double bed, looking down at a bundle wrapped in a shawl next to her.

  Bella leaned over and stroked the baby’s cheek gently with the back of her finger. ‘He is gorgeous, Mary,’ she complimented with a slight trace of envy.

  ‘Isn’t he just?’ Mary pulled back the shawl that covered the baby’s head. ‘He has blond hair, like Harry.’

  ‘But it’s curly like yours, and I suspect that it will grow darker as he gets older, just as Ruth’s has done.’ Harry sat on the bed next to his wife, slipped his arm around her shoulders and pushed his little finger into the baby’s hand. ‘Aren’t we clever?’ He kissed her cheek.

  ‘“We”, indeed! Anyone would think you did all the hard work, Harry. Be careful, Mary. Any minute now he’s going to burst with pride,’ Bella warned.

  ‘I’m only glad he’s calmed down. The midwife was more worried about him than me during the birth. It’s as well that I packed a holdall with baby clothes and nappies – just in case.’

  ‘We would have managed if you hadn’t. I still have some of the girls’ baby things as well as Glyn’s. Here you go, two cups of tea for the proud parents.’ Sali brought in a tray. ‘The midwife said she will be up to see you again before she goes, Mary. She also told me she’s never attended such an easy or quick birth.’

  ‘If that was easy don’t give me difficult.’ Harry took the teas from the tray and set them on the bedside table.

  ‘Was he any help at all, Mary? The truth, mind,’ Bella probed.

  ‘He held my hand.’ She looked sheepishly at Edyth. ‘Sorry I interrupted your wedding.’

  ‘For the best possible reason.’ Edyth held out her arms. ‘Can I have a cuddle?’

  ‘In that velvet frock?’ Harry exclaimed. ‘Is Glyn so grown-up now you’ve forgotten what a mess babies make?’

  ‘Oh … Vladivostok! Look at the time.’ Edyth used the word her teachers had hated, because every time they heard her shouting it they assumed she was swearing.

  ‘Careful, sis, you’re married to a vicar now,’ Harry teased. ‘Can’t have the Bishop hearing you say something that sounds naughty, even if it isn’t.’

  Bella saw her panicking and said, ‘It’s all right. You’re all packed and I’ll help you change.’

  ‘Here, get acquainted with your grandson, Mam.’ Harry handed his son to his mother. ‘I’ll drive you and Peter back to the New Inn to say your goodbyes, sis.’

  ‘No, you will not,’ Bella contradicted. ‘The last thing Edyth and Peter need is a delicate man fainting when he’s driving them down the hill.’

  ‘I want to announce our good news to everyone,’ Harry protested.

  ‘Then you can squash in the back with Edyth and Peter. Edyth, if you want to make that train, start changing. Now!’ Bella opened the door.

  ‘Marriage has made you bossier than ever, Belle. Or does Toby like you that way?’

  ‘That question is not worth answering, Harry Evans.’

  Edyth went to the door. ‘Peter’s walking up from the vicarage to meet me here. Can I show him the baby, please, Mary?’

  ‘Of course.’ Mary couldn’t tear her gaze away from her sleeping child.

  ‘Change, madam, or you’ll miss your train and have to spend your wedding night in a house crowded with people, children and a crying baby.’ Bella shooed Edyth through the door.

  ‘He’s not going to cry,’ Harry called after her. ‘We’re going to train him to be good.’

  ‘Just like you did Ruth.’ Mary lifted his hand from her shoulder and kissed it. ‘I don’t know how we’re going to manage when the two of them climb into our bed every night. When Ruth lies sideways there’s no room for us now.’

  ‘I’ll be firm with him,’ Harry said decisively.

  ‘That I can’t wait to see.’ Sali saw Mary staring at the baby and handed him back to her.

  ‘Watch out, Will, you’re in for a harsh, disciplined life,’ Bella mocked playfully, before following Edyth into her bedroom.

  ‘Some hope, when Harry’s as soft as all the other Evans men,’ Sali laughed.

  ‘I can’t wait to have a baby.’ Bella unclipped the veil from Edyth’s head and laid it on the tissue paper she’d spread out on the bed. ‘Toby and I have talked about it, and we’ve decided we want at least half a dozen.’

  ‘You talked about it?’ Edyth recalled Peter’s embarrassment whenever the subject of babies or sex was touched upon.

  ‘At length. I know Toby’s always making jokes about how many of us there are, and acts as though we’re a tribe of barbarians, but he told me that he loves being one of a large family, even if it is only through marriage. Having lost his parents when he was young and then his uncle, he is determined that our children will never be as alone as he was.’

  ‘And you’re …’ Edyth looked at her sister’s waist, which was as slender as ever.

  ‘Not yet. At least, not that I know about. Here, give me that frock, I’ll lay it on the bed for now and pack it away later. Don’t worry,’ she reassured when she saw Edyth frown. ‘I’ll do it properly so your daughters can wear it when they get married – that’s if they want to. The way fashion is going, it’s anyone’s guess what women will be wearing in twenty years’ time. Feathers in our hair and hula-hula skirts comes to mind after seeing some of the musical shows on Broadway.’ Bella took the dress from Edyth and draped it over the bed. ‘Sit down; I’ll take out the tiara. All your hair will need is a quick comb-through before you put your beret on.’

  Edyth wriggled out of the long petticoat that she had worn beneath her wedding gown and slipped the simply cut, bronze-green silk frock with its bias-cut skirt over her silk cami-knickers. The purple pleated silk jacket had no fastenings. She draped it over her shoulders, took the comb Bella handed her, and pulled it through her waved hair.

  ‘You look perfect, apart from one thing.’

  ‘What?’ Edyth looked anxiously at Bella.

  ‘Shoes?’ Bella picked them up from the floor of the wardrobe and handed them to her. ‘You may be married to a vicar, but I don’t think the church will make you walk barefoot like a penitent. Not yet at any rate.’

  Peter arrived at the house three-quarters of an hour before their train left the station, so they could barely spare five minutes to visit Mary and baby, but even in that short time Edyth sensed that Peter was ill-at-ease. She had assumed that he would be used to visiting women in their bedrooms; after all, he had administered the sacrament to Mrs Hopkins almost daily when he had been the Reverend Price’s curate, but he was clearly perturbed at seeing Mary in bed.

  Hoping no one else had noticed, she was glad when Toby chivvied them into his car. He drove them to the New Inn, where the family showered them with confetti when they walked back into the ballroom. But, by the time Harry had finished announcing the birth of his son, they had to leave.

  Mrs Slater kissed Peter a tearful goodbye and complained bitterly at their having to rush off, but she declined to accompany them to t
he station with the other guests, although it was only a short walk away.

  What seemed like a hundred kisses and a thrown bouquet later, which Alice Beynon caught, Edyth found herself sitting opposite Peter in a first-class carriage heading for Cardiff where they would have to change trains for Swansea.

  ‘Well, Mrs Slater?’ Peter asked. ‘Happy?’

  ‘Very.’ She returned his smile. ‘You?’

  ‘Ecstatic.’

  She turned aside and looked out of the window as they drew into Treforest station. ‘It all happened so fast I still can’t quite believe that we’re actually married.’

  ‘I have the certificate and the whole of our future to convince you.’

  ‘That sounds wonderful. The whole of our future. It makes me think of one of the huge blank canvases in Toby’s studio. You can imagine all sorts of things being painted on it.’ She looked up at him. ‘Happy things, if we’re lucky. Children, home, family, Christmases with trees – and carol concerts and church services.’ She added the last two for his benefit.

  ‘A good life of hard work and Christian duty.’

  ‘And love?’

  ‘Yes, Edyth.’ He pulled the blind on the corridor before moving across to her seat. ‘I promise you love.’ And then he kissed her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘Reverend and Mrs Slater, on behalf of the management and staff, may I welcome you to the Caswell Bay Hotel.’ The clerk left the desk and grandly, and rather ostentatiously, greeted Peter and Edyth as they walked into reception.

  ‘Thank you,’ Peter replied warily. He, like Edyth, had noticed that the man had recognised them the moment they’d stepped inside the hotel and hadn’t needed to refer to the register to check their details.

  ‘Large double with sea view, all expenses to be billed to Mrs Beynon’s account.’ The clerk flourished a pen in front of Peter. ‘A valued and popular customer, Mrs Beynon. She frequently dines and hosts bridge parties here. I understand that you are her nephew, sir?’

  ‘That is correct.’ Peter dipped the pen in the inkwell and signed the register.