by June Francis
Joy had found Kathleen’s bag and was debating whether to telephone the number Patsy had given her when there was a knock at the back door. ‘Come in!’ she called.
The door opened and in the doorway stood a smiling Kathleen. ‘I’ve brought you a present,’ she said.
‘I was just thinking of you. I found your bag.’
‘Sorry about that but, what with all that was going on, I clean forgot about it. Anyway, did you hear what I said, Miss Kirk? I’ve brought you a wedding present.’ Kathleen turned and bent down and straightened up with the puppy in her arms. ‘I thought you and Mr Bennett might like this in place of the one that he lost,’ she explained.
For a moment Joy could not speak and then she moved forward and took the dog out of Kathleen’s arms. She held it at arm’s length and inspected it and then a smile warmed her face. ‘Fancy you thinking of doing this. You surprise me, Kathy.’
Kathleen laughed with pure pleasure. ‘I knew it was a good idea. Even our Patsy admitted it. D’yer think Mr Bennett will like it?’
‘Oh, I’m sure he will,’ said Joy without hesitation, stroking the puppy’s head. ‘It mightn’t have a pedigree but how could he resist such a little charmer. I reckon he’s half collie.’ She tugged gently on the folded black and white ear.
‘I bought a second-hand frock from the market, so I won’t stop,’ said Kathleen. ‘I want to dolly it up with a touch of embroidery here and there.’
‘You’re good at embroidery, are you?’
‘Yeah. I like making things pretty. I’ll see yer, then.’
Joy’s smile deepened. ‘Yes. Monday. Don’t forget your bag.’
Kathleen picked it up. ‘Tarrah,’ she said and left.
Joy was just debating what she should do first to provide for her unusual wedding present when there came another knock on the door and a voice called, ‘Are you in, Joy?’ She recognised Wendy’s voice and went and opened the door.
Immediately the girl asked, ‘What have you got there?’
‘It’s a wedding present from the Doyle girls. You could have knocked me down with a feather when Kathy gave it to me.’
Wendy stroked the puppy’s head. ‘It’s a little sweetie. I wonder what Uncle Robbie will say. There’s only one thing for you to worry about. Who’ll take care of it when you go on your honeymoon? Mam hates dogs.’
Joy stiffened. ‘What honeymoon? We’re supposed to be staying at home.’
‘Oops! It seems I’ve let the cat out of the bag.’ Wendy pulled a face. ‘I heard Mam and Uncle Robbie talking and he asked her to come and look after the house while you’re away.’
‘I bet she jumped at the chance,’ said Joy, an edge to her voice.
Wendy hesitated. ‘You don’t really believe that she’ll be poking in all the corners and seeing what skeletons you’ve got in your cupboards, do you?’
‘She’ll be wasting her time if she does,’ said Joy grimly. ‘Anyway, the puppy’s staying here so you’d better come and look after the house if I agree to go away. Although, a dog this young shouldn’t be left alone all day in a strange house.’
Wendy pursed her lips. ‘I suppose I could work from here. There is a telephone, or if Grant really needs me in the office for clients I don’t suppose he’ll kick up too much of a fuss if I take the puppy in with me.’
‘I wouldn’t be too sure of that but it’s good of you to offer,’ said Joy. ‘Where’s Grant now?’
‘He’s doing something for Uncle Robbie.’
‘You’re not going to tell me what it is? Client confidentiality and all that?’
‘I can’t even hint because I don’t know anything. Grant’s keeping mum about this one,’ said Wendy. ‘You’re looking tired. Uncle Robbie looks tired, too. It was a terrible shock to him hearing about Mr O’Hara.’
‘Terrible. I presume you haven’t heard anything more about Mrs Tanner?’
Wendy shook her head.
‘Let’s change the subject.’
‘OK. By the way, I don’t think Uncle Robbie plans to leave until Tuesday.’
Joy was relieved about that.
‘Another thing I’ve been thinking about,’ said Wendy. ‘Who’s going to give you away?’
‘My brother, Freddie. He and his wife and my nephew are coming over tomorrow and staying the night.’
‘Uncle Robbie made no mention of it,’ said Wendy, wrinkling her nose.
Joy said dryly, ‘No, I don’t think it’s even occurred to him that I need someone to give me away in a proper wedding ceremony. I’ll remind him when he comes in and also ask him about this honeymoon he’s arranged without telling me.’
Wendy looked crestfallen. ‘I’m sorry for betraying his surprise. Is there anything I can do to make amends?’
‘I’m not cross with you so there’s no need,’ said Joy. ‘But there is something you can do. We never got rid of Nanki Poo’s basket and paraphernalia. It’s all upstairs in one of the attics. Could you fetch the lot down for me?’
‘No trouble.’ Wendy left the kitchen.
While she was gone Joy pondered on what to do about Robbie’s proposed honeymoon. She supposed it would seem unreasonable and ungrateful if she asked him to cancel it at such late notice. Perhaps if she looked upon it as a holiday and trusted to his good sense for everything else, then there would be no need for her to worry about it. Even as she told herself this, she had a feeling she was kidding herself. It was the thin end of the wedge.
When Robbie arrived home he did not immediately realise there was an extra member to the household. He entered the house by the front door, bringing with him the smell of cigarette smoke and beer.
‘I don’t think I need to ask where you’ve been,’ said Joy, putting a light to the oven.
‘No, sweet Joy, you don’t,’ he said, waiting until she straightened up before kissing her cheek. She reminded him that Freddie, Clara and little Nicholas would be staying tomorrow night.
‘I hadn’t forgotten. Nicholas is a nice little lad and I’m fond of Clara. If it wasn’t for her, then I might never have married Eudora or met you, of course.’ He planted a kiss on her lips this time. ‘I’ve lots to be thankful for. I would have been in a right sticky mess if she hadn’t. Eudora left me well provided for.’ He sat down and gazed about him. ‘She left you a few bob, too, didn’t she, love?’
You’re just a little drunk if you’re being so honest about Eudora’s money, thought Joy, wondering what he meant by a right sticky mess.
Suddenly Robbie sat up straight and stared at the sleeping puppy in the dog basket. ‘What’s that?’
‘It’s a wedding present from the Doyle girls,’ said Joy, smiling. She had fed the puppy some best beef mince and with a full belly it had gone almost immediately to sleep. ‘We’re going to have to come up with a name for him.’
Robbie pushed himself out of the chair and managed to get down on his hands and knees to have a closer look at the dog. ‘I’m touched, Joy. Fancy the girls thinking of such a welcome present. There’s only one problem, who’s going to look after him while we’re on our honeymoon?’
She was tempted to say What honeymoon? but decided not to tease him. ‘Wendy was here earlier and she offered to stay and take care of him. As we know, Rita doesn’t like dogs and we don’t want the puppy nipping her ankles. Dogs sense when people don’t like them, don’t you think?’
He agreed. ‘Wendy’s a good girl. When she gets married, you’ll have to choose a nice present for her and Grant.’
‘Of course. Any more news about Mr O’Hara? I don’t suppose you’ve heard when the funeral will be?’
‘No.’ He staggered to his feet and fumbled for his cigarettes. ‘You haven’t heard any news from the Doyle girl about Rose Tanner?’
Joy shook her head.
Robbie sank into a chair and rested his head against the back of it. He lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply. Joy waited a few moments before saying, ‘So where are we going for this honeymoon?’
He cocked a snowy brow at her. ‘I knew you weren’t in favour of a cruise, so I thought you might like a trip to London. I was thinking of taking the car and stopping at different places on the way.’
Joy did not instantly respond with enthusiasm but thought about the plan and decided she could go along with it. ‘I quite like that idea.’
‘Trouble is, after hearing about poor old Brendan crashing his car, I’m not so sure about motoring down.’
‘Why not? You’re a steady driver.’
Robbie pursed his lips. ‘That’s true,’ he wheezed. ‘And it’ll make a longer holiday of it. We could spend a few days in the capital and take in a few shows.’
Joy began to feel really enthusiastic about the idea. ‘I’ve never been south. It’ll be exciting seeing Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park where Mrs Pankhurst and the suffragettes gathered for the big rally in nineteen-eight. Alice was there, you know?’
‘I didn’t know,’ he said, looking surprised.
‘My sister and I used to go along to meetings in Chester. We were all for getting the vote and equal wages for women,’ reminisced Joy.
‘Didn’t know that either.’ He looked disgruntled. ‘You weren’t one of them that smashed windows and tied yourself to railings, were you?’
‘Goodness, no. My parents would never have allowed it. At least it got the women’s cause noticed but there are still thousands of widows or wives with crippled husbands struggling on insufficient income trying to keep themselves, and some have children. It just isn’t right!’
‘I know, I know,’ said Robbie, reaching out and taking her hand. ‘Don’t get yourself all worked up. You’re not in that position. Now, think about what you’re going to pack for our honeymoon.’
‘I’ve very little new.’
‘Doesn’t matter. You’ve got money of your own to buy stuff in London.’
Joy decided what he meant was that he wasn’t going to fork out for a new wardrobe for her. Disappointing as that was she could not help but still feel excited about going to London and came to the conclusion that Robbie knew her better than she had realised.
‘We need to decide what to call our dog,’ she said.
‘Our dog.’ Robbie beamed at her. ‘How about George Rex after the king?’
She decided that probably the George would soon be dropped and the puppy would be answering to Rex. What the king would say if he knew he had a dog named after him! Excitement charged through her. She might see the king and queen for herself in London. What could be more thrilling than that?
But at what price? Her excitement receded to be replaced by trepidation. Most likely Robbie would expect them to share a bedroom on the journey down and with them being married it would mean a double bed. She guessed that maybe all along he had wanted the marriage to be in more than name only. It seemed that unless she cancelled the wedding and moved out, she might have to give way to his wishes and share his bed.
Chapter Twelve
‘So what did Joy Kirk say about the puppy?’ asked Patsy, glancing up as her sister walked in.
‘She was really pleased. I wish you could have seen her face.’ Kathleen placed her bag on the floor and sat down at the kitchen table. She eased off her shoes and wriggled her toes.
‘Well, I’m glad about that,’ said Patsy, smiling.
Kathleen glanced up at her sister. ‘Did you get out any embroidery silks?’
‘Yes, although there’re no full skeins.’
Kathleen’s smooth brow knitted. ‘What colours are there?’
‘Red, green, yellow, blue, lilac, black and brown. I think Mrs Tanner probably went through a phase when she embroidered cushion covers. Unless someone else did the ones in the drawing room.’
‘I must look at them. Yer’ve never seen her doing any sewing yourself?’
‘No. She doesn’t even sew on buttons.’
‘Not even her husband’s?’
‘No. You’ll find the silks over there,’ said Patsy, indicating a shelf with a jerk of the head.
The bell rang in the telephone box as Kathleen padded across the floor in her stocking feet. Patsy wiped her hands on her apron before hurrying out of the kitchen. She held the black Bakelite receiver to her ear. The operator told her that there was a call for her from Blackpool. Patsy clutched the receiver with tense fingers.
David Tanner’s voice crackled down the line. ‘Patsy, just to inform you that Mrs Tanner has regained consciousness, and although she is still in a critical condition, she has managed to speak to me. I’ll be staying in Blackpool until I can bring her home.’
‘Yes, Mr Tanner,’ said Patsy loudly. ‘Can you tell me what her injuries are in case anyone asks about her?’
‘She has concussion and facial injuries as well as a broken shoulder and a cracked kneecap,’ he replied. ‘It’s a miracle she survived. There’s something I want you to do for me. I can’t telephone the news through to Rose’s mother or Greg because they’re not on the telephone, so I want you to go to the house in Seaforth and let them know what’s happened. You’ll find some change in the top drawer of my desk that you can use for the fare. Have you a pencil and paper to hand, so I can give you the Seaforth address as well as that of the hospital?’
There was a notepad and pencil handy. ‘Yes, Mr Tanner,’ she replied. ‘Fire away!’
As he spoke Patsy laboriously wrote on the pad and then there was a click as the call was terminated. She headed back to the kitchen.
Her sister looked up from sorting out the silks. ‘Well, was it him?’
‘Yes! And Mrs Tanner has regained consciousness.’
‘Is he bringing her home?’
‘Not just yet. She’s still critically ill, has facial injuries and broken bones.’
Kathleen gave a little shiver. ‘Facial injuries sound nasty. I bet her nose is broken and she looks a mess.’
‘He didn’t say. What he did say was that he wants me to go to Seaforth and let her mother or Greg know about the accident.’
‘Who’s Greg?’
‘I presume he’s another of Mrs Tanner’s brothers.’
Kathleen’s face brightened. ‘I’m all for having a day out at Seaforth.’
‘Me too. We could take a picnic and have it on the sands. It might be crowded with it being the Easter weekend but what the heck! It’ll be a nice relaxing break and you should still have enough time to sort out your frock.’
‘I’ll make time even if I have to stay up until after midnight,’ said Kathleen happily. ‘This beats working for those two old spinsters.’
‘Yes, but don’t forget you’ve still got to sign on at the Servants’ Registry on Tuesday,’ warned Patsy.
Kathleen pulled a face. ‘Obviously you’re not going to let me forget,’ she complained.
Patsy gave her a look. ‘Get on with sorting out those silks. I don’t want to hear another word out of you until supper’s ready.’
The kitchen fell silent. As Patsy prepared their evening meal she was wondering what Rose Tanner had felt when she was told Brendan O’Hara was dead. Of course, she mightn’t have been told yet in case she took a turn for the worse. For the moment, at least she still had a job, unless Rose Tanner went and had a relapse and died. She wondered what Mr Tanner would do then.
It was a while since she had spent an evening with her sister, so Patsy allowed herself to be persuaded to play some of Rose’s records. Neither of them got up and danced but they did sing along to several of the popular songs of the last decade.
The following day, Patsy was wakened by the joyful ringing of church bells. She decided that they should skip church and set out early before the crowds were out making the most of this Easter morning. ‘Maybe if we have time we could go to the evening service at St Simon and Jude’s,’ she suggested.
‘If we have time,’ said Kathleen, pulling a face. ‘I still have work to do on my frock and there’s no one here to make us go. I would have enjoyed a chocolate egg, though,’ she added with a sigh.
‘There you go again about Dad,’ said Kathleen, rolling her eyes.
‘Don’t start moaning! I’ll try never to speak of him again.’ Patsy put on her jacket and dropped a handful of change in her pocket before pulling on a plain blue felt hat. She grabbed the shopping bag with the sandwiches, water and a couple of slices of cake. ‘Come on, Kath!’ she called, opening the back door.
They caught a tram into town and then went to the overhead station near the Pier Head. There were already plenty of people out and about, making for the ferries or other transport to take them to the seaside. Patsy could almost hear her father’s voice explaining to her why it was best to try and get a seat well away from the carriage door, so you were not always getting disturbed by people going in and out.
‘The carriages are really dull,’ said Kathleen, gazing about her.
Patsy did not argue that the varnished brown interior was a bit gloomy. ‘Don’t start complaining. Once we’re out of the station, it’ll be lovely and bright, you’ll see.’
‘The seats are hard, too,’ muttered Kathleen.
‘What do you expect of wood?’ said Patsy. ‘This is a third-class carriage. If you ever get rich, then we can go first class.’
‘I’d like to be rich,’ said Kathleen, her eyes gleaming. She clutched Patsy’s arm as the train started to move. Both were silent for a while and it was not until they had passed several of the dockyards and had a clear view of the river that Kathleen said, ‘Look at that liner! Wouldn’t yer just love to go on that ship and sail across to America in luxury?’
Patsy smiled. ‘There you go, dreaming again.’
‘Nothing wrong with that, is there?’
‘No. It’s just like window shopping and imagining yourself being dressed in the latest fashions.’
‘I don’t want to just dream,’ said Kathleen, her nose pressed against the glass. ‘I want it all for real.’
‘You and me both, but be realistic,’ murmured Patsy. ‘There’s little chance of us becoming rich.’
