The Golden Anklet

by Beverly Hansford

  Elizabeth stifled a sob. She wiped her eyes with the handkerchief and started to talk slowly. All the time she gazed at the floor in front of her. ‘It was when the Ashingtons employed me to look after Ann’s baby. One evening I discovered the baby dead. I knew it was a cot death.’

  She stopped talking for a second and then turned to look at Jane. ‘Evelyn and I changed the babies over,’ she said simply.

  There was silence in the room for what seemed to be a long time. Jane knew that everybody was expecting her to make some sort of response to Elizabeth’s revelation, but she found that she needed a short time to fully comprehend what she had just heard. At long last she knew the story of her past. Things were starting to make sense now. There were just the loose ends to tie up.

  At last she ventured another question. Looking at Elizabeth she asked, ‘Did nobody ever suspect anything?’

  Elizabeth shook her head. ‘It was quite easy. Ann Ashington never came near her baby. She seemed to be always ill. Miles Ashington wasn’t interested, and I had the baby to myself day and night.’

  ‘Whose idea was it to swap the babies – yours or Evelyn’s?’ Jane asked gently.

  Elizabeth appeared to be more relaxed as she explained. ‘Evelyn never wanted you. She wanted to go to Australia and marry Danny. She knew he wouldn’t marry her with somebody else’s baby around. She’d have done anything to achieve her goal. When Ann Ashington’s baby died, I could see it was an opportunity. I contacted Evelyn and we exchanged the babies that night.’

  ‘And Evelyn never had any regrets?’

  Elizabeth shook her head. ‘She thought it was a good idea. She thought you would grow up in a well-to-do family and have all the privileges.’

  Jane hesitated as she waited to see if Elizabeth would reveal more. When nothing came she smiled ruefully and spoke her thoughts. ‘Instead of that I ended up in an orphanage.’

  ‘That was Miles Ashington,’ Elizabeth responded quickly.

  ‘But I went there as Ruth Ashington and ended up being Jane Carroll. How did that happen? It was the question to which Jane had sought the answer for a long time.

  This seemed to catch Elizabeth unprepared. She looked miserable as she replied. ‘That was the work of my sister Susan. Miles Ashington paid her quite a lot of money to change your name on the orphanage records.’

  Jane was aghast. ‘You knew about this?’

  ‘Susan made me promise never to tell a living soul. She told me both of us would be in danger if I told anybody.’

  Jane did not respond immediately. She could hardly believe what she had just heard. When she had set out to find the truth about her past, she had had no idea that it would all end up like this and that she would find herself to be the object of intrigue and greed.

  It was Beth who brought the conversation to life again. ‘So what happened to Evelyn after all this? Did she marry Danny?’

  Elizabeth looked directly at her. ‘Yes. She went to Australia and married him, but it wasn’t a happy marriage. He died about twelve years ago.’

  ‘Did they have any children?’ asked Bob.

  ‘Only one, and the baby died at about twelve months old. Evelyn couldn’t have any more children after that.’

  ‘Did she never want to come back to England?’ asked Beth.

  Elizabeth was still looking miserable. Her voice was scarcely audible at times, almost as if she was talking to herself. ‘She did talk about it a few years ago. I wish she’d make the effort. Her health isn’t too good now and she’s getting forgetful.’

  ‘It would be nice if you could be together,’ remarked Beth.

  Elizabeth did not reply. She seemed lost in her thoughts.

  Jane quietly returned to her seat beside Bob. She was trying to get everything into perspective. There was one big question that she still had to ask Elizabeth. She took advantage of the lull in the conversation. ‘Elizabeth, when a friend and I were looking through the birth, marriage and death records, we never found my birth listed. We only found the one for the Jane Carroll who is buried in Great Wishington. I don’t appear to exist in the records.’

  Jane’s comment stirred Elizabeth from her thinking. She stared at her for a second as if in disbelief. ‘Oh, but you must be. I have your birth certificate here somewhere.’ She reached over to a side table and retrieved a bundle of old envelopes tied with a ribbon. She started to look through them, studying each envelope in turn. ‘Evelyn left it with me when she went to Australia. She was fearful Danny might see it,’ she added.

  The others waited as Elizabeth searched the bundle. Suddenly she exclaimed, ‘Ah, here it is! I knew I had it.’

  She got up and handed Jane a rather tatty envelope that was yellowed with age.

  With almost trembling fingers Jane opened the envelope and pulled out a familiar red certificate. She started to read aloud, slowly, then abruptly stopped. She looked with astonishment at her three waiting listeners. Then her gaze fixed on Bob.

  ‘But this is a different name,’ she announced.

  Chapter 53

  Jane was silent for a few moments. She looked at the document she was holding once more, then at Bob as she spoke again. ‘The name on this certificate is Correll, not Carroll.’

  There were murmurs of surprise from Bob and Beth.

  ‘That explains a lot,’ remarked Bob, looking over Jane’s shoulder at the certificate.

  Jane started to read aloud again. ‘Mother, Evelyn Correll.’

  ‘I don’t think Evelyn could ever have looked at it,’ remarked Elizabeth. ‘I never looked at it either.’

  Jane continued her examination of the certificate. ‘It was Evelyn who registered the birth,’ she remarked. She looked at Bob. ‘No wonder Gerald and I never found any record of my birth.’

  ‘Everything certainly fits together now,’ he replied.

  There was another silence. It was Jane who eventually broke it. She spoke softly as she addressed Elizabeth. ‘Did Evelyn… my mother never enquire about me after she exchanged me for a dead baby?’

  Elizabeth did not respond straight away. She looked utterly miserable and anxious as she formulated an answer. When she did speak her voice was hardly more than a whisper. ‘Evelyn wanted to build a new life for herself without you. She thought it was the best thing for both her and you.’

  Elizabeth’s words hit Jane like a battering ram. Her own mother had abandoned her to fate.

  ‘It seems so callous.’ Jane almost choked on the words. Her tears were not far away.

  Bob quickly put his arm round her. ‘It’s all right, poppet,’ he whispered.

  Jane made a big effort to regain control. She tried her best to absorb the information she had just received and put everything into perspective. As far as she was concerned she was still the same person she had always been. She had grown up believing that she had no mother, she reasoned, so what was the difference now?

  Partly to divert attention from herself, Jane glanced again at the certificate. She suddenly noticed something else. She turned to Bob, a glimmer of surprise showing. ‘Look at the date. I’m younger than I thought I was. Over six months younger.’

  Bob grinned. ‘That’s one bonus!’ he exclaimed.

  Jane turned to Elizabeth again. Observing her obvious distress, she tried to make her voice sound as kind as possible. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about this when I came to see you the first time?’ she asked.

  Elizabeth clutched desperately at her handkerchief for some comfort and looked at Jane. She was almost in tears, her voice almost a whimper.

  ‘I should have. I know I should have, but somehow I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. It all happened so long ago. Then there was Miles Ashington. He made me promise not to tell you.’

  Jane interrupted. ‘You told Miles Ashington I’d been to see you?’ she asked.

  Elizabeth nodded. She paused for a short time and then continued talking. She was looking down at the floor now, and at times it was almost as if she were talking to hers
elf. ‘He told me not to tell you anything – and that if I did things would be bad for me.’

  ‘Phew. Nice guy to have around,’ remarked Bob.

  Elizabeth continued. ‘He can be a nasty man at times.’

  ‘So it would seem,’ commented Jane, remembering her own ordeal. She prompted Elizabeth again. ‘What made you change your mind and contact me?’ she asked.

  ‘It was after I read in the paper that Miles and his son had been arrested, and all the horrible things that had happened to you. If I’d told you everything before, all that might not have happened. Then the police came to see me. I didn’t know what to do. I should have told them about all this, but I didn’t… Now I’m so confused. I don’t know what you must think of me.’

  As she finished speaking, Elizabeth’s tears began to flow. She dabbed desperately at her eyes with the handkerchief.

  Compassion welled up inside Jane. She moved over to Elizabeth again and put her arm round her as she spoke softly and calmly. ‘It’s all right, Elizabeth. Really it is. I’m not angry with you. You did what you thought was best at the time.’

  Elizabeth looked at her, tears in her eyes. ‘The police… What will I do about the police? I should have told them everything when they came.’

  Before Jane could say anything, Elizabeth became quite agitated. ‘Do you think they’ll send me to prison? I couldn’t bear that,’ she whimpered.

  Jane thought quickly. The police would not be very pleased about Elizabeth withholding information from them, but in a way it was understandable, given Miles Ashington’s threat of retribution hanging over her. She still had her arm round Elizabeth. She continued to address her quietly. ‘I think you need to tell the police everything you know and explain why you couldn’t tell them before – that Miles Ashington threatened you.’

  Elizabeth was clearly not too happy with the idea. ‘But they might arrest me for withholding information or something like that.’

  Jane shook her head. ‘I doubt it, but you have evidence they’ll be interested in that relates to the case against Miles Ashington,’ she explained.

  ‘But what about me exchanging the babies?’ asked Elizabeth. ‘They might arrest me for that.’

  Again Jane shook her head. Her reply was slow and considered. ‘Well, as I am the person who was chiefly affected and I don’t intend to do anything about it, I should think that would go a long way to influencing whether any action is taken.’

  Beth swiftly turned to Bob. ‘What do you think, sir?’ she asked.

  Bob thought for a second. ‘I think I agree with Jane. The police need to know because of the involvement of Miles Ashington. I think it is unlikely that they would take any further action, though,’ he added.

  ‘Oh, I do hope you’re right,’ replied Elizabeth.

  Out of the blue Jane had an idea. ‘Was it an Inspector Boyd who came to see you?’ she asked Elizabeth.

  ‘Yes, I think that was his name. There was another policeman as well,’ Elizabeth replied vaguely.

  Jane launched her suggestion. Speaking in a kindly voice, she asked, ‘Would you like me to explain everything to Inspector Boyd before they come to see you?’

  ‘Oh, would you, dear? I would so much appreciate you doing that.’ Elizabeth sounded a bit more cheerful.

  ‘I’ll get in touch with him and let you know what he says,’ replied Jane. Then, gently she asked, ‘How are you feeling now?’

  For the first time since they arrived, a glimmer of a smile reached Elizabeth’s face. ‘I feel much better now that I’ve told you,’ she admitted. ‘I don’t feel so upset about everything,’ she added thoughtfully.

  Jane and Bob exchanged glances, in silent agreement that it was time to take their leave of Elizabeth. She seemed to have calmed down a lot and appeared to be happy to let them go, now that Jane had reassured her by promising to contact her when she had spoken to Inspector Boyd.

  It was Beth who showed them to the front door. As she shook hands with them, she whispered to Jane, ‘I’ll keep an eye on Elizabeth.’

  *

  It was early afternoon when they returned from Elizabeth’s, and the rest of the day flew past. Bob had insisted on driving back from Charlton, and Jane had not objected. She wanted to think about all that had been revealed to her in the last few hours. Bob seemed to understand how she felt. He concentrated on his driving and let her sit back with her eyes closed and relax.

  By the time they were back in the apartment, Jane was feeling brighter. Bob suggested that they dine out in the evening, and on the spur of the moment Jane decided to telephone Mario and see if she could book a table at such short notice. She was lucky. After Mario had flirted with her as usual, he announced that as she was his special client he would find her a table.

  Jane decided to tell Gerald immediately what had come out of their visit to Elizabeth. Of course Anna insisted that they stay for a cup of tea while Jane related all the details. It took some time because Gerald and Anna kept asking questions.

  Anna seemed quite disappointed that Jane was not Ruth Ashington after all. ‘Oh, I think it’s so sad that you aren’t going to inherit all that money,’ she remarked. ‘Are you quite sure you aren’t Ruth Ashington?’

  Jane gave a little smile. ‘Quite sure,’ she replied. ‘I’m just plain Jane Carroll.’

  ‘Well, at least now you won’t need to change your name,’ Gerald remarked, at the same time giving Jane a grin.

  Jane suddenly thought of something. ‘Of course! All my personal documents will have incorrect information. I hadn’t thought of that until now. How do I deal wlth that situation?’

  Gerald thought for a second or two. ‘I think Elizabeth and perhaps even Evelyn will eventually have to sign an affidavit so that changes can be made,’ he remarked.

  Jane was more concerned now. ‘Do you think it will be difficult?’ she asked, adding quickly, ‘I mean, changing the details on my documents.’

  Gerald shook his head. ‘I would think not if you obtain the right information.’

  ‘It’s something for the future. We’ll tackle it together,’ declared Bob, smiling and putting his arm round Jane.

  It was inevitable that Anna would want them to come for a meal in the evening, but Bob quickly chipped in, explaining that he and Jane had arranged to eat out.

  The first thing Jane did when they were back in her apartment was to look at her watch. An exclamation burst from her lips. ‘Gosh! Just look at the time. Six already. We’ve got to be at Mario’s at seven.’

  ‘We’ll make it OK,’ replied Bob.

  ‘But I’ve got to get ready,’ she wailed.

  Bob grinned at her. ‘Off you go, then.’

  Jane sped away, calling over her shoulder, ‘I’ll be as quick as I can.’

  ‘OK. Take your time,’ Bob called back, as she disappeared into the bathroom.

  He grinned to himself. He was pleased to have observed that since their return to the apartment Jane had brightened up considerably. She was back to her old self again. He was glad that he had been able to go with her to see Elizabeth. At least he had been there to give support. His admiration for her had increased when he saw how she had received Elizabeth’s story, and the compassion she had shown her. Many people would have been angry and even spiteful over the whole thing, but she had accepted everything with great dignity.

  It was a good fifteen minutes before Jane reappeared. She had chosen a simple outfit of a flared floral skirt with a wide belt, teamed with a white blouse. Her favourite necklace with the deep blue stone appeared in the vee left by the lapels of the blouse. She carried her white high-heeled shoes in her hand.

  ‘Here I am,’ she announced, smiling. She gave a quick glance at her watch and looked anxiously at Bob. ‘Darling, I wasn’t too long, was I?’ she asked.

  Bob grinned at her. ‘No. You’re fine.’ He was already getting up from the settee to have a wash and brush up.

  When he returned ten minutes later he had changed into a fresh shir
t and a lightweight jacket. Jane was standing by the window looking out as he entered the lounge. She turned to face him.

  ‘Darling, do you notice anything different about me?’ she asked breezily.

  Bob moved towards her and scrutinised her for a second. ‘You’re wearing our engagement ring,’ he replied with a smile.

  ‘I said I’d wear it on my finger as soon as I knew who I was,’ remarked Jane, holding up her ring finger in full view.

  Bob moved to kiss her, but she backed away. She gave him one of her coy looks. ‘Save it for later,’ she whispered. She added with a grin, ‘Besides, you’ll get my lipstick all over you.’ She smiled at him. ‘What else do you notice about me?’

  Bob put his hand to his face and pretended to be thinking as he continued looking her up and down. ‘You’re wearing the anklet,’ he announced triumphantly.

  Jane was serious for a second. ‘I had it repaired during the week. It’s my lucky charm. I shudder to think where I might have been but for it.’

  ‘Don’t lose it again,’ Bob urged.

  Jane was smiling again. ‘I won’t,’ she replied gaily.

  Bob was going to say something, but she chipped in again quickly. ‘And what else do you notice? There’s a third thing.’

  Bob was ready with the answer. He had noticed that Jane’s legs were encased in sheer nylon immediately she had appeared. ‘You’re wearing a lighter shade of tights,’ he replied confidently.

  ‘Am I?’ Jane asked with a mischievous grin.

  Before Bob could even think of an answer, Jane slowly gripped each side of her skirt and raised it just high enough to reveal what she was wearing underneath. She let the skirt go immediately. ‘Now you know,’ she remarked, almost casually.

  Jane had made some split-second decisions while she was getting ready for the evening. Suddenly a little bit of wickedness had come over her. She had always intended to celebrate the conclusion of her family history, and tonight was as good as any other. True, the outcome of her search was not what she had originally imagined, but at long last she knew where her roots lay. Bob had been a brick throughout the whole process. He had stuck by her and supported her through everything. Her decision to wear the anklet and stockings for the evening was just a little token of her appreciation and love for him.