by Kitty Neale
She nodded vigorously. ‘Yeah, I’d like that.’
Melvin had been quiet, but now said, ‘Constance, if I can be of any help, you only have to ask. I could do a bit of maintenance when necessary and maybe sort out the garden.’
‘That would be marvellous,’ she replied, smiling warmly. ‘But I’d insist on paying you.’
‘I don’t want pay. That isn’t why I offered. Seeing the home you’re providing my sister and niece is reward enough. Not only that, I’ve always wanted to try my hand at gardening, but with just a small back yard at my mother’s it’s never been possible. I haven’t any experience, but I can find books on the subject.’
‘Right then, consider it a deal. Now, Penny, let me show you the flat.’
Penny’s eyes grew wide again as she looked at the rooms. ‘Look at the furniture, Melvin. It’s proper posh.’
‘I think you’ve fallen on your feet, Penny.’
‘The furniture is old, but solid,’ Constance said.
‘Oh,’ Penny enthused, ‘I love it.’
‘Good. I’d best check on William to make sure he’s still asleep, so I’ll leave you to settle in and unpack.’
To Constance’s surprise Penny gave her a spontaneous hug, and she found herself hugging her back. It was so nice to be shown open affection and she was glad now that she’d offered Penny the job. ‘I’ll be back down later, but if you want to come upstairs at any time you’ll be welcome. I want you to feel that this is your home.’
‘Thanks,’ Penny said warmly.
‘If you’re happy to sort yourself out, Sis, I’d like to see the rest of the house and the garden before I leave.’
‘Yeah, go on, I’ll be fine.’
Melvin followed Constance upstairs, and admired every room. ‘It’s a beautiful house,’ he said, ‘but if Albie finds out that your father has died, I don’t think you’ll be able to keep him out of it.’
‘Don’t worry, I have a plan. I just hope it works.’
‘Good luck with it,’ Melvin said.
Constance knew she needed it; her position was precarious, but nevertheless she was determined to put her plans for the house into action.
At the same time, Dora was sitting by the fire in Kibble Street, knitting, when she heard someone rapping on her back door.
Huffing she went to answer it, her face stretching when she saw Ivy. ‘Yeah, what do you want?’
‘Please, Dora, can we talk?’
‘I’ve got nothing to say to you.’
‘Will you at least let me apologise? Please, believe me, I was going out of my mind with worry when Penny went and got herself pregnant. I know I shouldn’t have tried to name Albie, but I was desperate.’
‘You could have wrecked his marriage.’
‘Dora, please, let’s at least be honest. The fact that Connie has now left Albie proves it wasn’t a happy marriage.’
‘How do you know that she’s left him?’
‘Huh, this is Kibble Street and there ain’t much that escapes the prying eyes here.’
‘You’ve got that right.’
‘Dora, I’ve missed you. Can’t we be friends again?’
With a sigh Dora looked down at the worn lino on the floor, knowing that in truth she had missed Ivy too. ‘All right, come on in and I’ll make us a cuppa.’
‘Thanks. I won’t say no,’ Ivy said and as she sat down added, ‘Do you miss Connie?’
‘A bit, but I miss Billy the most.’
‘I saw that she was here earlier. Does that mean she’s going to come back?’
‘No, she just brought Billy to see us. She’s gonna do that every other week.’
‘That’s something then.’
‘Has Ivy had her baby?’
‘Don’t talk to me about that girl. She refused to give it up, and I was livid. I wouldn’t let her come back to live with me, and from what Melvin has told me she’s living in some grotty bedsit. Serves her right.’
‘Oh, Ivy, you don’t know what you’re missing. From the first time I saw Billy I loved him, just as I loved Albie when he was born.’
‘Yeah, but Billy ain’t black.’
‘I wouldn’t have cared if he was. If you go to see your grandchild you might feel the same and change your mind.’
‘There’s no chance of that. Can you imagine the reaction to a black baby in Kibble Street? I’d never be able to hold my head up again.’
‘Well, it’s up to you, but I think it’s a shame that Penny’s been ostracised. You’d think she’d murdered someone the way you talk about her. Granted, she made a mistake by getting pregnant without a ring on her finger, but so did Connie. Anyhow, Penny isn’t the only one on this street who’s made a mistake. I can name two more.’
‘None of them slept with a black man.’
‘So what if she did! We’re all the same under the skin and one day perhaps colour won’t matter. At least I hope it won’t.’
‘I can’t see that ever happening.’
‘It might. It used to be the Jews that were treated like pariahs, then the Irish, and now it’s the blacks. I wonder who it’ll be next?’
‘Oh, for Gawd’s sake, let’s change the subject.’
‘Yes, all right, but one day I hope you’ll see sense.’
‘I’m not the only one. My Dave feels the same about them as me.’
‘That surprises me. He’s always struck me as open-minded.’
‘With most things, yeah, but a lot of the Jamaicans work on the railways, and he doesn’t like them taking our blokes’ jobs.’
‘If our men had wanted the jobs, there wouldn’t be any vacancies,’ Dora snapped.
‘Oh you, always with an answer for everything.’
‘No, not really. They were encouraged to come here and I think we should give them a chance.’
‘I’m changing the subject again because we’re not going to agree on this for now. Where’s Albie this evening?’
‘He’s out as usual, but don’t ask me where. He works nights in a factory, and as Sunday is his only day off, he likes to make the most of it.’
‘What factory?’
‘The one down by the river. Mason’s, I think it’s called.’
‘Nah, that can’t be right. Mason’s closed down last year.’
‘Oh, I must have got the name wrong then,’ Dora said, yet she was sure she hadn’t. Albie had definitely said he had a job in Mason’s, so why had he lied?
Chapter 38
Anxious to file for the divorce, Constance left William with Penny on Tuesday afternoon. If Albie followed his same routine, he’d be getting up about now and she could talk to him in private.
‘What do you want?’ he asked snappily, his tousled hair showing he had just got out of bed.
‘I want to talk to you about a divorce.’
‘Yeah, well, I tried to talk to your father about that, but he was out.’
Constance asked sharply, ‘When was this?’
‘On Sunday, when you were here.’
‘He was probably at his club,’ she said, thinking quickly, ‘but it’s me you should talk to, not my father.’
‘I suppose I’ll have to, but if you want a divorce it’ll cost you.’
Constance fought a smile of delight. Albie was playing into her hands, but she couldn’t let him know that. ‘Albie, you know I haven’t any money of my own.’
‘Of course I do. That’s why I went to see your father, but now it’s you who will have to wheedle money out of him.’
‘How much do you want?’
‘Ten grand.’ Albie crossed his arms against his chest and gave Constance a challenging smile.
‘What? Are you mad? My father will never agree to that.’
‘If he wants rid of me, he will. We’ve been married for less than a year and that means we can’t be granted a divorce. The only option is an annulment. For ten grand I’m prepared to admit that our marriage hasn’t been consummated.’
‘You seem to know a lot
about divorce laws.’
‘I made it my business to find out.’
‘What about William? I want your assurance that you won’t fight me for custody.’
‘As long as you keep to your agreement and bring him to see us every other week, I won’t be doing that.’
‘Will you agree to put that in writing?’
‘Yeah, of course.’
‘Very well. I’ll talk to my father as soon as I can and get back to you.’
‘Yeah, do that. Just don’t make me wait too long or I might change my mind.’
Constance knew it was an idle threat. Albie wanted money, and there was no way he’d jeopardise his chance of getting his hands on ten thousand pounds. She would play along though. ‘It might take some time to persuade him, but I’ll let you know as soon as I can,’ she said, stalling for time as she knew there was a problem. She couldn’t write him a cheque with her signature on, it would arouse suspicion, so she’d have to come up with something to stop that happening.
‘What are you looking so pleased about?’ Dora asked Albie when she arrived home from work.
‘I’m coming into some money.’
‘Oh, yeah, how much?’
‘Ten grand.’
‘What? You must be joking. Where’s it coming from?’
‘Connie wants an annulment and that’s how much it’ll cost her,’ Albie replied, going on to describe what had happened earlier.
‘You should have asked for less. I can’t see her father parting with ten grand.’
‘He can afford it.’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘Come off it, Mum. He lives in a huge house with staff and drives a Bentley. He’s loaded.’
‘I still don’t think he’ll part with ten grand, but if he does what are you going to do with it?’
‘I dunno yet,’ Albie said evasively. He knew exactly what he was going to do with it, but didn’t want to break it to his mum that he’d be moving out soon. She wasn’t going to be happy about it, but it was time he led his own life.
‘You could do a lot with that kind of money.’
‘I know, but I’m not making any plans until I’ve got it in my hands.’
‘I could do with a new cooker.’
Albie roared with laughter, his body shaking with mirth. ‘Oh, Mum, you’re priceless. Ten grand but your ambitions only run to having a new oven. You deserve more than that and I’ll make sure you get it.’
‘There’s no need to spend it on me. You should do something with it, buy a house, or invest it.’
‘I don’t know anything about investing money.’
‘You could find someone who does.’
‘I’ll think about it, but for now I could do with some grub before I go to work.’
‘All right, but there’s something else I want to ask you. You said you work at Mason’s, but Ivy said it closed down.’
‘I … erm … didn’t say Mason’s, I said Garton’s.’
‘Oh, right, I must have misheard. Right then, I’ll get our dinner on.’
‘Thanks, Mum,’ Albie said, glad that he’d come up with a quick answer for his mother. He sat by the fire now and mused over his good fortune. He wouldn’t be going to Soho empty-handed, he’d be able to arrive bearing gifts and for that he knew he’d be well rewarded. Ten grand might not be the riches he’d expected to gain when Connie’s father died, but he knew that once the marriage was annulled he wouldn’t be entitled to any of her inheritance. At least this way he came out with a nice chunk of money, along with his freedom.
Constance found that all was well when she returned home, William perfectly happy in Penny’s care. She had been giving a lot of thought to her problem, and decided that she would have to ask her father’s lawyer for help. If he agreed to let her pay the money into his account, he could then write the cheque for Albie and also draw up an agreement about custody. She’d ring his office in the morning to make an appointment. She’d also tell the builder she’d accept his quote for the attic conversion.
With so much on her mind a wave of tiredness washed over her, so when Penny said she’d cooked them dinner, Constance was delighted.
‘I found some sausages in the fridge, along with flour in the cupboards and the other things I needed to make a sausage toad. I hope that’s all right.’
‘It sounds lovely,’ Constance enthused. Sausage toad was a far cry from the type of fare Ethel used to produce, but since marrying Albie, and thanks to Dora, she had found some enjoyment in plain cooking.
They ate in the kitchen, and then between them wrote a list to stock up the cupboards. It seemed that Penny was happy to do the cooking for them both, and with so much to organise, Constance was happy to let her. After eating she said, ‘If you like, we can go upstairs to watch the television.’
‘Yeah, I’d like that. It’s a bit early, but Coronation Street will be on later.’
‘I’ve never seen it. What’s it about?’
‘What’s the best way to describe it?’ Penny mused. ‘Oh, I know, sort of like life on Kibble Street but based up north.’
‘I’m not sure I like the sound of that.’
‘Maybe The Avengers will be on too. You’ll like that. It’s about this sophisticated sort of bloke who’s a spy and his posh girl sidekick.’
‘It might be interesting.’
‘Didn’t Dora have a television?’
‘No, she had this very odd idea that they ruin your eyes. We used to listen to the radio though.’
‘But you said there’s a television here, upstairs, so you must have watched it.’
‘Yes, but my parents only allowed it to be switched on for about an hour and we would only watch programmes such as Panorama or the news.’
‘Blimey, well then, you’re in for a treat.’
Constance smiled, once again glad that she’d offered the job to Penny, finding her the perfect choice. There was a tap on the basement door and when Penny opened it, Melvin walked in.
‘I hope you don’t mind me calling round. I thought I’d check to see if you need anything sorting out around the house.’
‘Melvin, you are welcome at any time.’
‘Thanks, that’s nice to know. I have a bit of news, actually. My mother has mended bridges with Dora and they’re now friends again.’
‘I’m pleased for Dora,’ Constance said. ‘I know she missed her friendship with Ivy.’
‘I sometimes miss my mum too, but I’ll never forgive her for rejecting Kimberly,’ said Penny bitterly.
‘Dora may have some strange ideas, but I know she isn’t prejudiced,’ Constance said. ‘Maybe she’ll be able to talk your mother round.’
‘Even if she does, as far as I’m concerned it’s too late.’
‘If I’d known mentioning our mum would upset you, Penny, I’d have kept my mouth shut.’
‘I’m not upset, Melvin. Well, maybe a bit. You and our parents are the only family I’ve got, but just because Kimberly doesn’t fit the mould we’ve both been ostracised.’
‘Blimey, Penny, living with Constance must be rubbing off on you,’ Melvin said in what sounded like an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. ‘I’ve never heard you using such big words before.’
‘You cheeky sod, but you never know, I might start sounding like the Queen.’
‘Elocution lessons are free of charge,’ Constance chipped in.
Penny chuckled. ‘I might just take you up on that.’
Constance felt a surge of happiness. Penny had brought warmth to the house, and she felt they would become firm friends. She’d also arranged to meet Jill in Nelson’s Café the next day, and looked forward to that. In fact, once her annulment was finalised she had a lot to look forward to. A fresh start, but there was still the fear that Albie would find out about her father’s death, and if that happened, all her plans would come to nothing.
Chapter 39
It was mid-week and Mary was under pressure to set a date for the wedding – peopl
e kept asking her about it but, if she was being truthful, she wasn’t in any hurry to get married. She knew it would mean leaving Ethel to move in with Percy, and she just couldn’t face leaving the woman who meant so much to her. The flat that Percy lived in above the café had only one bedroom, but she knew the house he rented out had three. If he could get rid of the tenants they could live in it, and there would be room for Ethel. But would Percy agree?
‘You’re miles away, love,’ Percy said. ‘That breakfast needs taking over to Pete at table four.’
‘What? Yes, sorry,’ she said.
‘Are you all right?’
‘I suppose so, sort of. Can we talk when the breakfast rush is over?’
‘Gawd blimey, that sounds ominous. I hope you ain’t giving me the heave-ho?’
‘Of course not,’ she said, smiling at Percy then picking up the plate and taking it to the table. ‘Can I get you anything else, Pete?’
‘Yeah, a cuppa along with the bread and butter I ordered,’ the costermonger answered.
‘Oh no, I’m sorry. I’ll get them right away.’
‘Don’t look so worried, love, it ain’t the end of the world. You’re not in the club, are you? I know it made my missus a bit forgetful.’
‘No, I’m not,’ Mary said firmly and hurried away. Of course she wasn’t pregnant, but one day she hoped to have a baby or two. A lot of it was down to Percy and how he’d react to her idea. If he refused it was doubtful that she’d ever get round to marrying him.
With customers waiting, Mary pushed her thoughts to one side, but when the rush was over she took a deep breath as she sat opposite Percy.
‘Right then,’ he said. ‘What did you want to talk to me about?’
‘Ethel.’
‘What about her. Is she poorly again?’
‘No, but I can’t leave her on her own.’
‘Has her mind gone a bit? I know a lot of elderly people need looking after if that happens. Does this mean you want to pack up work to take care of her?’
‘No, it’s not that.’
‘What is it then?’
‘Ethel means the world to me, Percy. When I went to work in that big house, she took me under her wing. Then when she had to leave, she took me with her and we found our flat. It’s my first proper home, and Ethel is like a grandmother to me. When you and me marry I can’t bear to leave her behind, so I thought … well … can we all move into your house?’
