Читать книгу Classic Bestsellers from Josephine Cox: Bumper Collection - Josephine Cox - Страница 73

‘SO, HAVE YOU caught sight of her yet?’ Though harmless enough, old Alice was one of those women who was never happier than when somebody else was miserable.

Amy looked up from wrapping the two slices of bacon. ‘Who are we talking about now?’ She was used to Alice’s gossiping tongue.

‘The woman who’s just moved in, next door but one to me.’ Leaning forward she imparted in a harsh whisper, ‘There’s summat very strange about a woman who moves house in the middle of the night, don’t you think?’

‘Happen she works a late shift.’ Marie emerged from the back room just in time to catch Alice’s remark. ‘From what I hear, the poor woman arrived bag and baggage at half-past nine. I’d hardly call that the “middle of the night”.’

‘Well, I would!’ Alice retorted. ‘I’m away to my bed at nine o’clock, and I don’t take kindly to being woken by the slamming of doors. As for “bag and baggage”, I can tell you, all she had with her was a little lad in arms and a portmanteau no bigger than this ’ere shopping bag!’ Holding her canvas bag up high, she declared jubilantly, ‘Now then! You tell me that isn’t suspicious – arriving at half-past nine of an evening, with a hankie-sized portmanteau and a child in arms.’ Sliding her bag onto the counter, she folded her chubby arms and waited for an answer. ‘Well?’

Amy voiced what her mother was also thinking. ‘She wouldn’t have any need for much, would she?’

‘Oh, and why’s that, then?’

Amy shrugged. ‘Well, I mean … the house is fully furnished, isn’t it? Mac Robinson hasn’t sold up. Apparently, he intends coming back from Scotland at some point, and from what he told me, he left everything intact for the prospective tenant. Cutlery, crockery, furniture and such. He even had new sheets put on the beds.’

‘So?’ Alice was not impressed. ‘That doesn’t change anything. Even if Mac Robinson left the sheets and towels, you’d think a mother and child would need more than just the clothes on their backs. Because as far as I could tell when looking through the window, that’s more or less all they had with them.’

Her interest growing, Marie leaned on the counter. ‘Aye, well, if that’s the case, she deserves my sympathy. It sounds to me as though the poor soul is down on her luck.’

Amy was curious. ‘What does she look like?’

‘Well, I wouldn’t say she was anything special.’ In a superior voice, Alice described her in detail. ‘Short woman, narrow face and iron-red hair. Not her natural colour, I shouldn’t wonder. And if anything, she seemed a bit tatty, if you know what I mean?’ Squaring her shoulders with authority, she begrudgingly added, ‘Mind you, having said all that, she’s not a bad-looking woman, I suppose.’

Amy had a mental picture of this new neighbour and she felt a little sad. ‘I don’t think we should be talking about her like this.’ Reaching up to the shelf, she rearranged the boxes of Omo washing powder. ‘I think we should accept her for what she is, and count our own blessings.’

‘That’s what I say an’ all, lass.’ Cutting off a small square of butter, Marie carefully wrapped it before placing it on the counter. ‘There you are, Alice.’ Licking her pencil she totted up the amount on a notepad. ‘That’ll be one and ninepence, please.’

‘Hmm!’

Alice quickly paid and, after stuffing the groceries into her bag, she made for the door with a parting piece of advice. ‘You should be very careful who you make friends with.’ She cast a wary glance towards the door. ‘If you ask me, people like her need to be watched. There’s summat very fishy about that woman,’ she warned. ‘I’ve said it now, and I’ll say it again, anybody who moves house late at night, with a child in tow and hardly any belongings, has got summat to hide.’

Having said her piece, she marched out.

As she left, little Bob Ainsworth stumbled in. ‘Bloody hell!’ he chuckled. ‘The way she’s gone down that street, it’s like her knickers are on fire.’ A man in his seventies, he seemed to shrink with every passing day.

Marie and Amy both laughed. ‘Morning, Bob.’ Marie was already reaching under the counter. ‘After your baccy, is it?’

‘Aye … unless you’ve summat more appetising to offer a poor, lonely old fella?’

‘What did you have in mind then?’ As if she didn’t know. In varying forms, Marie had gone through this conversation with him every day since the shop opened.

He licked his lips. ‘Well now, being as you asked, you wouldn’t have a nice young lady under that counter, would you? Plump and merry, with a mind to keeping an old man happy.’

‘Sorry, Bob, we’re out of nice young ladies today … present company excepted, of course.’ In a more serious voice she warned, ‘You want to be careful. You know what happens to older men who take young ladies into their homes.’

Embarrassed, he made light of her remark. ‘Say what you like, there’s only one thing that could happen, and that’s me and her having a good time.’

Marie persisted, ‘I’m telling you, Bob, I’ve known it happen many a time. An old man takes a young woman into his home and, before you know it, she’s got her feet under the table and he’s out on the street, homeless and penniless.’

The widower gave a nervous grin. ‘D’you think I’m gullible enough to let that happen?’

‘You’re on your own, Bob, and from what you keep telling me, you’d welcome some young woman with open arms,’ Marie said kindly. ‘But think about it. Any young lady would want a man her own age. Unless o’ course she’s waiting for some gullible, randy old fool to come along; some poor bloke she can flutter her eyelashes at, before she robs him blind and walks away with everything he’s got.’

Bob took a minute to dwell on her words, and when he spoke, it was in a panic-stricken voice. ‘You heard me wrong, lass. I never said …’ He shook his head so hard, his eyes swivelled in their sockets. ‘I don’t know what you thought I meant, but you got it all wrong. All I meant to say was, I just thought it would be nice to have a bit of company, that’s all.’

To save his dignity, Marie went along with his bluff. ‘Oh, Bob, I am sorry,’ she said penitently. ‘You’re right. I must have misheard.’

‘Aye, you bloody well did, an’ all.’ Bristling with indignation he told her, ‘Just give me my baccy and I’ll be off. And mind what you say in future … I’m a respectable pillar of society and allus have been.’

A moment later, clutching his precious wad of baccy, he tumbled out of the shop, leaving Marie unusually quiet and Amy softly laughing, though when she caught sight of Marie deep in thought, she wondered if her mother was already regretting her harsh words to the old man.

Amy asked her now, ‘Why did you do that?’

‘Do what?’ Marie seemed agitated. ‘I didn’t “do” anything.’

‘Aw! Come off it, Mam,’ Amy chided. ‘You put the fear of God in him.’

‘I’m glad I did!’ Marie sharply rebuked her. ‘Anyway, it serves him right.’

Amy couldn’t agree. ‘You know Bob,’ Amy replied. ‘He’s a bit of a dreamer. If a woman threw herself at him, he’d run a mile.’

‘You could be right,’ Marie admitted. ‘Happen I were a bit hard on him.’ Her voice dropped to a softer tone, ‘Aw, look, lass. It was for his own good. Bob is a smashing bloke who’s worked hard all his life. He had fifty happy years of marriage with a good woman, and for most men that would be sufficient. He must be seventy-five if he’s a day, and here he is, talking about some young thing who would happily rob him of his life savings and even the roof over his head.’

‘But you don’t know that.’ Amy had never seen her mother so agitated. ‘And if you don’t mind me saying, Mam, it’s not like you to interfere in somebody else’s life.’

Marie fell silent for a time before confessing in a quiet voice. ‘I do know what I’m talking about, lass,’ she revealed quietly. ‘I’ve never spoken of it before but two years after we lost your grandma … my mother …’ she paused a moment, ‘… your grandad was terrible lonely. He was still a fair-looking fella, with a decent enough house … all paid for, and a few shilling in the bank. After a while he did what old Bob’s in danger of doing. When some young woman cocked her hat at him, he was flattered. Common sense flew out the window and eventually he took her into his house.’

Amy was astonished. ‘What happened?’

‘Your grandad doted on her, but it was never enough. She led him a right merry dance, I can tell you! Your father and me tried hard to persuade him to be rid of her, before she ruined him altogether. But would he listen … no! Until one night, when she thought he was asleep, he caught her going through his wallet.

‘He realised what a fool he’d been and he threw her on the streets where she’d come from. But not before she’d managed to spend every penny he’d put by, and sold a multitude of precious things which he’d got hidden away in the cupboards.’

She shook her head sadly. ‘He never saw them, or her again.’

Amy was horrified. ‘Why did you never tell me?’

Marie explained, ‘You were only a few month old at the time, and when you were older there was no point raking it all up. Me and your father thought it best to leave it all in the past where it belongs. Besides, it’s not summat you shout from the rooftops, is it? I for one didn’t want folks to know what a silly old fool your grandad had been.’

She gave a little chuckle. ‘God only knows what your grandma said to him when he got up there.’ She rolled her eyes to Heaven.

Amy began to understand. ‘Oh, Mam, I wish I’d known my grandparents.’

‘You do, lass,’ Marie reminded her. ‘You’ve got pictures of them and I’ve told you as much as I know, so you know them almost as well as I did.’ She tutted loudly. ‘And now you know the grubby little secret I’ve been keeping all these years.’

‘And it’ll stay a “secret”,’ Amy promised.

‘And I’m sorry if I frightened old Bob.’ Marie jerked a thumb towards the door. ‘But he’s treading on dangerous ground if he goes looking for some young flighty thing. I had to give him a little warning.’

‘You did right, Mam.’ In view of what she’d just been told, Amy agreed. ‘I would love to see him find a good woman … we both would. But what you said might just make him think twice before he does anything foolish.’

The day quickly passed, and customers came and went, and it was just an hour to closing before Marie and Amy found time to catch their breath.

Then Amy began replenishing the shelves, while Marie went into the back room and made them each a cup of tea. ‘I’ve brought us a slice of cake,’ she told Amy, emerging with a tray and a smile.

‘Just what the doctor ordered.’

Pulling up a stool, Amy sat beside her mother at the counter. ‘When we’ve had this, you can start the cashing up, while I finish filling up the shelves.’

‘That’s a good idea,’ Marie agreed. ‘I doubt if we’ll get any more customers now. We can’t shut up shop just in case, but we can take a minute or two to enjoy a well-deserved break.’

They had no sooner started tucking into the refreshments than the door opened and in came a woman with a child at her side.

At once, because of her appearance, both Amy and her mother thought this might be the new neighbour Alice had complained about. Seemingly in her mid-thirties, she looked a weary soul, and if, as Alice claimed, the clothes on their backs were all they had, then both woman and child were in a sorry state.

While Marie returned the tray to the kitchen, complete with half-eaten cake, Amy addressed the child, a small, scraggy thing with wild fair hair and an angelic-looking face.

‘Hello. What’s your name then?’

Reaching down to chuck the child under the chin, she was disappointed when he drew away and hid behind his mammy’s skirt.

‘His name’s Johnny.’ Putting an arm round his tiny shoulders, the woman explained, ‘He’ll not talk to you. He never talks to anybody but me.’

Amy smiled at the toddler. ‘He’s a fine-looking boy.’ Though she thought he could do with fattening up a bit. ‘How old is he?’

‘He’ll be three come July. I won’t have to think about putting him in school for a bit yet.’

‘We’ve a good school round here,’ Amy informed her. ‘According to what the customers tell me, their children seem to be doing all right.’

‘I’m not interested in what other folks might say,’ the woman informed Amy.

Fearing she might have overstepped the mark, Amy apologised. ‘I’m sorry. I was just trying to help.’

‘Well, there’s no need, thank you. Now, what can I get for that?’ She slapped a handful of coins on the counter.

Amy glanced at the coins. ‘What is it you want exactly?’

Pushing the coins towards Amy, the woman asked, ‘Is there enough for bread, butter, and a half-pint o’ milk?’

Amy collected up the coins. ‘You’ve more than enough,’ she said, sliding two halfpennies back to her.

‘Are you sure? I don’t want charity!’ the customer declared proudly.

‘It isn’t charity.’ Giving the halfpennies another push towards the woman, Amy added kindly, ‘This is your change. There really is enough money for what you want.’

There was a curious moment when the woman and Amy looked at each other, and a kind of deep-seated understanding passed between them.

‘Thank you.’ The woman nodded gratefully.

It took only a minute for Amy to gather the few items and, as the woman dropped them into her bag, Amy noticed the boy’s longing glance at the sweet jars. Wary of being too familiar with the child, she asked the woman, ‘Is it all right if I give Johnny a sweetie?’

‘And how much will that cost me?’

‘No, please … let it be a small gift from me to him. It’s nothing much.’

The woman looked at the boy and the boy smiled up at her. ‘Sweetie,’ he whispered shyly, his eyes lit up, and her heart melted.

‘All right, son. But we’d best not make a habit of it,’ she added to Amy.

Taking a sweet from the jar, Amy held it down to the boy. ‘There you are, Johnny.’

But before the boy could take the sweet, Marie returned and the woman seemed to panic. ‘It’s time we were off!’ Taking Johnny by the hand, she propelled him across the shop.

‘No, Mammy,’ the boy began to cry, ‘the lady’s got my sweetie.’

‘Please … I have it here.’ Running across the shop, Amy blocked their way, but not in a threatening manner. ‘It’s just a sweet,’ she pleaded. ‘Please?’

There was that long, intimate moment again, when the older woman and the young one seemed to understand each other and when the woman spoke now, it was with gratitude. ‘Thank you. But you’d best give it to me. You’re a stranger. He’ll not come anywhere near strangers.’

When the boy backed away, once more hiding behind his mammy’s skirt, Amy stooped down, keeping her distance but all the while smiling at his peeping face. ‘This is for you. Take it, Johnny.’ Holding out the sweet, she coaxed, ‘It’s liquorice, all soft and chewy, but if you don’t like this one, we can choose another. What do you say?’

Slowly, hesitantly, the boy came forward and took the sweet from her, and to everyone’s amazement, he reached up, kissed Amy on the face and ran back to his mammy, with the sweet clutched tightly in his hand.

‘Well, I never!’ The woman couldn’t believe it. ‘That’s the first time he’s ever done a thing like that. It seems he’s took a liking to you.’ Now, as she smiled, the years and weariness fell from her face and she looked ten years younger. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Amy.’

‘Well, Amy, it would seem you have a way with children. Do you have any of your own?’

Amy shook her head, ‘No. I’m not married.’

‘Got a regular fella, have you?’

Amy rolled her eyes in frustration. ‘Not so’s you’d notice.’ She supposed the Tuesday man at Tooley’s Café didn’t count. She had come to look forward to seeing him there despite the frustration of having, even yet, not discovered even his name. In a way that made it easier – he could be anyone – and she would find herself thinking about him and wondering.

‘Hmm! All I can say is, the men round these parts must be a wagonload o’ fools.’

Amy laughed. ‘Happen they’re just not interested in me.’

‘Oh, and why would that be?’

‘Because I’m not the prettiest girl around.’ Amy had never fooled herself on that score.

‘I don’t know who told you that, because you look all right to me. But it means nothing anyway,’ the woman assured her. ‘Prettiness is on the outside, and anyway, after a time it begins to fade.’ She wagged a finger. ‘It’s what’s on the inside that counts. A man might cast his eyes over a pretty girl, and for a time he might have his head turned, but when he comes to settling down and wanting to raise a family, he looks for a bit more than prettiness. He looks for a kind heart and common sense – somebody as can cook and mend, and keep him content … if you know what I mean?’ A brief uplift of the eyebrows spoke volumes.

Turning to Marie, she asked in a softer voice, ‘Are you the mother?’

Marie took a pace forward. ‘That’s right, and I’m proud of it.’ She wasn’t altogether sure what to make of their new neighbour.

‘You’ve a good lass here.’

‘I know that, but thank you anyway.’

‘She’s wasted in this shop.’

‘I know that as well, and though she’s everything you said, she is also stubborn and determined. When she makes up her mind there’s no reasoning with her.’

The woman laughed out loud. ‘A girl after my own heart. I dare say you’ll miss her when some man comes and snatches her away, and they will. You mark my words. There aren’t many decent young women left, but this one seems a good ’un.’ In harsher voice she finished, ‘There are some bad buggers out there, I can tell you!’

Amy thought she sounded as though she’d met a few. ‘I’m sure there are,’ she agreed, ‘but you’ll not find them round these parts.’

‘Is that so?’ Giving them each a wary glance the newcomer declared firmly, ‘I think I’ve said enough.’

Taking Johnny by the hand she opened the door and was going through it when she felt a tug. Looking down, she saw how the boy was turning back to smile at Amy.

‘Bye, Johnny.’ She gave him an affectionate, mischievous wink.

Returning Amy’s smile, the woman nodded appreciatively. ‘Thank you.’

When they were gone, Marie stepped forward. ‘The lad seemed to have taken a shine to you,’ she said. ‘He’s such a quiet, nervous little thing … hardly said a word. Is he backward, do you think?’

Amy shook her head. ‘No.’ She had thought that herself at first but now she knew different. ‘I just think he’s shy and he doesn’t know how to deal with people around him.’

Marie tutted. ‘She’s a strange one, though.’

Amy had to disagree. ‘I think she’s just frightened.’

‘Frightened of what?’

‘I don’t know.’ Amy couldn’t quite put her finger on it. ‘Did Alice mention anything about a man being with them when they arrived?’

‘No. There was no mention of any man.’

‘So where is he then? I mean, there must be a man somewhere … a husband. The boy must have a father. So, why isn’t he with them?’

‘Happen she’s a widow. Or they’re split up, lass. We know it happens.’

Amy was made to think of Daisy’s parents, and she couldn’t help but wonder whether it might be better for a warring couple like that to go their separate ways.

‘It does seem an odd thing, though – woman and child, moving into a house with apparently nothing to call their own, and no man in sight. So, where have they come from? Why haven’t they got anything of any value?’ A thought occurred to her. ‘Mam?’

‘Yes?’

‘Do you think they’re on the run?’

Marie chuckled. ‘By! What an imagination you’ve got. Why in God’s name should they be “on the run”?’

‘I don’t know, but I reckon there’s something wrong.’ For both their sakes, Amy hoped they weren’t in any kind of trouble.

Marie ended the conversation. ‘Didn’t you say Daisy was coming round?’

‘Oh, yes!’ Her mind taken up with the woman and boy, Amy had almost forgotten. ‘She promised to help sew up my new curtains.’

‘And I’ve the dinner to get on. Your father’s home tonight and he’ll be dying of starvation. So now then, my girl, put our new neighbours out of your mind, ’cos we’ve work to do.’ Marie observed the half-empty shelves. ‘We’d best get the shelves restocked and call it a day.’

And that was what they did; although, as much as she tried hard to forget them, Amy’s thoughts kept coming back to the woman and child.

There was something about them that troubled her.

May was such a beautiful time of year, Luke thought as he drove out to his cabin. The leaves on the trees were bright green and tender, and the blackbirds were singing extra loudly. The glorious sunshine softened the rugged landscape of the fells to the north of Blackburn so that the countryside seemed to be welcoming him with a broad smile.

Above the track to the cabin the canopy of trees was not yet thick enough to exclude the sun, and its beams slanted like spotlights across the track. A large rabbit ran ahead of the car, then bounded off into the undergrowth with a flash of white scut. Soft-furred baby rabbits grazed the shorter grass beside the track with intense concentration, ignoring Luke’s car.

The winter mustiness of the cabin had almost vanished with the late spring sun, and when Luke arrived he immediately threw all the windows wide to take advantage of the warm fresh air and today’s exceptional light. This was a day for painting, and he’d come to the cabin especially early, forgoing the attractions of Tooley’s Cafe. He aimed to finish Amy’s portrait before he returned to Blackburn, having progressed only slowly over winter, with the poor light.

He’d laid a fire in the grate before he left last week, and now he put a match to it. Then he went straight to the wardrobe for the covered canvas, and the easel, which he set up by a window.

As usual, he didn’t uncover the painting immediately, but held it, still wrapped, while he thought of Amy, as he had seen her last Tuesday at Tooley’s.

She was looking happier these days, more confident somehow, and this complemented her gentleness. Unlike her friend Daisy, Amy was not bold and brassy, and Luke found that sweetness very appealing. He concentrated on her face as he remembered it, trying to distil that exact slight element of bright assurance she’d developed. Then he unwrapped the canvas and set it on the easel.

Yes, yes … he’d almost captured it. A little lift at the corner of her mouth, maybe …

He gazed at the portrait for several minutes until he realised he was no longer looking with critical faculties, but rather with adoration. Oh God, she was gorgeous. If only the picture were really Amy, and not merely her likeness. Mad thought, but then Tuesdays were for dreams, however farfetched, and Luke allowed himself this indulgence increasingly now that the portrait was almost finished.

He went to collect his paints and brushes from the wardrobe and set to work.

Only when he stopped to rest his painting arm did he realise that the sun was now very high. He looked at his watch: three hours had passed in total concentration without his realising. Suddenly he was thirsty and remembered he hadn’t had a drink since arriving at the cabin. First he went to wring out a rag in the brook to cover the open paints. Then he went back out with the kettle.

As Luke stooped on the bank, the filled kettle in his hand, he heard a quiet rustling of undergrowth. He’d seen deer in these woods, of course, or maybe it was a rabbit, or a bird scratching for nesting material. Very slowly Luke turned, half crouched, and looked behind him from where the noise had come.

There stood a small brown deer, exquisitely pretty, with large dark eyes and a velvety nose. Luke kept absolutely still – and so did the deer. They eyed each other for a long moment, and still neither moved. As slowly as he could, Luke straightened, willing the creature not to dart away. But when he was almost upright, she flicked her pointed ears, turned quite calmly, it seemed to him, and trotted back among the trees and out of sight.

Luke laughed in delight at the deer’s inquisitiveness. For a wild creature she was pretty bold. Maybe she’d visit again and he could entice her closer to the cabin. When he was a child, that had been the ambition of his school holidays – to tame a wild deer in these very woods. Well, now he’d try again. Velvet, she’d be called, and she’d feed out of his hands. He smiled at his foolishness and shrugged. Well, why not? Some dreams could come true, couldn’t they?

The portrait of Amy greeted him on the easel as he re-entered the cabin, and after a few minutes away from it, he saw it with fresh eyes. All at once he knew that it was finished, that adding anything more would detract from what was there already. This was the best he could do and he was pleased with it.

He stood for a long time gazing at Amy – his Amy – while the sun moved round and the light in the cabin changed, and Amy’s smile met his.

A month later on a beautiful June morning, Maureen Langdon came into the shop with the boy at her side. Now a regular customer and somewhat mellowed, she was on first-name terms with both Marie and Amy.

‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’ she asked Amy, ‘only he won’t stay with anybody else and, like I told you, I really have to go on this errand.’

Amy assured her it was fine. ‘Don’t worry, Maureen. He can help me fill up the shelves.’ Being as they had taken delivery that very morning, there was any amount of packets to be put away.

‘I’ll be back inside of two hours,’ Maureen promised, ‘and look, I can’t tell you how grateful I am.’

Ushering the boy forward, she smiled at how easily he went to Amy, and how, when he slipped his hand into hers, Amy drew him close, as if to keep him safe. Knowing how frightened and unsure he was around people, Maureen had been astonished at how quickly little Johnny had taken to Amy.

After everything bad that had happened to them it was comforting to know that she and her son had found a real friend in this warm-hearted young woman. She wasn’t altogether yet sure of Amy’s mother, Marie, because though she was friendly and interested in them, Maureen sensed a certain wariness that put her on guard.

‘Take as long as you like,’ Amy told her. ‘He’ll be all right here with us.’

‘If I didn’t think that,’ Maureen answered, ‘I wouldn’t be leaving him with you.’

Amy had come to love the little boy, yet she had never been asked to take care of him before, and now she was really looking forward to it.

‘Would you mind if I took him to the park?’ she asked. ‘I’ve kept back a loaf of stale bread so we can feed the ducks.’

‘All right then, but mind you keep him well away from the water!’ Opening her arms to him, she asked with a smile, ‘Well, are you gonna give your mammy a cuddle or not?’

Running to her, Johnny was swung up high and held tight, before a moment later he was given back to Amy. ‘Take good care of him, won’t you?’ Maureen said meaningfully. ‘He’s all I’ve got right now.’

Knowing how lonely she was, Amy took a pace forward. ‘You’ve got me, and my mother,’ she said. ‘We’ll be here whenever you need us.’

Maureen nodded. ‘You’re good people. I’m lucky to have you as friends.’ Enjoying any kind of friendship was a new experience for her.

‘You look very special today, if you don’t mind me saying.’ Amy observed how Maureen’s short red hair shone. Her lips were painted soft pink and her high cheekbones touched with rouge.

Though slightly ill-fitting, the pretty green cotton dress was in stark contrast to the well-used clothes she usually wore. ‘The dress really suits you,’ Amy remarked. ‘You should wear green more often.’

Blushing pink at Amy’s kind comments, Maureen confessed in a whisper, ‘It cost me tuppence from the rag-and-bone shop. They had a little jacket to go with it, but that was another tuppence and I couldn’t quite stretch to it.’

Amy was quick to offer. ‘I’d like to help you with that.’

‘No, thank you!’ Maureen Langdon was a proud woman. ‘If I can’t afford it, I won’t have it.’

‘Our Amy’s right.’ Entering from the back in time to hear the last conversation, Marie agreed with her daughter. ‘You really should wear green more often.’

A moment or two later, and feeling like a million dollars, Maureen bade them goodbye. ‘Two hours,’ she said. ‘Then I’ll take him off your hands.’

‘Take all the time you want,’ Amy told her. ‘Me and little Johnny are going to have a good time, aren’t we, Johnny?’ Bending to tweak his nose, she laughed out loud when he reached up and did the same to her.

When Maureen was gone and Johnny was busy refilling the shelves, Marie quietly voiced her concern. ‘Aren’t you getting a bit too fond of the lad?’

‘How can you say that?’ Amy was taken aback. ‘I thought you liked him?’

‘Well, of course I like him!’ came the sharp rebuke. ‘It’s just that we still don’t know anything about the lad and his mammy – where they came from, or why they turned up out of the blue like that. What happens if they leave the same way?’

‘Out with it, Mam,’ Amy urged. ‘What are you getting at?’

‘You think about it, lass. Here you are, getting more and more fond of the lad – and don’t deny it because I’ve seen you, nose pressed to the window when you think they might show their faces. So, what if one afternoon he’s here, and the next minute, without warning, they’re gone as quickly as they arrived?’

‘But they won’t. Not now.’ Amy had thought about it often of late, and somehow had managed to convince herself how Maureen Langdon and the boy would be around for a long time to come. ‘They’re settled here now,’ she argued. ‘Maureen says herself how much she likes living in Derwent Street.’

A little flurry of concern made her turn to watch Johnny busying himself. ‘But if, for any reason, they were to leave now, I know Maureen would keep in touch.’

Marie sighed. ‘I don’t want you hurt, lass. That’s all.’

‘Amy! Amy!’ Excited, the boy came running to tell Amy how he’d finished the work she’d set him. ‘No more boxes. Come look!’

Discreetly sending him before her, Amy quietly assured her mother, ‘You’ve no need to worry. They won’t be leaving. You’ve only got to see how well Johnny’s come on since they came to Derwent Street. Maureen too. You saw how she was when they first arrived – defensive; afraid even. They won’t leave. They’re settled here now.’

‘I hope you’re right,’ Marie announced. ‘For your sake.’

In a troubled voice she gave a kindly warning. ‘Maureen Langdon was right about you,’ she said. ‘You are a good ’un. Warm-hearted and kind. But don’t let the lad creep too far into your affections. Remember, lass … the deeper you love, the deeper can be the hurt.’

‘Oh, Mam!’ Throwing her arms round that dear soul, Amy held her for a long, reassuring moment. ‘All right, Mam. I’ll bear in mind what you said,’ she promised.

A moment later, she and the boy were laughing at the way he had mixed all the buttons together; large, small and multi-coloured all in the same drawer.

From a discreet distance, Marie watched them, and the way that darling little boy was looking up at Amy with adoration only served to fuel her fears.

In spite of Amy’s promise, it was all too clear that these two were already deep in each other’s affections.

Having travelled some distance, Maureen joined the other passengers and clambered from the tram.

Going at a fast pace down the street she turned the corner and there right before her the building blocked the way, its grim high walls sending a shard of apprehension through her insides.

Approaching the tall iron gates, she was aware of other women all heading in the same direction. ‘I hate this bloody journey!’ The small weary-eyed woman was about Maureen’s age. ‘Every week for the past four years,’ she groaned, ‘and no end in sight. Knowing him and his troublemaking ways, I expect it’ll be the same for another four years.’ Pushing on, she added angrily, ‘It’s not just his life he’s wasting. It’s mine too … mine and the kids’. In the end it’s always us who pays the price!’

Maureen nodded. She knew what it was like.

Now, as she neared the gates, she prepared herself for the ordeal ahead.

‘Here they come!’ Straight-faced, legs astride and arms folded, the two prison officers waited. ‘The sooner this is over the better,’ exclaimed the taller of the two.

‘Poor devils,’ replied the other. ‘It can’t be easy for them.’

‘Listen to yourself, man! Not getting soft, are you?’

‘Nope. Just getting older, I guess.’

While one prison officer opened the gate, his colleague kept an eye on the long line of visitors as they filed by him.

When the last was inside, the two of them followed behind. ‘Straight ahead if you please.’ A swift but careful search of belongings and one by one the visitors were allowed through. ‘No canoodling, and no devious whispering.’

Spying the familiar cap of fair hair, Maureen hurried to be with her husband.

‘Arnold …’

‘Oh, Maureen, you don’t know how good it is to see you!’ The man’s broad shoulders were slightly stooped, his blue eyes sad, and now, when he spoke, his voice trembled with a deep-down regret. ‘It’s like I’ve been in this place for a hundred years,’ he said. ‘You can’t imagine how I count the minutes till you’re here.’

Under the watchful eye of the officer, they exchanged a brief kiss, but it was a kiss that spanned the emptiness between them; a kiss that said, ‘In spite of everything, I love you still.’

‘SIT DOWN!’ The officer’s voice rang out, and everyone who had been standing quickly sat down, including Maureen and her husband.

Glancing warily at the officer, he wrapped his long fingers round Maureen’s. ‘Are you well?’

‘Well enough, I expect.’ There was a certain bitterness in her tone, but he either did not detect it, or chose to ignore it.

‘And the boy … is he well?’

Maureen’s quick smile warmed his heart. ‘Johnny’s doing fine,’ she answered. ‘You’ll be amazed at how confident he’s grown.’ All thanks to Amy, she thought proudly.

The man’s eyes lit up at her news. ‘Aw, Maureen, that’s wonderful news!’ His gaze went instinctively to the door. ‘Where’ve you left him?’

‘He’s with Amy, the young woman from the corner shop. Remember I told you about her? You should see them together. It’s a joy to watch.’

He dwelled on her words for a moment. ‘How in God’s name did she get through to him, when nobody else could?’ He knew how painfully shy Johnny had always been. ‘Anyway, what’s she like, this Amy?’

‘I already told you. She’s about twenty-five, I reckon … not what you might call a natural beauty, but pretty enough, with her thick mop of brown hair and those twinkling eyes. Lovely nature, though …’

‘Are you sure you can trust her with the boy?’ he asked warily.

‘Absolutely. Or I wouldn’t leave him, you know that.’

‘You haven’t told her about me, have you?’

‘No.’

‘You mustn’t tell anyone.’

‘I won’t.’

‘When the boy eventually gets to school, his life won’t be worth living if word gets round that his daddy’s a gaolbird.’

‘You don’t need to tell me that, Arnold,’ she replied.

Momentarily silent, he bowed his head. When he looked up there were tears in his eyes. ‘I didn’t do it,’ he said. ‘You do believe that, don’t you?’

She nodded. Of course Arnold had done nothing on purpose. But that wasn’t really the point. She felt she had to say something. ‘Well, I don’t think you meant to do anything, Arnie. But you have been known to lose your temper – get carried away. But I’ll always be waiting for you when you come out, you know that.’

He held her hand. ‘What would I do without you, eh?’

She chuckled. ‘Fall apart at the seams, I dare say.’

In a serious voice he told her, ‘I do love you.’

‘Only because I’m fool enough to stand by you.’

He shook his head. ‘No. It’s because whatever I’ve done and however many women I’ve bedded, there’s never been anybody like you.’

‘Does that mean I’m stupid and gullible?’

‘Not gullible, no. Loyal and long-suffering, and true to your marriage vows. Not like me, and not like the flippant women who take me to their beds behind their husbands’ backs.’

‘Tell me the truth,’ she asked quietly, ‘have you ever loved any of them?’

‘Never!’

‘Not even Sylvia Hammond?’

‘Especially not her.’

‘Did she love you?’

‘Good God, Maureen. A woman like that! She doesn’t know the meaning of the word “love”.’

‘You sound disappointed.’ Something in his voice, some regret or anger, made her curious.

He dismissed her implication with a vague answer. ‘Women like her are two a penny,’ he said. ‘She was no different from any of the others. Just another woman looking for a bit of excitement.’

Maureen had seen the pictures in the paper and had her own opinion. ‘She’s very stylish, and beautiful … not like me.’

He touched her hand gently. ‘You’re right,’ he murmured, ‘she’s nothing like you. Stylish and beautiful maybe, but there’s nothing worthwhile on the inside. She’s just a greedy, selfish woman, never satisfied with the grand life she leads, and with never a thought for the good man who works his guts out to provide it all. And look at you! You’re left on your own, caring for Johnny and the pair of you struggling to make ends meet. And it’s all thanks to me and my bloody wandering!’

Maureen couldn’t argue with that. ‘I hope after this you’ll mend your ways when you get out?’

He took a deep angry breath. ‘I’ll be an old man with whiskers before you see me on the outside!’

Maureen changed the subject slightly. ‘It’s tragic what happened to her, all the same. They say her mind is gone, and there’s nothing they can do about it.’ She had often wondered, ‘What made her say it was you that did it?’

‘I’ve no idea.’ He sounded puzzled as well. ‘All I know is, I was well fitted up.’

‘Even so, you must try and put it out of your mind, or it’ll drive you crazy.’ She didn’t like the way his fist was clenching against the table. ‘Let it go, Arnie. Please! Just let it go.’

‘I can’t “let it go”!’ This time he banged the table. ‘When I find the bastard who put me in the frame, I swear to God, I’ll swing for him.’

‘Ssh!’ Pressing her finger to her lips, she warned, ‘The officer’s watching you.’

In a moment the officer was at the table. ‘All right, Stratton, on your feet. NOW!’

Watching him being taken away, Maureen despaired. ‘Dear God! What’ll become of us?’

With a heavy heart she followed the wives outside.

‘They all claim to be innocent, that they’ve been fitted up, or that somebody had it in for them, or they couldn’t help themselves.’ Walking back to the tram-stop, the same woman who had walked alongside her on the way in fell into step with her now. ‘They’re all guilty as buggery, yet they’ll deny the responsibility time and again, right up to when the rope tightens round their lying necks!’

‘No, that’s not true!’ Realising everyone must have heard Arnold’s outburst, Maureen protested vehemently, ‘My Arnie really was “fitted up”,’ she said.

‘Oh, really? So why is he inside then?’

Ashamed, Maureen hesitated. ‘He was guilty of having an affair with her, but he swears it wasn’t serious. He says he was about to finish it any day, and that she was growing agitated … didn’t want it to end, y’see? Later, when she was attacked, she pointed him out as the culprit. He said he wasn’t even with her that particular night. He was out playing cards in a mate’s house, but his mate didn’t want to get mixed up in it, so he denied that Arnie was ever there.’

The woman was not convinced. ‘All I can say is, if your fella really did beat that woman senseless, he deserves to be where he is. They say she can be mad as a crazed dog – has these frightening fits and doesn’t know what she’s doing.’

‘I’ve heard the same, but who knows what truth there is in it?’ Maureen had retorted. ‘Happen she’s not ill at all. Happen she’s seeking attention, like kids do when they can’t have their own way.’

‘Oh, it’s true all right!’ The woman drew Maureen to a halt. ‘She’s the wife of Luke Hammond, ain’t she?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Well, my brother works for Luke Hammond and he says it’s the talk of the factory – how she drives her poor husband to distraction at times … half crazed and doesn’t know what she’s doing, that’s how they describe her. She’s followed the poor bugger into work before now, went from one man to another, asking questions about where he is, and who he’s with. And even though it’s a known fact that she cheated on him, he won’t hear a word said against her. She has the best of everything, and he’s always there for her day and night … That’s what they say.’

A short time later the tram stopped outside Corporation Park. ‘All off that’s getting off,’ the conductor called, and two men disembarked.

Through the window, Maureen glanced along the entrance to the park, and there, just disappearing from sight towards the lake, she spied Amy and Johnny.

‘WAIT!’ Rushing down the gangway she told the conductor, ‘I’ll get off here!’

With his finger already poised on the bell to send them forward, he gave her awry little glance. ‘I thought you were headed for Henry Street?’

‘I was,’ she admitted, ‘but now I’ve changed my mind.’

‘We don’t give refunds,’ he chided.

‘I don’t want a refund,’ she replied. ‘I just want to get off if that’s all right with you?’

‘Off you go then, missus.’ Stepping obligingly aside to let her disembark, he said cheekily, ‘Don’t get lost, will you?’

Maureen wagged a finger. ‘You behave yourself. I know exactly where I’m going.’

Once she was off the tram, she went away at a fast pace up the main walkway to the park, and with quickening steps, hurried towards the lake at the top of the hill, where she had seen Amy and little Johnny.

It was a long walk and with the sun belting down, she was soon made to slow her pace.

Amy held Johnny in a firm grip. ‘Remember what your mammy said,’ she told him. ‘You’re to keep away from the water.’ The lake was notoriously deep in places.

The boy tugged hard on her hand. ‘Ducks!’ Pointing with his other hand he gestured to Amy’s bag. ‘They want their dinner.’

‘Be patient,’ she laughed. ‘They won’t go far when they know there’s food about.’

Seating the boy on the bench, Amy took out the bread and, breaking it into small bites, gave him a fistful. ‘Come on then,’ she said. ‘Mind you stay back when you throw it, and keep a hold of my hand.’

Amy helped the boy to throw out the breadcrumbs.

The ducks came forward at full speed, making long, spreading patterns in the water as they swam in formation.

‘Look, Amy, look!’ As the last of the bread was taken, little Johnny laughed, which Amy took great delight hearing.

‘Sounds like somebody’s having fun.’ As Maureen came through the shrubbery, the boy ran towards her. Maureen opened her arms to him and, yet again, was amazed by the change in him that had occurred over these past weeks. Now confident, he was quick to laugh, and his eyes shone with the joy of life. It was a wonderful thing to see.

Taking him into her embrace, she smiled at Amy, who had collected their belongings and was now coming towards her. ‘He must have been enjoying himself,’ Maureen said gratefully. ‘I heard him laughing as I came round the corner.’

‘He’s been having a great time,’ Amy told her. ‘We’ve climbed the banks to the top of the world – we could see the whole of Blackburn town and all the church spires – and afterwards we played hide and seek in the gardens.’

‘I don’t know how to thank you,’ Maureen told her as they headed back down along the main walkway.

‘There’s nothing to thank me for,’ Amy said. ‘I’ve had a wonderful time. Johnny is a delight to be with.’

Maureen watched her son bouncing and skipping down the path, and her heart filled with gratitude. ‘You don’t know what you’ve done for us,’ she told Amy. ‘There was a time when I thought he might never smile again. He was timid and unsure, and treated everybody with suspicion. At one time he even gave up talking, and it was a trial to get him to eat.’ Her voice shook with emotion. ‘They were dark days.’ She looked to where the boy was happily playing. ‘And just look at him now!’ Grabbing Amy by the hand she drew her to a halt, her eyes suddenly brimming with tears. “‘Thank you” isn’t enough,’ she murmured. ‘You can’t know how you’ve changed our lives.’

Closing her hand over the other woman’s, Amy told her how she was glad to have been of some help. It was a curious thing, she thought, how this woman and her son had not only moved into the street, but had also moved into her own heart.

Amy realised that there must have been something very bad in their lives to have brought them down to where they were now. And what was it that had affected the boy in such a way that he had become so afraid of people?

As they meandered their way down the lane, Amy mustered the courage to ask, ‘Did something happen that caused Johnny to shy away from people?’

Taken aback by Amy’s direct question, Maureen took a moment to answer. ‘I don’t really know.’ She had learned to lie convincingly. ‘He was all right, and then he wasn’t.’

Amy realised she was not telling the whole truth. As she’d spoken, Maureen had glanced about as though she were afraid somebody might be listening. ‘Are you all right, Maureen?’

Maureen nodded, but rather than lie to Amy again, she remained silent.

‘Look, Maureen, if you ever need a friend, I’m here for you,’ Amy told her. ‘Always remember that.’

It was only slight, almost inaudible, but Amy was certain she heard a smothered sob. ‘I wish I had the courage to confide in you,’ Maureen answered sadly, ‘and I do need a friend.’

‘Whenever you’re ready,’ Amy assured her. ‘I want to help … if I can.’

They continued on their way, to the sound of birdsong, and the boy’s hearty laughter as he went roly-poly down the grass bank.

It was such a glorious day, Amy thought. The hot sun beat down on them and the mingling scents of flowers created a pleasant aura around them. They went on quietly a little further, and still there was that air of mystery and secrets.

After a while, Amy was compelled to speak. ‘You needn’t be afraid to confide in me,’ she told Maureen. ‘I want you to know that whatever you tell me will always stay a secret.’

For one mad, unthinking minute, Maureen almost confided in Amy. But then Arnold’s words echoed in her mind: ‘You mustn’t tell anyone!’ and her courage disappeared.

She looked away. ‘Thank you,’ she said brightly, ‘but there’s nothing to tell.’

In that desperate moment she felt more lonely than she had felt at any time in her life. She desperately needed to speak with Amy, about the things that played on her mind. She needed to open her heart and tell of the things that haunted her; and the other things that had made little Johnny the frightened shadow he had been, before Amy had won his trust and his love.

But however much she wanted to open her mouth and let the words come out, they stuck fast in her throat. She would have left Arnie years back and for many reasons, but where would she go? And, besides, she loved him. That was the trouble.

As they neared the gate, Amy saw how even in the warmth of the day, Maureen’s face was drained of colour. ‘You’d best sit down,’ she urged, leading her to the bench. ‘You look so tired, Maureen.’

For a moment, Amy sat beside the older woman, and together they watched Johnny as he played on the grass. Suddenly Amy realised that Maureen was softly crying, the tears rolling down her face and her whole body shaking.

‘Tell me what’s haunting you?’ she urged tenderly. ‘Whatever it is, you need to share it.’ She could feel Maureen’s pain. ‘Please, Maureen, for your own sake, let me help.’

Wiping away her tears with the cuff of her sleeve, Maureen nodded. ‘Will you promise not to tell anyone?’

Without hesitation Amy agreed, and as Maureen told her the whole sorry tale, she learned why Johnny had become the way he was.

Maureen told her how some years ago her husband, a man of uncertain temper, had thrown her out on the streets and taken another woman into his bed. ‘For a long time I was awfully lonely … even suicidal at one stage. But I pulled myself up and found a little job with a room as well. Then I met a new man, and everything was going along nicely.’

‘So what happened?’ Maureen had not mentioned the name of any man, not once in all their conversation. That was a curious thing.

‘Then I became pregnant and right from the day Johnny was born, his father resented him. Sometimes, when he came home drunk, he would stand over Johnny’s cot and stare at him for ages. He wouldn’t do or say anything, he would just stand at the foot of the cot and stare at him. It used to frighten me so much, that as soon as his daddy had gone to his bed, I’d sneak Johnny out of the cot and take him with me, to the spare room.’

Amy thought Johnny’s father must be mad and said so.

‘There were times when I thought that too,’ Maureen admitted, ‘but things did get better, and as Johnny started walking and looking more like a boy than a baby, and had learned to say “Daddy”, they seemed to get closer.’

Lowering her voice so the boy wouldn’t hear, she went on, ‘I found out later, it was just an act.’

Amy wasn’t surprised at that. ‘What do you mean? How did you find out?’

‘It was a day much like today,’ Maureen explained. ‘The sun was shining and the boy was restless. I’d been poorly that night – tummy upset or something. Anyway, I was feeling under the weather. He offered to take the boy out of my way for a while … down to the bridge, where they could watch the barges passing underneath. This is what, I learned later, happened.

‘They were heading down the street towards the bridge with Johnny running ahead, and suddenly he fell over. He started crying and wouldn’t stop, and that was when his father laid into Johnny with his fist.’

‘My God, that’s awful!’

‘Luckily, a man who was passing witnessed it all, rescued Johnny and saw his father off. This man was, by the greatest good fortune, Arnie, my husband. He was alone again, regretting what he’d done, and had been watching over us. It was fate – I know it was. He brought Johnny to me and that was when I knew we were meant to be together.’

A look of shame shadowed her homely face. ‘You see, I still loved him. I never stopped loving him, not once. But pride had stopped me contacting him. And with another man’s child in tow, I was certain he’d want nothing to do with me anyway.’

Amy could hear Maureen’s love for this man shining in her voice as she spoke. ‘So you went back to him in the end?’

‘I had to.’ Maureen’s quiet smile was evidence enough of the way she felt towards her husband. ‘He had always been my life and always would be. The time when we were apart was the worst time of my life. But there have been bad times since.’ Her voice quivered. ‘Sometimes I wonder if it might have been wise not to have gone back to him. But he’s never laid a hand on Johnny, and whatever else he’s guilty of I’m grateful for that.’

‘And Johnny …?’ Only now was Amy beginning to realise the extent of worry Maureen had endured.

‘He was black and blue. I realised after that bruises I’d taken to be the result of tumbles while playing had probably been caused all along by his father hitting him.’

Maureen finished, ‘He would shy away from strangers and even though Arnie did the best he could to get close to the boy, Johnny cowered away from him. He became terrified of all men. From that day to this, he’s never forgotten.’

She looked at Johnny and a shine came into her eyes that told Amy how much she loved the child. ‘I’ve never forgotten either,’ she murmured. ‘I never will.’

Amy was curious. ‘And how are things between you and your husband now?’ She didn’t want to pry, but she wondered if the husband being absent had anything to do with what had happened to Johnny. Maybe the child had been unable to cope with the presence of any man.

Maureen was tempted to tell her the truth. She trusted Amy, but was it fair to burden her with the facts? How would Amy take it if she knew that Arnie was in prison for beating Sylvia Hammond half to death?

She decided not to mention it at all. More than anything, she did not want to risk losing Amy’s friendship.

‘We went through a bad patch,’ she told Amy now. ‘The landlord sold the house from under us, and Arnie got a job working down South.’ She hated lying to Amy, but it had to be done. ‘Meanwhile, I had to find a place for me and the boy. That’s when I heard about the house on Derwent Street. It’s only two bedrooms, but that’s all we need, and the rent is cheap. We got a bit of money from the sale of our furniture and belongings when we left the other house, so we’ll manage all right, as long as I count the pennies. I’m keeping a lookout for work in a hotel kitchen, or a shop, where I might be able to take Johnny with me.’

‘Have you seen anything yet?’ Amy would have offered to look after Johnny while Maureen went off to work, but the shop was busy most times and she didn’t think her mother would welcome a small child under her feet while trying to serve the customers. Still, if she could help Maureen in any other way, she would. ‘If you got a little job, I’d always be willing to take Johnny off your hands,’ she offered. ‘I’d even change my day off, if that suited.’

‘Aw, that’s lovely of you to offer,’ Maureen said gratefully, ‘but I know how hard you work, and I would never dream of taking up your one day off. Don’t you worry, I’ll find something suitable, I’m sure. There might even be somebody on the Saturday market that would let me help run the stall and take Johnny along.’

That idea had been playing on her mind these past few days. ‘I’ll go through the market this Saturday,’ she said hopefully. ‘Who knows, I might just be lucky?’

‘When will your husband be coming back?’

‘I’ve no idea.’ Maureen gauged her answer carefully. ‘Like I say, he’s working for a developer, and they’re building right across the South. So there’s no telling how long it might be before he comes back.’

Such lies! But, if she and Johnny were to lead normal lives, the truth must be kept from everyone … even the lovely Amy. ‘He’s got our new address, so I’m sure he’ll let me know when he’s on his way back.’

Amy knew instinctively that Maureen had not confided everything in her. There was a great deal more, she could tell, but it was not for her to press this poor woman, who had been through so much. Besides, it was not her business. All that mattered was that whenever Maureen and Johnny needed her, she would be there.

For Amy’s part, she was glad that Maureen had found the courage to confide this much in her. Now Maureen seemed easier with herself; her smile was brighter and she was more relaxed than Amy had ever seen her.

As for Johnny, he had been in his element at the park and now, hand in hand with them both, he was as carefree and happy as any young child should be. It was heart-warming to see.