Читать книгу Lost & Found - Kitty Neale - Страница 13

Larry Barnet and his mother had been out and Lily had been forced to go back an hour later. This time they were home and without preamble she confronted Larry, told him what Kate Truman had said; but, like Tommy, he looked horrified, his large, brown eyes wide with innocence.

‘It wasn’t us! It was her,’ he protested, going on to tell a story that matched Tommy’s.

‘Now look,’ Jill Barnet said. ‘I know they shouldn’t have done it, but your daughter asked them to get their willies out. Boys will be boys and at this age they’re curious. With Mavis asking for it, you should thank your lucky stars that it didn’t go any further.’

‘But it did. They threw her on the ground, lifted her skirt, and if someone hadn’t come along I dread to think what would have happened. Mavis was able to run off, but she was frightened out of her wits and, if you ask me, she had a lucky escape.’

‘We didn’t do that, Mum, we didn’t,’ Larry cried. ‘It was her. She pulled up her skirt, wanted us to see that she was different to us.’

‘That isn’t true! You’re telling lies.’

Jill Barnet bristled. ‘Hold your horses, lady. You said earlier you heard about this from Kate Truman. If your daughter is so innocent, and was scared out of her wits when she ran off, how come she didn’t tell you about it herself?’

Lily floundered. Yes, why hadn’t Mavis told her? It had happened a month ago, but she had no memories of her running home frightened.

Jill spoke again, and Lily saw the pity in her eyes. ‘I think you need to talk to Mavis. If she keeps up this sort of behaviour, she could end up in trouble.’

With a gasp, Lily turned on her heel. She marched out, hurried home and slammed the door behind her. In the kitchen she began to pace, going over and over what she had heard.

Dark clouds gathered in Lily’s mind, a storm building, and when she came to a conclusion, it broke with ferocity. When she got her hands on Mavis, she’d kill her! It was bad enough that her daughter was backward, but to find out that she was a little slut was like a slap in the face.

Lily craved respectability. She wanted to be like the other women in the street, ones whose husbands provided for them, and had prayed that Ron meant all his promises this time. Yes, he was a known gambler, but if he really did change and start up his own business, she would at last be able to hold her head high. Lily fumed with anger. It was never going to happen, and now this! Mavis was acting like a tramp and the gossips would have a field day. She’d never live it down. Never! Lily’s eyes flew to the clock. Where was Mavis? It was after six, and though she was doing an hour’s cleaning for Edith Pugh, the girl should have been home by now.

By seven, Lily was almost at the end of her tether, her mind still dark with fury. She flung her coat on and stormed out of the house, determined to find Mavis.

It was a good walk to Edith Pugh’s house, yet it didn’t calm Lily. She banged loudly on the woman’s door, tapping her foot with impatience until it was opened, and saying bluntly, ‘Is my daughter still here?’

The young man frowned as he peered out at her. ‘Your daughter?’

‘Yes, Mavis—Mavis Jackson.’

‘Oh, Mavis. No, she isn’t here.’

‘Do you know where she is?’

‘No, I’m afraid she left before I arrived home.’

‘What about your mother? Does she know?’

‘Look, I don’t know what all this is about, but you’d better come in.’

Lily followed Alec Pugh to the large, spacious kitchen at the back of the house to see his mother sitting in a fireside chair. ‘Mavis hasn’t come home yet. What time did she leave here?’ she asked abruptly.

‘Oh, she left a long time ago, at around ten to six.’

‘Did she say where she was going?’

‘No, but I presumed home. What is it, Mrs Jackson? Is Mavis in some sort of trouble?’

Lily wasn’t about to wash her dirty laundry in front of this stuck-up, uppity woman, or her son who was looking at her as if she was something that the cat had dragged in. She floundered for a lie. ‘No, of course she isn’t in trouble. It’s just that it’s not like Mavis to stay out this late. I know she’s worried about my mother so I’ll try there.’

‘I must say she seemed upset about something when she arrived. Is your mother unwell?’

‘She ain’t been herself lately. Anyway, sorry to trouble you,’ Lily said.

‘It’s no problem, Mrs Jackson. Oh, and I must tell you that I’m pleased with Mavis. She worked really well today.’

Lily had to fight to hold back a scowl. Edith Pugh might be pleased with Mavis, but she certainly wasn’t. As she was shown out, another thought struck Lily, her anger returning in force. If Edith Pugh found out what Mavis had been up to, she’d get rid of the girl like a shot. Mavis would lose the job, any earnings, and worse, she doubted anyone locally would ever employ her. Wait till I get my hands on her, Lily thought, so incensed that she hardly noticed Alec Pugh’s curt goodbye before he closed the door firmly behind her.

‘Mavis, you’ll have to go home. Your mum will be worried sick.’

‘I can’t, Gran. I just can’t.’

‘Don’t be silly. It can’t be that bad. Come on, tell me why you’re too frightened to face your mother.’

‘No, no, I can’t.’

Doris sighed. Since Mavis had turned up she’d tried and tried to get to the bottom of things, but had failed. The poor girl looked so desolate, so unhappy that she’d even refused to eat the stew that Lily had brought round earlier. There must be something seriously wrong for Mavis to turn down food, but Doris was at a loss to know what to do. If she forced Mavis to leave, there was no guarantee that she’d go home, and, now that it was dark outside, the last thing she wanted was for Mavis to be walking the streets. ‘Mavis, please, talk to me. If you’re in some kind of trouble maybe I can help.’

‘You’ll be disgusted. You’ll hate me too.’

Doris felt a jolt of horror, her heart beginning to race. Oh, no! No! Surely the girl wasn’t in that kind of trouble? She fought to hide her feelings, to ask as gently as she could, ‘Mavis, love, have you, well, been with a boy? Is that it?’

Mavis jumped to her feet, eyes wild, but just as she was about to dash from the room there was the sound of the front door opening. The only other person who had a key was Lily, and Mavis knew that. The girl froze, rooted to the spot as her mother walked in.

‘So, there you are, you little slut!’ Lily spat. She stormed up to Mavis, swung her arm and slapped the girl hard around the face.

It didn’t stop there. Her face livid with anger, Lily slapped Mavis again and again while Doris struggled to her feet. Oh, the pain was awful, but she had to stop this. ‘Lily, Lily, calm down,’ she begged, trying to grab her daughter’s arm.

‘Calm down!’ Lily screamed. ‘Do you know what she’s been up to?’

‘I can guess, but this isn’t going to change anything. We need to sort something out.’

Lily’s head shot round. ‘Sort something out! Oh, I’ll sort something out all right. I’ll have her put away, that’s what I’ll do!’

‘Put away? What are you talking about? If she’s pregnant I’m sure it isn’t her fault. Someone must have taken advantage of her, and it’s him who needs putting away.’

Lily seemed to deflate before Doris’s eyes as she staggered to a chair, her voice a wail now. ‘Pregnant? Oh, no … no … I can’t stand it.’

Lost, unable to understand what was going on, Doris knew she had to sit down before she fell down. At least Lily had stopped laying into Mavis, but the poor girl looked dreadful: her cheeks scarlet from the continual slaps and tears streaming down her cheeks. Doris wanted to hug her, to comfort her, but that might make Lily flare up again. Instead she could only smile encouragingly at Mavis before sitting down and saying, ‘Lily, I thought that was why you’re doing your nut. Please, love, perhaps I’ve got the wrong end of the stick. I only said that Mavis might be pregnant, and I only mentioned that’ cos I can’t make sense of what’s going on.’

‘Gawd, Mum, you scared the life out of me. No, Mavis isn’t pregnant, but after what I’ve been hearing, it’s just a matter of time. The girl’s nothing but a tart!’

‘Oh, Lily, don’t say that.’

‘Why not? It’s true,’ Lily spat, going on to recount what had happened.

Doris struggled to hide her pain, but she was due for a dose of painkillers and it wasn’t easy. Thankfully the story didn’t take long and, as her daughter stopped speaking, Doris quickly said, ‘I don’t believe it. Not for a minute. Mavis is a good girl, an innocent girl—it’s those boys who are telling lies. Have you asked Mavis what happened?’

‘No, I haven’t had the chance, but they both gave the same story.’

‘What does that prove? Nothing. Only that they knew they might be in trouble and worked out their stories between them. My God, Lily, you know what lads are like.’ Doris turned to Mavis. ‘Come here, love. Let’s hear what you’ve got to say about this.’

Mavis looked terrified, but at least she did as Doris urged, moving to stand beside her. Doris took her hand and, after giving it a gentle squeeze, she said, ‘Don’t be frightened. Just tell us the truth.’

‘It … it wasn’t like that,’ Mavis said, hesitant at first, but her voice slowly growing in strength.

As she listened, Doris knew that she was hearing the truth and, from the look on Lily’s face, she could tell that she was seeing the light too. She just couldn’t believe that Lily had been so quick to believe the boys over her own daughter—but then again, she was always hard on the girl. ‘See, Lily, you should have spoken to Mavis first.’

‘Yeah, maybe, but she was still on the common with boys.’

‘All right, I’ll give you that, but have you spoken to her about the dangers?’ Doris asked while gently squeezing Mavis’s hand again.

‘Don’t you start. I had enough from her next door this morning. Mavis ain’t a kid now and she must know,’ Lily snapped.

‘Unless you’ve warned her, I don’t see how.’

‘Don’t go all high and mighty, Mum. You didn’t tell me anything.’

‘You’ve got a short memory, my girl. I may not have told you what to expect when you got married, but I told you enough to warn you about men,’ Doris protested, but then, unable to hold it back, she groaned in pain.

‘Gran, what’s wrong?’ Mavis asked worriedly.

‘It … it’s nothing, just a bit of indigestion. It must be those jellied eels I ate earlier.’

‘Mum, you look awful,’ Lily said. ‘Oh, Gawd, you don’t think they were off?’

‘They tasted all right. No, it’s just that I stuffed them down too quickly and it serves me right that I’m suffering for it now.’ Doris rose slowly to her feet. ‘I’ll take a couple of Beecham’s pills, that’ll do the trick.’

‘I’ll get them, Gran.’

‘No, it’s all right. You stay here. Your mum’s gonna talk to you, tell you a few facts.’

‘What’s the point?’ Lily snapped. ‘She won’t understand.’

‘Please, give Mavis a bit of credit for once,’ Doris appealed.

‘Oh, all right. I’ll give it a go.’

Doris left the room, relieved that under the cover of needing indigestion pills, she could actually take her painkillers. Blimey, talk about having to lie quickly, but with Lily so distracted by Mavis it had worked well. After glancing over her shoulder, she quickly swallowed them down, praying it wouldn’t be too long before she felt the effects. For a few minutes Doris remained where she was, but fighting to gather her strength she returned to the living room.

Lily was talking to Mavis and the girl looked pink-cheeked. ‘I hope I haven’t wasted my time, Mavis. Do you understand what I’ve told you?’

‘I … I think so.’

‘You think so,’ Lily echoed with disgust. ‘That isn’t good enough. You’re too bloody thick, that’s the problem.’

‘Lily, don’t talk to her like that.’

‘Why not? It’s the truth.’

‘You’re too hard on her,’ Doris insisted as she took a seat by the fire. She then smiled gently at Mavis before saying, ‘What did your mother tell you?’

Flushing pink again, Mavis mumbled, ‘That boys are dirty buggers and that I mustn’t let them touch me. And … and that I mustn’t let them show me their … their thingies.’

‘Good girl. See, Lily, she does understand.’

‘Yeah, if you say so, Mum, but in future, if Mavis doesn’t stay away from them, I’ll skin her alive.’

‘I will, Mum. I will stay away,’ Mavis cried.

‘You’d better, my girl,’ Lily warned.

The pain had eased a little and Doris slumped back in her chair. She was tired, so tired, and knew that once the medication really kicked in, sleep would follow.

‘Mum, do you feel any better?’

‘Yes, I’m fine.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘For goodness sake, Lily! I said I’m all right and I meant it.’

‘Yeah, well, I wanted to make sure before I go. Come on, Mavis. Get your coat on and we’ll be off.’

Mavis did as she was told, and Doris managed to smile at her granddaughter when she leaned over to kiss her goodbye. ‘See you soon, darlin’.’

‘Bye, Gran,’ Mavis whispered.

‘I’ll be round in the morning, Mum,’ Lily said.

‘Yeah, all right,’ Doris managed, barely able to keep her eyes open as they left. She heard the front door closing, and then shifted a little in her chair, her weary eyes on the one opposite.

Walter was wagging his finger at her, but in her defence she said, ‘All right, don’t start. I know I lied to her, told her that I’m fine, but she’ll find out soon enough. Just not yet.’

Doris knew her time was limited; her one wish now to see her daughter and Mavis living in a bit more comfort before she left. Huh, there was little chance of that. ‘Walter, if only Lily hadn’t married that good-for-nothing. If only she’d married a decent bloke …’

Walter’s voice seemed to fill her head. ‘Will she, Walter? Will she really be all right?’

He faded and Doris felt tears gathering in her eyes. If anyone knew that she talked to her dead husband they’d have her committed, but since the day he’d died thirty-six years ago, she had never been able to let him go.

‘Well, love, it won’t be long now,’ she said. ‘We’ll be together again soon,’ and though it hurt her to leave Lily and Mavis the pain was getting so bad that Doris would welcome the end.