A Child's Voice Calling (40 page)

For his grandmother there was a black silk scarf.

‘Yer must’ve spent a fortune, Albert,’ said Mabel, blushing with pleasure at this luxurious gift.

‘Get away wiv yer, I got me pay, ain’t I? Rollin’ in it, I am.’

When Daisy came in she was a little overawed at first by the laughing young sailor who picked her up bodily and kissed her. She had not remembered him having a bristly chin, nor that he was so dark, tanned by months in the tropics. Mabel saw their grandmother’s sharp brown eyes appraising him with a strange expression, though she made no comment.

That evening the brother and sisters went walking on Graveney Common, Mabel wearing her shawl and Daisy her half-dozen bangles on each arm. When the little girl ran on ahead of them, Albert linked his arm affectionately in Mabel’s. ‘Come on, ol’ gal, tell yer bruvver what’s bin goin’ on, an’ no messin’ abaht. What’re you an’ Daisy doin’ stuck in that ’ole wiv the Duchess o’ Tootin’? Didn’t yer want to go in for nursin’?’

Mabel gave a long sigh. ‘It’s a job to know where to start, Albert. It was after George went to Canada, see – I’d lost me job at the Rescue an’ had to get out o’ Sorrel Street – an’ there just wasn’t anywhere else. She offered to teach me midwifery and give me a pound a week an’ all found, and it seemed like a
good idea while I waited until I was old enough to start me trainin’ as a nurse at a Poor Law infirmary.’

He nodded. ‘Yeah, but what abaht Daisy? She an’ Alice went to Bel’ampton wiv the aunts.’

‘Yes, she did, but—’ She then told him the full story of Daisy’s flight on the day of Ada’s wedding.

‘Little monkey! Seems all right nah, though, don’t she?’

‘Yes, she’s much better, but—’ She hesitated, unwilling to tell him the whole sordid story of 23 Macaulay Road. ‘But it’s no place for a child, y’know.’

‘’Ow d’yer mean?’

‘D’ye know what our grandmother does for a living, Albert?’

‘Summat that brings in a tidy whack, I can see. Blimey! It ain’t a bleedin’ ’ouse o’ ill fame, is it?’

‘’Course not, don’t be daft.’

He grinned. ‘Yer never know, poor ol’ Miss Lawton might ’ave ’idden talents.’

‘Don’t joke about Ruth Lawton, she may be a bit eccentric but she’s all right at heart. Poor soul, I’m sure she knows what goes on, an’ . . . an’ I can understand, ’cause I’m ashamed about it, too.’ She trembled against his arm and he could see that she was truly upset.

‘So, what goes on, then? The ol’ girl’s a midwife, ain’t she? Delivers babies?’

‘Yes, and I assist her with
that
, I go out on my bicycle – nice job, but—’

He picked up the implication in the word
that
and all at once he understood. ‘Gawd Almighty, yer mean she gets rid of ’em an’ all, is that it?’

‘I couldn’t’ve told yer, Albert, but yes, that’s it –
she does abortions.’ And in rising agitation she went on to explain that Mimi’s special clients were mostly wealthy women who lived out of the district.

Albert whistled through his teeth. ‘Hell, Mabel, see what yer mean. No place for Daisy, nor you neiver. Ye’ll be tarred wiv the same brush if yer stay under ’er roof – not to mention endin’ up in clink. Yer got to get out o’ there, gal, or kiss yer nursin’ plans goodbye.’

She heard the deadly seriousness in his voice. ‘I know, I know – but what can I
do
? I shouldn’t’ve let Daisy stay, I see that now, but—’

‘Take ’er back to Aunt Nell.’

‘But how
can
I? I just can’t go to the Somertons and say I’ve brought her back after all this time, not after the way grandmother insulted them – ye should’ve heard her, Albert, it was
awful
, I didn’t dare show me face, I was that ashamed. If I took her back now, they’d have every right to send me packin’.’

‘Yer ain’t got no choice, Mabel. You an’ Daisy got to get
aht
o’ there. Look ’ere, I’ll come wiv yer, an’ ’ave a word wiv this Thomas Somerton. The aunts are decent sorts an’ I reckon they’d do it for our muvver’s sake. Fact is, Mabel, it’s got to be sorted aht before I go back.’

Albert spoke with urgency and Mabel saw that he was very concerned. ‘And yer really think Aunt Nell ’ud agree?’

‘I’d lay even money on it.’

‘Shall I write a letter to her? And to Aunt Kate?’

‘Nah, let’s use the element o’ surprise, as we say in the navy. Go dahn there this weekend, all free of us, an’ stay somewhere in Bel’ampton, an’ send a message from there sayin’ we’d like to see ’em, very
sorry for what’s ’appened,
you
can do that bit, and leave it to yer bruvver to do the rest!’

Persuaded by his determination, Mabel agreed. Mrs Court was politely but firmly told that they were taking Daisy on a visit to her Belhampton relations, and although she compressed her lips and said they were making a big mistake by unsettling Daisy all over again, she noted the gleam in Albert’s eye and made no attempt to stop them. Daisy was cock-a-hoop with excitement and chattered happily about seeing her friend Lucy Drummond again.

On the train down to Belhampton that Saturday morning, Albert told Mabel that he was staying at the Seamen’s Mission on Mercer Street in Shadwell. ‘No need to tell the ol’ girl; let ’er fink I’m puttin’ up wiv a pal. If she can’t even give me a bunk to kip dahn on—’

‘Oh, what a shame, Albert, havin’ to stay at a hostel on yer leave!’

‘Nah, ’s all right, clean, food not bad. No beer, an’ a bit on the ’oly side, but decent an’ cheap. Stops the young ’uns from bein’ robbed by crimps an’ ’ores. And talkin’ o’ missions an’ stuff, ’ave yer seen anythin’ of ol’ ‘Arry?’ He asked the question quickly, catching her off guard.

Her mouth hardened and he saw that the subject was painful. ‘No, I broke off completely and yer know why. Please don’t speak of it, Albert.’

‘Poor ol’ ‘Arry, worships the grahnd yer walk on, Mabel. Yer won’t ever find a better.’

‘I’m not lookin’ for a better, Albert. I’ve told yer before, I shan’t marry anybody.’ Lowering her voice so that Daisy would not hear, she went on, ‘As soon as she’s back at Belhampton, if they’ll take her back, I
shall see about trainin’ to be a nurse. I’ll apply to the Booth Street Poor Law infirmary, over Lambeth way.’

‘Yer mean the ol’ sick asylum? Gawd, Mabel, it’s a bleedin’ work’ouse!’

‘Not any more it isn’t. It’s been taken over by the LCC an’ got proper wards and an operatin’ theatre. One of the mothers was tellin’ me her sister’s trainin’ there, and lives in the nurses’ hostel. The work’s hard, but I was never afraid o’ that, and once I’ve done the three years an’ got me certificate, I’ll look for a job nursin’ children.’

He saw her eyes soften at the prospect and said gently, ‘That’s what yer was plannin’ to do one day in the Sally Army with ’Arry, wa’n’t it?’ She did not reply and he went on thoughtfully, ‘My Gawd, Mabel, ye’ve ’ad a few setbacks, ain’t yer? First yer lose yer job at the Anti-Viv ’cause o’ me, then our muvver an’ farver went the way they did, and there was all that scare over the p—er, that damned blood test, an’ yer lost yer job at the Rescue an’ fell into the clutches o’ the Duchess o’ Tootin’ – bloody ’ell, Mabel, there’s always been summat to knock yer backwards. Well, I ain’t goin’ back to sea until ye’re free o’ that miserable ’ole.’

His face was grimly set and only relaxed when Daisy looked up at him and smiled. ‘D’ye think Auntie Nell might say I’m a good girl now, Albert?’

‘Not ’alf!’ He tapped the side of his nose and gave her a knowing wink.

From the train they watched the sprawl of London give way to leafy suburbs with gardens, parks and tennis courts; then came woodlands and stretches of common land with Surrey pines towering above
sandy tracks. Even busy towns like Woking, Aldershot and Farnham were surrounded by green countryside, and when they reached the low, rounded Hampshire hills and pretty villages clustering around their church spires, Mabel wondered if her mother had missed the country when she found herself in Sorrel Street.

From Belhampton Station the little trio walked into the town and Albert led them into the biggest hotel he could see, the Wheatsheaf, where he booked a room for himself and a larger one for his sisters to share. They had a midday dinner at a table in the dining room, though Mabel was too nervous to eat much, and spent the time rewriting the note she had penned to her aunt and uncle Somerton. In it she told them that Albert was home on leave, and that she and Daisy had come down to Belhampton with him.

She put the note in the addressed envelope she had brought with her and Albert gave sixpence to a messenger boy to deliver it to Pear Tree Cottage, a mile out of the town. ‘Wait an’ see if there’s an answer,’ Albert told the boy, and Mabel spent the next hour on tenterhooks, wondering if any answer would be forthcoming and what it would be.

Standing in the yard of the one-time coaching inn, she looked out at the busy little market town, the horse-drawn carts and wagons, the shoppers and
strollers. There were very few motor-driven vehicles here as yet, though she saw an open-topped omnibus setting off for Winchester. ‘I don’t see any sign o’ the boy, Albert,’ she murmured. ‘And it’s been an hour since he left.’ She spoke quietly so that Daisy would not hear.

But Daisy was not listening. She was jumping up and down at Mabel’s side. ‘There’s Uncle Thomas’s carriage, look! And there they are, Aunt Nell and Alice – and Aunt Kate, see, they’ve all come to meet us!’ she cried, running out of the yard and waving.

And so they had. Daisy was joyfully reunited with Aunt Nell whose tearful smiles of welcome included all three of them. Mabel kissed her aunts and her sister Alice, now a very attractive girl of sixteen, and Thomas Somerton shook hands with Albert.

Mabel was so relieved and thankful for their forgiving attitude that she forgot all Albert’s instructions and began speaking at once to her aunt and uncle Somerton about the true reason for their visit. ‘Daisy’s ready to come back to yer now if ye’re willing to have her after all the trouble ye’ve been caused – the way my grandmother Court behaved to yer,’ she said in a rush. ‘It’s been eight months and Daisy’s much better now. Yer see, she needed time to recover from—’

Elinor and Thomas Somerton exchanged a nod of understanding.

‘We have always been willing to have her back and in fact we have missed her very much, Mabel,’ said Somerton gravely. ‘But if we do take her back, it must be on our terms this time. We would have to adopt her and change her name to Somerton. And she must not ever enter the house of that Court woman again.’

Mabel looked at Albert, who stepped forward, beaming with approval. ‘Exactly what I was goin’ to suggest meself, Mr Somerton. Yer took the words right out o’ me mouf!’ he exclaimed, causing his sister Alice to grimace with embarrassment. ‘Mabel meant well, but it’s been a trouble to me, I can tell yer, knowin’ they was livin’ at that house with such a woman. Ye’ve taken a great weight orf me mind, sir.’

Which left Mabel with little to add except her grateful thanks, while tears of relief flowed. ‘I just don’t know what I’d’ve done if ye’d refused,’ she admitted guilelessly and Aunt Kate put a comforting arm round her shoulders.

‘How could they – how could we possibly refuse, Mabel? You’re so like your mother – our sister Anna-Maria.’

And that, it seemed, was reason enough for their forbearance and forgiveness. There was no need for any of them to stay at the Wheatsheaf that night, for Daisy’s room was waiting for her at Pear Tree Cottage, while Aunt Kate insisted that Mabel and Albert should stay with her at Pinehurst, the family home where their mother had grown up with her sisters.

Nothing had prepared the brother and sister for the spaciousness and many comforts of the house, the luxury of feather beds, an indoor water closet, gleaming polished furniture and a garden with green lawns and flower beds. Even Albert was overawed and Mabel knew that his thoughts, like hers, were of their mother and the life she had left behind for ever when she married Jack Court. When she
had
to marry him, thought Mabel, and all because of
me
. Had Anna-Maria wished that she had never indulged in that long-ago lovemaking? For the resulting changes
and events had ruined her health and brought her down to the grave at thirty-seven. In the silence of the country night Mabel mourned afresh for her mother.

On the Sunday morning they all walked to the parish church where they occupied a whole pew four rows from the front. Again Mabel pictured her mother worshipping in this same church, following the same order of service and singing the familiar hymns. She watched the handsome middle-aged rector move towards the carved pulpit and ascend its curving steps to deliver his sermon. ‘My text this morning is taken from the first epistle of St Peter, chapter 4, verse 12,’ he began, his fine voice resounding through the nave. Then he stopped and gripped the side of the pulpit, his face drained of colour as he stared intently at one face among the many upturned before him: the girl in the pew with Miss Chalcott and the Somertons.

Mabel felt his gaze upon her and shifted uncomfortably. Murmurings began to be heard in the congregation, and Aunts Nell and Kate exchanged a significant glance. The rector’s wife half rose from her place in the front pew where she sat with their five children.

The rector must have made an effort to take command of himself, for he turned his eyes away from Mabel, took a deep breath and collected his thoughts sufficiently to continue with his sermon, though at times he hesitated, as if he had lost the thread of his subject.

As was customary at the end of the service, the rector greeted each member of the congregation as they left by the south door. As he held out his hand
to Mabel, he once again seemed unable to say a word.

Miss Chalcott quickly interposed. ‘This is our niece Mabel Court, Mr Drummond, and this is her brother Albert. They are in Belhampton on a visit, and little Daisy has come back to live with her aunt and uncle Somerton.’