A Child's Voice Calling (48 page)

‘And did yer forgive her, Miss Lawton?’ asked Harry gently.

‘Yes, Mr Drover, certainly I did. We have to forgive all injuries and wrongs, so as to live at peace with all people, according to the Lord’s commandment. I asked her to forgive me, too.’

‘Oh, Aunt Ruth, ye’ve helped me to make up me mind,’ said Mabel, nodding. ‘I shall have to go an’ see her meself.’

‘Then I shall come with yer,’ said Harry Drover.

ELSIE ANSWERED THE
door to them and told them that Mrs Court was in the front parlour. ‘She don’t want no visitors nosin’ round, but she’ll see Mabel,’ Elsie said, pointedly staring at Drover.

‘Very well,’ replied Mabel. ‘You stay in the livin’ room, Harry. Let me see her alone.’

He was reluctant. ‘Then yer must leave the door ajar, Mabel, in case yer need me.’

As soon as Mabel set eyes on her grandmother she saw that she had been drinking. On the low table at her elbow was a half-empty bottle and a glass. She reached up for a second glass from the wall cabinet.

Mimi Court – Prudence Lawton – was a shadow of her former self. Her once plump features had sagged into fleshy pouches and the much-tinted hair was now almost white beneath a black lace cap.

Yet she rose to greet Mabel and they stood for a long moment without speaking, as if Mimi was weighing up her granddaughter. When she spoke it was with her company accent. ‘So, Mabel – been to see ol’ Miss Lawton at the Tooting Home, eh? How was she today?’

‘Happier than I’ve ever known her, Grandmother – contented and peaceful.’ Mabel could have added,
not living in fear any longer
, but she remembered Harry’s reminder that she had not come to judge this woman, only to bid her farewell.

Mimi’s eyes were wary. Since her return to
Macaulay Road she had immediately encountered active hostility from former acquaintances. She had become a target of open abuse from the likes of Mrs Taylor, who had shouted ‘Scumbag!’ at her in the street, and where there were not harsh words there were cold shoulders whenever she set foot out of doors. Shopkeepers who had once been deferential now showed no respect, and people stopped talking and stared at her when she approached. At one time Mimi Court would have stared them out and pulled herself through by sheer defiance, but now she felt too old and tired. And alone.

‘So she’s peaceful, is she? Senile, more like.’

Mabel did not answer. She could not help contrasting the different circumstances of the two sisters now, nearing the end of their lives, and to know which one was the happier.

Mimi poured out two glasses of port wine and pushed one towards Mabel. ‘Well, sit down an’ take a drink with me – go on.’ She lowered herself into the armchair, while Mabel remained standing. ‘Yer got over yer little adventure, then? Yer night in custody?’

‘Thanks to Mr Drover and Miss Lawton, yes,’ Mabel said quietly. ‘It was the worst night o’ me life, except when I lost me poor mother.’

Mimi held out her hands in a placatory gesture, palms up. ‘Look, I’m sorry about that, Mabel, but it sounds as if yer got through it pretty well – very well, in fact. I’m proud o’ yer.’

Mabel felt her indignation rising. ‘I wouldn’t’ve got through it if the charges hadn’t been dropped,’ she pointed out.

‘Pooh! O’ course they were dropped, I knew all along that ol’ Sir Percy’d want to save his wife’s
name. My God, that girl was a fool if ever there was one. Had everythin’ a woman could want, an’ threw it all away for nothin’.’

‘Whatever she was, she paid for it with her life,’ said Mabel gravely.

A flicker of unease showed in Mimi’s sharp brown eyes, now reddened by drink. ‘What? Yes, well, it was the worse case I ever had, that was. And the last. I’ve finished with midwifery an’ all that from now on. I should’ve stopped sooner, I ’aven’t been on form since Jack went. Never lost a client all these years, though. Not until now.’

Mabel was silent. Her glass of wine stood untouched.

Mimi attempted a smile. ‘Look, I know it was hard on yer, bein’ taken in like that, but these things blow over, Mabel, an’ don’t I know it – been in a few tight corners in my time, an’ come out of ’em with me good name intact and a good deal more besides. Now listen, I got plans for yer. Ye’re nineteen now, yer got brains, ye’re a good worker, in fact, I see a lot o’ meself in yer, Mabel—’ A faint sound like a cough or a choke came from beyond the door, but Mimi did not hear. ‘Yer deserve a reward, Mabel. D’ ye want to hear what I’m goin’ to do?’

Mabel stood stock-still and expressionless.

‘I’m goin’ to pay for yer to train as a nurse at a good volunt’ry horspital, ’ow about that? Somewhere like St George’s or St Mary’s. Ha! D’ye reckon ye’ll be able to keep yer end up with them lady probationers? Yer money’ll be as good as theirs!’ She looked hard at Mabel, expecting a gasp of delight.

It had got to be said and Mabel was surprised at how calm she sounded. ‘I’ve been appointed to start
trainin’ on September the first at Booth Street Poor Law infirmary.’

It was Mimi who gasped. ‘
What
? A bloody workhouse out Lambeth way, nursin’ the poorest, the lowest o’ the low? Ye’d better write straight away an’ tell ’em it’s orf – ye’re goin’ to train at a proper ’orspital.’ Her company accent was rapidly deserting her.

‘No, Grandmother. I’ve
chosen
to train at a Poor Law infirmary. It’s not a workhouse any more, it’s been taken over an’ there’s a waitin’ list for probationers.’

If she had slapped Mimi across the face it could hardly have been more of a shock. There was no question of persuasion or argument; this was total rejection and Mimi felt it as such. ‘Ye’re makin’ the biggest mistake o’ yer life, my girl. Ye’re as bad as that ol’ fool in the Tooting ‘Ome, turnin’ down a good offer.’

‘My aunt chose right, Grandmother,’ returned Mabel at once. ‘She’s happy now, she doesn’t need any favours from yer, an’ neither do I.’

Another slap in the face – and through the haze of wine, that word
aunt
. There was a pause. ‘She’s been talkin’, then.’

‘Yes, I told yer, she came to the police station and defended me against the charge of assistin’ yer with . . . what yer did. And it came out that yer were sisters, an’ how yer took in yer own mother and sister without acknowledgin’ them – an’ I saw for meself how yer treated Aunt Ruth. But she’s free o’ yer now.’

Mimi made a choking sound, a grunt, as if she had received a physical blow. ‘So that’s what I get for takin’ ’em in an’ keepin’ ’em for God knows ’ow
many years. I see. What else did she say? What other cats came flyin’ out o’ the bag?’

In for a penny, in for a pound. Mabel took a deep breath. ‘That your name’s not Court but Prudence Lawton – and my father’s father was some kind o’ civil servant from India.’

Mimi started and then gave a harsh, grating laugh. ‘Oho! She told yer
that
, did she? An’ about the good start in life I got for my Jack? Did she tell yer
that
as well?’

Mabel coloured, embarrassed by these revelations. ‘She said the Masood family ’ud been very generous, but I’m really not interested in hearin’ about that.’

‘Oh, yes, you are! Everybody wants to know where they came from an’ I’m goin’ to tell yer, Mabel, so’s yer can go an’ tell yer Salvation Army man. An’ yer
ought
to know, seein’ as yer was so upset about them poor babies at the Rescue. Because I didn’t part with
my
baby, Mabel, I brought ’im up on me own, an’ struck an ’ard bargain for ’im! Hah!’

Again the deep, self-congratulatory chuckle as Mimi looked back on what she saw as her greatest triumph. In spite of herself Mabel was curious and waited half in dread of what she was to hear.

‘Poor ol’ Ruth. All ’er life she’s envied me, ’cause I took after me father an’ liked a bit of adventure, while she was a scared little thing, clingin’ round ’er mother’s skirts.’ Mimi looked up suddenly with a question in her eyes. ‘Did she tell yer what ’appened to our naughty father?’

‘She said somethin’ about a scandal, how yer all had to leave the parish where he was vicar,’ muttered Mabel.

‘That’s right, an’ that’s when our paths divided, yer could say. When we had to leave in a hurry, I
saw me chance to get away an’ see a bit o’ life. I couldn’t bear to stay with those two, skimpin’ an’ scrapin’ in cheap lodgin’s, tryin’ to stay respectable on next to nothin’, so me an’ me friend Sally Kent took ourselves off to London. We were both young an’ not bad-lookin’, an’ I fell in with a seafarin’ man from the East Indies, a good-looker with plenty o’ money to spend. We lived well an’ had a good time while it lasted – and Sally got a place in service, big ’ouse overlookin’ Regent’s Park, home o’ Sir Sidney Horner, God rot ’im – Tory in ol’ Disraeli’s government, a crawler an’ a lecher. It wasn’t long before Sally caught ’is eye . . .’ Mimi’s mouth curled in bitter contempt as she remembered her unfortunate friend. ‘’Course, the next thing was ’Er Ladyship found Sally was three months gone, an’ turned ’er out on the street without a penny. I swear it was Horner that ruined ’er, an’ maybe ‘Er Ladyship guessed what’d been goin’ on, I don’t know. But not every poor girl in Sally’s case finds a Rescue ’ome, Mabel. Sally’s spirit was broken an’ she went the same way as yer mother – to the Thames.’

‘Oh, my God.’ Mabel closed her eyes, but could not banish the picture of the drowned face.

‘Yes, yer can ooh an’ ah, Mabel, but a lot of ’em goes that way. An’ ’e got orf scot-free, the ol’ goat. I remember it well, ’cause it was the same week I lost me own man. ‘Is money ran out an’ orf ’e went back to sea, said ’e’d be back but I ’adn’t time to wait, I’d just found out I was in the same boat as Sally. It was a bad time all round, that spring of 1869.’

‘Good heavens, Grandmother, so it was the sailor—’ Mabel gave an involuntary gasp, thinking of Harry behind the door. Whatever else was he to hear about her origins?

Mimi did not answer directly. ‘So, poor Sally was dead an’ Horner was alive – but ’e ’ad it comin’ to ’im, Mabel, oho! I saw me chance to get revenged for Sally an’ do meself a bit o’ good at the same time. Jus’ before she left there, she tol’ me that these bigwigs ’ad arrived from India, comin’ to kowtow to the Queen, an’ ol’ Horner thought ’e’d worm ’is way in by offerin’ ’em ’ospitality – let ’em stay at ’is place for the summer. So they moved in – Sir Akbar Masood an’ ’is son Anwar, only a boy.’

‘Masood!’ whispered Mabel. ‘Was that
him
, Grandmother? The one who’d come over to be educated in England?’

Mimi laughed again. ‘Oh, did Ruth tell yer that? Once she opened ’er mouth, she didn’t know ’ow to shut it again, did she? Yes, Sir Akbar was well up in the Indian Civil Service at Hyderabad, spent ’is time ’obnobbin’ with the Viceroy an’ put on a big spread for the Prince o’ Wales when HRH was on one of ’is state visits. Oh, yes, ’e was somebody, was ol’ Akbar, an’ ’e’d brought ’is eldest son over to try ’is luck at Cambridge – only ’e very nearly ’ad to turn tail an’ go back in a hurry, Mabel, an all ’cause o’ me!’

Mabel was both fascinated and repelled. She had been half expecting a tale of romance and doomed love; instead she was hearing about the daring exploits of a scheming maidservant.

‘So there I was in poor Sally’s place and Anwar was so easy – only seventeen, ’e was, as eager to learn as I was to teach. It was ’im first called me Mimi, an’ I kept it, suited me better than Prudence. Ol’ Horner was as smarmy as can be with ’em, bowin’ an’ scrapin’, gettin’ ’imself well in at court – there was me other name! – thought ’e was in line for the Cabinet an’ all sorts o’ favours. ’E never noticed
me, Mabel, never ’ad an idea o’ what I was plannin’ for ’im!’

Mimi took another gulp of wine and let it roll over her tongue, licking her lips. A few drops spilled down the front of her gown. She looked up with an expression that was not so much a smile as a conspiratorial grin that made Mabel’s blood run cold. ‘That was a good time, gal. I used to creep into Anwar’s room overlookin’ the Park, an’ wait for ’im. Those summer nights . . .’ She sighed and her features softened a little at the far-off memory of the youthful visitor from the most exotic jewel of the Empire, he who had worshipped her young body. ‘An’ then, jus’ as ’e was orf to Cambridge in the autumn, I sprung me little surprise on ’em. Told ’Er Ladyship I was three months, though I was gettin’ on for five, an’ said it was Anwar. What a to-do! I was no Sally Kent, I stood up there in front of ol’ Horner an’ said I wanted payin’ off – or I’d kick up the biggest society scandal for ’alf a century. Said I’d go to the newspapers, I’d go to the city church they attended, I’d write to ol’ Disraeli an’ the Queen – remember I was a vicar’s daughter, I’d been to school – an’ said I’d let everybody know what’d been goin’ on under Sir Sidney Horner’s roof. I threatened to show ’em all up so’s they’d never be able to ’old their ’eads up again – an’ I
would’
ve done, an’ all! They found out I wasn’t bluffin’ when I said I’d show the little dark baby to the world. Aha!’ The brief tenderness had vanished, replaced by a mask of gloating vengeance.

‘So – what happened in the end?’ whispered Mabel.

‘Well, they ’ad to pay up, o’ course, for me to keep me mouth shut, an’ I made sure I asked for double
what ol’ Sir Akbar offered. I reckon Sir Sidney must’ve gone ’alves with ’im, maybe ’e paid the lot – yer should’ve seen ’im, Mabel,
livid
with rage, I thought ’e was goin’ to ’ave a stroke. But I stood me ground, an’ walked away with enough o’ the ready to buy this house an’ give my Jack a good start. Aha, Mabel, yer father did well out o’ them Masoods, considerin’ I got ’im orf a Lascar sailor! Ol’ Ruth didn’t tell yer
that
, did she? Nobody knows that, Mabel, only me. An’ now you.’

And Harry, thought Mabel. But by now she knew her fiancé well enough to know that such knowledge would make no difference to him.

‘It wasn’t easy, Mabel, none of it was easy, but I did it. I pulled it orf for my Jack.’ Mimi’s unfocused eyes gleamed for a moment and then darkened. ‘An’ now ’e’s gone, too.’ She put down the glass and raised her head. ‘Listen, Mabel, I’m goin’ to find a little place somewhere out in Surrey – Worcester Park or Carshalton or somewhere there’s still a bit o’ country. You shtay an’ ’elp me move, be me comp-companion, get ev’rythin’ after I’ve gone, you an’ yer Shalvaton Army chap. Whaddya say? Don’t go ‘way, Mabel, gal – don’t leave me all on me own.’ Her recital had changed to maudlin pleading. Tears of self-pity welled in her eyes as she looked up at Mabel who stood still as a statue.