A Mistletoe Kiss (11 page)

Hetty hurried off and was soon entering the familiar kitchen, which was redolent with the smell of freshly ironed linen for, as she had guessed, her aunt was working. As soon as Hetty appeared, however, Aunt Phoebe stood her irons carefully down on the hearth, gave her niece a hug, and took the folded note. ‘Make a pot of tea, chuck, and gimme a cup,' she said, unfolding the pages. ‘I'm that thirsty wi' ironing all them tablecloths on such a hot day I could drink the Mersey dry.'

‘Where's the boys? Gran's asking you all to the
Water Sprite
for supper,' Hetty said, pouring boiling water on to a spoonful of tea leaves in the pot. ‘I know you'll come, particularly on such a lovely evening, but I wasn't sure whether Uncle Alf would be able to make it.'

‘Oh aye, he'll come along as soon as he can; I'll leave him and the boys a note propped up agin the clock, so they'll be bound to see it,' Aunt Phoebe said gaily. ‘Oh, I do love me mam's cooking! Wharris it this time? Something good, I'll be bound.'

‘I shan't tell you, then it'll be a surprise,' Hetty teased. She waited for her aunt to finish reading the letter, and then asked, ‘Did Gran tell you I'd been attacked by wasps? I guess my face is still a bit swollen, though it's nowhere near as sore as it was at first.'

Her aunt nodded, and sipped her tea. ‘Oh aye, she told me. Said she reckoned there'd been some skul-duggery from that young feller what's givin' them a hand wi' the new engine,'cos she said he weren't stung above three or four times, whereas you could scarce put a pin between your bites.'

Hetty laughed ruefully, running her fingers across her roughened cheeks. ‘They weren't bites, Auntie, they were stings. It's gnats or mosquitoes that bite, because they're after your blood. But wasps sting just out of nastiness.'

Her aunt gave a disbelieving snort. ‘Just out of nastiness indeed! It says in this here letter as you was interferin' wi' a wasps' nest, so what you got you axed for, young woman.'

Hetty was forced to laugh, though she did so reluctantly. ‘I couldn't tell Gran or Gramps, because it would have been tale-clatting, but I don't mind telling you, Aunt Phoebe,' she said. ‘Harry – that's the name of Gramps's helper – took me across a meadow and showed me this thing hanging in the branches of an oak. He said he didn't know what it was, but I reckon he did because when I poked it with a stick he ran off like lightning, back to the lane, which was when the perishin' wasps came swarmin' round my ears, so you see it was really not my fault.'

Aunt Phoebe finished her cup of tea, then scrawled a note for her husband and sons and propped it against the clock. She stuffed her mother's letter into the sideboard drawer and reached her light coat down from its hook on the back of the door. The two of them checked that the fire was dying down, then let themselves out through the front door, locked it and pushed the key on its string through the letterbox before hurrying down the path. ‘How d'you like the
Sprite
's new engine?' Aunt Phoebe said as they walked along the pavement. ‘I dare say you missed poor old Guinness, but that's progress for you. Your grandpa may be an old man, but he believes in keeping up to date so far as his barge is concerned. And how did you get on with young whatsisname, when you were aboard the
Sprite
, I mean? Harry, didn't you say?'

‘Oh, Harry and I got on all right; he's not as bad as I thought he was at first,' Hetty said. ‘But you'll see him for yourself quite soon now.'

But Hetty was mistaken. When Aunt Phoebe and
Hetty reached the wharf, Gran came ashore to greet them, her expression troubled. Hetty glanced around her. ‘Where's Harry?' she asked. ‘I want to introduce him …'

‘He's gone,' Gran said bluntly. ‘And don't ask me where, because I don't know.'

Standing on the wharf, staring at her grandmother, Hetty could scarcely believe her ears. Harry had
gone?
Whatever could Gran mean? So far as Hetty could remember Harry had been intending to stay with them until her grandfather was thoroughly at ease with the engine, and though the older man had certainly learned a lot she was pretty sure that when Harry had left the
Water Sprite
to go in search of his parents there had been no intention, on either side, of his remaining with the Collinses and simply abandoning the Heskeths.

So Hetty repeated: ‘Gone, Gran? What do you mean? You aren't trying to say he's gone for good? The last time I spoke to him he was keen to stay as long as possible, even talked about Gramps giving him a proper job as a paid crew member when he had proved his usefulness. Besides, it's only a few hours since he walked up the wharf and I went off to Salisbury Street. Look, I'm sure he's probably only yarning with his brothers, or his parents even. He's probably forgotten the time – you know what he's like – and will be back here well before you sail.'

Gran shook her head dolefully. ‘No, chuck, you're wrong there. You'd best read this – a little lad gave it to me not an hour ago.'

Hetty took the dirty little scrap of paper her grandmother held out. She read it, then whistled softly beneath her breath and, seeing Aunt Phoebe's puzzled look, read it aloud. ‘“I've gorra berth aboard a ship. They's payin me. You'll do awright. Sorry. Harry.”'

After a moment's silence, Aunt Phoebe spoke. ‘He's gone all right,' she said indignantly. ‘Well, the evil-minded, two-faced little tyke! Oh, Mam, wharrever will you and Pa do? There's no way the two of you can manage the
Sprite
, the butty boat and the new engine; you'll have to get some help. Wharrabout young Hetty here?' She turned to her niece. ‘How much did you manage to learn about the engine? D'you reckon you could run it with your grandpa?'

‘I could try …' Hetty was beginning when Gran shook her head reprovingly.

‘You will not do any such thing,' she said firmly. ‘Gramps and I have moved heaven and earth to make sure you get a good education, and we don't mean to let you waste it, just because one foolish young lad thinks he'd be better off earning money instead of just getting his keep for a few weeks. I don't understand it, because Harry knew right well that we meant to employ him as a third crew member just as soon as we could afford to do so. But there you are, there's no point in crying over spilt milk. Harry has gone and we've got to replace him. Furthermore, we'll want a feller who can help with the heavy work, as well as take over the engine if something goes wrong.'

‘There's plenty of strong-looking fellers what have been helpin' with the loadin' and unloadin' still hangin'
around the wharf,' Aunt Phoebe pointed out eagerly. ‘Any one of them would jump at the chance of a job aboard. What pay would you be offerin', Ma?'

Hetty felt horribly embarrassed, because she knew very well that the sum her grandparents paid Aunt Phoebe for her own keep was a generous one and meant that the Heskeths could not afford a man's wages. She was not even sure they could run to the sort of money a boy would earn.

Gran, however, tightened her lips, glanced around, and was beginning to answer when Gramps emerged from the cabin and jumped up on to the wharf, giving his daughter a reproachful look as he did so. ‘Employ one o' them lazy layabouts?' he asked scornfully. ‘Why, they're only hangin' round here because no one with any sense would give 'em a permanent job. Besides, a grown man might try to take over as Number One, and that I would not countenance.' He looked at Aunt Phoebe. ‘Now if you know of a likely lad, around fifteen or sixteen …'

Aunt Phoebe sighed. ‘It's no good suggestin' Bill or Tom, though they're the right age; Bill's gorra job wi' his da' in Cammell Laird's an' he's earnin' good money, and there's a factory makin' parts for aeroplanes out at Speke what's took Tom on as an apprentice for the next five years. It suits him better than working in the greengrocer's on Scotland Road, that's for sure.' She put a hand on her father's arm. ‘Look, Pa, we're doin' all right for the old readies now both boys are workin', so don't you go sendin' me any more money for the gal here,'cos we can manage just fine wi'out it.'

Gramps snorted and began to reply, but Hetty cut across him. ‘Hang on a minute; what about Gareth, Aunt Phoebe?' she said urgently. ‘I know he and meself didn't gerron, but we're both more sensible now. He's a bit older'n Bill and he's real interested in engines, always has been. But I suppose you're going to tell me he's got a job now, same as Bill and Tom.'

Aunt Phoebe, however, shook her head. ‘No, he's been right unlucky – now his dad's not working regularly there's no one to put in a word for him, if you understand me. I'll warrant he'd jump at the chance of some practical experience in a real job, and one on the canal at that. At least there's no harm in askin'. I'll nip round there …'

‘No you won't,' Hetty interrupted. ‘I'll go. You help Gran to get the grub ready, and by the time the boys and Uncle Alf arrive I'll be back with Gareth's answer.'

She did not wait for her aunt's agreement but set out at once, and presently she was knocking at the Evanses' house. Mrs Evans came to the door and smiled a welcome when she saw who her visitor was. ‘Hello, ducks. Did you have a nice holiday with your gran and grandpa?' she asked cheerfully.

‘Yes thanks, Mrs Evans. I always enjoy myself aboard the
Sprite,
' Hetty said politely.

‘That's nice,' Mrs Evans said. ‘But if you're after our Gareth, he's gone up to the technical institute on Stanley Road to sign up for an engineering course which is due to start in a couple of weeks. He probably won't be home for another twenty minutes or so, but you're very welcome to wait in me kitchen. You can have a cup of
tea and watch me makin' an apple pie, if you've the time to spare.'

‘No thanks, I won't come in if you don't mind,' Hetty said. ‘I'll walk to meet him, then we can talk as we come back.'

‘Right you are; I dare say Gareth will be glad of your company,' Mrs Evans said. ‘And you can have that cup of tea when the pair of you get back here. In fact you can have one o' me shortbreads, 'cos they'll be out of the oven by then.'

Hetty thanked her and set off, and ten minutes later saw Gareth's red head as he came loping along the pavement towards her. He spotted her when she waved and waved back, then skidded to a halt beside her and ruffled her hair. ‘How you doing, queen?' he said. ‘Did you know your perishin' cousins are both in work? I wanted to apply for an apprenticeship, same as Tom did, but they wouldn't consider me until I were sixteen, which ain't for a couple of months. So I'm going to fill in time doin' an engineerin' course at the tech. I'd rather get practical experience, but with a hundred fellers chasin' every job, you've got to know someone before they'll even interview you.'

‘I don't know about that,' Hetty said, momentarily diverted from her real purpose. ‘I s'pose Uncle Alf put in a word for Bill, but we don't know anyone out at Speke, so far as I'm aware.'

Gareth snorted. ‘Perhaps you'd forgotten that Tom's bezzie is Ivan Franklin, an' Ivan's pa is in the offices out there,' he said derisively. ‘I'm tellin' you, Hetty, these days it's who you know, not what you know.
Mind you, it might have been different if I were older, but I don't reckon anyone'd give me a job without I knew someone already workin' there. But where's you goin', young Hetty? You're a fair way from the canal, but I suppose you've left the
Sprite
and are back in Salisbury Street. Are you doin' messages for your aunt? But you've got no bag …'

‘No, I'm not doing messages; I came to meet you,' Hetty interrupted. She fell into step beside Gareth, walking back the way she had come and looking up into his face as they went. ‘Gareth, d'you remember sayin' you'd like to work on a canal barge? Well, there's been a bit of an emergency …'

She was still watching Gareth's face as she spoke, and now she saw his eyes light up and his mouth curve into a smile. ‘Tom told me they'd taken a feller on to help with the engine – you don't mean to say he weren't no use?' he said incredulously. ‘But I thought he were well experienced, knew all about engines …'

It was Hetty's turn to snort. ‘So he did; know all about engines I mean,' she said bitterly. ‘I can't say I liked him much at the beginning, but we were getting on all right by the time we were on our way back. Then we moored up and he went off without a word. Next thing we knew, a little kid handed Gramps a scrappy note. It was from Harry and just said that he'd been offered a berth on one of the ships in the docks, and he's took it.'

Gareth's eyes rounded and he whistled beneath his breath. ‘Without giving your grandpa no warnin'?' he said incredulously. ‘That were a rotten thing to do.'

‘Yes, it was,' Hetty agreed fervently. ‘Of course Gramps has learned a lot more about the engine than he knew before he met Harry, but the truth is, Gareth, that my grandparents are getting on a bit, and what with the butty boat and the new engine, they've got their work cut out to manage, even when things are going right. If things go wrong – well, I dare not think what they'd do. If I could go back with them I reckon they'd be OK, but of course they won't hear of me missing school. So Gramps asked Aunt Phoebe if she knew of anyone who might be willing to take a berth aboard the
Sprite
and I thought of you at once. Only I didn't know you'd signed up for the tech.'

‘I told you before I'd be happy to join the
Water Sprite
just for me keep, until I'd learned enough to be useful,' Gareth said excitedly. ‘I wouldn't want a wage; the tech won't pay me to attend classes anyway, so I wouldn't be losin' anything. And my mam wouldn't have to feed me, so that 'ud be a savin' for them 'cos as you know I loves me grub.' They had been walking along the pavement quite briskly, but now Gareth broke into a trot. ‘I'll have a pal of mine deliver a note to the Institute, explaining about the job; if I get it, that is. Only we'd best go down to the wharf right away, or they might offer it to someone else.'