Battles Lost and Won (16 page)

‘Hello, Ruthie, there’s a dance at the church hall tonight. Want to come?’

‘No, thanks, Dougie, I’m too busy.’

‘Oh come on, you’ve gotta have a bit of fun. You can’t work all the time. I’ll let you pay the entrance fee.’

She laughed in exasperation. Now she was seventeen the boys were beginning to flock around her, and she found it a nuisance. Especially as they all thought she had money. She worked hard for only a little profit, but at least she was contributing to the family expenses. ‘I enjoy working. You ought to try it sometime.’

‘You know I can’t get work around here.’

‘Then try somewhere else. London’s a big place.’

‘I know what you’re doing,’ he sneered, ‘you’re waiting for Bob Hunter to come back, but you’re wasting your time. He won’t turn up after all this time.’

‘He’ll be back when he’s made something of himself.’ To be honest she had just about given up hope of seeing him again, but wouldn’t admit that to anyone else. ‘He wants to be a teacher, and that takes time.’

‘He always did have big ideas, but you mark my words, Ruth Cooper, you’ve seen the last of him. You’ll grow old waiting for him.’

Ruth snorted with laughter. ‘I’ve got a long way to go, Dougie.’

The boy smirked and winked at her. ‘You’re not only pretty, but you’re clever as well. Look at you with your own business. You’re gonna make someone a fine wife one day. All the boys are after you.’

‘Then they’re wasting their time,’ she said, still amused. ‘Any man I consider will have to have a steady job.’

‘Ah well,’ Douglas shrugged his shoulders, ‘that puts me out of the running, but I’ll keep on trying to get you to come out with me. See you, Ruthie.’ He walked away, giving her a cheeky grin.

The first hour that day was quiet, and she passed the time chatting to Mrs Law. Ruth was lucky to have got this spot, for the two of them worked well together and it was a comfort to be near her. A trickle of customers began to arrive around ten o’clock, and by lunchtime she had sold two toys, three items of baby clothes, and had an order to make a frock for an eight-year-old girl. Not bad after a slow start.

During a lull she saw John running through the crowds, skidding to a halt by her stall.

He held out a bag. ‘Mum said you forgot your sandwiches, and can I stay with you? Mr Hunter is going to look at some more houses and Dad’s gone with him. Mum and Sally are visiting the Selbys, and Eddie’s playing football.’

‘Didn’t you want to go with Eddie?’

‘No.’ John pulled a face. ‘Eddie’s getting too grown up to want me hanging around him all the time, especially when he’s with his friends. And anyway, I’d rather be with you. Can I stay, Ruthie? I can serve and put the stuffing in some toys for you.’ He gave her a hopeful look.

‘Of course you can stay. I do have a couple of toys to stuff and you can certainly help me with customers if we get busy. Want to share my lunch? There’s plenty here for two.’

‘Yes, please.’ He joined her behind the stall, all smiles. ‘Mum said we’re all doing quite well now and Eddie will be leaving school in a couple of years or so. I don’t even have to wear his cut-downs any more.’

‘Yes, we’re better off now.’ She smiled down at her brother. ‘And so is Mr Hunter if he’s thinking of buying another house.’

Nodding, John munched on a sandwich, a thoughtful expression on his face. ‘I wish Bob would come back. I still miss him. Do you think he’s all right, Ruthie?’

‘I’m sure he is, darling. Bob can look after himself.’

‘Suppose so, but he should at least tell us where he is so we won’t keep worrying about him.’

‘Yes, he should!’ This was a sore point with Ruth and she was annoyed at him for being so thoughtless. ‘He chose to walk away from us and break all ties, so we shouldn’t keep worrying about him.’

Their conversation was brought to an end by a flurry of customers. John loved this and bustled happily around as he tried to help with the serving.

‘When you leave school I’ll have to employ you,’ Ruth joked, as the last customer walked away carrying the parcel John had carefully wrapped for them.

‘You don’t have to wait that long; I can help you on Saturdays.’ Suddenly his bright smile changed to a scowl and he shot in front of his sister, holding out his arms protectively. ‘Go away!’

Ruth looked at the people standing by the stall and took a deep breath. Would she ever forget? ‘Captain Russell, Mrs Russell,’ she said stiffly, then noticed the girl standing with them. She smiled. ‘Hello Lilly, how are you?’

‘All right.’ She rushed up, pushing John aside so she could hug Ruth. ‘Did you make all these lovely dolls?’

‘Yes, would you like one?’

‘Oh, please! Could I have that one in the white dress?’

‘Of course. Get it for Lilly, please, John.’

The boy took it from a shelf at the back of the stall and then held it out to Lilly. He stood back in horror after receiving a big kiss. ‘What did you do that for?’

‘Because I wanted to,’ Lilly said, a mischievous grin on her face.

He slid behind his big sister just in case this strange girl tried to kiss him again.

‘Coward,’ Lilly muttered, still grinning. Then she kissed the doll and hugged it to her. ‘Thank you ever so much, Ruth. This is the prettiest doll I’ve ever had.’

‘I’m glad you like it.’ Ruth now turned her attention to the captain and his wife, but Mrs Russell was busy inspecting the baby clothes on the stall.

‘Oh, darling, just look at this!’ She was holding up a christening gown. ‘It’s absolutely exquisite, and there is a matching bonnet and booties.’

‘It’s lovely, my dear. Buy it and anything else you need.’ The captain smiled at Ruth. ‘We are expecting another child in five months.’

‘I’m going to have a sister this time,’ Lilly told them confidently. ‘I don’t want another brother, unless he likes horses, of course.’

This made them all laugh, breaking the tension, expect for John, who was keeping a wary eye on Lilly. At nearly nine years old he wasn’t used to strange girls kissing him.

‘Thank you for your letters, Ruth, but I would have liked to hear from you more often.’

‘Er . . . Well, I’ve been rather busy.’

‘So I see. We went to your house but no one appears to be in, and as you mentioned the market in one of your letters, we came looking for you here.’

‘They’re all out today.’ Ruth watched in amazement as Mrs Russell gathered up baby clothes.

‘These are so beautiful, Ruth, I can’t resist them. I’ll take them all. How much do they come to?’

John had crept out from behind Ruth as she added up the sale, writing each price down. He already had the paper ready to make a neat parcel.

Ruth handed the captain the bill. ‘It comes to one pound, eighteen and sixpence, sir. The christening gown was quite expensive because it took a long time to make.’

He scanned the figures, and then looked up. ‘You haven’t included the doll.’

‘That was my gift to Lilly.’

He nodded. ‘That is very generous of you, Ruth, but I hope you have charged us full price for the clothes?’

‘I have. The prices are on them so you can check if you want to.’

‘Then you are not charging enough,’ he said as he handed over a large five-pound note.

‘I can’t change that!’ she gasped.

‘Then keep the change.’

‘Certainly not!’

Noting the determined glint in her eyes, he took the note out of her hand, found some coins in his pocket and handed them to her. His mouth twisted in a wry smile as she handed him his one shilling and sixpence change.

John had finished tying up the large parcel and he held it out to Mrs Russell, who immediately handed it to her husband. ‘I’ve been so busy buying that we haven’t told Ruth why we’re here.’

‘My mother died two months ago.’ The captain took a small black velvet box out of his pocket and held it out to Ruth. ‘She left you this in her will. There’s a note inside from her.’

Ruth made no attempt to take the box, but looked at it with suspicion. ‘I’m sorry to hear your mother has died,’ she said politely, ‘but why would she leave me anything? I don’t think she even liked me.’

‘You are wrong,’ Mrs Russell told her. ‘She was fond of you, and never got over feeling guilty about the way she had treated you. This is her way of saying sorry. Please take the gift.’

The captain placed the box firmly in her hands, and when she opened it she went cold with anger. ‘Is this the brooch I was accused of stealing?’

‘Yes, it is.’

She snapped the box shut and dropped it on the stall. ‘You can’t really expect me to take that, surely?’

‘Read the note,’ the captain urged.

‘No, no!’ Ruth shook her head. ‘Every time I saw a policeman I’d be terrified he was coming for me. No, I couldn’t go through that again.’

‘Don’t you upset my sister again!’ John stepped in front of Ruth, bristling with anger. ‘She told you she don’t want it. Take it away.’

‘We’re not upsetting her, silly,’ Lilly told him, trying to push him out of the way. ‘We’re only trying to give her a present from my grandma.’

‘Don’t you call me silly! Go away!’

‘Children! Stop shouting at each other,’ the captain ordered, his tone of authority silencing them. ‘We are just trying to carry out my mother’s wishes, John.’

‘She hurt my sister, and we don’t let anyone do that.’ John glared at the people in front of him, especially the girl.

‘We know, and she was sorry. My mother was a strong person and inclined to rule any household she was in, so we moved her into the Gatehouse with her own servants. She was much happier there, and the arrangement worked well. When my mother made up her mind she was very hard to overrule. Do you understand, John?’

He pursed his lips as he thought about it, gazing up at his sister, and when she nodded, he said, ‘I suppose so, but we won’t have you making Ruthie unhappy again.’

‘And it is very commendable of you to defend your sister, young man.’ The captain turned his attention back to Ruth. ‘Can you leave the stall so we can talk in private?’

‘Um, well, Mrs Law will keep an eye on it for me. There’s a cafe across the road.’ She looked doubtful. ‘But it isn’t your kind of place, sir. It’s a bit rough.’

‘Ruth, I have been in trenches with mud up to my knees, shells bursting all around and men dying at my feet. Do you think I would object to going into a workman’s cafe?’

‘Sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to insult you.’

‘You haven’t, and do stop calling me sir. From the moment Bob walked into my library and told me to stop drinking, you have all become a part of my life.’ He smiled and picked up the box, slipping it into his pocket. ‘Come on, I’ll buy you a cup of tea and a bun.’

That made her laugh, easing the tension between them. ‘All right, I’ll just see Mrs Law.’

‘There’s no need for that, Ruth,’ Mrs Russell told her. ‘I’ll take care of the stall. Everything is neatly priced and John will see I do the job properly. Won’t you, John?’

He nodded, and glared at the captain. ‘Don’t you upset my sister or we’ll all be very angry with you.’

Ben held up his hands in surrender. ‘I promise.’

The young boy nodded. ‘We’ll take care of the stall, Ruthie, but you come straight back for me if he don’t behave himself.’

‘I will, John.’

As they made their way to the cafe, the captain said, ‘Fierce little thing, isn’t he?’

‘He’s usually a quiet, sensitive boy, until one of his family is threatened. He might only be small, but I believe he would take on anyone to protect us.’

‘You’re his favourite, I suspect.’

She nodded. ‘We’re very close.’

The cafe was crowded, and as they walked in one market trader called out, ‘Found yourself a boyfriend at last, Ruthie?’

She clipped him playfully around the ear as they walked past, heading for a vacant table in the corner. ‘Mind your own business, George.’

When they sat down the captain was chuckling quietly. ‘I’m flattered.’

Ruth ordered tea and buns for them both. ‘So am I. Now, what is it you wanted to say?’

‘Read my mother’s note first, and then we’ll talk.’ He pushed the velvet box across the table.

She took the note out and started to read, her frown deepening all the time. Then she looked straight at the man opposite her and sighed in exasperation. ‘I don’t want the brooch, but your mother isn’t making it easy for me. I’ve never held any ill will towards your mother or your wife; they only did what they thought was right. Your world is very different from ours, and I tried to take into account the difference in upbringing and attitude to life. The brooch was found in my room and it never occurred to them that someone else might have put it there. It was the way they dealt with it that was wrong. I was terrified when they accused me of stealing, and to be turned out like that was more than I could stand. I’ll never forget it, and it still gives me nightmares now and again. I can’t take the brooch. It’d be a constant reminder.’

‘It’s legally yours now.’ Ben stopped her from pushing it back to him. ‘If you don’t want to keep it then sell it and put the money towards your business.’

She shook her head, shocked at the suggestion. ‘Can you imagine the suspicious looks I would get if I tried to sell such a valuable thing? We’re in the slums of London, Captain, not a large estate in Kent. People like us don’t own valuable jewellery.’

‘You have my mother’s note to prove it belongs to you, and it is stated clearly in her will. If it will put your mind at ease, I will also sign a declaration to that effect in front of any witness you choose.’ He sat back and looked around the busy cafe. ‘There are plenty of people here you know.’

She fingered the box and pulled a face. ‘That’s kind of you, but I don’t think I could sell it, and I honestly don’t want it. Give it to Lilly.’

‘My daughter has more than enough of everything, and it isn’t mine to give away.’

‘Then I’ll give it to her.’

‘No! Dammit, Ruth.’ His raised voice turned a few heads.

Two of the traders were immediately standing by the table. ‘Is he giving you trouble, Ruthie?’

‘Everything’s all right,’ she told them. ‘We’re having a slight disagreement, that’s all.’