Poor Little Rich Girl (45 page)

‘Grand,’ Ben said, hoping devoutly that his mam would make sure Lonnie didn’t have too much of
a hand in the preparation of the meal, ‘See you later, then.’

‘It’s almost unbelievable how much has been done in one short week,’ Hester said. ‘Mind you, Mrs Hetherington-Smith – only she told me I might call her Rosalind – is tremendously efficient and very sure of herself. Why, she gave notice to the convent that Lonnie would not be returning there, settled the child into a room at the Adelphi, booked passages for both of them to return to India in just over two weeks, and even chose a new school for Lonnie so that when she returns in September it will be to a thoroughly respectable establishment where there will be no corporal punishment or censoring of letters, or anything of that sort.’

‘Aye, but you’re pretty efficient yourself, Hes,’ Eileen said. The two girls were sitting in their room, preparing to go out for the evening. Eileen was brushing her long, toffee-coloured hair and trying to persuade it to curl under in a fashionable page-boy style whilst Hester did her best to press the creases out of her pink blouse. In order to do this, she had to balance a small flat iron on top of the paraffin stove and now, frowning with concentration, she applied the iron to the frills around the neck, then stood the iron on the floor and waved the garment at her friend.

‘If I was really efficient, I’d move to a better lodging where I could plug in my electric iron and wouldn’t have to fiddle around with a flat,’ she remarked. ‘Oh well, I’m not really earning enough to want to double my rent so I shouldn’t grumble.’

Eileen grinned a trifle ruefully and Hester, smiling back, knew that her friend was well aware that
Hester stayed in their present room solely for Eileen’s sake. When she had got the job with Mr Briggs, with higher wages than the dress shop had paid, due to the shift work, she had suggested to Eileen that the two of them might move to more salubrious surroundings. Eileen had always been better paid than she and could have afforded such a move but had explained to Hester her reasons for wishing to remain where she was.

‘No one stays here long; the minute they gets a halfway decent job, they moves on,’ she had explained. ‘That way, no one gets to know us real well, do they? Because the girls change every two or three weeks – apart from you and me that is – it don’t occur to them that I don’t eat that much but I seem to get fatter. And when they see me knittin’ a little jacket or some such an’ I say it’s for a pal, they aren’t around long enough to wonder why I’m gettin’ such a deal o’ stuff just for a pal. See?’

Hester had seen and understood. Not that she thought Eileen’s argument was really necessary. After all, they shared the kitchen with a number of girls who had been at Number 10 as long as they, and no one had ever remarked on Eileen’s burgeoning figure. Indeed, thanks to the care we’ve taken, making sure she wears loose floppy dresses and jackets, Eileen still doesn’t really look pregnant, just a bit overweight, Hester consoled herself. Come to think of it, if she’s happier staying here it will save us a double move, because she won’t want to return to the same lodging after the baby’s born.

Now, Hester shook out the blouse and began to put it on, fastening the tiny buttons with nimble fingers. They were alone in the room since the occupants of the other two beds were down in the kitchen,
preparing an evening meal. ‘This will be the first time I’ve been to a dance since I came to Liverpool,’ Hester said. ‘Dick is so nice that I shan’t worry if I can’t do all the dances because he says he’ll teach me the steps as we go round the dance floor. Is Tom a good dancer, Eileen?’

‘I dunno. We’ve not been dancing yet,’ Eileen said briefly. ‘I’d rather go to a flick meself but when I said as you and Dick were off to the Grafton, he said he’d like to go along as well.’

‘You’re seeing quite a bit of Tom, aren’t you?’ Hester said, stepping into her skirt. It was a black taffeta patterned with pink roses and swirled satisfactorily when she made a sharp movement. ‘D’you think it’s wise, Eileen dear? If you go on seeing him then I suppose you’ll have to tell him about the …’

‘Shush,’ Eileen said automatically. ‘Least said, soonest mended. And I’m not tellin’ him nothin’, an’ nor are you. Don’t forget the promise you made, Hester Elliott, ’cos I’ll never forgive you if it gets about.’

‘I wish you’d let me tell Mrs Bailey, or even Dick,’ Hester said worriedly. ‘I’ve never seen a baby born or had anything to do with babies, come to that. I won’t be any use when you need me most. Mrs Bailey’s had six babies of her own and even Dick has been around when his brothers and sisters were tiny. I’m worried that you might begin to have the baby before you’re in the home and then what’ll I do?’

‘Well,
you
may know nothing about having babies, but I know a great deal,’ Eileen said briskly. ‘I’ve seen me mam at it and they pops out like peas from a pod, no trouble. Me mam’s like me, broad in the beam, so I ’spec I’ll be like her and the kid’ll be born before
you can say Jack Robinson. An’ don’t you dare tell nobody, hear me?’

‘All right, all right, I hear you,’ Hester said. She had recently bought a cream-coloured jacket from Paddy’s market and now she slipped into this garment. She was helping Eileen into the loose-fitting coat when the door shot open and their two sleeping companions came in, both carefully carrying a laden plate.

‘Evening, Miss O’Farrell, Miss Elliott,’ the newcomers chorused; the shorter of the two adding inquisitively: ‘Off out, are you? Where’s you a-goin’, if I may make so bold?’

‘Dancin’ wi’ our fellers,’ Eileen said briefly.

‘What? Ain’t you havin’ no supper first?’ the second girl asked curiously, sitting down on her own bed with a thump and eyeing the plateful of food on her lap lovingly. ‘We’ve got sausage and mash, baked beans and a fried egg. We’d ha’ done you the same if you’d asked.’

The planned sharing of the cooking had tended to lapse since, as Eileen had already said, the other occupants of the room rarely stayed long. Now it was usually just Eileen and Hester who put money in the pot and took turns to make their meals, leaving the remaining girls to join in or arrange a similar scheme for themselves.

‘We’re having a meal out before we go to the Grafton,’ Hester explained, picking up her handbag. ‘Probably only eggs or cheese on toast. Come on, Eileen, we don’t want to be late.’

Hester, floating round the ballroom in Dick’s arms, thought she had never been happier. She felt so safe and secure when she was with him. When she had
emerged from the ladies’ cloakroom where she had left her jacket and had seen the admiring look in Dick’s eyes, it had made her evening complete, or so she had thought. Now, waltzing dreamily around the floor, she scarcely remembered to look for Eileen and Tom when the music stopped. Dick put a proprietorial arm round her waist and led her over to the door where a man was rubber stamping the backs of the hands of those who wished to go outside and get some fresh air. Hester had been much amused when Dick had explained to her that the rubber stamp stopped people who had not paid for admittance sneaking in during the interval.

Outside, a balmy little breeze lifted Hester’s hair gently from her forehead and in the gas lamp’s glow she saw Dick looking down at her very tenderly. He drew her round the corner and along a small passageway until they emerged in a quiet street which no other couples seemed to have discovered. He led her over to a low wall, brushed the top of it and spread a clean white hanky and then sat her down, taking his place beside her.

‘Look, Hester, I know it’s early days but I honestly think I fell in love with you the very first time I set eyes on you, when you came callin’ for Lonnie. Remember? I’ve been longing to ask you to marry me ever since we met up again, but – but I wasn’t really sure how you felt. Only this evening I thought that if I didn’t chance me arm, I might lose you. Don’t think I haven’t seen how other fellers stare, ‘cos I have. I’d never have thought meself a jealous bloke but when that smart naval rating tapped me on the shoulder in the “Paul Jones” and took you in his arms … well, I were ripe for murder. That made me realise I’d got to speak out or risk losing you to someone wi’ a bit
more courage and – and a better future. Hester, it may not be fair to ask you to marry me because I’m a good deal older and much more experienced than you and I know you’ve not had many fellers. What’s more, we both know I’ve got responsibilities now me dad’s gone, but – but we can buy a little ring and if we both save like the devil we could mebbe marry in a year.’ He put his arm round her shoulders and hugged her convulsively. ‘I thought this evening that – that you weren’t indifferent. Hester, could you … would you …?’

‘Oh, Dick, I haven’t had any boyfriends, apart from you,’ Hester admitted, tucking her head into the hollow of his shoulder. ‘But I know my own mind – and my own heart. I love you ever so much. I was so miserable when we were parted! I kept imagining you with some other girl and it made me so unhappy … yes of course I’ll marry you! Oh, how happy I am. I never thought I’d be so happy again. As for a ring, it’s up to you, of course, but all I really want is to be with you for always – a ring doesn’t really matter.’

‘You’re going to have a ring, but if you don’t mind waiting till Christmas it’ll be a really nice one,’ Dick promised. He turned her in his arms so that their faces were only inches apart. ‘Oh, God, you’re the most beautiful thing and I’m the luckiest feller alive. Kiss me!’

They kissed, at first tenderly and then with so much passion that Hester was shaken by it. Drawing away from him, she said: ‘That – that was wonderful, but I think we’d better go back to the dance before Eileen and Tom begin to wonder where we are. Oh, Dick, I’m so happy!’

*

Lonnie, sitting opposite her stepmother in the Adelphi’s magnificent dining room, wondered what her dear Hester was doing at this very moment. She and Rosalind – for her new stepmother had told her to use her first name – had seen Hester several times since their own meeting a week earlier and Rosalind had confided to Lonnie that she did not intend to let such a lovely person slip through their fingers.

‘I have a plan for when you return to England in the autumn,’ she had said mysteriously, her big blue eyes twinkling, ‘but I don’t intend to say anything until I’ve talked it over with your father. As things stand at present, Hester is happy working at the bakery and earning sufficient money to keep herself until our return. Your father wanted me to pay her an allowance but when I suggested it she got quite cross. She said she was doing very well and was proud of her ability to manage her own affairs.’

Rosalind had gone on to say that she would not be at all surprised if Hester and Dick made a match of it, and although Lonnie secretly thought this a very soppy thing to say she was forced to agree that Mrs Bailey’s eldest and her ex-governess did seem to get on remarkably well and to enjoy each other’s company. However, that seemed to her a long way from ‘making a match of it’, as Rosalind had put it.

‘Only another week or so in England, and then we’ll be embarking on the SS
La Sagrita
. As soon as we dock in Bombay, your father has arranged a first-class sleeping compartment for us on the train which will take us home. We shan’t be in Delhi long since we will be arriving in the middle of the hot weather, but will make our way to Simla and from there to your bungalow in the hills. Your
father means to take a little time off because he feels so guilty at having abandoned you whilst we were on our honeymoon.’ Rosalind’s gentle face grew anxious. ‘You don’t hold it against him, Lonnie, do you? He thought he had settled you so comfortably, was sure his sister would not dare to flout his wishes … he has been deeply unhappy and has suffered the most terrible guilt, my dear. Do say you’ll forgive him!’

At this moment, the waiter arrived with roast pheasant for Rosalind and roast chicken for Lonnie, along with two large silver tureens of vegetables and a jug brimming with delicious gravy. Lonnie waited until they had both been served and then said decidedly: ‘None of it was my daddy’s fault, nor yours, Rosalind. I know you think Aunt Emmeline has gone a little mad, so in a way we should not even blame her. There is a saying I heard once in India:
whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad
. So I think we should feel sorry for Aunt Emmeline but make sure that she is not able to do any more damage. She didn’t only sack Hester, you know, she sacked all the maids, including my dear Mollie, and at the last even Mr Fletcher, her butler. As for forgiving, I never blamed either of you for what happened because I knew it wasn’t your fault. Mrs Bailey says you turn over life’s pages each day and begin on a fresh sheet and that’s what I mean to do.’

‘What a sensible little girl you are,’ Rosalind said, beginning to help herself to vegetables. ‘Will you miss your good friends while you’re in India, dear?’

Lonnie smiled, but shook her head. ‘No, because I know I’ll be coming back to Liverpool quite soon.’
She heaved a deep, contented sigh. ‘Only this time you will be with me, making sure that everything’s all right so I can see my friends whenever I want to.’

‘And you may be sure that for the rest of your school days either we shall come to you in England every year, or you will come to us in India,’ her stepmother remarked. ‘I think everything will go swimmingly.’

It was the end of August and extremely hot. Hester and Eileen had eaten salads every night for a week and Eileen had just remarked that if she had any more lettuce she would turn into a rabbit. ‘I ain’t suggesting hot food, ’cos heaven knows that kitchen is like the halls of hell when everyone’s in there making their evening meal,’ she said now, as the two girls headed for Stansfield Court. ‘But what about getting some fish and chips and goin’ down to St Martin’s Rec so that we can eat them in the fresh air? If we were a bit younger, we could go and bathe in the Scaldy – it’s near enough – but by the time we’ve had our snap it’ll be time to think about going to bed. Oh, how I hate that boiling hot bedroom, right up under the eaves. No air seems to get in at all, not even when we leave all the windows and doors open.’

‘Fish and chips is a good idea,’ Hester said. ‘I know the weather’s hot, but I don’t suffer from it like you do. I suppose it’s because I was born and bred in India and often spent the hot season on the plains if my father was unable to get away to the hills. Imagine, we’re probably suffering more from the heat now than Lonnie is, because her father meant to take her straight up to Simla. Simla’s in the foothills and beautifully cool compared to Delhi, which was where we spent a good deal of our lives. And the Hetherington-Smiths have a beautiful bungalow in
the hills above Simla, surrounded by pine forests, lakes and rivers.’

‘Lucky old Lonnie,’ Eileen said absently. ‘When are you seeing Dick again?’

“Tomorrow evening,’ Hester told her. She had confided in Eileen, telling her that Dick had proposed marriage to her and was saving up to buy her an engagement ring for Christmas. ‘He works most awfully hard, you know, but we like to go out a couple of times a week. He says when a chap’s going steady he ought to be able to see his girl more than just on a Saturday night.’ She eyed her friend with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. ‘And talking of boyfriends, have you told Tommy yet?’

‘No, an’ nor I aren’t goin’ to,’ Eileen said, ungrammatically but forcibly. ‘I’ve telled you all along, our Hester, that I don’t mean to tell nobody about the baby. I’ve gorraway with it so far and you must admit, no one’s so much as mentioned that I look suspicious. It’s one advantage of bein’ on the big side; folk take it for granted that you’re simply gettin’ bigger, they don’t think as you’re hidin’ a little secret.’

‘It is amazing,’ Hester agreed. ‘You still don’t show and you can’t have more than a week or so to go, can you? You really should start making arrangements for the confinement, you know. Why, you’ve not even seen a doctor, let alone booked yourself in anywhere for the birth.’

‘I’m not doing anything until I have to,’ Eileen said obstinately, as they neared the fish and chip shop. ‘Give it a rest, Hes, there’s a dear. Anyway, I reckon I were out on me countin’. I reckon me time won’t come on me for two or three weeks, mebbe more.’ The two girls turned into the fish and chip shop and joined the short queue at the counter. Presently,
they emerged on to the Scotland Road once more and headed for the recreation ground. As they walked, Eileen began to tell Hester, for the umpteenth time, that her friendship with Tom was the nicest thing that had happened to her since she had left home and she did not intend to jeopardise it by telling him she was pregnant. ‘He need never know,’she pointed out, ‘since I’m havin’ the kid adopted. I reckon I’ll stay in one of them home places a day, or mebbe two, an’ tell folk I were visitin’ me fambly. If I get some warnin’ then I’m lookin’ to you, as me best pal, to tell the Williamses I’d had an urgent message to say me mam were took bad and I’ve gone home to look after her.’

‘Well, I’ll do my best and you might even get away with it,’ Hester said, rather dubiously. ‘If only you’d let me tell Dick … I told you that we’re getting engaged at Christmas, after all, and not even Dick’s mam knows that, and Dick wouldn’t tell a soul, you know he wouldn’t.’

Eileen sighed. ‘How you do keep on,’ she said plaintively. ‘This is our secret, yours and mine, an’ if I’m not worried about it, why should you be? We’ll brush through and no one any the wiser, just you wait and see.’

The next evening, Hester, who had been on an early shift, finished work at four o’clock. She returned to the Court, changed into a clean, pale-green cotton dress, and set out for Elmore Street. Ever since Dick had asked her to marry him, it had become a pleasant habit to go to the Baileys’ on a Tuesday evening after work. She would help Mrs Bailey to get the evening meal, learning a good deal about the art of feeding a family on a small income, for Mrs Bailey knew very
well how best to spend whatever money came her way and was very willing to share this knowledge with Hester.

It was a fine evening and Hester strolled along the sunny, dusty street, wondering how soon she and Dick would be able to marry. Dick had told her that because of his family responsibilities they would not be able to marry immediately. ‘Mam depends very heavily upon me,’ he had explained. ‘But Ted’s doing well at work now and in a year or so, when his apprenticeship finishes, he’ll be bringing in a real good wage. When that happens I reckon we can start looking around for a place of our own and planning a wedding.’

Hester had been glad to agree with this scheme, though having to wait for as long as a year or so seemed hard. Still, she supposed that it was better to take a bit of time and to save as hard as they could rather than jumping in at the deep end and spending the rest of their lives scrimping and going short.

She had known for weeks that she loved Dick and that he loved her. When he held her in his arms, she felt the first stirrings of desire and wondered how they would get through another year of holding themselves back, but supposed they would manage it somehow. After all, there were dozens of young couples in the same position: wanting to marry but being unable to do so for financial reasons. Ted and Ruby would doubtless want to marry one day – unless they found other partners, for they were always quarrelling – but they had obviously learned to wait as she and Dick must.

Reaching Elmore Street, Hester went round by the jigger and in through the back door to find Mrs Bailey placidly preparing vegetables. She greeted Hester
with her usual friendly warmth and very soon the two of them, with a cup of tea apiece, were working side by side and chatting comfortably as they did so. By the time Dick arrived home from work, the meal was on the table and Ben and Phyllis were seated and watching the preparations for the meal hungrily. Dick crossed the room and dropped a kiss on Hester’s forehead, then gave his mother a quick hug. ‘You dish up while I have a wash.’ He eyed the large saucepan standing in the middle of the table hopefully. ‘Is that ox-tail stew? Well, aren’t we the lucky ones! Ox-tail stew is almost me favourite food.’

Once the family were seated, with the exception of Ted who had not yet arrived, Mrs Bailey gestured to Phyllis. Everyone took a turn to say grace and Phyllis was well used to doing so when her turn came round. She bent her head, clasped her hands and chanted the familiar words, and then they began to eat.

There was little conversation during this part of the meal but later, when stewed apple and custard was put before them, conversation became livelier. Phyllis talked about her friend Annie; Dick described the carving he was doing in the captain’s cabin of the SS
Aurora
; Hester told them a funny story about a batch of buns which had failed to rise and had been sold to the staff as currant biscuits; and even Ben chimed in to describe the sad-faced little monkey which was Mr Madison’s latest acquisition.

They were clearing the plates away and Hester was about to start the washing up when the back door burst open and Ted came into the room, pulling Ruby after him. Hester took one look at their faces and decided that they had been quarrelling again. Ruby’s eyes were red-rimmed and her mouth quivered convulsively.

‘Oh, Ted, I’m awful sorry, we thought you was either working late or had taken Ruby out for a meal or something,’ Mrs Bailey said apologetically. ‘But it won’t take a minute to warm through the stew I saved for you and there’s plenty of spuds left. Where have you been?’

‘We – we’ve been to see Ruby’s mam and dad,’ Ted mumbled. ‘We – we thought we oughta see them first. The thing is, Mam, me an’ Ruby is gettin’ wed.’

Mrs Bailey stared at the young couple in silence for a moment. Then she said coldly: ‘This is rather sudden, ain’t it? What do Ruby’s mam and dad say? Why, Ted, you’ve not worked out your apprenticeship yet and Ruby’s job pays peanuts, she’s said so many a time. Wharrever are you thinkin’ of? You
can’t
get married. You’re far too young.’

‘It’s Ruby’s mam an’ dad who say we’ve got to get married,’ Ted said sulkily. ‘There’s a baby on the way. I said I weren’t out of me apprenticeship yet, I telled ’em we couldn’t afford a place of our own, but Ruby’s mam said they weren’t having their good name dragged through the mud by us. They said we could live with them till we got somewhere of our own. I telled ’em there weren’t enough room there and that they lived too far from the ferry but it didn’t make no manner o’ difference. Mrs Hudson said I’d – I’d done the damage an’ I must pay for it.’

‘You’ve both acted in a stupid, greedy way; you’ve probably ruined the rest of your lives because marryin’ at your age, living with in-laws, never havin’ no spare money, will just make you hate one another in the end,’ Mrs Bailey said frankly. ‘Ted, there’s never been no mention of marriage before; you’ve talked of lighting out for America, making your fortune
there, once you’re out of your apprenticeship.’ She took hold of her son by both shoulders, staring into his ashamed eyes. ‘Are you in love with Ruby, son? Is marriage what you truly want? Because you’re under age so no one can force you to marry, I’m pretty sure of that.’

Ted looked sulkier than ever. ‘Of course I don’t want to marry …’ he was beginning, when Ruby gave a shriek and rushed at him, her face contorted with fury.

‘You swine!’ she shouted, her face only inches from his and her clawed fingers endeavouring to grab at his mop of hair. ‘You were keen enough to get me knickers off …’

‘That’s enough of that sort of talk,’ Mrs Bailey said sharply. She moved forward and took Ruby by the wrists but the girl twisted free, though she dropped her hands to her sides. Ben had left the house as soon as the meal was over, but Phyllis sat, round-eyed, on a fireside chair, drinking it all in. ‘How dare you talk like that before a child of five! Your mam should have washed your mouth out with soap, young lady. Now let’s sit down and discuss this sensibly. We’ll share the blame betwixt the two of you, but there’s no doubt you’re in a real mess. Look, Ruby, there’s places you can go to give birth to a baby without anyone knowin’, then you can have the kid adopted. That way, if you and Ted really love one another, you can wed in a couple of years, when he’s earning real money. As for the child, no one will be the wiser. You can give it out as you’ve took a live-in job somewhere on the Wirral so as you can save up to marry our Ted. How about that, eh?’

Ted’s face brightened and he tried to put an arm
round Ruby’s shoulders but she shrugged him pettishly away. ‘I want to get married,’ she muttered sulkily. ‘Me mam says we can get wed in St Thomas’s and I’m to have a white dress and a veil and me cousins Beattie and Marge can be bridesmaids. Me mam says she’ll give an eye to the baby so’s I can go on workin’. I don’t want to be hid away somewhere, I want to get wed. I
will
get wed. Me dad says he’ll horsewhip Ted if he don’t make an honest woman of me.’

Hester and Dick, silent observers of the scene, took their places at the table when Mrs Bailey gestured them to do so. Hester was appalled by the whole situation and thought that Ruby needed a damned good spanking far more than Ted wanted horsewhipping. Ruby was clearly determined to marry and Hester was pretty sure that neither love nor even affection came into it. Mrs Bailey’s attitude was the sensible one in view of the extreme youth of both parties, but clearly it was not a view shared by Mrs Hudson. Dick had told Hester that Ruby was an only child, for though Mrs Hudson had borne half a dozen babies since her daughter’s birth sixteen years ago, none of them had lived. She wondered now if Mrs Hudson had encouraged Ruby to get pregnant so that she might, at long last, have a baby to care for. If so, she felt deeply sorry for the older woman but thought it an irresponsible and selfish way to behave.

Whilst Hester’s thoughts had wandered, the battle had continued to rage. In vain did Mrs Bailey point out the disadvantages of marrying too young. Neither Ted nor Ruby had ever had a girl or boyfriend before, she said, so how could they know that they might not meet someone else within a twelvemonth, someone
more suited to them? Hester saw Ruby give one of her quick sly glances round the table at the mention of previous boyfriends and suspected that the girl was nowhere near as innocent as poor Ted. However, it clearly made no difference; the young couple would marry, Ted would move out and just where would she and Dick be?

When the party finally broke up, nothing whatever had been resolved. Dick walked Hester home and for the first part of the journey said very little, until Hester decided that the problem must be aired. ‘Dick, if Ted and Ruby get married, it’s going to make things very difficult for us, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘I remember you saying that the situation at home would be much easier for your mother once Ted was earning a proper wage. But if he’s going to move out and live with the Hudsons, then I don’t see how anyone could expect him to contribute to the Bailey household. Every penny he earns will be swallowed up by the baby and Ruby and her family.’

Dick sighed deeply and drew her to a halt. He put both arms round her and kissed her very tenderly before admitting: ‘I’m afraid you’re right, sweetheart. But I’m a good cabinet maker, so mebbe I could get extra work in the evenings and at weekends. It’s a blow, I grant you, but what can I do? God knows, Mam did her best to make them see reason, but that nasty little trollop is hell bent on marryin’ and I don’t see as anyone can stop her catching our Ted. Poor lad, I feel downright sorry for him.’