Sinners and Shadows (16 page)

‘And there're no problems?'

‘With Sali and Lloyd, and Victor and Megan? Not that I've ever seen. I only hope Joey and I will be as happy.' Rhian hung her mistress's cape away in the wardrobe. ‘This young man of yours,' she ventured. ‘He doesn't have as much money as you?'

‘No,' Julia said quickly, not wanting to give Rhian a clue that might identify him.

‘But money isn't what's really important. And your father is reasonable and easy to talk to. I'm sure once he realizes how much you love him, he will give you permission to marry.'

‘Even if he doesn't, I'm of age. I can marry without it.'

‘You wouldn't do that, would you, Miss Julia?' Given how close her master and the young mistress had been, especially before the old mistress had died, Rhian couldn't bear the thought of an estrangement between them.

Julia rose from the stool. ‘It's early days. Promise me, Rhian, that you won't breathe a word of this to anyone. So far as you know, Monday is my suffragette day.'

‘I promise, Miss Julia.'

‘Thank you for taking the time to do my hair. Enjoy yourself today.'

‘I will.'

‘And, before I forget, I caught Mrs Larch looking in my drawers. When she saw me watching her, she commented on how tidy they were, so I told her that my wardrobe needs sorting out and I'd asked you to see to it this week. So next time you sneak away to read in here, take some of the clothes out of the wardrobe and put them on the bed.'

‘I will. Thank you, Miss Julia.'

‘Thank you,' Julia smiled, ‘and hurry. You don't want to keep your Mr Evans waiting.'

‘Mr Watkin Jones, sir?'

‘You spoke to me, boy?' Geraint glared at the lad. In all his time at the store he had never known a lift attendant address him by name.

‘Yes, sir.' The boy faltered, amazed at his own temerity. ‘I spoke to Mr Evans, the manager of the Tonypandy store, the other day,' he began hesitantly.

‘I do know who Mr Evans is,' Geraint barked brusquely. The mention of Joey didn't exactly endear the boy to him.

‘I told him that I wasn't happy working on the lifts and I'd like a trainee assistant's job. He suggested that I speak to you about it, sir.'

‘Did he now?' Geraint mused, his temper rising.

‘You, or Miss Gulliford, sir. Do you think that I could get a trainee assistant's job, sir? My brother Geoff works in the stockroom in Tonypandy, and Mr Evans has promised to look at his work record in four months and, if it's good enough, give him a trial. That's all I'm asking for, sir, a trial.'

‘You live in Tonypandy and travel down every day?' Geraint asked.

‘Yes, sir, in Primrose Street, not too far from Mr Evans. Of course, his father owns his own house.' Wary of putting himself on the same social level as the manager of the Tonypandy store, the boy felt the need to explain his background. ‘We rent from Mrs Rodney.'

‘Mrs Rodney of Rodney's Provisions?' Geraint softened his voice.

‘Yes, sir, she owns most of the houses in our street, sir. Although from the way her daughter behaves you'd never think it. She always has time for a kind word, sir.' The lift reached the top floor, the boy opened the doors but Geraint didn't step out.

‘So, how many houses would you say that Mrs Rodney owns?' he asked thoughtfully.

‘Hundreds, sir. It's not just Primrose Street; she has houses all over Pandy. She even employs her own rent collector. About the job, sir –'

‘Tell you what I'll do … what is your name?'

‘Mike, sir, my mother called me Micah after one of the Old Testament kings but I prefer Mike. You won't tell anyone, will you, sir? Most people think I'm Michael.'

‘I won't tell anyone – Mike. I'll talk to Mr Horton and see about moving you into the stockroom. If you do well there for a month or so, I'll consider you for the first trainee assistant vacancy.'

‘Thank you, sir.' Mike gazed at Geraint as he strode up the corridor. Mr Evans had been right. All he'd had to do was talk to one of the managers. And it had been so easy the only wonder was that he hadn't plucked up the courage to do it before.

‘Miss Adams?' Geraint waylaid the supervisor when she returned from her lunch break. ‘Could you spare Miss George for an hour when she has finished serving her customers? Mr Horton has ordered an intensive stocktake to ensure that we don't overbuy for the next three months before the July sale. Your department in particular had more out-of-season reduced goods than were strictly needed last January.'

Taking Geraint's comment as he'd intended, as an adverse reflection on her inability to control her stock, Miss Adams replied, ‘Of course, Mr Watkin Jones. Please, keep Miss George for as long as you need her.'

Tonia was showing a selection of straw hats to a woman and her two young daughters. Although apparently engrossed in her task, she'd heard every word Geraint had said.

Like everyone else in the store she knew that Geraint hadn't been in work because he'd been suffering the after effects of Joey's assault, but unlike everyone else she knew why Joey had hit him. As Geraint hadn't attempted to see her privately or contact her since Joey had walked in on them in the stockroom, she had assumed that Joey had been right and Geraint was after her mother's money, not her.

The knowledge hurt, and she had determined, even before Joey had hit him, that if she could make Geraint Watkin Jones suffer for what he had done to her, she would.

Geraint answered Tonia's knock on the stockroom door ten minutes later. ‘Miss George, thank you for coming so promptly.' He looked up and down the empty corridor before admitting her. ‘My dear Miss George.' He locked the door and kissed her.

Tonia pushed him away and kicked his shins with all the force she could muster. ‘You beast!'

‘Ow! That hurt!'

‘It was meant to.' She lifted her foot, intending to kick him again, but he retreated behind a pile of stock to rub his wounds.

‘Why so vicious?'

‘How can you ask that question after what you did to me?'

‘Darling –'

‘Don't “darling” me. Joey was right; you're only after my mother's money.'

‘Surely you didn't believe him?' Geraint countered indignantly, still massaging his aching leg.

‘Of course I did,' she retorted fiercely.

‘Tonia, Tonia, look where I live, and the way I live. Not to mention how I dress.'

‘Everyone knows that you lost your money.'

‘But I earn a decent wage. Granted, it's not what I'm used to, but I have the wing of Ynysangharad House, expense-free for as long as I need it, or I will have when the repairs are completed on the roof next month,' he lied. ‘And when I marry, I'll move my wife in there. It's fairly modest, but there are four bedrooms, a bathroom, drawing room, dining room and study, all fully furnished. And I and my future family have use of the grounds, garden, carriages and car.'

‘Really?' she questioned suspiciously.

‘Tonia, everyone knows that my nephew is going to inherit the store. You don't think he'd allow his uncle to live like a pauper, do you? Besides, I have shares in the company,' he elaborated, moving further into the realms of fantasy.

‘Then Joey was wrong, you're not after my mother's money.'

He stepped out from behind the boxes, linked his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. ‘I'm after your mother's daughter, not her money, darling.' He nuzzled her neck.

‘But Joey –'

‘I thought you'd realize that I was afraid he'd tell your mother about us. The last thing I want is for her to interfere in my plans for our future. I meant what I said about us eloping, Tonia. But if your mother found out about us before I have time to arrange everything, she might lock you up or send you away and then I'd never find you.'

‘You'll still take me to Gretna Green?'

‘Of course, darling. We'll be off the minute the repairs are completed on the roof of the annex of Ynysangharad House. I'm moving into the lodge temporarily, and I can hardly take you there to live in one room after we're married, now can I?'

‘No.' She thought about what he'd said. It made perfect sense.

He released her, checked the lock on the door and jammed a wooden wedge beneath it. ‘Not that I'm expecting Joey Evans to come back but someone else might take it into their head to visit here.'

‘The stocktake –'

‘I did it earlier.' He pulled her blouse from the waistband of her skirt, slid his hands inside her bust-shaper and drew her behind a mountain of hatboxes. ‘I love you, Tonia; there'll never be anyone else for me.' Lifting her skirt, he pushed her gently down on to an old curtain he'd laid out on the floor. ‘You believe me?' He stroked her leg and pulled down her drawers in one easy movement.

‘Yes.' She kissed him. ‘Yes, Geraint, I do believe you.'

‘I love you, darling, only you.' He unbuttoned his flies. ‘God, you're so beautiful, you've no idea how much I've missed you this last week.'

She locked her arms around his neck as he entered her. ‘I love you too, Geraint,' she murmured, her mind busy painting pictures of the perfect life they would lead in Ynysangharad House.

‘Only two and half weeks to go before you become Mrs Joseph Evans. Aren't you excited?' Julia and Rhian were in Julia's bedroom, and although it was Rhian's day off, as usual, she'd gone to Julia's room first thing to dress her hair.

‘I am excited but it seems unreal.' Rhian brushed Julia's hair. ‘You're absolutely sure about the style?'

‘As firm and tight a bun as you can make. I don't want a hair to move until I take it down before I go to bed tonight.'

‘You're going to see
him
on a Tuesday?' Rhian asked in surprise.

‘I am.' Julia smiled as she always did when she thought of Geraint. They had dropped the formal ‘Mr Watkin Jones' and ‘Miss Larch' on their second outing and had spent every single Monday together for the last thirteen weeks. Before he had walked her to the station to catch her train late yesterday afternoon she had asked him to meet her in the Angel Hotel for dinner that night.

She had a plan. If it didn't work she would resign herself to life with her stepmother and, given her father's increasingly frequent absences, without the comfort of his presence. If, by some miracle, her scheming did come to fruition, her entire life would change, but there would still be problems, not least Geraint himself. Although he had become increasingly considerate and sympathetic over the months, she felt that something was missing from their relationship.

He listened attentively to everything she said and made the correct remarks in the correct place. He complimented her on her clothes and choice of reading material, agreed with the aims of the suffragette movement without condoning their more extreme methods of attempting to achieve them, such as the recent attack on Buckingham Palace. He repeated every respectful and admiring comment he'd heard about her father and when she couldn't refrain from mentioning her stepmother, added implied but never outright criticism of Mrs Larch. He offered her his arm when they walked together, opened doors for her, helped her on and off with her coat – and never touched her other than in the way a respectful nephew would an elderly maiden aunt.

She picked up a pair of gold earrings from her dressing table and fiddled with them. ‘Can I ask you something, Rhian?'

‘About the wedding?' Rhian mumbled absently, her mouth full of hairpins. All she seemed to talk about was her coming wedding. With Mrs Williams, who had bought a new hat and outfit for the occasion; with Sali, who'd refused to listen to her and Joey's plans to hold their reception in the Catholic Hall, instead insisting that she and Lloyd, with Mari's help, provide the wedding breakfast in Ynysangharad House; and with Joey, who rarely mentioned the actual ceremony but was completely obsessed with their honeymoon. But no matter how long the conversations, she never grew tired of the subject.

‘No, not about your wedding.' Julia locked her fingers together on her lap and stared down at them. ‘Do you allow Mr Evans to kiss you?'

‘I have trouble limiting Mr Evans to just kisses,' Rhian answered dryly. ‘If it was up to him we'd honeymoon before the wedding. But then, from what Mrs Williams says, every girl has the same problem.'

Julia blushed. ‘I just wanted to know how far … I mean …'

‘If I was engaged to anyone other than Joey I might allow him to take more liberties,' Rhian interrupted, anxious to spare Julia's embarrassment. ‘But given Joey's past I warned him that I would make him wait until our wedding night, and so far I've succeeded.'

‘Are you frightened?'

‘Of the wedding night? No.' Rhian smiled. ‘After all the kissing and … other things, I'm rather looking forward to it. You?'

‘I think you and your Mr Evans are further along than me and …' Julia smiled self-consciously. She had already said more than she had intended.

‘I am dying to find out who he is. Do I know him?'

Julia watched Rhian push the last pin in her hair. ‘Sort of. I won't say any more until I am sure of his feelings towards me. But I promise you that if I do marry him you will be one of the first to know who he is.'

‘Are you madly in love with him?'

Julia hesitated again before deciding there was no harm in Rhian knowing exactly how she felt, especially as it was highly unlikely that she would meet Geraint in the future. ‘Completely.' Until that moment she hadn't realized just how much she meant it.

‘And he loves you just as much?'

‘I don't know.'

‘Men aren't like us. They have trouble expressing their feelings.'

‘Is that right?' Julia grasped at the straw of comfort Rhian offered.