Tangled Betrayals (4 page)

C
hapter Seven

London 1827 

Mary had
just finished cooking dinner when Thomas and her father entered the cottage. “Sure smells good,” Thomas stated as he started to wash up for supper.

Mary rolled her eyes.
Thomas made the same remark every night when he entered the cottage. Couldn’t he come up with something different to say just one time, she thought.

“It
’s only some fish and cabbage. Not much I’m afraid. I had to work over today for a fitting for the new banker’s wife. This will have to do.”

“
When I spoke with Minnie last, she again told me what an excellent seamstress you have become, maybe an even better seamstress than your mother,” Her father told her as he waited to use the towel after Thomas.

That must have been when
you stopped to verify my wages, Mary thought. Minnie had spoken to her about his visit and told her she’d refused to divulge any information to him. Mary knew better than to say anything about his visit. He was already taking more money than he needed from her, in her opinion.

Mary noticed her father had become misty eyed
while speaking of her mother. A sure sign he had been drinking too much at the pub, again. The loud belch confirmed it.

“Father,
I wish you’d cut down on the amount of ale you consume. You know it isn’t good for you,” Mary gently scolded.

Mary knew
on most nights this was what to expect. Her father had made arrangements for Thomas to pick him up on his way home from the docks at the local pub each night after work. Thomas finished his work at the docks usually an hour or two later than her father. Her father always went to the pub for at least one drink or more after his work was complete.

But Mary and Thomas were tired of his drunken behavior.
With each passing year he became more dependent on his ale. How he held his job as supervisor for the dockhands was unclear. Mary supposed it was because he could lick anyone in a fight, unless it was three to one, for it took at least three men to handle him, even when he was drunk!

T
hose times were the worst, for there was hell to pay for Mary and Thomas if Henry was attacked and there were too many for him to conquer. He seemed to take his anger out on them before finding the ones who deserved to be punished. He’d make them all pay for their actions for he always retaliated, he was known for it.

Her father was o
nly five feet eleven but he was solid muscle and a dangerous foe despite the amount of ale he consumed. His face had been weathered from all the years he worked on the docks. His nose was a rose color which usually happened when one drank too much. His thinning gray hair made him appear older than he was. Mary always figured he stayed in fighting shape due to his heavy lifting of cargo. He could outwork most men. He could also out drink them.

“Mary,
my drinking is none of your concern! I’ve told you before you don’t ever question me on what I say or do! As for you, Thomas, I’ll box your ears the next time you tell me to put down my ale and come home in front of my friends, as you did tonight. You’re lucky I was in the mood to humor you.”

“Yes
, Father, but you know full well you need your sleep so you can make it to work in the morning,” Thomas replied trying to ease things with his father, but seeing his father’s face was flushed with anger, he warned him, “besides, I’ve become fairly strong myself, and could put up a reasonably good fight, maybe even come out on top. I don’t think you want to push me on this tonight.” Thomas was more than ready to stand up to his father if he forced the issue.

“Aye,
your words might be true, Thomas, but I’m the head of the household and I shall be obeyed at all times!”

“We need to eat before the food gets cold,” Mary
interjected hoping to avoid any further arguments.

Supper was almost over when Thomas surprised Mary by his next question. “Mary, would you mind if I bring a friend home tomorrow night for supper
? I think you’ll like him well enough. He’s from America. His name is James Parker and his father is the owner of The Parker Shipping Company. They do the majority of their business in London.”

“Bah
, hogwash.” Henry got out. “That’s just what we need, one of those American know-it-alls coming to dinner. Next thing he’ll be doing is turning your head, Mary, with all his lies about America. For you, Thomas, it’ll be about living in America. We have lost enough Englanders to their ridiculous dreams of a better place to live and more opportunities of getting rich in the new colonies,” Henry spat out spewing food over the table.

Henry continued.
“Most of those who got their starts in America were thieves and beggars from England, and we’ve been trying to rid ourselves of those types for years. The men who left here don’t deserve to be called English.”

“
James is a gentleman, Father. He has manners and knowledge far beyond this table.” Thomas spoke loudly and angrily. He was a far better person than his father could ever be, he thought.

“
Watch your tongue, Thomas. I’m warning you. I’m not a stupid man!”

“
Thomas wasn’t saying you were, Father.” Then looking at Thomas, Mary continued. “I think we’ve enough to feed four, Thomas, with a pot roast, cabbage and potatoes,” Mary answered quickly and ignoring her father. She hoped he would come to his senses and stay out of the conversation.

“Could
you make a dessert? Something like a cobbler or cake?” Thomas requested hoping for more than their usual fare. They seldom had dessert unless it was a very special occasion.

“It depends on what time I leave the shop. I won’t make
any promises. Since we’re having company, I think I’ll spruce the cottage up a little. I’ll try to add dessert if there’s enough time. This will be our first guest in years. I’m excited and nervous at the same time.”

Mary knew they
lived a meager life. Their days were made up of working, returning home to rest, and then starting back the next day until Sunday came, and at least she got a day off. Henry and Thomas worked all seven days of the week.

Mary spent most of her Sundays cleaning and doing the laundry for the week. They seldom saw their neighbors due to
their father being hard to deal with after he’d been drinking. There was little time for outdoor activities and their neighbors shunned them routinely. Mary didn’t mind, because she enjoyed the solitude where she could read a book or mend clothes. She rarely thought of the future being any different than what she was doing. She had little time to think about having a beau, for there were few men available and none so far that held her interest.

“
Thanks, Mary. James won’t mind what our homes like. He isn’t a snob. He’s very knowledgeable about horses and breeding and I’d like to learn as much from him on those subjects as I can. I’d love to someday be able to start a small horse farm of my own in America.”                

All of a sudden
her father took notice. “What? What did you say? America? Start a horse farm is not even an option. You, Thomas, are a dock worker, and you’ll be a dock worker as long as you reside in this house! I need the money you and Mary bring in. I’ll not tolerate any more talk about a horse farm. I thought you said he worked in the shipping business.

“
And I don’t want you, Mary, leaving work early to fix supper for this Parker fella. You two act like I’m not at this table. You think you can talk around me because I’m drunk?” Henry expelled his words the best he could. But his tongue got in the way and his words sounded somewhat slurred, yet his mind still took in the meaning of what Thomas had said.

“Please Father, we meant no disrespect
,” Mary got out before her father could say anything else. “But it would be nice to entertain company just once and I’d enjoy meeting someone from America. I doubt if I’ll get another opportunity to do so. All we’ve done for years is work, eat and sleep. The only other people I see are those who come to the shop and the few neighbors we have, and they don’t really acknowledge us, as you are well aware.

“
We’ve enough food if I’m careful and I don’t mind fixing a little extra. I’d very much like to learn about life in America and see how different it is from here.” Mary hoped she’d appeased her father at least enough to allow them to entertain Mr. Parker.

She
bit her lip as she often did when she was nervous. She hated when their father came home drunk and wouldn’t listen to either her or Thomas’s regarding their hopes and dreams. Even if their dreams never came true, it was fun talking about them.

But when their father was home, talk had to be
about what their father wanted to discuss. He drank most of the money away he took from them. Mary knew both she and Thomas had their own stash of money they kept hidden. It was the only thing they could do if they ever wanted to have a life of their own.

Mary wondered what
had happened to make their father change so drastically after their mother passed. He no longer paid attention to them. There were no words of love and they no longer attended church. Their father had become bitter with life. Mary knew how much he had loved their mother, but what about them?

At first
, Mary was deeply saddened with her father’s lack of attention. But after he started drinking so heavily, she was relieved to be left alone. In the beginning there were a few times he had beaten Thomas until Thomas learned to stay clear of him.

Thomas was
a few inches taller than his father and was solid muscle that now made their father think twice before starting an altercation.

After there seemed to be some resemblance of peace
, Mary felt it was safe to speak again. “Thomas, I’ve no objection to you bringing your friend home. Try to be here by dark. That will give me time to get everything ready.”

“Don’t plan on me being home
. I would just as soon be at the pub with my friends getting drunk than entertain an American.” That being said, their father angrily rose and fetched a bottle of whiskey to pour himself a generous drink.

“I
’ll keep your food warm. Father,” Mary said, relieved she would not have to be embarrassed by her father’s actions or words when Mr. Parker came to visit.

“Thank you, Mary.
” Thomas said sincerely. “I know this is a burden on you. But it means a lot to me. I think you’ll find Mr. Parker quite entertaining and interesting.”

Mary smiled at Thomas.
“I’m a little nervous about meeting him. I’ve never met an American. I’m anxious to see what he’s like. He’ll be our first guest since Mother’s funeral. Is he married, Thomas?”

Mary looked into the beautiful blue eyes of her brother
. He was trying to maintain a serious expression but Mary could tell by his twinkling eyes he was about to tease her.

“Mary, I
’m not sure, does it matter?”

“I was only curious if he was married or single.” Mary was fibbing and she was well aware Thomas knew it.

“
I believe he’ll be more than happy to tell you, Mary, But, as of yesterday, he was still a free man. No woman has yet to trap him!”

“Thomas, I wasn’t thinking of trying to trap him. I was curious
. Besides, I don’t believe women go around trying to trap men! Let’s no longer speak of this.”

Thomas nodded as if he understood what Mary was saying
, but she saw him grinning and she knew her efforts to hide her interest had failed.

How different they were. His blond hair and blue eyes contrasted greatly with her dark hair and brown eyes. Mary often wondered where Thomas got his coloring
. Their parents both had brown hair and her mother had brown eyes like hers, and their father had green eyes. Thomas must have captured his traits from another generation, she thought.

*****

Mary had supper prepared when Thomas and Mr. Parker arrived; her back was to the door when it opened. As she turned her face became flushed, for entering the cottage was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. He was at least six foot-five and broad across the shoulders. Mary could tell he was used to physical labor because his muscles bulged out on his clothes, like her brothers and father. He had black wavy hair and the darkest eyes she’d ever seen. His face bore traces of working outdoors. He was darkly tanned and staring intently at her in a way which made Mary feel uneasy, but in a good way.

“Mary, I would like you to meet
my good friend, James Parker. I’ve told him many things about you, two of them being what a great cook and seamstress you are.”

“Good evening, Mr. Parker.
Please don’t take my brother’s boasting serious,” Mary said, embarrassed by such flattery. Mary wondered what else Thomas had told Mr. Parker.

“It
’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ball. I’ve heard such wonderful things about you. I had believed everything Thomas told me, but it appears he wasn’t as truthful as he should have been. He failed to mention how lovely you are, I believe his words were you were quite plain.”

Mary didn’t think her face could get any redder. “
Please, call me Mary, and I think Thomas described me rather well. Supper is ready if you and Thomas would care to wash up.” How was she supposed to respond to such grand words?