The Price of Love (16 page)

‘I doubt if we will be able to get one of those on a bank holiday weekend,’ Lucy murmured.

They looked at each other bemused. ‘Perhaps one of us should go into Bidston Village and see if there’s a policeman on duty and if he can arrange for an ambulance or something,’ Lucy suggested.

‘If there isn’t one there, then it means going all the way to Birkenhead to find one,’ Sam said, frowning.

‘Perhaps I could phone for an ambulance from the village; there’s bound to be a phone box there,’ Barry murmured. ‘Right.’ He stood up. ‘Can I leave you two here to look after my mam? It will be quicker if I go on my own,’ he added firmly as Sam offered to go with him.

‘Perhaps we should move her to somewhere a bit more comfortable; a spot where she can rest her back against a bank or something,’ Lucy suggested.

‘No, no, I couldn’t stand the pain of you doing that,’ Berky protested. ‘I’m all right as I am. Get going, Barry, and be as quick as you can,’ she begged.

They waited for over half an hour and there was still no sign of Barry coming back with any help. Berky was moaning with pain and Lucy felt frustrated because there was nothing she could do to help her except sit beside her and hold her hand.

The brightness of the day had given way to an overcast sky and Lucy was concerned when it started to rain. Although it was only a fine misty drizzle, in no time at all they were quite wet and there was nothing they could do to shelter Berky.

By the time Barry returned to tell them that an ambulance was on its way from Birkenhead they were soaking wet and Berky was shivering with the cold.

It was almost an hour before two ambulance men arrived. They put a temporary splint on her leg and then there was a long discussion about how they were going to get her back to the ambulance.

One of them went back down to where they were parked at the bottom of the hill and came back with a canvas chair to carry her in. Once they had managed to get her into it, they strapped her in for safety before they set off down the hill.

Progress was extremely slow because they had to be cautious not to slip themselves. Each time they reached a particularly rough patch of ground Lucy could hear Berky whimper with pain as the ambulance men unavoidably jolted the chair.

When they finally reached the ambulance, the men were reluctant to let Barry, Sam and Lucy ride with Berky, but after some arguing they agreed to do so.

Although she lived in Liverpool, Berky was taken to a hospital in Birkenhead because they were on the other side of the Mersey. Since it was a Sunday and quite late in the day, they were told that in all probability it would be the next day before they could operate on Berky’s leg.

‘The best thing you can do is go home and come back tomorrow,’ the receptionist told them.

When Barry asked if she would be transferred to a Liverpool hospital or whether she would be sent home once her leg had been set, no one was prepared to say.

Barry was extremely worried. His ship sailed the following day and he knew it was impossible to stay on in Liverpool. He had no idea when he would next be coming home and he was in a dilemma about whether to forgo the trip and stay ashore or to leave it to Lucy to visit his mother and take care of her when she finally came out of hospital.

‘I’ll certainly do what I can, but I do have to go to work,’ Lucy pointed out.

‘I know, that’s what worries me. I’m wondering if I ought to stay home until Mam is better.’

‘What happens if you don’t go back to your ship?’ Sam enquired.

‘I’ll certainly be in trouble. I might get fined and, at the very least, I will be dismissed and won’t be able to work for the same shipping company ever again.’

‘Surely you don’t want to take the risk of that happening?’ Lucy said worriedly.

‘The way things are, I certainly don’t. Once you’re out of work then the chances of getting signed on again is not good, especially if you have a bad record. You have to produce a reference from your last captain so there’s no chance of them not finding out.’

‘In that case, then, you don’t have any option but to rejoin your ship,’ Sam told him. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll do what we can for your mam; she’s been very good to us so we’ll take care of her one way or the other. There’s no need for you to be concerned.’

As soon as she finished work the next morning Lucy went straight over to Birkenhead to find out what news there was of Berky. As she was entering the hospital she met Barry coming out.

‘How is Berky?’ she asked anxiously.

‘The news isn’t good,’ he said worriedly. ‘Getting wet and cold has added to her problems; she has some sort of chest infection as well as her broken leg.’

‘Did they let you see her?’

‘No, and there’s not much point in you going in because they said she had been taken into the theatre to have her leg attended to and won’t be out of the anaesthetic for several hours. They said to come back later but I won’t be able to do that because my ship sails in just over an hour.’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll come this evening and see her then, if they’ll let me,’ Lucy promised.

‘That would be good,’ Barry said gratefully. ‘By the way, they won’t tell you anything about how she is unless you are a relation so, since I won’t be here, I’ve given your name to them as my mam’s next of kin. I hope you don’t mind,’ he added quickly as he saw Lucy frown.

‘No, I suppose that’s all right, but what relation am I supposed to be to your mother?’ Lucy asked.

‘I’ve told them that your name is Lucy Mason and that you’re my wife and you’ll be acting for me while I’m away at sea.’

‘What on earth made you do that?’ Lucy exclaimed in dismay, her face reddening.

‘It was the only way I could think of to make sure that they would tell you everything there was to know about my mam’s condition.’

‘What happens if they find out the truth, that I’m not even related to her?’

‘They won’t,’ he assured her confidently.

‘Your mam might tell them, or have you told her as well?’

‘I haven’t had the chance, have I? I told you they wouldn’t let me see her.’

‘She might think I’ve told them and she might be quite angry about it,’ Lucy said worriedly, her dark eyes full of concern.

‘Rubbish! She’ll be delighted,’ he laughed.

‘Well, I’m not. I don’t like telling lies and that’s a whopper,’ Lucy told him firmly.

Barry sighed and looked at his watch. ‘I was doing it for Berky’s sake. I can’t stop to discuss it or they’ll sail without me. We’ll sort it all out as soon as I get home again.’

‘You haven’t told her and you are expecting me to do it, is that right?’

Barry kissed her lightly on the cheek, ‘Thanks, Lucy, I knew I could depend on you. Don’t worry about it; I’m sure my mam won’t be upset by what I’ve said.’

‘Well, that’s something we won’t know until I tell her,’ Lucy said disapprovingly.

‘Please look after her, Lucy; I’m depending on you.’

With another quick hug and a kiss on her brow, Barry had gone, leaving her standing there wondering what on earth she was letting herself in for and extremely annoyed with Barry for claiming that they were married even if it was the only way of making sure she would be allowed to see his mother.

It niggled away in the back of her mind for the rest of the day. She was on the point of mentioning it to the woman who was in charge at the hotel kitchen to see what she thought but then she decided that perhaps it was better not to do so, but she couldn’t help feeling concerned about all the implications involved.

Later that evening when they sat down to eat and she told Sam what Barry had done, he didn’t seem very interested.

‘I don’t understand what you are getting so worked up about,’ he said as he loaded his fork with mashed potato and gravy.

‘If someone at the hospital refers to me as Barry’s wife, then Berky might believe it is true.’

‘Does that matter?’

Lucy laid down her knife and fork. ‘Of course it does. She’s always dropping hints about looking forward to Barry being married and pushing the two of us together.’

Sam shrugged non-committally and went on with his meal.

‘Don’t simply dismiss it, Sam,’ Lucy said, her voice laced with annoyance, ‘tell me what I ought to do.’

‘Not much you can do, is there?’ Sam said laconically. ‘Anyway, why all the fuss? What does it matter?’

‘It matters to me,’ Lucy told him hotly. ‘Even though Berky must know it’s not true, she’s bound to think that there’s something going on between us.’

‘And isn’t there?’ Sam teased.

‘I like Barry but only as a friend,’ Lucy emphasised, ‘and telling Berky that would probably upset her a great deal.’

‘Then don’t tell her. Let her think that one day you are going to marry Barry.’

‘But I’m not!’

‘All right, but don’t shout.’ Sam grinned, putting his hands over his ears.

‘Then don’t start surmising that one day I might marry Barry Mason,’ Lucy said, her mouth a tight line.

‘How can you say that for certain? You like him a great deal so if he asks you to marry him, why don’t you?’

Lucy didn’t answer. She gave her full attention to the food in front of her.

‘You’re not still carrying a candle for Robert, surely to heavens,’ Sam exploded. ‘He jilted you and double-crossed me with my girlfriend while I was too ill to do anything about it.’

He shoved his chair back so violently that it went crashing to the floor. ‘I’ll never understand women,’ he said scathingly as he picked it up and pushed it under the table.

‘You had that Percy Carter mooning after you for years. He’d have jumped at the chance of marrying you and look at the life you would have had then. You walked away from him and a good home to live in squalor until we came here. Now you are turning down Barry, a chap with a regular job who worships the ground you walk on, and whose mother has you up on a pedestal. What is it you want, Lucy? What sort of man is ever going to meet your expectations?’

Lucy sat stunned as he walked out of the room. She felt as if she was seeing herself in a new light and it utterly confused her. She knew Sam hadn’t wanted to move away from Priory Terrace but she’d had no idea he felt so strongly about it all. It was almost as if he was blaming her for all that had gone wrong.

Perhaps in some ways he was right and she had done the wrong thing, but would marrying Percy Carter or any man she didn’t love put matters right, or would it also end in tears?

When Lucy and Sam went over to the hospital later that evening they were told that Berky was still extremely ill and could not have any visitors, except close relations.

‘We are close relations,’ Sam stated, ‘surely we can have a few minutes with her?’

‘Wait here and I’ll check with the sister in charge,’ the receptionist told them.

When she came back she said they could visit but only for ten minutes.

‘Who are you, exactly?’ the sister asked when they entered the ward. ‘Are you her son?’

‘No,’ Sam admitted, ‘but my sister is her daughter-in-law. I’ve come with her because Mrs Mason’s son is away at sea.’

‘Very well, then, you can go in for ten minutes,’ she said looking at Lucy, ‘but I’m afraid you won’t be able to,’ she said turning to Sam, ‘so please wait outside in the corridor.’

Lucy felt her heart pounding as she approached the screened-off bed. Berky was propped up against a mountain of pillows and she looked very pale and was having great trouble breathing.

Her eyes flickered open when the sister spoke to her. ‘Your daughter-in-law is here to see you, Mrs Mason.’

‘What? I haven’t got a daughter-in-law,’ Berky croaked in a puzzled voice. ‘My son Barry’s not married; it’s him that I want to see,’ she added in a pitiful whisper.

‘She must have forgotten,’ Lucy said quickly and managed a trembling smile when the sister looked at her questioningly.

Before the sister could intervene she picked up one of Berky’s hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. ‘It’s Lucy,’ she said softly, bending down and kissing Berky on the brow.

The older woman’s face lit up. ‘Lucy, my luv, where’s Barry? What’s happened to me, what am I doing here in this bed? Take me home with you.’

‘You had a fall while we were coming down Bidston Hill,’ Lucy reminded her. ‘You’ve hurt your leg and you are in hospital.’

‘My leg? No, it’s my chest that hurts. Terrible pain when I breathe. Tell Barry to come and take me home.’

‘Barry has had to rejoin his ship,’ Lucy told her gently. ‘I’m afraid you will have to stay here until you’re better. I’ll take you home as soon as you are well enough.’

Berky sighed resignedly and closed her eyes.

‘I think that is enough for today,’ the sister said quietly, moving Lucy away from the bed. ‘She needs to rest now. You might be able to stay longer tomorrow if she is feeling a little better,’ she added in a reassuring voice.

‘It’s Barry she wants to see,’ Lucy told Sam as they made their way back to the landing stage for the ferry boat that would take them back to Liverpool. ‘I wonder if we can get a message to him through the shipping company?’

‘We can try; he won’t have gone far since they only sailed yesterday; perhaps they have some way of getting him home again.’

‘He won’t be able to do anything until they reach a port and then even if they do let him come back, he’ll have to wait until there’s a boat sailing to Liverpool.’

‘Not necessarily. Any boat that is coming to England would do. He can always take a train from whichever port he disembarks at back to here.’

The shipping company were quite cooperative when Lucy called in the next morning after she’d finished work and they promised to send a message by telegraph. ‘It will be there waiting when they dock at Amsterdam tomorrow,’ the clerk promised. ‘I’ll send a message to the captain explaining matters and he will inform seaman Mason.’

‘Will they allow him to come home?’ Lucy asked anxiously.

‘Since his mother is so desperately ill I am sure they will. If you’d like to come back about this time tomorrow I should have an answer for you. That’s unless he has already turned up on your doorstep,’ he added with a smile.