Two Strangers (14 page)

‘How did you get on?’ she asked the moment they walked in. ‘Did you find them?’

‘We did, and they won’t be taking the boys back. That’s the first hurdle out of the way, but they are a greedy pair and only wanted the money I offered them.’

‘You gave them money to give up the boys?’

Harry nodded. ‘From their attitude, I gathered that they had never wanted to take the youngsters in, but their mother and her new boyfriend gave them money, and I’d say they are a couple who will do anything for money.’

‘But they could keep coming back for more.’ Vicki was even more worried now. She couldn’t see how paying someone off in a case like this was going to work.

‘We’ve thought of that,’ Edward told her. ‘We told them they had been reported to the authorities for cruelty and neglect, and if they came so much as within a mile of the children, then the law would be after them. They are a couple of shady characters, and the last thing they want is for the police to show an interest in them. They’ll stay away.’

‘And have you filed a complaint against them?’

‘Not yet, Vicki, but it is an option we are keeping open.’

‘You lied.’ She shook her head, perplexed. ‘And did they believe you?’

Edward glanced at Harry and raised his eyebrows. ‘I’d say we did a good job of convincing them, didn’t we, Harry?’

‘Undoubtedly.’ The men grinned at each other.

‘You two!’ Pearl smirked. ‘You might be past your prime, but I wouldn’t like to tangle with you when you are in this kind of mood. So, let’s assume the boys are safe for the moment – what’s next?’

‘That was the easy part. Now I want to set up the school, and I need it to be a legally recognized establishment where the authorities can send abused children. It could take some time.’

‘And I’d say we will have a fight on our hands.’ Edward didn’t look at all troubled by the prospect. ‘And the biggest one could be this house. It isn’t really suitable for what we want, Harry.’

‘I know that, but it’s all we’ve got, and somehow we’ve got to convince the authorities that we can make this work.’ Harry smiled. ‘But we’ve had a small victory today, and tomorrow is another day. Are the boys still asleep?’

‘Yes, there hasn’t been a sound from them. Are you going to tell them, Harry?’ Vicki asked.

‘I want them to feel safe as quickly as possible, especially Alfie. That’s most important if we are going to help him to talk again.’

‘We are going to have our hands full, Harry,’ Pearl agreed, ‘but I’ve been talking to Vicki, and you must somehow find time to help her as well.’

‘Oh, that can wait,’ Vicki protested.

‘No, my dear. We are here to take some of the burden from Harry’s shoulders, so I’m sure he can make time for your search.’

‘Of course I can. I promised and I’ll keep my word. There will be spare time while we’re trying to get the school up and running.’

‘Thank you, Harry, but I really don’t know what else we can do.’

‘I’ll start trying to track down the family who owned that book. It might give us a lead.’

‘That’s a good idea,’ Pearl agreed. ‘And you never know, Vicki, that stationmaster might see the other man again. I’m sure something will turn up.’

Edward grinned. ‘My Pearl is always the optimist, but she’s often right. It’s most uncanny sometimes.’

‘Then I must expect a good outcome,’ Vicki laughed. ‘I’ll start to get tea ready. I expect the boys will be stirring soon, hungry and thirsty.’

The words were hardly out of her mouth when they heard footsteps on the stairs.

‘Did we miss tea?’ Dave wanted to know. ‘We didn’t mean to sleep so long, but we was worn out, and then Alfie wanted to colour in his book. Show them what you’ve done, Alfie. It’s ever so good.’

Pearl smiled at the little boy who was clutching the book to his chest. ‘What picture did you do?’

After a hesitant glance at his brother, he held out the book for them to see. They all gathered round.

‘My goodness, that is excellent. Don’t you think, Harry?’

‘Very good indeed. You have chosen all the right colours for the animals, as well as the field they are in. Have you ever seen a real cow, young man?’

Alfie shook his head.

‘Then you have a good eye for colour,’ Harry praised. ‘That is really excellent work. We shall have to put it on the wall by your bed.’

The child looked at the picture, up at Harry and then back to the picture again. And he almost smiled. Vicki held her breath in anticipation, but the hoped-for response never appeared.

Dave was delighted with the praise for his brother and beamed at them. ‘He’s clever, ain’t he?’

‘It would appear so.’ Edward winked at his wife. ‘How about some tea, Pearl? We can’t have future artists going hungry.’

‘We certainly can’t. Give me a hand, Vicki, and we’ll have it ready in no time.’

‘And while we wait, Alfie, let’s have a look at your crayons to see if they need sharpening,’ Edward suggested. ‘You might need more colours; I can get them for you tomorrow.’

The young boy’s eyes opened wide at the thought of more crayons, and he pointed upstairs.

‘Right. Lead the way.’

Vicki watched as Alfie walked with Edward towards the stairs. That was the first time she had seen him go anywhere without his brother.

When Dave started to follow, Harry caught his arm and said softly, ‘Let him go. This is the first sign he’s given that he’s beginning to trust us.’

‘That’s good, then, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, it is, but don’t expect miracles, Dave. His complete recovery is going to take time, so we must be patient. And you needn’t worry about the people you were with because I’ve taken care of them.’

‘You’ve seen them?’ Alarm showed on Dave’s face. ‘How did you find them? Do they know we’re here? How do you know they won’t come for us? What did you do to them? Them’s nasty people! They could’ve hurt you! My Alfie will never get over it if they take him back. I won’t let them do that … never … never …’

‘Don’t get upset,’ Harry told him firmly. ‘I tracked them down and took Edward with me. They don’t know where we live, so they won’t come here. By the time we had finished with them, they were very frightened.’

Dave took a deep breath. ‘Good, but you shouldn’t have gone there, Mr Harry. Best they’d thought we’d just disappeared.’

‘We had to do this,’ Harry explained, ‘or we would have been worrying about them all the time. I want to set up a school for children like you and Alfie, and it has to be done legally. Our first task had to be dealing with those people. Now that’s done, we can start our plans to help more like you. Do you understand?’

Dave pursed his lips. ‘I guess so. Were they really frightened?’

‘Very frightened indeed. We told them that if they came anywhere near you and Alfie, then the law would be after them.’

‘Gosh! Bet that did scare them. They were always up to no good. So I can tell Alfie we don’t have to worry about them no more?’

‘That’s right, and either Edward or I will be with you all the time. They won’t risk coming anywhere near us again.’

Dave gave Harry a thoughtful look. ‘Don’t ’spect they will. You might be old, but you’re a couple of big blokes.’

Vicki stifled a laugh at Harry’s expression.

He moved so quickly, taking Dave by surprise as he swept him off the floor and making the boy squeal with laughter. ‘Not so much of the old, young man. I’m still strong enough to take anyone on.’

Dave’s feet had just touched the floor when Alfie erupted into the room, but when he saw everyone was laughing, the panic left his face.

‘It’s all right, Alfie,’ Dave told him, still laughing. ‘We was just fooling around. Mr Harry was showing me how strong he is.’

Vicki guessed that laughter was as unusual in Alfie’s life as it had once been in hers. She had been blessed to find affection, laughter and security, and, hopefully, these two boys had as well. She sent up a silent prayer that Harry, Edward and Pearl would be successful in their plans to help more children.

They all had tea together, and, seeing there wasn’t anything else she could do, Vicki decided to leave. Before she reached the front door, though, Harry stopped her. ‘Come into the front room. We want to talk to you.’

Edward and Pearl were already there, and Harry made her sit down. ‘We’ve been having a serious discussion about you, Vicki. We know you want to help as much as you can, but you are still learning your trade as a hairdresser, and you must put that first. It is your future, and I’m sure Bob and Flo would never have opened the ladies’ salon if you hadn’t been with them. They’ve done it to provide you with a secure future.’

Edward continued. ‘I’ve talked to them and they love you like a daughter. It worries them that you haven’t made friends with people of your own age. You should be going dancing and enjoying yourself like all the other bright young people.’

‘That’s right,’ Pearl agreed. ‘From what I’ve heard, you work far too hard, and if you start spending your spare time with us, you won’t have a moment to yourself.’

Vicki stared at them in shock. ‘Are you saying you don’t want me here?’

‘No, that isn’t it at all.’ Edward smiled gently. ‘Don’t look so hurt, young lady. What we are trying to make you understand is that the three of us can cope with whatever we have to do. Bob and Flo need you, and we mustn’t take you away from them.’

‘And we won’t,’ Harry said firmly. ‘Don’t worry about the boys. You will see them in the shop for a while, because Alfie won’t be separated from his brother at the moment. You will be welcome to pop in and see us any time you can, but it must just be a visit. You have had enough to cope with in your life, my dear, and it’s time to think of yourself for a change. Do you understand?’

‘I do.’ She gave a ragged sigh. ‘And, of course, my loyalty to Bob and Flo will always be my first priority. My gratitude for what they have done for me is enormous, and I love them dearly. But if it hadn’t been for me, you would never have been embarking on this ambitious scheme.’

‘And we are very grateful to you for that,’ Pearl told her. ‘We’ve been on to Harry for ages to do something like this, but we weren’t sure what form the school would take until Dave and Alfie arrived. Then it all fell into place.’

‘That’s true enough. I needed a push, and you gave me that, Vicki. Now, wipe that worried frown from your face. We promise to give you reports every week on our progress, and if there is anything you can help us with, we will ask.’

‘All right, but you make sure you do,’ she told them sternly. ‘I will do as you say, except for one thing.’ She pulled a face.

‘And what is that?’ they asked in unison.

‘I can’t promise on the dancing bit.’

Fourteen

The next two weeks at the shop was so busy that Vicki hardly had a moment to herself. The young girls were going for the latest hairstyles, and she was becoming quite confident with waving and cutting hair in the styles they wanted. The clothes were shorter, more flamboyant, and new dances were all the rage. It seemed as if everyone was intent on enjoying themselves, and Vicki did wonder if it was in an effort to put memories of that dreadful war out of their minds.

‘There you are,’ Vicki said, holding the mirror for her customer to see the back of her hair. ‘Is that to your liking?’

‘Oh, you really are very good. I’m telling all my friends to come here. We’re going dancing tonight – why don’t you come with us?’

This wasn’t the first invitation she had received, and the answer was always the same. ‘No, thank you. I can’t make it tonight.’

‘Another time, then.’ The customer paid and left the shop.

‘You ought to go, Vicki,’ Flo told her. ‘It’s time you mixed with people your own age. You are never going to meet any nice young men if you are always working.’

‘There aren’t enough men now, anyway, because so many were killed in the war. It looks as if quite a few girls will have to remain single. And, as I’ve said before, I don’t want any young men. I’m never going to be tied to a man who thinks he can do what he likes with me.’

‘And I’ve told you, not all men are brutes. In fact, very few are. I know your past was harsh, my dear, but your life is different now. Surely you can see that?’

‘I know I’m surrounded by good people now, but it’s hard to forget how I lived for most of my life.’ She smiled at Flo. ‘Anyway, I’m not interested, and I can’t dance.’

‘Sid will teach you. He knows all the latest dances and says they are fun. I understand he’s considered hot stuff at the Charleston.’

Vicki laughed at Flo’s teasing. ‘I don’t doubt it, but I’m still not interested.’

‘All right.’ Flo lifted her hands in surrender. ‘You’ve made your feelings known, and I won’t bring up the subject again.’

‘Oh, good,’ Vicki joked. ‘Will you tell Harry to do the same? He won’t let the subject drop, either.’

‘You can come in, Alfie,’ Flo said when she saw his little face peering through the doorway. ‘Do you want to help us?’

He nodded, edged into the shop and began collecting up the used towels.

There had been a slight improvement over the last couple of weeks. He still hadn’t spoken, or even smiled, but he wasn’t clinging quite so firmly to his brother. At first he wouldn’t have left the barber’s, but he was now beginning to come into the ladies’ shop on his own. The Howards had bought the boys some good clothes and they now looked smart. With Harry’s help, Dave’s speech was a touch better, though still a bit rough, especially if he got excited or angry. Harry was including Alfie in the lessons, and he listened intently without making a sound. The customers in both shops appeared to be quite happy to see the boys, greeting them when they walked in.

Flo’s next customer only wanted a trim, and when she was preparing to leave she dropped her gloves. Alfie pounced on them and handed them back to her.

‘Thank you, young man. I didn’t know I had dropped them.’ She opened her purse and gave him a coin, smiling at the serious little boy. ‘That’s for being so helpful.’

Alfie watched her leave, examined the tip he had been given and then held it out to Flo.

‘No, you keep it, sweetheart. The lady gave it to you because she might have lost her gloves if you hadn’t returned them to her. That was her way of thanking you.’