The Castlefield Collector

by The Castlefield Collector (Watch for the Talleyman) (retail) (epub)

  ‘Don’t make me laugh.’ There was bitter anger in his voice now, a cold, hard-edged fury, and he was backing away as if he might catch something nasty off her just by standing too near. ‘No, I’m sorry, Dolly. I can’t get me head round this. It’s too much. I can’t believe you’d make a fool of me in this way.’

  ‘I didn’t mean to make a fool of you. I hoped you’d trust me, take my word for it. Can’t you believe me when I say nothing happened? I’m guilty only of being stupidly naïve.’

  ‘I’m not sure I can, not right now. I’ll need time to think about that.’

  ‘I see. For how long, exactly, do you reckon you’ll need to think?’ Fear was hot in her now, like a fever clawing at her brain, screaming out that she was losing him, that it was all over, and yet outwardly she remained cool and deceptively calm.

  Sam was far from calm. He was shouting at her loud enough to rouse half the street, striding up and down, waving his arms about. ‘I don’t know, do I? I can’t take it all in. I thought she was making it up.’

  Dolly’s head snapped up at this. ‘She? Who’s she? You thought who was making it up? Was it our Aggie who told you?’

  He shook his head. ‘Oh no, you can’t blame Aggie, not this time. It was – someone at the mill. Another girl.’

  ‘Who? Which girl?’ From burning up with fever, Dolly’s blood chilled, froze in her veins. This was turning into a nightmare.

  Sam slammed his fist on the table. ‘What difference does it make which bloody girl it was? I’m not the one at fault here, you are. You! How could you, Dolly? How could you? You’ll make me a laughing stock.’

  ‘Never mind about what it will do to you, what about me? And what about this girl? It was Evie Barker, wasn’t it? Aggie warned me that you and she were seeing each other. You denied it when I asked you before, but this is proof. Oh, Sam, how could you?’

  ‘Don’t you dare look at me like that, Dolly. I’ve done nothing!’ Not with Evie he hadn’t, not yet anyway.

  ‘I wish I could believe that.’

  ‘It’s true, though God knows why. Being married obviously hasn’t stopped you from warming Nifty Jack’s bed. All your pathetic protests about how you hate him are laughable now. No wonder you always have so much bloody money. You don’t care who you sleep with. You’re a bloody tart, you.’

  Dolly couldn’t speak for several long minutes. Finally, she said, ‘It would seem that there is no trust left between us. So why should I believe in you, if you don’t believe me?’

  He jabbed a furious finger in the air, inches from her face. ‘Don’t try to wriggle out of this by tying me in knots as you so like to do. I’ll tell you something for nothing. You’re not the girl I thought you were, Dolly Tomkins. Not for a minute did I imagine you’d be the sort to put yourself about like any cheap hussy. And I certainly don’t want a prossy for a wife. I should have believed it about your mam an’ all. You’re both at it.’

  ‘Sam, stop it. You don’t understand. You’re not listening to me.’

  ‘Oh, I understand right enough. More than you think. I’m not stupid. I know when I’ve been made a fool of.’

  Then he walked out without a single backward glance, and this time Dolly made no attempt to stop him. What was the point? She’d lost him for good. Sam Clayton wasn’t ever going to be interested in her now because she was beneath contempt. In his eyes she was a prostitute, the lowest of the low. Dolly sat at the kitchen table and let the tears of utter misery slide down her face.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Cabbage Lil noticed the girl quite by chance. She was leaning on the wall quietly weeping, looking as if she might collapse at any moment.

  ‘Don’t cry lass. What’s up?’

  ‘I’m fine, don’t worry about me.’

  ‘You don’t look fine. Haven’t I seen you round here before? I’d recognise that posh accent anywhere.’

  ‘I once asked you for a bed for the night, and you refused. This is the result.’

  Evie turned to face Cabbage Lil, revealing a livid purple bruise on her cheek. It had hurt more than she’d expected to inflict this upon herself by banging the cupboard door in her face, but still, it was all in a good cause. ‘I might not look as if I’m in need, but I do assure you that I am. My father is so cruel. He’s cut me off without a penny and I swear if I went home tonight, he might do even worse.’ With consummate skill, she let the tears flow. ‘Oh, I don’t know what to do or where to go. Staying with friends would be no good, he’d find me too easily.’

  Cabbage Lil’s soft heart was easily moved by a woman persecuted by a man, in view of the memories she held of her own bully of a father, but on this occasion she remained cautious. This was the girl who had coincidentally appeared shortly after she’d been talking to Dolly. ‘Why would he hit you? What have you done? Are you in the pudding club?’

  ‘Pudding…?’

  ‘You know – up the spout?’

  ‘Oh, I see.’ Evie shook her head, and then realised that if she would win over this woman’s confidence, she’d need to offer a bit more information about herself, some real life drama. Well, she had plenty of those, didn’t she? ‘The truth is that I was pregnant but got rid of it, ages ago. Now he’s found out, and he’s furious. Says I’ve ruined my chances of matrimony.’

  ‘Hoping for an heir, was he?’

  ‘That’s all he cares about. Money, position, power. I don’t care a jot about such things.’ She was weeping into her handkerchief with some conviction now, huge hiccupping sobs that were beginning to feel almost genuine. ‘I just need to be loved. Perhaps that’s why – why I like men. Can’t resist them. I need to know someone cares, to be loved. Is it any wonder after the way he treats me? It’s my father’s entire fault for neglecting and bullying me, don’t you think?’ she sobbed. ‘Can you understand what I’m saying?’

  Evie hoped she was making some sort of sense, because she was making much of this up as she went along. Then she lifted those lovely pale blue eyes, swimming with tears, to meet Cabbage Lil’s probing gaze, which did the trick, as always. Who could deny such irresistible appeal?

  ‘Ah, girls who like men is summat I do understand. You’d best come with me, love. I’ll see you right.’

  Evie was treated with the same consideration as Dolly. She was provided with a substantial meal, a hot bath and a clean nightgown, plus a shared room in the attic well away from the working area.

  The other girls, Gladys, who came from Deansgate, and Joan, who was popular with the swells took to her right away, mesmerised by her beauty. Joan’s brightly rouged cheeks glowed ever more scarlet when Evie commented that she admired her mysterious black eyes and slender, boy-like figure. ‘And your outfit is the absolute tops, truly wondrous, wherever did you buy it?’

  Plain, round, pancake-faced Joan was dressed in a short, scarlet and gold striped dress, and on her head a purple and gold, much beribboned hat. The whole ensemble gave her every appearance of a joker in a pack of cards, but she believed the compliment to be sincerely meant.

  Sylvie and Fran, on the other hand, were less enchanted, recognising nouveau riche masquerading as so-called class when they saw it, and being very wary of it. They’d had their own experiences at the hands of those who thought themselves grand, what with factory overlookers and rich men’s sons in posh houses where they’d been in service once. Would their daughters be any better? They very much doubted it.

  ‘You’re welcome to stay as long as you need,’ Cabbage Lil assured her, ‘although I should point out that we’re not a refuge for battered daughters, so you’ll have to pay your way, one way or another.’

  ‘One way or… oh, I see. Cash or kind, you mean?’

  ‘That’s the way of it. Which is it to be in your case?’ Lil lifted one brow in mild enquiry. She’d already made a shrewd assessment about this particular little filly, and had a small bet on the result with Sylvie.

  ‘Money is so hard to come by these days. Besides, life is for living so why woul
d I not have some fun along the way?’

  Evie stayed for several days and found no trouble at all in fitting in with the routine. The work was pleasant, the clients appreciative and the other girls, with the exception of one or two, were reasonably respectful. But she saw this as a mere interlude, a fillip to brighten up the dullness of her existence. After four days, she mildly informed Lil that she intended returning home.

  ‘What if he knocks you about again?’

  ‘Who?’ Forgetting, for a moment, the story she’d fabricated.

  ‘Your pa.’

  ‘Oh, he’ll be utterly contrite, completely remorseful, at least for a while. But don’t worry, Lil, I’ll be back. This is the most fun I’ve had in an age. You certainly haven’t seen the last of me.’

  ‘I’ll look forward to it. I like a girl who takes pleasure in her work.’

  * * *

  Dolly was finding it hard living without Sam. After he’d left that night it took several days to convince herself that he’d actually gone for good. She kept expecting him to walk in through the door, calling to her with that loving tone in his voice which told her that he couldn’t wait to see her. That first day after he left, she’d prepared his tea, as usual, and set it on the table at exactly the moment she would expect him to come home from the mill. The front door remained fast shut.

  Maisie watched all of this with sadness in her eyes. ‘He’s not coming, is he?’

  Not trusting herself to speak, Dolly blinked hard and shook her head.

  ‘Have you had a falling-out? Or is it because he hates living here with me?’

  ‘This has got nothing to do with you, Mother.’

  ‘Mam. You used to call me Mam.’

  ‘Well, perhaps it has got something to do with you after all, with Calvin anyway, and that flaming debt. It’s all got on top of him and he just can’t cope any more.’

  Maisie gazed at her daughter in silence for a long, thoughtful moment. ‘It wouldn’t have anything to do with that woman you took up with when you ran away that time, then?’

  ‘How did you…? Who told you…?’

  ‘Who do you think? Gabby-mouth Aggie, who else? Took great pleasure in describing it all to me in intimate detail. Like mother, like daughter, she said.’

  ‘Oh, Mam, what a thing to say! I don’t understand why our Aggie is so mean-mouthed. Anyroad, she’s got it all wrong. But you know our Aggie, once she has an idea in her head, she won’t let go.’ Dolly sighed, pushed her plate away untouched and leaned back in her chair, eyes closed. ‘It was all a bad mistake but nothing happened. I did nothing wrong.’

  ‘I can understand that feeling well enough. I did nothing wrong either, ‘cept fall in love with the wrong man. I did drop him a note, after our last little chat, hoping as how he’d release me from my promise.’

  Dolly stared at her mother, wide-eyed. ‘Did you? What did he say?’

  ‘Nothing. I never even got a reply.’

  Dolly turned away, bitterly disappointed. ‘Why wouldn’t he reply, if you loved each other? You could marry now surely, now that Calvin is dead. Assuming you actually did write to him, that is.’

  ‘Dolly, don’t start accusing me of lying again.’

  ‘I’m not starting anything. I just can’t handle anything more today. I’ve other worries on my mind. Sam heard about Cabbage Lil from some girl at the mill, and so I had to tell him the whole story and of course he believes her, and not me.’ She’d no wish to go into too much detail about this latest disagreement with her husband. It was too personal, too raw. The thought that at this moment he might be with her, with Evie Barker, brought a pain to Dolly’s chest that near ripped her in half. She could hardly bear it. Allowing her mother to witness that pain would only make matters worse.

  Maisie was toying with the strips of bacon and mashed potato on her plate, which she too had hardly touched, hunger having become so much a part of her, she barely noticed it any more. ‘Funny old world, eh? You’re upset with Aggie because she won’t believe in your innocence. And I’m upset with you, because you won’t believe in mine.’

  ‘That’s entirely different.’

  ‘Is it?’

  Dolly fidgeted in her seat, feeling slightly uncomfortable. ‘Well, she’s saying I did sex for money, which is a dreadful thing to accuse a person of, particularly your own sister. You only did it for pleasure, presumably because you liked it. Though a proper pickle you’ve made of all our lives as a result.’

  ‘Eeh, our Dolly, you can be a hard-hearted little madam at times.’

  Dolly blinked back tears, knowing her heart was breaking, yet realising that the criticism was largely justified. It was certainly true that she did always seem to blame her mother for everything these days but who else could she blame? The solution was surely in Maisie’s own hands. She simply had to tell her the truth, to name the man who had fathered her. Dolly picked up Sam’s plate and divided the bacon between the two of them. ‘Waste not want not. We might as well eat this ourselves. I’ll fry up the leftover potato for breakfast.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Don’t argue, Mam. Do as you’re told for once. And don’t ask any more questions. Sam has gone and he’s not coming back.’

  ‘You’re not going to give it another try then?’

  ‘No, I’m not.’

  ‘Pity. Still, it depends how you feel about him in your heart, and whether he’s worth the effort or not. If he is, then you need to swallow your pride and ask him to come home. But if he’s betrayed you, then you might decide to let him go. It’s up to you.’

  ‘Eat your dinner for God’s sake, Mam. When I want your advice, I’ll ask for it.’

  Dolly didn’t know what she wanted. Was Sam worth the effort? Their marriage had not been quite the unmitigated success that she’d hoped for. The rumours about him and that Barker girl had upset Dolly but were they true or just Aggie’s nasty gossip? She longed to run to Matt and ask for his help and advice, as she had done so often in the past, but instinct told her it would be wrong to involve Matt in all this. He had feelings for her, there was no doubt about that, so how could she expect him to give her an unbiased opinion on whether she should give Sam another chance?

  And Sam was still her husband. They were still man and wife, and things had been stacked against them from the start, what with the debt and having to live with Mam. Even that had been difficult, relations between them not quite what they should be. If it was only money that was keeping them apart, then surely these problems could be resolved. Mam was right in one respect. It was up to her to decide. Was Sam Clayton worth one more try, or not?

  Maisie had been disappointed not to get a response to her letter. She hadn’t expected to be ignored, in view of what they’d once been to each other. Then it occurred to her that he might not even have received it. Perhaps it had gone astray, or a servant not handed to him. Maisie didn’t understand how such big houses operated but she was quite certain that he wouldn’t collect his own post. She made up her mind to follow it up in person. She’d never asked anything of him before now, and this was important. Her poor lass was suffering, and needed help.

  When she said the words out loud to him though, Maisie felt a trifle less confident. Nathan Barker looked at her as if she were some sort of madwoman dropped in off the streets, whom he didn’t even know.

  She’d waited till everyone else had left before sneaking into his office via the back door, as she had used to do all those years ago. He’d looked stunned, as well he might at this unexpected intrusion. Maisie had almost giggled.

  ‘I know what you’re thinking, the Ghost of Christmas Past.’

  When he didn’t say anything to this, she’d quickly gone on to explain what she wanted, how she’d never asked anything of him before, wanted nothing for herself at all, only for Dolly. She needs to know the truth.

  ‘She’s a good lass,’ Maisie finished. ‘But she’s having a hard time of it right now and she deserves a chance. You don’t have to answer
right away. Think about it and let me know. You know where to find me. I do assure you that I’m not here to make any bother. I’ll stay out of your life, as I always have. But if you ever loved me, were ever fond of me at all, you’ll do this for our girl. She’s bright as a button. A real chip off the old block.’ And without giving him time to say a word by way of response, Maisie slipped quietly away into the night the same as she’d come, not wanting to be a trouble to anyone.

  Sam was waiting outside the mill gates as Evie made her way home. She wasn’t particularly pleased to see him, was really quite bored with the man, wondering what on earth she’d ever seen in him, and had been doing her best to avoid him for some time. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem able to take no for an answer. She’d spotted him on several occasions lingering by the mill gates and taken to slipping out the back way to avoid him.

  ‘Evie, I’m glad I’ve caught you at last.’

  ‘Were you wanting something, Sam? It’s quite a surprise to see you here.’

  ‘Course there’s something I’m wanting. I was waiting to see you. I can’t get you out of my mind. You know I’m crazy about you.’

  ‘Oh, I thought you were no longer interested, too concerned about losing your job, or your wife finding out.’

  ‘Dolly and me have separated. It didn’t work out.’

  Evie began to walk away. ‘I’m sorry to hear that, Sam, but I really don’t think it would work out with us either, do you?’

  ‘Why not? We could at least give it a try.’ Sam grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her to a halt. ‘Listen to me when I’m talking to you. Me and Dolly is finished, all washed up. I never should’ve married her.’

  ‘Why did you then?’

  ‘I was on the rebound, from her sister.’

  ‘Aggie?’ Evie trilled with laughter. ‘What taste you do have.’

  ‘She’s all right is Aggie, bit full of herself, but she was no more than a childhood sweetheart. I need to start afresh with a real woman, with you. Why don’t we give it a go? You know I fancy you rotten. We could happen go to the flicks or something.’