A Daughter's Journe

by Anna Jacobs

  Charlie didn’t seem to object to this, just shrugged and left her to do the talking.

  She knew her way round a plan, all right, which some people didn’t, explaining why the windows had been placed that way and how important light was to an artist. Wilf studied the drawings, then looked at the wall to which the new room would be attached and through which they’d make a door. ‘Can I go outside and look at that part of the house from the garden?’

  ‘Of course. I should have thought of that before we started talking.’ She led the way.

  After they came back inside, Wilf looked at the plans again, hesitating, not sure whether to make suggestions. Only, he did like things to suit their purpose, so he risked it. ‘Might it not be useful to have a storeroom built on to the back for your art materials, Mrs Willcox? You don’t want windows in that wall, so you could fit in quite a big one, with built-in shelves and plenty of space for your canvases and larger pieces of material?’

  She frowned and bent over the biggest plan, the one showing the room and how it fitted onto the house wall and jutted out into the back garden. After staring at it for so long Wilf began to worry, she said slowly, ‘Why didn’t the architect suggest that? It’s a very good idea.’

  He let out his breath in a whoosh of relief as Charlie looked at him and nodded encouragingly.

  She turned to her husband. ‘We’ll have to get back to the architect and get this changed then run it past the planning department.’

  ‘I can draw it up for you well enough to show them what you want and give the correct dimensions, if you have some paper,’ Wilf volunteered. ‘I’ve done it for a shed and coalhouse I built.’

  ‘Is there anything you can’t do when it comes to houses?’ Charlie teased.

  ‘I love constructing things,’ Wilf said simply.

  He and Mrs Willcox spent a delightful hour producing a better plan and working out the interior shelving for the cupboard. Charlie soon lost interest and went to sit in the living room and read the newspaper.

  Once that was finished, Marion summoned her husband to say goodbye to Wilf and Charlie walked out with him, stopping at the front gate to chat.

  ‘You made a good impression on my wife.’

  ‘I did? She didn’t sound exactly happy.’

  ‘Oh, that. She always speaks sharply when it’s to do with business. She’s really good at what she does, you know, designing cards and letter headings and such. She has a real eye for it and is good at drawing. I just – never expected my wife to want to work. But there you are.’

  ‘I can see that she’s got a good eye from the way she helped me sketch out her ideas for a big storeroom.’

  ‘Aye. If we go on at this rate, that storeroom will be as big as her studio and it’ll cost me nearly as much.’

  That made Wilf worry that he’d upset Charlie. ‘You don’t, um, mind the extra cost?’

  A chuckle set his mind at rest even before his companion said, ‘No, lad. What else is money for but to use? And if it makes my Marion happy, all the better. As long as she gives me another child or two, that’s the main thing.’

  ‘Aye. It’s good to have children.’ Even if you hadn’t managed to create them yourself.

  ‘Here’s to the future.’ Charlie held out his hand and the two men shook. ‘I look forward to working with you.’

  Wilf hesitated but it had to be said. ‘Um. There’s just one more thing. I wondered if you could see fit to advance me enough money to buy a van. It’ll make a huge difference to doing the job, because I’ll need to cart all sorts of bits and pieces to and fro. And you know I’ll pay you back.’

  Charlie stopped and Wilf waited, swallowing hard, hoping.

  ‘I think that’s an excellent idea. You and I need to have a little chat about it and sort out the details, and there’s another idea I’ve had. Why don’t you come and see me tomorrow at work? Two o’clock would be a good time for me if you’re free then.’

  ‘I can come any time. Can you give me a clue, in case it’s something I need to think about?’

  ‘I might like to help you set up a little building business. I’ve backed one or two people starting up and they’ve not let me down. I don’t think you would, either.’

  Wilf could only gape at him.

  Charlie clapped him on the back. ‘Don’t look so shocked. I know nowt about building and I shan’t want to poke my nose into that side of things, but I do know a lot about people, who’s capable of running a business and who isn’t. I’d make a good partner because I’d be able to get some things more cheaply than you ever could. And I’m sure that in the long term you’ll make money for me as well as for yourself.’

  He turned back towards the house without waiting for an answer. ‘See you tomorrow.’

  Wilf clutched the bicycle, making no attempt to get on it, going over what had been said in his mind. He gulped back the emotion as it sank in that this really was his big chance to do the work he loved and give his family a better life.

  He rode slowly back and it was a while before he realised he was grinning like a fool. Well, who wouldn’t grin when a man as well respected as Charlie Willcox wanted to go into business with you?

  Enid looked at him in amazement when he told her about the job he’d been offered.

  ‘Charlie Willcox wants to go into business with you? Oh, Wilf, love, would that be wise? People like us don’t know how to run a business. What if things go wrong and we lose everything?’ She looked round the little house.

  Wilf looked round it, too. Every piece of furniture, every dish, was hard won. For a moment, fear tarnished his elation, then he shook his head. ‘It won’t go wrong, love.’

  ‘You can never be sure.’

  He put his arms round her. ‘You can never be sure of anything, Enid love. All I know is I know how to do the job, and I do it well. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t have a try at this. It’d be like my wildest dreams come true.’ The ones that had kept him going for all those years when he’d tramped round Lancashire and Yorkshire looking for work, sleeping rough many a time, trying to learn as much as he could everywhere he went.

  And he had learned, taking any job offered. He’d always been good with his hands. He hadn’t realised how good until he left the valley and saw the cack-handed way in which some people did things.

  ‘We’ve the children to think of now,’ she insisted. ‘We can’t afford to take risks.’

  ‘Nay, lass, it’d be partly for them I’d be doing it. Why, I might even earn enough for us to send them to the grammar school. Who knows where they’d end up then, eh?’

  ‘All they need is to build decent lives. Nothing fancy. I still don’t think you should do it. Promise me you won’t.’

  He was horrified. ‘Enid, don’t say that!’

  ‘I have to. It’s a risk. You’re better off letting other men take the risks in this world. You could lose everything. Everything we own , Wilf. If that took my home and children from me, I’d not want to go on.’

  ‘Times are getting better. And this isn’t a risky venture. I know exactly how to do all the jobs involved and I’d have Charlie Willcox behind me.’

  ‘You might think you know, but even this is a bigger job than you’ve ever taken on before. And if you tried to get into building whole houses, you’d be lost. You haven’t done that before. Besides, times aren’t getting better for everyone. What you read in the newspapers isn’t always true for us in the north.’

  They didn’t often quarrel, or even disagree, but he wasn’t going to give in on this.

  ‘You must trust me, Enid. I can do this. I know I can.’

  ‘You can, if things don’t get worse suddenly. But it’s not worth the risk.’

  He put his arm round her shoulders and said it again. ‘With Charlie Willcox behind me, it’s not such a risk. I might not make a profit, but I’d not lose everything. He hasn’t made his money by choosing bad people to work for him.’

  She threw his arm off. ‘He isn
’t the problem. There’s that Higgerson to think of as well. He’s a lying, cheating fellow and he isn’t going to like another builder setting up. What if he starts playing dirty tricks on you that ruin the job? What if he hurts the children? No, no! I can’t bear you to take the risk, Wilf. I absolutely forbid you to do it.’

  ‘And I can’t bear not to accept the job. I’m definitely going to do it.’

  She ran out of the room, sobbing.

  They’d never slept on a quarrel before, but they did that night. He heard her crying during the night, faint sniffles and furtive movements to mop her eyes with the sheet, but he didn’t try to comfort her. He’d be a fool to turn down this opportunity. He might never get another one like it. And anyway, he was good at building, he knew he was, putting the jobs together in his head, seeing clearly in his mind the order in which to do things, hearing people’s praise as he did a job well.

  No, he was right to do it, he was quite sure about that.

  He hadn’t even told Enid about buying a van. She’d go mad about that, too. She hated to get into debt.

  He stifled a sigh and kept his back turned to her. He didn’t want her trying to cajole him into giving up his dream.

  12

  T he following afternoon Nick took Mr Slater out for another driving lesson. It went much better than the previous one and he added a ‘treat’ at the end, a quick trip up the gently sloping road to Birch End, so that he could show his client how to get the car moving safely when parked on an incline.

  They went to a quiet lane Nick had discovered when checking out this area. It sloped gently, perfect for a beginner to practise on. He didn’t think it likely there would be any other traffic round there, and even if another vehicle did come along, you could easily see it long before it got close.

  Slater had a few attempts at hill starts till he grew used to the necessary moves with the clutch, then he handed over control of the car for the journey back into the town centre.

  ‘You’re doing better today,’ Nick told him.

  ‘I am? Really? Well, it didn’t feel like it. Driving is harder than it looks.’ Slater patted the sweat from his brow with his handkerchief. ‘Much harder.’

  It was a good thing Nick was driving as they started back towards the main road, because just as they rounded the bend at the end of the lane, they saw a young woman ahead of them, struggling with two men. She appeared to be giving a good account of herself but it was a hopeless struggle – or it would have been if they hadn’t happened upon the scene.

  Both men cried out in shock involuntarily and Nick accelerated forward, jerking to a halt near the trio and flinging open his car door.

  At the sight of the car, the two men had let go of their victim and even in the short time it took Nick to reach her, they’d scrambled over the fence and were running off across the nearby field. Only then did he realise he’d rescued the young woman he’d met on the train.

  Hair tumbling across her shoulders, she bent to pick up the shoe she’d been using as a weapon and hopped about as she shook out some gravel and tried to put it on again.

  He moved to support her while Slater picked up her handbag. ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘I’m a bit bruised and battered but so will they be.’ She glared in the direction the attackers had taken, even though they were now out of sight. ‘I’ll recognise them again, I promise you.’

  ‘I will too. Miss Melling, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes. Nice to meet you again, Mr Howarth. Thanks for rescuing me.’

  ‘I’m glad we happened along.’ He spoke calmly, keeping an eye on her in case she showed any sign of fainting. But she looked furiously angry rather than overwhelmed. He gestured to his companion. ‘This is Mr Slater, who has been taking a driving lesson with me. We didn’t expect to encounter a damsel in distress, though.’

  Mr Slater brushed dirt off her handbag and handed it to her.

  She clutched it to her chest and looked round. ‘Can you see my hat? Oh, there it is.’ She bent and picked up the squashed lump of felt, studying it with a grimace. ‘That won’t be much use now. They’ve trampled it to death.’ She stuffed it into her large bag.

  ‘Come and sit down in the car, my dear young lady, till you’ve recovered. We don’t want you fainting on us.’

  ‘I’m not the sort to faint, Mr Slater, but I’m very angry indeed, and at myself most of all. I was warned not to go about on my own near Backshaw Moss but I couldn’t believe anyone would attack me in broad daylight, and so close to those houses, as well!’ She gestured to where a row of roofs showed beyond a line of trees.

  Nick was puzzled. ‘Why would anyone think you might be attacked? It’s not a common occurrence round here. They didn’t take your bag so it can’t have been to steal your purse. You haven’t been here long enough to have made enemies, surely?’

  ‘I got on the wrong side of my stepmother’s cousin and Mrs T, my landlady, says he prides himself on getting his own back on people who upset him.’

  ‘The person you were going to stay with? Who is he?’

  ‘Clarence Rathley.’

  Mr Slater growled in his throat at the sound of that name.

  Nick turned to him. ‘Do you know this Rathley fellow?’

  ‘He calls himself a businessman and got elected as a town councillor three years ago, goodness knows how. But I’d not buy anything from him or trust him in any way. He’s a bully and a scoundrel, and a very poor landlord. He’s got a few slum houses and he never does any repairs on them, if he can help it, and the tenants are terrified of his rent collector.’

  Nick was surprised at the vehemence in Slater’s tone. ‘How did you manage to upset Rathley so quickly, Miss Melling?’

  ‘We went to stay at his house, but I didn’t feel comfortable because he kept looking at me in that horrible way some men do.’

  She glanced down at her chest and it was obvious what she meant.

  ‘I was given a bedroom away from the rest of the family and it had no lock on the door, which worried me. So I found another room with a lockable door because I just didn’t feel safe.’

  ‘Why would he think you’d, um, welcome his attentions? You don’t seem that sort, if you don’t mind me saying so.’

  ‘You heard my stepmother on the train. From the way she talks you’d think I was immoral, yet all she’s really fussing about is my manners, which she doesn’t think are ladylike enough. Ha! Ladylike doesn’t get the sheep shorn or the hens fed on a farm, does it? I think he must have believed I’d let him into my bedroom and … you know …’

  Mr Slater went a little pink at her frankness.

  ‘Go on,’ Nick said gently.

  ‘I was right to worry. Someone did try to get into my room after everyone was asleep. I can’t prove it was Rathley but who else could it be? Except for his chauffeur, who doesn’t live in the house, the servants are all females and they seem scared even to breathe deeply when their master is around. Anyway, I threatened to crown whoever it was with a brass candlestick if he came into my room, and he must have crept away because there were no more noises.’

  Nick looked at her in admiration. ‘Well done. What did your stepmother say about it?’

  ‘I didn’t tell her. It’d be no use going to her for help about anything, and certainly not against a man she calls her dear cousin and acts as if he’s king of the world. So this morning I left his house and moved into lodgings. He must realise that I guessed who was trying to get into my room, yet he had the nerve to forbid me to leave and he even tried to drag me back into the house by force. But I got away with the help of my new landlady’s son. I’m at Mr Tucker’s, now.’

  Mr Slater nodded. ‘Peter Tucker, a very decent young fellow. Um, did those young fellows who attacked you today say anything about why?’

  ‘One of them said they were going to teach me to keep my mouth shut about my betters and that after they let me go, if I knew what was good for me, I should go back to Australia and stay there. How could t
hey have known where I came from? I’d never even seen them before.’

  ‘Well, you won’t need to say anything for people to talk about your leaving Rathley’s house after only one night,’ Mr Slater declared. ‘You won’t be able to stop them gossiping because he’s already known as a womaniser. It’ll look bad for him that you moved out so quickly – and serve him right, too.’

  ‘Why were you going to Birch End today?’ Nick asked.

  ‘I was going to Backshaw Moss, actually.’

  ‘That’s a bad place for a young lady on her own,’ Slater said. ‘You should stay right away from it.’

  ‘The thing is, I found out I may have relatives there and I wanted to see if I could find them. I was warned by my landlady and her son not to come out here alone because of upsetting Rathley, only I didn’t really think he’d send someone to attack me in the middle of the day, not in this day and age.’

  The angry red in her cheeks was beginning to subside and she started brushing down her clothing, muttering something under her breath as she found a gap where a button had come off her blouse.

  ‘Did those louts make any other threats?’

  ‘No, but one of them kept trying to touch my – um, my body till I managed to kick him where it hurts most.’

  Nick couldn’t hold back a chuckle. ‘Good for you.’

  ‘That’s when he clouted me.’ She touched the bruise on her cheek. ‘I think I could have fought off one attacker, because our old stockman in Australia taught me a few tricks about where men are most susceptible, but two attackers, no. I screamed for help and bit one when he tried to put his hand across my mouth, but no one came. It’s lucky you were driving past. I dread to think of what might have happened otherwise.’ She shuddered.

  At the thought of that, Nick lost all desire to smile. ‘You must let us take you back into town, Miss Melling.’

  ‘Thank you.’