Let it Shine

by Let it Shine (retail) (epub)

  Chapter Three

  Ada watched the dawn break; a bright wintry dawn lit the room and dazzled her old eyes. ‘Another cold day.’ Shivering, she glanced towards the hearth, to the spill of cold embers and blackened surround. ‘I must get Daisy to make up the fire.’

  Sighing wearily, she leaned back into the pillows. With so much playing on her mind, she found sleep impossible. These past few hours had told her many things, one of which was that she was not loved for herself, but for what she had accrued over the years. It was a painful realisation, but she should have seen it many years ago.

  Suddenly, after a lull of silence no doubt while they slept, she could hear their laughter. Interspersed with delighted squeals and lewd suggestions, it left nothing to the imagination. Picturing her son and his eager mistress in the next room was a torment.

  ‘They’ve no shame!’ she muttered. ‘No shame!’ And drawing the blankets over her head, Ada buried herself deep down between the sheets. Peeking out at the bedside clock, she saw that it was almost 4 a.m. Weariness crept up on her. When her eyelids became heavy, she let the tiredness wash through her and soon she had drifted into a light, uneasy sleep.

  A short time later she woke in a fright. ‘Who’s there? What do you want?’ Scrambling up, she clutched the sheets about herself. With the sleep still on her, she couldn’t seem to get her senses together. ‘Who is it?’

  ‘It’s only me, ma’am… come to get your tray.’

  When she saw the small, homely face, with its pretty blue eyes peeping through the open door, Ada gave a sigh of relief. ‘Oh, it’s you, Daisy.’ She relaxed. ‘I’m sorry, I thought—’ The shame choked in her throat. ‘Oh, come in, Daisy. Come in!’ As always, the girl quickly did as she was bid. ‘I’ve brought your warm water, ma’am.’ Carrying a big, rose-patterned jug, she went straight to the wash-stand in the corner and set the jug down on the floor. She tipped the used water from the wash-bowl into the other jug standing beside it, wiped the bowl round with the clean towel she had over her shoulder, and placed the newly filled jug beside the bowl. ‘There! All nice and warm and ready when you are, ma’am.’

  Carrying the old jug across the room, she placed it outside the door before coming back into the room and flinging wide the curtains. ‘Windows open or closed today?’

  ‘Closed. I don’t want to freeze while I’m at the wash-stand.’

  ‘Sorry, ma’am.’

  ‘I’ve asked Peter time and again to have that small bedroom converted into a proper bathroom, but will he listen?’ Ada said irritably. ‘I can see I shall have to arrange it myself once I’m up and about again.’

  Daisy thought that would be lovely. ‘My sister works at Cicely Bridge Mill, and the manager there has just had a lavatory put into his spare bedroom. There’s a bath an’ all, an’ a little wash-basin. He says it’s a real joy.’

  While Ada turned that over in her mind, Daisy brought a clean pair of sheets from the linen cupboard on the landing. ‘Quickly, Daisy,’ Ada shivered as she came and went through the door. ‘You’re letting in the cold, child.’

  ‘Sorry, ma’am, I didn’t realise.’ Daisy went to riddle the fire and put more coal on.

  ‘That’s because you haven’t got my old bones to contend with, and nor should you.’

  ‘And how are you this morning?’ the girl asked in her musical Welsh voice. ‘Sleep well, did you, ma’am?’

  ‘No, Daisy. I did not.’ Ada watched her go to the big chest of drawers, where she took out a clean white towel which she laid over the rail of the wash-stand; next came a fresh nightie and robe from the wardrobe drawers. ‘I did not sleep well, and neither, I suspect, did you!’

  Discreet as ever, young Daisy made no mention of the noise which had risen to her little attic room and robbed her of a night’s sleep; though if the truth be told, she had been shockingly entertained by the goings-on. All the same, she wasn’t about to tell her mistress that. ‘Whatever do you mean, ma’am?’ She could act as innocent as the next one, when necessary.

  Frustrated, Ada’s troubled eyes followed the girl across to the fireplace, where she poked the embers through the grating and proceeded to catch them in the tray beneath. ‘Daisy, will you stop that and come over here? Quickly now, there’s a good girl.’

  Bright and cheerful as always, Daisy presented herself at the bedside. ‘Here I am, ma’am,’ she announced. ‘What do you want me to do?’

  ‘I want you to be honest with me.’

  ‘Aren’t I always, ma’am?’

  ‘Most times,’ Ada answered with a smile, ‘except when you think I might be hurt by what you have to say.’

  ‘I would never hurt you, ma’am!’ The bright face darkened. ‘You should know that.’

  ‘And I do! That’s why I’m asking you to be honest with me now, and not to worry if you think what you say might hurt me. Do you understand, Daisy? Am I making myself clear?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  ‘Did you hear the master last night?’

  Daisy blushed deep crimson. ‘Yes, ma’am,’ she whispered.

  ‘And the housekeeper?’

  She hung her head. ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  ‘Did they keep you awake last night?’

  ‘Until gone midnight, ma’am.’ Suddenly, she raised her face to look Ada in the eye. ‘Going at it hammer and tongs, they were!’ Her eyes opened like saucers. ‘Then they went quiet. But they were at it again this morning.’ Her voice rose hysterically. ‘I don’t mind telling you, ma’am, I’ve never heard anything like it in all my life! Not even when my dad used to come home and wake my mam so he could have his wicked way. She used to yell and shout, and then they’d laugh and squeal. Like two young, silly things they were.’

  Having blurted it all out, she gave Ada a frightened look and dropped her head. ‘Sorry, ma’am, I got a bit carried away.’

  For a moment the ensuing silence was impenetrable, then softly at first, Ada began to chuckle. ‘Going at it hammer and tongs, eh?’ The chuckles got louder until she bent her head to her hands, and collapsed with laughter. ‘You’re right!’ she said. ‘Going at it hammer and tongs. I couldn’t have put it better myself.’

  Daisy looked up, amazed to hear the mistress laughing like that. ‘Sorry, ma’am, but you did ask me to be honest.’

  With tearful eyes and aching sides, Ada looked at her. ‘I did, of course I did, and so you were.’ And she began giggling again.

  Then Daisy started giggling, and was so mortified she quickly took control of herself and stifled the laughter until later, when she would let it all out in the kitchen where nobody could hear.

  In a calmer voice, albeit trembling from the ever-rising giggles, she asked, ‘Is that all you wanted, ma’am?’ With difficulty, she cleared both her throat and the giggles. ‘Only I need to get on, or the master will be snapping at my heels.’

  Feeling more alive than she had done in ages, Ada took a deep, sobering breath. ‘Daisy Morgan, you’re such a treasure. What would I do without you?’ She took stock of the young girl; envying her in one way, admiring her in another.

  Oddly uncomfortable beneath the old lady’s eyes, Daisy wondered what she was thinking.

  ‘You’re a good girl,’ Ada told her. ‘I only wish I’d made you housekeeper instead of that little gold-digger.’

  Daisy blushed. ‘Thank you, ma’am, but I’m not ready for that kind of responsibility yet.’ At eighteen years of age, Daisy was a mere slip of a thing. Her big blue childish eyes, and straight brown hair parted with a clip on the side of a ragged parting, made her look years younger than her true age. She was trustworthy and obliging, and Ada meant what she said. If she had known how the other was going to turn out, she would have given Daisy the opportunity to prove herself worthy of a housekeeper’s position. But no matter, because there was still time, she thought.

  Leaning forward, Ada lowered her voice to a more intimate level. ‘Will you do something for me, lass?’

  ‘I’ll do my best, ma’am.
’

  ‘It’s not a difficult thing I’m asking,’ Ada explained. ‘It’s just that, well, with my old legs the way they are, and what with being confined to this room, I can’t do it myself, you understand?’

  ‘You can rely on me, ma’am.’

  ‘Good! Now then, Daisy, I need you to run an errand, but no one must know – certainly not either of those two.’ She grabbed the girl’s arm. ‘Can you do that for me, dear? Can you get out of the house without them seeing you?’

  ‘I can do that, ma’am.’

  Growing excited, Ada pointed to her dresser. ‘Fetch me that writing paper and a pen,’ she said. ‘You can set about your work here, while I write a short note.’

  A few minutes later the note was written. After sealing it inside the envelope, Ada called the girl away from the window where she was busy dusting the sill. ‘Put it straight into your pocket,’ she instructed, fearing the door could fling open at any moment to admit her son, or the other one. Ada watched while Daisy tucked it neatly inside her apron pocket. ‘Take it soonever you’re finished with your duties. You mustn’t lose a minute, Daisy, not a minute!’

  ‘No, ma’am.’

  Before she left, Daisy had a word or two of her own to impart. Collecting the tray from the small table, she respectfully noted, ‘You didn’t eat your supper, ma’am.’

  ‘I wasn’t hungry.’

  ‘If you don’t mind me saying, ma’am, it’s not good to go without your food.’

  Ada smiled. ‘I’ve lived a long and busy life, and never worried about what was good or bad for me. But thank you all the same, Daisy. It’s nice to know somebody cares.’

  Daisy blushed with pleasure. ‘I’ll be back up with your breakfast tray in ten minutes,’ she promised. ‘Crunchy toast, and eggs well-boiled the way you like them.’

  Ada shook her head. ‘No, dear. I don’t want any breakfast. All I want is for you to deliver that note.’

  ‘I will, ma’am.’

  ‘Don’t cut short your duties though. Finish whatever you have to do and sneak out. I’ll cover for you if you’re suddenly missed.’

  ‘Thank you, ma’am.’

  ‘Whatever happens, you are not to mention the note to anyone.’

  ‘No, ma’am.’

  ‘Go on then, child. Be quick about it.’

  * * *

  So quick about it was Daisy, that she almost fell headlong down the stairs when the master’s command caught her unawares. ‘Where the devil are you rushing off to, girl?’ Up and dressed, Peter Williams discreetly closed the bedroom door behind him. ‘I hope the fire’s lit and the breakfast ready.’ He rubbed his hands in anticipation of a good meal.

  Trembling at the knowledge that she had in her pocket a secret between herself and the mistress, Daisy answered in a surprisingly cool voice, ‘It’s warm as toast in the dining room, sir,’ she told him. ‘And breakfast is all ready for dishing up.’

  ‘Wonderful!’ His sharp, suspicious eyes raked her face. ‘What’s wrong with you?’ Coming down the stairs two at a time, he paused alongside her, his searching gaze sending a shiver through her. ‘What’s that you’ve got there?’

  ‘What do you mean, sir?’ She felt herself shrinking inside. Oh God! Her heart turned over. He must have seen the letter. But how could that be, when she’d pressed it deep down inside her pocket?

  ‘The tray, you silly girl. Whatever’s the matter with you?’

  Relief flooding through her, Daisy answered with a desperate smile, ‘It’s the mistress’s supper-tray, sir, and not a crumb eaten, as you can see.’

  ‘Is she ill?’ Dead would be better, he thought cruelly.

  ‘No, sir. She just wasn’t hungry.’

  He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Oh well, if Mother chooses to starve herself, who am I to intervene?’ With that he ran on ahead. Having satisfied one appetite, he was about to satisfy another. ‘Hurry up, girl!’ His voice sailed back to her. ‘I’m as hungry as a hunter, and I’m in no mood to be kept waiting.’

  ‘Hmh. You’re a pig, you are!’ Out of earshot, Daisy could say what she liked, and she did. Marching into the kitchen, she emptied the tray onto the wooden draining board. ‘I ought to poison his fried eggs, then we’d all get some peace – some sleep too, I shouldn’t wonder.’ In fact, she wondered how she could look him in the face and not recall the noises and grunts of last night, and then again this morning. ‘Hammer and tongs,’ she chuckled. ‘It’s a wonder the bed isn’t in bits after that little lot!’

  When her imagination began to run riot, she dashed into the scullery, shut the door and laughed out loud, knowing full well she couldn’t be heard, not through these thick walls.

  * * *

  In no time at all, the breakfast was served – a full dish of eggs, bacon, sausages and tomatoes for the master, along with fried bread and heaps of thick buttered toast.

  ‘I don’t know how you can eat such a pile of food!’ Having set Daisy a list of duties in the kitchen, Ruth had taken a moment to peer in and peck her lover on the cheek. ‘Especially not after last night, and more especially after this morning.’

  Enraged, he thrust her away. ‘Get out, you bloody fool! I’ve told you… what goes on between the sheets is one thing, but I am still master in this house and you, like Daisy, are an employee.’ Peter’s smile was evil. ‘So you see, my dear, my place is here, enjoying my breakfast, and yours is in the kitchen, doing whatever it is you’re paid to do.’

  Looking down at his plate, he forked up half a sausage and rammed it into his mouth. Waving the fork at her, his partly-chewed food spitting out across the table, he gave the order. ‘Didn’t you hear me? I want you out of here… NOW!’

  Hating him with all her heart and soul, Ruth Clegg departed the room. Out in the hall, she leaned on the coat-stand. ‘You bastard! You arrogant bastard!’ she seethed, her voice low and trembling.

  After a while, she calmed down. Raising herself to her full height, she admired her reflection in the mirror. She was the image of youth and beauty… slim and shapely, her green eyes alight with fury, and her wild red hair framing a perfectly formed face.

  ‘Come on now, Ruth,’ she told herself encouragingly, ‘you’ve got the bugger where you want him. You’ve nothing to worry about where he’s concerned.’

  Her gaze travelled up the stairs towards Ada’s room. ‘She’s your problem,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘As long as he gets his fair share, the son should be easy enough to deal with, but not that one. That old boot’s as tough as they come, and sharp as a tack with it.’

  She chuckled. ‘Been around, by all accounts, has old Ada Williams. Had a few enemies – and seen ’em off, I’ve no doubt. But she ain’t come up agin somebody like me afore, I’ll be bound.’

  After preening herself, she strode into the kitchen where Daisy was wiping Ada’s supper-tray; the untouched food was on the draining board waiting to be put out to the midden. ‘What’s that?’ Ruth poked at the plate with a fork. ‘The old biddy didn’t even touch her supper, did she?’

  When Daisy was slow to answer, she took her by the ear, making her wince. ‘I didn’t realise you were deaf!’ she shouted.

  ‘Yes, miss!’ Daisy’s ear stung. ‘It’s the mistress’s supper gone cold. She wasn’t hungry.’

  ‘Hmh! More like she thought I’d poisoned it.’ With a cruel twist of her wrist she flung Daisy aside. ‘When you’ve cleared the breakfast things and finished in here, get upstairs and change the master’s bed.’

  ‘Yes, miss.’

  ‘After that, you’d best get on and polish the tiles round the sitting-room fireplace. They’re a disgrace!’ With that she flounced out, leaving Daisy making a rude face behind her; until Ruth suddenly turned to glare at her, when Daisy gave a weak smile. In that moment she wished the earth would open up and swallow her.

  * * *

  Slipping on her clean nightgown after washing at the basin, Ada instantly recognised the tap on the door. ‘I’m not to be disturbed right now,’ she an
swered sharply. But Ruth came in anyway.

  ‘Oh dear, I am sorry,’ she lied. ‘I didn’t realise you were dressing.’

  ‘Hardly dressing!’ Ada flung her robe round herself. ‘I won’t be confined to this room for very much longer,’ she said, tying the robe at the waist. ‘I’ve felt so much better these past few days. Indeed, I half expect I’ll be able to venture down to the sitting room tomorrow, or the day after.’ The sooner the better, she thought, before the pair of them laid claim to everything she owned.

  Boldly closing the door behind her, Ruth offered the old lady a hand to help her back into bed. ‘You may feel better,’ she said, ‘but you must still be careful. You know how many times that hip has let you down.’ She gave a small wry laugh. ‘We can’t have you falling down and breaking bones, now can we, eh?’

  Thrusting her away, Ada gave her a damning glance. ‘I’m not getting back into bed, not yet anyway. Daisy will help me in, when she comes back to change the sheets.’ With that she sat in the chair, her face grey with pain. ‘I’d like you to leave now.’

  But Ruth remained where she was. ‘I spoke with Daisy in the kitchen just now,’ she told Ada, scowling. ‘I’m very angry with you… with both of you!’

  Thinking of the letter and its damnable contents, Ada’s heart skipped a beat. ‘What’s the poor girl guilty of now?’

  ‘It seems you didn’t eat your supper?’

  ‘That’s right.’ She was so relieved she could have cried out. Instead she carried the deception bravely. ‘I didn’t eat my breakfast either. Did she tell you that?’

  ‘I see. And may I ask why?’

  ‘You may ask, but you’ll get no answer. I eat, or I don’t eat. That is my privilege.’ Wishing to God she had the strength to get up and give this brazen young woman the hiding she deserved, Ada told her sharply, ‘I think you must not have heard. I asked you to leave my room.’

  That was the second time this morning she’d been told to leave the room. Choosing to ignore her, Ruth put her hands on her hips, and peered down at Ada like a mother might peer at a naughty child. ‘Lost our appetite, ’ave we?’