Forgotten Children

by Cathy Sharp

  ‘Let me through there. I’m a doctor …’

  Sally looked up as she heard a voice she knew. She felt the relief wash over her as she spotted Mr Markham and saw his quick nod of recognition as he knelt beside her and began to examine his patient. She saw how efficient and gentle he was, his calm air of assurance settling the frightened boy. He looked so vital, so handsome and clever and in control that she was filled with admiration; at St Saviour’s he was funny and friendly, always teasing the children, but here he was the cool, efficient doctor and she suddenly realised that he was the sort of man she wanted in her life.

  ‘That’s it, old chap,’ he said as the lad gave a little moan. ‘Let’s have a look at you – make sure nothing is broken.’

  ‘It hurts …’ the lad said. ‘My leg …’

  ‘Ah yes, I can see.’ Mr Markham ran his hands over the lad’s leg. ‘Yes, I can see you have done a bit of damage here. I think we shall have to get you to hospital … steady, let’s see if you’ve done any damage anywhere else.’ He carefully moved the lad’s head and nodded at Sally. ‘No real damage to the head or neck, that’s good, but we’ll give him an X-ray and make certain.’ He turned and looked at a police constable who had been speaking to the lorry driver and now came up to them. ‘We need an ambulance please, Constable. Can you phone St Andrew’s clinic and tell them Mr Markham asked for an emergency ambulance and to prepare theatre for the patient I am bringing in, please?’

  ‘Yes, sir. I’ll see to it right away, sir – and I’ll get rid of this crowd.’

  Mr Markham turned to Sally, who was holding the lad’s hand and talking to him. ‘What is worrying him?’

  ‘He’s bothered about his bike, because it belongs to the shop he works for and he’s afraid he’ll be in trouble for damaging it.’

  ‘Don’t worry about that, lad. Miss Rush will take it back for you and explain – won’t you?’ Sally agreed and the doctor smiled his approval. ‘There you are, nothing to worry about. Now can you tell me your name and where you live so we can inform your family where you are?’

  ‘Jimmy Noakes of Brick Lane, sir. I work for the butcher’s shop in …’ He swooned before he could name the street and Mr Markham looked at Sally. ‘Just as well. I wish I had my bag with me, but I didn’t bring the car. I hope that damned ambulance isn’t long. Do you think you can return the boy’s bike for him?’

  ‘It has the name of the shop printed on it,’ Sally said. ‘I’ll go as soon as you’ve got him in the ambulance.’

  ‘I hope you didn’t have anything special planned this evening? Not going out with that boyfriend of yours?’ He arched his brows teasingly. ‘No hot date planned?’

  ‘Keith is just a good friend. We’re not courting. I only see him now and then,’ she said and flushed, then remembered that Keith was taking her to the musical that night. Taking the boy’s bike to the butcher’s shop would make her late, but she couldn’t go back on her word now.

  ‘That’s all right then. Ah, I think I can hear the siren. We shall be on our way in no time at all.’

  Sally nodded, but didn’t reply. Knowing that without his help she would have been lost, she realised more than ever how much she wanted to do her nursing course. Sometimes saving life could be a matter of acting quickly and with resolution. Mr Markham hadn’t done very much, but he had made sure that the lad had no injuries to his spine or neck, and that could make all the difference because well-meaning people might have moved him and done irreparable damage. At least she’d been able to keep them at bay until he arrived, but how she wished that she had even a half of his skill …

  Sally tried to gather her thoughts as she hurried through the dark streets to return the delivery boy’s bike. She was getting quite a crush on Mr Markham and she really ought to stop now, while she could.

  Keith was just about to leave when she arrived home, and she knew at once he wasn’t pleased because she was late. The butcher had been so grateful to her for returning the bike and wanted to know all the details, and then his wife came in from the back and insisted on giving Sally a cup of tea. After she’d finally got away, Sally had run all the way but she was nearly an hour late and she could see by Keith’s face that he was furious with her for letting him down.

  ‘Where the hell do you think you’ve been?’ he asked as they stood on the pavement outside her home. ‘We’ll have missed the first half now and we shan’t know what’s going on. It’s hardly worth going at all …’

  ‘I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help it,’ Sally said. ‘There was an accident with a boy on a bike. He was knocked off and his leg was injured and …’

  ‘What has that to do with you? You’re not a bleedin’ nurse,’ he said and glared at her.

  ‘Not yet,’ Sally replied, her face white. ‘But I am a caring human being and naturally I stopped to help. Not that I could have done anything much – but Mr Markham stopped too and he was wonderful. The way he took control and calmed the child and then he ordered an ambulance and went to the hospital with him …’

  ‘So that’s the way of it.’ Keith’s look of jealous dislike shocked Sally. ‘You’d rather be with that bloody toff.’

  ‘I shan’t put up with language like that,’ Sally said. ‘Please go now, Keith. I don’t want to go to that show with you – and I think you should be ashamed of …’

  He moved towards her threateningly, and Sally flinched, thinking he might be going to hit her, but then the front door opened and her brother came out with his girlfriend. Keith looked at them, back at Sally, and then stormed off.

  ‘What’s wrong with him?’ Madge asked.

  ‘I stood him up because there was an accident to a young lad,’ Sally said. ‘Well, that shows what kind of a man he is, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Stay clear of him, love,’ her brother advised and kissed her cheeks. ‘Madge and me are on our way to the flicks – want to come?’

  ‘No thanks, I’ll find something to do,’ Sally said and laughed. ‘I don’t want to be a gooseberry.’

  She went into the kitchen. Her mother was washing the dishes and looked up with a lift of her brows.

  ‘Did you see Keith? He’s been here nearly an hour.’

  ‘Yes, I know.’ Sally explained why she was late. ‘I had to take the bike back, Mum. It might have got stolen – and they were so pleased.’

  ‘Yes, I expect so. It’s a pity your evening was spoiled, though.’

  ‘I don’t mind. I’m not sure I want to go out with Keith again anyway.’

  Sally went to change into a dress, thinking she might pop next door for a while and visit a friend, unless Brenda wanted to go out for a coffee. Just as she finished her hair, she heard a knock at the door and voices. Then her mother called her name and she went into the kitchen to see they had a visitor – one that made her heart race wildly.

  Mr Markham’s smile made her heart jump for joy and she looked at him uncertainly, waiting for him to speak.

  ‘I thought I would just let you know the boy is comfortable,’ he said.

  ‘Oh, good, I am glad. They were so pleased that I took the bike back.’

  ‘Yes …’ He looked at Sally’s mother. ‘I’m sorry if your evening was ruined.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter. I’ll find something to do.’

  ‘Why don’t I take you for a drink?’ he said. ‘If you’ve nothing better to do?’

  ‘Yes, I’d like that,’ she replied quickly, ignoring her mother’s frown. ‘I’ll just get ready …’

  Sally felt as if she were walking on air as she hurried to get her best jacket. She’d missed going to that musical but now she was going somewhere far better with a man she really liked and admired. She couldn’t help smiling as she rushed back and found him talking to her mother about the accident.

  ‘Don’t be late,’ her mother said sharply.

  ‘I shan’t,’ Sally replied, and looked regretfully at her companion as they went out. ‘I’m really looking forward to this … you can tell me all abou
t your books and how you started to write them.’

  ‘That will take five minutes,’ he said and smiled at her in a way that made her heart race. ‘I would rather talk about you, Sally. You can tell me about your ambition to be a nurse …’

  TWENTY

  Alice came off duty that Friday night to find Bob waiting for her outside St Saviour’s. He was wearing his Army uniform and smiled at her, then held out a bunch of flowers, looking a bit shy as if he felt daft for bringing them. His smile lifted her spirits, because she was dreading going home. Her parents had been at it hammer and tongs the previous night, yelling and screaming so much that the next-door neighbour had banged on the wall and told them to leave off. It was getting so that she felt desperate enough to run off and find herself somewhere else to live, but she knew she couldn’t afford it on her wages. She longed for an escape, somewhere exciting and new where people lived better lives than they did round here.

  She took Bob’s flowers with a smile, though she had no idea what to do with them, but it was lovely of him to buy them for her. However, she felt awkward because she’d started going with Jack and she hadn’t meant to keep Bob on a string.

  ‘They’re lovely, Bob,’ she said and sniffed at the chrysanthemums. ‘You shouldn’t have spent your money on me.’ She hesitated. ‘You didn’t get my last letter, then?’

  ‘Letter? No, I’ve been away on a course and I’ve got another coming up soon. I’ll be a highly skilled man one day, Alice. I might go into business myself when I leave the Army.’

  ‘What do you do exactly?’

  ‘I don’t talk about it much, but I’ve been learning to protect people.’

  ‘Oh …’ Alice hadn’t expected that answer and wished she hadn’t asked. She looked round warily. Jack normally waited for her much closer to her home, but she didn’t want to be seen with Bob, because Jack would be angry if he heard she’d been seeing his rival. She handed him back the flowers.

  ‘I’m sorry. I can’t take these, Bob. It wouldn’t be right. I wrote to tell you I couldn’t see you again. I’m with someone else now.’

  She was shocked by the look of disappointment she saw in Bob’s eyes. He must think a lot more of her than she’d imagined and for a moment she felt a sense of guilt but then it was gone, because Jack would be waiting for her. She would talk with him in the shadows for a while and he would kiss her, and then they would plan their future in America. Jack was full of plans. He was going to open his own club in New York and make their fortune. If only she could believe that, because she was desperate to get away from the home she’d begun to hate. When she was with him it all seemed possible and yet when she was alone the doubts crept in.

  Sometimes, Alice wondered if Jack’s dreams of getting rich in America would work, because she couldn’t see it all going as smoothly as he seemed to imagine, but perhaps he would find himself a job in a club and settle for second best. She knew he looked smart when he dressed in his good suits and wore shoes you could see your face in, and she believed that he could find himself a decent job somewhere – even if it was as a car salesman. He would be good at that, she thought, clutching at straws. Yes, he could find a job in America and they would have a nice house and a car … and the future he’d promised was so enticing that she tried to believe it would happen, though the sane, sensible side of her kept telling her it was all a pipe dream.

  ‘It’s that flash wide-boy I’ve seen you with,’ Bob said after a moment or two of silence. ‘You’re making a mistake if it’s him, Alice. Perhaps I’m too dull for you – but he’s bad news. If you get mixed up with him, you’ll be sorry.’

  ‘You don’t know him,’ Alice said sharply, feeling cross, because what right did he have to criticise Jack? ‘Besides, he’s going to change …’ She was about to say they were going away together when she remembered that it had to be a secret until Jack was ready to leave.

  ‘A leopard never loses its spots,’ Bob said. ‘Keep your flowers, Alice. I wouldn’t know what else to do with them – but I shan’t bother you again.’

  Alice took the flowers back and stood watching as Bob walked away. She didn’t know what to do with them either, because Ma didn’t have a vase to put them in and they wouldn’t fit into a milk bottle. She hesitated, then went back inside St Saviour’s and thrust them at the first person she saw, which happened to be Angela.

  ‘Would you like these?’

  Angela looked surprised. ‘They are lovely. Why don’t you want them?’

  ‘Someone gave them to me, but we don’t have anywhere to put them,’ Alice said ruefully. She couldn’t tell Angela she didn’t want Jack to see her carrying them. ‘Take them if you like. I shall leave them here otherwise.’

  ‘Yes, I will have them, thank you,’ Angela said. ‘I’ve been meaning to ask you if you would like to come to the pictures with Sally and me one night. Make it an all-girl night? I’ll ask Michelle too.’

  ‘Thanks. Yes, please,’ Alice said. ‘I don’t know when though. I’m going to a dance tomorrow. My … boyfriend is taking me somewhere nice.’

  ‘Oh, well, have a good time. We’ll arrange it when you can all come.’

  They left St Saviour’s together and Angela walked off down the street. Alice resumed her journey home. When she reached the spot where Jack usually waited, she saw that he wasn’t there and looked about thinking that he would pop out suddenly. She didn’t think she was late and she felt slightly uneasy, because it wasn’t like Jack to miss meeting her from work.

  After waiting for some minutes, Alice went home. She was only working in the morning tomorrow and she hoped she would see Jack on her return, because otherwise she wouldn’t know where to meet him that night.

  She was sorry that she’d had to let Bob down, because he’d looked disappointed – and hurt too. Alice felt guilty, which was daft, because she hadn’t promised him more than friendship … yet she still felt upset. In her heart she knew she was a fool to throw him over for Jack Shaw, because Bob would make a good husband, and she did like him – but he just wasn’t Jack.

  At Saturday lunchtime Alice left work and walked straight home, rather than going to the market as she often did on her half day. She’d decided to save her money for America. Jack was going to pay for their tickets, but Alice would need whatever she could manage to put by to take with her. She didn’t want to feel completely dependent on him … although a part of her still didn’t quite believe that it was all going to happen. Things like that did not happen to girls like her. Her sister would tell her not to be daft and so would Michelle.

  Jack was in his usual spot, leaning against the wall at the top of the lane. As she came up to him, she saw the dark bruise on his cheek and around his left eye.

  ‘Jack, what happened to you?’ she cried, her heart thumping. ‘Have you been in a fight?’

  ‘It looks worse than it is,’ Jack said defensively. ‘There was a bit of trouble at the club last night and I had to throw the culprits out – they didn’t want to go, but I won in the end. It’s usually Big Harry’s job, but he’s in the hospital … got knocked down by a car they say, though I reckon it was more than that …’ Jack saw her face and laughed, then winced. ‘Don’t look like that, Alice. I don’t normally get involved in fights. I’m Mr Nice Guy, believe me.’

  She almost believed him, because she wanted to believe he was better than everyone said.

  ‘Your face must hurt?’

  ‘You should see the other bloke’s,’ Jack said and grinned.

  ‘It wasn’t to do with … anything you’re planning?’

  ‘Nah, ’course not. They trust me, especially after last night. Someone tried to knife Butcher and I saved his life. I’m their blue-eyed boy at the moment, luv. Don’t worry, Alice. I’ll be careful. I’ve got everything to live for now – haven’t I?’

  ‘Yes …’ Alice shivered. ‘Are we still going out tonight?’

  ‘’Course we are,’ Jack said. ‘I don’t break my promises – not to you, Alic
e. Have you got something to wear?’ He grinned as she hesitated and took some money from his jacket. ‘Buy yourself a nice dress – from a shop, not the market.’

  She stared at the money, far too much of it and more than she needed for a nice frock for dancing. ‘I don’t want all that, Jack. You’ll need the money for the future.’

  ‘Don’t worry about money. I’ve got plenty put by. You don’t think I’ve worked for the Butcher all this time without making it worth my while?’

  Alice shuddered at the use of the thug’s name, because although no one could prove it people said he was a murderer. She’d never met him; Jack hadn’t taken her to the club and she didn’t mix in the world the violent thug belonged in, but she’d heard whispers. People said he looked like a country gent, but there was a scar on his face and she knew that even Jack was afraid of him. ‘Just give me two pounds, then,’ she said. ‘I can get a pretty dress for that – but you don’t have to give me stuff, Jack. All I want is for you to keep your word.’

  ‘Trust me,’ he said and thrust all the notes into her hand. ‘Keep it in case. You never know what may happen in the future, Alice.’

  She stuffed the notes into her jacket pocket, trying not to think what he meant, though she knew in her heart. If Jack hadn’t been strong and clever, he could have ended with a knife in his guts rather than a black eye.

  He was living a dangerous life and Alice felt a sick knot of fear in her stomach, because now that she’d let herself care about him too much, it would hurt her if anything happened to him. She’d begun to love him in a way she’d never dreamed she could and to believe in the life he’d sworn they would have if she went away with him. If anything went wrong, she didn’t think she could bear the disappointment. Jack had to keep his promise and take her away with him … he had to!