‘Oh, Nell. What’s mine is yours. What’s the good of me having money if I can’t help you when you need it most? I’m going to say that to him when he comes. Would you mind if I did? He must let me help more, it’s the least I can do.’
‘You say it, lass. If you can persuade him to accept help, I’ll dance a jig. It’s funny ’cos me and Toby are all right, I mean we are, really, but he don’t see it like I do. To me the bairns are more important than anything, but his pride . . . But then all the men are the same. Well, most of them.’
‘But this isn’t like charity or accepting help from virtual strangers. We’re flesh and blood, family.’
‘I don’t know what we would have done without what you send for the bairns, Eve. It’s helped me pay a bit off the back of the rent now and again, enough to stop us being put out. The Lees were evicted a month ago, living rough by the old quarry, they are, but they won’t be able to keep that up with the cold weather coming. It’ll be the workhouse. The Crofts went in last week and her with a newborn baby. Pitiful, it was.’
Eve let her sister talk, sensing Nell needed to spill out her fears and worries. Nell was so strong for the children and for Toby too, but she couldn’t constantly keep everything bottled in. Nell talked for nearly half an hour but at the end of it she looked brighter. It was then she said, ‘Toby can sleep on the settle tonight, lass. You can bed down with me.’
‘It’s all right.’ Eve took a deep breath. She had a good idea what Nell was going to say next. ‘I’m staying at the inn.’
Nell’s face straightened. ‘No, lass. Oh no. Have some sense. Don’t start that, seeing him.’
‘It’s all right,’ she said again. ‘It was my decision. Mrs Ramshawe told me about Caleb selling up and, well, to be truthful, I had to see him, Nell. I know you think I’m daft but I can’t help it.’
‘I do think you’re daft,’ Nell said flatly. ‘The man’s poison where you’re concerned. Rat poison, in my opinion.’
‘That’s a bit strong, lass.’
‘Look here, Eve—’
Whatever Nell had been about to say was cut short by the sound of a knock at the back door. It was thrust open to reveal Toby being supported by two other miners. He had dried blood over his face and one eye was closed, the flesh so distorted on that side of his face it was like a football. But it was the state of his right leg that brought Nell to her feet, moaning, ‘Toby,Toby.’ His trousers were in shreds below the knee and the bone of his leg was sticking through his flesh.
The miners carried him to the settle, one saying, ‘It was the law, lass. Great big so-an’-sos on horse-back. They were waiting for us an’ we never stood a chance. Peaceful march, it was, but they weren’t having it.’ Toby said nothing. He had passed out.
Once they had laid Toby gently on the settle, the two men straightened. They were both bloody, one had a gaping flap of skin hanging down from his cheekbone. Nell knelt at Toby’s side, her face awash with tears.
‘They went berserk, Nell. Some of the lads had brought their wives along, but men or women, they didn’t care. Leathering into us with their truncheons and the horses trampling folk down. Lonnie’s been arrested and a couple of the other lads.’
‘He would never let me go on the marches,’ Nell whispered. ‘He said they were no place for women.’
‘He was right an’ all. That’s been proved the day.’
‘How did you get back?’ She raised her head. ‘You didn’t carry him all the way from Boldon?’
Both men nodded. ‘Aye, lass, what else?’ the first one said. ‘Look, that leg’s bad, you’ll need a doctor.’
Eve had been standing with her hands pressed over her mouth. Now she roused herself to say, ‘I’ll see to it. Can-can I get you a drink?’
‘Aye, lass. Mine’s a double whisky,’ said the man who was doing all the talking with grim humour. ‘Look, we need to be away, Nell. Me brothers were on that march and we all lost sight of each other with what was going on. I want to check they’re back and everything’s all right.’
‘Aye, aye, you go, Joe. An’ thanks. Thanks, Ronald. I’m grateful. You’re good pals to Toby.’
‘It’s nowt, lass. Toby’d do the same for us.’ When the door closed on the two men, Eve knelt down by her sister. ‘I’ll get a doctor. Do you want me to help you first? Shall I get some hot water and disinfectant?’
Nell’s face was chalk white.‘He’s unconscious, Eve. What if that blow to his head has done for him?’
‘He’s fainted with the pain. Do you hear me, Nell? He’s going to be all right but I need to go for the doctor. Look, I’m going to wake Matthew.’ At eleven Matthew was a chip off his father’s block and very protective of his mother. ‘He’ll come and sit with you until I get back.’
Nell made no answer but when Eve came downstairs with a sleepy Matthew, Toby’s eyes were open and Nell seemed to have pulled herself together. ‘Hello, Eve,’ Toby said weakly. ‘Bit of a to-do, this.’
‘I’m going for the doctor, Toby. You need to get your leg seen to. I won’t be long but just lie still.’
‘No, no doctor. I don’t want no doctor, I’ll be all right.’
Eve stared into the grey face of her brother-in-law. ‘If you don’t have a doctor you’re likely to lose your leg,’ she said steadily. ‘Do you understand me? If you do nothing else for your family for the rest of your life, Toby Grant, do this for them now. Let me help you. I have more money than I will ever need and apart from my son, Nell is my only flesh and blood. Who knows but that I was meant to marry Howard for just this moment? Please don’t shut me out.’
He closed his eyes. ‘You’re a good woman.’
‘Howard used to say I was too bossy.’
When he opened his eyes she was smiling at him. ‘Aye, well that aside . . .’
‘I won’t be long.’ She pulled on her hat and coat and hugged Nell who was crying again. ‘I’ll be as quick as I can.’
‘There’s a new doctor, Eve.’ Nell followed her into the hall. ‘The old one retired a few years back. This one’s Dr Hogarth and he lives two doors up from the police station.’
Eve flew down Spout Lane but as she reached the square, she hesitated and then detoured into the inn yard. In the kitchen, she said to a surprised Ada, ‘Would you go and fetch Caleb for me? Tell him it’s urgent. It would cause less interest if you go in, Ada.’
Caleb was back with Ada in seconds and she swiftly put them in the picture, adding, ‘Would you go to Nell’s, Caleb? Toby’s leg’s bad and I think it would be good for another man to be there. I don’t know what the doctor will want to do.’
They left the inn yard together, Eve to fetch the doctor and Caleb running in the direction of Nell’s house.
Thankfully Dr Hogarth was at home. His wife showed her into a small room off the hall which was furnished as a waiting room, but she didn’t have to wait more than a few moments. He proved to be a young man with the broad physique of a labourer rather than a professional man. She quickly acquainted him with the facts and even as she talked he was reaching for his black bag to which he added a few bits and pieces. He left the house with her, and as they walked she said breathlessly, ‘Please do whatever is necessary, doctor, regardless of expense. I shall meet the bill immediately you present it.’
‘And you are?’
‘Nell’s - Mrs Grant’s sister. My name’s Eve Ingram.’
‘Right. And Mr Grant got knocked down by a runaway horse.’
For a moment Eve didn’t understand. ‘No, doctor, I told you. They were on a march and—’
‘I have to report any injuries as a result of conflict with the law during this strike, Mrs Ingram. A runaway horse is a different matter. Accidents with horses happen all the time.’
She was trotting to keep up with his long legs but flashed him a grateful smile. ‘It was a horse that did the damage, doctor.’
‘I thought so. They can be lethal when they run wild.’
It proved to be a long night.
When Dr Hogarth had examined Toby, he pronounced he was not at all happy with the nature of the break and the injury to surrounding tissue. He had a colleague with a private practice on the outskirts of Gateshead who was the man for this job. He would telephone him and inform him he was bringing Mr Grant to see him tonight if Mr Travis could assist him.
Mr Travis could.
Within a short while Nell had cleaned Toby up as best she could after Dr Hogarth had given him a strong painkiller and fixed the leg in a splint for the journey. The doctor would not allow him any food or drink because he was almost certain the patient would need an anaesthetic. If it was possible, Toby went even greyer at this point. Once the doctor had brought his car to the front door, he and Caleb carried Toby out of the house. Eve and Nell stood on the doorstep with Matthew and watched the car disappear from view.
‘Oh, Eve, lass, this is going to cost a packet.’ Nell was wringing her hands as Eve closed the door and led her sister into the kitchen. ‘I’ll pay you back somehow.’
‘Don’t even think about that, I can afford it, Nell.’ She didn’t add that since being back in Washington she had almost felt ashamed of her wealth when she saw how Nell was placed.
Once Matthew had gone back to bed, the two women sat in front of the fire talking quietly and dozing a little. At one point just before dawn, Eve got up and made a pot of tea. As they drank their first cup, she said, ‘You know, lass, it’s occurred to me that this might be a blessing in disguise.’
‘It’s a darn good disguise then.’
‘Hear me out. Reading between the lines of what Dr Hogarth said, I can’t see Toby being able to go back to crawling along tunnels on his belly even if his leg does heal well.’
‘And you call that a blessing, lass? I wouldn’t want to be involved in what you’d term a disaster.’
‘But perhaps it’s time for him to do something different. For you both to do something different. What I mean is, I’ve been thinking for a while now that I can’t stand Newcastle much longer, and this lock-out and the way Howard’s friends, our social circle, reacted, showed me I’ll never fit in there. I don’t think I’ve ever really wanted to but I made the effort for Howard and the boys. I knew Howard wanted Oliver and Alexander to follow him into the business and move in his circles, but it’s different now. I’ve sold the business, it’s gone.’
Nell peered at her sister, her mind momentarily diverted from Toby. ‘What are you saying exactly?’
‘Exactly?’ Eve grimaced. ‘I don’t know. But I do know I want to be with folk like Mr Hutton and Tilly and you and Toby, and not the likes of Annabelle Sheldon and Verity Alridge. I suppose in the back of my mind I’ve been thinking of buying a big place that can be converted into a school as well as a home, for bairns like Tilly and maybe those who have lost their da in the war and their mam’s unable to look after them. Or orphans. There’s plenty of those about. But I’d want a place where there’s ground to build workshops and things, so I could employ people to teach the bairns a trade if they’re so inclined. Academic opportunities in the school but for those who are good with their hands more practical instruction once they’re old enough to leave the school. And they could make things to sell while they’re learning so the place could be productive financially. And we could grow all our own vegetables, keep our own hens and pigs and cows. Even set up a market garden and sell produce. The place would be run on the same principle as the Co-op, everyone a part of it together, but it would be a big family.’
She stopped for breath. She hadn’t realised all this had been bubbling inside her for months.
‘Blimey, lass,’ said Nell. ‘You don’t do things by half.’
‘It could work. I know it could work.’
‘It’d cost a fortune.’
‘I’ve got it, Nell. I’m what I suppose you could call a financially independent woman of considerable means.’
Nell smiled as she was meant to. ‘And you see me and Toby fitting into this set-up?’
‘I don’t suppose I had before tonight,’ Eve said honestly. ‘But this accident, well, it makes you think.’
‘Aye, you’re right there. It does.’
They stared at each other. ‘It would need some cottages separate from the school for workers who had families like you and Toby, and me and Alexander, but there’d be other staff who would live in the home itself all the time.’
‘So it would be like a little community?’
‘Aye, I suppose so, but one which prepared the children for the outside world. Think of it, Nell. Bairns who had nothing and nowhere to go being loved and cared for. Oh, I know it would only be a drop in the ocean when you think about Newcastle and Gateshead’s dockside tenements and the workhouses and the brothels.’
‘Not for the bairns who would come under its protection, it wouldn’t,’ said Nell softly. ‘For them it would be home.’
Somehow Nell’s words panicked her. ‘It would be an enormous undertaking.’ Could she do it by herself ? If she had been contemplating something like this with Howard at her side, it would have been different. Could she, a woman on her own, take on the responsibility for so many lives, bairns and adults alike? She had Alexander to consider, after all. But what use was her money in the bank? It just gathered interest and made more money, it didn’t do anything. There were so many Tillys, so many bairns like she and Nell and Mary had once been. Desperate, afraid. ‘I’d have to look into it properly but it’s something to think about.’
It was just after seven o’clock when Caleb tapped at the back door and walked in. Eve had finally persuaded Nell to go and lie down a little while ago, and the children were still asleep, worn out by their work in the fields the day before. It was a beautiful autumn morning, mellow and warm, and Eve felt more tired than she could ever remember feeling.
It was the first thing Caleb said. ‘You look tired.’ ‘I am. How is Toby?’ She had just made yet another pot of tea to try and keep herself awake and, without asking, she poured Caleb a cup.
‘Asleep.’ He ran his hand round his face. His chin was bristly and his hair tousled. ‘It was a long old business. Dr Hogarth assisted this friend of his and all I could do was wait. It wasn’t just one break, apparently. Coming back, Dr Hogarth said anyone other than his friend would have amputated. The knee was damaged and,’ he took the cup from her, ‘it was a mess. But this friend is a marvel, apparently. Recently qualified and as keen as mustard. Rich father, which helps.You ought to have seen his place.’ He took a long sip of the tea, scalding hot as it was. ‘He said Toby will always have a stiff leg but at least he will have his leg.’
Eve stared at him. She wondered why it was that a woman looked tired and that was all she looked, whereas on a man it made him doubly attractive. On Caleb, at least. Trying to concentrate her wandering mind, she said, ‘Where is he? Toby?’
‘Still there. This bloke wants to keep an eye on him for a day or two. I think it’s some kind of hospital, private like, for the toffs but,’ he shrugged,‘Dr Hogarth said this bloke thinks he’s an interesting case. Because of how bad it was. Gave him a chance to try out a couple of things.’
‘But Toby will be all right?’ she asked with faint alarm.
‘Aye. Aye.’
‘What is it? What are you looking like that for?’
‘He won’t be able to go down the pit again, Eve. I don’t know how he’ll take that when he knows.’
Perhaps it was because she was so exhausted that in her relief she didn’t think about what she was saying. ‘Is that all? Oh, I think we can get round that. Nell and I have been talking and I want to—’
Her voice was cut off abruptly as Caleb got to his feet so suddenly his chair skidded on the flagged floor. ‘Is that all? All? Have you considered that he might not want to be beholden to you for the rest of his life? You come here in your fine clothes flinging your money about like Lady Muck.’ He drew in a deep, ragged breath. ‘Oh, to hell with it. Tell Nell I’ll be along this afternoon about three. She
can go and visit Toby then.’
Eve had gone white. ‘Caleb, I didn’t mean - Nell and I had been talking, that’s all, and I was trying to reassure her that if the worst came to the worst I’d got a plan in mind.’That sounded worse. ‘Something that would still give Toby his dignity,’ she said desperately. ‘I wouldn’t be giving them money. It’s not like that, really.’
‘It’s none of my business, Eve.’ His eyes were black and hard. ‘I’ll be along later.’
He saw a quiver pass over her face as he turned away but he did not hesitate, continuing out of the door which he shut quietly behind him. Out in the back lane he walked a few yards before stopping. It was very quiet, there were no bairns playing out yet. He stood staring at the dusty rutted ground beneath his boots and then lifted his eyes up to the blue sky. There was a faint smell from the privies at the end of the terraced yards but the sky was high and wide and clean looking. A bird was drifting on the air currents far above him, circling lazily and then gliding on, free and untroubled.
What had he had to say that for? He remembered the look on her face and groaned. Of course she would want to help Nell, that was her nature, it was nothing to do with how much money she had. She had been the same when she’d had nothing. And it was time to face something. Knowing Eve as he did, she would have married her husband for love. And that was what stuck in his craw. If she had married him for money he would have found that easier to come to terms with. So what did that make him?
He began to walk. He didn’t like what it made him. He knew he had faults but he had never considered himself a small-minded man before this moment. Stubborn, aye, and arrogant on occasion, but never petty or small. And there was another thing. Loving her as he did, he ought to be able to say her wealth didn’t matter. Wasn’t love supposed to surmount all obstacles if it was true? Of course if the boot had been on the other foot as it always had been until she’d left Washington, if he had been the wealthier one, that would have been all right.That was how it was supposed to be. No one looked down on a woman for marrying a rich man.
Eve and Her Sisters Page 32