by Ellie Dean
Ruby watched the sea glisten in the hazy sun, not yet ready to face Peggy and Cordelia, even though it was to them that she’d returned in search of love and warmth and unfailing support. This was home, and Peggy’s Beach View the one place in the world where she might be able to begin again and look to the future – a future that until now had seemed so very bleak. She lit a cigarette and allowed the memories to return, of that moment when her life had begun to disintegrate.
The snow had been falling steadily ever since she’d kissed Mike goodbye and waved him off with his father as they’d set out for the logging camp. She’d known she wouldn’t see him until the spring thaw, and the silent white world had seemed to close in around her as the tree branches bowed beneath the weight of the snow, and icicles hung from the eaves of the log house.
If she hadn’t been so frightened for the baby she was carrying, she might have acknowledged how pretty it was, and how cosy it could be inside the house with the range fire glowing. But all she could think of was the fact the doctor was miles away, and if things went wrong, he might not be able to get to her, and she’d have to rely on Mike’s mother, Claudine, for help.
Christmas came with Mike’s gift of pearls, and a rare two-way radio call from him and his father to wish them a happy day, but the atmospherics made it difficult to hold anything more than a very brief exchange, so it had been most unsatisfactory, leaving her feeling more isolated than ever.
As the New Year had approached, she’d been almost six months pregnant, but suffering from what Claudine called ‘cabin fever’, so she’d wrapped up in thick coat, boots, gloves, hat and woolly scarf to go outside and fetch some small logs for the fire.
The air had been crisp and dry, but so cold it almost took her breath away, and as she’d glanced at the barometer hanging outside the door, she’d seen it was twenty-nine degrees below freezing – and yet the sky was the clearest blue, the sun making the snow blinding white in the glare.
The stack of wood the men had cut to see them through the winter was piled against the house at the end of the veranda which had been heavily gritted by Claudine just that morning. She’d edged carefully along, but suddenly her feet skidded and slipped on an icy patch, and before she knew it, she’d fallen awkwardly and hit the railing hard before tumbling down the steep flight of steps to land face first in the snow, the wind knocked out of her.
She’d thought at first that the soft landing might have saved her baby, but she was suddenly wracked by a terrible stabbing pain and she’d begun to scream for Claudine, her cries echoing in the dull, dead silence of the thick snow and surrounding trees.
Ruby blinked and tried hard to dispel the horrific memory of that day, but she knew it would live with her always. It had taken six hours for the doctor to arrive by husky-pulled sled, but by then her precious little girl had been stillborn. Ruby still felt the inconsolable pain of losing her, which merely stoked her abiding hatred for the white wilderness that had brought it about.
She stubbed out her cigarette, got to her feet and squared her shoulders, ready now to face Peggy, and explain her reason for coming back.
Peggy had been feeling the after-effects of the wedding for most of that Sunday, even though she’d brought Cordelia and Charlie home shortly after one o’clock in the morning. The copious amounts of rich, imported food and vodka meant that neither Peggy nor Cordelia were very hungry, and even Charlie had been satisfied with just soup and sandwiches for his lunch before he went off with Ron to visit Frank.
As it was the Easter school holidays, Anne was keeping Daisy with her until the morning, so the kitchen was peaceful that late afternoon. With the radio playing softly in the background, Peggy and Cordelia sat by the fire drinking tea.
‘I hope the happy couple aren’t feeling as tired as we are,’ Peggy said.
‘I shouldn’t think so,’ Cordelia replied. ‘They’ll be far too busy enjoying their honeymoon in the Cotswolds. Stanislaw told me he was going to fly them up there, but thank goodness Roger refused to let him and did the honours himself. The amount Stanislaw drank yesterday was enough to sink a battleship.’
Peggy giggled. ‘You didn’t do too badly yourself,’ she teased.
‘Well, it was a wedding, Peggy, and I got to rather like the taste of vodka.’
Peggy was about to reply when there was a knock on the door. She glanced up at the clock and frowned before dragging herself reluctantly out of her chair. ‘It’s a bit late in the day for visitors,’ she muttered.
She opened the door and was momentarily lost for words at the sight of Ruby standing there looking extremely well-to-do but exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes.
‘I’m ever so sorry to turn up like this so unexpected, Auntie Peg. Would it be all right if I stayed for a while?’
Peggy put her arms about her and held her close. ‘Oh, Ruby, darling, of course you can stay for as long as you like.’ She looked into her wan little face, noting the dullness of her eyes, and felt a pang of dread. Clearly the girl was deeply troubled. The questions were numerous, but they would have to wait. ‘Come in,’ she urged, taking one of the heavy cases.
Ruby stepped into the hall, put down her case and gazed round in astonishment. ‘Blimey,’ she breathed. ‘You really did do the place up, didn’t you? I thought it looked right smart outside, but this is really posh.’
Still fretting that Ruby’s solitary arrival boded ill, Peggy nevertheless shot her a smile. ‘You wait until you see the rest. But first, let’s get your coat off, and then we can sit down and have a cup of tea. Have you eaten?’
‘I ’ad a plate of pie and mash in London,’ she replied. ‘But a cuppa would go down a treat, Auntie Peg.’ She shrugged off her good quality coat to reveal a smart two-piece skirt and jacket, with a white silk blouse beneath it and a string of pearls around her neck.
Peggy made no comment on the expensive clothes, for they were merely another puzzle to be solved later. She led the way into the kitchen. ‘Look who’s here, Cordy,’ she said brightly. ‘Isn’t she a lovely surprise?’
‘Well, goodness me,’ gasped Cordelia, returning Ruby’s affectionate kiss of welcome. ‘Don’t you look the bee’s knees?’
Ruby smiled. ‘Not ’alf as smart as this kitchen,’ she replied, taking it all in. ‘But I’m glad it ain’t changed too much and you kept them old chairs.’ She perched on the edge of a kitchen chair, her pencil-slim skirt inching back to reveal slender, shapely legs clad in nylon stockings.
She opened her leather handbag and offered Peggy a cigarette from a silver case. Having lit them both with a matching lighter, she must have seen the others eyeing these expensive accessories with confusion, for she shrugged. ‘Yeah, smart, ain’t they? But they come at a cost, so don’t be envious.’
Peggy placed a cup of tea at her elbow and sat down next to her. ‘What happened, Ruby? Why haven’t you written back to us?’
Ruby took a sip of tea. ‘I didn’t write cos what I ’ad to say weren’t something to be told in a letter. I’m ever so sorry if you was worried, but things were happening so fast, I barely had time to breathe these last few months.’
Peggy took her hand, sensing that despite the girl’s outward show of calm, it hid a world of pain, and she needed to talk. ‘I’m just thankful you’re home, Ruby. Do you want to tell us what happened?’
Ruby sipped at the tea, the cup rattling in the saucer, her unsteady hand revealing her inner turmoil as she told them how she’d lost her baby. ‘Mike and I had decided on a name should the baby be a girl, so I called her Louise,’ she said finally. ‘Claudine and I buried her in the family plot behind the house, and said prayers for her as the vicar was too far away to get to us until the thaw.’
‘But surely Mike was with you, wasn’t he?’ asked Peggy sharply.
Ruby shook her head. ‘They had dogs and sleds, but there’d been an avalanche which they couldn’t get round.’ She took a shallow breath. ‘I really resented him for not being with me, and ranted and r
aved against him, the snow and the logging camp for keeping him away. All we ’ad to stay in touch were the two-way radio, and the signal were that bad, it were almost impossible to talk proper or hear what he were saying.’
She dipped her chin. ‘I’m ashamed to admit that I said a lot of hurtful things to him, even though I knew it weren’t his fault, but I was hurt and in terrible pain – I just needed him with me.’
‘Of course you did,’ murmured Cordelia, coming to sit on her other side. ‘You must have felt quite abandoned. But what I don’t understand is why he’s not with you now?’
Biting her lip, Ruby ground out her cigarette. ‘There was an accident at the camp. His dad reckons he was distracted cos of what were happening with me, and didn’t check the chain he’d used to hold a stack of timber they was hauling up on a crane to lift it to the riverbank. The chain snapped or came loose and the timber fell right on him.’ She took a quavering breath and closed her eyes. ‘He didn’t stand a chance,’ she finished softly.
‘Oh, Ruby, my dearest girl,’ gasped Peggy, clutching her hand. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
Ruby managed a fleeting smile which didn’t reach her eyes. ‘There ain’t nothing anyone can say, Auntie Peg. It’s what ’appens in a place like that.’ She clenched her fist, her expression hardening. ‘And I’ve never hated a place so much. It took everything I loved, Peg, and I couldn’t wait to get out of there.’
Peggy had no words to ease her awful pain but knew instinctively that Ruby needed her love and warmth and the assurance that now she was home, she’d never have to leave again. She drew the girl to her, expecting tears, and was surprised when Ruby remained dry-eyed during their long embrace.
Ruby finally drew back. ‘I ain’t got no more tears left,’ she explained. ‘But I knew I was right to come back to Beach View, cos it’s where I can start to make sense of it all and begin again.’
She brushed her dark skirt with her fingertips and gave a sigh. ‘Nothing and no one will ever replace them, but Mike left me with more than enough money to make my life much easier, so the days of working in a factory are over.’
‘Well, it’s good you can be financially independent,’ said Cordelia, drying her eyes. ‘But you’ll need to invest it wisely. I can put you in touch with the chap who advises me, if you’d like.’
‘Thanks, Grandma Cordy. I might take you up on the offer once I get me bearings again.’
‘I didn’t realise Mike had much to leave you,’ said Peggy, pouring more tea.
‘He didn’t before we was married,’ she replied. ‘But ’is dad made him a partner in the family business as a wedding gift. It’s big and very successful, with the logging, pulping, timber and paper mills and fleet of heavy lorries, so when Mike were killed, I inherited his third share.’
She reached into her handbag, pulled out a silver brandy flask and added a tot to each cup. ‘To help keep out the cold,’ she said lightly. ‘The freezing winter is still in me bones, and I reckon it’ll be a while before I ever really feel warm again.’
‘So you’re part owner of a huge business in Canada,’ murmured Peggy as she appreciatively sipped the alcoholic tea. ‘Won’t it be difficult to keep tabs on it from over here?’
‘I didn’t want nothing to do with any of it,’ Ruby said flatly. ‘So the minute the thaw come, I went to Quebec City and got advice on how much it were worth, and then sold my share back to Gerard and Claudine.’ Her smile was wry. ‘I think they was relieved, cos they knew I were never going to stay on without Mike, and it would ’ave complicated things.’
‘You’re very wise for someone so young,’ said Peggy.
Ruby shrugged. ‘I’ve had to think on me feet since I were a nipper, so it made sense to clear things up once and for all so I could come ’ome and start again without being tied to the past.’ She gave a deep sigh. ‘Though there’s still a tiny part of me in Canada, lying in the family cemetery – and it was very hard to leave them behind.’
‘Well, you take your time deciding what you’re going to do, Ruby,’ said Peggy. ‘You’re home now, so you can be a lady of leisure for a while and really think things over. You don’t want to be rushing into anything while you’re still grieving.’
Ruby smiled. ‘Oh, but I already know what I’m going to do,’ she said. ‘Mike and I talked about it when he realised how much I hated living in Canada, and before he left for the winter, he promised he’d talk to his dad about it.’
Peggy looked at her questioningly. ‘So you were planning to come back, even then?’
Ruby nodded. ‘We thought that if the Anchor were still for sale, we’d take it on.’
‘But you wouldn’t still do that, would you?’ gasped Peggy. ‘Not without Mike?’
Ruby grinned. ‘Rosie ran it on her own for years, and made a huge success of it. So why shouldn’t I follow in her footsteps?’ She squeezed Peggy’s fingers. ‘I need a challenge, Auntie Peg – something to take me mind off all what’s happened and be part of the community here again.’
‘Well, it will be all that and more,’ said Peggy. ‘And Rosie will be delighted to know you’ll be stepping into her shoes.’ She eyed Ruby’s leather high heels. ‘I see you’re already very well equipped in that department,’ she teased.
Ruby giggled and gave her a hug. ‘I’m ever so glad I’m ’ome at last, Auntie Peg,’ she breathed. ‘I’ve missed you something awful.’
Ron had gone out early with the dogs and Rosie was getting ready for the bank holiday rush at lunchtime that Monday morning, her thoughts on Ruby as she dried the last of the glasses and set them on the shelf below the bar. Peggy had telephoned the previous evening and told her of the double tragedy that had befallen Ruby, and had hinted that the girl had an interesting proposition to make to her.
It hadn’t taken Rosie long to guess what that proposition might be, but if Ruby was really serious about taking over the Anchor, then she deserved to know that the pub trade was in the doldrums, with shortages of rationed beer and spirits, the like of which hadn’t been seen since the Depression.
She heard the rap on the window and saw Ruby peering in at her from the pavement. As it was still some time before opening, she signalled to her to come through the side entrance and went to greet her. ‘Hello, love, Peggy told me you were back,’ she murmured, giving her a hug.
‘I expect she also told you why I wanted to see you,’ said Ruby.
‘Only in the vaguest terms,’ said Rosie tactfully. ‘Come into the bar so we can talk privately before I have to open up. Do you want a drink?’ Ruby shook her head and Rosie sat down. ‘So, what’s this proposal, Ruby?’
‘I’d like to buy the Anchor,’ she said without preamble. ‘I’ve worked here, so I know it’s a good, profitable pub with a steady local trade that increases over the holiday periods. What’s your asking price?’
Rose grinned, pleased the girl was so quick in coming to the point. ‘Two thousand pounds, including goodwill, the freehold, bar fixtures, fittings and furniture,’ she replied. ‘The stock would be extra, of course, and the upstairs furniture is something to discuss at a later date, but I’m willing to let it go for a fair price.’
‘That’s a bit more than I’m prepared to pay,’ said Ruby thoughtfully. ‘I was in London over the weekend and did a bit of poking about. The pub trade’s struggling at the moment, what with all the rationing and restrictions, and I’d need to see the books before I firmed up any offer.’
She eyed Rosie speculatively. ‘Would you consider one thousand five hundred?’
Rosie shook her head. ‘This place is worth more than that for the freehold alone.’ She regarded Ruby thoughtfully. ‘But as it’s you, I’d take one nine.’
Ruby grinned. ‘One six. Can’t say fairer than that, Rosie, seeing as ’ow it’s been up for sale since before I left.’
Rosie chuckled, admiring the girl’s nerve. ‘One thousand eight hundred, or we forget the whole thing.’
‘Tell you what, Rosie, why not spli
t the difference? One seven and we’ve got a deal.’ Ruby stuck out her hand.
Rosie knew it was a fair price, so she shook Ruby’s hand. ‘It’s a deal – and remind me never to negotiate with you again. You’re way too hard-nosed.’
Ruby laughed. ‘It takes one to know one,’ she replied. ‘How about that drink now to celebrate?’
‘And what is it you’re celebrating at this time of the morning?’ asked Ron, coming into the room with the panting dogs.
‘Ruby’s just bought the pub,’ replied Rosie, pulling three bottled beers from beneath the counter and collecting glasses.
‘Well, that’s grand, so it is,’ he said, sitting down and grinning at Ruby. ‘Has she told you the pitfalls of running a place like this, young Ruby? It won’t be easy on your own, you know.’
‘I’m hoping Brenda will still be around to help out,’ she replied. ‘If not, then I’m sure I can manage to find a part-timer who I can train up.’ She poured the beer expertly into the glass and raised it in a toast. ‘Here’s to the Anchor, and your retirement.’
The toast was echoed, but Ron didn’t look too happy about it.
‘Ach, retirement’s for old folk with nothing better to do, wee girl,’ he grumbled. ‘Rosie’s on the town council now and there’s talk of her becoming leader next year after the sterling job she did to keep the railway open. As for me, I shall no doubt be too busy doing up the wreck of a place Rosie’s had her eye on to be lazing away the days.’
Rosie smiled. ‘Ignore him, Ruby. You know how he likes to have a good moan about everything and anything.’ She glanced up at the clock as someone impatiently rattled the front door handle. ‘No peace for the wicked in this place, Ruby, as you’ll soon find out. Fancy lending a hand over lunchtime to get the feel of the place again?’
Ruby swiftly downed the last of her beer and picked up her handbag. ‘I thought you’d never ask,’ she said in delight.
Ron quietly sat in the corner of the bar with the dogs slumped at his feet and watched the two women working in harmony behind the bar. They made a pretty picture, he mused, noting how Ruby was like a younger, darker-haired version of his Rosie as she smiled, pulled pints and chattered to the customers. She was more than capable of taking over the reins from Rosie, and although Ron knew she’d have her work cut out at times, she would make a success of this new venture.