A Dream to Share

by A Dream to Share (retail) (epub)

  Deep in thought, Alice was halfway across the bridge when she was seized from behind and a familiar voice whispered against her ear. ‘Hello, Alice, fancy meeting you here.’

  She stiffened with fright, realising that she had done what Hannah had warned her against and let her guard down.’Let me go,’ she gasped. ‘Not until you give me a kiss. I’ve missed your kisses, Alice. The feel of your body pressed against mine,’ murmured Bert.

  She felt the blood rush to her face as he rubbed up against her bot­tom. For a moment she couldn’t breathe, and then she managed to stammer, ‘You – you’re mad! Let me go – go.’

  His breath stirred an auburn curl beneath the tiny rim of her felt hat. ‘It’s not me that’s crazy, sweetheart. It’s your family that’s tainted with madness. You would have had a jailbird for a father if they hadn’t locked him up in the loony bin. I reckon I had a lucky escape when you ditched me… even so you’re going to pay for the trouble you caused me.’

  She struggled wildly, lashing out at him. He caught her arms and clamped them to her sides, forcing her round to face him. To her amazement, he was wearing a balaclava, so she could only see his eyes and mouth. She saw the flash of his teeth in one of those smiles that had once had the power to charm her. ‘Do I frighten you, Alice? I’ve thought of joining Haldane’s volunteers and being taught to kill. Just think of that: A bayonet in the guts or a bullet in the head, which would you fancy?’ He put a hand to her throat and she felt sick with terror and tried to scream. ‘Don’t be silly. I’m not going to hurt you. I’d rather do other things.’ He whispered obscenely in her ear.

  She shuddered. ‘That’s disgusting. Let me go!’ He didn’t release her but instead rammed her against the side of the bridge. His hand slipped from her mouth and she managed to let out a scream.

  Then to her relief she heard a voice yell, ‘Hey, deaf lugs! You heard what she said… let her go!’

  Bert spun Alice round in the direction of the voice. ‘Well, are you going to let her go?’ demanded the young woman, silhouetted against the darkening sky, swinging a shopping bag. He did not move and she took several quick steps towards them.

  Bert released Alice so abruptly that she jarred her elbow on the bridge and pain shot down her arm to her fingertips. Astonished, she looked at him. He appeared to be frozen in his tracks. Then he made a noise in his throat before suddenly turning and running. Alice could scarcely believe he had been routed so easily and watched as he reached the end of the bridge and then disappeared beneath the trees along the Groves.

  ‘Blooming heck!’ exclaimed Emma. ‘I didn’t know I was so scary.’

  Alice began to laugh hysterically, and it was several moments before she managed to splutter, ‘You certainly frightened him the way you swung that bag. What have you got in it? A brick?’

  Emma shook her head. ‘You OK?’

  Gingerly Alice felt her elbow. ‘I hurt my funny bone but I can cope with that… but if you hadn’t come along I don’t know what I’d have done. Thanks!’

  Emma smiled. ‘Want me to walk with you?’

  ‘I’d appreciate that. Who’s to say that he mightn’t double back.’ Fear rose in her throat and she felt as if about to choke. She swallowed hard. ‘Bert’s one of those men who can’t take no for an answer.’ Alice took a deep breath because she was feeling shaky. ‘I was engaged to him once but I broke it off just before the wedding because I found out things about him that… that… well, they were bad. Now he’s out for revenge.’ She shuddered.

  ‘So that’s Bert,’ said Emma. ‘I knew about the engagement. I eaves­-dropped on your conversation in the cocoa house in Brook Street the first time I saw you.’

  ‘I see!’ Alice rubbed her arms. ‘Shall we make a move? It’s going to be dark soon and I’d like to get away from here.’ She began to walk towards Queen’s Park.

  Emma fell into step beside her. ‘Have you thought of going to the bobbies?’

  ‘My brother’s told them about him. Bert’s been sending threaten­ing, obscene letters to my sister-in-law. But we don’t know where he’s living so it makes it difficult to trace him.’

  ‘Would your sister-in-law be the bride you mentioned in the cocoa house last year,’ said Emma, hastening to keep up with her.

  Alice stopped and stared at her. ‘You have got a good memory. Yes! Hannah is my sister-in-law. She married my half-brother Kenny. My little sister Tilly lives with them in a house near the railway works.’

  Emma smiled. ‘Now there’s a coincidence. I come from Cornwall Street a few streets away. At the moment I’m living in Victoria Crescent a few doors away from the Waters’ house where you work. There’s another coincidence. I managed to get a well-paid, living-in job.’

  Alice’s brow puckered. ‘I’ve probably heard about you – and even seen you – but my head’s been in the clouds lately so I haven’t realised it was you. How long have you been there?’

  They had reached the other side of the river. ‘I came a few weeks before October. Pity we didn’t have the snow then, hey? The kids would have loved it.’

  Alice held a hand out as if to feel the snow falling and, as she did so, it suddenly stopped. ‘I doubt it’s going to last now for them to have any fun.’

  It was true, there was only the thinnest of covering on the ground, even so it was slippery underfoot and they were silent, watching where they stepped as they made their way up to Victoria Crescent.

  ‘He was wearing a balaclava,’ said Emma out of the blue. ‘Seems a bit daft when you recognised him anyway.’

  ‘Perhaps it was so other people wouldn’t recognise him,’ said Alice, glancing nervously behind her. ‘He said something about joining Haldane’s volunteers so he could be trained to kill… but perhaps that was only one of his sick jokes.’

  ‘Definitely doesn’t sound a nice bloke.’ Then she hesitated before adding, ‘How do you feel now? If you want to calm down a bit more before you go in, why don’t you come and have a cup of tea with me? Mrs Black is out at a meeting.’

  Alice was silent. She had once sworn she would never set foot in Mrs Black’s house. She knew that without the medium’s help, Kenny would never had been reunited with his Scottish relatives, but she could not forget her father’s association with the woman and how he had handed over money in his search for healing and forgiveness that should have been spent on his family.

  Emma peered into Alice’s downcast face. ‘You don’t like what she does, do you?’ she said dryly.

  ‘How d’you find working for her?’ asked Alice, lifting her head.

  Emma cocked an eyebrow. ‘I don’t get my bum pinched and I’m not going to get into the worst kind of trouble. I know people think what she does is wrong but she genuinely wants to help. I wasn’t sure at first, myself, but now I’m getting to know her I can see it’s true.’

  ‘I don’t want to know her,’ interrupted Alice sharply. ‘You need to watch what you eat and drink in her company. She gave my friend something and she almost died… and I know for a fact she killed some­one.’

  Emma leapt to her employer’s defence. ‘That’s slander that is! I know Mrs Black mixes herbal potions for some of her clients. She also lays hands on them and prays with them… but I’ve yet to hear anyone come back and accuse her of murder. But I suppose it’s early days and there might be a whole string of them out there.’

  Alice’s eyes glinted. ‘Very funny. But this victim lived a long way from here.’

  ‘What about your friend… does she live nearby? Has she accused Mrs Black to her face of trying to poison her?’ demanded Emma.”Cos I tell yer now I don’t believe you. Mrs Black doesn’t have to do what she does but believes God had given her a gift and she must use it to help others.’

  ‘God! How can that woman bring God into what she does?’ said Alice scathingly. ‘Trying to get in touch with the dead is the devil’s work and that’s all there is to it.’ On those words she walked away.

  Emma groaned as she watched Alice t
urn into the Waters’ gate, then made her way to Mrs Black’s house. Having believed she had found a friend, she was terribly disappointed.

  During the weeks that followed, Emma worried off and on about Alice’s accusations against her employer. She did not want to believe there was any truth in them and was concerned that if Alice were to repeat them, then not only would Mrs Black’s business reputation be damaged, but more seriously the accusation of murder would be report­ed to the police… and where would that leave her? She’d be out of a job. Eventually she decided to tell her employer about the incident. Mrs Black was about to set out for a meeting where the Rev. S Barnett was to talk about how he had made the leap from Methodism to Spiritualist lecturer. When Emma started speaking, Mrs Black stiffened in the act of easing on a tan coloured kid glove. ‘Alice Moran said all that? Did you believe her?’

  ‘I told her she had to watch what she said and that it was slander.’

  ‘And so it is, my dear.’ Mrs Black smiled sadly. ‘The trouble with Alice is that she’s always resented the part I played in her father’s life. He was and still is a very sick man. One of my failures, I’m afraid. The family suffered at his hands and she’s never forgiven him or me. He’s an inmate in Upton Asylum. I know one of the doctors there and he keeps me in touch about Malcolm’s condition. As for what she said about her friend…‘ She paused and took her handbag from the back of a chair. ‘Dear Hanny! I helped her at a difficult time in her life and I assure you that she was glad I did so. Does that satisfy you?’

  Emma nodded, relieved. ‘I thought there must be a reasonable answer. But d’you think you should warn Alice Moran against repeat­ing what she said about you?’

  Mrs Black looked thoughtful. ‘A solicitor’s letter perhaps. I’ll think about it. In the meantime, if you bump into her again, tell her that if she doesn‘t want to become like her paternal grandmother, then she must change her ways. Perhaps she should take her half-brother’s Christian faith as an example of how to behave towards people. He might not agree with the work I do but he believes that God is love as it says in St John’s gospel and that he should try and love all people. I believe it was Alice’s mother who instilled those principles in him.’

  After her employer had left, Emma had much to think about as she settled down to hem a dress she had bought from a second-hand stall in the market. She had just tacked up the hem when the doorbell rang. She put down her sewing, hoping it wasn’t a desperate client.

  To her amazement Alice stood on the doorstep. She had no coat on and was wearing a brown skirt and cream blouse; her auburn hair was loose about her shoulders and she looked lovely but tense. ‘I know I’m more than a bit late in doing this but I’ve come to say sorry,’ she blurt­ed. ‘You rescued me from Bert and I should have been more grateful.’

  Emma thought how strange that she should turn up on the step just after she and Mrs Black had been talking about her. ‘Thanks for the apology. Better late then never but don’t yer think you ought to take back what yer said about my mistress?’

  Alice’s brow clouded. ‘I’d like us to be friends… but that doesn’t mean that I’m not entitled to my opinion about Mrs Black.’

  ‘I wouldn’t argue with that,’ said Emma promptly, folding her arms and resting her shoulder against the doorjamb. ‘But you can’t go around calling people murderesses without getting yourself into trou­ble. It doesn’t do to judge people without really knowing them.’

  Alice pursed her lips and Emma thought she was going to continue with her accusations but then she said in desperate tones, ‘Kenny and Hannah have taken Tilly out for the day so I can’t unburden myself on them. I really need someone to talk to. We could go for a walk?’

  Emma did not feel like going for a walk. She had been on the go most of the day and her feet were aching. ‘No thanks, I’m tired. Why don’t you come in? Mrs Black’s gone to a meeting, so she’s not going to turn you into a toad or anything,’ she said with the hint of a smile.

  Alice hesitated, then shook her head. ‘No, I won’t if you don’t mind. You might think it’s a joke my feeling the way I do but I can’t take what she does so lightly.’

  Emma sighed. ‘I’m sorry. I do understand. I know that your dad used to come here in search of healing and wasn’t cured.’

  Alice’s hands curled into fists. ‘Is that what she calls what she did to him? Healing! I have another name for the kind of service she provides. She and my father together destroyed my mam.’

  Exasperated, Emma’s eyebrows snapped together, meeting above her nose. ‘I thought you said you were sorry? But if you’re going on about her again you might as well take back your apology and wait for the solicitor’s letter.’ She made to close the door.

  Alice wedged it open with her foot. ‘What d’you mean by that?’

  ‘I mean that you can’t slander people without proof and get away with it. Now shift yourself!’ Emma attempted to push her away.

  Alice swayed but grabbed the door and held her ground. ‘Why can’t you just stop sticking up for her? I want us to be friends. I need to talk about Bert. You know what he did.’

  ‘Do you realise you can be heard halfway down the road?’ interrupt­ed a terse male voice.

  Alice released her hold on the door and, turning, saw Seb. He pushed open the gate and strode up the path with an easy grace. Emma looked at him with interest. He was definitely worth a second look. ‘Mr Bennett, isn’t it?’ she said.

  ‘That’s right. Sebastian Bennett! And you’re Emma Griffiths if I’m not mistaken. I’ve heard one of the maids mention your name.’ He held out a hand.

  ‘Nice to meet you,’ she said, shaking it.

  ‘So what were you and Alice arguing about?’

  ‘That’s none of your business,’ said Alice, flushing.

  ‘Your shouting makes it my business.’ His dark eyes took in her appearance in a quick head to toe appraisal.

  ‘I don’t think I’ve got anything to say to you,’ said Alice, tilting her chin.

  ‘I suppose not,’ rasped Sebastian, the muscle of his jaw clenching. ‘You said it all when we parted.’

  ‘You mean the time you told me that you’d always love me?’ she said, her voice shaking.

  He whitened. ‘You didn’t want my love! It was you who walked away.’

  ‘What was the point of my staying? There were people who were more important to you,’ she cried.

  ‘That wasn’t true! You were jealous of anyone else who needed my attention. You didn’t trust me and refused to see my point of view.’

  ‘I was terrified of my father but you just couldn’t see how badly I felt.’ Her voice rose another octave.

  ‘There was no need for you to feel like that. I would have looked after you… but you never gave me the chance,’ he said heavily.

  Alice looked as if she had been slapped in the face.

  Emma decided this was the right time to intervene, having noticed they were collecting an audience. ‘Er-hem! I think the whole neigh­bourhood is starting to take an interest in your business,’ she said in a low voice. ‘How about coming inside and having a cuppa? You could try and sort this out.’

  ‘Sort it out! It’s too late for that,’ said Alice, her voice quivering. ‘He can’t wait to waltz off to America and see his ladylove. At least when he does I’ll have some peace again.’ She brushed past Sebastian and marched down the path, skirts swaying and her head held high.

  Emma glanced at Sebastian’s angry face. Both winced as Alice slammed the gate shut. ‘You’re not going after her?’ asked Emma ten­tatively.

  At first she thought he hadn’t heard her and then he laughed mirth­lessly. ‘After that parting shot? No! Lead me to the teapot.’

  She sighed. ’You don’t mind entering this house of sin then?’

  ‘Can’t wait to see what goes on inside, luv.’ She caught the hint of a Liverpool accent. ‘My Ma doesn’t have a good word to say about Mrs Black but, as far as I know, she’s never done her a
ny wrong.’

  ‘Come in then.’ Emma smiled and held the door wide.

  Seb stepped over the threshold, wiped his feet on the mat and fol­lowed her to the kitchen. Her mind was buzzing. She wouldn’t have been human if she wasn’t dying to know more about his and Alice’s past but guessed it was going to be nigh on impossible to broach the subject.

  She clicked on the electric light and Sebastian’s gaze wandered round the tidy and up-to-date kitchen. ‘Not what I pictured,’ he murmured.

  Emma chuckled. ‘What did yer expect? A cauldron over an open fire.’ She put on the kettle. ‘We have an electric vacuum cleaner. I tell you, there’s no flies on us.’

  ‘Mrs Black’s not short of money,’ observed Sebastian, pulling out a chair and sitting down. He was silent a moment, his brow knitted in thought, and then he sniffed. ‘Something smells good.’

  ‘I’ve been making scones. I’ll get to take some home to the kids. Mrs Black’s no skinflint,’ said Emma, taking crockery from a shelf. ‘She pays me well… something my mam’s glad about, I can tell you. I’ve five brothers and sisters that need feeding and clothing. I’ve another broth­er in the army. Our Chris. He’s abroad, hasn’t lived at home for years. Dad and he were always arguing, so he left home as soon as he finished school and went to Liverpool. We didn’t hear much from him for a while but now he writes regular. Dad’s a porter up at the General Station and doesn’t earn much.’

  ‘You’re the eldest girl?’

  Emma poured milk into two cups with an unsteady hand. ‘I had a big sister… she… drowned,’ she said with difficulty. ‘Mrs Black’s offered to try and make contact with her but I said no thanks. It’s something I baulk at despite having seen and heard things since working here that convinces me she has some sort of gift. You can tell that to Alice,’ she added absently, picking up a tin. Taking off the lid, she took out a scone and buttered it and gave it to him.