Riches to Rags

by Beryl Matthews

  ‘Nah, I’ve already told Mum and she agrees. Don’t you, Mum?’ When Agnes smiled and nodded, he said, ‘Mum said it’s a fitting way to thank you and Glad for what you did for us when my dad died. And if it wasn’t for you, Jen, we wouldn’t have got this job.’

  Ma touched Jenny’s hand. ‘Let them do it. They want to celebrate this bit of good luck.’

  ‘All right, but you must get only one portion of fish for Ma and me. We’ll share it.’

  ‘Oh, Jen,’ Ron said suddenly, ‘I nearly forgot, Mrs Stannard said would you pop in the hall some time. She’d like to see you.’

  ‘She might have a job for you as well.’ Jimmy couldn’t stop smiling.

  ‘I’ll go there tomorrow, and you’d better come with me, Ivy, just in case there’s work available.’ She saw the happy faces and marvelled at what a difference the chance to earn some money had made. Just for a little while they could enjoy the luxury of knowing they had a job and could share their good fortune with friends.

  As soon as Fred and Stan were home, Ron and Jimmy went to the fish shop in the next road, returning loaded with packets wrapped in newspaper. There was a glorious smell of crisp batter, and salt and vinegar on the piles of chips.

  There was much laughter as they gathered in Ma’s front room to eat their special treat, using fingers to pop the lovely morsels of fish and piping hot chips into their mouths. Ron had even bought a couple of bottles of beer, which he shared out between them, and milk stout for Ma.

  Jenny listened to the chatter and thought what a good couple of days it had been. Ma seemed her normal self again, and she had faced her aunt and Greaves, but this time surrounded by friends. They had left knowing they couldn’t control her now. Then had come the wonderful news that the centre was going to be open soon and that there were short-term jobs for Ron and Jimmy.

  It had been very good!

  23

  ‘I’ve just sold another car. That beautiful Lagonda you picked up the other day, Matt.’ Jake slapped him so hard on the back it nearly knocked him off his feet. ‘When you suggested this I thought you were crazy. But it’s working. Not only are we selling, but the people who buy are bringing them back for servicing and repairs.’

  ‘Ah, well.’ Harry wiped his greasy hands on a rag. ‘Your family know all about business, and if they were prepared to risk money in the venture, then it had a good chance of succeeding. And it looks like you’ve got another customer, Jake.’

  Their boss hurried off and began talking to a man inspecting the few cars they had in stock. In about fifteen minutes he was back, rubbing his hands and smiling broadly. Matt couldn’t help noticing how much younger he looked now the worry had lifted from him.

  ‘He wants a second-hand Rolls-Royce! Doesn’t care about the age, so long as it’s in first-class condition.’ Jake pushed Harry. ‘You and Matt get cleaned up and go out and find one. I told him we’d have one for him by tomorrow afternoon.’

  What!’ Matt stared at his boss in astonishment. ‘It’ll probably take longer than that just to track one down.’

  ‘It had better not. I gave the man my word.’ Jake chuckled and handed Harry an envelope with cash in it. ‘By the way, that was Lord Rollinton’s chauffeur. His lordship wants it as a twenty-first birthday present for his son. Don’t stand there with your mouths open, get moving, and don’t come back without one!’

  Matt and Harry collided as they both made a dash for the sink in the corner of the workshop.

  ‘Where the hell are we going to find a Rolls by tomorrow?’ Harry muttered as he scrubbed away at his hands.

  ‘God knows.’ Matt was trying to clean his hands in the same water as Harry. It was so black that the grease was clinging in a sticky mess all around the waterline.

  Harry pulled out the plug, ignoring the mess, and wiped his hands, throwing the towel to Matt. ‘Come on, you must know someone who wants to sell their Rolls-Royce.’

  Matt inspected his fingernails, his mind working furiously. Now who would want to part with their car? An idea burst into his head and he almost laughed out loud. ‘What about the Greaves car?’

  ‘Ah, that would be perfect.’ Harry slipped his jacket on. ‘Do you think he’d sell?’

  ‘Let’s go and see. Get his address from Jake’s workbook.’

  Harry dived for the book, riffling through the pages. ‘Here it is – he lives in Bloomsbury.’

  They both headed for the door as Jake bellowed, ‘Are you two still here?’

  ‘By the way, if we do get to see him, I’ll have to keep out of the way. He saw me once when he came to my home, but I don’t think he’ll recognize me in these working clothes.’

  ‘That could be tricky.’ Harry was obviously curious. ‘I get the impression you don’t like him, so what was he doing at your place?’

  ‘It’s a long story, but if he recognizes me we’ll never be able to make him part with the car.’

  ‘In that case don’t say a word, pull your cap down over your eyes and keep behind me. I’ll do the talking. But what do you think are the chances of buying it from him?’

  Matt shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea. Depends on how hard up he is, I suppose.’

  ‘Blast!’ Harry stared gloomily ahead. ‘He’s loaded, I’m told.’

  ‘Afraid so.’ Matt clenched his jaw in determination. ‘But I’ll get the car off him if I can. A man like that doesn’t deserve to own such a beautiful vehicle!’ And he certainly doesn’t deserve to own such a lovely and courageous girl as Jenny, he thought. Fury burnt through him every time he thought of the terrible life her aunt and this man had planned for her. If there was the slightest truth in the tales they’d heard about Greaves, then the man was a brute. The more he learnt about Jenny the more he admired her.

  Matt pulled up outside an impressive four-storey house, gleaming white in the pale sunshine.

  ‘Phew!’ Harry whistled softly through his teeth. ‘We could be wasting our time here.’

  ‘You could be right, but it’s worth a try. Jake hasn’t given us much time to find a decent Rolls, and we know this one is superb.’ Matt got out of the car and began to stride towards the flight of steps leading up to the front door.

  Harry caught hold of his sleeve and raised his eyebrows in query. ‘Don’t you think we ought to go round the back to the servants’ entrance?’

  ‘Whoops, I forgot. Force of habit.’

  Placing a firm hand on Matt’s shoulder, Harry guided him to the side entrance. ‘You’re a common working man now. It’s the servants’ entrance for the likes of us.’

  They were both laughing as Matt knocked on the door and stepped back. ‘I’ll keep out of the way because if I see that man I might tell him just what I think of him.’

  ‘Oh, you really must tell me what he’s done to you.’

  ‘He hasn’t done anything to me, but he has to someone I know.’

  There wasn’t time to say more as the door opened to reveal a footman in dark blue and gold livery. Pretentious, Matt thought, as he considered the simple uniforms his mother insisted her footmen wore.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘We’re from Mayfair Automobiles and we’d like to see Mr Greaves, please.’ Harry spoke politely.

  ‘What’s it about?’

  ‘We’d like to talk to him about his Rolls-Royce. We service it for him.’

  Matt stayed in the background, just like an apprentice should. He was happy to let Harry deal with this, but he wanted to get the Winford car off Greaves so badly he could almost taste it.

  ‘I’ll call the chauffeur. You can talk to him and he will relay the information to Mr Greaves.’ The footman gave a haughty toss of his head and disappeared, leaving Matt and Harry standing outside. He even had the damned cheek to close the door on them.

  Harry’s muttered comments about the footman had Matt chortling. ‘My, my, Harry. I didn’t know you knew such words.’

  Another man appeared, obviously the chauffeur. ‘There’s some worry with the car?’
<
br />   ‘No, it’s in good condition,’ Harry said. ‘Mayfair Automobiles wondered if Mr Greaves would consider selling.’

  ‘I doubt there’s any chance he would be prepared to part with it.’

  There was something in the chauffeur’s tone that made Matt’s hopes rise. He hadn’t intended to speak but changed his mind. ‘Would you ask Mr Greaves? We’ll pay a fair price for it – in cash.’

  ‘I’ll ask the master.’ The chauffeur stood aside. ‘You’d better come in.’

  They were shown to a small room on the first floor and told to wait. Matt roamed around the room, inspecting the furniture, and then he stopped and gazed at a wall devoid of mirrors or paintings. He reached out and ran his fingers over some marks.

  ‘What you looking at?’ Harry stood beside him.

  ‘See these marks? It looks as if something used to hang here and the wall has been cleaned to remove the marks. Paintings, I should think.’

  ‘So?’

  Matt spun round, his eyes taking in every detail of the room as he headed for the door.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Harry was alarmed that Matt might start to wander around this elegant house.

  ‘I’ve got to have a quick look at another room.’ He stepped out of the door, nipped across the passage to the room opposite. It was a dining room and sumptuous. Or was it? It didn’t take him long to make up his mind. The signs were obvious.

  He shot back to Harry, who was now agitated. ‘What the bloody hell are you doing? Suppose they’d come for us and you weren’t here? They would have thought we were thieves.’

  Matt tipped his head back and laughed with glee. ‘Don’t be too generous with your offer for the car.’

  ‘Why not? If we’re going to get it, we’ll have to pay top price for it.’ Harry eyed him with interest. ‘What makes you think he’ll sell?’

  ‘Because the man’s in financial trouble.’

  ‘How can you tell?’

  ‘There are empty spaces on the walls; marks on the carpets where furniture had stood for many years.’ Matt couldn’t control his excitement. ‘He’s selling possessions!’

  ‘But he’s reputed to be a very, very rich man.’ Harry looked perplexed.

  ‘If that’s true, then why is he selling?’ Matt rubbed his hands in anticipation. ‘The man’s struggling, I’m sure, but he’s obviously managed to keep it quiet.’

  Harry’s expression was thoughtful. ‘That puts a different picture on things.’

  ‘It certainly does. Bargain hard, because I believe he’s desperate and will sell.’

  They stopped talking suddenly as the door opened and the chauffeur looked in. ‘Mr Greaves will see you. He’ll meet us round the back of the house.’

  They followed, and when they saw the Rolls standing outside its garage Matt drew in a breath of appreciation. It really was a beauty. The dark blue bodywork and chrome fittings gleamed in the pale sunlight. He began to walk around it, drinking in the sheer elegance of the vehicle.

  ‘Here comes Greaves,’ Harry whispered. ‘For God’s sake, Matt, stay out of the way and don’t give him a chance to recognize you.’

  Matt pulled his cap further over his eyes to cover more of his face and walked to the rear of the car, pretending to examine the tyres.

  ‘You won’t find anything wrong with the car.’ The chauffeur was following Matt. ‘But you know that already, as your garage has looked after her.’ The man smoothed his hand over the paintwork with an expression in his eyes that said it was going to break his heart to part with this, and he hoped his master wouldn’t sell.

  ‘Can’t be too careful.’ Matt kept his voice low so it didn’t reach the two men now in the process of negotiating a deal. ‘You might have had an accident since we last saw the vehicle.’

  The chauffeur looked highly offended. ‘I’m an excellent driver. I do not have accidents!’

  ‘That is insulting!’ Greaves exclaimed loudly. ‘It’s worth double that.’

  Matt dipped his head to hide his smile. He couldn’t hear what Harry was saying, but it was obvious he was bargaining hard to get the Rolls as cheaply as possible. He would have loved to join in, but he had to keep out of the way, for if Greaves recognized him they would be thrown out. His father had treated Greaves and Mrs Osborne abruptly when they’d visited his parents in search of Jenny, making it very clear they were unwelcome. Their father never could hide his feelings. He spoke first and thought about it after. He was inclined to upset some people, and Matt hadn’t missed their visitors’ expressions when they were dismissed without even being offered refreshments.

  ‘Can I have a look in the boot?’ he asked the chauffeur. Harry and Greaves were still haggling over the price, and, as the discussion continued, he knew that he had been right. Greaves was desperate for money. If he hadn’t been, he would have walked away from Harry by now. He was still poking around in the boot when Harry tapped him on the shoulder.

  ‘We’ve got it, and at a very reasonable price. You go back in our car, and I’ll drive this one back to the garage.’ Before Harry put the envelope of money Jake had given them back in his pocket, he held it open for Matt to see: there was still quite a lot left.

  ‘My God,’ Matt muttered, ‘the man must be in a mess financially.’

  Harry winked, closed the boot carefully and gave Matt a shove. ‘Wait for me down the road.’

  Matt was off like a hare. A few minutes later he burst out laughing. He couldn’t wait to tell his family about this. Everyone believed Greaves to be immensely wealthy. Well, he wasn’t.

  On reaching the car, he got in and drove to the end of the road to wait for Harry. He began to tap the steering wheel, turning things round in his mind. If Greaves was in trouble, why didn’t he find himself a wealthy wife? Why bother to pursue a penniless young girl? It just didn’t make sense.

  Harry pulled up beside him, grinning in delight. ‘Jake’s going to be well pleased with this deal. Thanks for spotting the man was in trouble, Matt. That gave me the advantage, and when I offered him cash he wasn’t able to resist.’

  ‘Well done,’ Matt complimented him. Harry was an excellent mechanic, but he was also showing signs of becoming a good salesman, with a sharp appreciation of the business side of things. ‘Do you think Jake will mind if I sneak an hour off? I’d like to pop along to Lambeth and see how my mother’s getting on with the soup kitchen she’s setting up.’

  ‘Once he sees the Rolls he won’t mind what you do for the rest of the day.’ Harry was laughing as he pulled away, heading back to the garage.

  It was bedlam as Matt walked into the old community hall. One man was ripping out old cupboards that reached from floor to ceiling. Another was swinging a sledgehammer at a fireplace that had been bricked up. There were others elsewhere making a heck of a racket. The air was full of dust, and it was settling in a thick carpet everywhere. He went into what was eventually going to be the kitchen and found his mother and two members of her committee poring over some drawings, obviously done by the tall man who was explaining something to them.

  His mother smiled when she saw him. ‘Hello, Matt. What are you doing here at this time of day?’

  ‘I’ve been out with Harry buying a car.’ He wasn’t going into details now; he would wait until they were all together this evening before he said anything. ‘I thought I’d see how you’re getting on.’

  ‘As you can see’ – his mother brushed brick dust from her jacket – ‘we’re in a mess, but we will open next week.’ She turned to the man beside her. ‘Ron, this is my son, Matt.’

  After shaking hands, Matt said, ‘Do you think my mother’s being too optimistic about getting all this work done in such a short time?’

  ‘We’ll make it, even if we have to work all night.’ Ron sounded very positive.

  A young boy came by, staggering under the weight of a large piece of concrete.

  ‘My goodness, Jimmy,’ Mrs Stannard exclaimed. ‘Where did you find that?’

  ‘It w
as at the back of the fireplace, ma’am.’ He puffed with the effort of holding the heavy weight. ‘Just going to dump it out the back.’ He tottered off.

  Diving for the door, Matt held it open and Jimmy weaved his way into the yard, jumping back quickly as he let go of the block of concrete, letting it crash to the ground. He turned and grinned at Matt. ‘Wouldn’t have been able to light a fire with that wedged in the grate.’

  Going back to his mother, Matt said, ‘If you need more help, Luke and I could do some work in the evenings.’

  ‘No, my dear.’ His mother lowered her voice. ‘These men need the jobs. They’re so grateful to have something useful to do instead of standing in the dole queues every day.’

  ‘How long can you keep them?’

  ‘We’ve told them about two weeks, but I’ll see what I can do about Ron and Jimmy after that. They’re friends of Jenny.’

  Just then a burst of girlish laughter came from a room at the end of the corridor.

  ‘That’s Jenny and her friend Ivy,’ his mother said. ‘They’re scrubbing out the toilets.’

  ‘Mother,’ Matt said, shocked, ‘you haven’t roped Jenny in to scrub, have you?’

  ‘We are paying her and she’s only too happy to do any kind of work.’ She gave her son a sad look. ‘You must forget how she started life. She’s one of the unemployed now, with an elderly woman to care for. All she asks for is the chance to earn some honest money.’

  ‘I guess so.’ He walked to the end of the passage and opened the cloakroom door. Jenny was kneeling down, scrubbing away at a particularly nasty stain on the wall.

  ‘Wouldn’t it be easier to slap a coat of whitewash on that?’ he suggested.

  Jenny looked up, blowing a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. ‘We’ve got to save as much money as possible. It’ll look fine when we’ve finished.’

  The other girl was giving him an uncertain look and fiddling with the brush she was holding in her hands, allowing the soapy water to drip unnoticed down her skirt.

  ‘Ivy, this is Matthew.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you, sir.’