Living a Lie

by Cox, Josephine

  “Thank God I arrived in time,” she muttered as she came out of the hospital and into a dimly lit street.

  “Georgie’s safe and that’s all that matters.” If Georgie had killed herself, part of Kitty would have gone with her.

  As she rounded the corner, she heard a sound behind her. Turning, she peered along the street. In the distance she could see the brightly lit hospital building. Beyond that was darkness, and an eerie silence.

  She walked on, but her every sense was alert. Convinced she was being followed, she paused to look round once more.

  It was then that he grabbed her, one arm round her throat, the other across her mouth preventing her from crying out. With a quick, rough movement he spun her round and slammed her against the wall. Moving his arm from her throat, he wrapped his thick fingers round her neck and pinned her fast.

  “That one in the hospital…what’s she to you?” he grunted, his big pock-marked face grinning at her.

  “Your sister, is she?” Each time he spoke he jabbed at her throat, making it impossible for her to speak.

  She was terrified, but burning with rage that he should have caught her unawares like that, treating her as though she was dirt beneath his feet. She felt the urge to wipe that grin off his face, but he was big and powerful and she was at his mercy.

  “She owes my boss a lot of money,” he whispered, leaning forward until his face was almost touching hers.

  “I’m going to uncover your mouth, then I want you to tell me when he can expect his money back.” Before relaxing his hold, he warned in a sinister tone, “Scream out and I won’t think twice about breaking your pretty little neck.”

  Kitty knew he meant every word. She also realised why Georgie had been desperate enough to try and end her life. This scum, and possibly others like him, had driven her to it.

  Taking a moment to recover from the shock, and rubbing her throat with the palm of her hand, she never took her eyes off his grinning face.

  All fear left her. Blind anger coursed through her as she thought of Georgie.

  “You bastards! She nearly killed herself because of you.”

  “Now that would have been a real pity, because she and her bloke had that money in good faith and we want it back. So far we haven’t found the bloke, but then why should we when we still have her? You see, the boss ain’t particular who pays it back, so long as it gets done.”

  “How do you expect to get your money from her, when she’s flat broke? Mac didn’t just run out on you, he ran out on Georgie as well. You must know she’s been thrown out of her bed sitter for not paying the rent? And if she can’t pay her rent, what makes you think she can pay you ten thousand pounds, for God’s sake? Haven’t you got the sense to see you can’t get blood out of a stone?”

  He seemed pleased.

  “You know all about it then? But you’re a bit behind the times, lady. You see, it was ten thousand pounds. With interest it’s now more like twelve, and every day the boss is made to wait, it goes up. As for getting blood out of a stone, if she can’t pay in money, she’ll pay in kind.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” The threat was evident.

  His eyes narrowed.

  “You seem like an intelligent woman. Work it out for yourself.”

  “I want to speak with your boss.” Maybe he could be made to see sense.

  “Sorry.” He let her go then. “I speak for him, and this is what he says—twelve thousand pounds, in cash, by Friday night.”

  “Or?”

  “Lending money is perfectly legal. We always get our borrowers to sign on the dotted line, so don’t waste time going to the police.”

  “But it was Mac’s debt. You can’t hold anyone else responsible for it.” Kitty was clutching at straws.

  “I can see she didn’t tell you everything!” He stepped back “Twelve thousand in cash. Eight o’clock Friday night, your hotel foyer.”

  Kitty was astounded.

  “You mean you know where I’m staying?”

  “I know everything. It’s what I get paid for.” With that he strode away, disappearing into the night like a phantom.

  It took a moment for Kitty to compose herself. What did he mean, “I can see she didn’t tell you everything”?

  First thing in the morning she would gently tackle Georgie, but she would keep this sordid little incident to herself. There was nothing to be gained from telling Georgie about it.

  Back at the hotel, she carefully dropped a remark as she collected her keys from the clerk.

  “The taxi driver’s just been telling me how he was threatened by a moneylender,” she said casually.

  “I told him he should have gone to the police.”

  “Wouldn’t have done any good, I’m afraid,” came the quiet reply.

  “Ruthless moneylenders are a plague on any city, but they always manage to stay on the right side of the law.”

  The clerk confirmed what Kitty had already been told. Disillusioned, she went to her room and sat on the bed for a long time, deep in thought, frantically wondering how she could get Georgie out of this awful mess.

  “You bugger, Mac!” she sighed.

  “If you were here now I’d cheerfully wring your neck.”

  She had no way of laying her hands on the kind of money that was involved. There was only one person she could think of, and that was Jack.

  “I’ll ask Jack to lend me the money,” she decided, picking up the phone.

  “He can take it back out of my salary.” She actually chuckled, “I might still be working for him when I’m old and grey, but it’ll be worth it, just to give Georgie peace of mind.” Herself too, because she couldn’t go from here without knowing her friend was free of debt. Mac had left her many times before and she had coped. She would cope with that, but moneylenders were a different kind of trouble.

  While she waited for Jack to answer the phone, she began talking to herself.

  “Friday, eh? I don’t trust him. I’ve got to make certain he can’t threaten Georgie ever again…got to be sure…” A voice at the other end of the phone interrupted her. Relief swept through her at the sound of Jack’s voice.

  “Hello, Jack?”

  “Kitty! I’ve been worried out of my mind. You didn’t even tell me where you’d be staying, or how I might contact you. I’ve been worried sick! What made you hurry away like that? I would have taken you to see your friend, you know that. Where are you? What have you been doing? When are you coming home?” He would have gone on and on, but Kitty intervened.

  “I’m sorry. Jack, but listen. I need your help.” She went on to explain everything. Keeping nothing back, she told him the whole truth, about the money Mac had borrowed, the gambling and the debts.

  She explained how the moneylender was within his rights to demand the debt cleared with interest, and that she suspected Georgie had signed the papers: “Or how could they have come after her for the money?”

  “Good God! What kind of people have they been mixing with? Has she talked to the police? Stay out of it, Kitty. I don’t want you involved in this sort of thing.”

  “Credit me with some intelligence, Jack.”

  “What exactly is it you want from me?”

  “Twelve thousand pounds. I’ll pay you back every penny, you know that, even if it takes years.”

  The silence at the other end was devastating. It seemed to last for hours, when in fact it was only a minute before his agreement made her sag with relief.

  “Of course you can have the money,” he said.

  “You know I can’t deny you anything.”

  When she needed him he was always there. It was a comforting thought.

  “You’ll never know how grateful I am, Jack.”

  “Grateful enough to marry me?”

  At first she thought it was a teasing remark, so she answered in kind, “One day, maybe.”

  “No. Not ‘one day’, Kitty. Now. One month from Saturday.” Something about the tone of his v
oice and the way he seemed to wait for an answer put her on guard.

  “Are you saying you’ll lend me the money, but only if I marry you?” It was incredible.

  “That’s what I’m saying. Kitty. Except, of course, I won’t be lending you the money. I couldn’t ask my wife to pay back a loan, now could I?”

  He was being arrogant and she hated him for it.

  “I’m sorry,” she apologised, “I had no right to involve you.”

  “The money’s here if you want it. Kitty. So am I. Remember, I love you.”

  Stunned by what she considered to be blackmail, she put the phone down.

  “I don’t know who’s worse, you or the moneylender,” she muttered. Now she didn’t know how to help Georgie. Who else could she turn to? What about Harry?

  “Harry would know what to do,” she murmured, and his name on her lips brought the warm excited feeling it always did.

  She couldn’t get Harry out of her mind. His business was doing well, and she knew if he had the money he would not hesitate to lend it to her.

  “How can I ask him though,” she wondered aloud.

  “It isn’t easy building up a business, and that wife of his would probably give him hell if she thought he’d helped me.” But it wasn’t just that. The thought of seeing Harry again, talking to him, having his dark eyes looking into hers, was more than she could bear.

  “Don’t rake over old coals,” she told herself firmly.

  “Harry isn’t yours any more. He never will be.” Of all the tragedy in her life, of all the loss and the loneliness, of all the fear and the pain, losing him was the one thing she could not come to terms with, and the hardest thing of all was that it had been her own fault.

  Not knowing which way to turn, she let her heart dwell on Harry. How she loved him still! How she longed for him to hold her. How she envied his wife…lying in his strong arms at night, seeing his face over the breakfast table, exchanging the usual chit-chat a married couple might share; the laughter and secrets; holding hands; intimate little looks that no one else could perceive; the awful loneliness when they were separated, and the joy when they were together again.

  How she yearned for all of that. Not with Jack but with Harry. Her first and last love.

  Lying on the bed, she let the memories wash over her. For a while she was happy, with Harry.

  Exhausted, she fell asleep. When she woke it was pitch black in the room, and for a moment she was startled. Then she heard the rumbling of traffic outside, the wail of a police siren and the laughter from a group of people beneath her window.

  “You’ll soon be jumping at your own shadow,” she chided herself.

  Even so, she could not altogether rid herself of the awful feeling that she was in danger; not because of Georgie or Mac, and not even because of the moneylenders. In their own way each had put her through the wringer. She was strong enough to cope with all of that. But Jack!

  It was Jack who had stabbed her in the heart. Jack who had put an impossible price on friendship. Jack who had shocked her to her very roots, and was demanding to own the rest of her life. That was why she felt threatened. In danger of losing the only thing she possessed: herself. She had turned to him because he was the only one who could help her, and now he wanted her very soul in exchange.

  She undressed, and bathed, then put on her nightgown and went to the window where she drew back the curtains and gazed into the night. The skyline of Liverpool was an imposing sight: tall thin church-spires reaching to heaven; steep tiled roofs and towering multi-storey office blocks and flats; the old and the new mingling perfectly, making a jagged pattern across a dark cloudless sky.

  “So this is Liverpool.” She smiled with a strange kind of contentment.

  “You’re very beautiful,” she breathed and, for a moment, wondered about all the people down there. People with worries; people filled with hatred and love; lonely people; others struggling to cope with extended families.

  Families. That was what life was all about.

  “Isn’t that what you want, Kitty? To have a family of your very own?”

  She thought about her conversation with Jack. He had given her no choice.

  “Would it be so bad?” she asked herself.

  “You can’t have Harry, and you desperately need children of your own. For all his faults, Jack will make a good father. Tell him yes. Kitty. Let him take care of you. Georgie will be out of trouble and you’ll have a real home. Tell him yes. What difference does it make now?” None at all, she decided. Being married to Jack would not greatly enhance her life, it was true. But then, it would not altogether destroy it either.

  However, she decided he could suffer a little for his devious ways.

  “Make him wait,” she told herself. And the idea gave her a certain satisfaction.

  The next morning, after a good night’s sleep, Kitty came into the dining room and ordered a hearty cooked breakfast two sausages, a slice of crispy bacon, one egg and two pieces of fried bread.

  “Disgustingly delicious,” she muttered as it was set before her.

  When every scrap of that was eaten, she drank two cups of coffee and left a pound for the waitress. As she walked towards the telephone in the foyer, she chuckled at the size of the breakfast she had just enjoyed.

  “The prisoner ate a hearty meal,” she chuckled, trying to convince herself that it wouldn’t be as bad as she feared, being Jack’s ‘prisoner’.

  He was thrilled.

  “We’ll be happy, you’ll see,” he cried over the phone.

  “You always knew it was only a matter of time before we tied the knot.”

  “Yes, round my neck,” she answered under her breath.

  “I’ve got an important buyer coming in tomorrow, but I’ll have time enough to go to the bank and make the necessary arrangements for the money. I’ll see you Friday morning, darling.”

  “Thank you.” Kitty’s voice was cold; so was her heart.

  “Take care of yourself. Remember, I love you.”

  She put the phone down.

  “I’ll never forgive you, Jack,” she muttered harshly. But she was grateful for the money. Grateful that she could help Georgie.

  There was always a price to pay in this life, Kitty thought as she made her way to the hospital. The trouble was, she seemed always to be paying.

  Georgie couldn’t believe her ears.

  “Jack’s settling the debt! Oh Kitty! You can’t know what a weight you’ve taken off my shoulders.” She cried with relief, and after that she went from strength to strength.

  The following morning, she was released into Kitty’s care and a room was arranged for her at the hotel. Kitty took her out for the best meal she had ever had, and afterwards they talked until the early hours.

  “How can I pay him back?” Georgie wanted to know.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Kitty told her.

  “It isn’t a loan, it’s a gift.” My gift to you, she thought, and the realisation was bittersweet.

  Georgie asked about Mildred’s wedding, and Kitty gave her every detail.

  “I wish I could have been there,” Georgie sighed.

  “Only, well you know why I couldn’t.” They were quiet for a time then she asked, “What about Harry?”

  Taken unawares, Kitty couldn’t hide the love she felt for that man.

  “What about him?” she asked innocently.

  “Oh, come off it. Kitty Marsh!” Georgie tormented. “You know very well what I mean. You told me in your letter that your aunt had asked him to the wedding. Did he come? What did you say to each other? Is he still as handsome as ever? I want to know everything.”

  In answer to her questions, Kitty told her, “No, Harry couldn’t come to the wedding but he came to my party, and yes, he’s every bit as handsome as ever. We didn’t get the chance to talk much. His wife wanted to leave early. It was a long drive home so they left before everyone else.”

  “Long drive? Where does Harry live?”<
br />
  “I thought I told you that in my letter?”

  “You probably did, but you know what a memory I’ve got, so tell me again.”

  “Blackburn. Harry and his wife live in Blackburn.”

  Georgie’s eyes screwed up in concentration. “Hmm! Not too far from here then?”

  “Not too far.”

  Though it might as well be the other end of the world, Kitty thought.

  “What’s his wife like? Not as pretty as you, I’ll bet.”

  “She’s very attractive.”

  “Harry doesn’t love her.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “How can he love her when he loves you?”

  “You couldn’t be more wrong, Georgie. Harry and his wife are very happy together. Susan’s expecting their first baby.”

  “He’ll probably adore the baby ’cause he’s as daft about kids as you are. But he doesn’t love his wife.”

  Kitty thought it was time to change the subject.

  “It’s late. You should be in bed,” she told her.

  “You won’t come back to the south with me, so we’re going to be busy tomorrow. We’ve got to find you a decent place to live.” She ran her fingers through the newspaper cuttings on the table.

  “There’s all these to check out, and more besides, if none of these are suitable.”

  Picking up one of the cuttings, Georgie skimmed through it.

  “I’ve already told you, these places are too expensive, and they want three months’ rent in advance.”

  Kitty was adamant.

  “And I’ve already told you…leave it to me.”

  Rising from her chair, she rounded the table and kissed Georgie on the cheek.

  “Now get off to bed.”

  When Georgie had gone to her own room. Kitty glanced once more through the cuttings.

  “You’re right,” she admitted, “they are expensive, but I don’t intend leaving you in some dirty old doss-house.”

  Kitty slept well that night. She had come to terms with the idea of marrying Jack, and had seen Georgie blossom since learning the debt was to be paid though Kitty made certain she didn’t know Jack’s terms for being so ‘generous’. Georgie would likely refuse his help.