by Mary Wood
Molly wasn’t sure about it all, but it sounded a lot better than she had at the moment. ‘I’m in, and thanks, Trixie.’
‘And me, Trixie. You’re a real pal.’
‘Good. Let’s hold hands again. I liked that. It were the first real contact I’ve had from friends who are just that, and not out to get sommat from me.’
Molly felt the tears come into her eyes. Trixie – the girl she’d thought of as a known prostitute and, yes, had looked down on in a small way – had offered her a lifeline; but more than that, she’d offered her friendship and a sisterly-like love.
Trixie smiled at them both. Molly smiled back, but her smile froze on her lips as Ruby slumped forward.
Trixie reacted with a squeal. ‘Ruby! Gawd help us. She’s got it bad. I thought she was perking up. She should see a doctor. There’s a quack I know. Well, we call him that, but he is a proper doctor, just not allowed to practise any more.’
‘We’ve no money.’
‘I told yer, I had a good day. And I did yesterday, an’ all. It’s the business crows. They’re all old men, but still want their oats. They know they’ll be stuck at home over Christmas, and they’re getting all they can before then. Peggy’s struggling to find rooms for us when we take them back to hers. She had to put me and a punter in her front room today. We had a giggle, I can tell yer. It’s like a bleedin’ Aladdin’s cave. I’ve never seen so many ornaments.’
‘Thanks, Trixie. You’re a good ’un. Is this quack’s place very far?’
‘No, he’s only round the corner. We can lift Ruby round there. But you need to concoct a story as to why she ain’t with you, when you go back.’
‘She’ll have to be with me. If I go back without her, they’ll kill me!’
‘Leave it out; even Evil Eva ain’t got it in her to go that far.’
‘She has. She gets that Gus and Lofty to do it. You must have heard of that girl who was dragged out of the Thames a few weeks ago?’
‘Were that their doing? Blimey, mate. I’m not so sure now. I don’t want any trouble.’
‘Please, Trixie. Look, give me the money and tell me where to go. I’ll take Ruby along there. I’ll never tell them that you helped me.’
Trixie passed over a pound note and ten bob in change. ‘Watch these bleedin’ lot in here – they’d take that off yer as soon as look at yer. If any of them follow you, stand still and scream your heart out. They’ll soon run off. The place you need is along there, down Dean Street. It’s called Winnett Street. It’s a cobbled lane.’
‘I know it. I had a punter there just as it got dark the other day. The siren went and he never finished. He scarpered, leaving me with nothing.’
‘It happens. Anyway, the geezer’s place is the fourth door on the right. A red one; well, it was red, once upon a time. It’s peeling now. Take no notice of what the place looks like, just ring the bell three times. Three quick rings. Tell him I sent yer and you’ve got money. Good luck, girl. Oh, and here, take this change; I reckon there’s about ten bob there. Give it to that cow, Eva. It might save yer from a beating and get yer a meal later.’
Molly’s eyes filled with tears.
What should have taken ten minutes took half an hour. The final stretch seemed just too much, but a lad with a barrow – the type with four wheels – stopped and asked if she needed a lift with her friend. Molly had known she could go no further, so she decided to trust the boy.
‘Cost yer a florin, though, mate. I don’t run a bleedin’ charity.’
‘I’ll give it to you when we reach our destination and the man I need to see opens the door. I don’t want you snatching me money.’
‘I don’t reckon as you’ve got that much, Miss. All right. I’ll have to trust yer. She looks as though she’ll keel over, if I don’t.’
Together, Molly and the boy helped to get Ruby into the barrow. The boy kept his word. Molly liked him. He told her he went around the streets with his dad’s barrow, trying to earn a shilling from folk who were salvaging their shops or homes. He offered to take their chattels wherever they wanted them to go. ‘Me dad’s fighting this bleedin’ war, and I have to help me mum keep some food on the table for me brothers and sisters. I have a good name, I don’t lie and I don’t cheat. More than me bleedin’ job’s worth.’
‘How old are you?’
‘As old as me tongue, and a bit older than me teeth.’
Molly guessed he was around thirteen.
When they reached the house, Molly did as Trixie had said and rang the bell three times. After a moment the door opened just enough for Molly to see a wizened old man peering out at her.
‘I – I need help for me mate.’
‘What sort of help, young lady?’
The boy butted in before Molly had time to answer. ‘Here, pay me first, and let me get on me road. I’ll be losing custom.’
Molly found a florin amongst the coins that had made up the ten bob Trixie had given her. ‘Here, and thanks, I couldn’t have got here without you.’
‘You’re welcome. Now, Mister, can I unload me cargo or not?’
The man peered down at the boy for a moment and then asked Molly, ‘Have you the money for whatever treatment she needs?’
‘I have a pound.’ Please let that be enough! I can feed me and Ruby for a week on the rest.
‘Who sent you?’
‘Trixie.’
‘Bring her in.’
The boy helped her to lift the near-unconscious Ruby out of his barrow. ‘I should have charged you more. I would have done, an’ all, if I’d have known you had a pound on yer.’
‘I need it for me mate. But if I see you around and I’ve got more on me, I’ll give you some extra. You’ve been a good help. Thank you.’
The boy left muttering, ‘Can’t bleedin’ spend any thank-yous.’
Molly couldn’t help smiling. She hadn’t asked the young chap his name, but she hoped their paths would cross again and they would become friends.
Stepping inside the building gave her a feeling that somehow she was in the wrong place. Nothing about the grand entrance hall matched the outside. Flock wallpaper in red and gold gave an impression of riches. The deep, carved-mahogany bannister curved up to the landing above and framed a gold carpeted staircase. Oil portraits of men and women of a bygone age lined the hall, and a beautiful grandfather clock stood in the corner, gently ticking the seconds. The sound gave Molly a feeling of peace and homeliness.
‘Help her through here.’
‘Come on, Ruby love. Make one last effort. I can’t hold you.’
Ruby rallied a bit and took some of her own weight. Together they managed to get into the room indicated, where a different atmosphere met them. This was a clinic-cum-operating-theatre. Everything was pristine. The shade of the low light gleamed a bright silver, the high bed was covered in dazzling white cloths, and the lino floor had been scrubbed to within an inch of its life.
‘Get her onto the bed.’
As Molly did this, she asked, ‘What do I call you?’
‘Most call me “geezer”.’ He laughed, a jolly sound. His face creased, giving him a nice grandad-type look. ‘But “doctor” will do. We have a “no names” policy, so I don’t want to know yours, and you’re not going to know mine. Don’t worry, I know the street people call me a quack, but I’m not. I’m a retired doctor who happens to want to help the less fortunate. Yes, I take money from those who have it, but I have a reason for that, and it isn’t about lining my own pockets. It helps me to get supplies of anything I might need to carry out my work. Now, let’s have a look at your mate. I’ll start by taking her temperature, and then I’ll examine the obvious place. I’ll need you to undress her, and to wash her down below. In order to do that, you can fill that steel bowl with warm water at the sink over there, while I make the initial checks.’
In the silence, the water hitting the bottom of the bowl resounded around the room. By the time Molly had taken it over to where Ruby lay and plac
ed it on the table next to the bed, the doctor had finished his checks and stood looking down at Ruby with a worried look on his face. ‘Has she been coughing?’
‘Yes. She’s had a cough for a long time.’
‘Hmm . . . I’ll examine her further, but I think it’s pneumonia, though there could be other things wrong, too.’
Molly was surprised at how she carried out the task of washing her friend without any embarrassment. It seemed a natural thing for her to do.
‘Have you had any nursing training, young lady?’
‘No.’
‘You should think about it – you have a way with you.’ As he bent over Ruby and began to examine her, the doctor said, ‘You don’t sound like the type to work the streets. Why are you?’
‘I – I don’t want to. I mean, it’s how things happen, isn’t it? Me family hit hard times and this was the only option for me.’ Her fear of Eva made the truth out of bounds.
‘There’s plenty of other options for someone who appears as bright as you do. Besides, your country needs you, as the saying goes. There’s work aplenty for those who want it. Women are needed more and more, in hospitals, factories and even manning fire engines. Why should you be any different?’
Molly’s lack of an answer got the doctor lifting his head and giving her a piercing look. His blue eyes had a deep, youthful colour to them and his round face showed that he’d once been a handsome man. He still had a full head of thick hair, which was mostly as white as snow but showed a darkening at the temples, giving Molly the thought that it had once been black.
She lowered her eyes. ‘Has me mate got a disease, then?’
‘No, though she’s lucky not to have, and so are you. You girls risk your lives doing what you do. I fail to understand it.’
‘We don’t do it willingly. Well, most of us don’t.’
‘I can help you, if you’ll let me.’
‘No! I – I mean, you don’t know the whole story. Look, if me mate’s all right, we’ll get on our way.’
‘I didn’t say she was all right. She’s extremely ill and is going nowhere tonight. And if you’re her true mate, you will stay here too, so that you can take care of her. I’m not up to it, but I might be able to get someone in.’
‘She can’t . . . I – I can’t. We have to get back. We have to!’
‘Will she get care where you take her?’
‘I—’
‘Look, I’ll help you to get back there, but this young lady must stay in my care. If she reaches the climax of her illness and isn’t looked after properly, she will die.’
The enormity of what he said hit Molly. She had no control over the tears that flooded her eyes and tumbled down her cheeks. Everything seemed so hopeless. She couldn’t bear to lose Ruby; she and Trixie were all she had in the world.
‘I’m sorry, young lady, for whatever trouble you are in. Keep your pound and get a taxi back. Come back in the morning and we’ll see how the land lies then.’
With this, the doctor began to erect a tent-like contraption over Ruby. Molly desperately wanted to stay and help, but she had to return to Eva’s, and she had to think up a story why Ruby hadn’t done so.
Taking Ruby’s hand, she squeezed it. ‘Everything’ll be all right, mate. I promise you. I’ll come back tomorrow. You hang in there. Don’t worry about a thing, love.’
The doctor followed Molly to the door. ‘If she does pass away during the night, I will call the police in the morning. I’ll tell them that I don’t know who she is; that she appeared on my doorstep and I opened up my old surgery room to help her. She will get a pauper’s grave.’
His words showed Molly the full pity of her own and Ruby’s life. And she knew in that moment that if anything happened to Ruby she would go to the police herself. She didn’t care about the danger she might be in if she did. As it was, Ruby wasn’t out of Eva’s clutches. Eva would find her somehow, and this tightened the fear Molly felt of that evil woman. Only the thought that, for now, Ruby was in the best hands possible gave Molly some comfort and helped her take her courage in both hands, and face going back to Eva without her.
‘She collapsed, Eva. I had no say in what happened. Before I knew it, an ambulance arrived and Ruby was taken away. I don’t know where to.’
The air stunk of the gin Eva was swigging. Of late she’d taken more and more to drink. This made her even more volatile. Molly waited.
‘Just make sure you bring her back here tomorrow. If yer don’t, Gus’ll find her. I’ve had enough of the stupid cow anyway. Her days are numbered. If she’s as ill as yer say, yer better pray that she dies, cos it’ll be in a better way than she will at the hands of Gus.’
Eva’s cackling laughter grated on Molly’s nerves. It went on and on. Seeing the bottle of gin, Molly picked it up. She raised her hands above her head. Her body shook with power. Sweat ran down her face. But just as she was about to bring the bottle down and smash Eva’s head with it, the wailing of a siren crushed the moment.
Molly lowered her arms. A feeling of utter disappointment settled in her, drowning the elation that had filled her body. But within seconds she was overcome by incredulity at what she was capable of.
As the half-dressed men and scantily clad girls came out of the boudoirs, Molly could only stare at them. She was still held by the shock of what had just happened. Would I really have hit Eva? Without a doubt, she knew the answer was Yes. What that made her she didn’t know, but she liked the feeling that, given the chance, she would – and could – fight back. Putting the bottle down, she looked up to see Gus and Lofty appear through the door that led to the kitchen. No doubt been stuffing themselves. With the strength still flowing through her veins, she spoke to Gus as if she were his boss. ‘Gus, Eva’s drunk again. You and Lofty help her to the cellar.’
Gus took this as if he’d always done as Molly had told him to, and with a gentleness that belied everything she knew about this brutal man, he lifted Eva in his arms.
Chaos broke out around Molly as everyone scrambled for the cellar.
Molly turned away from that direction. For once she wasn’t going to hide from Hitler’s might. She was going to have a leisurely soak in a bath – something that had been denied her for so long. She was a different Molly now. A stronger Molly. She would find a way out of this life, for her and Ruby. It couldn’t be yet, but she’d find a way. She just needed Ruby to get better. The alternative was unbearable.
14
Simon & Flo
Adjusting to New Lives
Simon looked through the hatch of his office in Hut 6 of Bletchley Park. Before him were a dozen or so bent heads. The click-clackety noise of their machines was usually a pleasant enough background sound, but today it irritated him.
Across from his desk, Flo worked on a small table that stood against the dark-green painted wall. Her silence over the last hour reflected her absorption in trying to solve a particularly difficult coding that they were trying to get a handle on. Since Roland had introduced her to cryptic crosswords, she had become hooked on doing them and was a near-genius in the ability she’d shown for mastering even the most difficult clues. This aptitude had been a missing link in his work.
Simon watched her beavering away, scratching out columns of figures and scribbling down more combinations. He had to admit that he felt great admiration for Flo.
No, his feeling for her went deeper than that.
To say she’d replaced Lucinda in his heart wouldn’t be correct, but she had soothed some of the ache from the deep gulf in his life that Lucinda had left. The love he felt for Flo was different from that he had for his lost sister, and for his mother too, for that matter. To him, the feelings he had for them were a natural extension of their relationship and all-encompassing. But the love he felt for Flo just flowed from him.
These last four weeks had been a strange time for him. The pain in his heart was relentless. It hung like a prophet of doom. Every morning he woke feeling a dull fear, as if somethi
ng dreadful was going to happen. It disorientated him. He had to sit up and think things through. What is wrong? What is going to happen? Then clarity would kick him deep in the gut: She’s gone. My precious Lucinda is gone forever.
Each time this happened, he would be assailed with fresh grief. He tortured himself with how she’d died. His imagination gave him her terror. They’d said it was instantaneous, but he couldn’t believe that – he wanted to, but he was too intelligent to be fobbed off by the kindness of it. Hanging wasn’t instant. Oh God!
‘Simon?’
He smiled over at Flo. What he would do without her, he didn’t know, though the compassion of the other girls and his colleagues had sustained him, too. There had been a difficult hurdle to surmount. He’d not been able to deny that his sister and his supposed girlfriend were one and the same. The papers had exposed the lie, with pictures of Simon being the only relative in England. He’d explained that because of the impression he gave, and the ridicule his looks always brought him, they’d made up the story of her being Simon’s girlfriend to protect him. Whether he’d dug himself a deeper hole for the future or not, time would tell.
Kitty hadn’t wanted to let up. In his hearing, she’d said, ‘I suppose we’ll be told that northern girl is his girlfriend now.’
She’d received short shrift from Jane Downing, who’d told Kitty to shut up and remain shut up, as the subject was now closed. Jane had gone on to say that Simon was one of their own, and they had his welfare to think of.
That telling phrase – one of their own – had warmed his heart. He’d felt like hugging Jane, but instead had thanked her in an inadequate way, afraid of breaking the fragile hand of friendship that she’d extended to him.