by Carol Rivers
‘How do you know that?’
‘I just do, that’s all.’ Flo’s face crumpled as she held her stomach.
Syd sprang forward. ‘Have the pains started again?’
Flo looked up and grinned. ‘No, you silly, I just want to wee.’
Syd sighed, passing his hand across his forehead. ‘Christ, I’m having kittens here.’
‘You’re lucky it’s only kittens and not a baby.’ Flo threw back the sheet. ‘Go and make a cuppa, love, while I use the commode.’
When Syd had gone and they had taken care of nature’s demands, Lizzie helped Flo back to bed. Her sister was breathless at the effort it cost her and flopped back heavily against the pillow. ‘Sorry Syd caused a fuss,’ she apologized, glancing across to the empty landing. ‘But now he’s out of the way, I’ve got something to tell you.’
‘And I’ve got something to tell you,’ Lizzie interrupted as she plumped Flo’s pillows. ‘I ain’t delivering this baby, no matter how hard you try to get round me.’
‘Just listen first.’ Flo pulled her down on the bed again. ‘Do you believe in ghosts?’
‘Ghosts?’ Lizzie repeated, a half-smile on her face. ‘What sort of ghosts?’
‘Real ones, like spirits returned from the dead. Do you think there are such things?’
Realizing Flo was serious, Lizzie considered the question before replying. ‘As I haven’t met one, I don’t know. I suppose I might if I did. Why?’
‘Well, I’ve seen a real-life ghost.’
Lizzie grinned. ‘You ain’t delirious again, are you?’
‘No, course not. Do you want to know when?’
Lizzie rolled her eyes. ‘You’re going to tell me, anyway.’
Flo nodded, her eyes beginning to sparkle. ‘It was in hospital, the night you and Frank took me there. I was in a sort of twilight world, wondering what me chances were of ever getting out of that place again.’
‘Flo, the hospital wasn’t so bad.’
‘To me it was. I couldn’t sleep and was listening to all the moans and groans going on around me and you know, I thought, if I die here in this hospital bed, would me and my baby come back to haunt this place?’
‘Flo, what a thing to think!’
‘Couldn’t help it. I was frightened out of me wits. I knew I had to stay for my baby’s sake. But I kept thinking about those nurses at the sanatorium when I had scarlet fever and how, when someone died, like the girl in the bed next to me, there was those white figures that drifted silently in during the night and took her away. Next morning her bed was empty. I never saw her again.’
‘That girl was very ill, Flo.’
‘Yes, but I was very scared. I thought it might be me next.’
Lizzie touched Flo’s hand. ‘I’m sorry, love, it must have been awful.’
‘You see, my very worst fear in life – the fear of dying in hospital – started when I had scarlet fever and had to stay at the sanatorium.’
‘They wouldn’t let me stay with you,’ Lizzie said sadly. ‘I could have spread the infection.’
A soft smile touched Flo’s lips. ‘Someone was with me this time.’
‘Someone? Who?’
‘Ma,’ Flo whispered, her brown eyes very wide. ‘She was suddenly standing by the bed as real as you are now sitting there. It felt so normal, like I was a kid again. I just said, “Ma, I don’t want to lose my baby. And I don’t want to die, neither.” And you know what she said in reply? She said, “You won’t die, nor will the baby, because your sister is going to bring it into this world.” That was all. That was just what she said, word for word. And then she went away.’
Lizzie shook her head slowly. ‘Couldn’t it have been a dream?’
‘It wasn’t. She was real.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Because last night, when I started to have pains, and before I woke Syd up, Ma came into my mind again. She wasn’t there, this time. But I heard her saying you would bring my child into the world and not to be afraid. Then the pains went away, by which time Syd was up and on his feet. I didn’t realize the bugger would rush off at a tangent and wake you up.’
‘He didn’t. We were up already.’
‘That’s good.’
‘Syd has every right to be worried. So am I.’
‘You needn’t be. It’s all in hand.’
Lizzie looked at her sister and a slow smile formed on her lips. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Florence Allen. No, sorry, Florence Miller.’
Flo smiled, sliding her hanky over her damp brow. ‘I think I’ll just have another forty winks. Them pains fagged me out last night. Can you go downstairs and cheer up my other half before you go?’
‘Are you sure you’re all right?’
‘Course I am.’ Flo’s eyes began to close. Very soon she had drifted off and Lizzie tucked the sheet over her hand. What had happened to Flo in the hospital, she wondered? She was frightened and alone with memories of the sanatorium tormenting her, so it was not surprising Flo had hated her stay there. But could Ma really have come to visit her little sister or was the dream so clear it seemed as if Ma was standing by the bed? Had fear or love, whichever had been the greatest, bridged the gap between life and what everyone thought of as death?
Chapter Sixty-Six
Syd’s skin was the colour of parchment and his hands were shaking as he made the tea. Even though they were not on good terms and hadn’t spoken properly since the day of Richard’s funeral, Lizzie couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
‘Shall I do that?’ she asked softly.
‘No, I’m better on the move.’
‘Syd, I know we haven’t seen eye to eye lately but—’
He looked up quickly and his face flushed. Tears filled his eyes and he sank down at the table, dropping his head to his hands.
Lizzie sat down too, waiting for him to speak. When he didn’t she asked quietly, ‘Syd, something’s wrong, isn’t it?’
Her brother-in-law nodded. ‘I – I done something bad. Very bad.’
‘Do you want to tell me what it is?’ Lizzie stared at the top of Syd’s bowed head. Why wouldn’t he look at her?
‘Everything started to go wrong when – when – Walter took Frank’s watch.’
‘What?’ Lizzie felt the breath knocked out of her. ‘It’s true then? You and Walter did beat Frank up.’
‘No, it wasn’t me,’ insisted Syd mournfully. ‘It was Walter and Clifford. I tried to stop them, but they just laid in to Frank. I didn’t even know Walter took the watch till you pointed it out.’
‘But why?’ Lizzie demanded. ‘Frank didn’t do anything to harm them or hurt your family.’
‘I asked for their help. I wanted to frighten Frank off so he wouldn’t come sniffing around again. But Walter and Clifford, well, they just went berserk.’
‘They almost killed him,’ Lizzie said angrily. ‘How could you let them?’
Syd gave a smothered sob. ‘I tried to pull them off, but I couldn’t. I just wanted to help you, but it all went wrong.’
‘I told you I would take care of things in my own way. It wasn’t up to you to get involved with my affairs.’
‘I know. And I should have listened.’
Lizzie shook her head in despair. ‘Why didn’t you?’
‘It’s down to a bloke to provide for his family,’ Syd said in a bewildered voice. ‘And there was me. I couldn’t give Flo a nice house, or nice things. I couldn’t even drive a car.’
‘No one is blaming you for that.’
‘I blamed myself. I was just a fish porter.’
‘Oh stop it, Syd. You had a good job and you could have done very well if you’d stuck to it.’
‘Walter said fish portering was a waste of time. If I went into the scrapyard they’d teach me to drive and I’d soon be earning big money.’ He gulped. ‘And I am.’
‘Yes, and has it made you happy?’
Syd shook his head silently.
&
nbsp; ‘You don’t want to go to prison, do you?’
‘No, course not.’
‘If the law had followed up Frank’s case properly, all three of you could have been charged with attempted murder.’
Syd gave a low howl of pain. Once more he held his head in his hands.
‘Does Flo know what your brothers did?’ Lizzie demanded, though she was dreading his answer. She wouldn’t like to think that Flo had known about the beating, even agreed to it.
‘No,’ Syd said heavily. ‘She hates Frank, but she’d never go along with what Walter and Clifford did.’
‘So why did you lie to me about the watch?’
He shrugged, his slumped shoulders making him look a beaten man. ‘I was ashamed. I knew Flo would go bananas if she found out. She didn’t want me to chuck in my job, but I convinced her we needed the money. I’ve made a big mistake there. Walter and Clifford don’t have no scruples and are mixing with very dubious types up in Soho. I don’t like what I hear and see when I’m around them. But I can’t turn the clock back now.’
‘So what are you going to do?’
‘Dunno.’ Syd stared bleakly into her eyes. ‘But I do know I’ll never let you down again.’
‘No you won’t,’ Lizzie agreed firmly, ‘because if your brothers ever wrong-foot Flo in any way, I shall hold you personally responsible. Everyone makes mistakes and you deserve a second chance. You’re a good man at heart. You stood by Flo and me through those troubled years and I’m grateful for it. But you’ve put yourself in a bad position and it’s up to you to think of a way out of it.’
‘I will. I promise.’ Syd nodded, but Lizzie could see the fear in his eyes. Though he was a loyal husband and good son to the Missus, he was weak when it came to his brothers. Walter and Clifford were dangerous and, reading the expression on Syd’s face, she knew that he was thinking the same.
Just then they heard a cry from upstairs. Syd shot to his feet and chased out of the kitchen. They both ran up the stairs and, when they entered the bedroom, Flo was sitting on the edge of the bed. ‘Me waters have broken,’ she gasped, staring down at her wet nightdress.
‘Is it the baby this time?’ Syd breathed, standing stock still.
Flo nodded, clutching her stomach.
Lizzie hurried to her sister and, after removing the nightdress as Flo fought the pains that were coming hard and strong, she shouted over her shoulder to Syd.
‘There’s a nurse who lives in March Street. Mabel Cranfield her name is, I think. Mum used to know her and she helped a lot of women round here. Go through the alley to No. 54 at the end of the terrace.’
There was no reply, just a crash of the door downstairs and the sound of Syd’s running footsteps through the open window.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Nelson Sydney Miller arrived in the world just thirty minutes later, slipping out from between his mother’s legs into Lizzie’s hands with an effortless cry. The little boy was not so little, Lizzie saw delightedly, as she wiped the blood and mucus from his well-formed limbs and wrapped him in a towel.
‘You were right, love,’ Lizzie said as, after hugging the baby to herself for a few precious seconds, she laid him gently in Flo’s arms. ‘He’s perfect. And I’ll bet he’s no less than a ten-pounder.’
Flo clasped the bundle to her breast, tears of joy escaping down her cheeks. ‘My baby, my beautiful son,’ she whispered over and over again.
Just then the baby opened his dark eyes and let out a yell at the same time as Syd entered the room. Close behind him, Lizzie saw a plump young woman wearing a blue uniform, carrying with her a small brown case.
‘I’m Nurse Edith Cranfield.’ The nurse introduced herself breathlessly. ‘Not a midwife, although I’ve done my training of course. Mrs Miller, your husband says you’ve had pains all night?’
Flo nodded, then smiled up at Syd. ‘It’s a boy, love. Nelson Sydney Miller. Just like we planned.’
Syd stepped slowly forward, his mouth hanging open. Lizzie slid her finger from the infant’s grasp, a strong, healthy grip together with a scream to match.
‘Well, we’ll leave you and your son for a couple of minutes,’ the nurse said, sounding a little put out. ‘But I must see to the cord. Your husband will have plenty of time with the baby when you’re tidied up.’ Catching hold of Lizzie’s arm, the nurse ushered her out onto the landing.
‘From what Mr Miller tells me, his wife started labour yesterday,’ she said in an offended whisper. ‘Isn’t she booked in with Dr Shaw at the maternity ward of Poplar Hospital?’
Lizzie shrugged. ‘You’ll have to ask my sister about that.’
‘Your sister?’
‘I’m Lizzie Allen, but you’re not Mabel Cranfield, are you?’
‘She was my aunt.’
Lizzie could see the resemblance. Edith was a smaller, younger version of Mabel. ‘We – that is, the Allens – used to live in this house and I remembered a nurse living in March Street. So I sent Syd round to see if she was still there.’
‘My aunt wasn’t a real nurse, you know.’ Nurse Edith Cranfield frowned as she folded her hands under her ample bosom. ‘No, no, not at all.’
‘I didn’t know,’ Lizzie admitted. ‘But she did help a lot of people.’
‘She would be very old by now, if she had lived. I’m one of her many nieces and my husband and I took over the house after she died. Auntie was a bit of an eccentric. But I have to admit, she did help many babies into this world, though her practices would be very frowned on now and, I assure you, we do things very differently these days.’ She paused, looking Lizzie up and down. ‘Have you had any formal nursing training?’
Lizzie shook her head.
‘I see. Mr Miller told me his wife had problems during her pregnancy. In fact she almost miscarried.’
‘Yes, that’s true.’
Nurse Cranfield eyed Lizzie with suspicion. ‘The couple have a car, so he could have driven his wife to the hospital when she first started having contractions. Any complications that might have arisen could have been avoided.’
Lizzie just smiled. Tell that to my sister, she thought.
‘Well, no time to lose.’ The nurse pulled back her shoulders. ‘If we have to ask the doctor to visit I’m sure Mrs Miller wouldn’t object to that!’
‘I’m sure she wouldn’t,’ Lizzie agreed, hiding her amusement.
The nurse sighed and glanced back into the bedroom. She gave Lizzie a little shove towards the stairs. ‘Now, be a dear and fetch me some boiled water, clean towels and sheets.’
As Lizzie hurried off to the kitchen, she thought of Flo’s prediction, that Nelson Sydney would be born safely and into Lizzie’s own hands. A dream or a visitation, it had certainly come to pass.
Much to Lizzie’s own surprise.
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Lizzie rolled up the waste in the newspaper and placed it in the bin outside. Returning to the kitchen she washed the china cups that just before Nurse Cranfield had left she had filled with hot, sweet tea, to celebrate Nelson’s arrival. With her business concluded, the nurse had promised to call early the next morning, bringing the midwife and doctor with her.
Relieved that all major decisions were now being taken by those who knew best, Lizzie returned the china to the cupboard. The stew she had prepared was cooking on the stove and the house was quiet. Lizzie glanced around the kitchen, satisfied all was in order. She couldn’t wait to go home and tell Polly she had a new cousin. Syd, the proud father, was eager to let the Missus know, but Flo had been reluctant to have visitors just yet.
With a sense of exhausted relief, Lizzie gazed out of the kitchen window to Flo’s and Lil’s back yards. Lil’s washing was drying in the bright September sunshine, a clothes prop in the middle where the tails of Doug’s shirts flapped in the breeze. Very soon, mused Lizzie, there would be rows of fluffy white nappies pegged to Flo’s line and Lil and Flo would join each other at the fence, indulging in a few moments’ peace as the baby
slept in the pram.
Lizzie’s thoughts inevitably drifted to Ethel. Her friend had moved to her mother-in-law’s in Lewisham, so Bert had said after his visit to Danny’s last week. Not that he’d found Danny very talkative, but more distressed at Cal’s imminent departure from Tilbury to Australia. Cal had recovered now from his ordeal at the hostelry, but had given up hope of a future with Ethel. Lizzie knew that Danny would be very sorry to see his close friend leave for such distant shores.
A soft rumble met Lizzie’s ears and, following it, she found Syd in the front room, sprawled out on the armchair, snoring loudly. She smiled at the prone figure. His sleepless night and the excitement of the day were catching up with him.
Quietly, Lizzie went upstairs. She fully expected Flo to be sleeping too as Nelson had been fed before Nurse Cranfield had left. But Flo was sitting up, her dark hair drawn behind her ears and her eyes fixed wistfully on the crib beside the bed. Flo beckoned her and Lizzie tiptoed in, to sit in contented silence, gazing at the new arrival: a chubby pink face, ebony half-moon eyelashes and a head full of dark fluff. Miniature fists peeping out from a white-knitted shawl.
‘Ain’t he handsome,’ Flo whispered. ‘A real boy.’
‘Just as Ma said,’ Lizzie replied softly.
‘Now do you believe it wasn’t a dream?’
Lizzie nodded, but so much had happened that she didn’t really know what to think. What was important was that the baby had arrived safely in this world.
‘Talking of which, where is Syd?’
‘Taking a cat-nap downstairs.’
Flo chuckled. ‘Poor sod didn’t get much sleep last night.’
‘And he won’t tonight. Not if Nelson has anything to do with it.’
‘Lizzie,’ Flo said quietly, ‘I don’t know what I’d have done without you.’
‘Just don’t ask me to deliver the next one.’
‘Sorry, gel.’ Flo looked down. ‘I shouldn’t have sprung that on you like I did. You’ve had enough on your plate without me to worry about.’ Flo’s eyes suddenly had a mischievous glint. ‘Can’t wait to tell Nelson when he’s old enough that it was his Auntie Lizzie who brought him into this world, the same auntie who faced up to a rotten crook who got his just deserts at the bottom of a well.’