She slumbered on in a dreamless sleep, not hearing a persistent knocking upon the front door. If it had touched her consciousness at all, her thoughts would be that it was only Sam, her brother in law calling with the milk.
A few hours later and refreshed from her sleep, she spotted a single sheet of paper that had been pushed under the door. Though it was addressed to Mr. Tibbs, not Miss, Katie read it anyway.
“Mr. Tibbs,” she read out. “ Would you kindly present yourself as soon as possible at the offices of the Sheldon Property Company. I have tried to contact you on a number of occasions, but you have not been in. Please ask for Mr. Arlington.” The writer had signed it, Richard Clegg.
Katie’s heart plummeted as she sat down and studied the words. So this was it then, the news that they’d been waiting for at last? What if they couldn’t meet the rent that they’d be asking? Nurses Home, here I come?
“Eddie, there’s something I want to discuss with you. Could yer come into the drawing room for a moment? Olive, you can bring in the tea.”
Maggie sat on the chaise longue and motioned to Eddie to sit near her on a chair. They sipped their tea from delicate porcelain cups and Eddie felt he was in heaven.
“Eddie, I know you and Hannah have only been with me fer a few days, but there are certain rules we must follow if our life together is to be harmonious. The servants are used to following a routine here, so I would thank you not to hang around engaging them in conversation. They must be encouraged to call you Sir or Mr. Dockerty, especially Olive, who I have heard calling you by your Christian name. Joan must be allowed to get on with her cooking and it isn’t your job to bring in coal for the range. Do yer understand what I’m getting at? These people are my servants and that’s what they get paid for.”
Eddie’s face was a picture. His mouth started twitching and Maggie felt sure he was trying to suppress a giggle. Suddenly all Hannah could hear as she came down the stairs was her husband and stepmother beside themselves with mirth.
“What’s so funny, you two?” she asked as she came across the pair of them, seeing Maggie with tears of laughter running down her cheeks.
“Ask this noggle head you’ve brought to live with us, he’ll have me in the funny farm the way he’s carrying on!”
Maggie sat with Mr. Arlington in the chambers of the Town Hall Planning Officer. Newly created to this position, Mr. Hobbs was quite a pompous young man.
“We have studied the architect’s drawings that you resubmitted for our approval, Mrs. Haines,” he said importantly. “I must say with only twenty four houses being proposed for the site, we can now see the wood from the trees!”
He sat back in his chair and smiled widely at his little joke. He realised that neither of the people opposite him at his desk shared his small frivolity and arranged his face back into a serious one again.
“As we have said before, so I won’t bore you with reiteration, these plans are best for the foreseeable future. The previous ones would have put a great strain on the village’s existing resources, for example the sewage system and the water supply. As we are trying to work within our budgets, we don’t want the cost of the aforementioned to have to rise again. So if we are agreed, you can now put out for tender to build twenty four houses on what we shall be naming Claypool Road.”
“And what about the proposed row of terraces that we have applied to build along Town Lane?” Mr. Arlington inquired, knowing that Maggie was too annoyed to speak.
“Won’t be a problem, Mr. Arlington. There is already that type of dwelling on that road, so your plans should pass through the committee without much discussion. You can take it from me that those buildings can go ahead.”
“I told you, Maggie, that your plans for low cost dwellings wouldn’t meet with their approval,” said Mr. Arlington, as they walked down the high street from the Town Hall. “You may as well get on with it, or some other developer will come along and they’ll be given the go ahead. Just do as Hobbs tells you and forget your dreams of houses for the masses. Think of the money you’re going to make from it anyway. Now, is this job going to be too much for our company? Do you want me to approach any other firms to put a tender in?”
“Do sit down, Mr. Tibbs, Miss Tibbs. I see you have received our communication regarding Thistledown Cottage. It’s good of you both to come in.”
Mr. Arlington sat down heavily behind his desk. He was feeling his age today. If it wasn’t for all the excitement that was going on with the Sheldon companies, he would go into retirement. Alice was constantly nagging him to give his notice in to Maggie, but who would she get to replace him? Mr. Peel was happy in his Bounty voucher kingdom and Richard Clegg had a lot to learn still. You couldn’t throw away the experiences of twenty-odd years.
He smiled encouragingly at the two young people before him, who were looking distinctly nervous. Even Katie felt a bit shaky, and she dealt with her dragon of a Matron every day.
“Can yer tell us how much the rent is going to be, Sir?” asked Ernie timidly. “Only neither of us have well-paid jobs and you’ll know that we lived rent-free before.”
“It still will be rent-free, young man, but only for the near future. The council in its wisdom has decided that all properties deemed insanitary are to be demolished and your cottage is one of them, I’m afraid, along with the other cottage further up the lane.”
“But, Sir,” gasped Ernie, looking at his sister in alarm. “We’ve nowhere else to go and that place is all we’ve known since we were children. Tibbses have lived at Thistledown Cottage for nearly forty years!”
“Yes, yes we are aware of that, but remember things have changed now. It isn’t a tied cottage anymore. It belongs to the Sheldon Property Company.”
“Then how will we be paying no rent on it for the near future?” asked Katie, puzzlement showing in her pleasant face.
“Because you will be getting first refusal on a property to be built on Town Lane. You can stay at Thistledown Cottage until then.”
“But we’ve got no money to go buying a new place to live in, never mind find the rent if that was to be asked for instead. I told yer before that neither of us have well paid jobs…”
Ernie went pink in the face and hot round the collar. The frustration of trying to make this man before him understand their situation was causing him to break out in a sweat.
Mr. Arlington opened a drawer in his desk and brought out a paper. He explained, as he knew that they had probably never seen one before, that it was a money order.
“Given to you by Mrs. Haines, in memory of your mother. Fifty pounds, a good deposit, and you can borrow the rest at a very low interest from the Sheldon Property Company!”
“Well, I never,” said Annie in amazement, as she looked at her two siblings, when they arrived breathless on her doorstep later.
“She’s given yer fifty pounds as a deposit on a new house to be built up on Town Lane? How much are they costing? When will yer move in? You look like startled rabbits the pair of yer. Come in anyway and tell me all about it. Then I’ll tell you my news, it’s just as good as yours!”
Chapter 13
Maggie walked with Hannah along the road to church one Sunday morning. They hadn’t been there since Hannah’s wedding, as neither had felt the urge to. Maggie, because she felt so angry still at Jack’s departure that she couldn’t take the Host; Hannah, because she had never been a keen churchgoer anyway. Today, though, the sun was shining and with spirits feeling distinctly uplifted, they had agreed to go together, leaving Eddie to lie in bed.
It had been a big mistake, thought Maggie after. Not only did they see Alice in the congregation, but Madeline, Eddie’s mother, was there too. They should have just turned heel and returned later for the second Mass, but surely there would be no confrontation in the House of God?
Alice was the first to stir up trouble. She had made a beeline for Maggie, as everyone spilled out into the churchyard.
“I see you couldn’t hold onto him
fer very long, Maggie. How many years has it bin?”
“Just ignore her, Mother,” Hannah hissed. “You know what she’s like, she’s only looking for a fight!”
They began to continue together along the path that lead to Burton Road, both staring ahead of them, ignoring people as they walked.
“But you’ve held onto mine though, Maggie Haines,” shouted Madeline, who had heard what Alice had been saying and had run after them.
“Doesn’t allow our Eddie to come a-calling now. Thinks our place isn’t good enough now he’s living at Selwyn Lodge.”
That was too much for Maggie. She turned with the light of battle sparking in her eyes.
“Madeline. I’ve offered yer the hand of friendship. I said yer would be welcome in me home at any time, but no, yer full of bitterness wanting to cling on to the past and try to even old scores. Nobody is keeping your son away from the tavern, but perhaps he prefers it where it’s peaceful, instead of living in a menagerie with all those kids and you!”
More insults might have been hurled and physical damage done, if it had not been for the priest, who upon hearing the ruction, hurriedly intervened.
“Ladies, I could hear you from inside the vestry!”
Father O’Brien came hurrying down the path towards them, his cassock flapping around his heels.
“I’m ashamed of you all, that I am.”
He gestured towards the small group of gaping onlookers, who had gathered to speculate on the outcome of the affray.
“Go to yer homes now, I’m sure you’ve all got Sunday dinners to get on with.”
Turning to the three guilty-looking ladies and Hannah, who was holding onto her stepmother protectively, he glared at them and said, “Mrs. Dockerty, Mrs. Haines and you, Mrs. Arlington, whatever your differences are, you have just bin in the House of God and He won’t be pleased at all at you shouting like a group of fishwives. Neither am I happy about it and I will visit each one of yer in turn to see what is at the bottom of these shenanigans.”
“Well, she started it,” began Hannah, feeling that she should protect Maggie from her Grandmama, who she knew had a vicious tongue.
“Never mind who started it, Hannah. We are all God’s children and we should treat one another with respect. Now go in peace and don’t forget I’ll be visiting you all in the next few days.” Eddie thought it was funny when Hannah and Maggie told him that they had felt like naughty school girls.
“I don’t know. All this fighting is over me, isn’t it? It’s this way I’ve got with women, yer see.”
Even Maggie joined in when Hannah started hitting him with a cushion, until he cried for mercy, saying two onto one wasn’t fair!
It was Maggie’s fortieth birthday. She didn’t feel like getting out of bed to face it, though they had planned to hold a celebration at the Victoria Hotel. Not really a celebration, she thought. It was only the three of them. Just dinner in a different place without one of the people she loved the most. It was Mikey’s birthday today as well. How would he be celebrating his twenty-third year in that distant foreign land? Would someone be making a fuss of him, with presents, congratulations and a special dinner, too? His letters, now he had decided to write them, told of voracious heat, diseases, water shortage, millions of mosquitoes and flies. Surly servants, basic quarters, minor skirmishes now and again. It was nothing at all as he had expected and he hoped he’d be back home this time next year. She felt sad for a moment, thinking that in some way she had failed him. Had he joined the British Army because she hadn’t given him enough responsibility? Had she driven him to it by taking her step-daughter’s side?
She got out of bed reluctantly and stared at herself critically in the cheval mirror. She didn’t look too bad, she thought, considering her age. Her hair only had a little grey in it; a few more lines on her face than there were last year; she wasn’t fat but slender and curvy and she knew she was still attractive, because of the attention she received from certain men. Richard Clegg seemed to be very taken with her, as was Dr. Farrington, and her new solicitor in Chester couldn’t do enough for her!
Her thoughts wandered to Richard Clegg, the young man who was being groomed by Mr. Arlington to take over from him when he retired. It was the admiration in Richard’s eyes when Maggie was introduced to him that she remembered. How could she not feel flattered, when Jack didn’t even want her as his wife? Still, she chided herself, she shouldn’t even be thinking about young men such as Richard at her age. She was going to be a grandma just after Christmas; all her love and affection would be given to him or her.
Katie sat in the grounds of the cottage hospital, taking a breather after a busy morning on her ward. She had come on duty at 7 a.m and would be there until 9 p.m that evening. It was a long day, but she was used to it now that she had been nursing for a couple of years. She was taking her lunch break, preferring on sunnier days to eat her food on the bench in the hospital garden. That was when Matron wasn’t about anyway. But Matron had gone to Chester, something to do with the Medical Board, and Sister Makin was in charge. Though the Sister was a stickler in keeping certain disciplines, she turned a blind eye to a lot of things.
The rays of the sun came through the trees in the shady garden, as Katie pondered over the letter that had come to Thistledown Cottage by post. It had informed Mr. Tibbs of the interest payable on the loan to be taken out on Barleymow Terrace, Town Lane. Katie had felt a great flash of anger when she had read that Ernie was to be the owner of the property, especially when it was her wages that would be bolstering up the repayments. She earned the veritable sum of thirty pounds per year, when Ernie was only earning twenty four. Being a woman was so unfair, she ruminated. Why was it that women were treated so badly? Not every woman had a husband and a family. What became of single women who wanted a place of their own?
She thought of all the women who worked in the hospital; Matron, Sister, Rebecca Flynn, the probationer, Celia Rankin, the almoner. All women without property; all reliant on their professions to give them a home. Though there were the exceptions she knew. There was Maggie Haines, who seemed to have her fingers in every pie in Neston and that woman Matron was always banging on about, Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female to become a doctor. And there was their own dear Queen. All strong women who hadn’t relied on a man to achieve their status.
Katie moodily chewed on a piece of cheese and thought about her situation. Should she confront the Sheldon Property Company and demand that her name was put on the deeds? Or should she let her brother become the sole owner and just pay him rent for one of his rooms? What if he found himself a wife in the future? It was possible. Ernie was a good-looking man when he bothered to make an effort, but strangely enough there had never been a hint of a woman in his life. But that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be, when he got the keys of the new house in a month or so. Katie brushed the crumbs from the skirt of her uniform, feeling trepidation at the uncertainty of the years to come.
It was nearly Christmas and the berries on the holly bushes hung in large red clusters, glowing brightly against the white of the snow that had been falling for the last few days.
Eddie sat companionably with his mother in law in front of a roaring log fire in the drawing room of Selwyn Lodge. They had just eaten a satisfying dinner of roast pork and all the trimmings and Eddie, who was sitting with a large glass of port in his hand, was feeling that his world was complete. Well, not quite complete, he thought, as he listened for sounds from the marital bedroom. Hannah had been up there for a few hours resting. The baby had been due two days ago and the nurse, who Maggie had employed for the birthing, had insisted that Hannah took the weight off her feet. Eddie sat and counted his blessings. He lived in a comfortable, well-run house, he was now in charge of his own gang of workmen and before long he would be father to a little baby that he and Hannah had made together. Be it boy or girl he wasn’t really bothered, but a boy would be the ticket if Eddie managed one day to realise his secret dream. The Sheldon
Property Company was becoming a big name in the building industry and he was hoping that soon he would be given a bigger role in it. He was grateful for what he had, no doubt about it; at his age it was a great honour to have such responsibility. But if Maggie was to be presented with a grandson, wouldn’t she want her grandson’s father to have more say in the running of the company? Foreman maybe, but the title Works Manager had a better ring to it. This new man, Richard, who had taken over from Mr. Arlington, was all right when it came to running the business for Maggie, but he hadn’t any manual experience like Eddie had and wasn’t very popular with the ordinary working man. Still, for now Eddie was content with the way things had worked out for him. If he hadn’t have married Hannah, he wouldn’t even have been made a ganger at the young age of twenty one.
Richard Clegg sat at his desk chewing on the end of his pencil as he waited for his employer to appear. She had said she would come in on New Year’s Day to go over a few details with him; check that each of the businesses were running well and to talk about new ideas for the future. He couldn’t see why she bothered making her regular appearances. The woman was loaded and didn’t need to oversee the work he did for her. The Bounty vouchers were popular with the locals still, the Loan Department was raking the money in and already there was a list of people waiting for their homes to be built. Besides, Mr. Arlington, although now an old man, still popped in to keep an eye on him, which annoyed Richard greatly. Why couldn’t they both leave him to get on with the job? Richard brushed back the hair that flopped over his eyes and busied himself with the loans ledger. They had taken sixty three pounds in the last week of 1870, not a bad little sum. He was glad that a branch of the Chester Bank had opened locally a few months ago. Maggie had entrusted him to ride to the city with the takings up until then, but he had always felt nervous. Especially walking through certain streets in Chester where the unemployed seemed to hang around. He was lucky really that Mr. Arlington chose him to be his successor. Mr. Peel could have taken over, but he liked the outdoor life, visiting shops to collect the vouchers, and really the man was getting too old. He was also training up a young man to follow in his footsteps. A chap called Penswick. Strangely enough he had been in a lower year than Richard. They had both attended the Caldy Grammar School.
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