by Iris Gower
‘She’s done wonders with your mam,’ Joe said softly and together, they stood in the kitchen watching as Fon said something and Nina smiled, a smile that warmed her eyes as well as her mouth.
‘What happened?’ Tom forgot his hostility in his surprise and Joe felt relief run through him.
‘I don’t know what it was that did the trick, but I do know Fon went for her mother hammer and tongs. It’s brought Nina out of her fit of the vapours, thank God!’
Joe and Tom went into the garden and Nina, looking up at them, smiled a little hesitantly. ‘I hope you two are going to let past quarrels rest?’ she said. ‘Otherwise I can see myself sinking into a decline again, mind.’
Joe, searching her face, saw that Nina’s threat was made more in anger than in earnest.
Joe looked at his son and Tom shrugged; both men accepted the prospect of an uneasy alliance between them as the pattern for the future.
‘I’m glad you brought Fon to see me,’ Nina said, as she rose to her feet and clutched Joe’s arm, heading through the back door into the kitchen. ‘She’s grown up, mind, there’s more sense in her young head than many an older one, believe me.’ She stood and looked out of the window and saw the young woman waiting for Tom and grimaced ruefully.
‘I realize that you all have your own lives to lead,’ Nina said, ‘I’ve been a selfish woman these past weeks, haven’t I, Joe, but I think I’m going to get over it a bit now.’
‘Well,’ Tom said in a falsely hearty voice, ‘we’d better be going if we’re to get you back to Honey’s Farm this side of nightfall.’ Tom addressed his remarks to Fon, but at the same time he was glancing over his shoulder at the young woman who was lightly holding the reins of the horse as she sat waiting in the trap.
‘Bye then, Mam,’ Fon hugged Nina and Joe, seeing the genuine love in the girl’s eyes, guessed how hard it must have been for her to talk as sharply as she had done to her mother.
‘Come and see me soon, Fon,’ Nina said softly, ‘and God go with you and give you strength, my lovely, you are surely going to need it.’
Joe watched as Fon followed her brother out on to the road. Tom lifted Fon into the trap and the two young women seemed to be exchanging pleasantries. There was something about Tom’s lady friend that seemed familiar and yet Joe couldn’t quite place her.
He turned to Nina and put his arm around her shoulders. ‘Come on, love, let’s go out and watch them drive away,’ he said gently.
‘Aye, don’t I know the girl from somewhere?’ Nina said puzzled. She clung to Joe’s arm as they stood in the doorway and waved until the trap had bowled away along the street in the direction of Swansea.
Joe turned Nina’s face to him. ‘Have you come back to me now, Nina?’
‘Aye love, thanks to my daughter,’ Nina said softly. ‘I feel as though I’ve been asleep for a long time but now I’m awake again.’
Joe felt hope surge through him as Nina closed the door behind them and stared round the kitchen. ‘Fon is quite right, the place is a mess,’ she said sinking into a chair. ‘I’ll make a start on it tomorrow, you’ll see, Joe, I’ll soon be as right as I ever was.’
Joe bent and kissed her. ‘Thank God for that, my girl, I couldn’t have gone on like we were for much longer, blaming myself and watching you fall more and more into a world of your own.’
Nina touched his cheek. ‘It’s over now, love, all I must do is get strong again, then you can all look out, you’ll feel the edge of my tongue, believe me!’
Joe had just stepped outside to fetch some coal when he heard Nina calling him.
‘Joe!’ Her voice was urgent and he dropped the scuttle and hurried back into the kitchen.
‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ he asked anxiously and Nina stared up at him, with an expression of concern.
‘I’ve just remembered where I’ve seen Tom’s girlfriend before. She’s the one who all the scandal was about, the one who stole Hari Grenfell’s son and nearly got him killed. That girl with my son is that no good hussy, Sarah Miller!’
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The sun shone in through the long windows of Eline’s room and dappled the deep green carpet so that in the confusion of light and shade it resembled a field of rich grass. Eline was reminded of her life on the farm; of the ragged fallow fields, the brook running at the bottom of the hill and the smell of the corn; she wondered at the quirk of fate that had taken her away from it all so finally. First to live the life of a fisherman’s wife and then to land in the strange and wonderful position she was in now, working for Mrs Emily Miller.
She had been glad to leave Oystermouth, but she still could see the pain in Joe’s eyes as he had looked at her. And Nina, crouched in a chair, weak and pale as though any movement might shatter her thinly held composure. Eline had turned her back on them and returned to Swansea, putting all thoughts of the past behind her, including her foolish longing for Will Davies – especially, she emphasized to herself, her longing for Will Davies.
Eline had found comfort in the solitude of her suite of rooms and had been gratified at the warmth extended to her by Mrs Miller. And slowly, over the days, her life had fallen into a pattern once more and Eline was grateful.
As it transpired, Eline’s own modification for the side-spring boot had been sold to a big boot and shoe company and both Hari Grenfell and Mrs Miller had given Eline full credit for it, talking about the achievement to anyone who would listen.
‘You have a wonderful future before you if you only work hard and dedicate yourself to the business.’ Mrs Miller had smiled and some of her natural reserve had melted. ‘I knew you were destined for success, there was something I recognized in you straight away. Welcome back to where you belong, Eline.’
A knock on her door startled Eline from the warm glow that filled her whenever she comforted herself with those words of praise and, even before she rose to open it, she knew that Will would be standing outside. He would be waiting on the beeswax-scented landing, his hair falling across his wide forehead, his eyes, as penetrating as ever, would be looking right into her being.
Eline hesitated, her hands clenched into small fists, torn between joy and despair. Why couldn’t he leave her alone and stop torturing them both in this way?
‘Who is it?’ She scarcely recognized her own voice and then the door was opening and he was there, so much more handsome, so much more dear than in her imagining.
‘Will, Mr Davies, what can I do for you?’ She forced herself to speak formally, as though he was a stranger. He paused, looking down at her, and then he had entered the room and was holding her arms almost roughly.
‘Don’t shut me out like that,’ he said in a quiet anger. ‘I don’t deserve that from you.’ He sighed, released her and thrust his hands into his pockets, while Eline closed the door. There was no point in letting everyone in the building know her business.
‘I shouldn’t have let you go like that,’ Will said. ‘When you came to my shop to fetch Gwyneth Parks I could see how upset you were. Don’t you think I needed to know what was wrong?’
Eline stared at him steadily, resisting the urge to accuse him of paying too much attention to Gwyneth Parks. It really was not her business to interfere, Will must make his life elsewhere; he had no future with Eline that was sure.
‘It’s kind of you to worry,’ she said sitting down and clasping her hands in her lap, ‘I was upset.’ She shrugged. ‘But who wouldn’t be? It wasn’t pleasant seeing Nina so ill and Joe, my husband,’ she smiled wryly, ‘sick with worry. Perhaps I’m a coward but I just had to get out of there.’
‘No woman could be expected to cope with a situation like that,’ Will said reasonably, ‘no one could blame you for leaving.’ He looked down at her but didn’t touch her.
‘I don’t understand why you went to see him in the first place. There was really no need for you to go back to Oystermouth at all, was there?’
There was a reproof in his words and Eline spoke up defensi
vely. ‘Whatever he’s done, Joe is still my husband, I had to make sure he was all right.’ When Will didn’t reply she rushed on. ‘I’ve known Joe ever since I was a child, he was always there for me, a strong presence when everything else had gone and Joe loved me, still loves me come to that.’
‘Why did you make way for another woman then?’ Will asked sharply. ‘Why didn’t you fight for what was yours?’
Eline felt a pain deep within her but she would not show Will how much his words hurt her.
‘I think that is my business,’ she said coldly, ‘I don’t have to make any excuses to you.’
‘You’re right,’ he said and moved towards the door. ‘I’m sorry I bothered you, I see it was a mistake.’
Her voice stopped him. ‘Will,’ she said softly and when he turned to look at her she held her hands up in despair. ‘There’s no future for us, can’t you see that? Go on and live your own life because I’ll never be free of Joe, never.’
Without a word, Will went out and closed the door. After a moment, Eline moved to the table and stared down at her drawings determined to work. But the patterns swam before her eyes and her brain could think of nothing but Will and at last, Eline collapsed into a chair and, covering her eyes with her hands, gave herself up to despair.
Emily was in the nursery, having just settled Pammy down for the night, when she heard a commotion in the hallway. She moved out on to the landing, her skirts swirling around her slippered feet, her heart thumping so loudly she thought it would burst through her flesh.
‘I have every right to be here, I’m your daughter after all.’ The voice was raised an octave. ‘And you’ve got my baby or have you forgotten that?’
‘Sarah!’ Emily felt the blood draining from her face, she clung to the ornate banister and stared down at the girl standing with her hands on hips, her eyes staring upwards in what appeared to be fiendish delight.
John caught Sarah’s arm and hustled her into the sitting room while Emily hurried down the stairs to join them. What could it mean? Surely Sarah wasn’t coming to claim Pammy after all this time? It couldn’t be, the little girl was Emily’s life, she had brought her up from the day she was born, loved her as though she had carried her herself. Sarah had abandoned her child, she couldn’t want her back now.
None of the turmoil Emily was feeling showed itself in her voice when she greeted her step-daughter. ‘So, you’ve come back to Swansea, Sarah, do you think that was wise?’
‘It’s my home,’ Sarah answered petulantly, ‘you’ve no right to keep me out of it.’
‘I have every right to call the police and have you arrested, madam!’ Emily said sharply, aware that John was looking at her beseechingly but she did not soften her tone. Sarah might be John’s daughter but she was a disruptive influence, a wicked girl who would stop at nothing to get her own way.
‘You haven’t forgotten that you and your boyfriend abducted Hari Grenfell’s child and held him for ransom, almost getting yourself killed into the bargain, have you? Because you can be sure none of us have forgotten and never will.’
Sarah subsided into a chair and Emily sat down opposite her. ‘You were lucky that Craig Grenfell saved you and your precious Sam from the explosion. Lucky, too, that you were quick enough to get away from here before you faced prosecution for your crime.’
Sarah didn’t answer but stared moodily down at her hands.
‘I suppose Sam Payton has at last run out on you,’ Emily said cruelly. ‘You didn’t expect a man like that to stay faithful, did you?’
Sarah glared at her for a moment and then smiled. ‘I give Sam the push, so there, and anyway, I got fed up of living in Port Eynon, one-eyed hole that it is. I’ve got a new boyfriend now, Tom Parks is handsome and honest and he was good enough to bring me back to Swansea with him.’
‘Port Eynon?’ Emily was incredulous, she had believed that Sarah would have fled abroad or at least to England. Who would have though she would be hiding away in a small seaside village not more than sixteen miles from Swansea?
‘Well,’ Emily tried to compose herself, ‘what do you expect of us now, madam? Why shouldn’t we turn you over to the police constable right away?’
‘Now then, Emily,’ John intervened, ‘I think Sarah has suffered enough and it was Sam Payton who instigated that whole thing, you know.’
Emily was momentarily irritated by her husband’s blindness. Couldn’t he see his daughter was a bad lot and that nothing would change her?
‘I only want a job,’ Sarah said coaxingly, looking up at her father, ‘and somewhere to live.’ She glanced at Emily slyly. ‘I won’t interfere with the way you bring up my baby, honest.’
Emily forced down the feeling of anger and sickness that threatened to engulf her. ‘Well, you are not living here!’ she said positively. Sarah had manipulated her once before, forcing herself on Emily and John, disrupting their lives and Emily wasn’t going to have that again.
‘You can stay at the emporium for the time being at least,’ she said, ‘and if you don’t like it there, you can get out of my life and stay out, understand?’
Emily turned to John. ‘Take your daughter down to town and let her share Eline’s rooms for now. We’ll talk more about it in the morning.’ Her voice brooked no refusal and John, after a moment, nodded.
‘Come on, Sarah, you’ll be comfortable enough and we can talk everything out when we are all much calmer.’
Emily clasped her hands together aware they were trembling. ‘And Sarah,’ she said firmly, ‘try not to upset my staff too much.’
She stood rigidly still until she heard the door close behind John and his daughter and then Emily sank into a chair and sighed with relief. She had got rid of Sarah for the moment but what sort of havoc was the girl going to cause this time?
Emily chewed her lip, thinking about Hari and Craig. What would their reaction be when they knew that Sarah was back in Swansea? Would they wish to prosecute the girl for her part in the abduction of their son? If so, she couldn’t blame them. And in a small corner of her heart, Emily wished it would work out that way, because with Sarah imprisoned, her own worries and fears would be over.
Emily went upstairs and stared down at the little girl she had come to think of as her own, the child she had taken into her arms at birth when her mother had rejected her so brutally.
‘Don’t worry, Pammy,’ she whispered, ‘I won’t let anything happen to you.’
Eline was not happy with the arrangement, not happy at all. From the first moment she had met Sarah Miller she had disliked the girl and now, a week after that first introduction, her dislike had hardened into a feeling of contempt.
Sarah made no secret of her past, she even boasted about her many conquests and it seemed that she was leading poor Tom Parks around like a bull with a ring through its nose.
Sarah did very little work but worse she disrupted Eline when she wanted to sit over her drawings and had ruined the precious sanctuary in the little suite of rooms above the emporium. The only respite Eline had was when Sarah went out walking with Tom and often returned smelling of gin. Eline didn’t think of herself as a prude but it was clear that Sarah held virtue very lightly indeed.
Then one night, Eline was awakened by the sound of laughter and loud voices and startled, she sat up in bed, staring around her, feeling for a moment disorientated. Her eyes grew accustomed to the dark and she pushed back her heavy plaits of hair, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
Another shriek of laughter from the direction of Sarah’s room brought a feeling of anger rushing over Eline. She slid out of bed and drew on her robe, tying it firmly around her waist with sharp movements of her fingers.
She crossed the small hallway and knocked on the door but it was not latched and swung open at her touch. The scene before her was one of complete abandonment and Eline recoiled in embarrassed fury. There on the bed with her stays undone and her legs wrapped around the naked body of a red-faced Tom Parks was Sarah.
; She was not at all abashed when she saw Eline but shrieked with laughter once more, her head flung back, her hair loose around her white shoulders.
‘Come in, Miss Poe Face,’ she laughed, ‘you might learn a bit about real life and how a woman keeps her man interested!’
Eline started to close the door but Sarah’s voice continued remorselessly. ‘Lost your husband to Tom’s mam, I hear, what a scream! But then there’s no red blood in your veins from what I hear, you’re so cold and barren that no man would want you anyway!’
Eline returned to her room and sank down on to the bed, her whole body trembling. Was there any truth in Sarah’s words? Was Eline cold and barren? The accusations had stung and Eline climbed into bed, her robe still wrapped around her because, suddenly, she was shivering.
The sun was shining the next morning but the brightness of the day did nothing to dispel Eline’s feelings of dejection. One thing she knew, she could not continue to live in the same building as Sarah Miller.
‘Thank heavens it’s my day off!’ Eline said aloud. It would be good to get outdoors into the freshness of the day, to walk beside the sweetly rolling tide that crept into the crescent of Swansea Harbour. Eline would forget work, forget the emptiness of her marriage and forget the hurtful words spoken in derision by a woman little better than a whore. Bur first she must speak to Mrs Miller.
Emily was entirely sympathetic; she welcomed Eline into her sitting room as though she was an honoured guest and instructed the maid to bring some cordial. When they were alone, she turned to Eline and there was a patient smile on her handsome face.
‘I know it is a difficult situation and I intended it only to be a temporary solution,’ she said at once when Eline complained as politely as she could about Sarah’s disruptive presence in the emporium. ‘Indeed,’ Emily added, ‘I have taken the precaution of finding my step-daughter some lodgings with a Mrs Marsh, a very respectable landlady, living a little way out of Swansea.’
Her tone implied that the further away the better. ‘You are a hard-working girl, Eline,’ Emily continued, ‘a special sort of person just as Hari Grenfell was when I first met her.’ She smiled ruefully. ‘I didn’t treat Hari’s talent with enough respect – that’s a mistake I don’t intend to make with you.