Let Loose the Dogs

by Maureen Jennings

  “Very fine.”

  “My husband was handy. He made them.”

  Unconsciously she touched the surface of the sideboard as if in a caress.

  “Please to sit down by the fire.”

  He did so while she went to the tea trolley, where a silver teapot was warming over a spirit lamp.

  “As I remember you like plenty of sugar and milk.” “That’s right.”

  She poured the tea and handed him the cup and saucer. He didn’t want to embarrass her by constantly commenting on the fine quality of her goods and chattels, but the china was particularly delicate. He was suddenly aware that his chequered brown wool suit was shabby and his boots thick. He had never felt this before with Enid, and he didn’t like it at all.

  “Since you left us, the typewriting business must be going well,” he said, trying for a lighthearted note. He didn’t succeed, and Enid frowned.

  “Mrs. Barrett has kindly let me have two rooms for the cost of one, and in return I sit with her on an evening and sometimes read to her.”

  “The sermons of Mr. Wesley, I assume?”

  “Not at all. She is quite fond of novels. We are presently reading Mr. Scott’s Heart of Midlothian.”

  “I’d consider that rather on the pagan side, myself.” He was goading her cruelly, but he couldn’t stop himself.

  She went over to the trolley and put one of the cakes from the two-tiered silver stand onto his plate. “It is a rousing story, and we both enjoy it.”

  She handed him the Eccles cake, which meant he had to juggle cup and saucer in one hand and the plate in the other. That didn’t help his mood. He put the cup and saucer on the small table beside him. On it was a framed studio photograph. Clearly a family portrait of Enid, a man who he presumed was her late husband, and her son, Alwyn, at a younger age. The man had the physique of a Welshman, short and stocky with thick, dark hair. He looked confident. Enid was leaning her head backwards against his shoulder, and the boy was standing between them. Murdoch had not seen this picture before, but then he realised he had never stepped inside Enid’s room when she was living at the Kitchens’.

  “How does Alwyn like his new digs?” he asked.

  “Quite well indeed. Mrs. Barrett has let me use the old box room for his bedroom. He is very proud to be in a room of his own. He thinks he is quite grown up.” She paused and took a sip of her tea. “I didn’t tell him you might be coming by tonight. I wanted him to go to bed early because he seems a little feverish, and he would not have gone to bed until he saw you.”

  “Fear or pleasure?” Murdoch asked wryly. Enid’s son had been decidedly ambivalent about him.

  She looked uncomfortable. “He does like you, Will, it’s just that …”

  “It’s just that he doesn’t want to share his mother’s attentions.”

  “He’s still a boy.”

  Murdoch shrugged. No matter what he said, they seemed to end up in a place that was stiff and uncomfortable. “Quite so,” he added lamely. “I can’t say that I blame him for that.”

  Another silence that was broken by the sound of a piece of coal falling in the fire.

  Murdoch got to his feet at once. “That fire needs building up,” he said, and knelt down to open the coal scuttle that was beside the fender. He picked up the tongs and dropped a couple of chunks of coal into the red maw. “There you go. I’m restored to manliness. Are there any other tasks I can do for you, ma’am?”

  She smiled back at him. “You can eat another cake. I made them myself this afternoon, and it is affronted I’d be if they were left untouched.”

  “Gladly.”

  He walked over to the trolley and helped himself to a marzipan square and a scone thick with currants.

  “I understand from Mrs. Kitchen you are on compassionate leave for the week.”

  “Yes, and that has turned out to be quite convenient as I have another investigation.”

  He sat down by the fire while Enid looked at him curiously.

  “I would be honoured if you would share the details with me. But if you have no desire to do so, I quite understand.”

  He had half decided not to say anything to her, not sure how it would reflect on him. Oh, by the way, Mrs. Jones, not only am I a papist, my father is probably a murderer! However, once again, something in the kindness of her expression affected him, and he wanted to tell her the whole story.

  “My long-lost father has reappeared. In fact, he is in Don Jail, where he is waiting to be hung.” He raced on, glad she was controlled enough to sit and listen without exclamation while he gave her a summary of what had happened in August.

  “I have agreed to do what I can,” he concluded.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means I am doing what I would do in any investigation. I am examining the evidence as presented. I am asking questions of the people who were there at the time, and I am trying to see if I can sniff out lies or inconsistencies or unearth new evidence pertaining to the case.”

  “And if you were to find such evidence, is it too late?”

  “If I present a convincing-enough deposition to the prison warden, he has the power to stay the execution. If I am overwhelmingly convincing, there could be a new trial.”

  “You say you doubt he is innocent?”

  He shrugged. “I remember all too well what he was like when he was drinking. In the morning all was forgotten. Quite possibly what happened has been erased from his mind. I am going to see if there is any new proof, one way or the other, and that’s all I can do. If he goes to the gallows, so be it.”

  “It must have been shocking to meet with him under these circumstances. And with your sister so newly gone.”

  “I haven’t told him about that yet.”

  Enid came over to him, crouching down so that they were at eye level. She touched his cheek, stroking him as if he were a child in need of comfort.

  “I am sorry for you, Will.”

  He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. Her skin was warm and soft, fragrant with something sweet and flowery. She didn’t move away, and it was so natural to put his other arm around her and pull her close. He kissed her. She raised her arms and enclosed him, pressing against his chest. Murdoch was having trouble breathing, and the position was awkward with Enid somehow half draped across his knees. He managed to part his legs, and she slipped in between them. He wanted to moan with pleasure, and his loins were desperate to take action on their own. He wasn’t sure if it was Enid or he that finally ended the kiss, but they stayed like that, clutched together, her cheek hard against his.

  “You must be uncomfortable,” he whispered, as he kissed her face again and again.

  “I am,” she said, and moved back to sit on her heels, although she was still between his knees. Her face was flushed, and her eyes shone.

  “Mrs. Barrett is away at her sister’s until tomorrow night.”

  He stared at her, wondering why she was telling him this right now. She laughed at him.

  “We have complete privacy, Will. If you want it so, that is.”

  He almost yelped. “Enid!”

  She stood up and took his hand. “My bedroom is adjoining. Come.”

  Stiffly, he got to his feet. She was in charge, and he was only too happy to surrender. If, in spite of everything, Mrs. Jones had determined they would become lovers this night, he would offer no objection. She picked up one of the lamps and pulled back the flowered velvet portieres that draped the door to the bedroom. She had lit a fire here also and already turned down the covers on the bed. The white plump pillows looked soft and welcoming. She smiled at him shyly and gave him another kiss, which lasted for a long time. Finally, she pulled away and indicated the screen in one corner.

  “I’ll change. You can get undressed by the fire where it’s warmer.”

  Murdoch wasn’t sure if he needed to be any warmer than he was, otherwise he’d conflagrate, but he nodded. He was glad he’d sponged down this morning and that h
is shirt was fresh on yesterday. Enid disappeared behind the screen, and he removed all his clothes. He hesitated at whether or not to take off his woollen combination underwear but decided it might be easier if he did. Naked as a jaybird, he hurried over to the bed and jumped in, pulling up the covers.

  Enid emerged. She had wrapped herself in a paisley shawl, but she didn’t seem to have anything on either.

  “Blow out the light, Will,” she said, and he obeyed at once. The flames in the fireplace made dancing shadows on the walls. She came over to the bed, and he made room for her to climb in. He was lying on his back, and she put her arm across his chest. Her skin had gone cool.

  “You’re shivering,” he said. “Are you cold?”

  “No. But it is a long time since I have lain with a man.”

  He buried his face in her hair and spoke into her neck. “Enid, I must tell you I have not had connection with a woman before. I am not sure how to proceed.”

  She leaned back so she could see into his eyes. “There is nothing to worry about.” She rolled away and pulled him on top of her. Her hand slid to his groin. “Trust this fellow; he knows what to do.”

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  A FEW YEARS AGO MARIA NEWCOMBE had purchased an old-fashioned four-poster bed at a country auction. She had replaced the dust-laden curtains with some of claret-coloured velvet, and she liked nothing better in the winter than for her and Vince to get into bed and draw the curtains. They sacrificed some freshness of air for snugness, and she considered it a good trade. At the end of the day, the two of them climbed into bed and pressed closely side by side, discussing the business of the day, going over what needed to be done tomorrow. Maria waited until Vincent had brought up some of the things that were on his mind first. He told her what had happened at the Delaneys’.

  “Mrs. Delaney appeared quite afraid. I didn’t know the boy was so badly off.”

  “Mrs. Bowling is a strange woman, I must say. Whenever I’ve encountered her, she’s been quite unfriendly.”

  Ucillus Bowling had come to live in the Delaney cottage only two years ago. Rumours had soon started about the daughter who some said had the shocking ways of a hoyden. Maria would have been a good neighbour and visited the newcomer, but Ucillus made it clear she did not welcome visitors. The gossips said that did not include male visitors. Maria knew Vincent went to see the woman sometimes, he said. Although she knew she trusted him completely, she couldn’t resist jabbing at the sore place when Ucillus was mentioned.

  “The problem is Delaney himself wasn’t consistent in his treatment of the lad,” said Vince, adroitly sidestepping the issue of Mrs. Bowling’s aloofness. “You’ve got to leaven corrections with kindness unless you only want obedience from fear and not from respect. One minute Philip could have whatever he asked for, the next the very same demand would get him a reprimand. And then would come the temper. I witnessed it more than once.”

  In the darkness Maria smiled to herself. Vincent didn’t see any difference between training a dog and raising a child.

  “The fellow Williams kept a cool head, I must say,” continued Vincent. “Good man. I wouldn’t like to make an enemy of him, but I’d say he would be a steadfast friend.”

  They lay quietly for a while, then she said, “I was thinking I’d go and pay a visit to Jess Lacey. I can take her some bread. From what Walter has said, she is very blue most days.”

  “Good old girl,” he said, and kissed the top of her head. She could tell that he was struggling valiantly against sleep, and she murmured her own good night to release him and kissed his hand. She lay against his chest until she heard by his deepening breathing that he had dozed off, then she slipped away from under his arm and turned on her side. Her eyes were open, and she knew sleep would elude her tonight. It was in these moments when there was silence all around her that her fears began to creep to the forefront of her mind. She knew that, if asked, any of their neighbours or customers would describe her as a cheerful woman with a ready smile. She’d heard it said of her many times, but it wasn’t really true. God had not seen fit to give her living children, and the lack had intensified a deep-seated, inner melancholy that only Vince had ever truly seen. She moved her foot backward until she came into contact with her husband’s calf. His nightshirt had ridden up, and she was momentarily comforted by the feeling of his skin against hers. She had wanted to talk to him about the episode with Sally, which had troubled her deeply, but she had also been reluctant to say, even to him, what had happened.

  He would probably urge her to tell Walter, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. He was already worried enough about his wife. She knew Lacey cared for his daughter, but he was such an unpredictable moody man, and since Jess lost the babe he seemed much worse. She sometimes wondered if he would ever smile again. Not that she didn’t understand the pain of losing a bairn. She did all too well. But there was a living child who needed his attention, and much of the time he behaved as if Sally wasn’t there. The child was becoming more invisible by the day. Like a drift of mist in the ravine, a good wind and she would blow away.

  Maria sat up, pushed aside the bed curtain, and got out of bed. The fire had died to embers, but the bedroom was still warm. She went over to the window that overlooked the rear garden. The doghouse was directly below, empty now because, since her whelping, Tripper had her box in the taproom. Vince had built the doghouse himself, and Maria had joked that it was better accommodation than many people down in the city enjoyed. She didn’t really mind because she, too, loved the dogs, and his devotion to them didn’t divert Vince’s attention from the needs of their own home. Maria stared downwards, unable to shake off her distress.

  When she was only six years old, her mother had died giving birth to her tenth child, the fifth boy, Cecil. The burden of raising the younger children had fallen on the all-too-thin shoulders of her older sisters, Fanny and Martha. To earn money, at harvest time Fanny had taken in minders, children from the village whose parents were away all day in the fields. Mostly Maria was not allowed to play with them, but one day Fanny had been preoccupied with her new sweetheart and Maria had brought her doll to the kitchen where the three other children were playing. Although the two boys were giggling with excitement, she saw at once that it was the bigger girl who was the ringleader. Cecil was on the ground, and one of the boys had a hand over his mouth so he couldn’t cry out. There was such terror in his eyes that Maria had screamed out loud. Fanny came running in; the girl and the two boys were slapped and pulled off. Later that night Maria heard Fanny and Martha whispering together about what had happened. She didn’t completely understand what they meant except that something bad had happened to the girl that summer, and she was taking it out on Cecil. She never came back to be minded, and the incident had become a secret of such awful shame that the slightest hint of it made Maria’s cheeks turn hot.

  She shivered and turned away, too afraid of her own thoughts to tolerate them any longer. Vince muttered something in his sleep, but she couldn’t make out the words. She went back to bed, lay down against his broad, strong back, and kissed his shoulder softly. Finally she fell asleep, and her restless dreams were full of scenes in which Cecil became Sally, who lifted her doll’s smock and was poking her finger into the crotch.

  Moving quietly so as not to wake Walter or Sally, who was in her crib by the fireside, Jess came down the stairs. The moon was full, and there was enough of a layer of snow on the field to throw up a light through the uncurtained windows. She went over to the cupboard and took out the canvas bag where she’d hidden the clothes. Last week she had taken a pair of Walter’s corduroys and cut them down to fit her. She added an old navy jersey with a deep roll collar that she knew he wouldn’t miss and some heavy, well-darned wool socks. She dressed quickly and went to the door. Her own waterproof cloak was too cumbersome to bother with, and she took Walter’s leather coat from the hook and put it on. Her boots and gloves were lined with rabbit fur and were warm. She had to hur
ry. Walter always woke about midnight so he could keep the fire built up. She knew how worried he would be if he saw her like this, but if she didn’t get out of the confines of her house, she thought she would go mad. Pulling on a grey Persian lamb hood and tucking her hair out of sight, she slipped outside.

  Earlier it had been sleeting heavily, but that had stopped and there was a damp snap in the air that she liked.

  She struck out toward the steps, liking the feeling of being unencumbered by long skirts. She knew she must look more male than female, and the notion gave her a strange pleasure. How long had she been doing this? Two weeks, three? At first when she had awoken at the predawn hour, she had simply got up quietly so she wouldn’t disturb her husband and daughter. She had gone downstairs and wrapped herself in a shawl until it was a decent time to start raking out the stove. She found that moving around helped soothe her, but one time Sally had woken and she had to tend to her. It seemed better to go out of the house. Initially, she had walked around the edges of the little garden several times and then gone back inside. Now this was not enough, and every night she was going further and further afield.

  At the fence line she hesitated for a moment, trying to penetrate the darkness of the dense evergreens. The wind had got up, and the trees tossed and rustled. She was about to unbolt the gate when she saw the second offering. Lying across the path on a neat bed of spruce branches was the skinned corpse of a squirrel. The tail and feet were cut off and the skullcap had been opened to expose the brains. Two days ago she had found a rabbit skin in the same place, all cleaned and laid out for her. She turned around and faced the cottage. What could he see? The kitchen window was directly behind her. With the oil lamp lit and no blinds or curtains on the windows, whoever was inside was quite visible.

  Jessica’s mouth went dry with fear. She picked up the squirrel by the leg and tossed it into the trees. She daren’t risk continuing with her sojourn, and almost sobbing, she went back into the house.