The Songbird

by Val Wood

  The doorbell jangled and Poppy came in. Her step was lively and her eyes sparkled and Joshua could tell that something had happened. She looks lovely, he thought proudly, his gloom dissipating. She’s the light of my life.

  ‘I need to talk to you, Pa,’ she said, and he knew she meant alone, away from Lena or Albert.

  ‘Well, I’m going out, so you can come with me,’ he said. ‘I’ll just get my coat and hat.’

  As they walked towards the old town he told her what had happened that morning. ‘Lena’s trying to take over,’ he said. ‘I can’t think how I’ve allowed it to happen! And I don’t know why, but I’ve got the feeling I can’t trust her any more.’

  ‘I never did,’ Poppy said grimly. ‘A woman’s sixth sense, I suppose. Pa!’ she said impulsively. ‘I’ve made a decision! But first let me tell you what happened at the theatre this morning.’

  ‘Something good?’ Her father smiled. ‘I could tell by ’look on your face.’

  ‘It’s a mirror, isn’t it.’ She laughed. ‘I could never keep my feelings inside me.’ She hunched up her shoulders. ‘Mr Vine has created a special part for me in Aladdin! I’m to be the Lambent Flame! You know,’ she explained as her father frowned in puzzlement. ‘It’s a flame or light which doesn’t burn. And it’s meant to keep Fairy Fancy, the Good Spirit of the pantomime, alive, do you see?’

  ‘Mm, yes, I think so. I was never very good at fairy stories and suchlike. I allus left that to your ma. But I’m right glad for you, Poppy.’ He gave her arm a squeeze. ‘You looked so happy that I knew we’d made ’right choice for you.’

  ‘Well, that’s what I want to talk to you about. My decision! After the pantomime I’m going to give up the stage.’ She took a breath. ‘I can see how things are at home and in the shop and I’m not going to let you down. We’ll ask – no, tell Lena and Albert we don’t need them any more because I’m coming back, and then we’ll get someone else in as a baker. Perhaps it could be a man?’ she said. ‘But whoever we find couldn’t do worse than Lena.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ her father said quietly. ‘I’ve been thinking of some changes, but they didn’t involve you giving up your singing!’ He sighed. ‘I might close down,’ he said. ‘Have a bit of a rest. It’s been hard, Poppy, these last three years without your ma.’

  ‘Close down!’ She was horrified. ‘But what would you do? Savile Street wouldn’t be the same without Mazzini’s!’

  ‘Nothing stays ’same for ever,’ he said. ‘Maybe it’s time for a change. For me, anyway. Look,’ he said, pointing down the street. ‘There’s Mrs Thomas. She was allus a regular customer of mine. Now she doesn’t come any more.’

  ‘She was given her marching orders by Lena when she complained about the bread,’ Poppy said quietly, stunned by her father’s announcement. She narrowed her eyes. ‘That’s Mattie with her, isn’t it? They’re having a good old gossip.’ She waved to them and Mattie looked up. She said something to Mrs Thomas, and then, giving a quick wave back to Poppy and her father, she turned on her heel and sped off down Whitefriargate.

  As Joshua and Poppy caught up with Mrs Thomas, she nodded at them and said hurriedly, ‘Can’t stop. I’ve done enough gabbing for today.’

  ‘Mrs Thomas!’ Joshua began, wanting to apologize, but she shook open her umbrella, for it was starting to spit with rain, and dashed away.

  They both stared after her, then Joshua said, ‘She didn’t want to talk to me, and who can blame her?’

  ‘Odd, though,’ Poppy murmured, watching Mrs Thomas’s determined figure until it was lost to view. ‘I’d have thought she would have wanted to give you a piece of her mind. She did with me! I’ll go home, if you don’t mind, Pa,’ she went on. ‘I’ve this new part to learn, and some new songs. We open on Saturday night so I haven’t got long.’

  ‘Only two days! Can you do it in time?’

  ‘It’s only a small speaking part, but there are some lovely songs. New ones that I haven’t heard before.’

  ‘Off you go, then,’ her father said. ‘And we’ll talk again after the pantomime.’ He squeezed her arm. ‘Don’t do anything hasty, will you, Poppy? Don’t go cancelling your contract with Damone. Not without talking to me first.’

  She promised that she wouldn’t and made her way back towards Savile Street. Now that she was alone she could drop the pretence that all was well. Miss Gosse had arrived in Hull to play the part of the Good Spirit, unaware that her agent had almost ruined the engagement for her, and was very pleasant towards Poppy, sympathizing with her when she heard what had happened, and thoroughly approving of the new role of the Lambent Flame which Fred Vine had created for Poppy to play. Poppy herself was thrilled with the part, but underlying her excitement was the knowledge that this might be her last engagement. She knew she couldn’t leave her father to the mercies of Lena or anyone else like her. The other niggling anxiety which was upsetting her was that she wouldn’t be near Charlie, who would surely never come back to Hull again. I’ll lose him, she thought, if I’m not near him. Lose him before he’s even mine.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Nan and Mattie were not usually frightened of the dark or the neighbourhood round the river Hull where they lived and worked. They were used to finding their way in the ill-lit alleyways and streets and knew which unsavoury quarters to avoid and which were safe. But when the tall, dark figure loomed up in front of them, the night they returned from the theatre, they had been scared witless until he spoke.

  Mattie had found her voice first. ‘For heaven’s sake, Tommy! What you doing here?’

  ‘I went home—’ His voice cracked. He sounded fatigued.

  ‘Come in. Come in!’ Nan said. ‘Open ’door, Mattie, quick. ‘Lad must be frozen through.’

  Mattie fumbled with the key and once inside fiddled with the lamp. When she had a light she turned to look at Tommy. ‘Crikey,’ she said softly. ‘What happened to you?’

  ‘Let’s get ’fire lit,’ Nan was all practicality. ‘He’s wet through. Good job I laid it ready.’ She struck a match to the paper in the hearth and it caught, sending a blue-green flame up the chimney and igniting the twigs. She stood up to gaze at Tommy. He was thin and anxious-looking beneath his weathered skin, and very, very wet. ‘Did you say you’d been home?’

  ‘I didn’t go in,’ he croaked. ‘There was no-one there – at least, Pa and Poppy weren’t there. Lena and Albert were both in ’shop, but the blind was down on the door and it looked as if it was shut, and I couldn’t think why. Where would they be, do you think? I tried ’side door but it was locked and I didn’t want to knock in case Lena or Albert came to answer it.’ He shivered and came nearer to the fire. ‘I had all sorts of horrible thoughts running through my head.’

  ‘Poppy was out with us at ’theatre,’ Mattie said, ‘and your pa might have gone to have a lie-down. He’s not been well.’

  ‘Oh? What’s ’matter with him?’ Tommy said, concerned.

  ‘Stomach upset,’ Nan said. ‘But he’s getting better. A lot better, in fact, since Poppy came home.’ She bent to put a small pan of water over the fire to boil. ‘This won’t take long,’ she murmured. ‘Then you can have a hot drink.’

  Tommy crouched down beside her. ‘Poppy? Why, where’s she been?’

  Nan and Mattie glanced at each other. ‘There’s been a few things happening since you went away, Tommy. We’ll tell you all about everything,’ Nan said. ‘But first get your wet things off.’

  Mattie gazed at him. ‘There’s a towel hanging on ’door there, so rub yourself down. We’ve no change of clothes for you. Unless you want my other skirt!’ She grinned, seeing his bewilderment. ‘Here, take this and wrap it round you.’ She took a thin blanket from the back of a chair and handed it to him. ‘Then we’ll hear what you’ve been up to and why you turned up here.’

  He sat by the fire with the blanket round him, his bare legs sticking out from beneath it and his hands clutching a cup of cocoa. ‘I almost daren’t go home,’ he said.
‘I feel such a failure and I’ve let Pa down. I’ve been hanging around not daring to go back. And then, when I did, Pa wasn’t there. I don’t know why, but I had a horrible feeling that Lena had taken over and that Pa and Poppy had gone.’

  ‘Mm,’ Mattie said. ‘It was looking that way. You’re home just in time. But then . . .’ She hesitated. ‘When are you sailing again?’

  ‘I’m not!’ he said harshly. ‘I’ve hated every minute of it. I stuck it out for the first few weeks; didn’t want to come crawling back so everybody could say told you so. I wrote to Pa,’ he said in mitigation. ‘But I didn’t tell him about how sick I’d been. How ill I felt, or homesick,’ he added. ‘Then I got stuck out in ’Baltic when the ship needed repairs. I tried to get another to bring me home, but there wasn’t one that would take me on.’

  Mattie and Nan both beamed at him. ‘So you’ll be staying?’ Mattie asked, and when he nodded, she said, ‘Good! Listen, Tommy. We’ve a lot to tell you and I’ve got a plan, but Ma and me have to go to work now. Will you stay here till we get back? There’s enough wood to keep ’fire going.’

  ‘A plan? What sort of plan?’ He almost grinned but he was so weary.

  ‘To get rid of Lena and Albert. I think they’ve been fiddling your da!’

  ‘You’ve no proof,’ Nan protested.

  ‘I will have,’ Mattie said in a determined voice. ‘I’m halfway to finding them out, but I need some help.’

  This time he did grin. ‘I’ll be glad to give it.’ Then he frowned. ‘Nan, do you think Pa will want me back? I know he said I could always come back, but will he be mad at me?’

  ‘I don’t work at Mazzini’s now,’ she explained. ‘Lena made sure of that. But your pa will be glad to see you home.’ She heaved a breath and smiled. ‘And so will Poppy.’

  As they were about to go out, Nan bit her lips together anxiously and said, ‘There’s ‘remains of a loaf if you’re hungry, Tommy. I’m sorry I can’t offer you more, but—’

  ‘You’ve no money? Pass my jacket, Mattie.’ Tommy half stood, clinging to his blanket. ‘I’ve plenty of cash. Haven’t spent anything for weeks.’

  ‘We can’t take your money!’ Nan was aghast.

  ‘I wasn’t suggesting you should.’ Tommy dug into his coat pocket. ‘But you can buy a pie and peas from ’King’s Head and bring it back with you when you come home. Enough for three,’ he said, handing several coins to Mattie, who took them without a word. ‘Then we can talk as we eat.’

  Mattie exhaled a breath. ‘Tommy, I could kiss you!’

  ‘Well, you can if you like.’ His voice was husky. ‘I can’t tell you how I’ve missed everybody.’

  Nan gave him a hug. ‘We’ve missed you too, Tommy. Welcome home.’

  Mattie stood in front of him. ‘I’m not sure if I should kiss a man with no clothes on,’ she joked, but she put her face up to receive his kiss. Then she awkwardly patted his bare arm. ‘I’m glad you’re back,’ she murmured and looked away.

  As they went out of the door, she glanced back at him. He looked more relaxed now and had leaned his head against the back of the chair. ‘What did you do, Tommy? On board ship, I mean? Did you have to scrub decks or what?’

  He turned towards her, a sheepish grin on his face. ‘Promise you won’t tell anybody?’ At her nod, he admitted, ‘I was ’ship’s cook. Can you believe that? My life’s ambition to go to sea, and the onny job they’d give me was as a cook!’

  When they came home later that evening with a large meat pie and a dish of peas, he was fast asleep across the bed, and no matter how they tried to wake him he didn’t stir.

  ‘We’ll have our supper, Mattie, and then try again,’ Nan said. Mattie agreed. She’d carried the pie home and the smell of it reminded her that she was famished; they hadn’t had a proper meal since her mother had finished at Mazzini’s. The wages they earned at the inn went towards their rent, first and foremost. They ate half of the pie and most of the peas and then tried again to waken Tommy. But he was dead to the world and finally they pulled him to one end of the bed and got into the other.

  Mattie had a fit of the giggles, which she transmitted to her mother who laughed as she hadn’t laughed in a long time. ‘I’ll tell him in ’morning that he’s got to marry me, Ma,’ Mattie stuttered. ‘That my ma was witness to him being in ’same bed as me!’

  Nan quivered with laughter. ‘Well, he’ll have to marry both of us,’ she gurgled. ‘For I was a respectable widow woman and now he’s undone me by sharing my bed as well!’

  They laughed so much that the bed shook and Tommy murmured something and turned over, but the next morning they were both up before him. He lay with one hand tucked beneath his cheek as he slept. Mattie looked down at him for a moment. She’d felt his feet next to hers during the night and she had hardly slept afterwards as she’d tried to keep her own tucked under her. She gently touched his bare shoulder. ‘Tommy!’ she said softly. ‘Cup of tea whilst it’s hot?’

  There weren’t enough tea leaves left to make another pot and she had to have a drink before going on the hunt for work. Her mother had already gone out to the wash-house.

  Tommy sat up and stared at her. He ran his tongue over his dry lips. ‘Mattie?’ He glanced round the small dark room. ‘Am I at your house? Yes, of course I am!’ He ran his fingers through his hair. ‘I couldn’t think where I was for a minute.’

  Mattie handed him the cup of weak tea. ‘We couldn’t wake you last night,’ she said. ‘You were so hard asleep.’

  ‘I’ve not slept properly in weeks,’ he said, gulping the hot tea. ‘Couldn’t sleep on board ship, and then when I got back to Hull . . .’

  ‘So where did you stay?’ She sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Before you came to us, I mean?’

  ‘I slipped back on board, day before yesterday. I’d been back home and looked through ’shop window a couple of times. Nobody noticed me – I had my hat over my eyes – but each time I onny saw Lena and Albert. Then yesterday I was found on board so I was turfed off. I hung round ’dock for a bit, but then it started to rain so I came here. I thought Nan would know what was happening at home. But there was no-one here either. I was beginning to get desperate, wondering where everybody was!’

  ‘Poppy had some theatre tickets given her,’ Mattie told him. ‘And your pa couldn’t go on account of him being poorly. That’s what she said, anyway. But I think she was giving ma and me a treat.’

  ‘What did you mean last night when you said about Poppy coming back? Where’s she been?’

  ‘It’s a long story.’ She turned her eyes away from his bare chest. ‘How long have you got?’

  ‘As long as it takes to tell.’ He seemed suddenly aware that he was in somebody else’s bed. ‘Mattie? Where did you and Nan sleep last night?’ he asked awkwardly. ‘Am I in your bed?’

  She raised her eyebrows. She couldn’t joke about his having to marry her as she’d told her mother she was going to do. Not now, not when he was half naked in the same room as she was. ‘Ma and me don’t take up much room,’ she murmured. ‘We slept fine. I want to ask you something,’ she added quickly to cover her confusion. ‘Are you willing to stay a bit longer? It’s just that – well, I’ll tell you about Poppy first.’ She put aside her plans to go out hunting for work. This was more important. ‘Then I’ll tell you about Lena. Albert told your father that she was giving up ’house where she and Albert used to live. Well, I bet she hasn’t and I’ve got my spies out to find out her address.’

  He put down the empty cup and folded his arms across his chest. ‘What good will that do? What if she does still have ’house? There’s no law against it!’

  She blinked, and then licked her lips. The sight of him made her uneasy. She had kept her feelings for Tommy to herself for such a long time, and now she was in danger of revealing them.

  ‘Look,’ she croaked. ‘I’m just going to step outside so you can get dressed. Then I’ll tell you.’ She gave a false laugh. ‘I wouldn’t want anybody to
call and catch you without your clothes on!’

  ‘You’re right.’ He too laughed nervously. ‘Wouldn’t do anything for your reputation!’

  ‘Haven’t got one,’ she quipped as she went to the door.

  ‘But what about Lena’s house?’ he asked, his hand on the blanket ready to throw it aside.

  She turned away. ‘I think it’s a thieves’ kitchen.’

  Mattie told Tommy all that had happened whilst he had been away, from Poppy’s entering the competition in Hull to her signing a contract with an agent and going to London and Brighton. ‘She’s home now and starting in pantomime on Saturday at ’Grand Theatre.’

  ‘Gosh. So – you mean – that Pa’s been on his own with them two? Lena and Albert?’ He was astonished.

  She nodded. ‘Now Lena’s got rid of my ma. She’s been trying to for weeks and finally Ma cracked up. Said she couldn’t stop any longer. And poor Poppy has been thinking that she’ll have to give up her career to help your pa.’ She looked at him anxiously, her brows knitting together. ‘I hope she doesn’t have to, because she’s just wonderful, Tommy. You should see her; she’s such a star! Will be, at least, if she gets ’chance.’

  She told him then what she had heard about Lena from Mrs Thomas, who was convinced that Albert had been stealing from the medication cupboard and that Lena was fiddling the cash box. ‘Mrs Thomas said that whenever she paid her for groceries, Lena would give her ’change from out of her apron pocket, and that she didn’t always open ’cash box drawer unless your father was there. But ’final straw was when ’bread wasn’t properly baked and she took it back and Lena said it was her own fault for cutting it when it was still hot.

  ‘Lena’s been buying cheap meat as well,’ she added. ‘That’s what Ma says, anyway. And I bet she’s been pocketing ’difference.’