The Guest Who Stayed

by Roger Penfound

  Jed ducked down below the dashboard as the sedan made its way down the drive and into the road. When it had gone he sat up and resolved to take action now.

  To avoid making a noise he stepped across the lawn, bypassing the gravelled drive. Rather than approach the main door, he made his way to the side of the house. A heavy wrought iron gate barred his way. Having failed to shift the lock, he resorted to climbing over the gate and dropping down onto the other side. He found himself looking at an overgrown garden. Large trees cast heavy shadows over the uncut lawn. Ornamental statues covered in moss suggested that the garden had once known better times.

  Making his way slowly round the side of the house, he spotted a small open window a few feet above the paving stones. He bent down and peered into the gloomy room which appeared to have no other source of light. It was like a cell with a wooden table and two chairs pulled up beside. There was a small cot bed against one wall and a large wooden box by the side of the bed. His eyes gradually acclimatised to the gloom and he suddenly made out the silhouette of a small child sitting on the floor. She was staring into the darkness, making no movement and making no sound. He thought that perhaps she was deaf or mute.

  Suddenly, she turned and looked in the direction of the open door. A woman walked in wearing white overalls and a white cap. She looked pale and thin. She scooped up the small child.

  “It’s OK, my sweet. They’ve gone now. We’ll be by ourselves all evening, just you and me,” he heard her saying. She sat down on one of the chairs and held the child on her lap. He heard her sobbing quietly. Then she pulled off her cap. Jed gasped. It was Flora, but not the Flora he had known. Her face was thin and her long black hair had been cut short. She was pale and tears trickled down her cheek.

  “Let me tell you a story, Emma, my love. What will it be about?”

  Jed picked up a stone and tapped gently on the window. He saw her stop and look anxiously around.

  “It’s alright, Flora, it’s only me – Jed.”

  “Who’s there? Who’s that?” Flora shouted, panic now seizing her. She stood up and clasped the child to her body.

  “It’s me, Jed. Do you remember?”

  She gasped and looked uncomprehendingly at the window. Jed tried to lower his face to the open pane.

  “It’s me – Jed,” he managed to say in a louder voice.

  Flora screamed and thrust a fist into her mouth.

  “I’m sorry, Flora. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’ve come to get you. I’m here to help you.”

  It was a ridiculous position from which to carry out a conversation. His head was on the ground and his rear was pointing to the sky.

  “Look, can I come in, Flora. I know they’ve gone out. I saw them go. I need to talk to you.”

  Flora slowly removed her fist from her mouth, still looking dazed.

  “There’s a scullery door down some steps just ahead of you,” she stammered.

  Jed found the steps and made his way to the door. Through the frosted glass he could see a light coming towards him. He heard bolts being drawn back and then the door was opened. For a moment they stared at each other in disbelief and then he pulled her into his arms.

  “Flora, Flora. I’m so sorry. I should have come earlier, much earlier.”

  She buried her face into his shoulder and cried uncontrollably. In the dark scullery he met Emma for the first time. He bent down to speak to her but she hid behind Flora’s skirt.

  “She’s frightened of people, Jed. You see, we don’t get out much.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I can only go out when they give me permission and that’s not often. They say they provide me with all I want and I don’t have a need to go out.”

  “Why don’t you run away, Flora? You could just walk out.”

  “Where would I go? My parents threw me out when I got pregnant. Anyhow, they’re not there now. They were evicted by the council – them and all their neighbours. I don’t know where they’ve gone or even if they’re alive.”

  Jed felt himself redden at the thought of his involvement in redeveloping the site where Flora’s parents had lived.

  “Come with me, Flora,” said Jed, urgently. “Come with me now, you and Emma. I’ll look after you both.”

  “You can’t. You’re married to Alice. How can you look after me too?”

  There was a pause. Jed searched for words.

  “You don’t know then?”

  “Know what?”

  “Alice is dead. She died six weeks ago. It was cancer.”

  Flora turned deathly white and Jed helped her to sit in one of the chairs. He took her hands in his and knelt beside her.

  “I’m sorry, Flora. I know that you and Alice were good friends. If we’d known where you were ... So don’t you see, it’s different now. I can look after you and Emma too.”

  “That’s not possible, Jed,” Flora said softly, staring at her hands.

  “Why ever not? I always thought we were made for each other, Flora. Now there’s nothing stopping us.”

  “Yes, there is.”

  “What?”

  “You know who fathered my baby, Jed. You were there.”

  Jed froze. Panic gripped his body.

  “You were there, Jed, that afternoon and you did nothing to help me. How can you live with that, Jed? That’s why we can’t be together.”

  Jed looked at her in disbelief. It was no use denying the truth.

  “I had no idea you knew.”

  “Why do you think I came into the barn that afternoon? Jack was becoming demanding. He’s sophisticated and gets his own way. I didn’t know how to handle him. I’d seen your tools outside the barn when we were on our way to the pub. I knew you were in there and so I thought that if I took Jack inside we’d meet you and that’d be an end of it. But you weren’t there and Jack starts getting out of control, pulling at my clothes and kissing me hard so I couldn’t shout out. I tried to call but he put his hand over my mouth. Then as he pushed me down, I saw this head, looking straight at me from behind some hay bales. When I thought back over it, as I have done every day since, I remembered that face. It was you, Jed. You were there and you did nothing. You see, what made it worse was that I was in love with you. I always have been. And when you got engaged to Alice it broke my heart. But I had to carry on. Alice was my friend and I admired her. I admired you too, Jed. So, to see you watching and doing nothing just destroyed me. I think I had a breakdown. My parents couldn’t cope so I ended up in the asylum.”

  Tears streamed down Jed’s cheeks as he heard Flora’s account. There was no point denying anything or trying to explain. However much he tried to justify his actions it would always look as if he let Flora down. They sat in silence for a while, trying to understand.

  “I accept I let you down, Flora, and I won’t try to justify what I did,” said Jed. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t help you now. You’ve got to get out of here. You’re a prisoner, you and Emma.”

  “But I’ve nowhere to go and no money. I’d need a job.”

  “I’ll give you a job, Flora, in my business. It’s doing well now and I need someone to help me with the organisation, ordering things, making appointments, keeping the books.”

  “I can’t do that, Jed. I’ve had no proper schooling. I’m only fit for domestic work.”

  “That’s not true, Flora. You just haven’t had the chance. I’m going to give you the chance.”

  “But I’ve got to live somewhere too.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan. I’ll find you and Emma somewhere to live.”

  “How can you do that?”

  “I know someone. I can pull some strings.”

  “I don’t know, Jed. I thought I’d left all that behind. And I’m not sure I could face Jack again.”

  “Why didn’t you tell Jack about the baby?”

  “I couldn’t prove it and men like him don’t own up. He’d just make me out to be a liar. Anyway, I didn’t love him.”<
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  “Will you tell Emma?”

  “You mean, tell her that Jack’s her father?

  “Yes.”

  “Eventually, I suppose I’ll have to. I don’t like living a lie. But it can wait. I’m in no hurry.”

  “Let me tell you something, Flora, that I’ve never told anyone else. This is going to be very difficult for me.”

  There was a pause whilst Jed swallowed hard. “Our Evie, our little girl, well, I’m not her father.”

  “What do you mean, Jed? She’s yours and Alice’s daughter.”

  “Everyone thinks I’m her father but I’m not. Jack is.”

  Flora gasped and clasped her hands to her mouth again.

  Jed continued in a faltering voice. “That time that Jack came to stay with us on that August bank holiday in 1921, he and Alice had an affair. He made her pregnant.”

  “Oh God, Jed! I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “They were going to go off together and leave me alone in the house. But I begged them not to. I thought if only I could get Alice to stay, she’d realise her mistake and come back to me.”

  “But how could you live with that man under the same roof, Jed? I’d have wanted to kill him.”

  “I tried.”

  “What – you tried to kill him?”

  “I tried to kill them both. I took to drinking. One night I got the shot gun and went after them. Fortunately, I was too drunk to do anything.”

  “Oh, Jed, I’m so sorry. But you could have thrown him out of the house.”

  “I couldn’t, Flora. It gets worse. I was forced into a devil’s pact.”

  “Devil’s pact – what sort of pact?”

  “Making a success of the business was really important to me. It was for Alice too. After Dan died I really wanted to make a go of it but it just wasn’t working. We were in danger of losing the house. Then when Jack turned up he offered to invest in the business and help me build it. It was like a life line. But then I found out he was sleeping with Alice and she was pregnant with his child. I was devastated, Flora – destroyed. And to make it worse, if I threw them out I’d lose the business too. So we agreed that Jack would stay but I’d pretend to be the father. That way things would be respectable. So, you see what I mean about a devil’s pact? My life’s one big lie too and I can’t get out of it. It’s too late.”

  They both sat in silence for a while, absorbing the implications.

  “So, what are you saying, Jed?” asked Flora. “That we both continue living this lie?”

  “I don’t see how we can get out of it now. I can’t tell Evie the truth and suddenly turn her world upside down. It wouldn’t be fair. If I lost Jack as a partner, the business could collapse and we’d have nothing. As for you and Emma, you’re right. Jack could just deny it happened. I always thought I was a man of principles, Flora, but it’s strange how life conspires to make you do things differently.”

  “My parents were people with strong principles too,” replied Flora, “but it blinded them to reality. They got cheated on by the very people they looked to for leadership.”

  “So, what do you say, Flora. Will you come away with me – now? There’s nothing to stop you. Come now.”

  “No, not now, Jed. I’ve got to think first. It’s not just me, it’s Emma too. I’ve got to do what’s best for her. Give me some time to think.”

  “How long?”

  “A week. Come back in a week. They always go out on a Thursday night, regular as clockwork. Don’t come in. Just wait outside. If I’ve made up my mind to leave, I’ll be out a few minutes after they’ve gone. If I don’t come out, you must go and not come back. Do you promise me that?”

  “If you want me to.”

  “I do.”

  Jed waited in the snug of the Fox and Hounds. It was lunchtime and there was nobody else in there. He ordered a single malt whisky and relished its smooth clinging taste. The door opened and the chief engineer walked in.

  “So what’s this all about, Carter,” he asked in an exaggerated whisper. “Never done business with you before in The Fox, though I’m not complaining. Are you buying?”

  “What do you want?”

  “Same as you. Make it a double.”

  Jed waited whilst two more malt whiskys were served.

  “About the western redevelopment,” Jed began. “Last time we met you asked me for a payback to secure the job.”

  “OK, Carter, keep your voice down. We don’t want the whole bloody pub to know. Like I said, it’s the way things are done and if you want to play in the same league as the big boys you play by the rules.”

  “I’ve thought about it. I’ll do it.”

  “Glad you’ve seen sense. Thought you would.”

  “But I want something else in return.”

  “You’re getting the bloody job, that’s what you’re getting. What else do you want?”

  “I want one of the houses set aside for a friend of mine. There’ll be over one hundred houses built up there and I want her to have one of them.”

  “That’s difficult. There’s a long waiting list and I don’t control that. Who is she? Some floozy you’re having a bit on the side with.”

  “It’s nothing like that. She’s a friend, an unmarried mother. I’m sworn to help her.”

  “Well, like I said, I can get her name on the list but there’s hundreds of families waiting for public housing.”

  “That’s not good enough,” replied Jed, aware that he was now entering uncharted waters. “I want her to be allocated a house. That’s the deal. Your one percent in return for that.”

  Jed was gambling on the notion that no other builder had yet agreed the one percent payback and if the chief engineer saw the prize within his grasp, he would do all he could to seal the deal.

  “I’ve told you, Carter,” he said, downing the last dregs of the whisky, “I can’t do that. I don’t control that department. You’re speaking to the wrong person.”

  “I think you can do it,” replied Jed, with a threatening edge to his voice. “I think you can do what you want. And if you want that payback you’ll find a way. That’s the deal.”

  A week later, Jed parked the Austin 7 in All Saints Avenue, slightly further away from The Larches than before so as not to be conspicuous. He settled down to wait for the chauffeured sedan to arrive and take the Blunts out. It was a quiet summer evening. The sun was setting and the encroaching dusk was making it difficult to see detail.

  On time, he saw two large headlights making their way down the avenue and turn into drive. He could just make out the Blunts being helped into the car by the chauffeur and, as before, he ducked out of sight as the car edged down the drive and onto the road.

  Once the lights had disappeared, he sat up and looked out expectantly for Flora and Emma. The house was in darkness and there was no sign of movement. He waited for fifteen minutes, becoming increasingly anxious. Eventually, he got out of the car and walked up to the house, peering into the gloom for some sign of activity. He recalled Flora’s words that he was to go if she didn’t appear and never come back. But he’d come too far now. He wanted Flora with an urgency he’d not felt before. He couldn’t believe that staying here was right for her. At least he needed her to tell him to his face that he must go.

  He climbed over the locked gate again, ripping a wide gash in his trousers as he did so. There was light coming from the small casement window and he knelt down on the hard stone to peer in. He saw Flora, hunched on a chair, her head down. She was clutching Emma to her lap. Grabbing a large stone, he hit the pane harder than he had intended and broke the glass. Flora leapt from her chair in panic.

  “Why didn’t you come, Flora? Please think. You can’t remain a prisoner here,” he pleaded.

  Flora rushed to the broken casement window.

  “They’ve locked me in. They found out someone had been here. One of the neighbours saw you. They’ve threatened to have Emma taken away and to send me back to the asylum. You’ve got t
o get me out, Jed. Please.”

  “Wait there, Flora, I’ll be back.”

  Jed sprinted into the overgrown garden and searched anxiously. Stacked by a rotting shed was a pile of logs. He seized the largest of these and returned to the back door. Using all his strength, he battered the door. The log splintered and sent fragments of debris flying over the ground. He hit the door again. The log was firmer now and a crack appeared round the lock of the door. He used all his might to hit it one more time and the door burst open. Once inside, he made his way down the unlit corridor to the scullery. There was no room to swing the log so he dived at the door, hitting it with his left shoulder. He felt an agonising pain shoot up his arm but the door opened. Flora was crouching in a corner and Emma was sobbing uncontrollably.

  “Come now. Just get out immediately!”

  They made their way into the front hall and unlocked the main door from the inside. Once outside, they crossed the lawn, keeping well within the shadows to avoid being seen. Flora climbed into the front of the Austin, still clutching Emma. Jed looked at Flora and saw the anxiety on her face. He leant forward and kissed her then put the Austin into gear and raced off down the road and away from Norwich.

  The Guest Who Stayed: Chapter 19 – July 1940

  Evie cycled cautiously along Duck Lane, concentrating hard on avoiding the growing number of potholes. As she worked for the council, she had tried on numerous occasions to get something done about the state of the road but the war had put a halt to all highway expenditure unless it had a military benefit.

  Nearing Hope Cottage, her attention was caught by the sound of an aircraft somewhere overhead. She stopped pedalling and scanned the skyline. Large white clouds billowed up into a blue sky, making it difficult to identify the plane. Suddenly, the noise intensified and the plane swooped low from behind the house, skimming the roof of Hope Cottage and nearly causing Evie to tumble from her bike.