‘Get back, sir.’ A firm hand was spread against his chest, pressing him away. ‘Make way for the Infirmary waggon.’ The burly officer stretched wide his arms and flattened himself against the straining bodies, forcing them to retreat as the waggon threaded its way towards the figures on the ground, the horses up front wildly snorting, the whites of their eyes like glittering diamonds in the fierce light. Like everyone else, David Miller craned his neck to see what was happening. Suddenly a child was crying.
‘No, lass, come away. There’s nothing more to be done.’ Beth heard the tender voice as though from a long, long distance away. She felt the gently restraining hands, and other firmer hands that meant to save her life but which would also prise her from her beloved Maisie. She pushed them away. Maisie needed her! Maisie, that darling little woman who even now was smiling. ‘Do as they say, lass,’ she told Beth. ‘There ain’t nothing to be done for old Maisie.’ The pain showed on her blackened face, and her poor burned hands reached out to touch the child which Beth had wedged between them. ‘You’ve a child o’ yer own now,’ she said brokenly, ‘but I wonder if you’ll do some’at fer yer old pal as loves yer like her own daughter?’
Choking back the painful lump that filled her throat, yet letting her tears flow unashamedly, Beth made no resistance when two other arms reached down to take her child lovingly from her. Instead, she cradled that dear little woman in her arms, holding her as close as she could bear, and all the while silently praying that they were wrong, and Maisie would recover. ‘Don’t you talk like that,’ she said in a firm voice. ‘Please, don’t say such things.’
‘But will yer do as I ask, darlin’? Will yer?’
‘Oh, Maisie. You only have to ask. You know that.’ When Maisie just stared up at her with fading eyes, Beth’s heart turned over. ‘Maisie! Listen to me. Remember what you told me… so many times when I’ve almost given up… be strong, you said… trust in the Lord.’ She was sobbing loudly now, her vision of her friend’s face hopelessly blurred. ‘Maisie!’ There was anger in her voice as she spoke now in Maisie’s own rough way. ‘Don’t die on me, you old bugger. Don’t you dare leave me and the young ’uns.’
In spite of all Beth’s persuasion there was a greater power calling, and she could feel Maisie fading in her arms. ‘Please, Maisie.’ She could hardly talk for the sobs that racked her frail body. ‘Don’t leave us. We love you so much.’ She began feverishly stroking the familiar face, pushing the singed wisps of hair from that deep crinkled forehead. There was no hope in Beth’s heart now. Only a bitter sad resignation, and a fervent prayer that Maisie was going to a better place. ‘What is it you want me to do?’ she asked now. There was no reply. No response. And yet Maisie was still warm and alive in her arms.
Desperate that she would never know what Maisie had wanted from her, Beth persisted. ‘A favour, you said, Maisie. What is it you want me to do? The children. Is that it? You want me to look after the children? Oh, but I would do that as naturally as breathing, you know that, don’t you, Maisie?’
The violet eyes flickered and opened. ‘The childer,’ she murmured, her whole body wincing with such pain that it made Beth cry out; her own pain as nothing beside that of her friend. ‘Mind the childer, lass.’ She waited for Beth to speak, but there was too much sorrow, too much grief. All she could do was nod. It was enough. ‘Bless yer heart… I know… you’ll look after ’em well, lass.’ Astonishingly, Maisie softly chuckled. ‘He’s waiting fer me, lass,’ she murmured. ‘My fella that’s been gone these past years… the old bugger’s… waiting fer me. He won’t be too pleased though… not when he sees what a terrible sight his Maisie is. Oh, but I have missed him though. God knows I’ve missed him.’
She smiled then, a glorious brilliant smile that shone from deep within. Beth thought it was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen, and wondered whether that darling woman’s husband was waiting in an unknown place only Maisie’s eyes could see; waiting with a smile to match his Maisie’s, and with his arms wide open. Somehow, the thought brought a degree of peace to Beth’s frantic heart.
When Maisie closed her eyes, Beth knew she would never again see them, laughing, mischievous, chastising. Never again. And now, as she kissed that quiet face, Beth gave herself up to those who waited to help her. In that moment when she felt herself sinking, three people came to her. Three people whose lives were inextricably bound with hers. Through her fading senses, she was aware of Cissie, bursting through the barrier of curious solemn faces; her screams terrible to hear. ‘Mam! Mam!’ With a cry from the soul, she threw herself down, locking her small arms round Maisie’s still figure and rocking her back and forth, back and forth. ‘Mam!… Oh, Mam!’ She would have willed Maisie back from that place where she had gone, but Maisie was beyond hearing. The girl was inconsolable.
The boy remained a short distance away; not so far that he could not see his mother and sister, yet close enough for Beth to see the silent suffering in his eyes; violet eyes that were painfully like his mother’s, and yet not like hers, more serious and secret. Now, as they turned on Beth, they were filled with intense loathing. She could not hear what he said, but when he mouthed the words she knew; in her heart she knew what he was saying ‘It’s your fault! You killed my mam.’
‘You’ll be fine, Beth.’ Another voice filtered through the haze. A voice that was familiar to her, a kind quiet voice, a friend’s. ‘You’re not to worry about a thing, because when you and the child come home from the Infirmary, I mean to take good care of you.’ Realising that David Miller still had hopes of making her his wife, she slowly shook her head. His answer was to stroke her hair and assure her, ‘I’ll make you a good husband, Beth. You’ll never again want for anything. I heard the promise you made to Maisie, and I’ll help you keep that promise. I’ll help you take care of the children… just as Maisie asked.’
When they carried Beth away, he went too. And when she asked for her son, it was David Miller who placed the tiny infant into her arms. ‘You saved him, Beth,’ he told her. ‘With your own body, you kept your son safe.’
In the years to come, whenever she recalled the horror and sadness of that night, she invariably remembered the three people whom Fate had woven forever into the strands of her life; Cissie, the darling girl who was to grow more like her mammy with every passing year; Matthew, made old before his time and constantly seeking retribution because of it; and David, kind, generous, but fatally weak and flawed in character. In their turn, each of these three people would bring heartache and joy to Beth. Like a tall tree whose roots went deep, she would be blown this way and that, destined to be ravaged by time and the elements. And through it all, she would keep a strong heart, and a powerful determination to rise above whatever obstacles Fate might put across her path.
Part Three
1887
Enemies
Chapter Six
‘We’re in trouble, I won’t deny it.’ Esther Ward was clearly agitated, her bony fingers plucking at the frayed leather of the desk-top, and a nervous look in her unusually penetrating blue eyes that sent a shiver through the man standing before her. ‘Richard blames me, I know it. They all blame me. It’s the chance they’ve been waiting for. I know what they’re saying… “Only men understand the complexities of business”, that’s what they’re saying. “When a woman tries to think like a man, no good will come of it”.’
Thumping her small fist on the desk, she spat the words out. ‘Fools! Pompous fools! They know as well as I do that it has nothing whatsoever to do with who heads a company. All around us development opportunities are drying up. There’s an acute shortage of good land. Money is harder to come by, and all in all it’s a depressing time. Even Richard, with all his fancy ideas and determination, can’t stop the company from going under.’ She chuckled. It was a most unpleasant sound. ‘He deserves what’s coming to him. He has a few more shocks coming his way yet. Fool that he is! It won’t be only the company he loses.’
Seeming not
to have heard her last remark, Tom Reynolds spoke bitterly. ‘I knew there were problems,’ he said, ‘but I thought things were beginning to look up?’ She had not yet spoken the words he dreaded, but he sensed they were imminent.
Esther shook her head, oblivious of the stray wisp of hair that fanned to and fro across her forehead; hair that had once been a soft shade of brown, but which now was streaked iron grey. Her features had not softened with the passing of almost three years; if anything her face was more chiselled and her blue eyes harder. She regarded the man for a while; the wiry frame and sharp shrewish expression, the startling white hair and eyes which, in a certain light, seemed more pink than brown. Tom Reynolds had been a loyal and useful ally but now his usefulness was almost at an end. And yet she was reluctant to let him go. She saw him as a reflection of herself, devious and cunning, her partner in many a conspiracy; the most successful of which had been the manipulation of that slut of a girl in Tyler Blacklock’s lodging house. She gloated inwardly at the memory. So easy! So satisfying. Not only had her clever plan discredited the young man whom Beth had set her heart on, but in the process had driven Richard’s daughter to her knees.
She knew how Beth had gone to the lodging house on the night when her own father disowned her; how she had run to her lover only to be turned away from there broken-hearted when the girl claimed that Tyler was the father of her own mythical child. There was also the unexpected but most gratifying development of the girl’s jealous lover and his mate beating Tyler within an inch of his life. Esther could not have planned that particular episode better if she had intended it.
When she learned from her son that Beth and Tyler were never reunited, Esther was beside herself with pleasure. There was a hatred for Beth within her; a hatred that spanned more than Beth’s own lifetime. It delighted her to think that the girl had gone into the night, alone and unloved and growing with child. Indeed, it occurred to Esther that Beth could well be dead by now. No matter. It was no more than she deserved. If she had come to a pitiful and desperate end, this woman for one would not be sorry.
Now another image raised itself, making her inwardly fume. If Beth had got her just rewards, Tyler Blacklock had carved himself a very different destiny. Against all odds, he had emerged from the gutter to haunt her! Over the years he had not only made himself a small fortune, but in the process gained something of a respectable reputation. While he rose in stature, the Ward Development Company suffered crippling misfortunes, until now its back was to the wall, and Esther Ward was a desperate woman. If Tom Reynolds was devastated by her next words, it was no more than she was herself. ‘I’m afraid if things don’t soon improve, you may have to find another employer.’
‘What other employer?’ The words exploded from him. ‘You’ve just said yourself that times are hard in the development industry. There’s not one single company taking on. They’re laying off more like. Every street corner tells its own story. You know that!’ He had awful visions of himself walking the streets, demeaning himself to look for work. In his wildest nightmares he had never thought it would come to this. And it wouldn’t, by God! Not while he had a canny bone in his body.
‘What would you have me do, then?’ She thrust back the chair and strode round the desk, her two hands locked together and her whole figure trembling with rage. ‘There’s no money, damn you. Do you hear what I’m telling you… there is no money!’
He smiled now, and facing her boldly, said quietly ‘You conveniently forget, I think. It is I who am handling the sale of the lease on the office premises. And, if my memory serves me right, you stand to rake in a tidy sum on that. Also, have you forgotten the lucrative deal which I again masterminded on that commercial property north of the Thames?’ He could have gone on, reminding her of his own incredible bargaining skill, and revealing his knowledge of certain holdings still owned by the company, though truth to tell they were neither large nor especially lucrative.
To Tom Reynolds’ mind, there were two causes for the rapid downfall of the company. One was Esther herself, who had never been accepted into what was essentially a man’s world, and who, in her desperate efforts to prove them all wrong, had made one too many a mistake. Unfortunately the damage was already done by the time Richard was fully recovered, and in spite of his commendable efforts to rescue what was left of the business he had built from his own sweat, it was far too late. The other cause of the present crisis was Ben, a man of few principles, whose only view of life was through the bottom of a tankard, riddled as he was with guilt and arrogance.
‘You see, I know there is money in the coffers,’ Reynolds reminded his employer. ‘I do hope you’re not working up to telling me that you won’t be able to pay me what I’m due? That would be very foolish of you.’ The threat was unmistakable. ‘I have no intention of seeing my dues gambled away by your wastrel of a son.’ Increasingly, he realised with a certain satisfaction that this was a family of shame and scandal. So far, Esther Ward had manage to keep the scandal contained to a certain degree, but he wondered how much longer it could all be brushed under the carpet.
Enraged that he should take it on himself to tell her the state of her own business, and bristling at the manner in which he spoke of her precious son, Esther said sharply, ‘Whatever is or is not in the coffers is nothing whatsoever to do with you! You’re an employee, nothing more, and maybe not even that for very much longer. You would do well to remember your place.’ Dismissing him with a gesture, she began walking towards the door which she meant to bang closed behind him. When she realised he had no intention of following her, she paused and jerked round her head, staring at him with those glittering blue eyes. ‘Get out,’ she hissed.
‘Oh, you want me to leave, do you?’ he asked with a devious smile, at the same time drawing a large scroll from inside his waistcoat. ‘Surely not. At least, not until you run your eye over what came my way this very morning.’ Ignoring her repeated instruction for him to get out, he unrolled the scroll and began spreading it over the desk, using the paperweight and penholder to secure its curling corners. Still, she did not move. Undeterred, he kept his gaze averted, saying quietly, ‘I have something here which may yet put the company back on an upward spiral.’ When still she made no move, he chuckled and made as if to put the document away again, pausing when he saw out of the corner of his eye that she was returning to the desk, albeit hesitantly.
‘What is it?’ she asked suspiciously, curiosity getting the better of her. In a moment she was beside him and leaning forward, her narrowed eyes poring over the detailed plans, and excitement growing within her. The plans showed a warehouse of enormous proportions. However, it was not the warehouse itself that was of interest, but the extensive parcel of land on which the building was situated. Furthermore, the details showed that the building was derelict, and permission was already secured for it to be demolished. Added to which, the entire parcel of land, totalling some fifty acres in all, was earmarked for residential development, or commercial enterprise.
‘What do you think?’ Tom Reynolds was utterly captivated with himself. ‘Clever of me to acquire such information, don’t you agree?’ Then without disclosing how – if he had the money to proceed on his own, he would not now be displaying that same information on Esther’s desk – he pressed her for a response. ‘Of course, if you’re not interested, there are those who would snap my arm off to get at this piece of land.’
‘Have you shown this to anyone else?’
‘I’m astonished that you should even think such a thing!’ He sounded suitably offended.
‘Hmm.’ Esther turned her head and glanced up at him, her blue eyes alight with suspicion. At length she said with a devious manner to match his own, ‘And I’m astonished that the thought had not occurred to you. No matter. Either you have not shown these plans elsewhere, in which case I owe you an apology… or you have touted them round, and the fools can’t see what’s in front of them.’
A fever grew inside him as he gazed on
her. Esther was no beauty, but she had a certain handsomeness about her, a particular wickedness he had not seen in other women. Wickedness excited him. Esther excited him. She was the reason he had remained with the Ward company, even after he was made to suffer the humiliation of having his wages paid by a woman. Time and again, that woman had shown herself to be as scheming and ruthless as any criminal-minded rogue he had ever come across; with the exception of his good self, of course. ‘I can see I don’t need to explain how this parcel of land is only a few hundred yards from the newly designated railway lines. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a most valuable asset.’
‘I can see that for myself,’ she reminded him, but suddenly her manner was more subdued, her words more cautious. ‘But it’s a long-term investment and, as I’ve only just explained, I haven’t got that kind of capital. Besides, it won’t come cheap, I’m thinking. There’ll be others who see exactly what you and I see. And no doubt they will have the capital to take advantage of it.’
‘You have the capital.’
‘Not enough. Besides, I have a house to run, and my husband’s medical expenses. We have outstanding wages and other debts that must be met. Even with the few remaining assets, there is very little margin to work on. I dare not spend another farthing, and it would be suicide for me to go to the bank, even if Richard agreed, which he won’t.’ She stopped to peruse the plans once more, a greedy glint in her eyes. ‘It would rankle, though, if it went to one of our rivals. And I do believe I still have some influence with my husband.’ She stared at Reynolds. ‘All the same, it is long-term. As I say… going for this land could cost me everything.’ She looked at the man, waiting for his reassurance. She was not disappointed.
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