Daughters of Courage

by Margaret Dickinson

  ‘No, but just you and Harry go. I think Lewis is a bit too young. He might be airsick.’

  ‘Right.’ He touched Harry’s shoulder. ‘Come on, Harry, let’s go flying.’

  The boy looked up with wide eyes. ‘Really, Uncle Trip?’

  ‘Yes, really.’

  Emily watched them go. Inside, she was a little fearful. She didn’t think Amy would be too happy, though she believed that Josh would have agreed. A little while later, she watched as the little plane lifted into the air. She watched it climb into the clouds and bank away to fly over the city. In the plane, Harry twisted and turned in his seat to get the best view.

  ‘Uncle Trip, it’s fantastic. Look, we’re above the clouds. They really do look like cotton wool, don’t they? And everything’s so tiny on the ground. The people look like ants. I can’t even see Aunty Emily and Lewis now. Oh, it’s wonderful. When I’m older, I’m going to learn to fly.’

  Trip nodded. He was feeling a little queasy. Obviously, flying wasn’t for him, but there was no way he was going to admit it. Back on the ground, he walked unsteadily towards Emily and Lewis. Emily convulsed with laughter. ‘You look positively green, Trip. Was it that bad?’

  ‘Not really, but I’m obviously not cut out for flying, whereas Harry is. Now, let’s go and watch the stunt flying, shall we?’

  ‘I could eat a hot dog,’ Emily said mischievously. ‘How about you, Trip?’

  Trip heaved, turned away and ran across the field, whilst Emily bent double with laughter.

  ‘Aunty Emily, you’re cruel,’ Harry said, but he was laughing too.

  ‘Come on, boys,’ Emily said, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes. ‘I’ll buy us a hot dog each. I really don’t think Uncle Trip wants one, do you?’

  They found a good vantage point to watch the stunt displays and Trip joined them, looking sheepish.

  ‘Sorry, Trip,’ Emily said, still hardly able to keep the laughter from her voice. ‘I’ve been scolded by my nephew for being cruel.’

  ‘Thanks, old chap,’ Trip said and winked at Harry. He was looking much better now. ‘Tell you what, I’ll pay for a second trip for you, but this time your aunty is going with you.’

  At once Emily’s merriment died. ‘Oh, I don’t think . . .’

  ‘Please, Aunty Emily. It’s great. You’ll love it.’

  ‘All right, you’re on,’ she said.

  ‘Can’t I go up, Mummy?’ Lewis begged, but Emily was firm. ‘No, you’re too young. But in a few years’ time, when Harry’s older, he’ll take you up. Now then, let’s watch the rest of the display and then we’ll go and pay for another flight.’

  To everyone’s surprise, not least her own, Emily loved the flight and was as thrilled as Harry when they landed. Trip had the good grace to laugh wryly. ‘Serves me right for trying to get my own back.’

  He linked arms with his wife and together they walked back to where they had left the car, with the two boys chattering excitedly about everything they had seen that day. Harry just couldn’t stop talking about the two flights he’d had.

  ‘You know, Trip,’ Emily said thoughtfully, ‘I think Harry is born to fly.’

  Thirty-Three

  When word got around that Emily was setting up a small workshop to train buffer girls, there was a steady stream of unemployed girls and women seeking her out.

  ‘I can only take about six to start with,’ Emily explained, her heartstrings tugged by the wan faces and desperation in their eyes, but she interviewed each one who came, listened carefully and made her choice not with her heart but with her head.

  ‘That’s five I’ve chosen,’ she told Nell as the door closed behind the last one late in the afternoon. ‘I can only take one more.’

  ‘Do you remember Jane Arnold, who worked for us as an errand lass for a while years ago?’

  ‘I do. In fact, you mentioned her when I was looking for buffer girls before but you said she was happy where she was then. Why?’

  Nell bit her lip. ‘Well, she’s not now. She’s hit hard times. Very hard times. Steve saw her out on the streets last night. He thought she was – you know –’ she waved her hand – ‘touting for business.’

  Emily stared at her in horror. ‘Oh no – no! We must do something to help her, Nell. Where did Steve see her?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I’ll ask him.’

  Emily thought quickly. ‘I must find her,’ she murmured. ‘I’ll go out tonight looking for her.’

  ‘Not on your own, you won’t,’ Nell said quickly. ‘I’ll tell Steve to come round to yours tonight. He’ll go with you.’

  As they locked up the premises and turned for home, Nell laughed as she murmured, ‘And you’re trying to tell me you’re not being – what was that big word you used – philanthropic?’

  Emily smiled and punched her lightly on the arm. ‘Of course I’m not. Jane was shaping up to be a good little buffer girl. You told me yourself. Remember?’

  ‘She was. I’ll not deny that, but I still think you’re—’

  ‘Go on with you, Nell Geddis. Get yourself home and put your feet up.’

  Nell was still chuckling as she disappeared into the night.

  ‘Hello, Steve,’ Trip greeted him, when he answered the back door. ‘What are you doing here? Not trouble at work, is it?’

  Steve shook his head. ‘Nell asked me to come round and go with Emily.’

  Trip was mystified. ‘Go with Emily? Where?’

  ‘Er—’ Steve hesitated, not wanting to let Emily down.

  ‘Come in and we’ll sort it out,’ Trip said. ‘There’s obviously something my dear wife hasn’t told me. Emily –’ he raised his voice – ‘Steve’s come to take you out – somewhere.’

  As he ushered Steve into the kitchen, Emily was just finishing helping Lewis into his pyjamas. ‘Hello, Steve. Would you like a cuppa before we go?’

  ‘Er – yes. That would be nice.’ Steve felt ill-at-ease. It was clear that Emily had not told Trip what was happening. He didn’t want to end up in the middle of a row between husband and wife. But he need not have worried; Emily and Trip rarely had a cross word, never mind anything that could be called a full-scale row. Her next words explained everything.

  ‘Trip’s only just got in from work, Steve. I haven’t had time to tell him. In fact, you tell him while I take Lewis up. Trip, your dinner’s in the oven and perhaps you could make Steve a cup of tea.’

  Whilst Trip ate and they both drank tea, Steve told him about seeing Jane. As he laid his knife and fork down side by side, Trip said, ‘Emily’s quite right. We can’t stand by and let that happen, but she’s wrong about one thing. She’s not going out to look for her, not even with you, Steve. No offence, mate.’

  ‘None taken.’ Steve shook his head. He was relieved. He hadn’t liked the idea of taking Emily to the place frequented by prostitutes.

  ‘I’ll go with you.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t think . . .’

  ‘I’m not going to let you go on your own, Steve, so you can forget that idea.’

  Steve smiled wryly. ‘I’m known down there. Some of my former – er – colleagues run the girls, if you know what I mean.’

  ‘They’re pimps?’

  Steve flinched, but was forced to nod.

  ‘Then all the more reason why you shouldn’t go alone. They might not take too kindly to us lifting one of their girls off the streets.’

  Steve stared at him for a moment and then looked away.

  ‘What? What have I said?’

  ‘They’ll not harm me, Trip. It was me who handed them their – um – business when I decided to go straight.’

  ‘Ah, I see.’ Trip said no more. He hadn’t known that running a prostitution racket had been one of Steve’s enterprises. But then, he thought, the gangs back then had been involved in all sorts of immoral dealings. As Emily came back into the room, he stood up and told her what had been decided.

  ‘Bring her back here if you find her, Trip. We’ll fee
d her and she can stay here until we get a doctor to check her out. Then I’ll see about setting her on with the rest of the girls.’

  As they turned to leave, Steve said quietly. ‘I can’t thank you enough for what you’re doing to help Nell.’

  Emily smiled. ‘Nonsense, I’m helping myself set up another string to my bow.’

  Steve grinned as he pulled on his cap. ‘And if you think anyone’s going to believe that, then you’re not the clever woman I thought you were, Emily Trippet.’

  ‘There she is.’ Steve gripped Trip’s arm. ‘Look, over there.’

  Trip looked to where Steve was pointing and saw a girl talking to a man, who seemed to be gesticulating angrily. Then they saw him grab hold of her arm and try to drag her towards a dark alleyway.

  ‘Looks like she’s got trouble. Come on.’

  The two hurried across the road.

  ‘Hello, Jane,’ Steve said. ‘This punter causing you bother, is he?’

  The girl turned frightened eyes towards them, but before she could speak, the man butted in, ‘Sling yer hook, the pair of you. She’s mine. I’ve paid good money and now she’s refusing to do what I want.’

  ‘Then I will pay you twice whatever you gave her for you to let her go.’

  ‘Want her for yerselves, do yer? A threesome, is it? Well, she won’t do it. She’s picky, this one.’ But he let go of Jane’s arm and held out his hand. ‘Go on, then. Let’s see yer money.’

  As Steve stepped into the light cast by a nearby window, the man’s expression changed in a flash. ‘Oh Gawd, it’s you, Mr Henderson. I’m sorry, I didn’t know she was one of your girls. I wouldn’t have treated her rough if I’d known . . .’

  ‘She isn’t one of mine. I’m not in that game any more. Here, take this and scarper.’ Steve thrust a handful of notes into the man’s hand.

  ‘So, you do want her for yerselves . . .’

  Suddenly, Steve’s hand shot out and he gripped the man by the throat. ‘No, we don’t. We’re taking her off the streets, that’s what we’re doing.’

  ‘’Er pimp won’t like it.’

  ‘Her pimp – whoever he is – will have me to answer to. See? Now, clear off.’

  As the man stumbled away clutching the money, Steve turned to the trembling girl. ‘Come on, luv. We mean you no harm. We’re taking you home to Mrs Trippet. She’s got a job for you.’

  Bewildered, Jane walked between them.

  ‘By the way, who is your pimp?’ Steve asked quietly.

  ‘Pete something. I don’t know his surname, but he used to be mates with Mick Dugdale years back.’

  ‘Ah yes, I knew him. He latched onto me for a while, so don’t you worry your head any more. I’ll deal with him. Now, let’s get you home.’

  Thirty-Four

  By the time the three of them arrived back in Carr Road, Emily had already made up a bed in the tiny spare room and dragged the tin bath from the washhouse into the kitchen in front of the range.

  ‘Hello, Jane. Come in. See, I’ve got you some supper ready. After you’ve eaten, we’ll banish Trip upstairs and you can have a nice bath and wash your hair. Then it’s off to bed with you.’

  ‘I’ll be off, then, Emily,’ Steve said and nodded towards Trip. ‘See you in the morning.’

  Emily gave him a beaming smile. ‘Thanks, Steve.’

  As he was about to leave, Jane caught hold of his arm. ‘Thank you, Mr Henderson, for what you did. I’ll never forget it.’

  Steve patted her hand. ‘Don’t you worry any more, luv. I’ll square it with Pete. He’ll not bother you again.’

  ‘Maybe you’d better give him this.’ Jane pulled some coins from her pocket.

  Steve glanced down at the money lying in the palm of her hand. There was a strange mixture of emotions on his face as if, for the first time, he was realizing just what he had once put girls like Jane through. Huskily, he said, ‘You keep it, luv. You’ve more than earned it.’ Then he turned abruptly to leave, closing the door quietly behind him. For a moment Jane stood, her head bowed, her face flushing with shame until Emily touched her arm and said gently, ‘Come on, love, sit down and eat your supper.’

  Later, Emily helped the girl to bathe and wash her hair, soaping her back and cutting her toenails for her.

  ‘Why are you being so kind to me, Mrs Trippet? I’m a fallen woman. My family have disowned me – all except me mam and she’s heartbroken.’

  ‘I can’t help all the girls in the city who’ve had to do what you’ve done – I only wish I could – but I can help you. Now, there’s just one thing – I want you to allow my doctor to check you out tomorrow.’

  Jane hung her head again. ‘I can’t afford—’

  ‘I’ll pay him,’ Emily cut in. ‘You don’t need to worry about that. Now, sit on the hearthrug and I’ll dry your hair.’

  Emily had put a hot brick in the bed and, as she snuggled into the warmth and her head touched the pillow, Jane was asleep. Emily stood looking down at her and her heart twisted with pity. Poor girl, she thought, and felt a stab of guilt that she could not help all the young girls who had been forced into such a life. She sighed as she closed the door quietly and, having checked on Lewis, went to her own bedroom. Trip was still awake. ‘Everything all right?’

  ‘For the moment. I just hope that the doctor doesn’t find anything nasty tomorrow, but I’ll face that if I have to.’

  Jane had been lucky; her few weeks on the streets had not left her with a horrible disease and Emily was happy to take her to the workshop in Creswick Street and introduce her to the other girls who had signed up to train as buffer girls.

  ‘But first you must go home and see your mother.’

  Jane’s eyes widened in fright. ‘I can’t – I daren’t. If me dad’s there, he’ll kill me.’

  ‘Then I will come with you and explain what you’ll be doing from now on. Where have you been living?’

  ‘With – with another girl who’s a . . .’ Jane faltered and bit her lip.

  ‘You must fetch your things from there and move back home.’

  ‘They won’t have me. Me dad turned me out.’

  ‘I’ll talk to him,’ Emily said, with far more confidence than she was feeling inside.

  ‘Do you want me to come with you?’ Trip asked when Emily told him what was happening, but she shook her head. ‘I don’t think so. I can handle Mr Arnold.’

  Trip chuckled. ‘I don’t doubt it for a minute.’

  That evening, they set out to Jane’s home. When they knocked at the door, the girl was close to tears and trembling. The door was opened by a burly man who towered over them both.

  ‘Oh, it’s you, is it? I told you not to come here again. And who’s this? Another dirty little tart? Well, you can clear off, the pair of you.’

  ‘Mr Arnold, I’m Emily Trippet. Jane used to work for me some time ago and—’

  The man was staring at her. ‘Trippet? From Trippets’ in Creswick Street?’

  ‘Sort of. That’s my husband. But I am about to set up a workshop to train girls and women who are out of work and would like to learn the buffing trade. Jane was shaping up nicely when she worked for me before, so she’s an obvious choice to finish her training.’

  The man’s mouth fell open. ‘But – but . . .’ he blustered. ‘Don’t you know what she’s been doing? What she’s become?’

  ‘I know all about it, and that’s why I want to help her now. She’s to leave that life behind – and she will. That’s a condition of me taking her on.’

  Percy Arnold was mystified. He couldn’t understand Emily’s altruistic motives. His eyes narrowed. ‘What’s in it for you, eh?’

  ‘I’ll get a well-trained buffer girl. Actually – hopefully – I’ll get six of them.’

  ‘And can you find them jobs afterwards?’

  ‘That I can’t promise at the moment, but at least with a trade at their fingertips – literally – they’ll have a better chance of finding work even in these difficult ti
mes.’

  His eyes swivelled to his daughter, but there was still disgust in his expression.

  ‘If you still don’t want me back,’ Jane began hesitantly, ‘then I’ll—’

  ‘I don’t,’ he said harshly, ‘but I’ve no doubt yer mam will.’ He raised his voice and half turned to shout over his shoulder. ‘Gladys, there’s someone to see yer.’

  ‘What’s all the shouting about, Percy? I—’ A small, busy little woman, drying her hands on a towel, appeared behind him and peered around his bulk which was still filling the doorway. Her eyes widened and her mouth rounded into an ‘Oh’ of surprise.

  ‘It seems yer slut of a daughter has decided to mend ’er ways and has come crawling back hopin’ we’ll be killing the fatted calf for ’er. I can’t say I’m pleased about it, Gladys. What me work mates’ll say, I daren’t think. But if it’s what you want, then I’ll not go against you. You’ve been a good wife to me and a good mother. T’ain’t your fault what she’s done, I know that.’

  Gladys Arnold was still staring at her daughter and then she became aware of Emily standing quietly beside her. Her hand flew to cover her mouth. ‘Oh Mrs Trippet, whatever—?’

  Swiftly, Jane said, ‘Mam, it’s all thanks to Mrs Trippet. She’s offered me work – well, more training – to be a buffer girl.’

  Gladys seemed to recover from the shock of seeing her daughter and now she reached out and grasped Jane’s arm and pulled her into the house. ‘Come inside, quick. Both of you. I don’t want the neighbours . . .’

  Percy stood aside and allowed them to enter. As they moved into the kitchen, Jane said, ‘I’m so sorry, Mam, that I shamed you, but I couldn’t find work. And with Dad getting finished at the steelworks—’

  ‘Oh, so it’s all my fault, is it? I’ve worked nigh on thirty years at that place and they out me without a backward glance. That’s gratitude for you.’

  ‘What is your trade, Mr Arnold?’ Emily asked him, trying to divert the attention from Jane.

  He laughed ruefully, ‘Well, it ain’t buffing, missus.’

  Emily smiled. ‘No, I realize that, but Trip – my husband – and I keep our ear to the ground where work in the city is concerned. I just thought that if we heard of anything going – what sort of thing would you be willing to do?’