The Mersey Girls

by Sheila Riley

  ‘Oh, I’ve never felt so humiliated in all my life,’ Evie gasped. ‘Picking me up in the street and carrying me in like a bundle of washing.’ And, to make things worse, the street was full of gawping kids, who stopped their football and hopscotch to watch Danny being the local hero – again. Wasn’t it enough that he had earned a chest-full of medals during the war? He did not need to add her to his list of heroic deeds.

  ‘Jack, come and tell this fella I don't need carrying, like some invalid who's broke her leg,’ Evie called up the lobby to her brother.

  ‘Hello there, Dan,’ thirteen-year-old Lucy said in a chirpy voice, ruffling Max’s ears, ‘why are you carrying our Evie into the house like that?’

  ‘She’s had a bit of a fall,’ Danny told her good-naturedly as he stopped to give Max a brief pat on the back and Evie let out a slight squeal of fright in case he dropped her.

  ‘You ran over me, you mean,’ she said, knowing a cut knee and swollen foot did not render her helpless. She had suffered far worse when she was on her hands and knees scrubbing the offices of Beamers Electricals.

  These days she was a respectable auditor in a major shipping office, and she did not appreciate being shown up in front of the entire street.

  ‘Flippin’ heck. I wondered why she was late. I peeled the spuds for our tea when I got back from the park with Fergus.’ Lucy stood to one side to let them in the kitchen. ‘I’ll cook too if she’s helpless.’

  ‘Well that told me,’ Evie said with an indignant sigh. ‘Now I’ve lost my job as chief cook and bottle-washer too.’

  ‘She fell over and hurt her leg,’ Lucy told seventeen-year-old Jack who had appeared in the kitchen from upstairs, and a wide grin spread across his face when he saw his older sister in the arms of his workmate. And judging by the thundery expression on Evie’s face, she was not happy

  ‘Evie, are you all right?’ Connie approached the front door, resplendent in a blue-flowered smock over her black skirt and white blouse.

  ‘I’ve hurt my ankle,’ Evie called over Danny’s shoulder, ‘and my dignity. This fella’s taking liberties because I’m in pain.’

  ‘Do you want me to have a look at it?’ Connie looked concerned as Evie nodded, rolling her eyes.

  ‘Make way for the invalid,’ Danny called. ‘Mind your backs please, mind your backs.’

  ‘Oh, very droll,’ Evie said deadpan. She had heard Mr Walton say the word droll in the office when one of the office juniors had made a funny remark, and, impressed, she had been looking for an excuse to use it ever since.

  ‘I’m sure it’s nothing,’ Evie said when Connie followed. ‘I think Danny’s overreacting.’

  ‘It’ll still need looking at,’ Connie said, taking charge. ‘Oh, and Danny, I’ve left your dad propped up by the bar talking to my Angus.’ She led the way into the kitchen.

  ‘He’s been propping up the bar since I was born.’ Danny did not look pleased, which didn’t surprise anybody. Danny was the breadwinner in that family. Why Ada put up with Bert’s idleness for all these years was a mystery, Connie thought. Thank goodness Danny didn’t take after him.

  ‘Danny banjaxed our Evie’s leg,’ Lucy’s sing-song Celtic lilt had diminished little since she came home from evacuation in Ireland

  ‘He did not!’ Evie’s irritation startled Lucy, and given her shocked expression Evie went on to explain, ‘Well, Danny came hurtling round the corner…’

  ‘Terrifying the Bejaysus out of our Evie’ Lucy cut in, ‘and caused her to fall over.’

  ‘That's a different matter,’ Jack said. ‘You can't blame a bloke for your clumsiness.’

  ‘I was not clumsy. He came round the corner like a blue-arsed fly! It startled me, the kerb was broken, and the next thing I know, I'm sitting in a puddle of water with soaking draws and laddered stockings.’

  ‘So, where are your stockings?’ There was a hint of censure in Jack’s tone, and Evie felt her face burn. ‘You had them on when you went to work this morning.’

  ‘Well, that’s another story.’ Evie felt sheepish. No longer wearing her dark stockings, she could only imagine what the situation must look like. ‘And you can take that expression off your face, our Jack.’ Evie felt she was being judged before they aired the facts, and the injustice steeled her words. ‘The truck wouldn't go. The fan belt broke. And Danny needed something to fix the engine.’

  ‘Genius,’ Jack’s voice, laced with admiration which he did nothing to hide, forgot his sister’s modesty, ‘that's why auld man Skinner depends on him so much.’

  ‘Oh it was nothing,’ Danny said in mock restraint as he blew on his fingernails and polished them on the upper arm of his wet jacket. ‘Any genius would have done the same.’ Although, he felt bad about poor Evie's stockings, which were now not so easy to come by since the Yanks had all gone home after the war. ‘Right,’ he said heading towards the table, ‘where shall I put her?’

  ‘I’m not a cardboard box, you know,’ Evie cried, pulling her coat round her bare legs, her pleading expression summoning Connie over.

  ‘Just on this chair here,’ Connie pulled out a straight-back chair from the table and Evie was ever so glad when Danny put her down. Being so close to him, she could hear his heartbeat, which made her own heart do some very peculiar jumps which she had never noticed before.

  ‘Can I get you a cup of tea, Danny?’ Lucy asked, not waiting for an answer.

  ‘Danny’s got to rush off I expect,’ Evie said, ‘haven't you, Danny?’

  ‘No rush at all.’ Danny knew his father would not drag himself from the Tavern for another half an hour at least. ‘Ma doesn’t put the tea out til Da gets in; she won’t mind if I'm late, seeing it’s in a good cause.’ His mother would be livid, he knew, but Evie didn’t need to know that.

  Taking the cup and saucer from Lucy, he sat on the sofa by the door while Connie dabbed Evie’s knee with saltwater. Putting his first visit three years ago behind him, Danny didn’t like to dwell, given the circumstances of Evie’s father being arrested for murdering her mother.

  Frank Kilgaren had convinced the jury he had not meant to kill his beloved wife Rene, but they found him insane and they sent him to a lunatic asylum. Danny’s heart had gone out to Evie that day, and he wasn’t sure he had ever regained full possession of it since.

  An involuntary sweep of his eyes took in the cosy room. Evie had made it a lovely, warm, welcoming home. The entire place had a different feel. The atmosphere was light and friendly, and even though Evie was mad at him for humiliating her in front of the kids of Reckoner’s Row, he knew she was one of the most sociable people he had ever met.

  She reminded him of Aunty Meggie, who also had a heart of gold and would do anything to help anybody if she could. Evie was a friend to everybody. A far cry from the days when her mother was alive and used her like a skivvy.

  He could only admire Evie’s determination to keep her little family on the straight and narrow. Everything she had set out to do she had accomplished with flying colours… However, he thought, Evie was no soft touch. That gracious exterior hid a rod of pure steel.

  ‘I've put the spuds on, they’ll be about half an hour,’ Lucy said. ‘Would you like to stay for your tea, Danny, there’s plenty.’

  Evie’s marine-coloured eyes fixed on her younger sister and sent stormy signals. She had only bought three scrawny leg chops after standing in the butcher’s queue for most of her dinner hour and had been looking forward to that chop all afternoon. If Danny stayed for tea, she would have no choice but to give it to him.

  ‘Thanks for the offer, Lucy, maybe another time,’ Danny said.

  ‘I wasn’t sure what time you would be home,’ Lucy said to her older sister as Connie finished cleaning Evie’s leg.

  ‘I stayed behind to finish some work and then I fell and then the fan belt snapped,’ Evie explained quickly. ‘Obviously if I worked nearer home, I would have been home ages ago.’ Her hand flew to her mouth when Evie realised what she had just s
aid. She sounded so ungrateful and Danny was only trying to help. ‘Oh Danny I didn’t mean…’

  ‘Think no more of it,’ Danny said holding up his hand to stop Evie embarrassing herself further. ‘Although, I have a solution to that problem, if you’re interested,’ Danny offered. ‘But it’s a big ask, compared with the grandeur of River Chambers.’ The pokey office in Skinner’s yard was a far cry from the Portland stone façade of one of the world’s major shipping lines. And then there was Susie… He knew the two girls did not get on at all well. Although, in for a penny… ‘Uncle Henry’s looking for someone reliable to manage the office, but they need to use discretion.’ Danny sounded secretive and Evie turned to face him.

  ‘Discretion is her name,’ Lucy answered and then whispered to Connie, ‘What does discretion mean?’

  ‘It means minding your own business,’ Connie answered, knowing to get to Skinner’s haulage yard Evie would only have to walk down to the bottom of Reckoner’s Row and turn right, across the waste ground known to the locals as the debris.

  It might be worth working at Skinner’s, Evie thought, if only for peace of mind. She knew their father was securely locked up in an institution, given the severity of his crime, but he was as slippy as melted margarine and she did not feel comfortable being so far from her thirteen-year-old sister all day.

  ‘If you can put up with the smell of horses, and working with Susie Blackthorn again…’ Danny said, ‘I’ll put a word in if the job’s any use to you?’ He kept his pale blue eyes on the gentle glowing embers, glad she could not hear his heart hammering in his chest.

  ‘I would like to be within shouting distance of home and I like horses. Susie will just have to get used to me, I suppose,’ she said, as Danny tugged the peak of his flat cap, covering a mane of thick ebony hair. His easy-going nature, like the silver army dog-tags hugging his strong neck, was all part of who he was.

  Danny glanced in her direction. ‘So you’ll think it over?’

  ‘Tell Mr Skinner I could call in tomorrow,’ Evie told Danny.

  Fancy Susie Blackthorn thinking she stood a chance with Danny. They were as different as day and night. He was just the friendliest man she had ever met. Kind and helpful to people. Made them feel at ease, while Susie was stuck up and lazy.

  ‘Is Susie leaving?’ Evie asked, feeling hope in her heart.

  ‘No,’ Danny said, ‘what gave you that idea?’

  ‘She manages the office,’ Evie told him, recalling vividly the day Susie boasted about her lofty position in the Skinner workforce.

  ‘She can’t manage a smile most days, never mind a business,’ Danny said, making everybody laugh.

  Any misgivings she may have about working with Susie had to be put aside. ‘I would be thrilled if you would put a word in for me…’ her voice trailed off.

  ‘Don’t worry your head, I’ll see Uncle Henry when I take the wagon back to the yard, I’ll let you know what he says.’

  ‘Thanks a lot, Danny.’ His suggestion had taken her by surprise, but she didn’t have to think twice about the offer of a job so close to home. Being just down the street would ease her mind. Evie didn’t want Lucy to feel the way she once did. Coming home to an empty house was the loneliest feeling in the world.

  ‘I suppose your mam’s excited about the wedding?’ Connie said conversationally.

  ‘Thrilled to bits,’ Danny nodded and rolled his eyes, ‘we haven’t heard the last of it.’

  ‘If I were in Grace’s shoes,’ Evie said, wondering why someone with such a glittering lifestyle would contemplate settling down, ‘I wouldn’t be in any hurry to get married, full stop.’

  ‘No?’ Danny’s blue eyes twinkled. He was sure she believed every word she said. ‘Me neither.’

  Evie glanced down at her swollen foot, glad Lucy and Connie did not make any remarks, although it was only a matter of time, she knew.

  Her hunger pangs returned because of the delicious smell of Lucy’s cooking. She was glad their evening meal was on the go. She didn’t want Danny thinking they ate out of the chippy every night.

  ‘You've done an excellent job with the tea, Lucy,’ she said, grateful her sister had the wonderful sense to start the meal. ‘I'll make it up to you when I get paid. You deserve a bit of pocket money… I don’t know what I’d do without you.’ Her own words gave her a start. They rolled off her tongue as her mother’s used to do. Mam said those very words to her all the time when she was growing up. ‘Not that it’s your job to look after the house and make sure the meals are ready, while Jack and I are working,’ she added. ‘I don’t want to make a drudge out of you, not at your age… it's just...’

  ‘I don’t mind mucking in,’ Lucy cut in, her eyes lighting up at the mention of earning more pocket money, ‘it makes me feel grown-up.’

  ‘There’s plenty of time for you to grow up, Lucy. Don’t rush things.’

  ‘Hark at you, Mother Hubbard,’ Lucy laughed. ‘I’ll finish the cooking while you rest your leg.’

  ‘You’ve sprained your ankle,’ Connie said after a thorough but gentle examination, ‘so Lucy’s on kitchen duty for the foreseeable and you have to rest it until the swelling goes down at least.’

  ‘But I can’t take time off work, we need the money.’ It wasn't easy looking after a family when she had a full-time job, it meant she would have to depend more and more on Lucy, and she didn't want that. Running the house was something her mother expected her to do from an early age, but she had no intention of making Lucy old before her time like she had been. ‘Lucy’s got a good brain in her head, we all have, and she’s not wasting it looking after me. She will go to school and get the education to make something of herself.’ The way she wished she could have done earlier, but she could neither afford the time nor the course until she started working as a cleaner at Beamers and then started typing up the office files for lazy clerks. ‘Education and hard work are the quickest route out of the dockside,’ she told Lucy.

  Connie nodded in agreement, ‘You will make a better life for yourself, I’m sure.’

  ‘I’ve got to get the wagon back to the yard and fix it before tomorrow’s deliveries.’ Danny’s handsome face stretched into a friendly smile and he made his way to the door.

  ‘I’ll come over to the yard and give you a hand if you like?’ Jack said.

  ‘Thanks, Jack, but I’ve got to let the old man know what’s happened first,’ Danny said. ‘Oh, and I won’t forget that little favour I promised you, Evie.’ Danny’s mischievous glint in his eye made Evie shake her head.

  ‘Right-o, Dan,’ Jack said, ‘but give me a shout if you need a hand.’

  4

  Before Danny set to work on the truck, he popped in to see his Uncle Henry and Aunt Meggie as he did every night, wondering how Evie would get to work now she had sprained her ankle. And he owed her a pair of silks. Aunt Meggie would know about that sort of thing, he thought.

  ‘Poor Evie.’ Meggie’s dark blue eyes were mellow as always when Danny finished his tale. ‘I’ll pop into the shops and see if there are any stockings to be had.’

  ‘That’s if she’ll let you do anything for her,’ Danny sighed, his shoulders drooping a little. ‘She’s stubborn and independent.’

  ‘Pain can cut through the most tenacious temperament,’ Meggie said, proving to Danny that anything rarely ruffled her.

  ‘I don’t understand how women’s minds work, they’re a mystery to me. All I know is that when I asked Evie to go to the pictures, as a way of saying sorry – nothing serious – she couldn’t say no fast enough.’ It surprised Danny at how disappointed he felt.

  ‘She’s devoted to her little family,’ Aunt Meggie said, pouring strong tea into a white mug.

  ‘Better than a lot of mothers I know,’ Danny answered in a dull voice and, noticing the crease in Meggie’s brow, he blurted, ‘present company excepted, Aunt Meggie. You’d have made a smashing mam.’ She was a home port when storm Ada was wreaking havoc.

  ‘
Women are a wonder to behold, my boy,’ Henry said with a good-natured grin, knowing Danny was a catch, there was no mistake about that, and he was sure the lad would find himself a lovely girl just like his Meggie. ‘That wildcat Susie wouldn’t take to you asking the lovely Evie to the pictures, not when she’s waited so long.’ Everybody knew Susie had her eye on Danny.

  ‘What’s it got to do with Susie anyway?’ Danny’s genial tone sounded bruised. ‘She knows I only see her as a friend. I’ve never made her any promises. Not even a hint.’

  ‘I don’t think she sees it like that,’ Henry answered. ‘You’re on to a sticky wicket there, my boy, she’s got her sights set on you. Women don’t like a bloke playing fast with their feelings.’ Henry paused for a moment to light his pipe. ‘They can make your life a misery if you upset them.’ He blew out a cloud of tobacco smoke, pensive before picking up his large mug, draining the remains. ‘I’ve heard many a sad tale from a brow-beaten husband who married the wrong woman.’

  ‘Who mentioned marriage? I came for some moral support, not to be frightened out of me wits.’

  ‘Sorry, son, just thought I’d mention it…’

  Danny felt his neck, it was clammy and growing hotter. ‘You could give a bloke palpitation with remarks like that.’

  ‘Don’t scare the lad, my love,’ Meggie smiled to her husband. Having never had the chance to raise any children of her own, she liked to spoil Danny. He was one of life’s optimists who had plans and was ambitious for a better life. And something told her that Danny, being determined, would make something of himself, climb out of the backstreets. He would make some lucky girl a wonderful husband, she thought.

  ‘I’ve got to build an empire before I settle down,’ Danny said, ‘and empire building takes time.’

  ‘It does,’ Meggie said, returning to the dining room, carrying a tray holding three enormous bowls of meaty broth and thick-cut crusty bread, which she had made only this afternoon. ‘Tuck into this, it’ll cheer you up.’

  ‘Don’t tell Ma,’ Danny said, his mouth watering at the tasty-looking food Aunt Meggie plied him with every chance she got. She was a smashing cook, much better than his ma, but he would never dare say so.