Durham Trilogy 03. Never Stand Alone

by Janet MacLeod Trotter

  Mick looked at him through his pain and guilt and rage and something inside him snapped.

  ‘I know where they get on the bus,’ he said hoarsely. ‘And I’m bloody well going to stop them!’ He turned and blundered out of the house before they could stop him.

  ‘Oh, Charlie!’ Lotty wailed.

  As Charlie moved to follow, Eddy sprang up. ‘I’ll go.’

  ‘Both go,’ Lotty urged. ‘If anyone can calm our Mick down, Eddy can. Val will stay with me.’

  The sisters watched from the window as the men disappeared into the dark.

  ‘Look at that,’ Val gasped in disbelief. ‘You’re being watched.’

  Lotty peered and saw a panda car parked at the top of the lane. The lights were out, but a figure sat inside. Whose house were they watching and for whom were they waiting? For the first time she felt real fear at what was happening.

  She clutched her sister’s arm. ‘Oh, Val, I wish Carol was back. I’m really scared what Mick might do. If only Carol was here!’

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Carol got as far as the steps to Pete’s hotel. She sat on them for several minutes, undecided, fighting with her conflicting emotions. She felt hurt and betrayed by Kelly’s revelation and yet it was something that had happened before she and Mick had gone out. Was it fair to blame him for that? And what if he really had not known about their baby? Surely if he had he would have stood by Kelly and married her? It was the way Todds were - loyal.

  So what was she doing about to seek comfort from another man? How could she act so disloyally, no matter how wounded she felt?

  She wandered off towards the harbour and watched the fishing boats slip out in the dawn. Eventually she huddled on a park bench, smoked three cigarettes and then dozed until a light drizzle woke her.

  Achingly tired and chilled through, she headed back to the hostel, with the uncomfortable thought that if Kelly had kept her baby and Mick had married her, there would have been no Laura. How different her own life would have been. She would never have had those first happy years with Mick, would probably never have stayed in Brassbank at all.

  And battered though her spirits felt, Carol knew that she did not regret the course her life had taken. She belonged in Brassbank with Mick and Laura, with the Todds and her friends in the Women’s Group. In that moment of clarity, she knew that her dangerous flirtation with Pete Fletcher was over. However strained her relationship with Mick, she was not going to give up and run away. Mick needed her and she would return to Brassbank determined to make things better between them. What had happened between him and Kelly was tragic, but it was in the past and none of them could do anything to change that. What mattered now was how she was going to deal with Kelly’s affair with Vic and the explosive news that Kelly was carrying Vic’s baby.

  She lay on her bed for an hour before the girls woke up. She shivered at the thought of how outraged and hurt Fay would be, and yet, in a strange way, she felt sorry for Kelly too. Her friend was so troubled; latching on to a dream to escape a lifetime of unhappiness. And then there was poor Sid . . .

  At breakfast, Carol tried to catch Kelly’s attention but she avoided her. She was also aware of a coolness among some of the other women towards her and wondered quite what they had overheard the previous night, or what had been whispered about her when she had disappeared with Pete.

  When Pete came to find her later in the morning, there was a tension about the group. The children were restless, cooped up indoors as the rain teemed down outside, so May and June led some of them off briskly for a swim. The weather had broken and suddenly for Carol the magic had gone out of the holiday. She began to feel unsettled too, her thoughts turning more and more to home. She became impatient for the holiday to end and for her and Laura to return to Brassbank. Yet there were five more days to go.

  ‘Explain to me over coffee,’ Pete suggested, aware that something had happened.

  Carol was doubtful, but agreed, ‘I’ll meet you after the swim.’

  Later, while Laura went to the pictures with the others, Carol told Linda to go and lie down while she pushed Calvin out in his pram. She met Pete across the harbour and told him of her terrible row with Kelly.

  ‘Did you know she was having an affair with Vic?’ Carol asked.

  Pete shrugged. ‘No, but it doesn’t surprise me. Vic’s always been greedy.’ He tried to take her hand, but she pulled away. ‘There’s something else bothering you, though, isn’t there?’

  Carol nodded and told him of the revelation about Mick and Kelly’s first pregnancy.

  ‘Do you think it’s possible Mick didn’t know?’ she whispered.

  ‘Do you?’ Pete questioned. Carol shrugged. Pete sighed. ‘Does it really matter after all this time? Wouldn’t you have married Mick anyway, even if you’d known? People make mistakes, Carol. Wouldn’t it have been a greater mistake for Mick to have married Kelly out of pity? She wouldn’t have been any happier in the long run.’

  ‘I suppose you’re right,’ Carol nodded. She smiled at him. ‘You’ve been very understanding, Pete. Thanks for your friendship.’

  He regarded her a moment. ‘That sounds a bit formal - and a bit final, somehow.’

  ‘Aye,’ Carol said quietly, ‘it is. I think it’s time you interviewed someone else, Pete, another group. I’ve got far too involved. It’s not fair on you, or me family. I’ve been feeling too sorry for myself these past weeks, but now I’ve had time to think about a lot of things.’

  ‘And you’re going to stick it out with Mick,’ Pete said in a tight voice.

  ‘It’s not just a matter of sticking it out,’ Carol answered. ‘We need each other, and Laura needs us both. We’ll never get through this strike in one piece if we don’t do it together, I know that much. The future’s so uncertain, but I need to be back home to help see it through. I couldn’t go anywhere else or be with anyone else while me family and village have their backs to the wall. It’s where I must be.’

  They looked at each other for a long moment.

  ‘They’re lucky to have you,’ Pete said wistfully.

  ‘No,’ Carol answered gently, ‘I’m the lucky one. Without them I have nothing.’

  Calvin woke and instantly began to cry and they abandoned their half-drunk coffees. Outside in the rain, Pete gave her a sad smile.

  ‘Will you say goodbye to Laura for me?’

  Carol nodded. At the moment of parting, she could not find the words.

  ‘I’ll let you know when the piece is broadcast,’ he said more lightly. Then, ‘Take care of yourself, won’t you?’

  ‘Aye, and you.’ Carol swallowed hard. They did not touch.

  She turned abruptly away, shooshing the fretful baby, and wheeled him quickly across the bridge. She thought for a moment how different her life would be if she took the future that Pete held out to her - easier, more comfortable, more varied, more exciting. But ultimately rootless. Her spirit would gradually starve without the nourishment of deep ties and bonds of family and community that made her who she was.

  That afternoon, Carol rang home to speak to Mick, despite his order that she should not. There was no reply. She tried again each hour until after eleven that evening, but no one answered. She tried Lotty’s, but no one was at home. She went to bed wondering where they were and lay awake for hours, anxious at what might be happening. Unable to sleep, she got up and went outside for a cigarette. Dark-headed Denise appeared silently from behind and startled her.

  ‘I’ve been helping Linda with Calvin’s late feed,’ she explained.

  ‘You’re a good friend to our Linda,’ Carol smiled and offered her a cigarette.

  ‘She needs them with a husband like hers,’ Denise said with a grimace. ‘She should’ve left Dan before he walked out on her. Do you know she’s been ringing him all week at his mam’s?’

  ‘Never?’ Carol was amazed.

  ‘Aye. Says he wants her back now and that she’s going to gan back to the flat after the hol
iday instead of to her mam’s. Needs her head examined.’

  It was the first time Carol had heard Denise criticise Dan so openly. ‘She hasn’t told me any of this,’ she said, a little hurt.

  ‘No, well, you’ve had your mind on other things recently,’ Denise said, giving her a guarded look.

  Carol blushed and changed the subject swiftly. ‘Have you heard any news from home? I’m worried something’s happening we don’t know about.’

  ‘No, but I don’t think they’d tell us, would they? In case we decided to come home early.’

  ‘Aye,’ Carol sighed, ‘that’s true. I’m getting no reply from anyone.’

  ‘I wouldn’t worry. They’ll be working hard at the Welfare, that’s all.’

  Carol felt reassured by the girl’s common sense. Denise had grown up before her very eyes these past months. She stubbed out her cigarette and turned to go in.

  ‘I’ll tell you something strange, mind,’ Denise added.

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Kelly’s not back.’

  Carol tensed. ‘She’ll be having a last drink somewhere.’

  ‘No,’ Denise frowned. ‘She hasn’t been here all day. Went off in a taxi when you lot went swimming and hasn’t been back. Took all her clothes. Do you think she’s gone home?’

  Carol’s heart missed a beat. If she had, then she and Vic were probably dropping their explosive news this very moment. She tried to imagine her family coping with such an unforeseen crisis, but could not. It would be one scandal too much for her parents.

  ‘Oh, Denise,’ Carol fretted, ‘I wish we were all home. I just have this feeling . . .’ She shrugged helplessly. How could she begin to explain her dread at the unknown?

  Mick stormed through the deserted streets of Brassbank with Eddy and Charlie running to catch up with him. He would not be calmed. Inside he boiled with fury and grief for his grandfather, dying in fear and pain, haunted by past ghosts and the dread that history was repeating itself.

  ‘Look behind you, man Mick!’ Eddy hissed. ‘We’re being followed. They’ll pick you up before we get anywhere near the bus.’

  Mick glanced behind and saw the police car crawling behind them, further up the street but near enough to let them know they were being watched. Mick stopped.

  ‘You’re breaking your bail again. They could nick you any time. They’re just waiting to see where you’ll lead them,’ Charlie reasoned. ‘Come home and get a bit of kip while you can.’

  Mick’s shoulders drooped suddenly. They were right, there was nothing useful he could do by letting the police chase him around the village. They would never let him get anywhere near the pick-up point.

  ‘Will you go later and find out who they are?’ Mick pleaded with his uncle. ‘Ted says he picks them up behind the police station.’

  Eddy sighed. ‘If you promise to gan home and keep your head down, I will.’

  Mick turned round. Ta, Eddy.’

  The three of them walked back to Septimus Street together and Lotty settled her son on the settee under a blanket. Charlie left for the Welfare Hall to organise the picket. Later, when the others were asleep, Eddy slipped out the front door, knowing any patrol car would be watching the back.

  There were signs of activity everywhere as he drew closer to the police station. They were obviously gearing up for a large presence to see the working miners into the pit. Today would be their greatest battle yet. He did not see any way he could get nearer the police station without being seen. Giving up, he was about to turn back down the hill when a pale green metallic Granada slipped past him and stopped at the junction ahead. It struck him immediately as familiar. Right opposite him, the driver wound down his window and flicked out a cigarette end. Eddy only saw his face for seconds but long enough to recognise Dan Hardman, driving old man Hardman’s car.

  An instant later and he had turned at the junction and disappeared into the station yard.

  Dan! Eddy whistled in shock. What would Charlie and Lotty say when they knew their son-in-law was strike-breaking? And Mick? He had always stuck up for the young miner and taken him under his wing on picketing duties. Why had he not come to talk to Mick or any of them before taking such a drastic step? Eddy felt he was carrying a lead weight as he turned for home and ran off down the back street with his terrible news.

  Mick was already up drinking tea with Lotty. Their sadness was palpable. For a moment he debated whether to tell them what he had seen, but his face must have betrayed him.

  ‘Who did you see?’ Mick asked at once. ‘It’s someone we know, isn’t it?’

  Eddy let out a long sigh. ‘I couldn’t get near enough, but I did see someone driving into the police yard. It’s possible he was there for another reason. I mean, I didn’t see him actually getting on a bus . . .’

  Mick was on his feet. ‘Who, Eddy?’ he demanded.

  ‘Dan.’

  Lotty gasped, but Mick said nothing. He could not speak. His whole face was gripped in disbelief. Then his fists tensed up and he felt his throat fill up with bile.

  ‘Not Dan,’ he choked. ‘Not without telling me first.’ He smashed a fist on the table and knocked over his mug of tea. ‘Stupid little bastard!’

  ‘Mick!’ Lotty cried, rising to calm him.

  ‘I’ll make him change his mind,’ Mick growled and made for the door.

  ‘Eddy, go after him,’ Lotty pleaded. ‘I’ll go and tell Charlie.’

  But Mick was gone and running up the lane before they could scramble out of the house. Eddy cursed himself for having told what he had seen. He should have realised what an emotional state Mick was in; his nephew could not cope with this extra shock.

  Mick ran until his lungs heaved for air in the drizzly dawn, making straight for the pit gates. Dan had been accepted and helped by the Todd family, even when he had not wanted to stand by Linda and the baby. But Mick had helped him see sense and accept that he had responsibilities; they had talked about how Linda would go back to him after the holiday. Mick had worried about Dan staying with the Hardmans who were so against the strike, but he had thought Dan could stand up to them. Mick had said Carol and the Women’s Group would help the young family in every way they could, and the union would help them too. Dan had agreed to swallow his pride and come down for free meals at the Welfare, and there would be food parcels for baby Calvin. But all the time Dan was secretly going behind their backs and planning to betray them by returning to work! Mick fumed. Dan had rejected them and taken the bribes of men like Ben Shannon to save his own skin. He was beyond contempt! He would pay for his treachery, Mick swore. He had not spent the last six months watching his family lose everything, seeing Carol drifting away from him and the village reduced to poverty just for his selfish brother-in-law to smash their unity and render the sacrifices futile.

  As he raced towards the picket, Mick’s anger and bitterness overwhelmed him. Relief would only come by giving Dan Hardman his punishment.

  Charlie had gone early to the picket. They had expected reinforcements from out of the area but they had not arrived. Rumours were spreading that the top of the village had been sealed off and the flying pickets had been turned back miles away from Brassbank. The streets echoed with an eerie quiet. It was too quiet, Charlie realised. There was no early morning bustle common to the pit village; people had been frightened off the streets by patrols of police on foot and the anonymous vans gathering on the hill.

  Then, out of the dark, the convoy began to move. Engines revved and motorcycles roared, shattering the tense silence. The men around him shifted and braced themselves for trouble; some began to shout.

  ‘Clear the road!’ a loud-hailer called. ‘Stand back! Stand back now!’

  The pushing and shoving started. As the bus came into view, the scuffling broke into fights. Van doors flew open and police in riot gear jumped out, charging at the miners to clear them off the road. The bus was not going to stop today, Charlie realised; it was hurtling towards the gates. Men fell ba
ck and the gates behind them clanged open. Soon it would all be over and they would have sustained an important symbolic defeat - the day Brassbank solidarity broke and scab labour signed on at the pit.

  From somewhere there was a sudden splintering crash. Charlie looked up at the passing bus and saw a brick had smashed the front windscreen. The rest of the bus was impregnable, the windows protected with wire mesh, but the front was now shattered. The bus veered into one of the gates, narrowly missing several men, and crashed to a squealing halt.

  There was confusion everywhere. Men shouted, surged forward. Police swarmed around the immobile bus.

  ‘Get the door open!’ someone yelled. ‘Let them out!’

  As police formed a human barrier, the bus door hissed open and the hooded travellers clattered quickly down the steps. There was uproar at the sight of them. Beyond, Charlie could see Ted Laws standing dazed by the driving seat, his head bleeding.

  Men surged and jostled to reach the strike-breakers, screaming their hate. But the first two bulky men were swiftly out of the bus and running for the safety of the pit yard. Only one slighter built man was hesitating, petrified by the sights around him.

  ‘Come on, hurry up!’ an officer bawled.

  Suddenly Charlie saw Mick move up behind the officer and hurl him out of the way.

  ‘Hardman, I’ll have you!’

  The masked figure hesitated a moment longer, then Mick was lunging at his head and pulling his balaclava off to reveal Dan’s ashen face. Mick knocked him off the steps. There was pandemonium: Mick shouting incoherently, Dan screaming. But the police were soon on the miners, pulling them apart. Charlie saw one kick Mick in the back, making him release his grip on the terrified Dan and then lay into him with a truncheon.

  Charlie went to his son’s aid, still stunned by the sight of his son-in-law unmasked as a scab. He threw himself between Mick and the policeman, taking the blows of the truncheon upon his own back and head. Mick, who was doubled up on the ground, was able to scramble to his feet. He looked dazed and confused. A moment later, someone pushed Charlie out of the way and several policemen seized Mick, dragging him back with them into their ranks.