The Three Kings

by Doris Davidson

  ‘Good girl. Now, I won’t be calling every day, but I’ll come occasionally to see how she is.’

  On her way home from giving up her work, Katie wondered how she would cope with attending to her grandmother every minute of every day for years. As the doctor had warned her, it would be hard work, but at least it gave her a purpose in life and there would be no time to think about herself … or about George … or about poor, dead Sammy.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Before locking the day’s takings in the safe for deposit in the bank in the morning, Dennis extracted twenty pounds and put them in his pocket. What Beth didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. He had started off by taking a fiver once a week, then, getting bolder, he had tried ten, and when Beth still hadn’t twigged, he made it twenty. He had been at it since a month after the restaurant was extended, and his wife still didn’t suspect a thing.

  Looking in the mirror, he adjusted his silk tie, then ran his comb through his hair, no longer worn oiled and slicked back. It looked natural now – a darkish brown with a thread or two of silver – much more distinguished and suitable for a man who could call members of the upper classes his friends, some of the females even more than friends. The trouble was that the more money these uppity bitches had, the less ready they were to part with it. They expected him to buy gifts and pay for the afternoon or evening sessions in hotels out of town.

  Unfortunately, before he had thought of helping himself to cash, he had tried to get more by gambling with the paltry pocket-money Beth allowed him, and now he was well and truly hooked. He owed the bookies a packet, and there didn’t seem to be any way of paying them. He had considered blackmailing some of his ex-paramours, but if they told their husbands, word would get round that he wasn’t to be trusted and no one would patronize Le Denis.

  He did manage to winkle a few extra pounds out of Beth now and then when he had exceeded what he could safely pocket from the takings, but she wasn’t too happy about it, and it was dodgy. If she got the slightest inkling of his extra-marital activities, he’d be up to his neck in shit – if he wasn’t out on his ear. Still, he’d managed to get by up to now, and if she ever called the restaurant and found that he wasn’t available, his staff would cover for him.

  Tonight, however, Beth was in Glasgow seeing her solicitor – she was always damned cagey about where her income came in from – and she wouldn’t be back until tomorrow lunchtime, so he had the whole night free. He would be with a sixteen-year-old whose parents were off on a cruise somewhere, and money would be the last thing on his mind.

  Being in the house alone every day for so many months had told on Angus Gunn. He now lived in a twilight world of his own, and had difficulty in distinguishing what was reality and what was the product of his weird thoughts. On more than one occasion, he had climbed the two flights of stairs only to stop on the top landing wondering why he had come up. One afternoon in March, things went a little further. He found himself in one of the garrets with a cup of water in one hand and a plate holding a dry slice of bread in the other.

  His brow wrinkled in perplexity. Who had he thought he was feeding? There was no one here. After a moment, he shook his head and went back to the kitchen, fearful that his mind was slipping. Would there come a day when it would go altogether and he would not know what he was doing? What if his wife caught him up there, talking to an empty room? He knew that he talked to himself, but, so far, he had not done so while she was in the house – or had he, without being aware of it?

  When Betty came home that night, he had the dinner set in the kitchen – she had refused some time ago to eat in the dining room, saying that it was a lot of work for nothing.

  ‘Something smells good, Angus,’ she smiled.

  ‘Only because you are hungry,’ he protested, simpering nevertheless at the implied compliment as he took the roasting tin out of the oven.

  ‘What have you been doing with yourself today, apart from making the dinner?’

  He carved four thin slices of meat before answering, ‘I tidied up, and did some weeding in the garden. Um, I was wondering … have you ever heard me talking to myself? I have caught myself at it once or twice, and I felt so silly.’

  ‘It’s nothing. I used to do it all the time. Everybody does. Now, dish up the vegetables and sit down and eat your dinner before it’s cold.’

  When they were both seated, she said, ‘I was really busy in the shop today, Angus, and two women actually got tired of waiting and left without buying anything.’

  Having divorced himself from his business, he did not care if all the customers went out … or never went in, but how would they live, in that case? He forced himself to consider what his wife had said. ‘You have done very well since you took over the reins, so well that it may be feasible for you to engage someone to help you.’

  ‘I do need somebody … why don’t you come back? You could deal with the men and I’d deal with the women, and if you felt too tired any time, I’d do both. You wouldn’t even need to drive the car, for I’ve managed myself for months.’

  He deliberated for only a short time. ‘I do not feel like returning to the grind, and the stress of the shop may prove too much for me. I am sure you can find a capable woman, or perhaps you should employ a man to look after the menswear.’

  ‘That’s a good idea … as long as you wouldn’t be jealous of me working so close to another man all day?’

  ‘In such a public place? There would be no cause for me to be jealous.’ Fatigue sweeping over him suddenly, Angus said, wearily, ‘Do as you think best.’

  ‘Katie! I want a drink!’

  Mary Ann’s speech had returned as sharp as ever, if not sharper, for there was a whine to it now that aggravated her grand-daughter.

  ‘You can’t have used that whole jug yet.’

  ‘I knocked it ower.’

  ‘Damn!’ Katie rubbed her floury hands on her apron and took a cloth with her to dry up the spillage. ‘I wouldn’t put it past you to do it on purpose,’ she scolded, ‘just to have me running after you.’

  Mary Ann’s eyes were as innocent as a child’s. ‘I couldna help it. I was trying to reach it wi’ my good arm to pour some in my tumbler, and my sleeve took it.’ Watching the young woman mopping up, she added, ‘I was thinking about George Buchan the now. Do you ever see him when you’re up at the shops?’

  ‘I’d have told you if I had,’ Katie snapped, holding the empty jug under the dripping cloth as she took it back to the kitchen.

  Mary Ann looked at her slyly when she went through with fresh water. ‘I’d rest easier if you’d a man to look after you when I die.’

  ‘You’ll never die,’ Katie said, scornfully.

  ‘I will, some day.’

  ‘Some day.’ Exhausted, and rattled by her grandmother’s unceasing demands, Katie had a momentary thought that the day wouldn’t come soon enough, then she was horrified at even thinking such a thing.

  ‘Would you go out wi’ him again if he asked you?’

  ‘How could he ask me when he’s keeping clear of me?’

  ‘Would you, though?’

  ‘I’d need to think about it.’

  ‘You never heard if anything came o’ him and that lassie in Buckie?’

  Katie shook her head. Mrs Buchan’s words still rankled in her mind. It had hurt her deeply to think that she’d trusted George, when, all the time, he’d been seeing another girl in Yarmouth. ‘Time for your exercises, Grandma,’ she said, to change the subject.

  ‘A waste of time,’ Mary Ann grumbled.

  ‘You can use your left hand now, so stop arguing.’

  Taking the sponge ball off the chest of drawers, she put it into her grandmother’s right hand. ‘Grip and relax. Grip and relax. That’s right. Now keep on going till I get the scones in the oven.’

  When she was ready, she went back to the bedroom. ‘Do you feel any difference in your hand?’

  ‘Nae a bit!’ Mary Ann relinquished the ball and lay bac
k on her pillows. ‘I’d like a fancy cake wi’ my flycup in the afternoon instead o’ a scone. Would you go to the baker and get something fine? Maybe a cream bun, or a doughnut.’

  Alarmed at how quickly the money in her grandmother’s old biscuit tin was dwindling away, Katie had pointed out to her several times that it wouldn’t last long at the rate they were using it, but Mary Ann had always smiled and told her not to worry, there was plenty. She had supposed that the old woman had some more hidden away somewhere, but she had never come across it and was now very careful in what she spent. She had stopped buying any cakes and biscuits weeks ago … but Grandma deserved a little treat occasionally.

  Katie was waiting to be served – there was the usual crowd of people in – when a hand touched her back. ‘Hello, Katie.’

  Her stomach gave a jolt, but she looked round. ‘George! I didn’t expect to see you.’

  ‘I didn’t expect to see you, either. Katie, I was sorry to hear about Mary Ann, but I didn’t like to come and see her in case you …’

  ‘You’re welcome to come any time. It’ll not bother me.’

  ‘It’ll bother me,’ he whispered.

  The look in his eyes made her heartbeats quicken, and she turned away in confusion. When she had paid for the cream bun and doughnut – she had decided to be generous for once – George said, ‘Wait for me, Katie, I won’t be a minute. I’ve just to get a pan loaf for Ma.’

  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk to him, but she went out and stood in the street until he joined her. ‘I know you must be in a hurry to get back to your Grandma, Katie, but I won’t keep you long. I’ve been hoping I’d run into you some time, for I wanted to let you know how sorry I am for what I did. I was stupid and unreasonable. Is there any chance of us trying again?’

  ‘What about the girl in Buckie?’ She thought it was best to clear the air.

  ‘She’s marrying somebody else. They’ll likely have tied the knot by this time.’

  Katie felt angry now. ‘So you come crawling back to me?’

  He grabbed her elbow. ‘It’s not like that! It was just a chance I saw you today. Ach, we can’t speak here, Katie. Will you come for a walk tonight?’

  Her heart crying out for him, she didn’t need to think about it as she had told Mary Ann. ‘I can’t go out, but come to the house and we can speak in the kitchen. Grandma can’t get out of her bed.’

  ‘I’ll see you about half seven, then.’

  He walked away, but his eyes had told her that he still loved her, and her own heart was telling her that she still loved him. They would have things to sort out, but surely it wouldn’t be impossible.

  ‘You’ve been a long time,’ Mary Ann complained, when she went home.

  ‘The baker was busy, and I was speaking to George Buchan for a minute. He’s coming down after supper.’

  ‘Will the two o’ you be … ?’

  ‘Don’t ask, Grandma, for I don’t know myself.’

  ‘Hoity toity! I’ll just have to wait and see, will I?’

  ‘You and me both,’ Katie smiled.

  For the first fifteen minutes he was in the house, George stood in the bedroom talking to Mary Ann, then he went into the kitchen and sat down. ‘I want you to know the truth, Katie,’ he began. ‘I couldn’t help falling for Lizann, the girl from Buckie, and we only had a few nights together – no, evenings, not nights. I told her I loved you, and she told me she loved Peter, and that would have been the end of it … if you hadn’t …’

  ‘If I hadn’t told you I was going to see Sammy,’ she said, sadly.

  ‘Aye, and I was so jealous of him …’

  ‘You’d no need to be jealous of him, George. I never loved him … well, just like a brother, and I should have gone to see him long before I did, for he’d died over a year before with nobody near him to care.’

  ‘Oh! I’m sorry about that, Katie, but can you understand why I said the things I did?’

  ‘I thought you wanted to break off with me – and you did go to see that girl again, didn’t you?’

  ‘I shouldn’t have. I was upset about you, for I did love you … I still love you … and it upset Lizann, and all. What happened in Yarmouth was … oh, a few hours’ madness, that’s all. We knew it couldn’t come to anything, for I told her I loved you and she said she loved her lad, and it should have been left like that. It was only after I fought with you …’ He paused briefly. ‘I just spoke to her for a few minutes, Katie, and if I promise I’ll never see her again, will that do for you?’

  ‘Will that do for me? What for?’

  ‘I’m asking you to be my wife, Katie. You likely feel you can’t trust me, but I swear to you there’ll never be another girl in my life now except you. I love you …’ His voice breaking, he stood up and held out his arms. ‘Can you try to love me again?’

  ‘I never stopped.’

  About half an hour later, a call came from the bedroom. ‘It’s awful quiet ben there, what are you two doing?’

  With his arms still round Katie, George opened the bedroom door and drew her inside, grinning as he said, ‘We’ve been kissing, if you’ve no objections, Mary Ann?’

  Her frown was not deep enough to be real. ‘As long as you stop at kissing,’ she cautioned.

  ‘And what could you do about it if we didn’t?’ His eyes danced with mischief.

  She burst out laughing. ‘George Buchan! You’re still as cheeky as you were when you were a wee laddie.’

  ‘Aye, cheeky enough to ask Katie to marry me.’

  ‘About time, though I need her and you can’t take her away from me. Katie, if you’re not ower taken up wi’ him, can I get a cup o’ tea?’

  ‘You haven’t asked if I’ve said yes.’

  ‘I didna need to ask. It’s written ower your two faces as plain as day.’

  After settling her grandmother for the night, Katie was free to continue with the kissing, and it was coming on for ten when George said, ‘I’d better go, Katie. I’m not sure I could trust myself if I stay any longer. I’ll go tomorrow to see the minister about the wedding, so I’ll not be leaving you like this for much longer.’

  ‘I love you, George,’ she murmured, when she went to the door with him. ‘We’ve had our ups and downs, and maybe it’s a good thing, for I love you more than ever now.’

  ‘Me, and all. I didn’t think I could love you any more, but …’ he eyed her anxiously, ‘I love you more now than I ever loved Lizann. I suppose it’s a back-handed compliment, but I mean it, and I’ll never mention her name again.’ He turned to leave, then looked back. ‘Will Mary Ann let you come with me to get the engagement ring?’

  ‘It’s hardly worth bothering with that when we’re getting married so soon. A wedding ring’s all I want.’

  Before Katie went to bed, she peeped into Mary Ann’s room. ‘Are you not sleeping yet, Grandma?’

  ‘How can a body sleep wi’ folk kissing and speaking about love and weddings outside her window?’

  Katie smiled blissfully. ‘Are you not pleased for me?’

  ‘I’ll not be pleased till the knot’s really tied.’

  ‘It’ll be tied, Grandma, don’t have any doubts about it. George won’t let me down now, and we’ll have a long, happy married life with at least six bairns.’

  ‘That’ll make me a great-grandmother.’ Mary Ann did not appear to be displeased about this as she stifled a yawn.

  The marriage ceremony took place quietly in the house, Katie in a dusty pink dress George had got his mother to buy for her, and he in a new navy suit. Mary Ann and Ina Green – bullied into it and warned by her son not to make trouble – were witnesses, and Doctor Fleming gave Katie away. After their first kiss as husband and wife, the radiant couple handed round glasses of the whisky George had bought, and slices of the beautifully iced cake which was a gift from John Walker, the baker.

  The Reverend and Mrs Taylor left first, followed by the doctor and his wife, Mrs Fleming saying, as she went out, ‘You w
ere the best maid I ever had, Katie, and I’m so glad you’ve found happiness at last.’

  George sat with Mary Ann while his mother and Katie washed up in the kitchen. ‘I wasna ower pleased about my George wedding you,’ Ina told her new daughter-in-law. ‘I’m a bit old-fashioned about folk being illegitimate, you see.’

  Katie was puzzled. ‘I’m not illegitimate. My father and mother were married, and so were my Grandma and Granda.’

  Ina sighed. ‘Well, I’ll hold my tongue, for it’s ower late to do anything about it. You’re my son’s wife now, and I’ll have to accept it.’

  Katie swallowed the retort that she felt like making. She didn’t like George’s mother any more than the woman liked her, but for his sake she would do her best to get on with her. ‘Thank you, Mrs Buchan,’ she murmured.

  ‘I’ve nothing against you as a lassie,’ Ina continued, a trifle self-consciously, ‘and you’ve a hard life wi’ Mary Ann by all accounts, and likely she’ll make you jump to her bidding for years, so if you want to call me Mother … ?’

  Katie smiled. Mother was not what she wanted to call this scraggy, unpleasant woman, but loyalty to George made her say, ‘I’ll try, but give me time to get used to it.’

  Mrs Buchan became her usual brisk self again. ‘Aye, we’ll all need time to get used to this. Now, you’d best get back to your man, for he’ll wonder what we’re speaking about.’

  Katie wondered if he knew what his mother thought of her, but she did not bring up the subject when at last they were left alone. It was enough that they were married, and she was determined to be a good wife to him. She looked up at him as they cuddled in the old armchair which had once been her grandfather’s. ‘What are you thinking about, George?’

  ‘Nothing much, just how happy I am.’

  ‘It’s the happiest day of my whole life.’

  ‘I wish we could have had a honeymoon, though.’

  ‘I don’t need a honeymoon.’

  ‘I’ll give you the next best thing. I’ve signed on with Alickie May, starting his next trip. They fish for cod off Iceland, and they’re just away ten days at a time, so I’ll be home a lot more. Does that please you?’