‘Where the hell have you been?’ he demanded, angrily.
Beth raised her eyebrows. ‘Doing a good turn to a friend.’
This took the wind out of his sails. He had meant to make the accusations and to soothe Beth’s ruffled feathers if she threw any at him, but Katie couldn’t have written, and he didn’t want to aggravate his wife if it wasn’t necessary. ‘What friend?’ he asked, less aggressively.
Beth smiled mysteriously. ‘More than a friend, really.’
‘Another man?’ This had never crossed his mind. ‘So you’ve been whoring around when I was slaving my guts out? You’re not getting away with that.’
‘No?’
He was rattled by the peculiar way she was looking at him. ‘Who is he?’
‘It wasn’t a he, it was my daughter.’
‘Daughter?’ He sat down heavily on the sofa. ‘You never told me you’d a daughter.’
‘There’s a lot of things you didn’t tell me.’
‘Such as?’ He felt better now. If she’d been seeing her daughter, she hadn’t been to Cullen. ‘Get on with it,’ he snarled, ‘you’ve a lot of explaining to do.’
Beth glared back at him with deep contempt. ‘I don’t have to explain anything to you, Dennis, but I will, and it might surprise you to know it’s through you I found Katie again.’
‘Katie?’ he gasped. ‘Katie’s your daughter?’
He listened with his mouth agape while she told him of her earlier life, but when she accused him outright of marrying her for her money, he hastened to sidetrack her.
‘You said you’d done a friend a good turn,’ he began, sarcastically, ‘then you said it was Katie. What did you do for her?’
She described the disastrous consequences of Angus Gunn’s visit, and ended, caustically, ‘He’s another slimy creep who got what he deserved.’
‘An-another c-creep?’ Dennis stammered.
Beth stood up. ‘I’ve packed all your belongings and I want you out of my house right now.’
He stared at her incredulously. ‘You surely didn’t believe what Katie said about me … ?’ Her cold eyes told him that it was useless, and his tone changed. ‘Where can I go at this time of night?’
‘I’m sure there’s dozens of women falling over themselves to get you in their beds.’
‘You can’t do this to me, Beth. You said you weren’t going to pay off any more of my gambling debts, and I asked Katie for some cash. I swear that’s the only reason I went to her. It’s you I love.’
‘Love? The only person you’ve ever loved, Dennis McKay, is yourself. Now hand over all the keys and get out. I packed all your things into a suitcase and left it in the hall, so don’t forget to take it with you.’
‘Beth, please?’
‘I’m selling up and divorcing you. I’ve put one hundred pounds in the case to keep you till you find another job – and before you get your hopes up, you won’t get a penny more from me.’
He sprang to his feet and grabbed her hands. ‘You can’t throw me out. You said you loved me.’
Furious, she struggled free. ‘I loved the man I kidded myself you were, but I’ve seen the light. You’re a liar, a cheat, a thief and a blackmailer – a big round O, that’s what you are, and you’ll never amount to anything. You should be behind bars, and you’d better go before I change my mind and hand you over to the police. Oh, and you may as well know, I’m going back to America once I’ve settled all my affairs, and I’m going to ask Katie to go with me.’
‘You’re a bit late with the mother-hen act,’ he sneered.
He jumped back as the palm of her hand connected with his cheek. ‘Give me the keys,’ she hissed, ‘and get out.’
He threw his key-ring on the floor, but couldn’t help a parting shot as he went to the door. ‘Did your precious daughter tell you she’d to get rid of Sammy Gunn’s baby?’
The vase missed him by a fraction of an inch, and Beth’s voice followed him into the hall. ‘Yes, she did, and that was all your fault, too, you … you …’
Not waiting until she found an appropriate word, he lifted the suitcase and slammed the front door behind him.
Katie rose next morning feeling less confused than when she went to bed. At least she knew now that her father and mother had been married, which would be a slap in the face to Ina Green for casting aspersions on her legitimacy; she had seen George for the narrow-minded bigot he was … and Dennis would have got his come-uppance by now. Beth wouldn’t have let him get round her this time.
She made herself ready to go out, her hand hovering over the notes on the table before she picked them up and put them in her purse. There would be no more scavenging on the beach for sticks nor living on bread and margarine, whatever happened … not for a while, at any rate.
After ordering coal and buying as many provisions as she could carry, she returned home and was laying her basket on her table when Beth arrived. ‘You look much better today,’ she smiled, ‘and I’m glad to see you took my advice and did some shopping. I just wish you could have seen Dennis’s face last night, though, when I told him you were my daughter. He looked as if he’d swallowed something that didn’t agree with him – you know, green about the gills. He tried to bluff his way out of everything, and when I said I was divorcing him and told him to get out, he was nearly down on his knees begging me to let him stay.’
Katie couldn’t help murmuring, ‘Poor Dennis.’
‘Poor Dennis, my foot! He deserved what he got, and I hope it teaches him a lesson.’ Beth paused, then said, gently, ‘I’ve something to say, Katie, but first I want to know how you feel about me now?’
‘Well, I don’t condemn you any more for leaving me. I did yesterday, but now I’ve had time to think, I know you didn’t have any choice. It still feels funny being able to put a face to the mother I thought I would never see, but I do like you, and that’s half the battle, isn’t it?’
‘It sure is!’ Beth beamed. ‘It’s just a small step from liking to loving. Now to what I wanted to say. I’ve decided to sell up and go back to America, and I …’
Katie was aghast at this. ‘You’re not going to leave me again, are you?’
‘I thought … I want you to come with me.’
‘To America? Oh, I couldn’t!’
‘What is there to keep you here? A tumble-down old house, where you were never really happy?’
‘That’s true enough, but still …’
‘By the time everything’s settled, we’ll likely both be free. You might find a rich husband over there, like I did.’
‘I don’t want …’
‘You think you can’t trust men again? I know, I’ve been through it … twice, but I did have one good man. You’ve been unlucky so far, Katie, but somewhere, maybe in Detroit, the right man’s waiting for you. All that aside, we have to give it a try, just you and me, a mother and daughter getting to know each other, doing things for each other …’
Katie felt a surge of excitement. ‘Yes, Beth, I’d like that.’ Her happy smile faded. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t help calling you Beth …’
‘Beth, Mother, Hey You, I don’t care what you call me, as long as we’re together. So now that’s settled, I’ll have to see my solicitor and I’ll ask him to start proceedings for divorce, and I’ll get him to put the house and restaurant up for sale, as well. We can ask him to handle your divorce and sell your house, if you like, or would you rather have a solicitor nearer Cullen? Whatever you decide, we’ve a lot of work ahead of us, before we cross the Atlantic to start our new life.’
‘Oh, Beth,’ Katie laughed, ‘I’ve never met anybody like you before, and I think I’m beginning to love you already.’
‘Good. It will work out, I’ve no doubt about it now.’
After Beth left, Katie was so happy that she wished she had a friend to tell about having a mother, a mother who could make lightning decisions, a mother who must surely be the most lovable woman in the world, then she remembered that s
he was not entirely friendless. Jumping up, she put on her coat and headed for the shore.
The Three Kings Page 36