Towards a Dark Horizon

by Maureen Reynolds

  As we headed for the Overgate, she said, ‘I’m beginning to think your father has bitten off more than he can chew with that woman.’

  My mind was on the furtive meeting I had witnessed with Jean. I told Granny about it and it stopped her in mid stride. ‘It’s such a puzzle,’ I said. ‘Surely, if she’s secretly meeting Dad’s boss, you would think she wouldn’t want to be lumbered with a bairn, would she?’

  Granny set her mouth in a grim line. ‘I think she’s got some scheme on the go but what it is, goodness only knows.’

  Alice came in as soon as she heard our steps in the lobby. Her face fell when she saw no Lily. ‘What happened, Nan? Is the bairn not with you?’

  ‘The new Mrs Neill has got us over a barrel, Alice, and there’s nothing we can do.’

  This upset me. ‘I’ve got to get her back, Granny. I made a solemn promise to her that she would aye be with me.’

  Alice voiced the same suspicions as me. ‘But why does she want to hang on to a bairn if it’s your father she wanted. You’d think she would be grateful not to have to bring her up.’ Her face was like stone as she spoke. She hadn’t forgotten that Dad had jilted Rosie.

  What a mess, I thought.

  ‘If we’d known that then, it would have made all the difference in trying to her back,’ said Granny bitterly.

  Grandad had been out when we arrived but he now appeared with a fresh pack of tobacco in his hand. He started to speak but stopped when he saw our faces. ‘What’s the matter? It’s not Lily is it?’

  Granny nodded. ‘You know how Ann and I went down to see why Lily had changed schools?’

  He nodded.

  ‘Well, Lily is fine but we’re trying to sort things out.’

  If only we could I thought.

  She told him the story and he was enraged. ‘That son of ours has dodged his responsibilities for years and now it seems a matter of utmost importance to him and that new wife of his to look after his bairn. I’m going over to sort him out and give him a piece of my mind.’

  Dear grandad, I thought. Why, Margot would eat him for supper.

  I thought of Lily sitting like a statue on that pristine chair with nothing to play with. And I remembered Dad’s thin, worried face. There was nothing I could do about him – he had made his bed and he now had to lie in it – but Lily was another matter.

  Granny had a plan. ‘If we ask Rosie to go to that hotel as a customer maybe she could overhear them and we could confront her with the evidence.’

  I had a mental picture of Rosie in her mismatched outfits sitting in that elegant lounge. Secretly spy on Margot? Why, she would stick out like a sore thumb.

  ‘That wouldn’t work, Granny.’

  She asked why not.

  With Alice sitting there I had to be tactful. ‘Well, Rosie has to work at the mill – she’s not one of the idle rich like Margot. It has to be someone who can pass herself off as a customer without looking suspicious.’

  I thought of Jean. Would she be prepared to come into town maybe twice a week in the hope of spotting Margot and Mr Pringle? I would reimburse her, of course, for her expenses. Briefly, I felt like a criminal at the thought of secretly spying on someone but I then saw Lily’s small, sad figure and my heart hardened. My mind was made up and I wrote to Jean that night.

  My initial euphoria at being back to work had evaporated with the crisis over Lily but I was pleased when Danny appeared at the shop at dinnertime.

  ‘Kathleen’s had a wee girl, Ann. I’m going out to see them tonight. Do you want to come with me?’

  Because of my illness I had almost forgotten about Kathleen but I wanted to see her again – and the new baby. I arranged to meet Danny at the Lochee tram stop at eight o’clock.

  It was a glorious evening with a golden sunset as we set off. Danny filled me in with the missing week from my life. ‘Kathleen and Sammy are living in a single room in Louis Square and she had the wee lass yesterday. I didn’t want to visit last night but it’ll be good to see them both.’

  Lochee was bathed in a golden glow when we arrived. People were taking advantage of the lovely weather and they were standing around in groups, exchanging gossip. The sun shone like amber on a few fortunate windows but Kathleen’s window wasn’t so lucky. Her small flat lay at the end of a dark lobby. Once inside, the gloom was in sharp contrast to the golden sun outside and I had to adjust my eyes to the dimness. The room was tiny with a small black sink at the window and a fireplace with a small fire burning in it. This made the room feel warm and everything was clean and tidy.

  Kathleen lay in the small box bed inset in the wall and she held her new daughter who was wrapped in a shawl. Kit and Maggie were sitting beside the bed. There was no sign of the new father, Sammy.

  We moved over to look at the new addition to the Ryan clan. The baby was lovely. She yawned and gave us all an unfocussed look then made whimpering noises.

  ‘We’ve called her Kathleen but we’re going to call her Kitty,’ said the new mum.

  Maggie fussed over her new granddaughter, adjusting the shawl around her tiny body.

  Danny spoke to Kit. ‘Where’s Sammy? We would like to congratulate him as well.’

  Before Kit could answer, Maggie swung around, her eyes blazing. ‘He’s out wetting the bairn’s head with his pals – damned wee besom that he is. Here’s his wife just over a long hard labour and what does he do? Goes around like he’s just had the bairn instead of his wife. Out celebrating the fact as well. Wait till I get my hands on him. I’ll give him a piece of my mind.’

  The whimpering from Kitty became a wail.

  Maggie said, ‘Are you needing a feed, wee lass? Are you hungry?’

  Kathleen gave us a shy look and I realised she wasn’t wanting an audience while she fed the baby.

  ‘We’ll wait outside, Kathleen.’ I then steered Danny through the door.

  We stood outside in the late evening sunshine. It was the time of night I liked best during the summer months when long slanting fingers of sunlight slowly faded into the deep indigo-tinged twilight.

  I gazed with interest at the building. ‘Is this the house that Maggie mentioned? The one belonging to the old dressmaker?’

  He laughed. ‘No it’s not and Maggie is very annoyed about it as well – the fact that the woman didn’t pop her clogs and leave her house behind. No, this is someone else who died. Another old body – a man in his sixties but he looked about eighty.’

  No wonder, I thought – living in permanent gloom wouldn’t do anyone any good.

  ‘Luckily for Kathleen, Maggie was also chummy with the rent man for this building and she and Sammy had moved in to the empty flat a few weeks ago. I’ve heard that Maggie is still fuming that her original target is still alive and kicking and refusing to leave this world. In fact, I heard Maggie’s even stopped speaking to her!’

  ‘But if she’s got this house why is she bothering?’

  ‘Seemingly the other house has two rooms while this one just has the one room but she’s told Kathleen that as soon as the other tenant dies then her house will be theirs.’

  What a world, I thought. Even the poorest people couldn’t die in peace without someone coveting their house.

  Mainly to cheer myself up I asked, ‘When is the wedding, Danny?’

  He looked gratefully at me. ‘It’s booked for September but Maddie will be speaking to you and Lily because she wants you both to be bridesmaids along with Joy.’

  The mention of Lily brought a lump to my throat but I didn’t want to worry Danny now that he was so happy.

  ‘We’ve got your illness to thank for us being together again, Ann. I’ve been so stupid that I can hardly believe it now. Maddie didn’t bat an eye when I told her about my father’s death. Oh, she was sorry about the sad circumstances but she said it was our lives that mattered and not something that happened so long ago. It was just as you said it would be and it was a shame that you almost had to die before I realised it.’

  All
this talk of dying was getting me down so I changed the subject. ‘Will you be looking for somewhere to live, Danny, or will you be staying with Maddie’s parents?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, we’re looking for a flat.’

  Suddenly I shook with laughter and had to wipe the tears from my eyes. Danny looked puzzled.

  ‘Do you think that old woman will pass on in time for your wedding and that Maggie will get her house for you?’

  We both laughed while I imagined Maddie being grateful to Maggie for being so chummy with the rent man.

  Kit appeared and stood beside us. She gave me a concerned look. ‘We were all worried about you, Ann. George and I came to see you but you’ll not remember it because you were so ill.’

  I felt terrible. How many visitors had I not seen during my long days of the fever?

  Kit gave a sigh. ‘Still, it’s a blessing that you’re better now.’ She leaned wearily against the rusty railings that marched up the shabby stone steps. ‘Maggie is a good soul but she can be a wee bit wearing. Still, she’s been really good to Kathleen but we’re all fuming at Sammy. He’s hardly been in the house since the bairn arrived and, when he has put in an appearance, he’s been drunk.’

  Danny was furious. ‘I’d better not meet him then, Kit, because I’ll give him a talking-to that he’ll not forget.’

  Kit shook her head. ‘He’s not worth it, Danny. When I think of all the lads that fancied our Kathleen and she goes and ends up with Sammy Bloody Malloy, I could cry. But she wanted to marry him and she’s now got to live with the consequences.

  ‘How is Ma?’ I asked.

  Kit smiled for the first time. ‘Och, she’s just the same as usual. Nothing seems to put her up or down. She watches and waits and she says everything comes in God’s own good time. Let’s hope He has something good up His sleeve for Kathleen – like Sammy becoming teetotal!’

  We all went back inside the gloomy room and Maggie was still hovering over the baby.

  When it was time to leave, Danny and I left some money for the baby’s bankie and we then said our goodbyes. There was still no sign of the doting father.

  Later that week, I got a surprise visit from Jean. She was full of excitement over the prospect of spying on Margot. In fact, she wanted to start there and then.

  ‘I’ll pay your expenses, Jean,’ I told her.

  ‘No, we’ll go half and half as I’ll get my cup of coffee out of the trip. My man is busy at the moment with his joinery work so this wee ploy will keep me busy. When do you want me to start?’

  ‘Granny and I thought twice a week, Jean, but we’ll leave it up to you when you go.’

  I had been feeling even more depressed at the plight of Lily but Kit’s remark the other night about how Ma Ryan had said everything comes in God’s own time had cheered me up. I really felt very cherished by all my visitors during my illness. As well as my own family and the Ryans, Maddie and her parents had also come and so had their doctor. Rosie was the only one who had stayed away but that was because she didn’t want to run into Margot and Dad and I understood entirely.

  As Jean sat at the table with her cup of tea, I said, ‘I’ll give you my share of the expenses now.’

  I took down the tin, expecting it to hold twenty-five pounds but it was empty. I sat down so hard on the chair that Jean thought I had fainted.

  ‘What’s the matter, Ann? Are you not well?’

  Much to my own disgust, I began to cry. ‘The tin’s empty, Jean. It had twenty-seven pounds in it the other day when I took out two pounds to join you at the teashop.’

  She was shocked. ‘Do you mean to tell me you’ve had a burglar?’ Her voice was faint.

  I shook my head. ‘I’ve had a burglar Jean but I know who he is – my father.’

  It was Jean’s turn to shake her head in disbelief. ‘Och, surely your own father wouldn’t take the money, Ann. It must have been a sneak thief. Do you lock your door?’

  ‘No, I don’t because nobody around here would ever dream of stealing from their neighbours. No, it must have been Dad because he was the only person to know I had money in here, believe me.’

  She still sat in disbelief. I didn’t know what to do. Whoever had taken my money had now left me penniless once more and I didn’t want to go begging again to Mr Pringle.

  I told Jean this and she was annoyed. ‘It’s not begging, Ann. It’s your own money that you’re asking for.’

  ‘But he’ll want to know how I managed to spend fifty pounds in so short a time.’

  ‘F-f-fifty p-p-pounds,’ she stuttered, the words coming out along with tiny beads of spittle which settled on her chin before she wiped them away. ‘Fifty pounds? You’ve lost fifty pounds?’

  ‘No, Dad asked me for money for Lily’s keep and some new clothes and shoes and I told him to take it from the tin. When I looked afterwards the tin had twenty-seven pounds left. I took out two pounds and that should have left twenty-five pounds but it’s gone.’

  ‘Look, Ann, I’ll fund the spying venture and you can settle up with me later.’ She took a few pounds from her purse. ‘In the meantime have this wee loan till you see Mr Pringle and if you take my advice you’ll get another place to hide it in – especially if there’s someone with sticky fingers around.’

  She left to begin on her venture. She’d said there was no time like the present and I sincerely hoped she would be successful.

  After she left, a memory came into my mind of that afternoon when I’d thought I heard the noise of someone in the house. Perhaps it hadn’t been a dream. I knew it couldn’t have been Dad as he’d have been at his work so was it a sneak thief? I hoped so.

  12

  At the end of the week Jean appeared with her report of the assignment. Before she arrived, I had made up my mind to stop her going to the hotel. I didn’t feel happy about it and my first instinct had been right. At the time. I thought spying on someone bordered on the criminal and this view had been reinforced as the days went by. If Margot was up to no good then no doubt the truth would come out in time but I wanted no part in it this way. I would try and get Lily back by some other means.

  Jean was bursting to tell me her news. ‘I’ve been to the hotel twice but they only appeared on one day. They sat together like the last time – so intent on one another that they never looked to the right or the left. But I couldn’t hear what they were saying even although I took a seat near them.’ She sounded disappointed about her inability to hear everything. I suspected she would have liked to give me dramatic news and was annoyed that there was none.

  I told her what I thought about the entire thing. ‘I think we’ll call it off now Jean because I don’t feel that we’re doing the right thing.’

  She didn’t argue and I got the feeling she was relieved at my decision although she didn’t say so.

  My main worry now, apart from Lily, was the fact I would have to make another appointment to see Mr Pringle. Jean’s loan had helped out as did my wages from the shop but I had dodged the rent man last Friday night and I knew I couldn’t do it again. I’d never missed paying my rent before so he would have just assumed I was out that time but he would soon stop thinking that if I was never in.

  I voiced my worry about meeting Mr Pringle to Jean and she was annoyed. ‘Listen, Ann, it’s your own money we’re talking about here and, if you have to take some more out, then so be it.’

  ‘But he aye seems so upset if I ask him.’

  She snorted. ‘Solicitors are aye like that. They like to think they’re investing the money for you and that you shouldn’t ever need it. They normally don’t need it themselves so they don’t know how the other half lives. Just you go and see him and tell him the truth – that your money was pinched.’

  But it wasn’t as easy as that. What if he asked me if I knew who took it? I couldn’t mention Dad.

  Jean was still talking. ‘Would you like me to come along with you for courage?’

  It was good of her to offer. ‘I’ll have to
make an appointment today and go back for the money tomorrow. If you can come with me now I’ll manage to go myself tomorrow.’

  She shook her head. ‘No, you’ll not, Ann. Tomorrow is Saturday and I’m sure the office is closed at the weekends.’ She didn’t sound sure but I thought she was right.

  I was almost in tears. As it was, I was going to have to dodge the rent man again that night and twice would certainly make him suspicious. He had once told me that he knew the people who dodged their rents and made it difficult for him to collect them. Now here I was joining that great evading brigade.

  Jean said, ‘Let’s go down and make an appointment for Monday and I can lend you some more money and you can pay me back later next week.’

  I tried to refuse but she wouldn’t listen so we set off. It was another lovely day of warm sunshine and it was a pleasure to be out in the fresh air. I was feeling so much better now and more like my normal self.

  The two efficient-looking typists blinked at us as we walked in and one came to the counter.

  ‘I’d like to make an appointment with Mr Pringle, please.’

  To our astonishment, she told us to sit down and Mr Pringle would see me as soon as he could.

  Jean raised her eyebrows at me but I shrugged my shoulders. We both sat in silence and listened to the gentle tapping of the typewriters which, as usual, I found very soothing.

  Ten minutes later, Mr Pringle appeared at the door of his office and he seemed surprised to see us both sitting there. The typist rose from her chair and spoke quietly to him. He nodded and smiled in our direction.

  He came over. ‘I was on the point of writing to you both. What a surprise to see you both here – you must be clairvoyant!’

  We sat looking at him as if he had gone daft but he waved us both into his office.

  Jean remained in her chair. ‘It’s Ann who wants to see you, Mr Pringle – I’m just here to keep her company.’

  ‘No, Mrs Peters, I want to see you too.’

  He herded us both into his tiny office and we sat down, full of trepidation. What on earth could he possibly want with us both? I wondered fearfully.