The House by the Brook

by The House by the Brook (retail) (epub)

  ‘I want to buy you the best. I want you to have everything you want.’

  Jennie didn’t know how to react. Was he offering to buy her a gift? And if so, what should she accept, something valuable or only moderately so? Certainly nothing from this stall! If he took her to a decent jewellers would it be better to play down his words and insist on the least expensive thing she could see?

  ‘I want to buy you a ring.’

  Her heart leaped painfully. Surely he didn’t mean…? ‘I can see a pretty little imitation pearl over there,’ she said, afraid to look at him. ‘That’s nice.’

  ‘A diamond ring is more suitable for an engagement ring.’ His voice had a trembling quality, revealing his nervousness. ‘Don’t you agree?’

  She had to force herself to turn around and face him. How should she react? It might be a joke, or he might be buying it for someone else, she didn’t know his friends. Afraid she had misunderstood him, she asked. ‘Ernie, what are you saying?’

  ‘Marry me. I know that Swansea market isn’t the most romantic place for a proposal, but it just came out. I had to ask when I felt brave enough. If I’d waited for the right moment I’d have lost my nerve.’

  ‘But we haven’t known each other very long, not really known each other.’

  ‘I knew how I felt about you when we went out together for the first time. I hadn’t enjoyed myself like that for a very long time. You create happiness around you, Jennie. And if you’re thinking of Thelma, well, she was very fond of you and I’m sure she’d be happy for me. Well?’ he coaxed as she didn’t say anything.

  In stories the heroine always asked for time to think about it and Jennie had always thought that stupid, and hurtful, to the handsome hero, but now it seemed the right thing to do.

  ‘Can I give you an answer tomorrow?’ she asked. ‘There’s a lot to think about and if I slept on it…’

  ‘Of course.’ His jaw tightened, the primness was back in his voice, disappointment in his eyes, but Jennie saw only a wonderful future, with no shortage of money, and a loving, considerate husband. There would be no need to worry about his wanting children – he was too old to cope with babies – and she would have someone to do the boring things she’d hate. She clasped his hands in hers, looked up at him and said, ‘My only consideration is whether I can make you happy, dear Ernie, that’s what I want more than anything.’

  ‘My concern is the same, for you, my dear little Jennie.’

  ‘Then it’s yes, Ernie, I’ll be proud to become your wife.’

  They went to one of the finest jewellers in the town and chose a ring. After they made sure it was a perfect fit, it was placed in a box lined with rich blue velvet.

  ‘Before you wear it, I must talk to your parents, assure them of my determination to make you happy,’ he said, placing the precious symbol of love in his pocket.

  ‘Let me try it on just once more,’ Jennie pleaded, and, smiling happily, he took it out for her to admire. ‘It’s perfect. The day’s perfect and so are you,’ she breathed.

  It was after they had been to the Mackwonh Hotel for a celebratory tea that Jennie saw Ivor. He was in a bookshop and when she called his name he took a step as if to run away. ‘Ivor! When are you coming home?’ she demanded in her forthright way. Ernie was behind her and he stood back politely to allow her to greet the man, unaware of who he was.

  ‘I – hello, Jennie. How is Marie?’ He was so shocked he didn’t know what he was saying and he glanced around as though searching for an escape route. Sounding like a distant stranger he added, ‘I hope she’s well?’

  ‘Oh, she’s fine. Very happy. Everyone’s happy.’ In her present euphoric state of mind, happiness was all she could think of. Giving Ivor the impression he wasn’t needed or even missed didn’t occur to her. As she turned to beckon Ernie forward to introduce him, she saw a young woman approach carrying a book. She came up to a pale and shocked Ivor and handed it to him. ‘Here you are, Ivor, a little gift. It’s the book on aeroplanes you wanted.’

  Jennie backed away as the woman pushed the book into Ivor’s hands. Ivor called after her, ‘This is a lady who stayed in the same hotel as me,’ he called, unable to resist exaggerating, even at such a time.

  Jennie didn’t wait for explanations, she pulled on Ernie’s arm and they hurried from the shop.

  Finding a place to sit in the small park in the middle of the town she explained about the disappearance of Ivor. ‘My sister mustn’t know he’s with someone else,’ she said, sobbing a little. ‘It would break her heart. Oh, I wish we hadn’t seen him, it’s almost spoiled our perfect day,’ She wiped tears from her beautiful eyes, took a deep breath and added, ‘but I won’t let it. Nothing can make me unhappy today, not even my sister’s deceitful husband.’

  Ernie told her how much he admired her for being so brave, and she hugged him.

  ‘Ernie dear, you’re so understanding.’

  They drove home and she relaxed into dreams about the wonderful future that was spread out before her. She allowed him to open the car door for her, and after kissing him with a passion that startled them both, Jennie waved him out of sight then ran in to tell her parents the unbelievably good news, feeling so excited she began shouting the news before she opened the door.

  The following day she was surprised to find Bill waiting when she and Lucy opened up the hairdresser’s shop.

  ‘Don’t think you’ll get away with this,’ he said almost conversationally as Lucy pushed past him and went inside. ‘My father might be a fool for a pretty pair of lips and saucy blue eyes, but I’m not. I know the sort of woman you are, and what you hope to get from my father. If you don’t tell him you’ve changed your mind and won’t marry him, you’ll have me to answer to.’ He stood and leaned towards her the expression on his face a clear warning that he meant what he said. ‘Tell him today.’

  Jennie had nowhere to go. She couldn’t tell her parents, or even talk to Lucy about Bill’s threats. She would feel belittled by the situation. Marie, who would normally be her confidante, was best avoided, in case she let slip that she had seen Ivor the previous day. And she could hardly tell Ernie that his son had threatened her.

  What could she do except carry on as though Bill hadn’t spoken and hope his threats were nothing more than hot air? And jealousy, of course! That idea cheered her. Yes, she had succeeded more than she had intended in her attempts to make him regret his treatment of her. Bill wanted her himself and regretted the cavalier way he had dismissed her. This was the version she told Lucy, and later, when she no longer feared letting the cat out of the bag regarding Ivor, it was the version she repeated to Marie.

  Seven

  The snows and frosts of the winter had caused chaos and now, as the thaw began, other disasters were revealed. Expanded pipes burst, and once the ice melted water gushed out and plumbers were racing around the town dealing with flooded houses. There had been no hint of a problem at Badgers Brook until Marie awoke one morning to see an ominous damp patch on the ceiling, which seemed to grow as she watched.

  Slipping on a dressing gown she went outside to see that a large piece of guttering had become detached; the barge board behind it had rotted and most of it had fallen. The ageing wood could no longer support the metal gutters and as she walked around the building she could see that in other places, too, it was in need of replacement. Several slates had shifted and it was this that had caused the water to creep in.

  Warning the others not to venture around the house, she wrote to their landlord and explained the need for workmen to come at once, before there was a serious accident. The piece hanging was outside her bedroom window and she pushed at it until it fell. She didn’t want it crashing down on someone’s head.

  *

  Effie was curious about where Ivor had lived before coming to the lodging house, but determined not to discourage him from talking to her, she tried not to ask any questions, allowing him to talk when he wanted or needed to and not intruding between confi
dences. She noticed that he avoided using the names of the people he told her about, and she accepted that he wanted to keep away from the subject of his marriage.

  Excited by the coincidence of him coming from Cwm Derw, she knew it was an omen and she was very careful. A wrong word here or there could have a devastating effect on their burgeoning friendship.

  He was a very private person and sometimes, when temptation was too strong and a few questions were asked during a meal, he would avoid the dining room for a few days, presumably eating at one of the cafes in the town. She was the only person he spoke to about anything except the weather, which continued to be a serious problem in many areas, with floods blocking roads and isolating villages.

  She knew he wrote a letter to Cwm Derw once in a while and knew that occasionally coincidences came for a purpose.

  If Ivor lived in Cwm Derw, Valley of Oaks, he would know the man who had ruined her life. But would any good come of raking up the past? It was over, the episode was left behind now, and reviving it once again would bring only pain and misery. Yet fate had a way of making you face things.

  Having read the address on Ivor’s letter, she decided to be honest and tell him she’d seen it and knew the town and a few of the people who lived there. Telling him might encourage him to talk, but she knew there was a risk of it having the opposite effect.

  When they were sitting at the supper table and the other boarders had gone, she decided to broach the subject.

  ‘I couldn’t help seeing that one of your letters was addressed to someone in Cwm Derw,’ she said. She watched his face for signs of alarm or disapproval.

  ‘You know the place?’ he asked and his voice was calm.

  ‘I once knew someone who lived there.’ From his expression and lack of curiosity she knew there was no point in elaborating. He knew, and if he wanted to talk he would, and if not no harm was done. She smiled at him, thankful that he had not taken offence, and with nothing more said they finished the toast and marmite with a few cubes of cheese that was their supper.

  Ivor might have shown no curiosity about her connection with Cwm Derw but she was unable to let the matter drop in her own mind. She wanted to go there and just see how the family she had known was getting on and whether they had all forgotten her.

  ‘Do you remember hearing of a family called Masters?’ Ivor surprised her by asking the following day.

  ‘Your family d’you mean? No, I have no recollection of anyone called Masters, except the woman—’ she stopped, regretting speaking without thinking. ‘No, I don’t know that name from Cwm Derw.’

  ‘You were about to say the woman who set fire to the school, weren’t you?’

  ‘Well, yes, I do remember being told something about that. A long time ago, mind.’

  ‘She was my mother. The school criticized something I did and she “repaid” them by burning the building down.’

  ‘That was your mother? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have read the address on your private letter and I regret mentioning Cwm Derw.’

  ‘She also tried to burn down a neighbour’s house when they’d had a quarrel.’ It was as though he hadn’t heard her speak. ‘That’s something else I haven’t told my wife.’

  ‘I’m sorry. But it isn’t too late, is it?’ Ivor shook his head. ‘If she loves you, she’ll understand why you couldn’t tell her before. After all, it isn’t as though you’re like your mother.’

  ‘She’s better off without me.’ He spoke emphatically. The subject was clearly closed.

  Why had he mentioned his family? Those few words spoken by Effie had reminded him painfully of why he was here and not at home with the people he loved. He couldn’t sleep and slipped out to walk along the sands, where the edge of the waves and a misty moon gave some light, and passed the night hours listing his regrets and dreaming of what might have been.

  *

  In Cwm Derw, everyone was surprised at the speed with which Ernie James was replacing his wife. It was less than a year since her death. There was disapproval, too, that he was marrying someone more than twenty years his junior. Particularly after the even more recent death of Bill’s fiancée. Congratulations were offered, but behind every smile was a query, an unspoken question.

  ‘Marie, they all think I’m expecting!’ Jennie told her sister one evening when they were spreading out the skin of a second-hand wedding dress to cut it into a style to fit Jennie’s slim figure. ‘Make sure that dress fits as tight as tight, mind, so there’s no room for gossip – or a baby!’ she said. ‘Gossip about the age difference, and remarks like Thelma not being cold in her grave I can take, because they’re true, but to hint that I’ve done – you know – before we’re churched, well it isn’t true and I don’t want anyone to think so. It’s funny,’ she mused, ‘Mam and Dad don’t seem worried about the age difference, or the fact of my having a stepson I went out on dates with. Or even the brief time that’s passed since Mrs James’s death. But they’d think it would prove that I wasn’t properly brought up if I was expecting. They’d be shamed by that. Daft, isn’t it?’

  ‘And you’re not?’

  ‘No, our Marie, I’m not!’ She pushed a cushion under her skirt and paraded around the room humming the bridal march until Belle came in. Her shocked expression made them collapse into laughter.

  Belle and Howard Jones had been dismayed when Jennie had told them about her engagement to Ernie James. Hiding their disappointment they had smiled and congratulated her but later they had discussed it long into the night. They both agreed that Jennie needed someone to look after her, that was what they wanted for her, she wasn’t capable like Marie. Marrying a ‘sugar daddy’ was in many ways degrading, but at least it would ensure she was cared for and spoiled. Ernie, being older and reasonably wealthy, would be able to do that.

  Marie wondered how her lively sister would cope with the dullness of living with an older man. Jennie had always liked the company of men a lot younger than herself, and not dancing, and flirting and having fun might subdue her until she lost the vitality and joie de vivre that made her who she was. Her personal fear was that after a few months Jennie would break out, look for some excitement that didn’t include her staid husband. She said nothing to her mother, who would only accuse her of lacking understanding, or of jealousy, or some other negative emotion, when in fact her concerns for her sister were genuine.

  During the weeks before the wedding Jennie didn’t work. She spent her time preparing, leaving Lucy and a new assistant to cope in the shop, going each evening to cash up and hand the appointments book and takings to her betrothed, as she jokingly called him.

  An hotel was booked for the wedding breakfast and arrangements made to cater for thirty guests. The plans to marry in St Mary’s Church were in hand. Having decided to marry on April 12th it was a rush to get everything organized. The hasty arrangements adding to speculation about a baby.

  Lucy’s doubts remained unspoken. She hoped that either Jennie would come to her senses or Ernie would admit to making a mistake. Bill repeated his warnings to Jennie, threatening to tell his father about her reputation.

  ‘But what people say about me isn’t true. I’ve had fun but it never went further than a kiss and cuddle,’ she protested. He made her feel nervous even though she told herself he was simply warning her off marrying his father for reasons of his own.

  ‘My inheriting money that should be his must surely be his main concern,’ she told Lucy. Lucy agreed and crossed her fingers, hoping that the wedding would go off without any trouble.

  Although she wanted to arrange for the redecoration of a couple of the rooms before moving into the house where Ernie had lived with Thelma, Jennie stayed away except when Ernie was with her.

  Marie helped her sister to decide on colours and wallpaper patterns, but she was adamant about not taking on the whole job, even though Ernie had promised to pay her. ‘I can’t take money for helping my sister,’ she told them both with an edge of anger in her voice. ‘I re
ally can’t find the time.’ It was insulting for Ernie to ask her to work for him when he was marrying her sister, but for Jennie’s sake she agreed to oversee. She found them a decorator willing to do the job quickly, and one afternoon, when she had called in to see how he was getting on, she found the man struggling on top of a ladder, trying to paper the ceiling. She stayed to helped him, putting a plank between two ladders, and showing him how to fold the paper and unfold it as he worked across the room. When she rushed guiltily into the gown shop ten minutes late Mr Harries was waiting for her. He handed her her cards and told her she was no longer needed.

  ‘But I’m never late,’ she gasped in disbelief. ‘You know I work more than my hours and I don’t watch the clock and leave the moment we close. I apologize, I’ll work my half-day to make up.’ He waggled her cards as though impatient for her to take them. To lose her regular wages would be an absolute disaster. ‘I’m responsible for three children and a sick old man,’ she reminded him in a voice that shook with emotion.

  ‘Your mind hasn’t been on your work for weeks, Mrs Masters. In fact, I think we are boring you.’ He stretched out his arm and forced her to take the envelope containing her wages and the stamped insurance card and employment details.

  In utter disbelief she found a letter waiting for her from the owner of the house, telling her to vacate. It explained that when they received her letter asking for repairs to be made, it had become clear she wasn’t entitled to the tenancy. It was not transferable and the agreement had been with Ivor’s mother, who was dead. The letter went on to say he intended to sell, and vacant possession would be a condition of the sale. The difficulty of removing tenants from rented properties was the subject of much discussion at that time, but she knew that as she wasn’t officially the tenant, she had no rights.