My God, he thought, he hasn’t changed a bit. The same full head of salt-and-pepper hair. The same beautiful eyes. And that mouth; he could never forget that mouth.
Percy was just as surprised to see James, and it was a second before he managed to say, “James, what a pleasant surprise!”
“I know I don’t deserve it, Percy, but may I come in?”
“Of course you can. It’s good to see you, James. Come in. Come in.” Not daring to touch him, remembering how James had behaved the last time they saw each other, he stepped back and let James find his own way into the parlour. Just seeing his dear friend again had caused James’s knees to weaken, and he felt he would have collapsed if Percy hadn’t offered him a chair. Noticing his valise, Percy inquired, “Did you just arrive in London?”
“Yes, I came directly here from the station. You look well, Percy.”
“So do you, but you must be ready for a good cup of tea. I shall have it ready in a moment. Make yourself at home. Here’s today’s paper, you can glance at that while I get the tea. Two sugars and a little cream, if I recall?”
“If it’s not too much trouble.”
“Nonsense.” Percy left the room, but instead of reading the paper, James laid his head back in the chair, closed his eyes, and tried to relax.
“Oh, I say! I didn’t know we had company!” Except for a towel around his waist, the tall, handsome young man standing in front of James was naked.
James’s heart sank. He immediately assumed that Percy and the young man were more than roommates.
“Name’s Mike,” the young man said before holding out his hand, but it happened to be the hand that was holding the towel together, and it fell to the floor. “Oops,” was the only apology offered.
James’s face had turned beet red, but he managed to reach out and shake the fellow’s hand while keeping his eyes focused on the lad’s face. Mike noticed James’s embarrassment and couldn’t hide a cheeky grin as he picked up the towel, excused himself, and was on his way to the kitchen just as Percy was coming out with a tea tray.
“How many times have I asked you to use one of my dressing gowns before you come out of your room undressed?”
“Oh, mercy, Percy,” the young man joked. “Sorry about that, but I just came down to ask if I may borrow some of your drawers. Mine all seem to be at the launderers.”
“They are in the bottom of my dresser. Thank heavens my trousers don’t fit you. Now, for God’s sake, go and put some clothes on.”
The boy took the stairs two at a time while laughing.
“Sorry about that, James. The young fellows these days have no modesty. Do you remember Mike, my nephew? He is my sister’s boy. I think you met him when he came to Sandwich to stay with me for a week one summer, several years ago now. He’s been staying here for a few days. He has a girlfriend in London. Her folks have invited him to stay there for the rest of the week. I hope his underwear comes back before he leaves tonight.”
Neither man said anything while Percy poured the tea. They sipped and sat in silence for a time, savouring each other’s company as though they had never parted.
Percy was the first to speak. “Now, tell me old man, are you here on business?”
“I think I might be. It really depends on you.”
“Me?”
“I have no right to ask, but I wonder if you would consider being my lawyer again.”
“I never resigned, dear boy! Of course I shall be your lawyer. I imagine this has something to do with Gladys, right?” James nodded, and Percy continued, “She visited me quite a bit while she was in town. Do you want to get in touch with her?”
“I have her address, but what she needs, Percy, and I am in favour of it too, is a divorce. I thought we may be able to obtain one on the grounds of desertion. What do you think?”
“I think you are being a jolly good sport in all this.”
“Well, I have thought a lot about it, and I owe Gladys more than anyone will ever know. You know, the last thing she said to me was to come and see you.” James reached over and took hold of Percy’s hand as he added, “She often told me I would never be happy unless we were friends once more. Now that I am here, I know she was right.”
This time it was Percy who withdrew his hand. He was afraid to guess what James meant by the gesture, and it caused him discomfort. Picking up the teapot, he asked, “More tea?”
Now James felt he had behaved foolishly. Although his reply was a simple, “No, thank you,” it lacked warmth.
Percy could have kicked himself. All he could think of to say was, “And what about the boy, Edward? A splendid little chap, isn’t he?”
“Yes, I know that now, but it is too late.” James admitted how he had wrongly accused the boy and had treated him poorly. “I don’t know if it is possible, but it would be very helpful to the lad if he could have his real father’s name instead of mine.”
“I agree, James. Just leave it all to me and I shall see what I can do. I haven’t worked for a time, but I still have some very influential friends in this town.”
“Thank you, Percy. Now I had better get along,” James said as he rose from his chair.
Percy had made up his mind that he wasn’t going to let his friend leave this time without a clear understanding, so he said, “Sit down, James. We haven’t seen each other for ages, and I am not letting you leave my house until you and I have straightened a few things out. Can we be honest with each other?”
“Yes, I think it’s time we were. I was a complete ass, Percy, and I am so sorry. I have missed you more than you will ever know.”
“I’m glad to hear that, James, but I am still the man I was, and I shall never change. I won’t lie about it; when I saw you standing there on the doorstep, I wanted to grab you and hug you to death. Now, that doesn’t mean we cannot be the sort of friends we were, but I do not want to have to worry that you will run for your life if I happen to accidentally bump up against you, or give you a slap you on the back every so often.”
“Percy, I have been miserable most of my life and, as Gladys has often told me, I have denied my true feelings long enough. When you answered that door, not only could I have hugged you to death, but I could have kissed you to death as well!”
A different James arrived home the following week than the one who left. His cheerfulness was just what was needed to change the atmosphere in the house. Before long, there were smiles and laughter once more.
James informed Dolly that his old friend, the man she used to call Uncle Percy, would be coming to Four Oaks for a visit in a fortnight, and when he was there, James intended to invite some old friends for an evening or two. This time, Dolly was thankful to have Aunt Jean around to give her advice.
For many weeks after Gladys and Eddy left, Eliza kept asking when they were coming home, but she eventually accepted their absence and seemed content. Dolly and James made sure she didn’t lack affection. Although they spoiled her, she remained a good-natured little girl.
The first three letters arrived one month after Gladys and Eddy’s departure.
Dolly’s hands shook as she opened the one addressed to her. There was also one for Aunt Jean and one for James, but Dolly’s was in a bigger envelope and contained a letter for her, one for Eliza, and one for Eliza and her from Eddy.
Dolly read Eliza’s letters to her first, and she loved them so much that she begged to have them read again. She made Dolly promise to read them once more before she went to bed.
Dolly waited until she was alone in her bedroom before she read the letter from her mother. As soon as she saw the beautiful handwriting on the envelope, she knew it was her mother’s. One might even presume the writer to be of a kind and honest nature, Dolly thought as she studied the handwriting, but she knew otherwise. As far as she could see, her mother’s penmanship was just another of her clever pretences. S
he almost threw the letter in the fireplace, but her curiosity was too great.
Thinking it would be full of false apologies and pleas for forgiveness or, even worse, confessions of how lonely she was and how much she missed her daughters, Dolly was surprised. Gladys must have surmised how Dolly would feel and she wrote about meeting Sandy and how he was such a good friend of Dolly’s father and her grandfather. She wrote about what the cabin on the ship was like and how she was sharing it with Eddy’s grandmother, a dear elderly Italian lady whom Eddy adored. She mentioned how Sandy had taken Eddy to meet the Captain, and now all he could talk about was becoming a captain when he grew up. She did say she missed her and Eliza and loved them, but it was just one sentence at the end of the letter.
In spite of how she felt, Dolly found the letter very interesting. It brought back memories of the good times she had spent with her mother and her dear Gamby when she was a child. She thought about how often she had longed to know her father, and she was suddenly pleased that Eddy was going to know his real father and that he had a grandparent to love. Gladys’s letter had done more to rebuild the tight bond that she and Dolly had previously had than all the pleading Gladys had done before she left.
Gladys and Eddy had written their letters on the boat and mailed them as soon as they arrived in New York, so there was no news of America, and now Dolly waited for the next letter with as much eagerness as Eliza.
Gladys’s letter to James wasn’t very long because she wasn’t sure he would even read it. She just mentioned that the wait in London had been difficult, and there were times when she almost changed her mind about leaving, but every time she looked at Eddy with Angelo she knew she had made the right decision. She also mentioned that she had told Eddy that Angelo was his real father and he had taken it very well. She asked James to try to forgive her and thanked him for all he had done for her and the children. Lastly, she pleaded with him not to turn Eliza against her. When he read that, James smiled as he imagined how relieved she would be when she received the letter he had written to her.
Chapter Thirty-One
New York
Gladys could understand Lottie’s reason for telling Isabella and the Ruttens what sort of a woman she was, but she had hoped to confess to everyone in her own words and in her own time. Now it was too late.
Lottie hadn’t waited for a meeting but had already told her Aunt and Uncle that Gladys had abandoned her two daughters. They were both notably shocked. It was the reaction Lottie had hoped for, but strangely, she didn’t enjoy it as much as she thought she would.
Angelo didn’t think Gladys owed anyone an explanation, but she was determined to rid herself of a life of lies. When the evening of the meeting arrived, the restaurant was closed and they were all waiting for the Ruttens to arrive and for Isabella to come downstairs. Eddy and the twins were up in Gladys and Angelo’s flat playing checkers, and Sandy was helping Gladys prepare tea and snacks in the kitchen.
“I want you to hear what I have to say too, Sandy,” she said.
“No, Gladdy, love. I don’t need any explanation. I’ve known you far too long to judge you.”
“I know, Sandy, but I really would like it if you would stay.”
Sandy agreed and everyone arrived shortly afterward.
Gladys, guessing that the Ruttens were disappointed in her, expected a cold reception, so it wasn’t surprising when neither offered a hug or even a handshake. Isabella was far kinder and greeted her with more pity than anger.
Once everyone had a cup of tea, Gladys began, “If you are going to understand why I lied to you, I think I had better start at the beginning of my story. You see, Toughie—that is what Angelo was called then—and I were born in unbelievable squalor. Both of us were parentless from about the age of five. I did have parents, but they suffered with alcoholism to such an extent that they could not look after me. If not for Toughie, I would have never survived.”
Gladys went on to tell them how she cut her hand one day while stealing food, and Toughie had taken her to see Sally Tweedhope, a lady who acted as midwife and nurse in the neighbourhood, to have it bandaged.
“Sally and Bob had lost their twins with cholera and they were both very good to us. Sally taught us to read and write, and when they moved away, Bob gave Toughie his junkyard.”
Toughie spoke up and said, “By that time, Gladys and I were planning on getting married, although Gladys was only twelve and I was just sixteen. You see, you grow up very fast in places like Old Nichol. At the time, I was living in O’Brian’s barn and trying to build a place in the junkyard for not only the two of us, but for Gladys’s ma and pa too, but it was taking me a long time to gather enough lumber.”
Gladys looked up at Angelo to give her the courage to go on with her story. She told them how her mother had taken money from the landlord, allowing him to have his way with her. She explained that she was forced to murder him and run away to save herself. Shaken from her confession, she paused for a minute.
Her rapt audience was silent for a few moments, then Lottie asked, “Why couldn’t you call the police and explain what happened or go and find Angelo to help you?”
“Constables rarely came to Old Nichol, but if one had come, I knew that he would have seen the dead landlord, and I would have been taken and hung, no matter what the circumstances. That always happens in Old Nichol. And although I wanted to find Toughie and ask him to run away with me, I knew that if we were caught, he would be hung too. So I went alone.”
They were all anxious to know what happened next, so she told them about her trip to Dover and how she found work in Neil and Laura Watt’s establishment the day after she arrived.
“I was used to working hard pulling the junk cart, but I never worked as hard as I had to work there. I don’t think I could have taken it if it wasn’t for Millie McIver, a dear seamstress who took me under her wing. Millie taught me a lot about etiquette and diction.
“After a few years, I was promoted to the job of barmaid and entertainer. That is where I sang, Carlotta. It was while I worked there that I met my first husband, Tom Pickwick. He and his friend, Keith, were both stationed at Dover Castle taking officer training. Tom’s father was one of the wealthiest men in Dover, so when Tom asked me to marry him, I was both flattered and intimidated. I never thought I would be able to pass as a proper lady, but with Millie’s help and advice, I managed.”
Then Gladys told them about Tom’s father, Andrew, and how he had been duped into marrying a scheming woman named, Rose, who then talked him into adopting her two children. “It only took a short time for Andrew to realize what a mistake he had made. Rose didn’t like living in the country, so Andrew allowed her and her children to move into his home in town while he and Tom stayed on his estate.”
When she told them how Tom and Keith were killed after being sent to India to fight in the first Sheik wars, they were all visibly sympathetic.
“Tom never received my letter telling him that he had a daughter, so he died not knowing he was a father. I named the baby Dorothy, after Tom’s mother, but she’s mostly called Dolly. That was fifteen years ago. This is the first time Dolly and I have been apart for more than a few days.” She said it with such obvious sadness that even Lottie could tell how much she missed the girl.
Gladys continued her story, relating how kind her father-in-law was and how he had looked after her and Dolly in the aftermath of Tom’s death. “He had a big, beautiful mansion built on the outskirts of Dover for the three of us, and we were all ready to move in when Andrew went to Ireland to rescue another family. While he was there, he was brutally murdered. Although he had his lawyer draw up a new will that left the estate and mansion in Dolly and my names, he had neglected to sign it before his departure.
“One day, Dolly and I were getting ready to move into our beautiful new home. Dolly was upstairs packing her toys, and I was in the living room wrapping some
ornaments when Andrew’s adopted son, Peter, knocked on our door. I had never seen him before so he introduced himself. He recognized me by the scar I bear from stealing pickles with Tou—Angelo. He explained that he had hired a detective in London to look into my past. The man had found out my real name was Gladys Tunner, not Gladys Tweedhope. You see, I had taken Sally and Bob’s last name when I ran away. Then, without a trace of emotion or consideration for my feelings, he informed me that Andrew had been murdered.
“I didn’t know what else the detective had found out, so when he ordered Dolly and me to leave Dover, I dared not argue. Peter inherited all of Andrew’s property, and Dolly and I were left homeless. Luckily, Lady Sorenson, an old friend of Andrew’s, had heard that James Hornsby, a widower who lived on the outskirts of Sandwich, was looking for a housekeeper. Mr Hornsby did not want to hire anyone with children and I would have not have been hired had we not discovered that he was Keith’s halfbrother.”
As Gladys continued, she tried to explain how she and Angelo had felt when they found each other again in London. She expressed how sorry they were for allowing their passions to get the best of them.
“Angelo made it clear that he would not abandon Rosa, and when we said goodbye, we expected never to see each other again. When I found out later that our interlude had left me carrying his child, I confessed everything to James Hornsby, my employer, who offered to marry me. At first, I refused. I could never love anyone but Angelo. Then, when James promised that our marriage would be merely a marriage of convenience—he wanted company, and I needed a home for my children—I said yes. My only alternative was the workhouse.”
She continued explaining that the only time they were intimate was when James drank too much and insisted he share her bed. “Eliza, our darling little girl, was the result of that night.
“When I read the notice about a Shakespearian troupe’s final appearance, I knew immediately that it must be Angelo, and I made up my mind to introduce him to his son. When we met, Angelo told me about the tragic deaths of Rosa and their baby. Then he asked if Eddy and I would to return to New York with him. I said I couldn’t.
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