by Joan Jonker
‘I haven’t got five pounds on me, yer’ll have to come back another day. And one of yer will have to take on responsibility for making sure the others pay.’ The calculating eyes landed on Hannah and were quick to sum her up. Here was a woman who would be too frightened of the consequences if she didn’t return the loan, with interest. ‘You, whoever yer are, can collect the money off yer mates and bring it to me every week. And I hope yer know that there’s a shilling interest every week on every pound owing.’ When Hannah nodded, Ma Maloney said, ‘As I told yer, I haven’t got five pounds on me, yer’ll have to come back next Monday.’
Because she’d been reluctant to come out of her yard into the entry, Beth couldn’t see the woman from where she was standing. The voice alone told her they were dealing with a harsh woman who mustn’t be allowed to get her claws into Hannah. But because it was many years since she’d last seen her, Beth moved to stand next to Flo so she could get a good look at the woman they called Ma Maloney, and she didn’t like what she saw. It would have been hard to guess her age, she could be an old-looking fifty or a young-looking seventy. Straggling, greasy hair hung down to her shoulders; hard, calculating dark eyes stared unblinkingly from a face to which a smile would be a stranger. The coat she was wearing looked as old as the hills. It was a tweed mixture, which many, many moons ago had been beige and purple. Now the only colours that could be made out were the variety of stains all down the front which suggested she never took the coat off to eat. The elbows, cuffs and pockets were frayed, and Beth couldn’t help thinking she’d seen better dressed tramps.
‘I’ll be the one to make sure yer get yer money every Saturday. Me name’s Beth Porter and I live next door to Flo Henderson here so yer don’t have to worry about getting yer money back. But a couple of us are desperate, so could yer let us have a couple of pounds to be going on with?’
‘I can let yer have two now, that’s all. The rest on Monday. And I want all the names and addresses before I hand over anything.’ The moneylender began to close her door. ‘I’ll get the two pounds for yer.’ When she was sure she couldn’t be seen, she undid the shabby coat to reveal the two side pockets she’d stitched into the lining. The pinny she was wearing had a wide deep pocket which contained the money she’d collected in that morning, but she hadn’t had time to count her takings yet, or mark her books, so she didn’t want to touch that. Instead, she lifted the pinny to get to a money belt she had tied around her waist. She knew exactly how much was in there so she could take two pounds out and still know where she was up to. After extracting two notes from the belt, she made sure the fasteners were safe, then smoothed down her pinny so the bulge wouldn’t be noticed. One could safely say, without fear of contradiction, that Ma Maloney was not a trusting soul.
She opened the entry door and held out the two grubby pound notes. ‘I want the names of whoever’s having these.’ Then she pulled a small tattered book from her pocket and a stub of pencil. ‘Names and addresses?’
‘Beth Porter and Hannah Bailey. And we all live in the same road as Flo, so we’re not likely to do a bunk.’
‘Just remember, if yer can’t pay anything off it one week, yer’ve still got to pay the shilling interest.’ Ma Maloney didn’t speak normally, she growled out her words as though they were begrudged. ‘I’m not a bleedin’ benevolent fund.’
None of the women liked the look or sound of Ma, but until they had their pound in their hands they weren’t going to upset her. But Lizzie was stung into saying, ‘Sure, isn’t it meself that’s noticed ye’re not given to acts of charity! But then, it’s safe to say yer don’t get very far in life being softhearted, and that’s a fact.’
Dot spoke for the first time. ‘Did someone mention the word heart? Only I think we’re entering strange territory here ’cos I don’t think she has one.’
Flo quickly decided if they stayed any longer, and the insults kept flying, the three unlucky ones wouldn’t be getting their loan on Monday. ‘That’s about it then, Ma, so we’ll leave yer in peace to go about yer business. Yer must be busy this time of the year. So we’ll give yer a knock on Monday, eh? Front door or entry, which is the best?’
The moneylender stepped back into her yard, and through lips that were barely parted, said, ‘Here, ten o’clock sharp. I can’t afford to be hanging around so if ye’re not here on time that’s yer own bleedin’ fault.’ With that the entry door was firmly closed and the women could hear a bolt being shot, then footsteps shuffling over the cobbled yard.
‘My God, whoever said she was a witch wasn’t far wrong,’ Dot said. ‘Did yer see the state of her coat? She wouldn’t even get a balloon off the rag and bone man for it.’
Flo jerked her head to get them moving away from the back door. ‘Come on, let’s go.’ And keeping her voice low, she said, ‘I wouldn’t care but no one can tell me she isn’t loaded. She must be bleedin’ rolling in money! Just think, she’s going to get five bob a week interest off us alone! Add that to the dozens of other women who borrow off her, and she’s got to be raking in a fortune every week.’
‘Yeah, why didn’t one of us think of it first?’ Beth slipped her arm through Hannah’s as they neared the main road. ‘We could have been rolling in it.’
‘Oh, you’d have made a fine moneylender, I don’t think!’ The very idea had Flo laughing. ‘Ye’re too soft, you are, yer’d only have to hear a sob story and yer’d fall for it. Yer have to be tough in that game. Tough, fearless and without friends. It would cost you money, queen, yer’d never make any.’
‘I wouldn’t want to be one,’ Beth replied, squeezing Hannah’s arm. ‘What do you say, sunshine? If Ma Maloney is a typical moneylender, then I’d rather be skint. I think if she tried to smile her face would crack. She’s one sad, miserable woman.’
‘She’s a sad, miserable, rich woman, queen, and she’s probably laughing her little cotton socks off right now because she’s got another five suckers on her books.’
‘Not for long she won’t,’ Hannah said. ‘I’m going to pay her off as quick as I can. I don’t want to be in debt to the likes of her.’
‘I wouldn’t worry yer head about that, girl, until after Christmas,’ Dot said. ‘When are yer going to look for a bed?’
‘Flo said there’s a good shop on Stanley Road so I might take a trip down there now. I’ve only got a few days, I’ve got to move meself.’
‘I’ll come with yer,’ Beth offered. ‘Two heads are always better than one.’
Dot wasn’t going to be left out. ‘I’ll come, too!’
‘Oh, I was going to ask yer to watch out for Ginny and Joey. Just in case I’m not back when they get home from school.’
‘No, I’m coming with yer. Yer know I hate to miss anything. Anyway Flo will watch out for the kids for us, won’t yer, girl?’
A look of amazement came over Flo’s face. Well, the flamin’ cheeky beggars! She was the one who’d mentioned seeing the bed, and here they were trying to fob her off! ‘How soft you are! Yer can take a running jump, that’s what yer can do. I’ll go with Hannah and Beth, and you can watch out for my kids.’
‘Before any blows are exchanged, can I suggest that I’ll make me way home now and keep an eye out for all the kids?’ Lizzie the peacemaker suggested. ‘I’ll bring them in out of the cold if ye’re not back in time.’
‘Thanks a million, sunshine, ye’re a pal,’ Beth said. ‘But doesn’t it seem a bit much for four of us to go looking for a second-hand bed?’
‘Nah, the more the merrier, queen!’ Flo was in her element. Anything that kept her out of the house was fine by her. She’d peeled the spuds this morning, so it wouldn’t take her long to get the dinner on the go. ‘It’s not a big shop, so with a gang of us the poor man could easily get confused and sell the bed for less than he intended.’
‘If you make a holy show of us, Flo Henderson, I’ll break yer ruddy neck for yer.’ Beth knew she was wasting her breath, because her neighbour couldn’t resist showing off in the spot
light. And in all fairness, it had to be said she was a dab hand at getting a bargain. ‘Unless, of course, yer get the bed for half the price.’
‘Oh, I can’t promise half the price, queen, but I might wangle the odd shilling off.’
Lizzie chuckled, more than a little sorry she was going to miss a treat. But someone had to be there for the children. ‘I’ll be wishing yer the best of luck, so I will. And don’t worry about the kids, they’ll be fine. I’ll see yer later, ta-ra for now.’
Lizzie had her head bent against the bitterly cold wind as she turned the corner of the street. Her eyes were watering from the cold, and she wiped the back of her hand across them to clear her vision. It was then she saw a familiar figure knocking on the Porters’ door and then trying to peep through the curtains. Lizzie quickened her steps. What was Ginny doing home at this time of the day, and how long had the poor thing been standing around in the cold?
Ginny saw their neighbour walking up the street and hurried to meet her. ‘D’yer know where me mam is, Mrs O’Leary? I can’t see any sign of her, and I can’t get in! I’ve been around the back but that’s locked as well!’
Lizzie thought before she spoke. She must not mention the moneylender. ‘The usual gang went out to the shops, and they’d all have been home by now if Hannah hadn’t wanted to look for a bed she’ll need when her family come next week. And, of course, we all wanted to go with her.’ They had reached Lizzie’s house and she was quick to insert the key. ‘Inside with yer, me darlin’, and we’ll soon have yer nice and warm.’
Ginny’s spirits sank. She was so looking forward to telling her mother about her job, now she felt let down. ‘D’yer know where they’ve gone, Mrs O’Leary, so I can go after them?’
‘Ah, now, sure, I’d not be knowing that, me darlin’. I offered to come home to make sure there was somewhere for all the children to shelter, just in case the women took longer than expected. But it’s yerself that’s very early, and yer mam wouldn’t be expecting yer, otherwise she would have come home. Are yer not feeling well, me darlin’, is that it?’
Ginny sighed. ‘No, Mrs O’Leary, I’m fine. But me and another girl went for an interview at Woolworth’s, and when we got back to school the headmistress said we could come home early because we’d had nothing to eat and were starving.’
Lizzie could sense the disappointment in the young girl. ‘Oh, of course, I knew about the interview, and yer mam mentioned a few times that she wondered how yer were getting on. But she didn’t expect yer home at this time, me darlin’, ’cos yer were supposed to go back to school for the rest of the day.’ Lizzie was torn. If she asked how the interview had gone and the girl hadn’t got the job, she would be embarrassed. And if she had been successful, perhaps she wanted her mother to know before anyone. But she’d known Ginny since she was a baby, so surely it was only natural to show interest? ‘Take yer coat off, me darlin’, and those nice warm gloves ye’re wearing. Then yer can sit down and tell me how yer got on.’
‘I got the job, Mrs O’Leary! I start the Monday after the holidays.’
‘Oh, glory be to God!’ Lizzie threw her arms in the air before wrapping them around Ginny. ‘Now isn’t that the best news I’ve had for weeks?’ She didn’t need to pretend or put on a show, she was genuinely delighted for the girl. ‘Wait until yer tell yer mam and dad. Sure, they’ll be over the moon, so they will. It’s not everyone who is clever enough to get a job in such a foine shop as Woolworth’s, and yer have every right to be feeling proud of yerself, so yer have.’
The sincere pleasure in the Irish woman’s voice, and the beaming smile on her face, cheered Ginny up and she began to chuckle. ‘Well, I’d be telling a lie if I said I wasn’t chuffed with me little self, Mrs O’Leary. I really did want to work in a shop, but I thought it would be a local one, sweet shop or greengrocer’s perhaps. I never dreamt me first job would be in such a big shop in the city centre. I can thank our headmistress for it because she’s the one who put the opportunity my way. And she’s as pleased as I am.’
Lizzie slapped an open palm to her forehead. ‘The reason she let yer home early is because yer’d had nothing to eat all day, and here’s me keeping yer yapping while yer starve to death! It’s meself that’s losing the run of me senses, right enough. But if you’ll poke a bit of life into the fire for me, I’ll put the kettle on and make yer a butty. Then we can sit by the fire with a nice cup of hot tea and a jam butty while yer tell me everything that’s happened to yer today. And I want to know every word that’s been spoken, and what the people who interviewed yer were like. All the ins and outs, me darlin’, I’ll settle for nothing less.’
And as today was a big milestone in her life, Ginny had no intention of letting anyone settle for less.
Chapter Ten
‘Ooh, it’s quite big, isn’t it?’ Beth and her three friends stood in a tight group outside the large, glass-fronted second-hand shop. ‘I’ve passed it dozens of times but never really taken any notice of it.’
‘The shop’s been here for donkey’s years.’ Flo was happy to fill them in with all the information. Mind you, she thought, if they didn’t go around with their eyes shut, they’d know these things for themselves. ‘It’s changed hands a few times to my knowledge. Our Elsie bought a three-piece suite from here when she got married, and she didn’t half get her money’s worth out of it.’
‘They’ve got stacks of furniture in there,’ Dot said, ‘I’d love to have a good root around to see if there’s any bargains. Some of my furniture could do with replacing.’
It was all too much for Hannah who was very quiet. For the first time in her life she’d met and borrowed from a moneylender, and she didn’t like the experience one little bit. Now she was standing outside a second-hand shop, and this was a first for her too! But, as she told herself, beggars can’t be choosers.
‘Come on, let’s get it over with, we can’t stand here gawping all day.’ Beth propelled Hannah forward and pushed open the shop door, setting off a bell that was attached to the top of the door frame. The sound was another thing that added to Hannah’s apprehension and had her clinging tighter to Beth.
The tinkle of the bell had no sooner stopped than a man appeared from somewhere at the back of the shop. He was small and thin with dark hair and a thick neat moustache which was not only his pride and joy, but which he thought made him look like a certain heart-throb film star. Rubbing his hands together, he said, ‘Good afternoon, ladies, can I help you?’
By this time Flo and Dot were in the shop, and the man raised his brows. ‘Are you all together?’
Beth nodded. And without giving a thought to the fact that not one of them had a shopping bag with them, she said, ‘Yes, we’re all mates. We’ve been out shopping and as we were passing we wondered if yer happened to have any decent single beds for sale? One of our neighbours has visitors coming for Christmas and she’s a bed short.’
The shopkeeper, a smooth-talking ladies’ man who thought he was God’s gift to women, focused the full force of his charm on Beth as she was the most attractive. ‘Ye’re in luck, love, ’cos I’ve got two single beds in at the moment and both are in good nick. And seeing as ye’re such a pretty woman, I’ll do yer a good price on them.’ Still rubbing his hands together, he said, ‘If yer come with me, I’ll show them to yer.’ His eyes were inviting Beth, but to his dismay when he turned around he had four women on his heels.
They came to a bedstead leaning up against the wall with the bars and bedhead lying in front of it on the floor. ‘This one has no mattress but it’s in good condition. It wouldn’t cost very much for a mattress if yer know the right place to go.’
Beth was eyeing the springs. ‘How much are yer asking for it?’
‘Only ten bob.’ Again his hands were rubbed together and he gave her his film star smile. ‘And that’s a bargain.’
‘What!’ Flo pushed herself forward, and because he wasn’t a tall man, she was able to meet his eyes. ‘What have yer done to it
since last week that’s upped the price from five shillings to ten bob?’
The salesman was knocked off course, but only for a second. ‘I don’t know where yer got that from, Missus, but that bed was never five shillings.’
‘It bleedin’ well was! There’s nowt wrong with my eyesight, Mister, and the tag yer had tied on it said five shillings. It wasn’t in the shop that day, yer had it outside with some other bits and pieces.’
‘Not this bed, Missus, that was another one.’
‘Another one, me eye! What d’yer take me for! It was this bleedin’ bedstead all right, with two brass bulbs on the headboard. So don’t be coming it, Mister, ’cos we’re not daft, we weren’t born yesterday.’
‘All I can say then is that me partner must have put the wrong price tag on it.’ The man was wishing all sorts of bad things for Flo, but he still managed to give them his best smile. ‘Anyway, seeing as how it’s Christmas, the season of goodwill and cheer, I’ll let it go for seven and a tanner. Now I can’t say fairer than that.’
Hannah hadn’t spoken since they’d entered the shop. She was more than content to leave matters in the hands of her friends as she wouldn’t have the nerve to haggle over prices. But she needed to speak up now. ‘Yer mentioned yer had two beds for sale, where’s the other one?’
Once again the hand-rubbing started. ‘Ah, well, yer see, the other comes complete with a good clean mattress, so naturally it’s a lot dearer than this one. I paid over the odds for it ’cos it’s in cracking condition and I need to recoup some of me money. I’ve got a wife and three children to keep, and they expect Christmas presents like everyone else.’
Beth decided to play him at his own game. She put on her sweetest smile. It came complete with fluttering eyelashes. ‘Ooh, yer do surprise me. I didn’t think yer were old enough to have three children. Yer don’t half carry yer age well.’