To Catch a Dream

by Mary Wood

  ‘It’s more than fucking help you’ll need afore I’m done. You bitch! What did I tell you, eh? You’re my woman. Mine! And when I’m finished with you, you’ll know who your man is. Me! Not some snivelling virgin. Stop fucking kicking! I’m telling you – you bastard whore! You . . . What the—?’

  The door had shot open in response to Will putting his shoulder to it. Bruiser’s red-streaked, shocked eyes stared at him. The scene before Will froze in a split second of time. Bridie turned her head towards him, her eyes wide with terror. Rage filled his veins; his blood pumped it around his body. It came from him in a scream that pierced his own ears with the sound of his anger and hurt. ‘Noooooo! You leave her!’

  ‘The fucking virgin! And screaming like a stuck pig. Fancy your chances, then? I’ll fucking kill you. You little squirt! You had her in broad daylight . . . you fucking humiliated me, the pair of yer.’ As Bruiser moved towards him, Bridie’s cries held anguish and fear. ‘No! No – don’t. Bruiser, no . . .’

  Will had no conscious knowledge of crossing the room or of what had lifted his foot so swiftly and with such force, but he knew the vicious kick had found its mark as his foot sank into Bruiser’s groin. The ensuing cry of agony filled the space around them. Bruiser’s body slumped and then heaved. The sound and smell of his vomit sickened Will’s stomach, but didn’t stop him. He took Bridie in his arms, saying, ‘It’s all right, me little lass. Come on now, come on.’

  As if she were a baby, he lifted her up and carried her down the stairs, the sound of her weeping tearing at his heart. When he reached the bottom step, he sat down, holding her on his knee.

  ‘Bridie, you’ll be reet, me little love. Come on now. That’s reet. Here, wipe your eyes with me hanky. It’s clean, thou knows.’

  She looked up at him and smiled through her tears. ‘Aye, well, isn’t it the way of it? And to be sure it has to be, cos I’d not be for taking on a fella as doesn’t carry a clean hanky!’ They giggled at this and felt a lightening of the horror and a deepening of the bond between them.

  ‘Hark at him, Will! I’m thinking it’ll be a while before he can use any girl again. He were going to . . . Oh, Will, it must have been God in Heaven answering me prayers and bringing you to me.’

  ‘More like me love and me plans. I’m a bit worried, though, as I might have done him an injury. Me foot sank in really deep. Do you think we should call in the doctor?’

  ‘No, Will, you’ll only be bringing trouble down on yourself if you do that. The doctor would be after bringing in the law. Leave Bruiser be – let him be suffering. It’ll serve him his just rights. And, if I know him, he’ll not be for telling anybody as you brought him down.’

  ‘Aye, happen you’re right. Anyroad, noise as he’s making will alert someone eventually, if he don’t recover himself soon.’

  ‘Forget him, Will. Beth will see to him when it is as she thinks we’ve had enough time to get away. She doesn’t miss anything, Beth.’

  The door at the top of the stairs opened just as she finished saying this, and Beth stood there. ‘Eeh, Bridie, what’s going on, lass?’ She nodded at Will. ‘What have you done? I heard you having a barney, but it sounds like you’ve near-killed Bruiser, by the way he’s hollering!’ She descended the stairs as she spoke. ‘Oh, Bridie, look at you. Oh, love, come on, come to me room. Let’s get you cleaned up and dressed.’

  ‘I can’t. I have to get away, in case it is he recovers enough to come after us. Just hand me something to wear, Beth.’

  ‘But where will you go, love?’

  ‘I’ll take her to me ma. She’ll take care of her.’

  ‘Your ma? Will, is it that she’s all right with you taking me on, then?’

  ‘Aye, after a fashion, but she’ll do her best. I know me ma: if she makes her mind up, she’ll stick to it. And she promised me she’d try to accept the situation.’

  ‘You mean you’re really going, Bridie, to this Breckton place as you mentioned? Eeh, love, what am I going to do without you?’

  ‘You can come if you want, Beth. Yes, why don’t you? To be sure it would make me happy to have you along and to get you out of this lot.’

  ‘I can’t, Bridie, but thanks for asking. I’ve plans, you know that, but I’m going to miss you, lass. Write to me, and let me have your address once you get settled. Promise me.’

  ‘I will, Beth. I couldn’t be for doing any other.’

  Beth ran upstairs and emerged from her room carrying some clothes. She helped Bridie into them, tears streaming down her cheeks as she did so. ‘Eeh, love, you’ll be reet. Will’ll take care of you.’ Bridie winced with pain as Beth tried to hold her. ‘That sod! You’ll be well out of it, love, and that’s the only thing as is helping me with parting from you. Look after her, Will.’

  ‘I’ll die trying, Beth, I promise you that. But first I’ve to get her over the shock of meeting me ma.’

  They both grinned at this. Beth’s face had a sign in it that said he was doing the right thing; Bridie’s held pain, and the creasing of her face dripped more tears from her eyes.

  ‘Stay with her a mo whilst I fetch a cab, Beth. It’s not far, but she’d not make it, with pain as she’s in.’

  Luck was on his side. Outside the theatre, about a hundred yards from the corner, stood several cabs. The drivers had tethered the horses to the railings while they busied themselves feeding them and getting them ready for the theatre-goers who would soon emerge. Haggling with them took a moment; they all wanted to be sure they would make enough out of the trip to warrant missing a fare from the theatre, and to know Will had the money to pay them with.

  At last one of them agreed and Will climbed up the steps. He’d never been in a cab before, and in better circumstances would have enjoyed the experience as the carriage swayed from side to side to the rhythm of the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves on the cobbles.

  When he arrived back, Bridie posed him a problem. ‘Will, it is that I cannot go without some of me things. Me papers and clothes and shoes. I must have them, for sure Bruiser won’t be for letting me get them later.’

  He could see her anguish and understood it. It was a lot to ask of her to leave with only Beth’s dress and shawl to her name.

  Beth gave him the solution: ‘I’ve listened at the door and Bruiser is still moaning, Will,’ she said, ‘so I think we’d get away with going in and taking what she needs.’

  Before he could answer her, the cab driver shouted, ‘Are you coming or not? I’m not waiting for Christmas, thou knows.’

  Torn for a moment, Will stood there, but his indecision left him and he told her, ‘I’ll go, Beth. It’ll be better for you if Bruiser doesn’t know you are involved, or know anything about where she’s gone. You get Bridie into the cab and keep the driver happy for a mo for me.’

  Back in Bridie’s room, Bruiser, curled up in a ball of agony, turned his head almost in slow motion as if the very act caused him more pain. His eyes, bloodshot and wet with tears, bulged out of their sockets. His swollen face had a purple tinge to it. Will felt a fear enter him. Was Bruiser about to die? Could a hard kick to a man’s bollocks kill him? He didn’t think so, and Bruiser was breathing all right – had to be, to cry like he was doing. It came to Will’s mind to ask him, ‘Who sounds like a stuck pig now?’ But he didn’t. He just walked past him, crossed the room, grabbed the clothes from the cupboard and threw them onto the bed. Opening the drawers of the chest one by one, he scooped out their contents. One held Bridie’s undergarments; another, sweet-smelling bottles and pots. A third drawer held some papers and a large half-full bottle of gin. He took the papers, leaving the gin, then thought better of it and took that, too. Bridie might need the comfort of it later. Lastly he picked up three pairs of shoes and one pair of ankle boots, and took down her coat from a hook behind the door. He wrapped the whole lot into a tight bundle with the bed sheet. At the bottom of the stairs he grabbed his fishing basket and rod and somehow managed to get everything out to the cab.

&
nbsp; Bridie snuggled up to him on the journey. He wasn’t sure if her weeping was at having to say goodbye to Beth or because she was in pain, but he just held her and let her cry it out. He had so many fears in him, not least what his ma would do when they arrived there.

  There had been no need for him to worry. When he reached home he felt sure that no one had seen them. It was getting dark and the weather wasn’t good, so none of the womenfolk had been standing on their doorsteps having a chinwag, and he knew the men who weren’t on shifts would be in the pub.

  Shock registered on his ma’s face. He saw her trying to mask her disapproval, but when he told her what had happened and she saw the state of Bridie, she took charge. ‘You get yourself off. Go on, she’ll be reet. Get off like you intended, and let’s get on with our lives as they’re going to pan out. And don’t worry on anybody finding out she’s here, or about our intentions, cos you’re right to do it all in secret after this. I wouldn’t trust Bruiser. He’d find us, and then God knows what he’d do.’

  Will leaned over and kissed her cheek. Like Bridie, his ma was a little woman, and despite her sixty-odd years, still a pretty one. Going by appearances, you’d think she needed looking after or someone to lean on, but in this too she was like Bridie: a survivor, independent in her ways and in how she thought. Not many mothers would take what he’d dished out today in the way she had.

  His goodbyes to Bridie were full of anguish. Leaving her in such a state and with the fear of Bruiser hanging over her wasn’t easy. They held each other as best they could for a short while, and whispered words of deeply felt love, before Will tried to reassure her. ‘Don’t worry, he won’t come looking for you here. Everyone’ll tell him as me ma wouldn’t put up with it. They all see her as a little tyrant, cos she has standards far above what they have, but they don’t know the centre of her like I do.’ But as he spoke these words, he still couldn’t believe how his ma had given in and accepted what he’d brought down on her. And something in him told him that he’d probably pay for it one way or the other, because she was no saint and, if crossed, she could be more akin to the Devil . . .

  19

  Will

  Breckton, October 1880

  A meeting of like minds

  It was noon of the following day when Will finally stood outside Hensal Grange Mine in Breckton, some ten miles east of Leeds. He’d travelled by rail and on foot. A couple of times a sparkling lake had tempted him to sit awhile and set up his fishing rod, but he’d stayed focused on his mission and had mostly rued the subterfuge that had necessitated bringing the heavy equipment along with him.

  He felt a relief in him when he saw the list of vacancies he’d heard tell of still posted up on the gates. He went in, walked over to the lads doing the screening and asked the whereabouts of the foreman. On their direction, he headed towards the small shed opposite the yard gates.

  The foreman, a thickset man who looked to be in his late fifties, looked up from the forms he was busy filling in and greeted him. ‘Morning, young man. And a grand one it is, too. What business are you on? And what’s your name?’

  Will answered him, glad to find him an amiable fellow.

  ‘Well, now, I’m pleased to meet you, Will Hadler. I’m Dave Grindle and I’m foreman, as you’ve probably gathered. Now you’re right in that we’re taking on, but I’m not the one as does the hiring and firing. Mr Harvey, owner of the mine, does all that. Well, hiring anyways, cos it’s a grand place to work and there’s never any firing needed. The jobs as we have going now are through expansion, as there’s another seam for opening up. But he’s choosy, lad. Have you references as to your skills and reliability?’

  Will ignored the question, in case his answer didn’t get him to see the owner, saying instead, ‘How do I get to see this Mr Harvey, then?’

  ‘He’s over in the office. Go back towards the gate and then carry on. You’ll see offices. Mind, you’ll want an appointment. He’ll not see you without. Have a word with the clerk who sits just inside. He’ll fix you up, and good luck to you.’

  ‘Ta very much. I hope as I’ll be seeing you again.’

  A few minutes later Will sat on the verge outside the gates. Getting the clerk to fix an appointment had proved difficult, and he’d been hard pushed to keep his temper. The man had been rude and offensive, looking down his nose at Will as if he were no more than a piece of dirt. Eventually he’d made the appointment for three o’clock that afternoon. The large clock on the office wall had marked the time as just on twenty past noon, so he’d sat awhile, eaten the last of the sandwiches his ma had put up for him, and thought on the new life he was hoping to make for them all.

  He’d liked what he’d seen of Breckton so far. As he’d walked down through it, he’d passed by rows of back-to-backs, which he thought were probably the miners’ cottages. Opposite them he’d seen a lane with a few cottages down it, which he thought might be for the men who worked the land. He’d noticed farming going on all around.

  He’d found a peace in him when looking over the fields. This being the beginning of October, plenty was going on in the fields: men and horses at the harvesting and ploughing for next year. He liked the countryside. Mind, he didn’t have Breckton down as a hamlet or a village, because he’d seen a good few shops on one of the streets he’d looked down. It was more of a small town, as far as he could see, and he was glad of that. It gave the best of both worlds: places to get provisions and such, as well as plenty of open space. And then there was the lovely backdrop: the hills, large and small, that he’d seen on his travels here. He was looking forward to walking them, and to fishing in the lakes or becks in their midst. And folk seemed friendly enough. He’d passed one or two womenfolk hanging over their gates having a natter, and they’d looked at him in a way as he could see they were wondering who he was and what was his business, but they’d all greeted him. He hadn’t heard the comment one of them had made, but he’d heard their laughter about it. They sounded a jolly crowd; his ma and Bridie should fit in well with them. And he’d found the screen lads and foreman welcoming, though the clerk were sommat else. But then those jumped-up types always were, wherever you went.

  It was odd, him having to see the owner, because back in Sheffield it was always the foreman or manager. And what did the foreman say? ‘It’s a grand place to work.’ Well, he’d never heard that said of a pit he’d worked at before. All in all, this could be a good move all round.

  The church bell woke him. He sat up in surprise, wondering for a moment where he was, then panic struck him as memory flooded back. He’d dropped into a deep sleep. Had he missed his appointment? It was too late to count the church bells; they’d struck several times already. Listening again, he realized it wasn’t the time they were marking, but the slow, dull chime of the death-knell. Must be a funeral. Dusting himself down, he made his way to the foreman’s shed, hoping against hope he’d not overrun his time.

  Luckily he found he hadn’t, and had a few minutes to spare. Dave Grindle gave him a drink of water, some of which he used to splash his face.

  ‘Don’t worry that you look presentable enough, lad. Happen you needed that sleep. Mind, it’d been better if you’d asked me to give you the nod when it were nearing time, then you wouldn’t have this panic. Get yourself over there now afore it’s too late.’

  Crossing the yard in a few quick paces, he once again faced the sour clerk. There was no time for any aggravating banter this time, as he was shown almost immediately into the main office.

  ‘Sit down, Mr Hadler.’

  The office didn’t have anything posh about it. Far from it: it was shabby in fact. This surprised him, and the man in front of Will surprised him, too. He was only thirty to forty in years, but far from looking like the owner of a mine, he looked more like one of the workers, dressed as he was like a hands-on man. He did have a good suit hanging on a coatstand in one corner of his office, though, and his top-drawer voice was at odds with his appearance. Will felt unsure what he w
as dealing with. He knew how to act with moneyed folk, but this one wasn’t clear-cut. And the man asking him to sit and calling him ‘Mister’, that wasn’t usual either. But sit Will did.

  ‘So you’ve come about the vacancies. What experience have you had?’

  ‘I’ve been down since I was a young ’un, some fourteen years now, sir. I’ve worked up from being a hurrier to being a face-worker. Me da afore me was a miner, as was me grandda – me ma’s father, that is . . . I’d come with a good reference, only I need to move quicker than the notice I should be giving. But I could get foreman to speak for me, if you needs me to.’

  ‘Are you in trouble with the law, Mr Hadler?’

  ‘No, sir. Look, I’ll be honest with you. Me and me lass, well . . . we needs a fresh start. I mean, well . . . she has a reputation, and there’s someone who would make things bad for us. And not just him, either, cos a few tongues would wag and make it difficult for us. She’s not had it good, me lass, and she fell into a bad way of life, but I love her and, with a chance being given to her, she can change. I knows that.’

  Drawing in his breath, Will stopped and his colour rose, making his face burn. What had possessed him to tell this man all that? Well, he might as well put his cap on and leave, because he’d surely cocked it up. Mind, the fellow had a smile on his face – was he amused at his tale? Or laughing at the cheek of the likes of Will asking for a job?

  ‘Well! It strikes me you’re an honest man, William Hadler, and I like an honest man. If I give you a job, what are the chances of this “someone” finding you and causing trouble here?’

  ‘He’ll not know where to look, sir. And it’ll be a shock to all when me ma goes, cos she were born in the cottage as we have. Me da took on tenancy when her father died, and I did same when he passed on. As well as that, we intend coming afore anyone can ask any questions. Of course, me ma’s going to find it a wrench, but she’s willing to give it a go, cos she can see me mind’s made up and she respects me as head of house now.’