Fur Coat, No Knickers

by Anna King

  Keeping his voice firm he said, ‘I ain’t lost me bottle, Phil, but it don’t take much bottle to beat up an old man and leave him near dead.’

  Phil Davidson threw his cigarette on the floor and raised his eyebrows ambiguously.

  ‘And what makes yer think that job was down ter us, Nobby? There’s plenty of other geezers doing the same thing we are, it could have been any of ’em.’

  One of the other men stepped forward, growling impatiently, ‘Let’s cut out the crap, Phil, an’ let him know what’s what.’

  Peter Davidson, Phil’s brother, moved towards Nobby menacingly. When he was only inches from him, he ground out viciously, ‘Listen, Clark, you’ve had it cushy up till now. We’ve done all the dirty work, and risked getting nicked, and all you’ve done is sit by and take whatever we gave you, no questions asked. Now you’ve ’ad enough and yer expect us ter just let yer walk away knowing what yer do about us. What’s ter stop yer from shopping us to the coppers?’

  Nobby stood his ground, his grey eyes meeting the small shifty eyes of Pete Davidson. His voice harsh, he barked, ‘Don’t be a fool, man. If I did that, I’d be dropping meself in it as well, wouldn’t I? You don’t have ter worry about me opening me mouth; the sooner I forget about you lot the better I’ll sleep at nights.’

  Nobby looked past Pete to Phil, saying, ‘You know I won’t squeal, Phil. I’ve got too much to lose. The coppers would hardly say, “Thank you, very much, Mr Clark, you can go home now.” I’d be nicked quicker than yer could say “It’s a fit up”.’

  Phil drew another cigarette from a crumpled pack and stuck it into the side of his mouth.

  ‘That’s all very well, Nobby, an’, like yer say, you’d be nicked the same as the rest of us, but,’ an unpleasant smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, ‘the only problem is, while you’d get a few years fer buying stolen goods, me and the other two,’ he jerked his head behind him, ‘well now, we’ve got more ter lose, ain’t we? I reckon we’d be lucky ter get off with twenty years, if not more, while you’d be out walking the streets a free man. Nah! Sorry, mate, that’s not good enough. Before we dissolve our partnership, we’d like a bit of insurance, just in case, like. And once that’s done, you can piss off. There’s dozens of geezers who’d snap our hands off fer the chance to get in on our racket.’

  George Davidson, Phil and Pete’s younger cousin, shuffled forward impatiently.

  ‘Fer Gawd’s sake, Phil, get a move on. I got a heavy date tonight. Just tell him what he’s gotta do and we can be on our way.’

  Nobby looked warily at George. The Davidson brothers were tough enough, but their cousin wasn’t quite right in the head. Not mad exactly, but he’d think nothing of slipping a knife into your back if he felt like it.

  The sinking feeling in the pit of Nobby’s stomach was becoming acute, though none of the men present would have guessed it. Keeping his voice hard he said gruffly, ‘All right, let’s stop pissing about and get down to it. What exactly do I have ter do to get rid of the lot of you?’

  Phil took a long drag on his cigarette, his eyebrows rising in mock disapproval.

  ‘That ain’t very nice, Nobby. But all right, like yer say, let’s stop pissing about. There’s a lorry arriving next Thursday stocked up to the hilt with booze. Whisky, brandy, vodka, you name it, the lorry’s carrying it. We won’t spoil your conscience by telling you how we found out. Let’s just say we’ve had the information from a reliable source. And you, Nobby, mate, are gonna be with us when we turn it over. Like I said before, it’ll be a kind of insurance, just to make sure yer don’t rat on us. Once the job’s done, yer can be on your way, and if yer get any ideas in the future about going ter the coppers, the idea of having been involved in a hijacking should stop yer.’

  Nobby felt beads of sweat break out on his forehead. He was in a tight hole and could see no way out of his predicament. If he refused, then he was certain he’d be found one night in some dark alley with a knife in his back. And if he agreed, he’d be party to a major crime.

  The choice he faced wasn’t good. He was no angel and, as Phil had pointed out, he been keen enough to handle the stolen goods and make a good profit out of them, but what they were suggesting went against every fibre of his character. All right, so maybe he was a hypocrite, and a thief into the bargain. But now he wanted out, and the only way he could see to achieve his aim was to go along with the Davidsons on their next job, and pray to God it went smoothly, and, more importantly, the lorry driver, or drivers, didn’t get hurt.

  He was still mulling the problem over when George sidled nearer, his rank breath flowing over Nobby’s face, his lips smiling cruelly as he said, ‘I seen yer the other day with a couple of tarts. Nice looking, the dark-haired one. Wouldn’t mind of bit of that meself.’ Reaching into his trouser pocket he pulled out a flick knife and pressed the spring to reveal a wicked-looking blade. ‘It’d be a shame if anything was ter happen ter her. I mean, there’s a lot of nasty geezers about, blokes who wouldn’t think twice about slicing up a pretty face just fer the fun of it.’

  An icy fear crept up Nobby’s spine, then with a roar of rage he leapt at the leering man, his face contorted with rage. Ignoring the knife, he grabbed George around the throat and threw him up against the wall snarling, ‘You scum! You touch one hair of her head, or any of the family for that matter, and I won’t care if they bang me up fer life, or if I end up swinging from the end of a rope, ’cos I’ll kill yer. D’yer understand, yer miserable bastard, I’ll kill yer.’

  Rough hands pulled Nobby off the grinning George and shoved him on to a wooden crate.

  ‘That’s enough,’ Phil barked harshly at his cousin, who was still grinning inanely. ‘You go anywhere near Nobby’s girl and I’ll see ter yer meself. We may be no angels, but we don’t go in fer beating up women.’ Turning back to Nobby, who was breathing painfully, Phil said softly, ‘So what’s it ter be, Nobby? You in or not?’

  And Nobby, looking into the cold black eyes, answered bitterly, ‘I don’t seem to have much choice, do I?’

  * * *

  It had gone eight o’clock, and Aggie and Grace were just finishing the last of the washing-up from their late dinner. As always after this chore was out of the way, Grace and her nan sat down for a mug of tea and a natter.

  ‘Polly looked a bit flushed when she came in, did yer notice, Gracie?’

  Shaking her head, Grace replied, ‘I can’t say that I did, Nan, though she did shoot upstairs a bit sharpish after dinner.’ A slow smile crept over Grace’s lips. ‘Maybe she met some boy over the park, and good luck to her if she has. Some of Linda’s personality is beginning to rub off on her, she – Oh! There’s the door. It must be Chuck, I’ll get it.’

  Grace opened the door to the tall, good-looking American, and, ushering him into the sitting room, called up the stairs, ‘Vi. Vi, Chuck’s here.’ When there was no answer, Grace smiled, saying, ‘She’s probably got the record player on. I’ll pop up and tell her you’re here.’

  Chuck Downing, six feet tall and dressed in his colonel’s uniform, was absolutely gorgeous. Never before had Grace been jealous of Vi regarding her men friends, but this one… Phew…!

  ‘Thank you, ma’am. I’ll just sit myself down here and wait, if that’s OK with you?’

  The softly spoken drawl sent a shiver up Grace’s spine. The American had been a regular visitor to the house these past four months, and it seemed as if he was as besotted with Vi as she was with him.

  Grace hurried up the stairs, knocked on Vi’s door then entered. Vi was in her underwear covered by a nylon wrap-over, sitting at the dressing table applying her make-up.

  Looking at her sister through the oval mirror, Vi said, ‘Anything wrong?’

  Walking over to the single bed, Grace sat down and gazed at Vi’s reflection.

  ‘What? Oh, no, nothing’s wrong. I just came up to tell you Chuck’s here. I did call up, but you couldn’t have heard me. Still, seeing as you mention it, there is some
thing I’d like to get off my chest.’

  ‘Oh, yeah.’ Vi eyed Grace warily in the mirror.

  ‘Oh! Now don’t start getting your back up, Vi. I only wanted to say that I’m sorry I didn’t take to him at first. I mean, none of us tried to make him feel welcome, did we? It was only because I thought Chris was such a nice bloke, and better suited to you than some American who might be here today and gone tomorrow. But Chuck obviously makes you happy, and that’s all that matters. But don’t you worry about when he has to go back overseas? I mean, it’s not like our boys – when the war’s over, he’ll go back to America, and I don’t want to see you hurt, Vi.’

  Putting down her brush, Vi seemed to be deliberating as to whether to share something with Grace. Then, her face lighting up with excitement, she said happily, ‘He’s asked me to marry him, Grace. Oh, not now, of course. I’m not about to rush into marriage like poor Uncle Danny did. No! We’ve made proper plans. Before we even consider a wedding date, I’m going to go over to America and stay at his home for a while, to see how I fit in.’ Seeing Grace’s face crumple, Vi hurriedly came to sit beside her on the bed. ‘Don’t look like that, Grace. Nothing’s settled yet. The war could go on for years, and who knows what might happen in the meantime.’ Attempting to make light of the situation, Vi smiled wanly. ‘If I do go, you’ll all be able to come over for your holidays.’

  Vi peered anxiously into Grace’s face, pleading, ‘You won’t say anything to Nan, will you, Grace? She’d go mad, you know she would. She’s still hoping I’ll settle down with Chris. I just wish he’d stop phoning and coming to the club. Not that he causes any trouble. He just sits there, nursing a couple of drinks for an hour or so then leaves. And believe it or not, Grace, it upsets me. Chris is a nice bloke, one of the best, and I know he’s in love with me. But I don’t feel the same way about him. I like him, and I feel sorry for him, but I don’t love him.’

  When Grace asked quietly, ‘Have you told him about Chuck’s proposal?’ Vi looked away, suddenly embarrassed.

  ‘No, not yet. I mean I will, when everything’s settled, but I don’t want to make any announcements… well, just in case.’

  Horrified, Grace stared at the averted face and said sharply, ‘I hope you don’t mean you’re stringing Chris along just in case this thing with Chuck falls through. Oh, Vi, you wouldn’t! Chris deserves more consideration than that. It’s not fair to keep him hoping there’s a chance for him when you know damn well there isn’t.’

  Vi rose sharply from the bed and strode back to the dressing table, where she began to powder her face furiously.

  ‘You’ve no right to preach morals to me, Grace. There’s poor Stan locked up in a POW camp, God knows where, and you’re out almost every night with Nobby. A blind man could see you’re in love with him, but you still keep sending letters care of the Red Cross to Stanley, hoping they’ll be able to find out where he’s being held. So don’t accuse me of giving Chris false hope when you’re doing the exact same thing.’

  Grace’s face turned white. Vi’s barb had struck home forcefully. In an attempt to justify herself she stuttered, ‘You can’t compare me with you, Vi. For a start Polly’s always with me and Nobby, and it’s only once a week. As for Stanley – what else can I do? I don’t even know if he’s received any of my letters, but how could I write and tell him I don’t love him any more with the state he must be in? To do such a thing would be cruelty beyond belief, and I just couldn’t do it, Vi.’

  Her face suddenly contrite, Vi muttered, ‘I know, I know. It was a wicked thing to say. Even I wouldn’t be that hard-faced. But I don’t envy you when Stanley gets back home, Grace. You don’t know what sort of state he’ll be in. In fact, you might never be able to tell him the truth, not if he’s really in a bad way.’

  Grace hung her head. That thought had crossed her mind a dozen times a day. If Stan returned home an invalid she would be stuck with him for the rest of her life.

  Leaving Grace’s side, Vi picked out a calf-length black dress from her wardrobe and slipped it over her head. Stopping only to have a last look in the mirror, she said, ‘By the way, I’ve cut my nights down at the club to three evenings a week. It was Chuck’s idea. He’s never been very happy with what I do for a living; which is ironic, seeing as that’s how we met in the first place. He wants me to give up the job completely, but I’m not that much of a fool. I like my independence. Anyway, the manager wasn’t very pleased.’ She gave a soft, tinkling laugh. ‘The funny thing was that Beryl asked the manager if she could step into my shoes, so to speak. You should have seen the look he gave her. I mean, I know she’s not bad looking for her age, but she looks cheap and tarty, and the Top Hat only employs the best hostesses. That’s why she’s been so off-handed with me lately. She seems to think it’s my fault she didn’t get the job. And of course her nose is out of joint because she won’t be able to go up West every night like she used to. Still! She’s managed to latch on to Donald. He’s no oil painting, and he’s old enough to be her father, but he’s got plenty of money, and that’s all Beryl cares about. To be truthful, I’m glad of a break from her company. She was a laugh at first, but she can get on your nerves at times. Not only that, but my conscience has been bothering me lately about Uncle Danny, and what she’s getting up to behind his back. I know it’s a bit late in the day for me to start moralising, but better late than never.’

  As they left the bedroom Vi clutched at Grace’s arm, saying awkwardly, ‘Thanks for the talk, Grace. I’ve been busting to tell someone about me and Chuck for ages, and I promise that the next time I see or speak to Chris, I’ll tell him the truth, because, as you say, he’s worth more than being led on when there’s no hope of us getting together.’

  After the couple had left the house, Grace spent the remainder of the evening with her nan and Polly, playing cards and listening to the radio until ten thirty, before retiring for the night.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  ‘Are you sure you’re not feeling well enough to come out with us tonight, Polly? We’re not going far, just to a club in Stoke Newington near where Nobby lives. We could always come back home if you feel worse.’

  Grace was sitting on the edge of Polly’s bed, her heart hammering with guilty excitement. Part of her was hoping Polly would make an effort to go out, while another part of her prayed that her sister would remain in bed. She looked down on the forlorn figure, whose eyes were streaming above a bright red nose, brought on by a bout of hayfever.

  Sniffing and sneezing, Polly dabbed at her red, puffy eyes and said miserably, ‘Don’t be daft, Grace. How can I go out looking like this? You’ll just have to go without me for a change. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like some sleep.’

  Grace left the room quietly and went downstairs to where Nobby, as usual, was regaling Aggie with more humorous stories.

  ‘Honest, Aggie, I saw it myself. Stuck up on a wall it was, a big poster saying: “Flies spread diseases, so keep them buttoned”. And I’ll tell yer something else, Aggie, it wasn’t directed at our boys. It was a blatant dig at the Yanks. ’Cos they’ve been putting it around as if it’s the last chance they’re gonna get.’

  Wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes, Aggie replied disdainfully, ‘Yeah, well, yer can’t blame the Yanks if it’s on offer. And there’s plenty of women who’d do it for ten woodbines lying down, an—’

  ‘And five standing up,’ Nobby completed the familiar saying, whereupon both roared with laughter as if hearing the joke for the first time.

  Noticing Grace, Aggie enquired, ‘Poll no better, then, love?’

  Grace shook her head. ‘No, Nan. She’s worse if anything.’ Turning to Nobby she said hesitantly, ‘Maybe we should leave going out for another time, it—’

  ‘What d’yer mean, not go out, just ’cos Polly’s a bit off colour?’ Aggie said tersely. Turning to Nobby she added roguishly, ‘Anyone would think she’s afraid ter be on her own with you, lad. Bleeding hell, if I was thirty years younger, yer
wouldn’t have ter twist my arm to get me out on me own. Go on, yer daft cow, get out and enjoy yer selves.’

  Faced with both her nan’s annoying insistence and the silent pleading in Nobby’s eyes, Grace picked up her cardigan from the arm of the chair, kissed Aggie on the cheek, then, arm in arm with the handsome man by her side, her insides churning with anticipation, she looked forward to the night ahead.

  * * *

  The evening had been wonderful. They had dined on steak and chips and shared two bottles of wine, while enjoying the spectacle of the numerous young couples doing the new dance craze, the jitterbug. The club, a sort of social hall, was filled with GIs, much to the annoyance of the British tommies home on leave, for the women seemed to have eyes only for the fast-talking, gum-chewing Americans.

  ‘Bleeding hell!’ Nobby laughed loudly, as he watched a young woman being swung and flung every which way in time to the swing music. ‘I’ve never seen so many pairs of knickers on display in one room in all me life.’

  Then, with a twinkle in his irresistible eyes, he said mischievously, ‘Come on, Grace, let’s have a go, it looks like fun.’

  Grace looked at him in mock horror. ‘Give over, Nobby, I can’t dance like that. I can just about manage a decent waltz. And even if I could, your back would never take the strain of chucking me about like that.’

  Grabbing her hand, Nobby pulled Grace to her feet, declaring indignantly, ‘We’ll see abut that, madam, I ain’t in me dotage yet, thank you very much.’

  Pulling her on to the packed dance floor, Nobby leant close and whispered, ‘I hope you didn’t forget ter put yer drawers on tonight, or I’ll find meself having ter fight off the entire American and British armies.’

  Her face alight with merriment, Grace replied, ‘Now you come to mention it, I had a feeling I’d forgotten something when we came out tonight.’

  Trying to copy the other couples, who appeared expert at the new dance, Nobby and Grace ended up laughing so much they had to stop their efforts. Besides which it was pretty dangerous to be in the middle of the dance floor with arms and legs swinging in all directions. Nobby had already collected two kicks up his backside, while Grace had just narrowly missed being smacked in the face by an outflung hand. They were about to return to their table when the band changed to a softer tune.