The two women were still smiling when Robert stuck his head round the scullery door. ‘It’s time we were off, Florrie. Nellie’s almost dead on her feet, poor soul, though she’d never admit it. Besides, I asked the cabbie to come back for us at two, and he’s waiting outside.’
Suddenly flustered, Florrie wiped her hands dry and followed him into the drawing-room, where a bleary eyed Nellie was waiting. ‘It’s been a lovely night, ma’am,’ she said, still sticking to the title she had used for so long. Stifling a yawn, she added, ‘I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed myself so much. You’ve a lovely bunch of friends. They made me feel very welcome.’
Florrie and Bridie looked at each other, smiling. ‘Thank you, Nellie. I’m so glad you had a good time.’ It would be pointless to tell the kindly woman that she herself had never seen half the people present before. Suffice it to say she’d had a good time: that was all that mattered.
‘I’ll come out and see you off.’ Florrie carefully avoided Bridie’s shrewd glance. There wasn’t much you could put past that old woman!
Once Nellie had been installed in the carriage, Robert and Florrie stood awkwardly in the street, neither of them knowing what to say. The excuse of visiting William had long since vanished. There was nothing more Robert could do for him, and there was no point in prolonging the agony. The time had come for the parting of the ways.
‘Goodbye, Robert.’ Florrie held out her hand. ‘You’ve been a tower of strength to me, but now it’s time I stood on my own two feet.’
He stared down into her face lit by a street lamp. In the soft light she looked beautiful, but then she was beautiful to him, and always would be. And now she was saying goodbye. What could he do? She was being the sensible one, ending it now, but he didn’t feel like being sensible. He didn’t feel like a mature, respected doctor. He felt like a lovestruck schoolboy, and he wasn’t going to give her up easily. For now, though, he would do as she wished, but he would leave her with something to remember him by. Ignoring her outstretched hand, he pulled her close to his chest. Florrie reacted with a start, but no resistance. As their lips met for the first time, they were both painfully aware it might possibly be the last.
* * *
‘Are you sure you don’t mind living with me gran and grandad for a while, love? I mean, it won’t be for long, I promise. I’ve got orders coming out of me ears. I’ll more than likely have to hire some help soon, the way things are going. Mind you, it’ll be a bit cramped with another fellow working alongside me. It’s too soon to think about getting a shop of me own, but one day, love, one day!’ He smiled proudly. ‘In the meantime, I’ll carry on looking for a house for us. There’s plenty of flats going for rent, but I want us to have our own place. That’s if you’re prepared to wait a while longer.’
Kate tightened her grip on John’s arm and laughed up into his solemn face. ‘If you ask me one more time about living with your grandparents, I’ll brain you! I can’t think of a better place to start our married life. Because, if you give me any trouble, I’ve only to call for Bridie and she’ll be on you in a flash.’
‘You’re right there!’ John laughed back at her. Then he became solemn once more. ‘You know me gran loves you like you was her own; and me grandad and all. But most of all, I love you, Kate. Love you with all of me heart, an’ I’ll never let anything bad happen to you ever again.’
Adopting his tone, Kate answered softly, ‘And I love them both as if they were my own grandparents. And I love you too, darling.’
Stopping long enough to exchange a lingering kiss, they walked on, only to come to an abrupt stop at the sight of Florrie and the doctor in each other’s arms.
‘Oh, John… Oh, no…’ Kate’s cry of distress cut through to John’s heart. Turning her quickly round, he steered her back along the route they had just come.
Chapter Twenty
‘Now then, which one of you wants to come with me while I take Spud for his evening walk?’
‘Me, John, me! I’ll come, John, I’ll come!’ Billy, his young face earnest, danced excitedly up and down, nearly falling over the equally excited dog who ran in and out of the sturdy legs, his tail wagging furiously.
‘All right, all right! Don’t get yourself into a lather.’ John laughed down at the boy. ‘Anyone else coming with us?’ he added, looking at the two girls seated close to the blazing hearth.
‘Not me, thank you, John. It’s too cold.’ Sally smiled shyly, her face flushed from the heat of the roaring fire.
‘Don’t look at me,’ Alice said sharply, still in a temper at being forced out of her home for the night as if she were a child not old enough to listen to adult conversation between her mother and elder sister.
Bridie came bustling from the scullery, wiping her wet hands on a floral apron. ‘If you’re after taking that child out, make sure he’s wrapped up warm,’ she said. ‘I don’t want him going home tomorrow with a cold on him. An’ don’t keep him out too long. It’s way past his bedtime already.’
In a flash Billy was into his winter coat, his small fingers struggling to do up the large buttons as though fearful that Bridie would change her mind and send him to bed. Coming to his rescue, she quickly did up the last two buttons, tucked a thick woollen scarf over his head and neck, and with another warning not to stay out too long, she let them out into the dark night.
As the man, boy and dog walked down towards the High Street, four shadowy figures crossed the road and began to follow them.
‘You won’t forget to take me back to my own house tomorrow, will you, John?’ Billy panted as he tried to keep up with his companion’s long strides. ‘Only my mum will miss me if I don’t come home.’
John stopped abruptly, concerned at the anxiety in his voice. Bending down, he tipped the small chin up and said kindly, ‘I won’t forget, Billy. And you’re right. Your mum would miss you if you didn’t come home. In fact she’s probably missing you right now. But she and Kate want to have some time to themselves before the wedding. It’ll probably be the last chance they get for a good natter for a long time.’ His breath coming out in clouds of vapour, he chuckled, then winked broadly. ‘You know what these women are like, Billy. Always talking an’ gossiping. Not like us men – we have better things to do, don’t we?’
Billy grinned back, then drew himself up straighter. ‘I’ll be a man soon, won’t I, John? Well, not soon, but I will be one day, just like you.’
Cuffing him gently round the head, John replied gaily, ‘Better than me, Billy. I’ll bet you’ll be a fine man when you grow up. Come on, we’d best be getting a move on, else me gran will skin me for keeping you out too long.’
They walked in companionable silence for a while, then John, wanting to reassure further the boy that everything was going to be all right, said lightly, ‘Do you mind me marrying Kate, Billy? I mean… Well, after we’re married, I’ll be your brother-in-law. Will you like that? Me being kind of like your brother?’
Keeping his mittened hand tightly in John’s, Billy thought for a moment then said solemnly, ‘I’m glad you’re going to be my brother, John. I used to have a big brother, but he was a bad man, and now he’s gone away. He frightened me sometimes, but other times he was kind. And… and I miss him, but I don’t want him to come back. I’m not frightened of you, though. I love you, John.’
John’s throat tightened with emotion at the boy’s grave words. The poor little mite. Caught up in the middle of something he didn’t understand, yet knowing that the man who called himself brother was a bad man. Not knowing what else to say, he squeezed the trusting hand firmly and called out, ‘Here, Spud! Here, boy. Time to go back.’
The dog, walking in front of them, stopped to examine a nearby lamp-post, decided against it and trotted obediently back to its master. They were passing an alley when Spud suddenly stopped, his back stiffening, a low growl of warning coming from between bared teeth.
His actions immediately put John on his guard. ‘What is it, boy?’ Jo
hn barely had time to turn before the men loomed out of the darkness. Bringing his arm up instinctively, he gasped in pain as a heavy wooden staff caught him a glancing blow on the back of his wrist.
‘John! John! Look out, John!’ Billy screamed as the three men launched a ferocious attack on his beloved friend.
Staggering back, John thought fast. There was no way he could fight them all fairly, not with them armed with thick, deadly staves, and he had the child to think of. When another blow caught him on the shoulder, he stopped thinking and reacted instinctively, bringing into play the fighting technique he had learned years ago.
Ignoring the pain in his wrist and shoulder, he sprang up quickly, uttered a blood-curdling cry, spun on one foot and brought the other up sharply, catching one of the men under the chin. Before the startled man could recover, John was moving again. His arms and legs working as one, he jumped, kicked and delivered blows swiftly and ruthlessly, executing a rapid series of manoeuvres with precision. Behind him he could hear Billy screaming with terror, while the dog barked wildly, running back and forth as he tried to decide whether to go to the aid of his master or stay and guard the child. When the last man went down, joining his stricken companions writhing on the cold, hard ground, John rubbed his streaming face and began to walk back to the terrified boy, who now had his arms tightly wrapped round the whimpering dog’s neck. Then he stopped. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of another figure standing further back in the alley.
‘Who’s there?’ he shouted. ‘Come out an’ show your face, you miserable coward! Or aren’t you so brave now your mates aren’t here to help you?’
The figure remained motionless for a few seconds, then slowly he emerged from the shadows and faced the angry man.
‘Browning!’ John spat out the name. ‘I should have known you were behind this, you stinking coward!’ With a cry of rage he leaped forward, grabbing Alex by the throat and wrestling him to the ground. Over and over they went, punching and kicking, until they were both bruised and bleeding. They were well matched, both in strength and purpose. While they fought, John knew he could easily finish his enemy off with a few well-chosen blows in the same way he had despatched the other three men, but he wanted this fight to be fair: he wanted to beat Alex Browning on an equal footing.
Finally exhausted and knowing the man beneath him to be finished, John staggered to his feet and looked down with contempt at his enemy. ‘It’s finished, Browning. Over. Don’t ever try anything like this again, or I swear I’ll finish you off once an’ for all!’
Alex raised himself painfully on his elbow, sneering. ‘You won’t get her. You’ll never get her, you Irish scum! She’s mine. Do you hear me, Paddy, she’s mine, and always will be! You can’t be with her every second of the day. I’ll get her back. One day, I’ll come for her and…’
Drawing his teeth back over his lips, John lunged, pulling Alex up roughly by his collar. Their faces almost touching, he snarled. ‘You listen to me, Browning, and you listen good. If anything happens to Kate, if she so much as falls off the pavement and sprains her ankle, I’ll come after you. And when I catch you, it doesn’t matter how many thugs you have with you, there’ll be a bloodbath. Do you understand me, Browning? I said, do you understand…’
The heavy blow came from behind, catching John on the back of the head and sending him crashing down beside Alex.
‘You all right, guv’nor?’ The man, his face twisted in pain from his recent confrontation with the figure now lying still, stood fearfully in front of the man who had paid him for this night’s work.
Pulling himself to his feet, Alex winced. That bastard had nearly broken his ribs. On the ground, John stirred, and uttered a soft moan. Grinning mirthlessly, Alex kicked out savagely at the inert figure, then, crouching, he bent close to John’s ear. ‘I’m going to get her now, Paddy. I’m going right this minute to get her, and when I say get her, I mean in the biblical sense; if your thick Irish brain knows what that means. Oh, you can have her when I’m finished, but I’ll be the first, and that’ll be my sweetest revenge on the pair of you. Because you’ll always know I was with her first!’ Then his boot came out again, sending John into oblivion.
‘We’d better get going, guv’nor,’ the man said nervously, his eyes darting up and down the quiet street. ‘Someone could come along any minute.’
‘No, not yet,’ said Alex, looking over to where Billy was hunched over the snarling dog, hanging on to its shaggy coat for dear life. ‘There’s something I have to do first.’
Sensing his intention, the man cried out in horror, ‘’Ang on, Guv. ’E’s just a kid! Yer can’t…’
But Alex didn’t hear the man’s protests.
When Billy saw his brother approaching he shrank back, crying out, ‘No, Alex! Don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me. I won’t tell, I promise. I won’t tell!’
Grinning widely, Alex continued to walk forward.
* * *
The sound of running footsteps and the heartbreaking sobs of a child brought John back to his senses. He groaned as a shaft of pain shot across his temples, and rose shakily to his feet, stumbling almost blindly in the direction of the distressing sounds.
‘’Ere, mate, wot’s going on?’ Two men, their faces filled with concern, caught hold of John’s arms. Then they caught sight of the two figures huddled by the wall, one which was laying deathly quiet across the boy’s lap.
Shrugging off the helping hands, John tottered almost drunkenly towards the two figures. ‘Wake up, Spud! Oh, please wake up, Spud! Don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead. Spud!’
‘Here, Billy. Give him here.’ John squatted down by the glossy brown fur bundle. He tried to rouse the dog, then flinched as his hand came into contact with something wet and sticky.
‘He h—hurt Spud, John! A—Alex hurted Spud!’
‘It’s all right, Billy. It’s all right. Did A—Alex hurt you? Did he touch you at all?’
The shuddering Billy sobbed quietly, ‘N—No. He was going to, b—but Spud bit him. Then Alex h—hurted him and he w—went to sleep. I couldn’t w—wake him up again.’
John ran his hands once again over the shiny fur, his heart sinking at the lack of any sign of life. Turning slightly, he called to the two men, ‘Could you give me a hand, please?’
Eager to help, they ran forward and helped John and Billy to their feet. Then, with great care they handed the heavy bundle into John’s outstretched arms. ‘Put the boy on my shoulders, please. I have to…’
‘’Ang on, mate!’ the taller of the men protested. ‘Yer can’t carry ’em both. Let’s give yer an ’and…’
‘NO!’ The word was torn from deep in John’s throat, his heart as heavy as the limp bundle in his arms. Seeing the men’s started glances, he tried valiantly to pull himself together. ‘I’m sorry, it’s just that I— I…’ He couldn’t go on. He had to get Billy home, then get to Kate before that maniac got his hands on her. ‘Look, could you go to the police? Get them to go to number seventeen Fairview Road, Bow. Someone’s life may be in danger.’ Even as he said the words, he wanted to laugh. They sounded so dramatic. Dramatic and absurd, like something you would read in a penny novelette. But this was no make-believe drama. This was for real, and Kate and maybe Florrie too were in real danger with only a frail, elderly man to protect them.
Nervously excited by the drama they had stumbled on the men ran off in search of a patrolling policeman, leaving John to carry his burdens home alone.
* * *
‘God in heaven, lad! What’s happened?’ Bridie stepped back in horror at the sight of John’s battered, bloodied face and the sobbing boy perched on his shoulders. Then she noticed the dog, her heart becoming heavy to see that the faithful animal was dead. Putting her sorrow aside, she lifted the weeping boy down from John’s aching shoulders, while Dermot came silently forward to take the dog from his grandson. With a curt Took after the boy’, John made for the door.
‘Wait, lad! Wait up a minute!’
Bridie shouted in alarm.
Without stopping, John yelled over his shoulder, ‘The time for waiting’s long gone, Gran. This was Browning’s doing, an’ now he’s going after Kate. I’m going to do what I should have done a long time ago. I’m going to finish this off, once an’ for all!’
‘Oh, lad, lad, wait! For the love o’ God wait a minute an’ have a rest afore you go out again… An’ you two, will you stop that infernal caterwauling an’ see to your brother,’ she said sharply to the frightened girls cowering by the fire.
John turned, and the look in his eyes made Bridie and Dermot step back. In all their years they had seen their grandson in many moods. But never had they seen such a look of intense, almost burning, hatred glowing from his blue eyes. Knowing it was senseless to try and stop him, Bridie stood back, silent in her despair.
‘I’ll come with you, lad!’ Dermot had given the boy to Alice, and was now shrugging on his overcoat.
John started to protest then walked quickly from the house with his grandfather close on his heels.
* * *
Florrie looked at Kate and sighed sadly. This was supposed to be a night for them to talk, to cram as much time in together as they possibly could, yet since the children had left the house earlier that afternoon, her daughter had hardly said a word to her, instead spending her time with William in his room. Something was obviously troubling her, and the only thing Florrie could think of was that Kate had somehow witnessed the embrace between her and Robert.
Knowing that the first move would have to come from her, she cleared her throat loudly and said, ‘What is it, Kate? What have I done to upset you? Is it Robert, is that it? If so, I’d rather you came straight out with it rather than let it fester inside you.’
Kate started, her head beginning to throb. She didn’t want to have this feeling, but she couldn’t help it. The sight of her mum with the doctor had upset and disturbed her more than she would have dreamed possible. After all, she reasoned, she knew how they felt about each other. But knowing and seeing were two different things entirely. Oh, she wasn’t being fair, she knew she wasn’t being fair, but you couldn’t change your feelings to suit the occasion: at least she couldn’t, she wasn’t made that way. The last thing she wanted was to leave her mother on bad terms, especially after all that had happened. So, painful as it was, she had to clear the air now and speak her mind. Gulping hard, she said simply to her mother, ‘I saw you… Last night, I saw you with the doctor.’
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