A Respectable Woman

by Susanna Bavin

  ‘You won? You won!’

  ‘I can hardly believe it. I’m shaking.’

  ‘You and me both.’ Leonie clutched Nell’s hands. ‘I need to sit down. I want to hear every detail.’

  Seated at the table, she listened in amazement.

  ‘So you’re not married and never were? And you’d never have known if Jim hadn’t gone digging through the records.’

  ‘I gave him such a telling off for bungling his enquiry, as I thought.’

  ‘He’ll understand. You can apologise next time you see him.’

  ‘I’m not sure I will – see him, I mean. He has other commitments.’ Something in her tone closed the subject.

  ‘If you and Stan were never wed,’ Leonie said, treading delicately, ‘the children are …’

  ‘Don’t say it.’ Nell rubbed a hand across her mouth. ‘I don’t mind losing my respectability – well, I do, obviously, but I’d throw it to the winds if the children could keep theirs.’

  ‘One thing at a time,’ said Leonie. ‘The children are yours.’

  The darkness receded from Nell’s eyes and they filled with an inner glow. Leonie’s emotions welled up, crowding her chest with gratitude. Nell was keeping her children, which was what she deserved.

  ‘I’ll fetch them,’ she offered.

  ‘No, leave them. There’s summat else. Mrs Hibbert was in court today – Olive, Stan’s mother. He didn’t know she was coming. She wanted to tell me she would make me welcome.’

  ‘She’ll have a lonely journey home.’

  Nell sighed. ‘I fetched her back here with me. I didn’t know what else to do. She was that shocked about Stan.’

  ‘Where is she now?’

  ‘I pointed out the house and told her to get lost while I talked to you.’ Nell groaned. ‘I must be mad. I should have stuffed her on the first train heading north.’

  A knock on the door made them both freeze, gazes locked.

  ‘Speak of the devil.’ Leonie stood up. ‘You stop here. Hold your horses,’ she called as there was another knock. She opened the door, intending to give Mrs Olive Hibbert the sharp edge of her tongue.

  ‘You took your time,’ said Mrs Watson. ‘Come quick. I’ve got your Posy tucked up in bed. The doctor’s been.’

  Someone walked over her grave. ‘Is she all right?’

  ‘That son-in-law of yours agave her a leathering.’

  Emotion flared, a mixture of fury and despair. She should never have left that house. She should have been there to stand between Edmund and Posy and suffer the blows herself.

  ‘Is our Hilda all right?’

  ‘He never laid a finger on her, but when Mr Foskett came back from fetching the doctor, she sent him off again to find a bobby and right now she’s howling her eyes out at my kitchen table. Now come on. Your Posy needs you.’

  ‘Sounds as if Hilda does an’ all,’ said Nell, appearing behind her.

  Mrs Watson snorted. ‘Stuff Hilda.’

  As Roberta preceded him into the drawing room, Jim heard words of welcome from more voices than those of her parents. He walked in and there were Don and Patsy.

  ‘James, my boy, welcome, welcome.’ Mr Fairbrother was all bonhomie. ‘Let me be the first to congratulate you.’ He pumped Jim’s hand. ‘James saw off a tricky case today. Splendid work.’

  Don shook his hand and clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Congrats. We’ve heard all about it.’

  Patsy rose to her feet in a shimmer of silk and brushed his cheek with a kiss. ‘You saved the day, James.’ Releasing him, she turned to Roberta and they kissed one another. That had never happened before. ‘Roberta, how wonderful to see you. We were delighted to receive your mother’s invitation to share James’s victory dinner.’

  ‘Patsy, you look marvellous,’ said Roberta. ‘Look at me, all crumpled. I’ve been James’s chauffeur all afternoon.’

  Jim bowed over Mrs Fairbrother’s hand. ‘Thank you for the invitation.’

  Afternoon tea was brought in on pretty cake stands. There was a well-bred flurry of activity as tea was poured and plates were passed round. Jim found a seat and let it all happen around him. He wasn’t comfortable, but why not? His family and Roberta’s family were getting along famously. It should be perfect.

  Should be.

  Some things didn’t change. Olive Hibbert walked into the kitchen and said, ‘This is … nice,’ and that hesitation catapulted Nell back to all the times her mother-in-law had done her down. She had put up with it back then, but not now.

  ‘It didn’t take you long to get started,’ she commented. ‘You’re barely through the door and you’re criticising my kitchen.’

  ‘If you must know, it were my intention to walk in and say summat complimentary to get us off on the right foot. But what could I say? It’s so bare.’

  ‘Shall I tell you summat? I’m sick to death of this kitchen table. A proper kitchen should have a pair of armchairs beside the hearth, but I couldn’t afford that when we moved in, not without digging into my savings, and I couldn’t do that, so we’ve had nowt but this table to sit at.’

  ‘Savings mean security.’

  ‘That’s why I was so upset when I thought Stan was drinking.’

  Silence. Why had she brought this woman here? Nell wanted to be in Finney Lane. Poor Posy. Well, Olive was here and she couldn’t ask her to leave, not yet.

  ‘Park yourself,’ said Nell. ‘I’ll put the kettle on. Do you want to take your coat off?’

  Olive smiled grimly – not a smile at all. ‘Will I be here long enough?’

  ‘I’ll hang it up.’ She warmed the pot and set out the crockery.

  ‘I never knew about Stan’s other wife down south,’ said Olive when Nell sat down and poured the tea. ‘I’m that ashamed. My son, a bigamist.’

  ‘You sound surprised.’

  ‘Aren’t you?’ asked Olive.

  ‘About the wife down south, yes; but I’ve spent the past two years or more thinking he was a bigamist. So must you – unless you knew him and Mrs Vicarage Lane never had a ceremony.’

  ‘I’ll have you know I thought the same as everyone, that Stan had had two weddings. Alice called herself Mrs Hibbert right till the end.’ Olive leant forward. ‘I never approved of her.’

  ‘But you never did owt about it, did you?’

  ‘Like what? Report Stan to the law? What for? You’d vanished, and I might not have approved of Alice and her kids, but they had to be provided for.’

  ‘So what was the big shock about discovering he really is a bigamist?’

  ‘Because I thought he was married to you,’ cried Olive, her emotion taking Nell by surprise. ‘I thought you were his real wife. I thought that was how it were meant to be. When Stan said he were fetching you back, it felt like everything was going back to normal. That Alice never set foot in my house, no matter how much Stan went on at me, and I never set foot in hers until Stan wanted me to sell the furniture. I came to court today so you’d know it wasn’t just Stan that wanted you.’ Olive looked at her. ‘I can see that doesn’t mean owt to you.’

  ‘It’s not as though you liked me much when I was there before.’

  ‘Actually, I thought you were a mardy little cow, begrudging your husband a pint of an evening.’

  ‘You what?’ Nell sat up. ‘I thought he was drinking a lot more than a pint.’

  ‘And I could see he wasn’t. Drinkers get puffy faces and big bellies and that wasn’t Stan. It riled me; you, the destitute little orphan we’d took to our hearts, moaning about your husband when he never deserved it.’

  ‘I had no idea you thought that.’

  ‘I know, and that were ruddy annoying an’ all.’ Olive lifted her eyebrows at her. ‘Go on: say how much you hated me, and then we’ll call it quits.’

  ‘Actually, I was thinking that Stan has even more to answer for than I thought, and that’s saying something.’

  They looked at one another. Nell couldn’t recall the last time she had been in agr
eement with Olive Hibbert.

  ‘Come back to Annerby,’ said Olive. ‘You’ll be the talk of the wash house if you stop here.’

  ‘I’ll be the talk of the wash house if I go there. I belong here now.’

  ‘Then at least let me help you. I’ve got the money from selling the contents of the Vicarage Lane house. I’ll keep a bit, but the rest is yours.’

  ‘I don’t want it.’

  ‘Well, the offer’s there. It could give you back your sense of security.’

  ‘Look, I don’t know what time the last train north is …’

  ‘I don’t blame you for wanting to get rid of me, but there’s summat you should know. I did a lot of thinking while I were walking round and round the block, waiting for you to let me in.’

  Olive lifted her chin. Nell swallowed. What now?

  ‘I’m like you: I’ll be the talk of the wash house wherever I am, so I’ve decided to be the talk of the wash house closest to my grandchildren.’

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  ‘That was a delightful tea, my dear,’ said Mr Fairbrother, as if his wife had personally sliced the sandwiches. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I’ll take James into the study to discuss the case. Would you care to join us?’ he asked Don.

  ‘With pleasure, sir.’

  The men got up. Jim cast a general smile round the room, not wanting to acknowledge Roberta in particular. Graceless? Possibly. Probably. But that satisfied, knowing look on Patsy’s face made him edgy. Please don’t let Roberta say something arch like, ‘Hurry back.’ That would be too much. She didn’t, but as he left the room, he caught the way she and Patsy leant towards one another.

  Mr Fairbrother led the way across the hall and opened the door. ‘Make yourselves at home. I’m going down to the wine cellar to find a bottle of my best brandy.’

  Jim shut the door and rounded on his brother. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Right now I imagine the cook is having a seizure at being asked to produce a celebration dinner for six at no notice whatsoever.’

  ‘Don’t kid around. Why are you and Patsy here? And don’t say because you were invited.’

  ‘What’s got into you?’

  He turned away. It was a good question. What difference did Don and Patsy’s presence make? It was thoughtful of Mrs Fairbrother to include them. Or was it? Two families dining together: you could be forgiven for thinking of … an engagement.

  He turned back to Don. ‘It wasn’t luck or coincidence that brought Roberta and me back together. She engineered it.’

  ‘Is that a bad thing?’

  Was it? Oh hell. ‘It’s not how I thought it happened.’

  ‘Most men would be flattered. She’s a beautiful heiress. And don’t say you’re not most men. You asked why Patsy and I are here. We were surprised to get the invitation, last minute and all that; but I’m here to celebrate your success.’

  ‘And Patsy?’

  ‘You said yourself you and Roberta are back together.’

  Yes, he had said that, hadn’t he? His breath bottled up in his chest and his heart woke up. The feelings he had suppressed since Nell told him she was married poured through him, igniting every nerve end, taking possession of him.

  He wasn’t most men, after all.

  Nell rushed to Finney Lane. As if she didn’t have enough on her plate, now she faced having Olive Hibbert permanently on her doorstep: Olive, the critical, nowty mother-in-law with her judgemental sniff and scarcely concealed scorn. But that had been when Olive believed her to be a nowty, critical wife. It was a shock that anyone would have thought that of her.

  Nell sensed the disturbance before she saw it. A door thrown open, an indignant voice. A copper stepped out of the Tanners’ house, followed by Edmund Tanner. After him came that snotty copper who had been sent to investigate the burglary. He had something bulky under his arm, but Nell’s attention was distracted by a sharp glint in the sunshine, a sudden brightness in front of Edmund Tanner. Handcuffs! Really? She looked again, but he turned away as the policemen guided him down the road.

  He must have half-killed Posy if they had handcuffed him. She ran to the door and pushed her way in.

  ‘Hello? Hello?’

  The house was still and silent. It stilled her too. The house felt as if it had stood empty for a dozen years. Instinct drew her to the kitchen. Hilda sat at the table, her face a mask of misery. Nell started towards her with a comforting arm, but stopped. Hilda had never liked her and probably resented her more than ever now for taking Leonie in.

  She sat down. ‘Mrs Tanner? I saw—’

  ‘Pleased, are you? Come to gloat?’

  ‘You don’t know me very well if you think that, but that’s the point, isn’t it? You don’t know me, because you never wanted to. If you were jealous of me and your mum, you’d no need to be.’

  ‘Hark at you, being all gracious. You’ve no idea what it’s like, being snubbed and cast aside by your own mother.’

  All the indignation and concern Nell felt for Leonie’s unhappiness surged to the fore. ‘Your mum thinks the world of you, Hilda Tanner. She’s beside herself that you’ve fallen out.’

  ‘That’s not how it looks from where I’m standing,’ retorted Hilda. ‘She’s as good as abandoned me.’

  ‘Abandoned? You don’t know the meaning of the word. Shall I tell you what it is to be abandoned?’ What was she saying? She had to stop. She had never – never— ‘I had four brothers and a sister. When war was declared, the boys joined up. They were so proud of themselves and we had to pretend to be proud too; and we were proud, but we were scared an’ all; and we were right to be scared, because they all died; and then my sister copped it … and Mum faded away and died.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’

  I’m sorry. That was what everyone said. ‘Will you listen to what I’m saying? My mum wasn’t ill; she didn’t have an accident; she just died. A broken heart, everyone said, and they said it like it was right, like any loving mother would have died. No one said, “She’s left Nell.” No one said, “She should have hung on for Nell.” I wasn’t a good enough reason for her to stay in this life. I wasn’t asking to be the favourite. I just wanted … I just wanted my mum. She was all I had left and she wasn’t meant to leave me, but she did.’

  ‘I’m sure she loved you. She was your mother.’

  ‘But she didn’t love me enough to stay alive, did she? So don’t you dare tell me you’ve been abandoned, not when your mum is desperate to make up with you.’

  ‘All right. You’ve said your piece. Now clear off.’

  ‘I will if you want. I never came to see you, anyroad. It’s Posy I came for. But you think on before you throw me out, Hilda Tanner. I’m the best bet you’ve got of finding someone who understands. Your husband’s just been took away in handcuffs; and my husband turns out never to have been my husband after all.’

  That got a reaction, a startled look.

  ‘Aye, I’m an unwed mother. So the way I see it, you and me can either go into competition over whose man has caused the greatest shame or we can join forces and bolster one another up.’

  ‘I don’t know as I want to join forces with an unmarried mother.’

  ‘And I don’t know as I want to with a mother who lets her husband knock seven bells out of her little girl; but I’ll stretch a point if you will.’

  They stared at one another. Hilda looked away first.

  ‘I take it,’ said Nell, ‘that Mr Tanner was arrested for what he did to Posy?’

  Hilda fidgeted with the edge of the oilcloth. ‘Edmund was taken away because … because he stole those things from your house.’

  ‘He what?’

  ‘Posy told me. She taunted him into giving her the hiding of her life to make me sit up and take notice. I sent for the police and I suppose the neighbours thought I wanted to report him for child-beating. I brought the copper in here and told him everything. Posy said her dad hid the things in the cellar, so the copper went and loo
ked, but then he came back and said they weren’t there.’

  Nell’s heart ached. ‘So Posy suffered a beating for nothing.’

  ‘The policeman lied to me, so I couldn’t mess things up.’ Hilda made a bitter sound. ‘He ordered me to tell Edmund to go to the police station about hurting Posy. I went next door to sit with Posy and I came back here when Edmund came home. I were such a coward. I said Mr Foskett had reported him to the police and he must go down the station, but he said there was something he had to do first, and he went into the cellar.’ Hilda’s eyes filled. ‘That was when I knew for certain what he’d done. Being sent for by the police must have put the wind up him and he wanted to take the things and get rid of them.’

  Oh, that feeling of certainty. For Nell, it had come when she saw Mrs Vicarage Lane’s little boy.

  ‘While I was next door, a bobby had come in and hidden in the cellar and there was another in the backyard; so when Edmund went down there to get the stolen things …’

  ‘It showed he knew where they were, so he must have put them there.’

  ‘The police lied to me.’

  ‘They had to. It was part of their plan.’

  ‘They didn’t trust me not to blab to Edmund.’ Hilda banged a fist on the table. ‘It’s not even as though they got him for what he did to Posy. All they care about is the theft. I want him to be done for hurting Posy.’

  ‘I know, love; but the law will be harsher on him for the stealing than for beating his own child. That’s the way of the world.’

  The fire went out of Hilda. ‘What’s going to happen to us? Edmund were a good provider. If he gets sent to prison, what’s to become of me and Posy?’

  It might make him the most frightful cad, but he was going to sort this out now. A gentleman would wait. A gentleman would let today’s special occasion run its course. A gentleman would probably find himself engaged before he knew it.

  There was only one woman he wanted to be engaged to, and it wasn’t Roberta Fairbrother.

  When he, Don and Mr Fairbrother returned to the drawing room, Mrs Fairbrother said, ‘Let’s take a turn around the garden before drinks.’