‘I don’t have the money to spend on such things,’ Kath said, lulling him into a false sense of security, ‘but who on earth would do that to the shop… and why?’ Feigning ignorance and stupidity, she waited as she replaced a small vase she’d been looking at back on the counter.
‘Well now,’ said Potter, conspiratorially leaning in towards Kath and Martha, ‘the “why” would be to put the woman out of business of course, and the “who”…’ He let the sentence hang mid-air. Leaning back, he puffed out his chest.
‘You don’t mean…?’ Martha asked in pretend shock.
Nodding his head, an evil grin spread across his face and he said, hunching his shoulders and spreading out his hands, ‘That’s business!’
*
‘He said what?’ Annie asked in pure disbelief after hearing what had occurred when the others returned from the town.
‘Ar but…’ Martha took up, ‘that wasn’t actually a confession. He didn’t say it was him who did it.’
‘Martha’s right,’ Kath added, ‘so how do we find out for sure he’s responsible?’
‘Well,’ Annie said, ‘Violet asked Jim to get the glassworks to replace the windows and he’s asking questions round and about. He’s also finding a couple of men to stay in the shop overnight until we sort this problem out.’
‘Good idea,’ Kath breathed a sigh of relief, ‘our profits can run to a couple of nightwatchmen’s wages.’ She looked at Violet who nodded in agreement.
It had been less than a week when the two night watchmen on guard at the shop reported to Jim about another attempted break in.
Jim had just returned from taking the men’s wages and as he sat in the kitchen with the women, he related what the watchmen had told him.
Sitting quietly in the back room of the shop, the watchmen had been having their supper of cheese sandwiches when they heard the rattling of the front door handle. The door was locked, as usual, so the burglars had decided to try the door at the rear of the shop.
The guards, guessing the intention, quietly moved through the shop and slid back the bolt of the back door which would allow the burglars to enter without causing damage. After dousing the oil lamp, they had then hidden themselves in the shadows.
Jim watched the women’s faces as he continued.
The back door had handle turned and the burglars’ chuckles were heard, then the door was carefully pushed open. Two of them had stepped into the back room of the shop.
The watchmen jumped out from where they hid in the shadows and pushing the would-be burglars into the yard outside had ‘pasted them both good and proper’.
The burglars had been persuaded to give up the name of the person who had paid them to steal the goods and wreck the shop a second time, the name they revealed was… Mr Potter!
‘I guessed as much,’ Violet said amid the gasps coming from around the kitchen table, ‘now we have to decide what to do about it.’
Everyone then set to and hatched a plan to visit the said Mr Potter to, at the very least, ruin his day.
Annie, being busy with Harry and overseeing the making of the products, decided to stay behind; so it was that Martha, Kath, Mary, Joyce and Violet who took another trip into Birmingham, driven in Spencer’s coach by Jim.
Mr Potter paled visibly as he saw the women enter his salon. He disappeared into a back room and they all marched across the shop after him.
‘So, Mr Potter we meet again,’ Violet said, looking him squarely in the eye, after throwing the door open wide.
‘What you lot want? This is a private office. You shouldn’t be in here!’ He sat behind a desk where he considered himself safe from their wrath.
‘The same as you shouldn’t have had men in our shop the other night!’ Violet boomed.
‘I have no idea what you are referring to,’ he replied confidently.
‘Potter,’ spat Joyce, ‘the men gave you up! We know it was you who paid them to wreck our shop!’
His bravado melted away as he blustered, ‘Then they are lying through their back teeth!’
Violet placed her hands flat on the desk, causing the man to lean back in his chair, before saying with quiet menace, ‘Mr Potter, we now know for certain it was you who instigated the breaking of the windows and merchandise at our shop. The men responsible for doing your bidding have paid a heavy price for what they did – in fact…’ She leaned in further, ‘let’s just say it will be quite a while before they’ll be doing work of any sort.’ Pausing, Violet watched the words sink in before resuming. ‘Oh pardon my rudeness, let me introduce ourselves… we are the Wednesbury Wives!’
They watched him blanch as he absorbed the information then Violet spoke again. ‘We did consider taking this to the police. However they would probably put it down to kids misbehaving, so I doubt they’d do anything about it, whereas we…’ she spread her arm to encompass her friends ‘… well, I think you get the point. Now then, Mr Potter, just so you know, if anything… anything at all should happen to our shop again… we’ll be coming for you!’ She thrust a finger in his direction. ‘Remember Mr Potter… if anything should happen… anything at all!’
They turned as one and left the room. Heads held high, they walked from the shop, leaving the open-mouthed shop girls in their wake. The door having been left open when they entered the office, the sales girls had heard every word; they had tried in vain to hide their smiles.
On their return to Gittins Lodge, Joyce said, ‘Oooh Annie, you would have laughed your socks off if you had seen his face.’
‘I’d be surprised if we hear anything more from Mr Potter again,’ Violet said.
Little did she know those words would come back to haunt her.
Forty-Seven
Although Joshua knew Kath would have loved a lavish wedding, he also knew the secrecy was more important to her. It was a time when anything could be bought for enough money, and the clergy were no exception. The vicar had baulked at first about calling the banns to an empty church, but had soon changed his mind on sight of Joshua’s wallet.
The ‘Wives’ were to prepare the wedding breakfast in the kitchen at Gittins Lodge – all work on ‘Violet’s Luxuries’ to be halted and cleared away for the day. Everything was planned down to the last detail; flowers from the garden, food from the kitchen, everyone would arrive as if to work but would change their clothes, which they had smuggled in, in the many bedrooms standing empty.
Joshua had kept his word to Kath regarding keeping to his part of the house at night until after the wedding. It was no loss, just knowing she was there with him in the evenings had been enough.
The house began to fill with people and excitement grew as the vicar arrived – he was ‘calling in on his rounds’, so others of the town were led to believe.
With everyone in the living room save for Kath and Violet, fear swept over Joshua. Would she change her mind? What would he do if she did? How would he cope with the disappointment? The thought, however, dissolved as the door opened and Kath and her daughter entered the room.
Violet wore a blue brocade suit edged with navy blue piping, a hat of the same colour sat squarely on her head. The whole ensemble matched her eyes beautifully as she walked her mother over to stand beside Joshua. Looking divine in a pale cream lace dress reaching to the floor, one simple cream flower adorned Kath’s hair. Her twinkling eyes met Joshua’s and his fears of a moment before fled, replaced by a happiness he never thought he would feel again.
The vicar droned on, ‘Will you, Joshua…?’
‘I will – I do – Yes, oh get on with it, man!’ His exasperation filled the air, causing ripples of laughter.
‘Will you, Kath…?’
‘Oh I will indeed!’ said Kath; again more laughter sounded. Kath had sold her wedding ring given to her by John Sligo soon after his death and now she wore a shiny gold band Joshua had purchased at the jewellery shop in the town.
‘Then I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss…’ Watching Joshu
a lift Kath and swing her round, the vicar finished, ‘… the bride!’
Tears of joy ran freely from the eyes of Kath’s friends as Joshua kissed his new wife over and over. The celebrations began, and the sight of money again secured the vicar’s tongue into silence as he left to visit other people in the town. He was unaware of the eyes that watched him from behind the trees in the garden.
Happiness prevailed in the mix of very special friends long into the night before tired people made their way back to their homes.
Kath and Joshua climbed the stairs and he said, ‘Mrs Gittins… Miss Clancy…’ Opening the bedroom door, he watched her face light up as she stepped into the room.
‘Oh Joshua!’ she said breathlessly, ‘you have a four-poster bed!’
‘No my dear, we have a four poster bed.’ He said as they moved further into the bedroom. Closing the door quietly behind him, he at last was able to gather his wife into his arms and they shared their first passionate kiss.
*
Going about his business in the factory, Joshua had an extra spring in his step although he knew he had to keep his vow of secrecy. He felt whole again; Kath had filled the void in his life and he loved her to distraction. Having to curb his loving behaviour when in public with Kath had caused him a few problems to begin with; he wanted to touch her hand or give her a sweet kiss at every given opportunity. Eventually his mind would settle once more into married life albeit a secret one.
Bouncing into the kitchen one evening, Joshua asked the women where Kath was and was told she’d gone to the shop in Birmingham with Jim that morning and was not back as yet. Taking his grandson into the garden to play in the spring sunshine, Joshua waited for her return.
‘Joshua! Joshua, come quick!’ Annie railed. Grabbing Harry, he rushed into the house to see what the commotion was about. Jim sat at the table surrounded by all the other women; he was shaking from head to foot.
‘Jim,’ he asked, ‘what’s up lad?’
‘It’s Kath, Joshua… she’s gone missing!’
The words hit him like a thunderbolt and Joshua found himself asking, ‘What do you mean Kath’s gone missing?’
Exasperation evident, Jim said, ‘She’s gone missing as in… she ain’t at the shop!’
‘Wha—’ Joshua began.
Cutting him off, Jim rushed on, ‘I went to get her but when I pulled up the shop door was standing open and pots were strewn and smashed everywhere. It must have happened after the two serving girls had gone home. Kath’s basket was there, but she wasn’t. I searched everywhere but I couldn’t find her!’
Joshua caught the look which passed between the women in the kitchen as they said in unison, ‘Potter!’
‘Oh Joshua, we have to go and look for mother, right NOW!’ Violet wept, rushing to grab her shawl.
‘Right, Jim lad, you go and fetch Spencer from the works, tell him what’s happened. Annie, can you take Harry?’ She nodded, sweeping the crying child into her arms. Joshua went on, ‘The rest of us are going to Birmingham!’
Joshua drove Martha and Violet in one carriage and Mary and Joyce travelled in another driven by Jim on his return with Spencer.
On reaching the shop it was as Jim described. The door was still standing open, the pots inside were smashed to pieces.
Instantly Mary and Joyce set to cleaning up the mess, while Violet and Martha went to visit the women who worked there. They lived in Cherry Street which joined the other end of Cannon Street where ‘Violet’s Luxuries’ was located.
Spencer turned to Joshua, ‘We’ll find her, Father, don’t worry.’
‘I bloody hope so, lad! I knew we should have kept those night watchmen on at the shop.’ Joshua replied.
‘I know, Father, we’ll ask them tomorrow if they would come back to guard the shop.’
Spencer, Jim and Joshua each went separate ways to look for Kath. After a long search of the nearby streets they still had not found her.
The women who worked in the shop had gone home at the usual time, they said, leaving Kath to wait for Jim before locking up for the night.
No one had seen where Kath had gone. No one had seen her leave. Joshua’s wife was missing in Birmingham and as darkness fell, his fear for her safety began to build in him.
‘We can’t search in the darkness, Father, we have to go home and come back in the morning.’
Violet screeched, ‘Spencer! We can’t leave Mother out there alone, she could be hurt!’
‘The lad is right, Violet wench,’ Joshua said, trying to staunch the anger inside him, ‘much as it pains me to say it – we have to leave it until the morning.’ Locking the shop with a spare key kept in the till, they made their way home, each harbouring their fears quietly as the carriages rumbled over the cobbled streets.
*
Sitting in the living room of Gittins Manor with Violet and Spencer, the story of Mr Potter was retold to Joshua. He had known about the destruction of the property but until this moment was unaware of the visit undertaken by the ‘Wives’ thereafter.
‘This Mr Potter,’ Joshua spat acerbically, ‘surely he wouldn’t be daft enough to have done this, especially after the visit made to him by the wenches?’ he asked in disbelief.
Violet responded with, ‘He was rather shaken when we left him that day.’ Violet was tempted to reveal the true identity of the Wednesbury Wives at that moment, but fear of his reaction held her in check.
‘Well he’ll be more than bloody shaken when I get my hands on him!’ Joshua said, anger swelling in him again as he stood and began to pace the room.
‘Father,’ Spencer said as he passed over a glass of brandy, ‘we can’t be sure he had anything to do with this, but we’ll find out tomorrow. Mr Potter will be the first on the list for us to see.’
Violet sobbed, ‘Maybe we women can ask around the area in an effort to find out about anything unusual happening around the shop. Someone must have seen or heard something! It’s surrounded by buildings after all.’
*
The crack of dawn saw them all riding into Birmingham yet again. The shop had been opened by the saleswomen and they had set about restocking the shelves.
Whilst the ‘Wives’ went in pairs, each taking a different street, to make enquiries, Spencer, Jim and Joshua went to see Mr Potter at the salon. The girl serving in Potter’s shop said he wasn’t in as yet which was unusual. Always first in and last out, she thought it strange he was not there this particular day. Maybe he was ill, she had queried, but showed no concern for her boss whom she obviously disliked immensely. Feigning concern for his health, the men had been told where Potter lived.
Striding out, they walked the drab streets lined with small shops and terraced houses before coming to Smallbrook Street where there was a marked difference in the housing. Large buildings stood in their own gardens with long gravel driveways. Behind them stood the imposing building of St. Jude’s Church. Coming to the place the shop assistant had indicated was Potter’s house, they exchanged a glance of disbelief.
‘How can he afford this?’ Spencer asked.
‘I was asking myself the same question, Spencer lad,’ Jim muttered.
Walking straight up to the door, Joshua hammered on it and stood back. When no answer came, he hammered again. Still no one answered the door.
‘Let’s take a look around,’ he said, gesturing Spencer to the left and Jim to the right. He stood back further looking at the upstairs windows. Nothing moved.
Spencer and Jim returned, shaking their heads – no one was there that they could see.
Making their way back to the shop, they arrived just as the women returned. Nothing – no one had seen anything. It was as if Kath had disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Spencer spotted a note pinned to the shop door and pulled it free.
‘What’s this?’
Joshua snatched the note from his son and tore it open. He gasped as he read the words.
Five hundred pounds if you want your wife back!<
br />
He dropped the note and it fluttered to the floor.
As fear for his wife consumed Joshua, he dropped to his knees in the shop, and throwing back his head in a silent howl, his shoulders heaved and he wept until he thought his heart would break.
Forty-Eight
‘You won’t get away with this!’ Kath shouted, her gag removed to allow for easier breathing.
Potter struck her a glancing blow across her cheek.
‘I already have!’ he said. ‘Now you shut yer mouth while I think about whether I should return yer safely.’
Tears stung her eyes as she tried to break the bonds tying her to the chair. ‘My family will find me, and when they do…!’
‘Oh ar, your family…’ Potter looked at her through veiled eyes, ‘you mean your new husband?’ Yellow teeth grinned at her through thin lips, which hid beneath a beaky nose.
Shock took Kath’s breath away and she stared open-mouthed at the man now sitting behind his desk. ‘How did I know?’ His grin widened. ‘I make it my business to know, lady. How do you think I can afford all this?’ Spreading his arms around the room, he grinned again. ‘I find out stuff about people and then… they pay me to keep quiet about it.’ He let out an evil-sounding laugh that would have been right at home in any musical hall.
Blackmail! So that was his game. Kath looked around the room at the top of the man’s house, an attic he had converted into an office of sorts. She watched him as he stared back at her.
‘I don’t think five hundred was too much to ask, do you?’ Potter gave a cackle before he went on, ‘Yes, five hundred… this time!’
‘What do you mean – this time?’ Kath asked as panic began to take hold of her.
‘You ain’t very bright are you? But then you are only a woman, I knew you had no head for business,’ he muttered, ‘I’ve asked five hundred for you now but if I don’t deliver you…’
‘You can ask for more!’ Kath said in absolute horror.
The Wives’ Revenge Page 24